1 . Two Georgian twins, separated at birth when they were sold to different adoptive families, have been reunited and have TikTok to thank for bringing them back together.

The astonishing story began 10 years ago when one of the twins, Amy Khvitia, sat watching Georgia’s Got Talent in her godmother’s house near the Black Sea. A young girl, who looked exactly like her, climbed up on stage and began to dance in front of the reality show’s judges. Another seven years went by when Ano Sartania, the young girl that had danced on television, was sent a TikTok video of a young woman with blue hair getting her eyebrow pierced. Determined, Ano took to a WhatsApp university group with her plea. asking for help finding the woman with the blue hair. Against all odds, someone in the group knew Amy and the pair was connected through Facebook. Amy and Ano agreed to meet in-person at a local train station.

“It was awkward, it was awesome, it was everything,” Ano told The Sun of that first meeting, adding, “It was weird for me like I was looking in a mirror.” As they grew to know each other more, the two women began to list the similarities they shared and admit to being a bit unsettled by it all. Both were born in the same hospital, but their birth certificates said they were born a couple of weeks apart. Wanting answers, they turned to their families to ask some hard questions and soon had an explanation — both families admitted to adopting the girls as newborns.

It turns out both of their mothers had been unable to have children and were told they could pay to adopt unwanted babies at the hospital. DNA tests ‘eventually confirmed that that Amy and Ano were twins. However, they wanted to know why their biological parents have given them up and if they had been sold for profit. The twins have since been reunited with their birth mother, Aza, who claimed she fell into a coma after delivering her identical daughters and when she woke up hospital staff told her that her babies were dead.

“While Ano and Amy’s story contains a lot of coincidence on their path to reunion, their adoption circumstances aren’t that unique in Georgia — as many as 100,000 Georgian babies have been put up for illegal adoption since the 1950s on the black baby market,” says Georgian journalist Tamuna Museridze, who has been working to reunite families.

3 . Being bored is no fun, especially at work. However, a recent study from the Research School of Management at the Australian National University suggests that boredom may have an unexpected benefit.

In a study, 52 participants (参与者) were given a boring task of separating red from green beans for 30 minutes, while another group of 49 participants was asked to create art projects with paper, beans, and glue. Then both groups were instructed to spend five minutes on a creative task. Surprisingly, the group that had performed the boring task produced a higher quantity and quality of creative ideas than the group that had taken part in the art project.

“Boredom is not necessarily terrible based on my research,” says the study’s lead author, Guihyun Park. “People want to get out of a boring state, so they tend to find novelty, which can lead to unique thinking and bring out creativity.” Moreover, it’s also worth noting that studies have found that not everyone experiences the same level of creative benefits from boredom. Researchers have discovered in one experiment that participants who are open to new experiences and driven to achieve specific goals are more likely to see positive effects from being bored.

Finally, Park admits that not every type of job allows a state of boredom, and it really can be detrimental to some important work. “I would say at safety jobs where you need to stay alert (警惕的) all the time, like police or safety guards, boredom will keep your mind wandering, which is really bad,” says Park. “Also, those jobs require less creativity but much attention to details instead; boredom won’t help much there.”

But for designers and anyone in a creative field, boredom is not something to fear, but to embrace (欣然接受). J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has shared how she would spend hours sitting on trains, letting her mind wander and coming up with new ideas for her stories. This boredom allowed her to tap into her creativity and imagination, leading to one of the most beloved book series ever.

4 . Theatre Camps & Classes in Vancouver

Beach House Theatre

We have a group of creative and talented theatre industry members whose productions offer the campers a cultural, artistic experience at Crescent Beach. The purpose of setting the production in the area is to inspire the artistically minded youth and to expose theatre-goers to the special beauty of the beach.

Place des Arts

Classes and private lessons run from September to June or during fall (Sep-Dec), winter (Jan-Mar) and spring(Apr-Jun) sessions for all ages and skill levels. Experience music, visualarts, literary arts and theatre arts with us. We also offer art camps for children during the spring break and over the summer. All classes and lessons are taught by highly skilled working professionals. Class sizes are based on the needs of the content.

CFA

Our goal is to raise joyful children through performing arts. We believe that an actual professional theatre production is the best platform for the children to best experience performing arts. Every year, we produce a grand children’s musical production and we do not charge the children while there’s a huge production cost behind (professional tech, lighting, sound, sets, costumes, make-up, production meetings etc).

H. R. MacMillan Space Centre

We bring the wonders of space to Earth. Through creative programming, exhibits and activities, our goal is to inspire interest in the fields of Earth science and space science. Lean back in your seat and you’ll experience planets, meteor showers, black holes, galaxies and various other wonders. With its shows and content being updated all the time, there is something for everyone in the centre.

6 . Bullet comments—comments which fly across the screen on certain video platforms—represent a ·modern approach to communication that young people use in cyberspace to express their ideas, emotions and feelings. When looking back, however, they are a good reminder of what was hot or trending in the past year.

On Dec 15,2023, Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform, picked “Ah?” as the Bullet Comment of the Year. In 2023, “Ah?” appeared more than 13.2 million times on Bilibili as a bullet comment, according to Dazhong Daily.

Today, young people in China use “Ah?” to express their surprise and amazement. User Mo Xin filmed himself writing down the ancient Chinese text Hard Is the Road to Shu (《蜀道难》) in one stroke (一笔) and subsequently uploaded the video to Bilibili. This feat (壮举) resulted in the video winning the most “Ah?”bullet comments on the platform.

China’s huge technological advancements have also generated “Ah?” comments from Bilibili users. In August, China made a breakthrough in controllable nuclear fusion (可控核聚变) technology. Its new-generation “artificial sun” Huanliu-3 looks to open new doors in the world of nuclear fusion. Videos announcing this news were inundated (淹没) in “Ah?” comments.

Though simple and easily understandable, “Ah?” provides insights into young people’s interests. Their focus extends beyond mere entertainment, however. They also, use “Ah?” to engage with. commentaries, and scientific discoveries, indicating a deeper, more serious layer of interest. These “Ah?” comments reveal that young people are attentive to the world around them. “Ah?” has become their unique way of responding to contemporary events, using it as a tool to document today’s history.

Every year brings a new bullet comment of the year, but what never changes is how young people want their voices to be heard. Do you still remember which video got you to send an “Ah?” in 2023?

7 . As a young woman, Pei Aimin, now 49, hid her natural gift for writing, hoping nobody in her farming village would notice and accuse her of neglecting (忽视) work and family.

That was the way of things when Pei was young in her village. In the past, girls often dropped out of school at an early age to get married and settle into the regular routines of rural life.

A few, like Pei, however, yearned for a wider world and looked for ways to express themselves. Pei began to write in middle school and mailed her stories to publishers. Two of them were published, one in a newspaper, another in a magazine.

After her marriage, she had to create secret opportunities. Sometimes she would water useless land just so she could read or write outdoors without being observed. Sometimes she sat under a tree, expressing her feelings on paper until somebody came, and she would hurriedly hide the papers and pen.

“Few women in my village could read or write, “Pei said. “All my family members thought it was a waste of time.”

After reading and writing like that for years, Pei took everyone by surprise when she published a book, Diary of Aunt Vole. It is a collection of 365 short diary entries that describe the natural scenery of the northwestern countryside, the daily routine of the local people, and interesting things that happened in the village.

Pei said she hoped the book would help readers understand that farm work consists of both hardship and fun.

Now Pei’s family no longer objects to her hobby. “Although women in the village still don’t read, many have changed their minds about it,” Pei said. “Learning, after all, is useful.”

9 . There is some truth to the old belief that achy joints are a sign that bad weather is on the way. Research shows a relationship between pain levels and changes in weather, particularly for people who suffer from chronic conditions such as arthritis (关节炎).

A2019 UK study analyzed the daily pain logs of 13,000 residents with arthritis. Using GPS data from participants’ smartphones, the researchers found connections between pain and humidity (湿度), air pressure and wind speed. Participants were more likely to experience pains on stormy, windy days and least likely to do so when conditions were dry and calm.

It’s unclear why changes in weather may influence pain severity for some people and not for others. “Everyone experiences pain differently,” says Sin Bevan, chief science officer at Arthritis Society Canada. “There are a lot of factors that could impact pain tolerance, including sleep, stress and depression.”

“It’s a good idea to track your symptoms and how certain weather conditions may affect your pain levels,” says Bevan. “From there you can manage expectations for what can be done on days when symptoms are worse.”

Not surprisingly, there’s evidence that the weather may also impact your mood. There are multiple reasons for this connection, according to Dr Max Pemberton, a UK-based psychiatrist.   “Less sunlight affects your levels of melatonin, a hormone (激素) directly involved in mood regulation.”

Besides, bad weather may contribute to social isolation and loneliness because we can’t go outside and do things we enjoy with friends and family, explains Pemberton.

Once you understand how the weather impacts you physically or mentally, there are strategies you can try. For example, if you’re sensitive to cold and damp weather, a hot bath could provide relief for achy joints. Regular exercise — even if it has to be indoors — is also known to improve mood and is an important part of pain control.