Human Stuff
Little-known stories, not dates
The speeding years illusion: how perception compresses with age
Why a year can feel shorter at 40 than at 10 People say time “goes faster” as they get older, but it isn’t tied to one place or one historical event.
Smell triggers that pull up entire childhood scenes instantly
A smell can drop you into a scene Someone opens a jar of peanut butter, or a neighbor starts mowing, and you’re suddenly back in a very specific moment.
Tiny rituals that calm panic and feel oddly effective
People notice a strange thing in panic: a tiny, almost silly action can cut through the surge faster than a big pep talk.
Mondegreen mechanics: why your brain insists on wrong song words
Hearing words that aren’t there Someone sings “Hold me closer, Tony Danza,” and it lands because it feels oddly plausible in the moment.
Sleep fog and the slow brain: what causes those first groggy minutes
Those first minutes after waking can feel like trying to think through thick air. It isn’t tied to one place or one incident.
Replay mode: why you mentally argue with people long after the conversation
That argument that keeps going after you’ve left Someone says something offhand in a meeting, or on a call, and you nod and move on.
Phantom phone buzzes: how expectation rewires your touch senses
The buzz that isn’t there People describe the same little jolt in different places, because this isn’t tied to one incident or one town.
Why the word sits on the tip of your tongue and won’t come out
That stalled word feeling It happens in all sorts of places, not one specific event: in a meeting in New York, mid-conversation at a café in Paris, or on.
The phantom call: why you sometimes swear someone called your name
It happens in apartments and offices and on quiet streets.
Why you unconsciously mimic strangers’ gestures
Catching yourself doing it It’s not one single event or place. It shows up everywhere, from a Tokyo subway car to a London café to a New York elevator.
