Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i Reader's Digest

MY PANCAKE-MAKING SKILLS have never been much to brag about. I rely heavily on a delicious recipe from our sister publication Taste of Home. (The dash of salt makes all the difference!) My pancake-flipping skills are where things fall apart, literally. As a result of poor spatula skills, I volunteer to eat the burnt and broken pancakes my kids won't touch. The number of those is more than I want to admit. My poor pancake skills didn't stop me from volunteering for kitchen duty at a recent charity event at our local elementary school. At Pancake Breakfast: Spreading Kindness, folks from the community donate a canned good and parents from the school serve up breakfast. I jumped into any task that didn't include a spatula. By the end of the…

Hair Apparent After two failed surgeries to remove a benign brain tumor of the pituitary gland, Melanie Shaha of Gilbert, Arizona, started radiation treatment. A side effect was that she lost her hair permanently. “I don't mind being sick,” she told Today Parents. “But I mind looking sick.” Her son Matt Shaha, 27, soon offered to grow out his hair to make a wig for her. Melanie nixed the idea, but Matt insisted. Pointing to his golden locks, he joked: “Coming soon to a head near you!” After Matt's hair grew 12 inches, he had it chopped off and sent it to Compassionate Creations, which creates customized wigs for patients suffering from hair loss. It was a hit. “The color is spectacular,” says Melanie. As for her son's gift: “It…

Check your ego at the door Police in Rockdale County, Georgia, listed their 10 Most Wanted criminals on social media, and in doing so insulted a man who wondered why he'd been left off the list. “What about me?” he asked in the comments section. Officers replied, “You are correct. You have two warrants. We are on the way.” He was arrested on charges of violating probation. Be aware of your surroundings A thief walked into a Walmart in St. Cloud, Florida, and, being a thief, pocketed a few items. He might have gotten away with it had he only turned around to see the 40 uniformed police officers milling about as part of their annual Shop with a Cop event. Plot out a foolproof escape route A woman in…

For many writers, plot and dialogue are a cinch compared to writing the dedication and acknowledgments pages. Nevertheless, here are a few gems: “To my wife Marganit and my children Ella Rose and Daniel Adam, without whom this book would have been completed two years earlier.” —Joseph J. Rotman, An Introduction to Algebraic Topology “My first stepfather used to say that what I didn't know would fill a book. Well, here it is.” —Tobias Wolff, This Boy's Life “What can I say about a man who knows how I think and still sleeps next to me with the lights off?” —Gillian Flynn, Dark Places “To Charles Manson (not that one)” —Norm Macdonald, Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir “This book is dedicated to my father, Joseph Hill Evans,…

Roughly 1 billion of the world's adults live with obstructive sleep apnea. This common disorder contributes to problems ranging from daytime fatigue and irritability to heart disease. The go-to treatment, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, controls sleep apnea by delivering pressurized air through a mask while the person sleeps. However, the machine doesn't address the underlying causes, which are often lifestyle related. Researchers in Spain recruited sleep apnea patients and helped half of them adopt healthier habits: to eat and sleep better, exercise more, and smoke and drink less. Six months later, that group's sleep apnea improved more, on average, compared to the people who made no lifestyle changes. More than 60% of patients no longer needed a CPAP machine. When BreastCancer Surgery Is Not Needed Patients with…

I went to Africa as a scientist. I left the jungle as an activist. —Jane Goodall, PRIMATOLOGIST, IN HER MASTER CLASS Swing hard in case you hit it. —Bernie Williams, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER, ON THEHEALTHY.COM Creativity lies in the everyday. The great ideas come when you are washing the dishes. —Jim Parsons, ACTOR, ON THE PODCAST THE GREAT CREATORS WITH GUY RAZ Just give yourself credit for even the smallest steps. —Tig Notaro, COMEDIAN, IN THE ATLANTIC You're never too young to start an empire and never too old to chase a new dream. —Manjit Minhas, ENTREPRENEUR, IN CANADIAN BUSINESS…

WHERE, OH WHERE? (page 22) B. lao Valley State Park, Hawaii BRAIN GAMES (pages 99-100) Labyrinth Fauna Farce The last statement (“Some frogs have four-finned flounders as foes”) is false. First In Petal Problem B. Each of the flower's petals rotates clockwise by 120 degrees, then a new petal is added at the bottom. Do The Math √36 × 4 − 9 ÷ 3 + 2 = 7 Reader's Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 201, No. 1189, June 2023. c 2023. Published monthly, except bimonthly in March/April, July/ August, and December/January (subject to change without notice), by Trusted Media Brands, Inc., 1610 N. 2nd St., Suite 102, Milwaukee, WI 53212-3906. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to…

FOR TRAVEL BLOGGER Cory Lee (below), it was easier to explore Antarctica than some of the nearby parks and beaches in his home state of Georgia, where being a wheelchair user meant that rugged hiking trails were off-limits. Not anymore. With the fundraising support of foundations working with the disabled, all-terrain power wheelchairs are now available at some state parks in Georgia as well as in Colorado and Michigan, with more states likely to join. The treads on each Action Trackchair allow those with mobility issues to traverse rocky trails, sandy beaches and steep hills. As Lee told CNN, “It'll open up a whole new world for me and for other wheelchair users.”…

WE ALL SCREAM for ice cream, but for gelato, we swoon. Sculpted into smooth waves that beckon from behind glass counters, gelato is denser than ice cream, with flavors more pronounced. Because gelato is made with more milk and less cream, it's also lower in calories. In fact, its lower butterfat helps its natural flavors shine through. Though home freezers weren't available until the 1940s, frozen treats are far from modern marvels: Egyptian pharaohs Served their guests ice sweetened with fruit juice, and Romans mixed crushed ice from Mount Vesuvius with honey. Many believe that the origin of gelato is actually a Chinese recipe that Marco Polo brought back to Italy around the end of the 13th century. It called for milk and spices to be mixed with over cooked…

WATER KEEPS OUR basic bodily functions running: blood circulation, temperature regulation through sweating, digestion and so much more. Our bodies are about 60% water and if we don't get enough to drink, dehydration— defined as a body-water loss of at least 1% to 2% of your weight—can cause dizziness, fatigue and headaches. An easy way to gauge your hydration levels is by the color of your urine and how often you pee (ideally more than four times per day). “It doesn't need to be clear all the time, but it should be light like lemonade, not dark like apple juice,” says Isabel Maples, a Washington, D.C.– based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Keep in mind that some medications and supplements can also affect urine…

A banker and his friend are fishing when their boat hits a rock and sinks. The banker panics, screaming, “I can't swim!” His friend wraps an arm around him and tows him toward shore. But after 20 minutes, he becomes weary and asks, “Do you think you could float alone?” The banker shouts, “This is no time to ask that!” —Submitted by JEFF ACKLES Edmonds, WA After his jewelry store was robbed five times in two weeks by the same thief, the police asked the owner if he could give a description of the robber. Hello. All of the actors from Friends are now older than the youngest Golden Girl was in the show's first season. Have a nice day. @ELIMCCANN “Yes,” said the owner. “He was dressed a little…

One sunny Saturday afternoon in 2014, I was southbound on Highway 427 in Toronto aboard my purple 1993 Harley-Davidson Sportster. This stretch of road, some 12 miles long, is one of the most heavily trafficked in North America. At certain points, there are 14 lanes of traffic, much of it moving at 70-plus mph. I was in one of the center lanes—keeping a close eye on an 18-wheeler about 100 yards ahead. I wasn't worried for myself. I'd been biking for decades. My eyes were riveted on my 23-year-old daughter, a novice rider who was balanced on her recently purchased BMW F 650 GS. She was right beside that semi, in its dark shadow, looking as vulnerable as a snowflake. Thoughts swirled. One wrong move, and our world ends. I…

ALLE PIERCE KNOWS how to plan a vacation. A few months out, she “goes on a crazy Google spree,” constructing a spreadsheet of all the things she wants to do and see. She scrutinizes the menus of restaurants she is planning to visit. She uses a picture of the destination as her phone's lock screen image and downloads a countdown app. “What's so exciting about a trip is the anticipation before it,” says Pierce, founder of a luxury travel company called Gals Abroad Getaways, which plans group trips for women. Experts say she is probably right. Numerous studies suggest that having something to look forward to boosts your mood and lowers your stress. “Imagining good things ahead of us makes us feel better in the current moment,” says Simon A.…

IT WAS HARD not to notice the 8-year-old boy across the street who stormed in and out of his own house. He did it often enough that a neighbor, William Dunn, wondered what was going on in his life. So Dunn asked him. “He told me that he didn't have a father,” says Dunn, now 58, “and I realized there might be something I could do for him.” That something was fishing, a passion Dunn's father had shared with him. “Fishing always brought me peace and it taught me how to be patient. When you're on the water, you can forget about your problems and just appreciate the moment.” Dunn, who has three children of his own, got permission from the boy's mother to take him fishing. One Saturday afternoon…

My wife was teaching our 4-year-old the importance of earning money by paying him to perform chores around the house. The first week, when he was finished, she gave him a crisp $1 bill. The following week, she presented him with another dollar bill, but he pushed it away. “No, thanks,” he said. “I already have one of those.” —PHILLIP BROWN Toano, VA For no reason, I just thought of the time a guy I was dating got hired to dog-sit for a well-known filmmaker. My then-BF took me along with him once, and I was surprised that the apartment was super nice but also relatively normal. Then we found out it was the dog's apartment. @MELISSAPETRO “Sculpture is something you bump into when you back up to look at…

THE SALES PITCHES tempt: Bluelightblocking glasses are supposed to protect eyes from the effects of short-wavelength light emitting from our smartphones, computer screens and LED lights. Given how much time we spend on our devices, this sounds like a smart investment, right? After all, eye strain is a real issue and can lead to poor sleep and even cataracts and macular degeneration. The glasses can cost $15 all the way up to several hundred dollars. But do they work? Elizabeth Esparaz, an ophthalmologist based in Cleveland, Ohio, says the science that manufacturers share as they promote these glasses can be confusing. For starters, blue light is not just about tech devices, and it's not always bad. “The sun emits a much higher intensity of blue light than human-made devices, of…

Knowing When to Cash In My mother's luck was legendary. She once won a brand-new Ford in a church raffle. Forty years later, she won a Mercedes from the same church. My favorite was when she visited Las Vegas. My sister gave our mother $25 for fun. Mother spent it all on one chip, dropped the chip into a giant slot machine, won $125, and said, “That's probably enough.” —ANGELA MURPHY-WALTERS Elizabethton, TN A Goof-Proof Roof Three months after buying our home, we learned we'd need a new roof because of damage incurred right before closing. It was a drawn-out process involving real estate agents and insurance. For months we got nowhere. Then I arrived home one day to a crew working on the roof. I was confused as to…

THERE'S ONE PATIENT that SarahRose Black still thinks about. Back in 2019, the nursing team in the palliative care unit at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto asked if she could reach out to a patient who had been there for about a week. The man seemed to be struggling and was unwilling to engage with staff or be part of any activities. “They told me, ‘He's short and grumpy with us, and we wonder if you might have an in.’” Black isn't a doctor or a nurse. She's the on-staff music therapist. On any given day, she might see one person who's anxious about an upcoming procedure, another who's undergoing chemo and in need of soothing. Or she might encounter someone, like the man in the palliative care unit,…

BOOKS Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club By J. Ryan Stradal Mariel Prager is next in line to run her family's Lakeside Supper Club but struggles to keep the Minnesota landmark afloat. Her husband, Ned, is also a restaurant heir—to a chain of home-style diners that puts places like the Lakeside under. Mariel has a few other things to manage, along with her restaurant and marriage, including her relationship with her recently reemerged mother, who hasn't spoken to Mariel in years and never liked the Lakeside. Kirkus Reviews calls the novel “a loving ode to supper clubs, the Midwest, and the people there who try their best to make life worth living.” —CF The Cat's Meow By Jonathan B. Losos A former Harvard scientist finally trains his attention where…

1. aphid n. (‘ay-fuhd) A sap-sucking insect B algae-eating fish C flowering shrub 2. egret n. (‘ee-greht) A bad decision B small cove C white heron 3. smite v. (smyt) A strike sharply B secure with rope C ascend 4. leery adj. (‘lihr-ree) A intoxicated B wary C poorly made 5. tapir n. (‘tay-pr) A Velcro-like fastener B nocturnal mammal C ceramic cookware 6. duchy n. (‘duh-chee) A land of duke or duchess B savory puff pastry C motorized bicycle 7. tilde n. (‘tihl-duh) A whirlpool B accent mark in Spanish C tiered fountain 8. axiom n. (‘ak-see-uhm) A bridge support beam B subatomic particle C established truism 9. biome n. (‘by-ohm) A biogeographic unit B group of stars C couples yoga 10. whelp n. (welp) A scar B puppy C slap 11. abase v. (uh-'bais) A defend B remove C humiliate 12. epoxy n. (i-'pahk-see) A class of adhesive B type of viral disease C period of history 13. grimy adj. (‘gry-mee) A uninviting B covered with…

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