Approximately 374,000 Canadians aged 16 and older live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) every day—and you, a family member or a friend might even be one of them.
RA is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system begins attacking the lining of the joints (and even other tissues), causing swelling, pain and stiffness. Especially early on, there may even be less obvious symptoms like tiredness, low-grade fever and weight loss. The disease is progressive and irreversible—but remission can and should be a treatment goal you discuss with your rheumatologist. And it starts with having an open, honest relationship with your rheumatologist.
Unlike the traditional definition of remission in oncology, remission in RA is when you have a meaningful period of time with little to no symptoms. It’s something worth striving for, because doing “just OK” isn’t good enough. Make the move toward remission—or help a loved one on their journey—with these three steps:
1. Take stock of the ways rheumatoid arthritis affects your life.
If your response to the question “how are you feeling?” is “bad” or “okay” or “so-so,” it’s time to take a fresh assessment of your symptoms and the specific ways they’re affecting your life.
First, answer a few questions:
- How often do you have flares? (episodes of sore and swollen joints that occur from time-to-time)
- What are the symptoms?
- How severe are they? (e.g. on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 = not at all and 10 = very severe)
- What activities do they impact?
- How does each flare leave you feeling emotionally? (e.g. worried, frustrated, angry, self-conscious)
You’ll probably need to track your RA symptoms in a diary or on a calendar for several weeks so you can get a full picture. Be as specific as you can.
You can also take this survey to get a better sense of the impact RA has on your day-to-day life.
2. Envision your goals for the future—without the limitations of rheumatoid arthritis.
If you had your RA symptoms under control, how would your life improve? What would you be able to do differently?
Think about small ways your day-to-day activities would change:
- I would attend and be able to sit through my child’s entire hockey game.
- I would sleep through the night.
- I would carry groceries into the house on my own.
- I would spend a late night out with my friends.
In collaboration with your rheumatologist, you can even come up with some bigger goals, too.
3. Have an honest conversation with your physician.
It’s time to speak up! Once you’ve gathered information about your symptoms, all the ways they impact your daily life and what goals you have for the future, bring them to the attention of your rheumatologist. That way, they’ll be able to create a treatment plan that’s unique to you and your experience with RA. You’ll also both develop a target to work toward when it comes to remission.
Rheumatologist Dr. Hugues Allard-Chamard likes to tell patients that, “If I am treating your rheumatoid arthritis, we have to set what are the objectives and what I can achieve with my treatment” in order to help set expectations. Adam Kegley, Manager of Global Partnerships at the Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF), also states that, “Remission really does look different for everyone.” According to GHLF’s patient community, including members of CreakyJoints Canada, “Some [patients] consider remission as getting to a point where they just want to be able to hold their child in their arms for a period of time without pain or without feeling something is inflamed.”
You can fill out this discussion guide prior to your appointment so you don’t forget any important points.
Ready to take control of your rheumatoid arthritis? Visit talkoverra.com for more info and discover more experiences like yours with the hashtag #TalkOverRA.
Flora Collingwood-Norris was playing with her new puppy, Stitch, while wearing a favourite second-hand find: a coral cashmere sweater. Stitch, an excitable black poodle mix, jumped up and grabbed her sleeve—and tore several holes in it with her sharp teeth.
Collingwood-Norris, now 37, wasn’t about to toss the item out. “I can’t bear to throw away nice clothing just because of a hole,” she explains. As a knitwear designer based in Galashiels, Scotland, she was used to making her own sweaters, but after she was left with a handful that had Stitch-inflicted holes, she decided to tackle a new skill: mending. She began by reading a book called Make Do and Mend, about the innovative thriftiness that emerged during World War II.
Instead of trying to make the repair as small as possible, she turned to “visible mending,” a trend in repairing clothes that leaves an intentionally obvious fix. Sewers add flowers, bright plaid squares or other small designs to damaged clothes. “Every time you do a repair, it’s like having a new garment in your wardrobe,” says Collingwood-Norris.
She’s even started to repair other things—including a hole in the upholstery of the wide red sofa chair she’s sitting on during our video interview.
Sadly, we have become accustomed to replacing things instead of repairing them—and the garbage is piling up. Worldwide, we toss out 92 million tonnes of textiles every year. Electronic waste is another growing problem: An estimated 50 million tonnes of it is created each year around the world. In Canada, e-waste has more than tripled in the last 20 years, reaching nearly one million tonnes in 2020.
Why not fix it?
The good news is that fixing things can help solve the waste problem. It’s part of a larger shift toward a circular economy—the idea that instead of tossing out items once they are broken or out of date, we reuse, repair or refurbish them, keeping them out of the landfill for as long as possible.
Approximately one-third of greenhouse gas emissions come from manufactured goods and consumables. According to a 2023 report from Circle Economy, a Netherlands-based NGO, if the world switched to a circular economy, we could lower the amount of material we need to extract from nature by a third.
Here’s how governments, grassroots organizations and everyday people are taking things into their own hands.
A “fix it” movement
While mending clothing is a skill anyone can learn, repairing things like cellphones and appliances isn’t so easy. In fact, some products are made in a way that prevents consumers from doing so. Companies such as Apple and Samsung have even been fined for “planned obsolescence”—designing products that break easily or become outdated quickly, forcing consumers to buy new ones or purchase upgrades.
But a global “right to repair” movement is pushing back against our disposable culture. Consumers want to be able to fix what they’ve bought—to reduce their environmental footprint, to save money or just on principle.
Governments are also playing a role in shifting corporations from a use-it-and-replace-it business model to one that’s more repair-friendly. In March, the European Commission adopted a right-to-repair directive, demanding, among other things, that companies sell replacement parts for five to 10 years after their products are sold.
Right-to-repair legislation has now been led in more than half of the U.S. states; Australia passed a motor vehicle right-to-repair law; India has proposed a framework for mobile phones, tablets, cars and farming equipment; and Canada has a proposed bill to amend a copyright law that restricts access to necessary repair information.
Legislative measures like these both follow and fuel the public’s desire to repair, says Ricardo Cepeda Marquez, technical lead for Waste and Water for C40, a global network that helps cities fight climate change. “Repairing is a great opportunity to become aware of our collective consumption and the urgent need to reduce waste.”
Online repair manuals
There was a time when people fixed things themselves or called their local repair shop. But as more items were manufactured overseas and prices dropped, replacing even a big purchase like an appliance became more convenient than repairing it.
That’s changing, in part due to information now available online. The popular how-to site iFixit.com has facilitated more than 100 million repairs.
iFixit began in the early 2000s, after its co-founder and CEO, California-based Kyle Wiens, dropped his Apple laptop, breaking it. He discovered there were no repair instructions available. With help from his classmate and iFixit co-founder Luke Soules, Wiens, who had spent his childhood taking apart radios and appliances with his grandfather, managed to fix his computer through trial and error. He and Soules wrote a manual based on that experience and posted it to a website they created called iFixit.com.
Twenty years later, iFixit has grown into a database with nearly 100,000 repair manuals for everything from electronics to clothing to appliances. And its mission has gone mainstream.
“We’re now seeing manufacturers show interest in making it possible for users to repair things,” says Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability for iFixit. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Motorola, HP, Patagonia and the North Face are selling official parts and sharing their repair guides through iFixit.
“We have this vision of a world where repair is the expectation for all things that are made,” says Chamberlain.
Repair cafés
The first Repair Café opened in 2009 in Amsterdam, offering in-person fix-it help. The volunteer-run network now has more than 2,700 locations—including in Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, India, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. Organizers set up events, and volunteers with repair knowledge bring their toolboxes, 3-D printers, sewing machines and bookbinding equipment to places like libraries and community centres. They will try to fix whatever people bring in, for free, and teach visitors how to do repairs themselves.
“It is a very social event, with lots of discussions about what is being fixed, and about the whole idea of repair,” says Paul Magder, the co-founder of a Repair Café in Toronto, adding that he thinks a big draw is the sense of community. Magder, who has been organizing Repair Café events for a decade, has seen the demand for repairs and the number of volunteers steadily growing.
While interest among all age groups is on the rise, there is a shortage of repairers in their 20s and 30s. “Repairing requires skills that younger people don’t have, simply because they lack experience,” says Christophe Gatt, president of Repair Cafés Paris. “This is why we try to share our knowledge.” In late 2022, the group launched the first Repair Café for children ages five and up, with workshop themes such as tools, soldering and sewing.
In addition to going home with a coffee maker or toaster that’s working again, visitors to Repair Cafés leave with a better understanding of how things function, says Gatt. “And when we understand how something works, we use it better. We ‘consume’ in a more responsible way.”
Fixable cellphones
Cellphones are one of the most discarded electronic items. That’s why Fairphone tried to disrupt the industry starting in 2013. The Dutch social enterprise wanted to show that it was possible to produce an ethical smartphone that could be repaired.
Their smartphones sell for €579 ($850) across most of Europe. Customers can fix their own phones with replacement parts—such as cameras, batteries and speakers—purchased from the company’s website. Installation guides are readily available, and the only tool required is a small precision screwdriver (the kind used for glasses or watch repairs).
Some larger companies are now following Fairphone’s lead. In March, Finnish telecom company Nokia released the G22, a smartphone designed to be easily repairable at home. It sells for less than $240, with repair parts starting at $32 (it’s currently only available in Europe and Australia.) Since the phones can be disassembled, they’re easier to recycle; materials like batteries, which can’t be recycled, can be separated from components like metal cases.
Last year, technology giant Apple introduced self-service repair options. Customers who want to fix their own device can go online to rent a repair kit, check out repair manuals and buy the part they need, be it a new screen, battery or camera lens. And to help facilitate DIY repairs, newer smartphone models, like the iPhone 14, are designed to be easier to open than previous models.
Soon all smartphones might have longer lives: Once approved, the EU’s right-to-repair directive will include a mandate that batteries be easier to remove and replace.
Responsible fashion
A few decades ago, “fast fashion” came into vogue, encouraging consumers to keep up with changing trends by offering cheaper clothes. It has been disastrous for the environment. A whopping three-fifths of clothing ends up in a landfill or incinerator within a year of production. Plus, clothing production requires a lot of water—it can take 7,500 litres to make a pair of jeans, for example.
Responding is “slow fashion,” which celebrates high-quality handmade clothes created locally. As well, more consumers are choosing to buy “preloved” clothing via social media groups, consumer websites or vintage stores.
And, like Flora Collingwood-Norris, people are increasingly mending their own clothing so it lasts longer.
The coral sweater her dog Stitch tore into was patched with bright polkadots, and the elbows were mended with circular sunsets and flying-bird silhouettes. The sweater has become part of an exhibit at a museum in Devon, U.K., about clothing repair throughout history to the modern day.
Collingwood-Norris now runs mending classes on Zoom for people around the world. She also shares advice with her 100,000+ Instagram followers, and published a book, Visible Creative Mending for Knitwear, in 2021.
She’s happy that repairing one’s own clothes is becoming popular once again.
“It sort of skipped a couple of generations, but it’s really exciting to see it coming back,” she says. “It gives me optimism for the future that there is a willingness to change and reassess habits.”
Next, check out these energy-saving tips to save you money this season.
After U.S. cellphone carriers discontinued 3G service in 2022, Canada’s major carriers—Rogers, Bell, and Telus—are expected to follow in the next few years, disconnecting the cellular network that made first-generation smartphones possible. Although the shutdown process—known as “sunsetting”—will be gradual, eventually all 3G phones (and some other devices) will be useless. Here’s how to get prepared.
What is 3G?
3G, which stands for the third generation of mobile networks, first came online 20 years ago. (The first generation, 1G, came to be in the 1970s with the introduction of portable brick phones.) Representing a major advancement over previous networks, 3G allowed phone users to send and receive data over the Internet, ushering in the smartphone revolution. Now, 3G is being retired to make room on the cellular radio spectrum for 5G, the latest, blazing-fast technology capable of handling data at up to ten times the current rate. 5G service is already supported in major Canadian cities, with the rest of the country to follow in the next few years. Right now, we’re in a transition period where 3G, 4G and 5G are being supported (depending where you live)—but not for long.
Which phones will be affected by the 3G network shutdown in Canada?
Although 93 percent of Canadians have a mobile phone, the 3G network shutdown won’t be an issue for most. The vast majority of us are already using newer smartphones that have been designed for faster 4G mobile networks (also known as LTE or Long Term Evolution), which have covered areas serving 98 percent of the population since 2015. The easiest way to tell which network your phone can support is to turn off Wi-Fi in an area with cellular coverage; the mobile network that kicks in—3G, 4G (LTE) or 5G—will display in the status bar at the top of your screen.
What other devices could be affected?
The 3G sunset could have some unexpected consequences for vulnerable seniors, some car owners, and rural Canadians. There could also be some worrying snafus for businesses and homeowners with devices that rely on what’s called the Internet of Things (IoT), a system of communication between machines that exchange data via cellular networks.
Our daily lives rely on a slew of cellular-connected devices that aren’t phones—traffic lights, medical devices, smart meters, and car GPS systems, to name just a few. Many of these still run on less-sophisticated 3G networks as a cost-saving measure, since they only send and receive small packets of data and don’t need much bandwidth. “We still don’t have a full picture of how the 3G shutdown will affect the Internet of Things,” says technology expert Marc Saltzman. “By the time it happens, we hope all of these systems will be upgraded, and many manufacturers have already done this proactively.”
If they don’t, the onus could be on consumers to make sure their technology is up-to-date, otherwise many Canadians, especially seniors, may lose connectivity just when they need it most. For example, personal mobile alarms, designed to be worn on a wristband or lanyard, have a help button that will automatically dial loved ones in the event of a fall or medical emergency. Most newer models run on 4G networks, but some older types rely on 3G. Be sure to check in with elderly family members to make sure their devices will still work, either by consulting the owner’s manual or contacting the manufacturer.
Home security systems may also use a 3G backup communicator to contact a monitoring centre in the event of a break-in during a power failure or an intruder tampering with wires. And some models of cars, manufactured as recently as 2019, come equipped with 3G-reliant SOS buttons that automatically dial emergency services in the event of a crash. Stay safe by contacting your vehicle and alarm system manufacturers to find out if you need an upgrade.
“Unfortunately, it may take more than simply downloading new software to work on 4G—it’s most likely you’ll need a hardware upgrade,” says Saltzman.
What are the implications for travel?
For Canadians living in remote areas, there’s reason for concern that the 5G revolution may leave them behind altogether. Many places can only access 3G networks—if any at all—and if those are dismantled, will they be replaced? “We’re the second biggest country in the world by land mass, but with a small population of only 40 million,” says Saltzman. “It has to make financial sense for telecommunications companies to invest in new cellular towers, so the federal government will need to step in.” So far, the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has announced $675 million in funding to upgrade internet and cellular service in underserved areas.
In the United States, the 5G rollout is already well underway, covering thousands of cities. In late December 2022, Verizon completed its 3G network shutdown, the last of the major American carriers to do so. As a Canadian mobile phone user, you may have already received an alert from your service provider warning you that 3G phones will no longer be able to make calls (including 911), send texts, or use Internet-enabled apps south of the border.
Now that you’re prepared for the 3G network shutdown in Canada, check out 10 iPhone hacks you’ll want to try right away.
My Grandmother’s Matryoshka Dolls
My fascination with Matryoshka dolls began when I was a young girl. My grandmother, whom I adored, had a set that she would let me play with when I went over to her house. I’m not certain exactly who she got it from, or how long she’d had it, but she seemed to really treasure it. I can still remember the way that I felt playing with the little family of beautiful wooden dolls. I was told that they came from a country far away. That felt magical to me and sparked a curiosity about other places.
As an adult, I started my own collection partly as a colourful, nostalgic way to remember my grandma and the times spent with her as a child.
I spent several years working as an English teacher abroad, where I picked up some dolls. I discovered that when I was living as an expat, my little collection gave me a sense of home. Now that I spend more time in Canada, they are also souvenirs of my travels.
Apart from the sentimental reasons, nesting dolls are a beautiful folk art and I love the tradition and history behind them.
Some of the dolls in my collection were gifts from friends or family. A few became stowaways on my own stints abroad, and others I rescued from bazaar sales or curiosity shops here in Canada. A couple of them I have passed on to little girls in my family so that they could start their own collections. Each set has a different feeling associated with it and a story behind it.
Highlights of My Collection
I am a person who is very inspired by colour so I love the bright, cheerful patterns of each of the dolls. That being said, one of my favourite sets in my collection is one that is decorated not with paint, but with a wood burner, leaving it a natural wood tone. The set I love the most, however, is a beautifully made doll with Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral painted on the front. My mother gave it to me for my birthday one year. I admire the artistic quality of the doll, and the fact that it’s a gift from my mom makes it even more special. Matryoshka does after all come from the Latin word meaning “mother.”
Apart from the traditional ones, I have picked up Matryoshka salt and pepper shakers, a coin purse, a Christmas ornament, a set of measuring cups, earrings, and a coin bank. I even made a Ukrainian Easter egg one year in the form of a “babushka doll.”
I like to imagine the journey the dolls were on until landing in my hands. Who were the artists who crafted them? When were they made? How many different towns and homes had they nestled in? What sentimental value did they carry?
I find it charming that much like the Matryoshka dolls themselves, this collection has several layers of meaning for me. It’s a quirky way to combine my interests in folk art and vintage decoration. It pays homage to my sweet grandmother, and it’s a whimsical memento of the beautiful people and places I have visited and gotten my dolls from.
Next, find out why the French cartoon character Bécassine remains so collectible, 120 years on.
Social media is an amazing thing. It lets us communicate with people all over the globe, spreading idealistic goals, offering support and encouraging each other to put toilet paper in our refrigerators.
That’s right. Recently, people on social media are advising you to replace that box of baking soda in the back of your fridge with a roll of toilet paper.
Does this weird trick work? We asked kitchen and appliance experts to see what the pros had to say!
Why Put Toilet Paper in the Fridge?
Ruiz Asri, editor of Honest Food Talks, says toilet paper’s absorbency is behind this hack. “Moisture in the refrigerator often contributes to mildew and unpleasant odour,” Asri says. The toilet paper absorbs excess moisture, along with foul smells, Asri says.
References to toilet paper in the fridge can be found as far back as 2015. But the dedicated use of it as an odour absorber seems to be more recent, primarily in the last year or so, with videos appearing on TikTok and Facebook.
Does It Work?
Yes—to a point. While it will absorb odours, other options are more efficient, take up less space and generate fewer odd looks from house guests.
We spoke to one person who’s tried the TP technique. Amy from AmyandRose.com had some fishy smells in the fridge, and her daughter suggested that she try the toilet paper hack. So did it work?
“In my experience, somewhat,” she says. But here’s the catch: it’s just a temporary fix.
Alternative Fridge Odour Busters
So if you want something longer-lasting that takes up less space, here are some alternate odour fighting strategies:
Baking soda
Baking soda is the go-to solution for most households. It caught on in the 1970s, when manufacturer Arm & Hammer promoted it as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical cleaning. By 1994, the Los Angeles Times reported “more refrigerators are likely to have baking soda than working light bulbs.”
Baking soda is a base material, which means it neutralizes acids. Because most odours are acidic, it can cut off the smell at the source. (Side note: After deodorizing a fridge with baking soda, don’t use the contents of that box for baking. Cooking can reactivate those acids and contaminate your cake.)
As the baking soda interacts with more acids, it becomes less effective. Most people will need to replace it every three months.
Black cumin seed oil
Corinne Segura, a building biologist practitioner and founder of My Chemical-Free House, has first-hand experience with fridge odours.
“When food went bad in my fridge, it left a lingering foul odour,” she says. “I used black cumin seed oil, which has a deodorizing effect to clean up the smell.”
Segura credits this to the essential oil’s ability to deodorize methyl mercaptan, a chemical that produces a rotten scent.
“I mixed five drops of black cumin essential oil with one tablespoon of dish soap and applied it in a thick layer to all the plastic components inside the fridge,” she says. “I let it sit for two hours before washing it off. This worked well to get rid of foul odours in the fridge.”
Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal captures the particles that cause bad smells, just like toilet paper. It’s available as a powder, in pre-cut filters or as fabric you can cut to size.
It functions by collecting the volatile compounds given off by smelly items, reducing odour. Swap out the charcoal every month or so to keep it effective.
Vanilla extract
For those who prefer a more pleasant scent, especially around their food, Asri offers a particularly sweet recommendation. “Soak a cotton ball in vanilla extract and place it in the refrigerator,” he says. “This combats bad odours and leaves your fridge smelling like a bakery.”
UV light purifier
If you gravitate toward high-tech solutions, consider a fridge with a UV light filter. This comes from Alexander Hill, a sales rep for United Kingdom-based The Appliance Depot.
“Ultraviolet light can destroy bacteria, moulds and other pathogens,” says Hill. “Some fridge purifiers use UV light to sanitize the air and surfaces inside the fridge, thus reducing the source of many odours.”
Refrigerators like the Samsung Bespoke line offered UV deodorizing filters as an option since 2021, while other brands feature UV filters on in-door water dispenser lines.
Hill says these filters are particularly useful for large refrigerators or persistent trouble areas, where passive odour absorption might not be enough. Electronic purifiers, he says, also reduce bacteria and mould, leading to a fresher and potentially safer food storage environment.
Crumpled newspaper and charcoal
If you want a deep clean on your fridge or freezer at minimal expense, go with one paper product that’s even cheaper than toilet paper. Fill up a particularly stinky fridge with crushed charcoal and crumpled newspaper. You’ll need to replace the newspaper every day for about a week, but it’s a low-cost way to deal with a foul-smelling situation.
Take that, toilet paper.
Next, check out 13 cleaning hacks that take the hassle out of housekeeping.
My love for old cars started way back in 1961 with a 1951 Plymouth Coupe. Now in my 70s, I’m still in love with antique cars and I often go to car shows or out for relaxing drives.
One of my favourite cars that I’ve owned is a 1955 Cadillac, which was used in two separate weddings—one was my daughter Michelle’s, while the other was for an RCMP buddy of mine, with whom I worked in Ponoka, Alberta. A couple of my other favourites are a 1955 Bel Air two-door hardtop and our newest acquisition, a 1963 Pontiac Parisienne convertible that my son-in-law and I purchased together.
Some of the other cars I used to own include a 1955 Ford four-door, a 1958 two-door Chevrolet 210 and a 1959 Pontiac four-door hardtop. I once tried my hand at owning a newer sports truck, a 2006 Chevy SSR, but I always seem to come back to antique cars.
I love old cars because you can drive a brand new Cadillac and people just think you have a lot of money and snub you, but pull up in a 1955 Cadillac and everybody wants to look it over and ask you questions.
One of my favourite things to do is to head down to our local A&W on cruise nights, park my car and answer questions from the people around about what year my car is or what size the engine is or just simply listen to them tell me about how their grandfather used to have a car just like mine. It’s been that way with all the old cars I’ve ever owned and I love to answer their questions.
Another thing I liked to do is to give my cars nicknames. The Caddy was called “Booger” because it was painted dark lime green; a friend of mine came up with the name and it stuck. The Bel-Air shared the same nickname as my wife, “Snook,” and the Pontiac we just got is “Black Jack,” since it’s the colour black and I enjoy playing poker.
During the summer, there is nothing better than putting the top down on the Pontiac and taking the grandkids for a cruise with a stop for ice cream.
Next, read the incredible story of how one man missed out on his dream car as a teenager, then found it parked in his driveway 25 years later!
Snap. Crackle. Pop.
No, it’s not the cereal—it’s tribonucleation, the technical term for cracking your knuckles. Whether done out of habit, stress or just because it feels good, you’ve likely been warned by someone who means well (or has just had enough of the sound) that it will give you arthritis.
But their warning doesn’t have much merit, according to most medical professionals.
One doctor was so eager to prove his nagging family wrong that he cracked the knuckles in his left hand at least 36,500 times (by his count) for over 50 years while leaving his right hand untouched. Dr. Donald Unger, an allergist, did this in the name of science, though he seems to have been at least as motivated by an eventual “I told you so.” Publishing his findings in a letter to the scientific journal Arthritis & Rheumatology in 2004, he said that “There was no arthritis in either hand, and no apparent differences between the two hands.”
His findings are, of course, anecdotal, although often cited by professionals in the field. But do they mean that there are no side effects to cracking your knuckles (or other parts of your body for that matter)?
Is cracking your knuckles bad for you?
“As best we understand, it seems to be neutral,” says Dr. Erin Brown, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia and medical director of plastic surgery at Vancouver General Hospital. “There’s not a lot of research about this,” he adds, but “other studies have not found that it’s associated with arthritis.”
Despite this, the popping noise can be disconcerting-slash-annoying for some. What is the sound we hear when someone cracks a knuckle or other joint? It has to do with gas bubbles that form in the synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints, when two solid surfaces (i.e. your bones) move apart temporarily, creating a sort of suction.
There’s been some debate over the years over whether the sound happens when that gas bubble bursts or when it’s formed. Recent studies using MRIs show that these little gas bubbles persist even after the “pop” has been heard, suggesting that it’s the creation of the bubbles that makes the noise.
And if you’re one of the people irritated by the sound, that could be because mathematicians have found that the sound produced by cracking your knuckles can reach up to 83 decibels, which is louder than the average radio and similar to city traffic from inside a car.
Whether you love it or hate it, up to 45 percent of you do it, and many describe a feeling of relief from doing so. Some of that could be because after a joint is cracked, there’s a slightly increased range of motion, so you feel more flexible.
Of course, there are some things to watch—er, listen—out for.
Should I be worried about hearing other bones crack?
“As you get older, a lot of us have knees that creak or something. You’re sitting down and you get up and you can hear them snapping and cracking. That’s a different thing,” says Dr. Brown. “That is the bones actually rubbing against each other, and that can be a sign of wear and tear.”
He also mentions that while he’s never seen it, there have been odd cases where someone can dislocate a joint when it pops out of place. But when it comes to basic knuckle cracking, Dr. Brown assures us that if it feels okay, we’re free to keep doing it.
Still, if you’re cracking any part of your body, heed the doctor’s orders—if it “doesn’t feel right, then it’s probably worth having assessed because it could be something else.”
Next, find out if cherry juice really provides relief for arthritis pain.
Let’s face it—dishwashers have become one of the kitchen appliances that most of us can’t live without. And for good reason, as they make cleaning up after any meal or cooking situation a breeze. However, it can still be tedious and time-consuming to dry a full rack of dishes if they’re still wet after a wash cycle.
Luckily, influencer Barbara Costello, aka the cleaning hack lifesaver whose TikTok handle is @brunchwithbabs, has graced us with a video that will save dishwasher owners tons of time. This time, Babs—who calls herself Grandma Babs—teaches viewers how to skip hand-drying dishes from the dishwasher with the help of a genius hack.
Grandma Babs is no stranger to dishwasher hacks. Through her 2.7 million TikTok following, she’s taught users tons of cooking hacks like how to stop meat from sticking to a grill.
The dishwasher drying hack
@brunchwithbabs Life Changing Dishwasher Hack #tutorials #kitchenhacks #parentsoftiktok #dishwasherhack
Rather than spend tons of time hand-drying your dishes—or letting them sit in the dishwasher for three days until they dry, as one user commented—Babs shows us an easy trick to speed up the process.
According to Babs, don’t waste your time hand-drying your dishes. Simply grab a terry-cloth dish towel. Then, at the end of the cleaning cycle, place the towel within the door of the dishwasher and close it. All you have to do is wait five minutes, and bam—the dishes are dry and ready to be put away!
Now that you know how to dry your dishwasher dishes faster, check out the home hacks that’ll stretch your decorating dollar.
We’ve all grown savvy to safeguarding our personal data on computers and phones—meticulously encrypting emails, setting up complex passwords and regularly updating our software. But despite our best efforts, there’s a vulnerability we often overlook that could be sitting right on our desks: the humble printer. Believe it or not, figuring out how to dispose of a printer could make or break our online security.
Recently, new revelations about certain printers shed light on the unforeseen security risks that could be lurking in our offices and homes. But with the following tech tips from cybersecurity experts, you’ll be able to combat the unexpected threat found in many printers and fortify your data against hackers.
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How can your printer put your personal information at risk?
It boils down to the fact that any digital device that connects to your home Wi-Fi, including your printer, stores data about the network on its hard drive. This is normally a good thing, since it allows the printer to automatically connect to the internet without asking you to re-enter the information every time. When you sell or recycle a printer, you should delete this saved data by performing a memory wipe or factory reset, which prevents cybercriminals from discovering and exploiting the info, according to Chris Pierson, PhD, CEO of the cybersecurity company BlackCloak.
There’s just one problem: Canon recently announced that a security flaw in a handful of its printers leaves behind the stored Wi-Fi information even after the reset process. If a hacker gains access to the printer after you sell it or throw it away, they could find these wireless settings simply by going to the Wi-Fi option in the main menu. Canon’s advisory notes that this issue affects several of its printer models, including the E, G, GX, iB, iP, MB, MG, MX, PRO, TR, TS and XK series.
What type of information is at risk?
Data about your wireless settings—including your Wi-Fi name, Internet Protocol address and the password to the network—could all stick around even after resetting your Canon printer. Once hackers find that information through the menu commands, they could easily log in to your Wi-Fi and spy on your online activity, including sensitive information like your bank account login, credit card numbers and personal photos.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of anyone falling victim to this issue in real life yet. This suggests that Canon got word of this flaw from either a researcher or customer who noticed it, according to Pierson.
Is this a potential problem with all printers?
While the current notice is specific to Canon’s printers, it “serves as a reminder [of the risks] to everyone with any electronic device that connects to a home network,” Pierson says. That includes other Wi-Fi-connected printers, as well as smart devices like your Ring doorbell, refrigerator, dryer and even light bulbs.
In fact, you might be surprised by all the devices in your house that access and store your Wi-Fi settings—and consequently might leave your data vulnerable. “Wi-Fi-connected devices have proliferated, and [they include] things that we may not think of,” says Alex Hamerstone, a director at the security-consulting firm TrustedSec. “A lot of low-priced consumer electronics from previously unknown manufacturers have Wi-Fi access now, and I would be more worried about those.”
That’s why it’s important to know how to dispose of a printer and any electronic device that you plan to donate or discard. “Given that the holiday season is right around the corner, this is a great reminder that when discarding old devices, ensure you wipe or do a factory reset on those devices to mitigate data leakage,” Pierson says.
How to dispose of a printer the right way
Before you throw away, donate or even send in your printer for repair, you should always perform a factory reset to erase all stored information. The specific steps for a factory reset will vary depending on your printer model, but the reset function is typically found under the “General” or “Setup” setting in the main menu.
For Canon printers, follow these steps for a factory reset:
- Go to the Setup option in the main menu.
- Select Device settings > OK, then select Reset settings > OK.
- Find Reset, then choose OK.
- Select Yes to restore the printer to factory settings.
In addition, users who have one of the affected Canon printers should take the following steps to ensure their Wi-Fi data is deleted:
- In the menu, go to Reset settings > Reset all.
- Enable the wireless LAN.
- Follow the first step one more time, going to Reset settings > Reset all.
If you have a Canon printer model that does not have the “Reset all settings” function, do this instead:
- Select Reset LAN settings.
- Enable the wireless LAN.
- Select Reset LAN settings one more time.
What else should you keep in mind about printer safety?
Wiping your Wi-Fi settings isn’t the only step you should take to protect personal information stored on your printer. Aside from learning how to dispose of a printer properly, here are more tips to boost your printer-safety IQ:
- Choose a printer model that offers extra security features, such as built-in encryption, authentication, firewall and firmware update capabilities.
- Adjust your printer’s privacy settings to better protect your information. For example, try disabling or limiting the printer’s network connectivity, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cloud services, if you don’t need or use those features. You can also disable the printer’s memory or hard drive to erase your data after printing.
- Enable the printer’s password, PIN or biometric authentication to prevent anyone from accessing its data without permission.
- Keep your printer’s software up to date, which will fix bugs and patch any security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.
- If you are printing documents with sensitive information like bank or financial data, consider using encryption tools or software, such as BitLocker or VeraCrypt, to encrypt your files before printing.
- Wipe or remove the hard drive on your printer before donating or discarding it.
- Avoid connecting your printer to public Wi-Fi, which could leave it vulnerable to spyware and other security risks.
Next, check out the latest scams Canadians are falling for—and how to avoid them.
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