Category: Life Style

Move Over, Monopoly! Here Are America’s Most Popular Board Games

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Jake Valentine | Wealth of Geeks

Nearly 5,000 new board games were released in 2022 alone. The hobby has exploded in popularity over the years. Despite the emergence of new games, a timeless classic remains America’s most popular board game: Chess.

A recent study reveals the top 20 board games in the United States. The list is filled with classics like Monopoly, Clue, and Sorry! But Chess tops them all.

“Chess is a cultural touchstone, with terms such as checkmate being a staple of the English language,” said a spokesperson for World of Card Games, who performed the study. “It has been studied for centuries, and skill at the game is considered shorthand for a person’s intelligence. It has even seen a new wave of popularity in recent years as more people learn of its intricacies. It is fitting, then, that Chess is America’s most popular board game.

“It will be interesting to see if chess continues to grow in popularity in the coming years and how that might impact how people play the game online and offline, both professionally and at the amateur level.” Continue reading

High Wedding Costs Are Changing Millennials’ and Gen Z’s Minds About Marriage

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By Jessica Bishop | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Wedding bells may be ringing less frequently as 73% of young adults find it too expensive to get married in the current economy. A new study highlights shifting attitudes towards marriage from Millennials and Gen Z, with 2 in 5 viewing it as an outdated tradition. These changing perspectives and rising wedding costs have prompted many to rethink their approach to marriage.

Survey Shows a Shift in Marital Mindset

Recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022 revealed that more than 1 in 3 (34%) individuals aged 15 years or older had never been married, marking a significant increase from approximately 1 in 4 (23%) in 1950.

This shift prompted the Thriving Center of Psychology to investigate why fewer individuals are walking down the aisle. They surveyed Millennials and Gen Zers who are currently in a relationship but unmarried. The findings shed light on their perspectives and insight into the factors influencing their choices. Continue reading

With ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig breaks a box office record for female directors

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Margot Robbie, left, and writer/director/executive producer Greta Gerwig arrive at the premiere of “Barbie” on Sunday, July 9, 2023, at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman.

With $162 million in ticket sales from North American theaters, according to studio totals Monday, “Barbie” catapulted past both “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and opened to $153.4 million in 2019, and “Wonder Woman,” Patty Jenkins ‘ 2017 film that debuted to $103.3 million. Boasting a reported price tag of $145 million, “Barbie” also cost less to produce than “Captain Marvel” ($152 million) and “Wonder Woman” ($200 million).

Globally, it far surpassed “Wonder Woman’s” debut with over $337 million versus $228.3 million, though “Captain Marvel’s” global launch was higher at $455 million. Continue reading

Teen workers are in high demand for summer and commanding better pay

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Christopher Au, 19, dishes out ice cream at a J.P. Licks in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood on Thrusday, May 25, 2023. Au, who has worked at the shop for the past few months, said that having a job helps him be more independent and not to have to rely on his parents too much for spending money. Teens willing to work hold even more sway these days, thanks to one of the tightest job markets in decades. (AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc)

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks and camps.

Now, thanks to one of the tightest labor markets in decades, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher wages.

To ease the labor crunch, some states are moving to roll back restrictions to let teens work more hours and, in some cases, more hazardous jobs — much to the chagrin of labor rights groups, who see it as a troubling trend.

Economists say there are other ways to expand the workforce without putting more of a burden on kids, including by allowing more legal immigration. Continue reading

Botticelli’s Venus is an ‘influencer’ and Italy is not happy

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

People watch on a computer monitor the latest Italian Ministry of Tourism nine-million-euro campaign showing Botticelli’s Venus depicted as a virtual influencer in Rome, Wednesday, May 3, 203. A nine-million-euro advertising campaign by Italy’s conservative government that has transformed “The Birth of Venus,” painted by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli in Florence around 1485, into a virtual influencer has met with widespread derision. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

By TRISHA THOMAS and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The Italian tourism ministry thought it had a sure-fire way to bring travelers into the country: turning a 15th century art icon into a 21st century “virtual influencer.”

The digital rendition of Venus, goddess of love, based on Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece “Birth of Venus,” can be seen noshing on pizza and snapping selfies for her Instagram page. Unlike the original, this Venus is fully clothed. The influencer claims to be 30, or “maybe just a wee bit (older) than that.”

But the new ad campaign is facing significant backlash — with critics calling it a “new Barbie” that trashes Italy’s cultural heritage.

The tourist campaign “trivializes our heritage in the most vulgar way, transforming Botticelli’s Venus into yet another stereotyped female beauty,” Livia Garomersini, an art historian and activist with Mi Riconosci, an art and heritage campaign organization, said in a response to the project last month. Continue reading

Emily in Paris: Parisians face influx of Netflix hero’s fans

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

People walk past the “Modern bakery”, Place de d’Estrapade, in Paris, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet.

In the historic Latin Quarter and just a short walk from the magnificent, domed Pantheon, tucked so deeply away that you could easily miss it, lies the Place de l’Estrapade. For diehard, beret-wearing fans of the show, this sliver of a neighborhood has become a landmark of its own.

That’s because this is where the fictional character Emily Cooper, a 20-something American portrayed by Lily Collins, lives, dines and savors French pastries from the local bakery.

The newfound attention can be disruptive for the real people who live and work here, but the show is also igniting a new passion for Paris — and even anti-Emily graffiti has become part of the attraction.

The romantic comedy, whose third season was released in December, traces Emily’s adventures and misadventures in her Parisian career and love life. Continue reading

In final speech, Ardern reflects on leading New Zealand

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Jacinda Ardern makes her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

By NICK PERRY Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday, Jacinda Ardern described in emotional terms how she’d navigated a pandemic and a mass-shooting during her tumultuous five-year tenure as prime minister.

She also told humorous anecdotes like how a European leader so admired the striking hair of Ardern’s chief-of-staff that he fluffed it like a hairdresser — which she joked had helped secure a free-trade deal — and how her mother once sent her a uplifting, if somewhat grandiose, message: “Remember, even Jesus had people who didn’t like him.”

On a more serious note, she urged lawmakers to take the politics out of climate change. Continue reading

When exactly will India surpass China as most populous?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – People crowd a market area outside a train station in Mumbai, India, Saturday, March 12, 2022. Demographers are unsure exactly when India will take the title as the most populous nation in the world because they’re relying on estimates to make their best guess. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

By MIKE SCHNEIDER and SIBI ARASU Associated Press

India will surpass China’s population this month. Or maybe in July. Or, perhaps it’s happened already?

Demographers are unsure exactly when India will take the title as the most populous nation in the world because they’re relying on estimates to make their best guess. But they know it’s going to happen soon, if it hasn’t occurred by now.

China has had the most people in the world since at least 1950, the year United Nations population data began. Both China and India have more than 1.4 billion people, and combined they make up more than a third of the world’s 8 billion people.

“Actually, there is no way we can know exactly when India will surpass China,” said Bruno Schoumaker, a demographer at Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium. “There is some uncertainty, not only about India’s population, but also China’s population.” Continue reading

Beyond the Screen: Traveling to TV-Inspired Destinations

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Alexandrea Sumuel

Travelers are being inspired to visit destinations they have seen on screen. According to a travel trends report, 66% of travelers have considered trips to destinations based on a movie or TV show they’ve streamed. Thirty-nine percent already have their trips booked.

The travel trends report by Expedia also reported that advice from friends and family topped streaming services by only 2%. And with such a significant impact on travel decisions, tourism agencies are dedicating more of their advertising dollars to streaming services.

TV tourism is not a new trend. Some 96% of Americans report they’ve already visited places associated with their favorite TV show at least once in their lifetime. The same study revealed that 78% of Americans would likely go on a TV or movie-themed trip in 2023. Continue reading

In Britain, ‘warm hubs’ emerge to beat soaring energy costs

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Anne Bolger, right, works at the Other Place theater, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. The foyer of the Other Place theater in Shakespeare’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon is a cozy refuge from winter. One day a week the theater becomes a “warm hub,” set up by the Royal Shakespeare Company to welcome people who may be struggling to heat their homes because of sky-high energy prices. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England (AP) — On a blustery late-winter day in Shakespeare’s birthplace, the foyer of the Other Place theater is a cozy refuge. Visitors are having meetings over coffee, checking emails, writing poetry, learning to sew.

It looks and feels like an arty café in the pictureque streets of Stratford-upon-Avon, but it’s a “warm hub” set up by the Royal Shakespeare Company drama troupe to welcome people struggling to heat their homes because of sky-high energy prices.

Warm hubs have sprouted across Britain by the thousands this winter as soaring food and energy prices drive millions to turn down the thermostat or skimp on hot meals. Research by the opposition Labour Party counted almost 13,000 such hubs, funded by a mix of charities, community groups and the government and nestled in libraries, churches, community centers and even a tearoom at King Charles III’s Highgrove country estate. Continue reading