Certain table manners don’t really need an explanation. Chewing with your mouth closed saves others from catching a glimpse of your half-masticated entrée, and placing a napkin in your lap saves your pants from collecting rogue crumbs. But eating with your elbows on the table seems to be both convenient and comfortable. So why is it so frowned upon? Originally, it served as a tacit way to prove you were a non-threatening dinner guest.
“Table manners prevented us from leaving our space and starting a fight. It was important that people saw you as considerate or trying hard,” Margaret Visser, author of The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners, told Reader’s Digest. “People got scared when you started having bad manners. They realized the taboo was not functioning and you didn’t know what this person was going to do next.”
In other words, elbows on the table disrupted the border created by your utensils, which people could interpret as a general lack of restraint. It’s also definitely not a new rule; according to the Bible’s Book of Ecclesiasticus, you should be just as ashamed of “stretching your elbow at dinner” as “breaking an oath or a covenant” (though we can’t be sure that the verse isn’t referring to reaching for dishes across the table).
More recently, the no-elbows rule has become less about preventing brawls and more about avoiding other mealtime mishaps. “Not everyone is perfectly neat, so by keeping your elbows off the table, you are also making sure you do not put your elbow in a drip of salad dressing or soup or gravy,” Jodi R.R. Smith, owner and president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting, told MarthaStewart.com.
Keeping your elbows off the table also prevents you from exhibiting all sorts of bad posture that may have been viewed as a mark of an uncivilized upbringing. These days, a slight slouch at dinner probably won’t get you labeled as a Neanderthal, but leaning on your elbows might make it difficult for the people seated on either side of you to ever have a conversation.
That said, even some of the most faithful upholders of table etiquette have been known to break a rule or two. In a 1937 interview, Emily Post herself confessed to gracing the tabletop with her elbows from time to time. “It really makes no difference,” she said.
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Apple products are notoriously expensive, so whenever they come down in price, it's a big deal. And if you've had your eye on a pair of the Apple AirPods Pro, you can find them on Amazon for $219, which is 12 percent off the standard price.
Now that it looks like many people will continue to work from home through at least the end of the year, it might be time to invest in a pair of wireless headphones like these. If tuning out other noise so you can focus on your music, podcast, or Zoom call is what you need, then the AirPods's noise-canceling feature will do you wonders. However, if you need to make sure your kids (or pets) aren’t fighting while you’re on a call, Transparency mode lets outside noise in, so you can hear everything around you. The AirPods Pro also distinguish themselves from the other Apple AirPod models because they have customizable tips and are resistant to sweat and water.
Since these headphones are so light—weighing only 1.6 ounces, including the case—they're easy to take on a run, to the gym, or on the subway. The buds also pair with any device through Bluetooth and have more than 24 hours of battery life via the wireless charging case.
If you're in the market for a wearable, Amazon also knocked the price of the Apple Watch Series 3 down to just $169, which is 15 percent off. This Apple Watch model features a heart monitor and step tracker, and it can also store your music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Combine these two and you have the perfect gift for an upcoming birthday or a nice treat for yourself for the WFH lifestyle. Head here to see more about the AirPods Pro and here for the Apple Watch.
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Your house smells. Don’t feel bad—it’s not just you! Your neighbor’s house smells, as does the White House. Even Martha Stewart’s abode has a distinctive odor. But not one of you could pick your own home’s aroma out of a scent lineup.
We adapt to smells very quickly. Within the space of just a few breaths, we can lose our ability to detect new odors. It's called olfactory adaptation, and it's the same reason you can’t smell your own breath, your body odor, or even your perfume after a few minutes. This, cognitive psychologist Pamela Dalton told New York Magazine, may be a good thing.
Every object in our environment gives off scented molecules. When you inhale, the molecules pass through your nostrils and stick to a wall of mucus on the back of your throat. That mucus is home to receptor cells that tell your brain what it is you've just sniffed. Our brains watch out for danger. Any change in our surroundings could represent a threat, Dalton says, so the brain focuses on new sights, sounds, feelings—and smells. After a few sniffs, you should know what needs to be dealt with and what’s okay to ignore. Fresh-cut flowers? Nice, but not a problem. The smell of burning hair? You might want to check that out.
Are you worried that your house reeks and nobody’s telling you? You may be able to find out by employing a few tricks of the perfume trade. Since familiarity is the key, you can give your nose a fresh start by leaving the house for a few hours. When you return, you should be able to get a good idea of what everyone else smells.
If that doesn’t work, try jumping around the room for a few minutes. The increased blood flow can briefly improve your sense of smell. Perfumers actually run up and down the stairs between sniffs, Dalton says. (The downside of vigorous exercise is that you may become a little fragrant yourself.)
Some household smells are more interesting than others. You may have noticed that your dog's feet smell like popcorn (or corn chips, depending on who you ask). You're not imagining it: "Frito Feet" is a real phenomenon caused by tiny colonies of bacteria.
In the end, how the house smells may be less important than how we feel about it; there's nothing quite like the smell of happiness.
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