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Buzz Feed
03-05-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
These Motion Sickness Glasses Actually Work. An Expert Explains Why.
At age 7, while bumping along in the back of my parent's VW bus and thoroughly immersed in Roald Dahl's 'The BFG,' I was struck with an overwhelming wave of nausea that culminated in tossing my cookies on the side of the interstate highway. Thus began my very long and arduous relationship with motion sickness. Fast-forward to recent adulthood, when I came across some bizarre-looking glasses that promised to deter motion sickness thanks to the magic of their cartoonish shape. My unfortunate and highly common condition made me the perfect candidate to put these glasses to the test, no matter how ridiculous they made me look. The flexible frames of these spectacles are made up of four circles filled halfway with a blue liquid that, when worn, can only be seen in your peripheral vision. According to the maker, this design promises nothing less than complete sickness relief, even when reading or looking at your phone in the car — something completely unheard of for motion sickness sufferers. I'll cut right to the chase and say that these things worked. Like, shockingly well. In the name of science (and at the risk of my stomach), I wore the glasses sitting in the backseat of the car, while reading, as my partner drove around. Normally, and especially under these circumstances, it would take less than a few minutes for the nausea and headaches to hit. But this time, my symptoms never came. Was this just the placebo effect in action, or was there actual science behind this? To find out, I spoke with Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, board-certified otolaryngologist and professor of otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School. He explained that motion sickness is caused when a disconnect occurs in the brain's ability to detect where the body is in motion. 'The brain depends on sensory input from many organ systems, such as the eyes and inner ear, to tell if the body is in motion and where it's positioned in space,' Bhattacharyya said. 'When you get into a car that's moving, your organ systems are still sensing the motion around you, but the body itself is stable, causing the integration of those messages to get disrupted.' Although Bhattacharyya can't say for sure all the reasons the glasses are effective, he thinks that the liquid sloshing back and forth inside the rings helps the eyes to recognize movement and create an artificial horizon, allowing the brain to bridge the gap between motion and stability. 'In my opinion, if [these] work for someone, I think it's a lot better than taking anti-nausea medications, which are mainly all just sedatives,' Bhattacharyya added. Had these ridiculous-looking glasses existed much earlier on in my life, my passenger commuting experiences would have been a lot more comfortable. If you or your child experiences a similar struggle, it might be worth your while to grab yourself a pair before your next road trip, plane ride or cruise. Here are some promising reviews from Amazon: 'This summer, our family has had loads more road trips but I started testing them in small increments. First, I tried checking my phone when my husband was driving (even briefly this would typically give me a headache and I'd start feeling car sick) but I didn't have any problems. Then I tried them on long car rides with windy roads, also no car sickness. At this point, I can play games on my phone and am so happy about this find.' — Irene Ng 'I've suffered from motion sickness my whole life- as a kid, every trip meant hours of throwing up and then trying to sleep it off once we reached our destination. As an adult, I struggle riding with others (especially manual transmission) and I fear long road trips. My nausea sometimes lasted days. Typically I feel nauseous within a few blocks/ miles, but today I tried these out for a 6 hour road trip through some residential and some highway sequences. I managed to read. I didn't know how they'd fare at night when the liquid wasn't visible but I read on my kindle with absolutely no issue. Before, I could read a sentence on my phone and I'd instantly feel sick. I spent the entire ride reading or on my phone. Yes, I looked ridiculous in them, but I'd rather look a little odd for 6 hours instead of having long-lasting nausea and drugging myself with Dramamine to pass out instead.' — rachael 'I have been playing games for over a decade. As I aged, I noticed that some games started giving me the feeling of motion sickness or cybersickness. My husband plays certain games that I can't even play for a second because it makes me sick. I gave these glasses a try. What do I have to lose other than $20[?] I put them on while I was playing my normal game I play at first, then switched to one of the games that kind made me sick. Then I got in the game that was the worst for me. I was amazed, I could move the camera around and move around without instantly wanting to barf!' — Gall
Sky News
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
John Lithgow on JK Rowling's trans stance backlash: 'She's handled it fairly gracefully'
Why you can trust Sky News John Lithgow is a man well aware of cancel culture and its ability to destroy careers in the blink of an eye. The Oscar-nominated actor tells Sky News: "It is terrible to be so careful about what you say. Even in an interview like this. It goes into the world, and you can get misconstrued and misrepresented and cancelled in [the click of a finger]." It's a theme that runs parallel with his latest work - the stage show Giant - which through the lens of one explosive day in children's author Roald Dahl 's life, poses the question, should we look for moral purity in our artists? The writer of great works including The Witches, Matilda and The BFG, Dahl revolutionised children's literature with his irreverent approach, inspiring generations of readers and selling hundreds of millions worldwide. But his legacy is conflicted. Lithgow describes Dahl as "a man with great charm, great wit and literary talent. A man who really cared about children and loved them. But a man who carried a lot of demons." Specifically, the play - which explores Palestinian rights versus antisemitism - deals with the fallout from controversial comments the children's author made over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Its themes couldn't be more timely. Lithgow explains: "Things are said in the play that nobody dares to say out loud… But God knows this is a complicated and contradictory issue." 'It didn't start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all' So controversial are some of the play's themes, the 79-year-old star admits his own son warned him: "Prepare yourself. There'll be demonstrations in Sloane Square outside the Royal Court Theatre." Indeed, the play's first run carried an audience warning flagging "antisemitic language; graphic descriptions of violence; emotional discussion of themes including conflict in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine; and strong language". But it didn't put audiences off. Following a sold-out run at the Royal Court, the role won Lithgow an Olivier. Now, it's transferring to London's West End. The play was written by Mark Rosenblatt, a seasoned theatre director but debut playwright. He tells Sky News: "It didn't start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all. It was about the blurring of meaningful political discourse with racism, specifically when, in 2018, the inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party started to come out." Rosenblatt describes Dahl's Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts as the "wallpaper" of his childhood, and says he had no desire to "smash the Roald Dahl pinata". But despite the fond recollections, he was conflicted: "Understanding that [Dahl] also, possibly, didn't like someone like me because I'm Jewish felt complicated." It was Rosenblatt's exploration of "how you hold those two things at the same time" that led to Dahl becoming the play's focus. 'He's not cancelled in our home' Rosenblatt describes him as "a complex man, capable of great compassion, great passionate defence of oppressed people, and also incapable of enormous cruelty and manipulation. He was many things at once". And as for Dahl's place in his life now? Rosenblatt says: "I still read his books to my kids. He's certainly not cancelled in our home." It's likely that Dahl's comments, if uttered today, would lead to swift social media condemnation, but writing in a pre-social media age, the judgment over his words came at a much slower pace. Dahl died in 1990, and his family later apologised for antisemitic remarks he made during his lifetime. But the debate of whether art can be separated from the artist is still very much alive today. Earlier this month, Lithgow found himself drawn into a different row over artists and their opinions - this time concerning author JK Rowling. 'A matter of nuance' Soon to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV series, he has been criticised by some fans for working with the author known for her gender critical beliefs. Lithgow told Sky News: "It's a question I'm getting asked constantly. I suppose I should get used to that, but JK Rowling has created an amazing canon of books for kids… "I have my own feelings on this subject. But I'm certainly not going to hesitate to speak about it. Just because I may disagree... It's a matter of nuance… I think she's handled it fairly gracefully." The actor ignored calls not to take the role. He goes on: "Honestly, I'd rather be involved in this than not. And if I'm going to speak on this subject, I'm speaking from inside this project and very much a partner with JK Rowling on it." Demanding an eight-year commitment and a move to the UK for the part, the stakes are high. And with a legion of Harry Potter fans watching on from the wings, only time will tell if the Lithgow-Rowling partnership will prove a magical one.
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Funny, shocking and thought-provoking: John Lithgow's towering performance brings the big unfriendly giant who was Roald Dahl back to life in the West End
Giant (Harold Pinter Theatre) Verdict: Shock and awe Anyone familiar with Roald Dahl 's beloved children's story The BFG will know that not all giants are Big and Friendly. Not least this enormously tall, hugely imaginative, massively successful giant of a writer. In the course of Mark Rosenblatt's bold, brilliant dramatic portrait of Dahl, he reveals him to be both less and more: a monstrously complicated, immensely flawed, childlike human being, paradoxically overflowing with infinite compassion and unrepentant hatred. John Lithgow, in a transcendent performance that has won awards (and will doubtless win more) towers magnificently over proceedings as Dahl: initially witty and impish, but little by little growing into his true self — a gigantic bully as grotesque as one of his own creations. The play's setting is real. In 1983, Dahl wrote a blatantly antisemitic book review condemning the action of the Israeli forces on Beirut in 1982. Halfway into the piece, he says: 'Never before in the history of man has a race of people switched so rapidly from being much pitied victims to barbarous murderers. 'It proved incendiary, prompting death threats against the author and necessitating police protection outside the country house he shared with his fiancée, Liccy (played here by Rachael Stirling, sensible and Sloaney, expertly massaging his back and his ego). The situation is an invention. His British publisher, Tom Maschler (a delightfully laid back Elliot Levey, an 'anglicised' Jew who cares more about sales than politics) and a representative of his U.S. publishers, Jessie Stone (American actress Aya Cash, passionate, appalled but politely defending the will of people of Israel from that of the Israeli government) arrive for lunch to ask him to apologise. The play poses many questions, including that old one about whether art should be judged by the character of the artist. Which was easy to answer until the moment when Dahl rings a journalist to discuss his review and casually comments: 'Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason.' Over the course of two hours, Rosenblatt's exposé of Dahl becomes a reflection of the unresolvable conflicts devastating our world today. Funny, shocking, thought-provoking, controversial, superbly staged (Nick Hytner) and performed, this play is all that theatre should be. Essential viewing.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"Me And Pedro Are Still Best Buds": Bella Ramsey Answered A Ton Of Questions About "The Last Of Us" While Playing With Puppies
It's no secret that The Last of Us is one of the biggest TV shows right now. After a critically-acclaimed first season, the show is back and it's adapting The Last of Us Part II game, aka one of the most heartbreaking and grief-driven games. Period. And at the center is Bella Ramsey as Ellie. So, to celebrate The Last of Us Season 2, we had the absolutely delightful Bella Ramsey swing by BuzzFeed to do our Puppy Interview. And yes, it was as adorable as you might imagine. For starters, Bella talked about playing the shift in Ellie and Joel's dynamic with Pedro Pascal in Season 2, and how while their relationship is different on screen, offscreen they and Pedro were still best buddies. They also discussed a scene in The Last of Us Season 1 that they could not get through without laughing, and it was when Joel, Tess (Anna Torv), and Ellie first meet up, and Ellie eats the chicken sandwich, and they ask why she's so important to the Fireflies. Looking at Season 2, Bella loved getting to play Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie's relationship, and how they were able to build it with Isabela as the season went on. And, they also revealed that they took a bar of Irish Spring soap from Bill and Frank's house after filming the episode, and they would carry it around with them while filming the first season. Of course, outside of The Last of Us, we also just got to know Bella a little better, too. Like how their first audition was for The BFG, and if they could guest star on any show right now, it would be The White Lotus. In conclusion, the whole thing was just supremely wholesome, and it's my new comfort video. You can check out Bella's full puppy interview below: And be sure to catch Bella in The Last of Us Season 2, with new episodes airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and streaming on Max. Also, all of these puppies are available for adoption at Muddy Paws Rescue. Taylor Miller / BuzzFeed
Buzz Feed
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Bella Ramsey Talks Working With Pedro Pascal, Dina And Ellie's Relationship, And More While Playing With Puppies
It's no secret that The Last of Us is one of the biggest TV shows right now. After a critically-acclaimed first season, the show is back and it's adapting The Last of Us Part II game, aka one of the most heartbreaking and grief-driven games. Period. And at the center is Bella Ramsey as Ellie. So, to celebrate The Last of Us Season 2, we had the absolutely delightful Bella Ramsey swing by BuzzFeed to do our Puppy Interview. And yes, it was as adorable as you might imagine. For starters, Bella talked about playing the shift in Ellie and Joel's dynamic with Pedro Pascal in Season 2, and how while their relationship is different on screen, offscreen they and Pedro were still best buddies. They also discussed a scene in The Last of Us Season 1 that they could not get through without laughing, and it was when Joel, Tess (Anna Torv), and Ellie first meet up, and Ellie eats the chicken sandwich, and they ask why she's so important to the Fireflies. Looking at Season 2, Bella loved getting to play Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie's relationship, and how they were able to build it with Isabela as the season went on. And, they also revealed that they took a bar of Irish Spring soap from Bill and Frank's house after filming the episode, and they would carry it around with them while filming the first season. HBO Of course, outside of The Last of Us, we also just got to know Bella a little better, too. Like how their first audition was for The BFG, and if they could guest star on any show right now, it would be The White Lotus. In conclusion, the whole thing was just supremely wholesome, and it's my new comfort video. BuzzFeed Celeb / Via And be sure to catch Bella in The Last of Us Season 2, with new episodes airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and streaming on Max. Also, all of these puppies are available for adoption at Muddy Paws Rescue.
