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The best MediaMarkt offers in technology and entertainment, today June 14

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

MediaMarkt has a good assortment of offers right now through its different campaigns, and all of the ones that we are going to review in this list will be available throughout the weekend. If you want to buy a console or a mobile phone, be careful because there is something to choose from. PlayStation 5 by 659 eurosthe console with reader and a video game to choose from several options. iPhone 17e by 849 eurosApple’s mobile phone in its 512 GB configuration. nintendo switch 2 by 459 eurosthe console with a video game to choose from among several options. Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo by 67.12 euros When you add to cart, open design headphones that are quite comfortable. Xiaomi 17T by 499 euros When you log in and with a coupon, a mobile phone with a very good quality-price ratio. Nintendo Switch 2 + Video Game The price could vary. We earn commission from these links PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 recently went up in priceso stores have begun to launch some offers. MediaMarkt has the Standard model with reader for 636 eurosbut if you pay 659 euros you get a video game as a gift. And the best thing is that you can choose one of these: ‘Marvel’s Spiderman 2’. ‘AstroBot’. ‘The Last of Us Part I’. ‘Gran Turismo’. PlayStation 5 Slim with reader + Video game The price could vary. We earn commission from these links iPhone 17e He iPhone 17e It is the perfect phone if you want to jump into the Apple ecosystem without paying what one of its older brothers costs. And if you also want to have a lot of internal storage, be careful with the MediaMarkt offer that the 512GB by 849 euros. In addition, it is the most compact iPhone (6.1 inches) of the current generation and has a good battery. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 With the nintendo switch 2 The same thing happens a bit as with the PlayStation 5, and that is that MediaMarkt is once again offering the console along with a video game. In this case, it is not worth paying for the console alone, because for the same price of 459 euros you take one of these titles to choose: ‘Hades 2’. ‘Kirby Air Riders’. ‘Metroid Prime 4 Beyond’. ‘Mario Tennis Fever’. Nintendo Switch 2 + Video Game The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo If you are looking for Bluetooth headphones and you are not interested in those with silicone ear pads, MediaMarkt has them on sale. Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo. When you add to cart, they stay for 67.12 euros. They are open headphones that offer good comfort by not having to insert them into the ear canal. In addition, they offer a theoretical autonomy of up to 7.5 hours (up to 38.5 hours with the case). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi 17T He Xiaomi 17T It was launched very recently and you can still take advantage of the introductory offer. By logging into the store and adding the coupon 50XIAOMI17TMM before processing the purchase, you are left 499 euros. We are talking about a mobile phone with Leica cameras and a smaller screen (6.59 inches) than that of its previous generation. But if we talk about changes, one of the most notable is its battery, which is made of silicon-carbon and its capacity has risen to 6,500 mAh. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | MediaMarkt and Compradicción (header), PlayStation, Apple, Nintendo, Xiaomi In Xataka | Best iPhones. Which one to buy in 2026 and recommended models based on budget, tastes and quality-price In Xataka | After testing them, Xataka experts agree: these are the best mobile phones of 2026

the countries that are doomed to extinction and those that are not

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Geographically speaking, the world is divided in two. On the one hand there are countries where more people are born than die: as a result, the population grows naturally. On the other hand, those countries where more people die than are born, which implies a population contraction and eventual disappearance… unless someone remedies it from the outside. What this map reveals Our World in data At a glance it is not something that comes overnight nor are its consequences. Behind these two colors hides the future of the economies and public systems of the different states of the planet. The map represents the natural population change during 2023, that is, the difference between how many people are born and how many die based on data from the official demographic report World Population Prospects 2024 of the UN. To prepare it, the UN used data from 1,910 censuses, birth and death records from 169 countries and 3,189 demographic surveys, so this is a fairly exhaustive compilation. Countries in blue have more births than deaths and those in orange have more deaths than births. Migration is excluded from the calculation, which allows us to see only the reproductive dynamics of each society without the corrective effect of flows of people. This reality is important because a country can appear orange on the map and still not lose inhabitants if it receives enough migrants. Note: the historical “magic” figure for a society to remain stable considering only reproduction it has been 2.1 babies per woman on average. That in a state more people die than are born on a sustained basis ago let all the alarm signals go off insofar as it causes a structural problem: the population ages, the population pyramid is inverted and there are fewer and fewer working people to finance the welfare system. Health, education and social protection systems were designed for younger and larger populations. According to the United Nationsby 2070 the number of people aged 65 or over will exceed those under 18 years of age globally. And spoiler: most states in demographic decline are world powers. And in some cases, the decline is practically irreversible. The countries that are born and the countries that die Where more people die than are born. Our World in Data A look at the countries that die returns places like Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and almost all of Eastern Europe. The most extreme case is Japan, where there are twice as many deaths as births (1.2 children per woman). South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan are between 0.7 and 0.9, well below that 2.1. China has a 1 and a particular history: the one-child policy applied between 1980 and 2015 artificially reduced entire generations. It is true that it was abandoned years ago, but the structural damage has already been done. On the old continent, Germany has had more deaths than births since the 70s and France, which was practically the only state that was saved thanks to decades of public aid for motherhood, has seen how that balance was broken. Although this map uses data from 2023, in 2025 France record more deaths than births for the first time since World War II. The block in blue includes almost all of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia. And although the map is a simplification that reduces the world in two colors, Ethiopia should be extremely blue: it has more than five times as many births as deaths. The populations of these countries have high fertility rates and a young population. Of course, this growth is not synonymous with well-being: some of these places combine high birth rates with high infant mortality, low life expectancy and precarious infrastructure to sustain this population growth. Africa is the great demographic hope in terms of growth, which is also a challenge in terms of employment, education and resources. Among the bulk of countries that are growing, there are many developing countries, but there is also the particular case of the United States: it has 20% more births than deaths. Talking about countries that are born and die sounds alarming, but let’s remember that migration is not present on this map, which means that states like Germany, Italy or Spain are not losing population in absolute terms. This means that generational replacement becomes directly dependent on migratory flows, which generates integration, coexistence and institutional challenges that cartography does not reflect. In Xataka | Europe’s brutal demographic crisis can be explained on a single map with one country as the protagonist: Nigeria In Xataka | Europe is divided in two: the devastating map of deindustrialization Cover | Our World in data

the sordid story of the Nazis’ golden retreat in the interior of Chile

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s say you are in a chilean villagethat you are with your friends or your family enjoying a few days of rest in what seems like a tourist venue that is passed off as a mini-simulation of the German Oktoberfest. But, suddenly, your suspicions are activated when you realize that this space is not exactly the resort of tranquility that you had been promised, but rather the gloomy place where very harsh events have taken place, crimes against humanity whose trail goes beyond the town or Chile itself. That’s what could have happened to any of the attendees. Villa Bavariaformerly known as Colonia Dignidad (the name changed in 2005 at the suggestion of arms dealer Gerhard Mertins) and the nerve center of one of the black spots in the history of South America that welcomed the Nazis after the Second World War. Since 2012, an activities program and the hotel have offered enjoyable experiences for “anyone” who wants to visit the town, thus trying to renew the public’s vision of this ancient community. Founded by Germans mobilized there at the end of the 50s, among the historical landmarks of Colonia Dignidadnow Villa Baviera, have germinated a sectarian organization from which it was very difficult to escape, having in its history reports of forced labor for both children and adults, having a leader (Paul Schäfer) accused of having raped dozens of children and having served as a detention and torture center for the DINA during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. From the shadiest cult to a renewed holiday paradise From Villa Baviera’s own website They don’t hide it. They know that sooner or later people will discover the center’s past: “we lived through painful moments that to this day cannot be forgotten. As a way of looking to the future, we opened ourselves to the community and currently anyone is welcome to share our lifestyle.” They defend themselves, establishing themselves, whether willingly or not, as one of the most twisted places to practice the so-called dark tourism. From an area populated by faithful to their cult, restricted and harassed by the leader of the colony Paul Schäfernow a dream place of everything that represents the folkloric supremacy of the Aryan race. Thus, between Chileans and former Germans who lived that dark past and who are now adultsthis tourist spot is organized, in which deluxe rooms have been added and jacuzzis but the wire fences that once protected the camp from possible escapes have not been removed. In these streets where they now drink mugs of beer and eat bratwurst Josef Mengele would have walkedand under the subsoil they found on more than one occasion what the local police of the Maule Region defined as the “largest private arsenal” ever found in Chile. Semi-automatics, rocket launchers, grenades, explosive material, chemical elements, camouflaged weapons and a tank. All this was in Colonia Dignidad. In 2005. And everything that revolves around Villa Baviera is just one of the multiple traces that the national-socialist regime left in Latin America from the 40smoment by which they would organize the ratlines (escape networks for the Nazis, who could settle with new identities, money and property in various countries) and would provide them with either new jobs alongside dictatorial regimes or an indefinite retirement from work. We have seen that Schäfer supported Pinochet from this location, but there is more than a pedophile paramedic in the ranks of infamous German soldiers who later hid on the other side of the pond. According to the Wiesenthal Center, about 300 war criminals and thousands of collaborators from the Third Reich arrived in Argentina at the end of the Second World War. According to the Commission to Clarify the Activities of Nazism in Argentina (Ceana), the list is closer to 200. Philippe Aziz writes in the book War Criminalsthe following: “Argentina was the most inviolable refuge of the Nazis. Recent and serious documents have formally established that Martin Bormann had extremely important funds (gold, foreign currencies, stock securities and company shares) transferred by plane, from November (1944) to March (1945). CIA agents even managed to identify in (1953), the names of the aviators who carried out these flights, the banks and the numbers of these “Unfortunately, the US government has until today opposed the publicity of these investigations that could provide interesting revelations about the famous Nazi treasure.” The Nazi Latin America dreamed of by Martin Bormann And yes, that was Bormann, Head of the Chancellery and Director of the NSDAP since almost its beginning, intimate of Adolf Hitler from his position as Private Secretary to the Führer. Bormann was one of the main defenders of the persecution of Christian churches and favored the poor treatment and enslavement of Jews and Slavs in the areas conquered by Germany during World War II. One of the greatest theorists of the regime and those responsible for crimes against humanity, no matter how much he tried to negotiate peace with the British in ’41. Most likely is that he died in the vicinity of the Führerbunker shortly after Hitler’s suicide, where remains resembling Bornmann’s body were found. But several Nazi hunters have believed they saw him in different American locations, among them, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguaywhere, as we have seen, he had sent funds. Bormann could have been the first of the beneficiaries of ODESSA, that secret institution intended to find refuge to prominent Nazi leaders. These are some of the other great Nazi criminals in history who, following what Bormann designed, ended up in South America: Erich Priebke Erich Priebke He murdered, along with Herbert Kappler, 335 Italians and 75 Jews in ’44. But for him, this execution is nothing more than the product of a war in which they found themselves, a reprisal that would give a lesson to the GAP partisans who in the Rome area murdered 31 Nazi police days before. The person responsible for the Ardentine Graves Massacre He went to Argentina and lived in Bariloche, a … Read more

This is what caffeine really does to your brain.

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

For many, life before the first coffee of the day is a mere procedure. We cling to that hot cup looking for a “shot” of energy that will allow us to face the day ahead, but in reality science indicates that we are not getting extra energy. Added to this is the recent debate on social media and health podcasts that insists that drinking that coffee as soon as you wake up is a huge mistake. But what does the data really say? Caffeine does not give energy. To understand the effect that coffee has on us, we must first know the true protagonist of fatigue, which is adenosine. A molecule that accumulates as the day goes by and our brain consumes energy. In this way, adenosine acts as a switch that tells us “it’s time to sleep” when it reaches certain levels. With this clear, we can talk about caffeine, which is, purely and simply, an exercise in identity theft, since its chemical structure is very similar to adenosine. This is essential because, just like two identical keys fit into the same lock, caffeine manages to bind to the receptors where adenosine exerts its effect, blocking them. It is studied. In the minds of many people there is a fairly ingrained concept that caffeine is an enhancer that creates new energy. But in reality it is a ‘cognitive normalizer’ that manages to block the signals that induce fatigue and postpones sleep debt. There is a downturn. While caffeine is blocking its receptors, adenosine continues to accumulate in the brain as the day goes by, even though we do not feel it as it cannot bind anywhere to manifest its effects. But the moment the effect of caffeine wears off and it disengages from the receptors, all this accumulated adenosine enters at once. And the result is great fatigue, as if all our energy had been stolen. Drinking coffee. In recent years, promoted by renowned popularizers, the mantra that we must wait between 60 and 90 minutes after waking up to drink your first cup of coffee. The theory holds that this allows the natural morning cortisol spike to dissipate and the adenosine receptors to “clean up,” thus avoiding the dreaded afternoon crash. But the reality is that there is still a lack of robust clinical trials that show that delaying coffee changes energy levels or sleep quality. Furthermore, the morning cortisol peak is a natural and healthy process, seeing that in regular coffee consumers this hormonal cycle is not abnormally altered regardless of the time. It has its positive side. It should be noted that the most recent research indicates that the consumption of more than two cups of coffee a day is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline compared to those who do not consume it. It has even been seen that drinking three to five cups of coffee before noon is associated with a 16% less mortality from any cause and a 31% drop in cardiovascular risk. Images | Raymond Klavins In Xataka | Sleep experts agree: “Just a few minutes of screen time can delay the release of melatonin by several hours”

which cars can circulate and which rest on June 13

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

This weekend Hoy No Circula Saturday returns, the strategy through which the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA) restricts the transit of certain vehicles to mitigate pollution in the Valley of Mexico. Given this, drivers who plan to use their cars must verify the last digit of their license plate and the verification badge before setting off. These restrictive measures are not limited only to the 16 districts of CDMX, but also extend to various metropolitan municipalities of the State of Mexico. The regulations operate in the same way in: Atizapan of Zaragoza Coacalco de Berriozábal Cuautitlan Cuautitlán Izcalli Chalco Chicoloapan Chimalhuacan Ecatepec de Morelos Huixquilucan Ixtapaluca Peace Naucalpan de Juárez Nezahualcoyotl Nicolas Romero Tecámac Tlalnepantla de Baz Tultitlan Chalco Valley Therefore, keep in mind that if your route passes through any of these towns, you will also be subject to the rules of Today No Circula Saturday. Which vehicles and license plates are affected by Hoy No Circula Saturday? The central purpose of this initiative is to reduce the number of cars in operation to reduce emissions levels, incorporating a series of particular guidelines on Saturdays that complement the usual calendar of work days. The restriction does not impact all motorists equally each weekend: the assigned hologram, the numerical ending of the plate and the position of the Saturday (whether it is considered even or odd within the month) define who must remain parked and who enjoys free movement. Yes, the limitations of Today It Doesn’t Circulate Saturday They do not remain in effect throughout the day. The restrictions apply from 05:00 to 22:00, which means that during nighttime and early morning hours the restriction does not apply to cars, as long as the authorities do not activate an environmental contingency phase or other extraordinary measure that imposes additional limits. For the day corresponding to June 13, 2026, the official calendar indicates that we are on the second Saturday of the monthly period, which is classified as an “even week.” Under this scenario, cars that have hologram 1 and whose license plates end in an even digit will be strictly prohibited from moving during the designated operating hours. Of course, those who have a 0 and 00 hologram can circulate freely. On the contrary, the hologram 2 have an absolute restriction and will not be able to circulate on any Saturday of the year. Beyond the scenarios described above, there are the following exceptions: Electric, natural gas or hybrid technology vehicles Units registered with plates for people with disabilities All those intended for urban public transport services (including funeral services) Those dedicated to school or passenger transportation Those assigned to public security and/or civil protection Failure to comply with the Hoy No Circula will be punished with a fine that ranges between 20 and 30 times the value of the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), a figure that represents approximately 1,924.40 pesos at its lowest level until reaching 2,886.60 pesos at the highest limit. In addition, the driver risks having the car taken to the vehicle depot. Photo | Max Titov In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

the traditional solution of a town in Navarra to the most dangerous problem of seeing an eclipse

June 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Who has not been guided by the rooms on New Year’s Eve so as not to screw up with the beginning of the 12 grapes? Without a doubt, those sounds that precede the chimes of 12 midnight are an ideal resource to fully enjoy the last night of the year. This summer, in the Navarrese town of Lerín they will have something similar to follow the solar eclipse of August 12. It is a ringing that has been designed for the occasion by the Navarra Bell Ringers Association and that, without a doubt, will make the observation of this phenomenon much more special. And also safe. A new touch for a unique phenomenon. The town of Lerín celebrates each year some days of astrotourism and scientific tourism, known as Lerín Earth Star. This year, as it could not be otherwise, they have been planned to coincide with the eclipse. For this reason, the astrophysicist and scientific disseminator Javier Armentia contacted the Association of Bell Ringers of Navarra to find out if they have a specific ringing to announce this type of events. The objective, according to explained At the press conference in which this curious invention was announced, it was “to unite tradition and astronomy in a way never seen before.” Since they did not have such a ring, they did not hesitate to look among their members for someone willing to design it. The person in charge, finally, was Rosarina Caballín. A simple touch with several interventions. The touch designed by Caballín is simple, with a ringing that becomes more intense as the climax approaches. It is designed to indicate the beginning and end of the partial and total phase of the eclipse. Bells for security. The decision to notify the start of the partial and total phase is not only symbolic, it also seeks the safety of those attending. While the eclipse is partial, if you look at the Sun it is absolutely essential to use approved protective glasses. Even if there is only 1% of light it can be enough to damage the eyes. On the other hand, during totality, when the Sun is completely covered, you can look at it without glasses. But the ending can be difficult to discern. As soon as the first rays appear again, the glasses should already be on. Therefore, warning through chimes is a genius. Ringing bells. This ringing will be carried out through two bells that have been acquired by the Association for this special moment. They do not belong to any building, but will be installed on a scaffolding approved for the occasion. The use of bells in history. We are used to associating bells with religious issues. In the Catholic religion, for example, it is quite common for them to be used to notify the start of masses, both those that take place regularly and those that are extraordinary for any reason. However, historically bells have been used for many other purposes. They have been used to warn of fires, neighborhood assemblies or even the passage of livestock. Some of these touches have their own tradition. It is the case of touch try cloudwhich was used to warn of the arrival of a storm and which in some places in Spain was even accompanied by a verse: “Hold on, hold on, God can do more than you.” It is not strange that Navarra has wanted to recover this type of traditions and unite them with the astronomical phenomenon of the year. An event that in the north of Spainperhaps it could also be considered the most important of the decade. Image | Unsplash/NASA In Xataka | The trio of eclipses that await Spain on the horizon: an unprecedented and historic chain between 2026 and 2028

“Meditation is related to increased performance on cognitive tasks”

June 13, 2026 by usatoday24

Breathing is such an instinctive act that we rarely pay attention to it, since, although we do it about 20,000 times a day, we are in a strict physiological “autopilot” of which we are almost unaware. However, in recent years, neuroscience has begun to unravel the mechanisms behind a practice that has been with us for millennia, such as conscious breathing. to relax There are many techniques that are advertised on social networks, such as mindfulness or breathing control. But here are several questions we can ask ourselves: do these techniques really work? And why do they work? This is where science comes in, which has managed to map how the simple act of altering our breathing rhythm is capable of modulating attention, memory and the activity of our brain networks. The neurological basis of this phenomenon is strongly supported by the work of researchers such as Jack L. Feldman, who has dedicated his career to studying respiratory control and its deep link with emotions and cognition. But now we go one step further to understand that breathing control techniques are a way of communicating with the nervous system. The panic button. To understand why paying attention to how air enters and leaves our lungs has such a massive impact, you have to look at the brain stem. Here is a study published in Science in 2017 identified a small but critical group of neurons in the pre-Bötzinger complexthe true “pacemaker” of our respiratory rhythm. With just 175 neuronstheir projections made connections with the areas of the brain responsible for attention, alertness and panic. This is why slow, controlled breathing drastically reduces the activation of this center, and therefore acts as a way to put a biological brake on the brain’s alarm signals. Beyond relaxation. Although it is what they sell us most on a daily basis, the reality is that when we move to conscious breathing, focused attention is also improved, for example. This is what neuroimaging studies show that the brain ‘lights up’ in very specific areas when it is in a state of mindfulness. Specifically, areas related to emotional management, body awareness and focused moment-to-moment attention are activated. In fact, a study published in Scientific Reports in 2018 demonstrated that eight weeks of meditation based on attention to breathing not only improves performance in visual selective attention and working memory, but also optimizes the efficiency of brain networks. The new thing we know. The latest data is consolidating the idea that breathing is the main modulator between our body and our mind. Different research points to how interneuronal connections translate into tangible improvements in emotional control. For example, a work published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience concludes that slow breathing significantly reduces anxiety, improving medial frontal alpha asymmetry in electroencephalograms, which is a known biomarker of control over our emotions. It’s not magic. This is a very important nuance that we have to make here, since although studies agree that these mindfulness techniques are formidable for reducing chronic stress, anxiety and depression, they are not a miracle. What science here is not that we are facing a magical transformation, but rather a neurobiological training. Learning to breathe consciously is, in essence, learning to use a physical interface that evolution has given us to optimize the efficiency of our neural networks, improve our emotional regulation and maintain focus in an increasingly dispersed world. Images | Benjamin Child In Xataka | The best 18 meditation, relaxation and mindfulness applications to have better mental health

1,900 years ago the Romans knew that going barefoot in a public bathroom was a bad idea, so they wore bathroom flip-flops.

June 13, 2026 by usatoday24

The image above these lines illustrating the article belongs to the reconstruction of the Roman public baths in Bath, about 550 kilometers from one of the most prolific Roman sites: Vindolanda, also in Britain and next to Hadrian’s Wall. That’s where just found a fairly common item nowadays when we go to public bathrooms: bathing clogs, a kind of primitive bathing flip-flops. Of course, these are almost 2,000 years old. The Roman bathing slippers. The discovery dates back to between 140 and 180 AD. C. and is possibly the world’s oldest example of a shower shoe. The sole is a wooden platform with a leather strap on top to support the foot. Come on, a traditional flip flop, what the Romans called sculponeae. As explains Elizabeth Greene, an archaeologist at the University of Western Ontario, more than 5,000 Roman shoes have been found in Vindolanda and about 50 of them are bathing clogs. Most have platforms between 2.5 and 5 centimeters high and while some were smooth, others had geometric decorations or shapes. That they found so many clogs in that search implies that it was not something random, but rather the order of the day. And it makes sense: the Romans used these platform clogs to protect themselves from bathroom floors, slippery from steam and water, and hot from the heating system. hypocaust. Why is it important. Because Vindolanda It is UNESCO World Heritage and one of the most important Roman sites in Europe. The main reason why Vindolanda is a real treasure trove for archeology is that the organic remains of items such as clogs (made of wood and leather) have been moderately well preserved thanks to the layers of oxygen-free mud. On the other hand, it shows that preventive hygiene is not a modern invention: these primitive flip-flops constitute documented proof of the practice that dates back about 1,900 years, which is directly related to preventive medicine and the functional design of footwear. Context. The Roman baths were meeting places: whoever went there undressed and went from a cold room to a warm room to finally reach a hot room. When leaving, he finished with a cold water bath. To heat the rooms there was an underground oven that functioned as underfloor heating. Considering the estimated date of the clog, it falls within the period of the emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, when Vindolanda was an active military fort on the northern border of Britain. Who wore those bathroom clogs?. As a military fort that it was, what was abundant there were Roman soldiers and their families. However, the CEO of The Vindolanda Trust poses in the official podcast of the site a revealing question: why is there so little evidence that children used the bathrooms? (they have not found child-sized clogs), which suggests that access may have been conditioned by age, status or other social norms. It is known that at one time there were mixed baths, but it is most likely that men and women with children bathed at different times. The oldest bathroom flip flops ever known. It is true that there are much older samples of sandals, such as those of King Tutankhamun, from about 3,300 years ago; or those of the Etruscans of the 6th century BC But as nuance Elizabeth Semmelhack, director of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, none of these were intended for use in bathrooms. In fact, the National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) public in 2025 the discovery of two wooden soles of the sculponae type in Izernore (France), slightly earlier than those at Vindolanda, although the official source does not specifically associate them with use in bathrooms. It is in the specific application that makes the difference. In Xataka | The Romans found a macabre and sophisticated way to use perfume: breaking pigeons’ necks (made of glass) In Xataka | Almost 2,000 years ago a Celtiberian soldier visited the most remote frontier of the Roman Empire. Then he returned to Soria with a souvenir Cover | Diliff

Haiti wanted an epic jersey for their return to the World Cup. He has managed to piss off FIFA and make everyone talk about Poland

June 13, 2026 by usatoday24

Toward more than half a century that Haiti was not participating in the World Cup and yet, ironies of history, in the country (and the sports press of the rest of the planet) they are not talking about their players or their chances of success today in their debut match against Scotland. What is being talked about is his t-shirt. About its meaning, its colors, what exactly its designers wanted to capture in it and whether FIFA has acted well by demanding Haiti to change it. To understand it you have to go back to the 19th century. What has happened? We don’t know how Haiti will fare its world premiere today against Scotland (the match is played at 9:00 p.m. ET in Boston), what we do know is that, no matter what happens, their participation in the FIFA Cup is already football history. First because it did 52 years that the Caribbean nation did not qualify for the tournament. In fact, he had only achieved it once. in 1974when he participated (with little success) in the World Cup in West Germany. The second reason is that, even before the ball began to bounce on Thursday at the Azteca stadium, Haiti was already one of the teams with the most headlines in the World Cup. And the reason is surprising: his uniform. Or rather, a detail in the lower right corner of his shirt that FIFA did not like. What is the shirt like? We could see the shirt of the Haitian team a few days agoduring the friendly match that played on Friday the 5th against Peru. The design has also been shown in the profiles of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) or even in the official website of FIFA. Also in publications of Saeta, the clothing brand Colombian sports that took on the challenge to shape the uniform and that at the end of 2025 he was already thinking about the design and its details. On March 28, the company finally published a post on his Instagram account in which the three Haitian team shirts could be seen: one blue (home), another white (visitor) and a third red. A nod to the colors of the country’s flag and two concepts: the sea and passion. Otherwise, the design was very simple: red collar and sleeve ends with a white stripe, the FHF shield at chest level, the Saeta brand… and a kind of very faint illustration, made up of shadowed silhouettes, at the level of the right hip. What does that flag mean? The image in question shows a group of men with a clearly highlighted silhouette in the foreground holding a flag. The key is… What colors does that banner look like? If we look at the t-shirts with a white or red background, it seems that the flag shows a blue stripe on a red stripe, the colors of Haiti. If we look at the shirt with a blue background, the bluish part of the flag however fades so much that it appears white. That last was the option the team used in your game on friday 5 against Peru and automatically led some to see a nod from the Caribbean nation to Poland. Is it really like that? A tweet from the 9th that ended up going viral points in that direction and many other international media (generalists and sports) have jumped on the bandwagon by publishing that, indeed, the Haitian shirt includes a deliberate tribute to Poland. Others believe that if the flag appears white and red (an effect that occurs in the home kit, but not in the others) it is the result of a factory error. In recent days they have circulated on networks voices who insisted on one and another version: intended tribute either optical illusion. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Poland, for the sake of what? If the doubts had been pointed towards the flag of the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, the United States, Japan or any other nation on the planet, they would probably have been cleared up soon, but not with Poland. The reason is very simple: with history books in hand, Haiti has reason to be grateful to the Poles. To understand it we have to go back to the beginning of the 19th century, more specifically to the Battle of Vertieres (1803), in which the Haitian revolutionaries defeated Napoleon’s troops, ended colonial rule and cleared the way for Haiti to achieve its independence. In that episode the Poles played an unexpected role. What role? Its role was explained in 2003 by Dr. Zdzislaw Wesolowski in a speech pronounced in the USA: in 1802 5,000 Poles from a legion attached to the French army were transferred to the Caribbean to quell the uprising in the colony of Saint-Dominguethe current Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is assumed that many fought on the side of France for Napoleon’s promise to restore freedom to his Poland. Shortly after arriving in the Caribbean, however, the Poles began to disobey the command and joined the rebels. At the end of 1803, in Verières, allies were already fighting with Jean-Jacques Dessalineswho proclaimed the independence of Haiti shortly after, in January 1804. What do we know about the happy shirt? When he started thinking about the design, in December 2025, Saeta explained that he was “collecting ideas, cultural references and identity elements” to “create an authentic and representative garment.” He wanted to “reflect the history, energy and resilience of the town.” With that starting point, it is supposed that the silhouettes located on the right hip refer to the Ballata de Viertières and the Haitian Revolution. One of his iconic moments actually came when Dessalines tore the white stripe off a French tricolor flag to create the banner of the first republic free black, an episode that was celebrated every May 18. What has FIFA said? Whether it represents one thing or another, whether its effect is more or less intended, … Read more

the “digestion cut” does not exist and science is clear why

June 13, 2026 by usatoday24

There are some very ‘mother’ phrases that are very well ingrained in our minds and without a doubt one of them is the obligation to wait strictly two hours after eating before entering the pool or the beach. Under the pretext of ‘digestion cut‘, there are many children (and also adults) who have to wait before taking a dip for fear of drowning. However, this is a myth. A popular fable. The concept of “digestion cut” It is not something that is included in the different medical guides nor is it categorized by the WHO as an existing disease. And this is what specialist societies such as the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians also point out, whose expert Ángel Jimeno Aranda clearly points out that cutting digestion is a popular term: It really has nothing to do with digestion, although it is true that when you feel so bad after suddenly entering cold water, you begin to have a headache, blurred vision, fatigue, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain. The symptoms have caused this popular belief that the problem has a digestive origin, but it has nothing to do with digestion. It is more of a vascular process What really happens. If the ‘digestion cut’ does not exist, then… What happens? The answer lies in immersion syndrome, also technically called hydrocution or thermodifferential shock. This phenomenon is triggered when there is a large temperature difference between a bather’s skin and the water, usually when the latter is below 27°C or there is a thermal difference equal to or greater than 5 °C with respect to body temperature. In the body, This is instantly detected by the different receptors that begin to send signals to the brain to provoke an uncontrolled automatic response characterized by involuntary reflex inspiration, hyperventilation and severe cardiac arrhythmias that can lead to immediate drowning, regardless of the state of digestion. So, as we see, it is a completely vascular problem and has nothing to do with having had a sandwich just before going to the restaurant. Matches the food. Despite being a myth, the historical relationship between eating and immersion syncope has a hemodynamic explanation, since during the time after eating, the body redistributes blood flow to the areas that need it most, which at that time is the stomach to be able to digest. This means that there is not as much blood in other parts of the body. In this way, if a person is suddenly immersed in cold water in the middle of the digestive process, and especially if they have been in the sun, the body executes massive peripheral vasoconstriction to contain the heat in the body. Literally, there is a clash between the stomach’s demand for blood and this constricting response, which generates a conflict of signals for our brain, which does not know who to give priority to. The result It is nothing more than hyperstimulation of the vagus nerve that produces a drop in heart rate and also blood pressure. And lowering pressure is not good news because it generates cerebral hypoperfusion, resulting in dizziness, nausea, loss of vision and, in the worst case, syncope. The reality. With all this data it has become quite clear that waiting 2 clock hours after eating to bathe is false, since the determining factor is not the time, but the method of entering the water and the temperature difference. If we look at it from another perspective, if we talk about warm water, this is something almost impossible to happen, even if we have just eaten. The recommendations The steps to follow focus on entering the water slowly, allowing the skin receptors to acclimatize to the temperature to which we are exposing them, first wetting the extremities, the back of the neck and the abdomen. In addition, sudden changes must be avoided after physical exercise or sunstroke, since the body temperature here will be very high and can be a problem regardless of whether the stomach is full or empty. Images | Callum Hill In Xataka | It is increasingly common to find jellyfish on Mediterranean beaches before summer. And it’s a bad sign

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