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Stuff.tv
08-08-2025
- Stuff.tv
Is Dyson about to launch an electric toothbrush?
Has a gossip email newsletter just leaked details of an upcoming Dyson electric toothbrush? In between its usual banter, the notorious UK-based newsletter Popbitch this week claimed that 'Dyson's soon-to-launch new product [is] a toothbrush'. Now, Dyson products don't often get leaked but patents do emerge from time to time – we saw patent details of the 2023 Dyson Zone back in 2020 (reported by Bloomberg) – and it was originally filed two years before that in 2018. And, hey presto, we have seen patent details of a Dyson toothbrush with a built-in flosser emerge before, reported by Gizmodo back in 2021. Yes, a built-in flosser. But while there's been precious little on the subject since, it wouldn't be a surprise that it's taken so long to come to market. Dyson has a long history of iterating hundreds – if not thousands – of times on its new products and so spending a long time perfecting them. I've seen that first-hand from various prototype parts of other products located at Dyson's UK HQ in Malmsbury, Wiltshire, UK. Not least its most notorious unreleased project, the Dyson electric car, which is parked up beside a cafe. However, Dyson's most confidential products are developed in a mirrored building called D9 – and people like me are very much not allowed in there. In the 2021 electric toothbrush patent filed at the US Patent Office, the product shown was certainly very different from other toothbrushes and probably doesn't reflect the final design of any upcoming product. Because of the tech involved, there was a bulb halfway up the tube reminiscent of a space telescope. The patent described this as a refillable reservoir for 'storing a working fluid' that would be injected into the mouth, presumably during brushing, to presumably clean in the same way a water-based flosser device would. The patent also suggested that the toothbrush could be able to detect when it moves over gaps in the teeth and therefore when it would need to floss, which would be an upgrade on your standard electric toothbrush for sure. And there's even earlier reference to either the same patent or a related one in this Evening Standard article from 2016. So if the Dyson electric toothbrush does launch at some point later in the year, it will most likely have been in development for a decade plus.
The Independent
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and go beyond the game with exclusive insights
The football fixture calendar is relentless, and the news cycle feels nonstop – spanning everything from results and matches to tactics, competitions, transfers, politics, global expansion, and even the geopolitics and greater forces now reshaping how the very sport is played. In short, there's a lot to keep up with – and to make sense of. That's where my new newsletter Inside Football comes in. Landing in your inbox every Monday and Friday, Inside Football delivers insight, opinion, and the under-the-radar details you love. Think of my newsletter as the game's answer to Popbitch: a space to go deeper and share what I'm seeing and hearing as I cover the game around the world. Packed with snippets of behind-the-scenes gossip and updates from my reporting trips, Inside Football subscribers will have a backstage pass as I cover the 2025/2026 season, the 2026 World Cup and more. On Mondays, subscribers will get a comprehensive debrief of the weekend's action, including an exclusive column reflecting on what truly mattered in the Premier League beyond the obvious talking points. The Friday edition will offer further reporting and insights from inside the game, along with a bonus column that delves into the real story behind a major football theme. Each week, you'll also have the opportunity to ask me questions directly and try your hand at a twice-weekly football brainteaser to test your knowledge.
Buzz Feed
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Gwyneth Paltrow Was Asked About The Wild Rumor That A Famous Friend Once 'Soiled A Room' In One Of Her Homes, And I Kind Of Can't Believe This Was Her Response
Gwyneth Paltrow just broke her silence on an incredibly wild rumor. And if I had to hear this, then you do, too. Last summer, whispers were circulating that a famous guest had a messy accident in one of Gwyneth's homes… and yes, I'm referring to what you think I am. To be blunt, the person allegedly 'catastrophically shat themselves in bed while staying there, then fled back to the city before they had to face the music.' Instagram: @gwynethpaltrow According to some thorough research published by New York Magazine, the rumor began spreading among circles in the Hamptons before making its way to gossip site Popbitch, then Deuxmoi, followed by the Daily Mail (as you'd expect). Before long, anonymous sources were alleging that the person at the center of the mess was friend to the stars, Derek Blasberg, who has long been known as one of Gwyneth's close pals. Before going any further, we must clarify that neither Derek nor Gwyneth have ever confirmed or denied the rumor, which is based entirely on speculation and anonymous sources. However, the chatter wasn't just limited to gossip sites and tabloid media. In fact, the rumor was so widespread that in July last year, Variety published a story titled, 'Gwyneth Paltrow, Derek Blasberg and the Price of Bulls—,' in which an insider corroborated the same version of events. Now, whatever you or I might think about the rumor, Vanity Fair seemingly thought it important enough to directly ask Gwyneth about it in her recent cover interview. And, let me just say, her response is…interesting. To be clear, this is what the journalist Michelle Ruiz wrote about the exchange: 'I broach a piece of gossip that somehow became very public, when a socialite houseguest supposedly soiled a room in one of her properties, possibly the one in which we sit.' At this point, things apparently became very awkward, and Gwyneth simply replied: 'I understand…and I also, like, am just not going to…,' before trailing off with 'existential cringe.' And if you're thinking what I'm thinking, then you're right, because the writer pointed out the same thing: She didn't deny it (which could mean nothing). For emphasis, this rumor has never been confirmed, and, for what it's worth, Gwyneth and Derek still follow each other on Instagram. So, yeah. You can find Gwyneth's full Vanity Fair cover interview here.
The Guardian
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Everybody does it': Why we all love a good gossip, from The White Lotus, to books and podcasts
In the latest series of The White Lotus, childhood best friends Laurie, Kate and Jaclyn arrive at a luxury Thai hotel for a girls' holiday. The trio appears to have a perfect dynamic, but on the first night, two friends descend into a gossiping session about the third, crystallising unspoken tensions in the group. Gossip drives all kinds of dramas – it's the central force behind every series of Bridgerton, the beating heart of teen drama Gossip Girl. Where would Jane Austen's characters, or even Hilary Mantel's imagining of Thomas Cromwell, be without insider secrets? But there may be nothing more compelling than a real-life secret – and now insider information as a form of entertainment is big business. The podcast The Rest is Entertainment, hosted by Marina Hyde and Richard Osman, which offers readers a peek behind the showbiz curtain, is downloaded 4.5m times a month, according to its producer, Goalhanger. Each week one episode answers reader queries about what goes on behind the scenes – and there's no shortage of questions, according to lead producer Neil Fearn, who says Osman and Hyde have 'years of experience' in TV and media and connections to other insiders. 'It gives a watercooler moment,' Fearn says. 'The number of people I hear who say they've tried to pass off stuff they've heard on the show as their own, then will be called out on it by someone else who heard the show.' He adds: 'The distance between celebrities and Joe Public is becoming smaller and smaller. The mechanisms of the media, all those things we take for granted, suddenly we can get these questions answered.' From queries about how the Countdown clock works to the scoop on so-called 'villain edits' in reality TV, the show has already covered much ground. It is not the only one, either: the podcast Normal Gossip, which began in 2022, discusses tales submitted by listeners about the lives of people the hosts and audience have never met. Its creator, Kelsey McKinney, published a book last month, You Didn't Hear This From Me: Notes on the Art of Gossip. The intimacy of podcasts can mirror the act of gossiping with friends. 'There are certain podcasts where the whole premise is: let us invite you in and show you behind the velvet rope,' says Chris Lochery, the former editor of the gossip newsletter Popbitch, which had a podcast offshoot, Allegedly. 'You're welcomed into that world: it makes you feel like one of the in-crowd.' When Popbitch, which shares secrets from the worlds of music, TV, sports, media and beyond, started a couple of decades ago, it was rare to get a peek behind the curtain, Lochery says. Now that we have more direct exposure to public figures, 'there's a base level of entitlement to the inner lives and thoughts and workings of the industry. 'Revealing these inner workings hasn't led to a sating of that hunger – it's created an even bigger hunger.' There are different definitions of gossip, but 'everybody does it', says Dr Kathryn Waddington, emerita fellow in psychology at the University of Westminster and author of Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview. 'There's an evolutionary psychology argument that language evolved to enable people to gossip. Gossip is a form of knowledge. It's about being in the know.' Something qualifies as gossip when it is 'evaluative', says Waddington. 'There is a judgment of something: is it good, is it bad? Is it right, is it wrong?' In past research, she compared men and women's experiences of gossip and found 'women were more comfortable with the term'. Men still gossiped, but framed it differently. 'Men would say, 'I'm not one to gossip, but … ',' Waddington says. 'Historically, gossip has been seen as pejorative, negative 'women's talk'. But the tide is turning, which I think is really good.' Comedians Alison Spittle and Poppy Hillstead, who are launching a new gossip-based podcast, Magazine Party, in May, agree. Spittle says: 'Sikisa [the lawyer and standup comedian] has a joke about this – 'When women gossip it's looked down on, but when men gossip, it's a podcast.' And that is so true. Anything women do is looked down upon or domesticated. But men do talk about their lives so much.' Lochery has a broad definition of gossip. 'It's very useful and vital in certain circumstances, especially when there's a concerted effort to try to hush things up. It can also be fun, cathartic and interesting. It can be as simple as having an interest in people and fun stories, and the illicit thrill of knowing something that you weren't supposed to know.' Audiences love stories even when they don't know the people they are about. Popbitch and other outlets run 'blind items' – stories where the central character is unnamed. 'Sometimes it's a story you can't fully legally get over the line,' Lochery says. 'Sometimes it's just a fun story where you don't want to embarrass the person involved.' Hillstead and Spittle's podcast will be fuelled by the gossip of strangers, inspired by secrets-laden magazines such as Take a Break, Chat and That's Life!. They love these publications because 'it puts it all into perspective', says Spittle. 'I might not have any money, but at least my mum isn't having an affair with a ghost.' There's often darkness, but it feels cathartic: 'It's like Loose Women if Shane Meadows directed it.' They are both veterans of the form: Hillstead worked on the podcast Gossipmongers, while Spittle hosted BBC Sounds' Wheel of Misfortune. All three shows ask the public to send in their own gossip, which is passed on to listeners. On Magazine Party, the pair will be sharing gossip about themselves too. There's something liberating about this, says Spittle: 'When you self-gossip, you free yourself from the judgment of your peers. We're all sharing things together, holding each other's hands and saying: isn't it mad that we do this? It's a reciprocal thing.' There can be helpful explorations of what's ethical and normal, Spittle says. While one person might share gossip thinking it's scandalous, when others disagree, it can start conversations about what's socially acceptable. Hillstead says: 'It's collective consciousness. Reflecting on things. And sometimes being like: actually, this is fine.' Gossip serves many purposes, says Waddington. 'One of the evolutionary functions of gossip is: who can you trust, who's a freeloader, who's a bullshitter? Think about the #MeToo movement: it can have a protective function in terms of who you can and can't trust.' In more serious cases, gossip should prompt action, Waddington believes – hearing open secrets about something unjust could be the catalyst to change. 'Often, things like this start small. If there is a grain of truth in the gossip and you can get to that truth and expose it, that's an example of good gossip.' But there's 'bad' gossip too, which can ruin reputations unjustly. There are responsibilities attached to spreading it. 'As a professional gossip, you've got to think carefully about [whether] personal animus is driving something, what is mean-spirited, what is not in the public interest,' says Lochery. 'But then, there should be a record of some of these things, so that in 20 years you aren't blindsided by another P Diddy or R Kelly, or 100 names I could say … Sometimes there's no real way to get that out, aside from gossip.' No topics are off limits on The Rest Is Entertainment, says Fearn, with the show covering recent allegations against presenter Gregg Wallace and TV chef Gino d'Acampo, and the use of NDAs by rich people, but occasionally there are challenges. 'The only time we can't answer a question is when there are certain legalities,' Fearn says. 'There are certain things we might talk about … then questions come in, but it's too difficult to answer. But generally everything is fair game, because we never feel we're looking down on anything. There's no snobbery.' On the lighter side, 'a positive function of gossip is 'social glue',' says Waddington. 'If you're starved of gossip, you haven't got the day-to-day information that keeps people together. It's a reflection of our interest in other people, that bit that makes us human.' Lochery points to patently silly stories, such as a rumour about the actor Paul Mescal running away at the end of dates. 'People didn't seem to be sharing it with malice or conviction that it was true: it was just a funny urban legend.' Hillstead recalls a tale of a male comedian cooking two roast dinners in the same day to seduce two different women. 'People would've been sharing this stuff around a campfire. This is our version of that, British folk tales.'
