#KnowYourHistory: #Stonewall

As A Father, Jimmy Fallon Has Some Poignant Questions After Orlando Shooting

This is how all rape trials should go. Especially those of people who work in the sex industry because, unfortunately, some people take their profession as consent.  

How do you get STDs?

Someone asked us:

I’m kind of confused about STDs. How can you get them? Also, what happens if you have sex when you’re on your period?

STDs are passed from one person to another during sexual contact. So STDs don’t appear out of nowhere, someone has to give it to you (just like the common cold or the flu). Some STDs are caused by bacteria, so they can be cured with antibiotics (like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis).

Other STDs are caused by a virus, so they may clear up on their own, or they live in your body for life (like herpes, HIV, HPV, and hepatitis). No matter what kind of STD it is, you get them from someone else by having sex — oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, or genital skin-to-skin contact. Every STD is a little different, so some are most likely to be passed by vaginal sex (like HIV), and others can easily be passed by skin-to-skin contact (like herpes).

You can help prevent getting STDs by having safer sex. This means using condoms or Sheer Glyde dental dams (a latex sheet that covers your vulva or anus during oral sex) every time you have sex. But safer sex is just that - safer. It’s not 100%. So if you’re having any kind of sex, talk with a doctor or nurse about getting tested for STDs. You can get tested at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center.

To answer your second question, there’s nothing wrong with having sex on your period. In fact, it is perfectly normal to have sex on your period as long as both you and your partner are comfortable with it. (It’s also totally okay if you want to skip period sex.) But you can still pass STDs and get pregnant during your period, so use condoms along with another form of birth control every single time you have sex.  

-Taylor at Planned Parenthood

This classic is back! You can order one here!

Life in Technicolor: Glasses for the colorblind

With so much of our world color-coded, life can be quite tricky without the ability to see the full range of the rainbow.

For the 13 million Americans (and 300 million people worldwide) with color vision deficiency or blindness, living with the inability to detect red, blue, green or a mixture of these colors means having to learn to discern traffic lights or subways lines based on order and patterns rather than color, or having to ask someone whether the piece of meat they’re about to ingest is actually well-done.

However, EnChroma, one of several emerging startups founded by University of California alums, is changing the way people with color vision deficiency experience the world. They make eyewear that corrects for the most common color blindness. 

According to Marc Levin, a neuro-ophthalmologist at UCSF, the lenses work by changing how light is received by the brain for those whose eyes lack sensitivity to red and green light wavelengths. It filters out light that the red and green light-absorbing molecules/photopigments in our eyes sense most similarly. This helps the brain receive more distinct color wavelength information.

While their glasses currently only work for people with red-green color blindness, the company hopes to eventually create lenses that will also help individuals with more severe color vision deficiencies.

GIF source: Valspar Paint

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Lingerie Has A Diversity Problem. Here’s What One Brand Is Doing About It.

Some of the heaviest elements ever seen have been given tentative names by their discoverers. The namesakes? Three places and a Russian dude.

These names aren’t settled on quite yet - there is a five month probation period during which the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) welcomes public comment. You can email the IUPAC president directly with your thoughts.

If you discovered an element, what would you name it?

Check out this robotic hand which can touch and feel, improving perception and reflexes for its user. [ Δ ]

Only the brave are free.

Seneca (via philosophybits)

White House Science Fair Days Are The Best Days

And today, President Barack Obama hosted his last. More here.