Author: Stephanie Hills

  • Seasonal silliness

    A little boy called Nicholas said to the Santa Claus in the Shopping Centre, ‘You and I have the same name.’ Santa replied, ‘Well, hello Harold!’ * * * * Q:  What’s a reindeer’s favourite singer?      A:  Beyonsleigh * * * * Q: What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?        A: […]

  • Strangely familiar?

    Advertising companies have long profited from a simple, but powerful psychological fact: the more familiar we are with something, the safer it makes us feel. We might think we’re unaffected by repeated exposure to ads, but the reality is that when buying a product, we’re likely to reach for the one with the familiar logo, […]

  • She knows about cars!

    Wife: “There’s trouble with the car. It has water in the carburettor.” Husband: “Water in the carburettor? That’s ridiculous.” Wife: “I tell you, the car has water in the carburettor.” Husband: “You don’t even know what a carburettor is. Where’s the car?” Wife: “In the swimming pool.”

  • Care at the car wash

    The other day I was waiting to go through the automatic car wash, when I noticed that the woman in front of me was stuck. She had entered her code and driven into the car wash, but then nothing happened. I got out of my car and gave her a wave, indicating that I would […]

  • Don’t let your identity limit you

    People often use the word identity as if it’s who they are, but really it means how you identify yourself or what groups you identify with. It’s who you are, as seen from the outside. An identity is a social construct, like a character you play. Often, it’s empowering to embrace an identity – to […]

  • The Let Them Theory

    The Let Them Theory. A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About                                                 by Mel Robbins This book manages to summarise in two words an approach to life that can free you from worry about what others think, make you immune to being manipulated and release you from the burden of trying […]

  • Looting the Louvre

    The recent theft of crown jewels from the Louvre reminds us of the time a guy in Paris nearly got away with the same thing. However, after planning the crime, and getting in and out past security, he was captured only 2 blocks away when his vehicle ran out of petrol. When asked how he […]

  • Relationships are key to happiness

    The Harvard Adult Development Study began in 1938 and still runs to this day. It started by looking at the lifestyle, habits and health of 724 men, both working class and Harvard students, with the aim of following the subjects over a long period, to see what factors early in life might predict good health […]

  • Authors explain their PhDs in words we can understand

    Does music express emotions or just elicit them? Read the next 200 pages to not find out.                                                                                      ~ Welldogmycats Nanoparticles are weird and I accidentally made a bomb and electrocuted myself.                                                                                           ~ M33 Sand washes away, don’t build important stuff on it.     ~ Zoidy You can make antimatter move in […]

  • We Can’t Change Someone Else

    I was once asked to help a family who constantly bickered with each other. The two adults and three children sniped at one another from breakfast till bedtime and they were all sick of it. Each person said they just wanted to live in peace. The problem was that each one wanted the other four […]