The Mr. Orivo blog
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35 illustrated articles, each with its film. History, the mind, the body and money, explained by a doctor in plain English.
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34 articles
8:48History & the worldWhy Was Cleopatra So Irresistible? Look Beyond Her Face
Our best ancient source says Cleopatra's looks were not the point. Her voice, her languages and Egypt's grain were. Here is how the beauty myth began.
8:27History & the worldAncient “Sugar Mommies”? Why Men Queued at Their Doors
In Pompeii a woman paid for the biggest building on the square and carved her name on it. How Roman women got rich, and the men who queued at their doors.
9:23The mindWhy You Feel Behind, Even When You Work Hard
A good day can vanish after 30 seconds of scrolling. Why comparing yourself online is a loop, how much of what you see is rented, and what helps.
9:31The mindWhy Your Biggest Plans Arrive at 3 AM
At 3 AM the brain's wanting runs high and its checking runs low. Why night plans feel brilliant, fall apart by morning, and what to do instead.
9:37The mindWhy Being Alone Feels Like Such a Relief
Being alone turns down bad feelings and good ones too. Research suggests it helps only when you choose it. Why "I'm an introvert" is not the full answer.
9:34History & the worldHow Ancient Romans Faked Being Rich
Painted fake marble, borrowed gold rings, hired silver and rented crowds. How Romans faked wealth, why they had to, and why laws never stopped it.
9:48History & the worldWhat Were Ancient Men Jealous Of?
Athens could exile a man for being too admired. The Greeks had a word for wanting others to lose. What ancient envy was really about: the name, not the money.
8:19History & the worldWhat Ancient Women Wanted in Men Wasn’t What You Think
Egyptian love poems, Pompeii's walls and a Roman manual for women barely mention warriors. What the surviving voices say ancient women wanted.
8:22History & the worldWhy Ancient Egyptians Put Poison in Their Makeup
Ancient Egyptians made lead eye paint on purpose, and it may have protected their eyes. The same metal later destroyed faces in Rome and Europe.
8:47History & the worldThere Were Other Humans. Why Are We the Only Ones Left?
300,000 years ago there were at least nine kinds of human. We did not simply kill the others. Part of the answer is still inside your DNA.
9:33History & the worldWhy Were Two Children Buried With Over 10,000 Beads?
Two disabled boys were buried under 10,000 ivory beads 34,000 years ago. What ancient graves can, and cannot, tell us about how people treated the dead.
9:09History & the worldA Child Survived Surgery 31,000 Years Ago. How?
A child in Borneo survived an amputation 31,000 years ago. What ancient humans did about pain: bark, poppies, skull surgery and, mostly, each other.
8:46History & the worldWhat Did Ancient Humans Do All Night?
Hunter-gatherers sleep about 6.5 hours and somebody is almost always awake. Why waking at 3 AM may be very old, and the fight over "two sleeps".
8:21The mindWhy Childhood Summers Felt Longer Than Your Whole Year Now
Time feels faster with age because the brain stores new things, not repeats. Why holidays fly past yet feel long afterwards, and the one thing that helps.
8:50The bodyThe Nail Missed His Foot. Why Was He in Agony?
A builder was in agony from a nail that never touched his foot. Pain is not a signal the body sends. It is the brain's answer to one question.
8:57The mindWhy Would an Innocent Person Confess?
About a quarter of people cleared by DNA had confessed. How interrogation rooms, time and lost sleep produce false confessions, and the four words that help.
8:23The mindWhy Can’t You Remember Being a Baby?
Babies do make memories. Growing brain cells and the arrival of language make them unreadable later. Why your earliest memory is probably rebuilt.
9:36History & the worldThe $125 Million Mistake Where Nobody Made a Mistake
A Mars probe lost over units, a rocket lost over one missing mark, a firm gone in 45 minutes. What history's most expensive mistakes have in common.
9:35MoneyKorea and Ghana Started Equal in 1960. Why Do Some Countries Never Develop?
South Korea and Ghana had the same income in 1960. It is not geography, culture or resources. It is institutions, making things, and 40 steady years.
9:45MoneyHow Did China Change So Much in One Generation?
Reform tested in four small zones, a hundred million factory jobs nobody planned, and decades without reversal. How China changed, and what it cost.
10:08History & the worldWhy Did the Islamic Golden Age Lose Its Lead?
The Islamic Golden Age gave the world algebra and the experiment. It did not end from lost curiosity. The causes were law, money and power.
9:37History & the worldCould YouTube Ever Run Out of Space?
Hundreds of hours of video are uploaded every minute. Storage will not run out. Electricity, cooling and water might. What "the cloud" really is.
9:44The bodyWhat Boxing Did to Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali lost his speed to a three-year ban, learned to win by being hit, and was diagnosed with Parkinson's at 42. What medicine can and cannot say.
10:01The bodyThe Hidden Brain Damage in Boxers and Footballers
Brain damage in contact sport follows the total number of hits, not knockouts. What the footballer study showed, and what is still unknown about CTE.
9:55The bodyWhy Breathing Doesn’t Mean You’re Safe in a Chokehold
A chokehold is mostly about blood to the brain, not air. Why people pass out in seconds, why the twitching is not a seizure, and the safety rules.
7:37The bodyA Doctor Explains the Last Hours of Life
A doctor gently explains what happens in a person's final days and hours, what the changes mean, and what you can do while you sit beside them.
4:51The bodyWhy Antibiotics Stop Working
You do not become resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria do, and they share resistance with each other. How antibiotics work and why new ones are rare.
4:20MoneyWhy Your Brain Makes Bad Money Decisions Feel Right
Loss aversion, sunk costs, anchoring, herd comfort and more. Ten mental shortcuts that make bad money decisions feel right, and the one thing that helps.
9:13The bodyWhy Everything Feels Worse the Day After Drinking
What alcohol does from the first five minutes to five years: hangovers, broken sleep, next-day anxiety, liver fat, and how much reverses when you stop.
9:38The bodyWhy the Weight Stops Coming Off, Even When You Keep Trying
Weight loss stalls because the body defends its weight: hunger rises and energy use falls, for a year or more. What helps, and when to see a doctor.
5:36The mindOCD, ADHD and Depression: What People Get Wrong
Sadness is not depression and tidiness is not OCD. Plain descriptions of ten mental health conditions, what people get wrong, and when to seek help.
6:00The bodyWhat Happens If You Stay Awake for 72 Hours?
Hour by hour, what 72 hours without sleep does to reaction time, hormones, immunity and perception, and why you cannot judge your own impairment.
6:29The bodyWhat Actually Happens to Your Brain During a Knockout?
A knockout is a rotation of the head, not a blow to the brain. Why fighters forget the punch, why a normal scan is not the all-clear, and how to recover.
8:48The bodyAre Your Gym Supplements Worth the Money?
Creatine and caffeine work. BCAAs, glutamine and testosterone boosters mostly do not. A plain guide to which gym supplements are worth buying.
10:01The bodyHow Does a Painkiller Know Where It Hurts?
A painkiller does not know where it hurts. Each type interrupts one step in the pain chain and has a cost elsewhere. A plain guide to how they work.
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