lives

How we learned to take care of what lives on a screen

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Thirty years after its launch in Japan, the Tamagotchi is still recognizable at first glance. The egg shape, the three buttons, the screen that barely shows a few animated pixels. Everything seems taken straight from the nineties and yet, we are not facing an object frozen in time. Bandai has continued to push new versions and the product continues to find an audience, both among those who remember it from their childhood and among new generations who did not experience its original heyday. This journey, from global phenomenon to persistent cultural icon, cannot be explained only as a fashion that returns. The Tamagotchi installed a different relationship with a device: in its original version it was not used when you felt like it, but when you wanted it. Caring, feeding, cleaning and assuming consequences were part of the deal, with a radical element for an electronic toy of the time: there was no pause button to rescue you from neglect. What we interpret today as the “attention economy” did not yet have a name, but the mechanics were already there. A Japanese toy that taught how to coexist with digital Functionally, the Tamagotchi is a basic simulation of care and growth encapsulated in a pocket-sized object. The device executes a set of rules that determine the state of the digital creature, rules that the user can only partially modulate through specific actions repeated over time. There is no learning curve complex nor a clearly defined ending, and therein lies part of its uniqueness compared to other electronic toys of its time. The important thing is not to “win”, but to sustain the bond. The interest is not in dominating the system, but in living with him. That logic, deliberately open, allowed the Tamagotchi to transcend the usual framework of the electronic toy and integrate into the daily routine of those who used it. It was not about sitting down to play, but rather assuming a presence that could demand intervention throughout the day, regardless of the context. It’s a small distinction on paper, but huge in practice, because it moves the game from a “time” to an ongoing relationship. To understand why this product toIt seems in Japan in 1996it is convenient to look at the industrial context without turning it into a closed cultural explanation. Bandai operated in a mature market for toys and licenses, and in the mid-nineties it was looking for formats capable of connecting with a young audience that already lived with electronics. Japan, furthermore, was an environment especially accustomed to portable personal objects, from players to consoles, and to characters turned into everyday icons. All of that didn’t “cause” the Tamagotchi, but it did make it more readable. The key is that the Tamagotchi did not rely on a well-known franchise or a previous history. Its appeal was based on a simple, portable and easy-to-communicate idea, reinforced by an aesthetic close to the Japanese visual culture of the time, where the small and the expressive were already part of the landscape. That combination helped the concept be adopted quickly and, above all, shared naturally. Not as a rare device, but as a personal item that was carried around. Although the Tamagotchi is often spoken of as a singular invention, its origin is the result of a very specific collaboration. Akihiro Yokoipresident of WiZ, proposed the initial concept of a portable virtual pet and presented it to Bandai in the mid-nineties. There, Aki Maita, responsible for the project within the company, was the one who transformed that idea into a viable product from a technical and commercial point of view. This double authorship matters because it avoids the easy story of the solitary genius and better describes how many consumer phenomena are born. The initial concept was that of a portable virtual pet. The process included testing with real users before its launch, something unusual in the development of electronic toys at the time. These tests allowed us to adjust both the design and the focus of the product and revealed a key fact for Bandai: interest was strongly emerging among teenagers, especially girls, which influenced the final aesthetic and the way it was presented. It is not a minor detail, because it explains why the Tamagotchi became a social and visible object, not a device that was hidden. If we talk about the name, we can say that it was not a minor detail or an afterthought either. “Tamagotchi” born from a combination deliberate between tamago, the Japanese word for “egg”and watchreferring to an often consulted object, adapted phonetically in Japan. That choice reveals how the product was thought about from the beginning. Not as a toy that is used occasionally, but as something that is carried around and looked at frequently. As we say, in the original model, the device did not offer full control to the user. There was no way to freeze the system or protect the creature from the consequences of carelessness, and that harshness was built into the proposal. The asymmetry, in which the user responded more than he commanded, altered the traditional relationship between player and toy and increased the emotional cost of abandonment. Bandai assumed from the beginning that this lack of indulgence was part of the experience. The Tamagotchi was not designed to please, but to demand consistency and generate involvement. This logic, which today we associate with much more sophisticated digital dynamics, was key to making the bond with the creature feel less instrumental and closer to an everyday responsibility. When the Tamagotchi left Japan, it did so as difficult-to-anticipate phenomena often do: faster than the market could absorb. In May 1997 it arrived in the United States and, from there, spread to other markets, including European countries, in a very short period. Bandai went from managing a domestic launch to dealing with a global product, with supply problems, resale and a constant presence in media that did not always know how to fit that … Read more

We have been lowering the toilet lid all our lives for hygiene. Science has bad news: it is not enough

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Every time we flush the toilet, a small invisible “rash” occurs in the bathroom. It is not a literary exaggeration: science calls it ‘toilet plume’, or toilet plume: a phenomenon by which a Water discharge launches thousands of microscopic particles into the air loaded with everything you just deposited in the cup. A piece of advice. For years, it’s been pretty simple: lower the lid before pressing the toilet button. However, recent research suggests that this gesture, although useful, is not the definitive shield we thought. A microscopic volcano. When the water enters the cup with force to clean the residue that we have deposited, the impact generates bioaerosols. These droplets are so light that they can remain suspended in the air for minutes or even hours, something that can be quite dangerous for those people who have low defenses. A biological cocktail. According to the scientific reviews that have been done on the matter, the invisible clouds we are talking about are real cocktails with numerous biological agents. For example, bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Clostridium. This is something that is magnified when we say that in a single gram of feces there can be up to 1,000,000,000,000 viral particles. And this is something that is magnified in public bathrooms, as scientific studies have shown that bacteria are not only found near the toilet, but also on the floors and sinks, confirming that pollution does not remain stagnant in the air. The myth of the cover. A priori, lowering the lid should be a clear solution to prevent bacteria from escaping, and although it helps a little, the reality is that it is not perfect. According to science, Lowering the lid reduces the dispersion of visible droplets by 30 to 60%being a substantial improvement to prevent heavier particles from landing even on the toothbrush. However, there is a design problem: the gap between the cup and the seat. The finest aerosols (particles less than 1 µm) are expelled under pressure through these slots. In experiments with viruses such as MS2, it has been proven that up to 57% of aerosols manage to escape even with the lid closed. And once outside, their size allows them to avoid many conventional air filters. It’s not just disgust. As microbiologist Raúl Rivas explainsthis is not just a debate about aesthetic hygiene. Flushing the toilet without lowering the lid releases many viruses and bacteria that may even be resistant to antibiotics. But this is something that is greatly amplified in public bathroomswhere ventilation is poor and where there are a large number of people per day. Here there is a high concentration of particles that, due to their small size, can be inhaled or deposited on the surfaces we touch such as the doorknob or the paper dispenser. What should be done. Science doesn’t say to stop lowering the cap, as it’s still best for larger droplets, but it suggests it’s not enough. That is why the tips that we can apply especially in the domestic sphere are the following: The summary is quite clear: the toilet is a very efficient microbicidal aerosol generator, and lowering the lid is the first step although it does not replace good hygiene and ventilation. Images | Giorgio Trovato CDC In Xataka | We have been believing that bacteria are a weapon against tumors for 150 years. And finally we have discovered how

diesel lives, the fight continues

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Diesel, 204 HP and ECO sticker. Aberration for some. Heavenly music for others. Audi maintains in its range one of those cars that is a safe bet for fans of the brand. But, above all, for those who travel long and hard on the road, those who want a car with comfortable and safe reactions and, incidentally, get an ECO label that gives it certain advantages when entering big cities. He Audi Q5 It is the reminder that there are not many of them anymore but yes, diesel is still a good alternative for a very specific driver profile. The company has also renewed one of its best-selling SUVs with a technological arsenal that may include a screen for the co-pilot. Audi Q5 technical sheet Audi Q5 TDI quattro 150 kW (204 HP) BODY TYPE. five-seater SUV MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHT. 4.86 meters long, 1.89 meters wide, 1.66 meters high. Wheelbase of 2.82 meters. 1,910 kg weight. TRUNK. 520 liters MAXIMUM POWER. 204 hp WLTP CONSUMPTION. 5.9 l/100 km ENVIRONMENTAL DISTINCTIVE. ECHO DRIVING AIDS (ADAS). Automatic emergency braking, intelligent speed limit information, parking assistance, driver fatigue monitoring, parking assistance and lane departure and lane keeping warning. OTHERS. Operating system built on Android Automotive. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, via Bluetooth. Two USB C ports for the front and rear seats. Wireless charging for mobile phone. ELECTRIC HYBRID. Yes, MHEV versions with 48v battery. Plug-in HYBRID. Yes, 220 kW (299 HP) version with 98 kilometers of electric range. electric No. price and launch Now available from 66,600 euros. Tested unit 76,300 euros. Diesel, why not? Only 5.6% of all cars bought in Spain They have been diesel between January and October 2026. The image is radically different from that of a few years. In 2010more than 70% of the cars purchased in Spain used this mechanism. It didn’t matter if the car was going to be used on long stretches on the highway or in an urban environment and its ring roads. Over the years, European regulations have put a stop to this fuel, less expensive than gasoline under similar conditions and cleaner if we talk about CO2 emissions but much more polluting if we focus on NOx emissions or in fine particles. This has led us to AdBluethe particle filters and their painful breakdowns. A technology that discourages short, repetitive journeys in which the engine does not reach the optimal temperature to burn polluting particles, forcing forced regeneration which, when not completed, ends up leading to breakdowns. But like everything in this life, not everything is black or white. Firstly, because there are those who not only still like the diesel formula, they also still like it for maintaining that push from very low down. And second because this 204 HP Audi Q5 TDI does not add up in the category of diesel car. The company has here a mild hybrid which accesses the ECO sticker, a purchase value that is almost essential in a car worth more than 60,000 euros. That ECO sticker is achieved by a soft hybridization system that continues to impact less on consumption and emissions than a “Toyota-style” electric hybrid but it is more capable than most alternatives on the market. And the electrical system, which consists of a 1.7 kWh capacity battery and a 24 HP motor, allows the car to move by itself and not only support the combustion engine. It does this for a few meters or during parking maneuvers and is especially comfortable in the latter case when the engine is turned off and parking becomes more pleasant. It can also turn off the combustion engine while it is running when the foot is lifted from the accelerator to drive at full speed and save a few tenths in final consumption. This is where the Audi Q5 shines the most. On the open road is where it achieves its best results because its dynamics have everything we can expect from the brand: a comfortable car, with direct steering and very noble reactions. Especially with the pneumatic suspension that we have tested, which slightly reduces the height with the sport mode activated, improving the possible roll of the body that becomes almost non-existent unless we intend to go faster than we have to on a secondary road. It is also its best side because that is where the combustion engine becomes less present. And at low speeds or when we put pressure on the accelerator pedal to get out of trouble, the combustion engine can be heard and felt. This diesel is less refined than, for example, the six-cylinder inline of the Mazda CX-60which is a delight. We are not talking about a car that feels noisy, but its presence is noticeable during acceleration or in the city where the lowest speeds do not cover the sound of the engine. They are details that leave us wanting more. The same thing happens inside with some lights and shadows although it is the first that shines above the second. And the fit of all the interior materials is good. Soft materials are used in most places where our hands reach, but as we go down to the ground, hard plastics are more present, which reduces the sensation. premium that we should have in a car that starts at over 60,000 euros. Added to this is the absence of physical controls for the air conditioning and the replacement of controls that were once made of aluminum with plastic parts finished in piano black that are difficult to keep clean. Layout of applications on the central screen Beyond the ergonomics of having direct access to raise or lower the temperature or select the lights (which are located in the door collected in a single piece of plastic), these are decisions that lower the perception of the general quality of a vehicle and that, without you knowing very well why, do not generate the good harmony of a few years ago. Of course, Audi is not … Read more

We Spaniards have been calling all donuts with holes “donut” all our lives. Now it is private property of Bimbo

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Cases of all types and types pass through the Supreme Court table. That’s nothing new. What is curious is that its magistrates rule on a lawsuit in which pastries, linguistics and brands are combined, all well mixed in a legal dispute so full of chiaroscuro that justice has taken a while almost a decade in reaching a conclusion. As if that were not striking in itself, at the center of the dispute was one of the most famous sweets in the country: Donut. We explain ourselves. Word of the RAE. If you open the RAE online dictionary and type “donut” you will see that the meaning From the word is clear, at least to academics: a donut is basically a “spongy, donut-shaped piece of pastry, fried and usually glazed or covered in chocolate.” A type of donut. The RAE also clarifies that the term comes from the registered trademark Donut. The million dollar question is… Is donut (like that, in lower case and with an accent) the same as Donut? Does the fact that the first word has been in the Royal Academy’s dictionary for years allow any Spanish company to use it freely or is it the exclusive property of the company that popularized it, Bakery Donuts (Bimbo), owner for decades of the DONUT brand and others that have included the term? Almost a decade of lawsuits. The above questions are more than just questions thrown into the air or theoretical reflections. They are at the bottom of a dispute that may date back to beginning of 2017when a long legal tug-of-war began centered on the word “doughnut.” Around that time, Bimbo Donuts Iberia filed a lawsuit before the Commercial Court No. 9 of Madrid when it detected that another third-party company (Atlanta Restauración Tematica) was offering donuts on its website that, although they were called Redondoughts, were described as “doughnuts.” For Bimbo, this represented a violation of its trademark and it decided to sue. Why’s that? The Confidential has had access to the last ruling in the case, which allows us to understand the arguments put forward by both parties. For Bimbo, the fact that another company used the term represented two things: first, a use of its brand, which has been cared for for decades; second, an example of unfair competition that affects their interests in the candy market. For Atlanta things are different. In your opinion“donut” is nothing more than a word in common use, a word recognized by the Royal Academy. As if that were not enough, he claims that he has not even used it “as a trademark”, but rather on his website, where at the time it had an “insignificant” reach. In fact, the company is dedicated to selling to professionals in what is known as ‘Horeca’ channela label that basically refers to establishments such as hotels, restaurants and cafes. To the Supreme. Bimbo’s claims were unsuccessful in the first instance. Not in second either. As remember Five Days, This last court even recognized that the word donut is descriptive, in common use and appears in the RAE dictionary. The multinational did not give up and the issue ended up in the Supreme Court, which is the one that has had the last word. The most curious thing is that for its magistrates the reality is somewhat different than for previous judges. “It cannot be ignored that the use of the same word by Atlanta may imply per se an improper use of the reputation or notoriety of the Donut brands, with the consequent impairment of their distinctive character and reputation,” reasons the ruling of the Supreme Court, which even speaks of the risk of “loss of prestige.” “The third party unfairly benefits from the attractive power of the brand.” In case there were any doubts, the ruling recalls that Atlanta did not exactly use the term RAE (with a lowercase letter and an accent), which leads the court to point out that the company did not act in a “loyal” manner towards the “legitimate interests” of Bakery. “It affected its renown, distinctive character and exclusivity,” he remarks. An armored brand. The conclusion? Whatever the RAE says, the unauthorized use of the word ‘Donut’ for commercial purposes (at least in Spain) violates the rights brand of Grupo Bimbo. Hence the multinational spoke of a “historic legal victory.” In his opinion, the ruling recognizes “the renown” of his brand and grants it “maximum protection.” In reality, since Atlanta has already removed the word from its website and its use was “limited,” it does not impose compensation or a fine. Images | Donuts In Xataka | There are people counterfeiting Rioja bottles and selling them in Vietnam: a growing problem for the wine industry

soldiers who save lives don’t have medals, they unlock the deadliest weapons

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At the beginning of November Ukraine updated the bloodiest game of the nation, that kind of “Amazon of war” where it borrowed the idea of ​​video games and their reward systems, granting points to its soldiers for eliminating enemy troops. Those points later could be exchanged for weapons and systems. Now, in a twist, the greatest reward does not come from an accurate shot, it comes from saving lives. War innovation. The war in Ukraine has entered a phase in which the technologythe incentive systems and management human resources they intertwine. The scenario is no longer defined only by the clash of armies, but by the ability of a country to transform its internal processes, accelerate the arrival of equipment to the front and keep together a military force subjected to extreme wear and tear. In this framework, the appearance of digital platforms capable of rewarding tactical actions, prioritizing the protection of lives and compressing the logistics chain in a matter of days reveals a country that is trying to compensate for numerical inferiority with structural innovation (ethics are more debatable). The morality. At the same time, this development occurs in a military theater where Russian pressure It’s intensewhere entire cities risk being isolated and where the political leadership is forced to decide between holding symbolic positions or preserve your soldiers for more sustainable lines. The convergence of both phenomena defines a war dynamic in which technology not only shapes the offense and defense, but also the moral and strategic considerations that determine each retreat, each advance and each sacrifice. Amazon and its new incentives. We told it at the beginning, the digitization of the war effort Ukrainian has crystallized into a system of rewards and acquisitions capable of altering the way units obtain weapons, electronic systems and tactical material. The platform Brave1 Market It allows any unit, from drone brigades to mechanized infantry battalions, to directly request equipment from manufacturers that previously depended on slow bureaucratic chains, with deadlines incompatible with the urgency of the front. Their catalogues, which cover weapons more expensive and deadly of the nation, have everything from drones to UGVs, electronic warfare systems, cameras, batteries, motors and satellite communications, devices that are constantly renewed as companies and volunteers integrate new technologies. The result is an almost instantaneous shopping environment, financed by the state but guided by the immediate needs of those who fight. The speed of the model, added to the monitoring of points accumulated by units throughout the country, has generated an internal competition that accelerates the incorporation of innovations and creates incentives to execute missions of high tactical impact. Some of the weapons and robots that can be redeemed in Brave1 Unlock save lives. Thus, on a front where medical evacuations have become one of the most lethal tasks due to the proliferation of reconnaissance and attack drones, unmanned ground vehicles have acquired a decisive relevance. These robots are capable of enter beaten areas by artillery or monitored by kamikaze drones, towing wounded from exposed positions, transporting ammunition and carrying out demolition missions against vehicles and fortified points. Expansion of the reward system to privilege the rescue Companionship introduces a change in focus: saving lives takes a central place in the incentive structure, generating not only practical effects on survival, but also psychological effects on troops fighting in an increasingly automated environment. This priority is reinforced with unit testimonials which have already experienced successful rescues, although not exempt from risks derived from the loss of signal or the need to operate in complex terrain. The strategic dilemma. And as innovation advances, the country faces repeated decisions about the fate of its most contested urban positions. Cities like Bakhmut either Avdiivka demonstrated that holding out for months can inflict severe losses on Russian forces, but also that prolonging the defense after losing supply routes leads to unsustainable attrition. With Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad threatened by Russian advances that seek progressive encirclement, the dilemma resurfaces between resisting to delay the enemy push or withdrawing to preserve essential units in a war of attrition. The difference between holding a position and losing an entire contingent of soldiers is measured in corridors increasingly narrowersubjected to continuous bombings and assaults by Russian groups that take advantage of the staff shortage Ukrainian to infiltrate weakened lines. This pattern has already been repeated in several scenarios where late withdrawal has led to captures, massive losses and the rapid fall of deep fortifications. The fragility of the defenses. The recent Russian advance in different sectors shows Moscow’s ability to exploit gaps that have emerged after months of continuous pressure. The reduction of troops Due to the prolonged defense of urban areas, it can result in an unexpected weakening of subsequent lines, which, if they do not receive reinforcements in time, are exposed to deeper ruptures. In areas such as southwest Donetsk and parts of Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces have captured several settlements in a short periodtaking advantage of both the Ukrainian wear and tear like weather conditions that limit the use of surveillance drones. The possibility that units trapped in cities under siege cannot withdraw affects not only the local balance, but also the entire defensive architecture of the eastern front, where the loss of trained personnel outweighs the loss of territory in a long-term war. A war of technological adaptation. If you like, the combination of a digitized incentive systemthe rise of ground robots and the relentless pressure about strategic cities draws a war in which innovation and survival are closely linked. The accelerated adoption of technologies distributed among brigades, the ability to purchase material in hours and the rescue prioritization Through multiplied rewards they form a network war model that attempts to compensate for resource asymmetry with organizational agility. It happens that this modernization develops in parallel to a front where the territorial decisions They involve the possibility of losing hundreds of soldiers in weeks, where the lack of trained personnel limits each counterattack and where withdrawal or prolonged resistance … Read more

Years ago we discovered that our ancestors’ dreams were not like ours. There are now thousands of people trying to introduce biphasic sleep into their lives.

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It’s two or three in the morning and something clicks in your eyes. You wake up. There are five seconds of disorientation. You try to go back to sleep, but many people can’t. In fact, those early morning awakenings they become a curse. Therefore, when they see on social networks that there are experts who recommend sleeping in two blocks (either in more); What’s more, when they read that biphasic sleep It is ‘normal’ biologically speakingthey think maybe they don’t have a problem. Maybe, just maybe, society has the problem. What is true in all this? How human beings sleep. A few years ago, historian Thomas Ekirch discovered recurring references to “first dreams.” It was not something isolated: he found them in documents that covered not only the Middle Ages but also the modern age. Many centuries of “first dreams” that contrasted with the fact that, in short, he did not know what they were talking about. He decided to investigate it in detail and, with this, he managed compile a series of tests historiographical evidence of the existence of a biphasic dream in these periods: according to their research, the first dream lasted from 9 to 11 at night. Then there would be a period of wakefulness (which is dedicated to the most diverse activities: chatting, praying, visiting neighbors…) and, subsequently, there would be another period of sleeping again until dawn. It’s not just something historical. Seduced by Ekirch’s ideas, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr performed an experiment with 15 subjects who were left without artificial light. He found that under certain restrictions (basically limiting their leisure activities), participants adopted a biphasic pattern. This has triggered the ‘two-phase evangelizers’. And, in fact, it is increasingly common to find people who defend it. The problem is that this ‘natural’ pattern is highly debatable. Yes, in the pre-industrial European era many slept in two phases: but that is not ‘natural’. As Wehr himself discovered, it is, in any case, the natural adaptation to short days (around 10 hours). If we go closer to the equator, where the days are more stable, the anthropological evidence does not find the same patterns. What does this mean? That there are no magical ways. If we review the research on naps, for example, we will see cases in which there is a lower cardiovascular risk and others in which cardiometabolic risk skyrockets. Here we are defenders of the napbut only when it makes sense. The bottom line here is that lack of sleep or poor quality sleep has been linked to immunological problems, metaboliccardiac, psychological and cognitive. Not only that, the scientific literature is full of studies showing an increase in coronary heart diseaseof the diabetes and of the obesity. To make matters worse, social problems they are also on the agenda. The important thing, therefore, is to find a way of sleeping that works for us. And for this we have some tricks. a lot of tricks: turn sleep into a routine (whatever it may be), exercise throughout the day, do not consume substances that affect it, relax and use our physiology to our advantage. However, the central trick is not to overwhelm ourselves. As we said years agothe idea behind all sleep experts is that, we can use certain techniques to help us sleep, but the only way to cultivate restful sleep is to reconcile ourselves to it. Image | Mussi Katz In Xataka | When “dying of sleep” is literal: This is how not sleeping can kill us

Fed up with excessive luxury, social media users turn to normality: creators with everyday lives

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A recent television controversy with the content creator @supaa97 has put on the table a series of issues that are perhaps at the opposite end of the topics we always talk about in reference to the influencers (fortunesluxuries, excesses): can content be created from absolute normality? Is that close to normalizing precariousness? And if it does, is it a problem? The Suyapa case. The controversy started, just as Suyapa says (which is his real name), when he agreed to do an interview for ‘Public Mirror’ to comment a video of your profile in which she told how she lived in a single room with her husband and son, and was classified as a “Poverty Influencer”, along with users who make videos with unboxings of government aid. Suyapa has stated that she is far from that type of content, and although it is true that she lives in very modest conditions in a single room, she earns her living by working as a cleaner and without resorting to aid, so she could not be included in a category of poverty. The appeal of normality. Suyapa makes a type of content closer to normcore (which is still a label created from top to bottom): these types of profiles share ordinary activities (from choosing simple and functional clothing to routines such as making a coffee, taking care of a pet or sharing morning tasks) moving away from the cult of luxury or drama that predominates in other digital spheres. They embrace simplicity and naturalness in both fashion and lifestyle: basic garments, discreet brands, homey environments and a staging that is not aspirational but friendly and accessible. He normcore as a label. This type of content is sometimes, as we say, a reaction to more luxurious and frivolous creators. If it arises spontaneously, because the creator does not ascend the social scale even if he wants to (as happens with Suyapa), or as a voluntary limitation, it is another question where you can talk about posture. That is to say, sometimes normcore is a false normality that arises as a reaction to luxury saturation. A more relaxed visual narrative is artificially sought, where the emotional connection is based on trust, identification and everyday honesty, but sometimes it is also a pose that seeks, paradoxically, to convey an image of coherence and credibility. What did they think it was? What ‘Espejo Público’ alluded to and where it mistakenly included @suyapaa97 was in a different type of phenomenon that we know as “pornomiseria” or “poverty porn”, which has two aspects: on the one hand, influencers on social networks that viralize acts of charity towards people in poverty to monetize these contents through likes, views and donations. One of the best known cases is that of Jimmy Dartswho with more than 12 million followers on TikTok, makes videos with homeless people, testing their honesty or proposing challenges. It is a controversial format that has a large number of ethical implications, even though influencers reward the people they portray with a large amount of money, as detailed this article. Something similar happens with amateur journalists who, under the pretext of portraying poverty and misery, create sensationalist content, a format whose origins date back to the seventies and that again has very complex moral connotations. Yonfluencers: from normality to luxury, and back again. Recentlythe rejection of social media consumers to the exaggerated and elitist display of luxury into which many have fallen influencers has made me think in how the perception we have of this type of content creators has changed. Many of them began as a daily reflection of our lives and as they earned money and followers, they distanced themselves from reality, generating a certain aversion from those who followed them for being a close and identifiable replica. That’s why content creators like Suyapa work, who have to overcome obstacles that are easy to identify with: tightening their belts to make ends meet, juggling time off from work or looking for affordable forms of leisure are some of the problems that the vast majority of people face. In Xataka | The influencer María Pombo defends her right not to read. And by the way, it raises an interesting controversy about habits

We have been thinking all our lives that prices end in “.99” out of pure psychology. The reason was much more earthly

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The omnipresence of the price ending in .99 (today perceived as a consumer psychology) actually has a very different origin. Before the bias was studied and exploited, the figure was used by a machine to not only shield accounting, but also to found an entire culture of compliance, auditability and commercial discipline. The origin. In business at the end of the 19th century, the problem was not so much convincing the client, but preventing them from the money would disappear before reaching the owner. The cash passed through the hands of waiters and clerks without a trace, and the temptation to “keep some” was structural. The solution was not more human surveillance, but a luck of prosthesis mechanics: a machine that would require each sale to be recorded and that, when opened to make change, will leave an audible signal and a verifiable trail. The price at .99 made it inevitable to open the box to return the cent, forcing registration and eliminating the gap through which the money was lost. Trader with engineering instinct. The seed was born in Dayton from a tavern owner who already came from a family with a vocation to invent. James Rittyfed up with losses in his businesses, saw how a machine counted the revolutions of a propeller and suddenly understood that the same could be done with sales: if something can be counted mechanically, it can be audited. So, he returned to Dayton, worked with his brother John (an experienced mechanic) and built the first sales recorder: keys that represented amounts, a visible dial to check the figure and, later, a drawer with a bell and a scroll that left a physical mark of each transaction. Reproduction of Ritty Dial, an early example of a practical cash register NCR: from machine to industrial culture. Shortly after, when John H. Patterson buys the invention from the brothers and creates the National Cash Registerthe mechanism ceases to be an Ohio bar oddity and becomes a compliance standard in American commerce. The idea thus mutated in the industry. NCR not only manufactured boxes: manufactured method. It introduced a sales school, scripts, discipline, metrics, incentives and exported that corporate DNA via its graduates to other companies such as IBM and General Motors. The cash register It was not just a device: it was a way of governing the organization through material evidence rather than blind trust. National cash register from the late 19th century The .99 changes purpose. Decades later, when the reason anti-corruption was already solved by design, behavioral economics discovers that the .99 deforms the perception of value: anchors in the left figure, suggests a bargain, reduces psychological friction and stimulates impulsive buying. The same accounting gesture was now used for a very different war: it was no longer against theft, but against mental resistance of the buyer. The convention is stabilized because it generates economic margin even when the risk of theft has fallen due to digital processes. The .99 mutates from an anti-fraud technique to persuasion toolmaintaining its validity for a reason radically different from the one for which it was born. The device survives not because of tradition, but because it continues to generate economic advantage under a different paradigm. It survives because it works. The truth is that the .99 has lasted a century and a half because solved two problems different at two different times: first it prevented the seller rob the ownerand then helped the owner persuade the buyer. This double utility explains its persistence. If you will, it is proof of how in commerce what begins as compliance engineering ends as behavioral engineering. And every time today we see 4.99 or 9.99 in sales, we are actually reading (without knowing it) the fingerprint fossil of an invention originally created to close a hole economic before consumer psychologists existed. Codifying discipline. Thus, the box that was invented to catch petty theft It altered the physics of commerce: it introduced traceability, professionalized sales, and bequeathed a pricing convention that still programs how we read money in modern societies. A prosaic problem (a waiter who keeps some coins) inaugurated a causal chain that ended up shaping an entire century of business practice. And in reality, the bell that rang to warn the owner more than a century ago, now also rings, silently, in the consumer’s head every time he sees that .99 and decides that “it is less”…than it really is. Image | Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez, National Cash Register Company, Wmpearl, Biser Todorov In Xataka | The psychology of pricing: a gigantic list of strategies In Xataka | Psychology has explained why it is so difficult for you to leave a job even if it is toxic: the sunk cost fallacy

‘Dungoons & Dragons’ lives an unprecedented success stage. And the reason is far from the origins of the game

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Many years ago that ‘Dungoons & Dragons’the legendary role of paper, pencil and dice (among other things) is not a marginal entertainment for rare people with little social life. Recall that in the eighties, the franchise already had an animation series, video games and supervantant books based on your Lore. But for a few years he has made a new leap of implantation in the mainstream. And it has been thanks to content creators and their overwhelming dissemination work of a hobby with millions of followers. A triumph that does not cease. ‘D & d’ has today More than 50 million players registered worldwide. Only in 202o, the sales of official products of ‘d & d’ grew 33% compared to the previous yearconsolidating seven consecutive years of double digit growth. In 2021, Wizards of the Coast entered more than one billion dollars, even when Hasbro, owner of the company, had spectacular losses that year. And that impact has set in a presence in more massive media than ever: one of Netflix’s greatest successes, ‘Stranger Things’, starts its mythology in the games, and its last season bases its argument around the game and “satanic panic“That in the eighties, it was partly linked to the role. One of the best -selling games of 2023 was’ Baldur’s Gate III ‘. And also in 2023, the first adaptation of the game in a long time to the big screen,’Honor between thieves‘, He resulted in a respectable box office of 208 million dollars. The usual success. To understand us, ‘D&D’ has always been a successful game: I remember how in the eighties there were already stores dedicated to role -playing games in Murcia. And believe me: If someone in Murcia considered in the eighties that it was worth dedicating a trade to the subject, there was a considerable potential audience. But the truth is that a unique rebirth has lived in recent times, and is not a product of a traditional marketing campaign: it is the result of a unique convergence between the natural evolution of the game, the massification of digital platforms and the appearance of content creators who have transformed private games into shared experiences. The turning point. Just at the same time that the first content of ‘D&D’ content appeared, in the edition of the game itself another revolution took place: the launch of the fifth edition in 2014 represented much more than a simple rules update. It was a strategic restart that laid the foundations for the digital phenomenon that was to come: an unprecedented redesign process that would last two years and that was revolutionary for its collaborative approach. An open “Playtest” process not only democratized development, but also established a crucial precedent: extending the idea of ​​the community as co-creator, which again settled the foundations for this new way of living the game that shaped the programs. In addition, the mechanics were drastically simplified: where the previous editions required to consult multiple complex tables and modifiers, the fifth edition adopted a unified system based on the 20 -sides dice that was consistently applied to everything that happened in the game. The fifth edition prioritized the narrative on the simulation: field paid for content creators where the basics is to tell a story, and the simplified rules thus expedite the videos. In addition, Wizard of the Coast launched the “Basic Rules” completely free: A free access PDF containing complete rules to start immediately to play. The first wave. The first of these content programs linked to real items (current play in the codes that classify these videos) was Critical role: In 2012, a group of American dubbing actors played ‘D&D’ on Twitch to have fun at home, and over time it has become a media empire with an animated series in Prime Video that already has three seasons, official books published by the same Wizards of the Coast that edit the role game, and a global audience of more than 10 million subscribers. But Critical Role is just the tip of the iceberg of a much broader and more diverse ecosystem. Soon others followed as The Adventure Zone (in podcast format) or Candela darkthat revealed how fun it is to invent stories with friends. A very studied timing. The launch of the fifth edition coincided with a point of effervescence of the streaming platforms: Twitch was acquired by Amazon just a month after the launch of the rules, YouTube improved its tools for creators and Discord would arrive very soon, in 2015. In addition, an open license was implemented and, later, a reference system of Dungeons & Dragons. These tools explicitly allowed content creators, application developers and media producers create derived content without fear of legal problems. The scene grows. Since then, they have not stopped being born channels that spread role games. There are those that have exceeded Critical Role, such as Dimension 20that already do live shows in the Madison Square Garden and that stand out for their absence of prejudices by introducing elements of genres and franchises that go beyond the classic ‘D&D’. And also in Spanish this type of content has grown a lot: Streamers such as Orslokx, Elrubius or Alexby11 introduced in their usual programs of D%D, those who have followed channels as Lynx’s such, The dragon mansion, Within says either Churros & Dragons among many others. It is ironic and significant that a completely analog game system has found its main fame springboard today through technology. If it demonstrates something, it is that ‘Dungoons & Dragons’ is one of the most universal and versatile games that exist. And that, without a doubt, we will continue to see it evolve. Header | Timothy Dykes in Unspash In Xataka | ‘Magic’ is reborn in popularity and there is a reason: franchises and multiverse have flooded the game

The bride and groom have always aspired to share their lives under the same roof. Until the Til and Latin Couples arrived

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The schedule was very clear: a certain age one was looking for a relationship, lived a more or less long courtship and then (with a ‘yes I want’ through) The couple was going to live together. Today it is no longer about the bride and groom to cohabit before getting married (Many never do), but there are directly couples who do not even consider sharing. They do it starting from such a curious as challenging question for the fee: Do you have the love to bring yes or yes to coexistence? Is it true that ‘Casado, Casa wants’? What happened? Than couples They are changing. It is no novelty. Times change and with them society does, Demographybirth, labor opportunities, vital projects, the way of relating and concepts until not so much immovable as marriage or home. The INE is a good reflection of that transformation. Throughout the last years he has registered the increase of de facto couples and Unipersonal homesthe growing weight of those who They do not live With their ‘loves’ or The descent In the number of links, a phenomenon that arrives accompanied by a delay In weddings. Today the Spaniards married on average with 39.6 years. And the Spanish with 36.9. Three letters: Til. The term may not sound you, but reflects the reality of many Spanish relations (and other countries). Til are the acronym for Together in Life (“Together in life”), a label that serves to identify those couples that establish a mutual bond and commitment, form a common vital project, make future plans … but do not sleep under the same roof. The first is millimetrically adjusted to the traditional couple pattern. The second, no. Til couples break the fee in a fundamental aspect: coexistence. “The classic coexistence models are redefining and what a few decades ago could be seen as an exception, now socially accepted,” Explain Ana Domínguez, couples therapist, Welife. “Now they call it Til, but it is true that in consultation we see couples who, for different reasons, do not live together but maintain an affective bond and a deep level of commitment.” What characterizes them? The details may vary depending on the source that is consulted, but usually the TIL couples are characterized by two key features: the first is that their members do not share a roof; The second, that this lack of coexistence is not the result of a weaker level of commitment than those who wake up, eat and do their routine in the same house. In fact, often, the lack of prolonged coexistence is not even the result of a decision or a vital plan, but rather a ‘quo’ status established by couples to adapt to certain conditions or needs. And of course that lack of coexistence does not mean that the couple makes decisions for the team in team. “These types of couples do not choose non -coexistence as a permanent form, but assume it as a transitory or inevitable situation, maintaining a strong emotional connection, mutual support and joint planning of the future,” insists The expert. There is link and there is commitment, but there is a common roof. Different yes, simple no. Domínguez acknowledges that, as well as coexistence entails their challenges for couples, til relations face their own challenges, such as “the lack of shared daily life.” “Coexistence allows routines, small gestures and day to day, strengthens the connection. By not living together, those spontaneous moments are lost,” The therapist reflects. In fact, to compensate him encouraged to create rituals that can be kept at a distance. Of course, not everything is challenges. “When they are together, these couples spend quality time and are dedicated to enjoying each other without the disagreements of coexistence undergoing the relationship,” They point to The world From the Center for Psychology Mess Sana, which warns: “When this model of coexistence is not a free choice or born of fear and reserves, the relationship does not last long.” Another key term: Lat. To understand the phenomenon well we must become familiar with another concept: lat, acronym for Living Apart Together, “Living separate, but together.” The difference Between the til and lat relationships it is subtle and not all The definitions They draw it equally, but it is still important and above all it helps us to understand how relationships are being diversified. Both realities share a common feature, the lack of coexistence, but they differ in the vital approach of its members. There is who says That in Latin couples the commitment is more flexible, but its main characteristic is that the two parties live with an autonomy to which they do not consider renouncing. Without that, of course, suppose the couple having to break. Coexistence is simply not sought, even if there is nothing external that prevents it. “We look forward to it”. As an example is always understood that a definition is good to take an eye to the report What a few weeks ago dedicated The Sydney Morning Herald To Latin Couples, relations formed by people who have decided that a romance does not have to derive yes or yes in coexistence. Among others, its author chatted with Judy Wolff and Alex Ruschanov, who have been without cohabitation for about three decades, except in the occasions in which they have had to take care of each other by convalescences. “Every time we meet is like an event. It’s something we expect with illusion and something beautiful.” Both are around 70 years. She is a retired library. He a former merchant who shortly before knowing her, about 30 years ago, has just divorced and lived with two children who still went to school. “I remember telling Alex: ‘Look, you’re dating with me, not with my children.’ I wanted that to be apart,” He tells him. She had also shared a roof with an ex -partner for more than a decade, an experience that came out without wanting to repeat. Love = coexistence? That is … Read more

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