Five Things: Summer 2025

1

Photo: Courtesy of NASA

Astronauts don’t get a lot of fresh veggies in their diets, but NASA continues to make progress on zero-gravity gardening. In 2015, astronauts on the International Space Station made history by  becoming the first to eat food grown in space—red romaine lettuce, which they dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

2

Pittsburgh boasts more public staircases than any other city in the United States, a fact celebrated not only by the city’s pedestrians but also by local artists.

3

Andy Warhol’s film Sleep (1963)  consists of 5 1/2 hours of footage of his boyfriend, John Giorno, sleeping. The inspiration for the project came partly from Giorno’s love of napping.

4

Photo: courtesy of National Museum of American History

One of the world’s first synthetic dyes was created by accident when an 18-year-old English chemist named William Henry Perkin was experimenting with treatments for malaria. His concoction didn’t combat the disease, but it did produce a brilliant purple stain that he called “mauveine,” or mauve.

5

Hugs feel good, and they’re also good for your health. Medical studies have shown that regular hugging can reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, promote production of the “love” hormone oxytocin, and even reduce the severity of the common cold.