trends

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Amazon Has Officially Co-Opted the Name Alexa

Millions use the virtual assistant, while those naming babies Alexa dropped to just 490 last year

(Newser) - Where did all the Alexas go? Sherwood News asked this question after OpenAI announced its new ChatGPT-4o voice assistant (which doesn't go by Scarlett, but sure does sound like a certain actor by that name ). Amazon's Alexa unsurprisingly rocked the boat in baby names when it was...

It's Time for a Post-Grammy Debate Over 'Cursive Singing'

Artists across genres are 'guilty' of the vocal trend, but really, it's been around for ages

(Newser) - Turn on the radio and you'll definitely hear it, but defining cursive singing, the vocal trend that's pervasive across genres, is a little harder. The Guardian takes a stab at this in an entertaining piece, noting that it occurs when singers tack on extra vowel sounds to syllables,...

Go for the Latte, Stay for This Guy
Go for the Latte,
Stay for This Guy
Jan 30, 2024 12:55 PM CST

Go for the Latte, Stay for This Guy

Japan brings us the hottest new trend, the pig cafe

(Newser) - First there were cafes that allowed pets. Then came cat cafes, where lattes took second place to feline interaction. The latest craze in Japan: The pig cafe. "It was wonderful. Very relaxing and enjoyable," said Brad Loomis, a software engineer from Pullman, Washington, after visiting Tokyo's Mipig...

Pantone's Color of the Year Aims to Soothe
This Is the Color of the Year
Dec 8, 2023 9:07 AM CST

This Is the Color of the Year

Pantone picks warm 'Peach Fuzz' for a touch of nostalgia

(Newser) - Pantone has high hopes for 2024 based on its choice for color of the year. Enter " Peach Fuzz ," a hue the company describes as a "velvety, gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body and soul." "Sensitive but sweet and airy," it apparently conveys...

It's the Latest Rejection of 'Hustle Culture'

Work trend 'Bare Minimum Mondays' is both embraced and ridiculed

(Newser) - It's not "quiet quitting." And it's definitely not "overemployed." It's a new workplace trend, one that seems to be equally parts embraced and ridiculed, called "Bare Minimum Mondays." As Axios explains, it was coined by TikTok creator Marisa Jo Mayes (see...

Pantone Predicts Gray Will Shine in 2021

A shade of yellow was selected along with it

(Newser) - What will 2021 look like? If experts at the Pantone Color Institute have it right, we'll be seeing a lot of gray and yellow—or, as they call the selected shades, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. It's the first time in Pantone's 22 years of picking a top...

What We Googled in 2020: 'Why Were Chainsaws Invented?'

Stimulus checks, murder hornet among top trending searches in US

(Newser) - Remember the Australia wildfires? What about Hurricane Laura? The blast in Beirut? No? That might be because it was a jam-packed year, as Google's Year in Search report shows. Per the Verge , Google combed through US search results to find terms that experienced spikes in traffic over a prolonged...

Proposal for City's Stinky Water? Add Pumpkin Spice

It appears petition in Tempe, Ariz., is a joke, but the water can smell and taste awful there

(Newser) - Residents of an Arizona city with foul-smelling, unpalatable drinking water have proposed a solution that would make Starbucks proud: have the water company infuse it with pumpkin spice flavoring. The Arizona Republic reports on Tempe's tap-water woes, which are so pervasive the city is forced to acknowledge them on...

Australia Behind Latest Hipster Coffee Drink

Introducing the avocado latte

(Newser) - We don't anticipate Keurig coming out with guacamole pods anytime soon, so in the meantime, we'll have to make do with a new concoction brewed up by Australia's Truman Cafe. That concoction, per BuzzFeed , is the avolatte, or avocado latte, which is pretty much exactly what it...

Introducing the 'High-Five Selfie'
Introducing the
'High-Five Selfie'
Oct 11, 2016 8:38 AM CDT

Introducing the 'High-Five Selfie'

NC man's impressive feat starts Twitter craze

(Newser) - Still taking ordinary selfies? Prepare to feel as old-fashioned as a flip phone. The "high-five selfie" is the newest trend, thanks to a North Carolina man's Twitter post on Saturday. "Today is the proudest day of my life. I successfully took a picture of me high fiving...

Facebook Dumps News Outlets as 'Trending Topics' Gauge

After allegations the social network was suppressing conservative news

(Newser) - Facebook is dropping its reliance on news outlets to help determine what gets posted as a "trending topic," a move adopted after backlash over a report saying it suppressed conservative views, the AP reports. Facebook's general counsel outlined the change in a 12-page letter Monday to Republican...

'Dementia Epidemic' Is Coming, Warns Group

Cases will triple by 2050, Alzheimer's group predicts

(Newser) - Dementia cases worldwide will triple by 2050 to 135 million sufferers, according to a new report from Alzheimer's Disease International. The group released the figures in anticipation of the G8 dementia summit in London next week, the BBC reports, and attributes the rise to climbing life expectancies, particularly in...

Class of 2017 Has Never Needed to Ask Directions
Class of 2017 Has Never Needed to Ask Directions
mindset list
Aug 20, 2013 9:43 AM CDT

Class of 2017 Has Never Needed to Ask Directions

Beloit's annual exercise in making everyone over 18 feel archaic is out

(Newser) - If you've never asked directions, never had chicken pox, and tend to share everything, you could probably impersonate a member of the Class of 2017, according to Beloit College's annual Mindset List . Class members were mostly born in 1995, and they're very tech-savvy; indeed, "a third...

Young Women: Our Linguistic Pioneers?

Their speech patterns set trends the rest of us follow, say experts

(Newser) - Girls often get mocked for their uptalking—ending sentences at a higher pitch—or frequent use of "like." But it's time to give them credit for leading the way when it comes to language patterns, linguists tell the New York Times . "If women do something like...

What's Out, What's In in 2012

The 'Washington Post' predicts the whims of the new year

(Newser) - A new year dawns, and the trend-predictors at the Washington Post have fashioned a comprehensive list of what will be in and what will be out in 2012:
  • Out: Ryan Gosling
  • In: Michael Fassbender

Next Year's Hottest Color Is ...

Orange is bold and upbeat—but may not last

(Newser) - Orange is making a comeback in everything from dishware to dresses to eyeliner in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reports. Don't quite believe it? Well, Sephora is designing orange eyelashes from feathers, and Pantone is calling "tangerine tango" the color of the year. It apparently boosts sales, too:...

After 15 Years, L'Eggs Ads Return to TV

Can new styles (and Duchess of Cambridge) revive fading fashion?

(Newser) - Pantyhose sales have been sagging badly for years now, thanks to more casual fashions, open-toed shoes, and changing tastes. Even First Lady Michelle Obama refuses to wear them anymore . But now that the decline has "somewhat stabilized," in the words of one retail analyst, and the latest fashion...

Sports Version of Planking: Tebowing

Football star's prayer pose goes viral

(Newser) - When Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow kneeled and prayed during his team’s victory Sunday, little did he know he was kickstarting the latest viral craze. Tebowing—when you “get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different,”...

Forget Planking, Owling: 'Horsemaning' Is Here
Forget Planking, Owling: 'Horsemaning' Is Here
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 13, 2011 12:12 PM CDT

Forget Planking, Owling: 'Horsemaning' Is Here

'Fake beheading' the latest photo trend

(Newser) - Forget planking , cone-ing , and owling : Horsemaning is the new trend when it comes to bizarre photo opportunities. Horsemaning, first made popular in the 1920s, is basically taking a picture where it appears you have been beheaded. The term comes from the "Headless Horseman," reports the International Business Times...

Forget Planking, Try Owling


 Forget 
 Planking, 
 Try Owling 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 17, 2011 6:28 AM CDT

Forget Planking, Try Owling

Looks ... fun?

(Newser) - Planking is so over. The bizarre Facebook trend (blamed in the death of a man in May ) of taking a picture while you're lying face down in a weird location has been replaced with "owling." Owling, as the Washington Post explains, is the act of taking...

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