This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
One of the most humbling parts of being alive is realizing you’ve long been doing a simple thing wrong—or, at least, not in the way experts say you should be doing it. Did you know that the best time to apply deodorant is right before bed? Or that you should get rid of your black plastic spatulas? Or that you probably shower too much?
Being hit with these truths can feel unmooring. What if some of your reflexive daily rituals need to be reconsidered? But there’s power in the knowledge too. Today’s newsletter explores our ever-evolving understanding of how humans live, and what’s best for us.
On Our Habits
Your Armpits Are Trying to Tell You Something
By Yasmin Tayag
The best time to apply antiperspirant is right before bed. Seriously.
Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
By Zoë Schlanger
It’s probably leaching chemicals into your cooking oil.
You’re Showering Too Much
By James Hamblin
Wash your hands, but lay off the other parts. (From 2020)
Still Curious?
Other Diversions
P.S.
Sign up for our new newsletter Being Human for more stories on the mysteries of the body and the mind.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. “In my garden, I was mesmerized by this dahlia's fractal symmetry, a kaleidoscope in nature,” Monica Shah from Edison, New Jersey, writes.
— Isabel
