Home, Auto, & Hobbies Articles

Article / Updated 10-28-2024

During summer months, about 60,000 or more bees reside in a healthy hive. And while you may think all of those insects look exactly alike, the population actually includes two different female castes (the queen and the workers) and the male bees (drones). Each type has its own characteristics, roles, and responsibilities. Upon closer examination, the three look a little different. If you're a beekeeper, it's important to know one from the other. These are the three types of bees in the hive: worker, drone, and queen. Her majesty, the queen Let there be no mistake about it — the queen bee is the heart and soul of the colony. There is only one queen bee in a colony. She is the reason for nearly everything the rest of the colony does. The queen is the only bee without which the rest of the colony cannot survive. Without her, your hive is sunk. A good-quality queen means a strong and productive hive. And for some real fun, try raising your own queens from your best performing hives. As a beekeeper, on every visit to the hive you need to determine two things: “Do I have a queen?” and “Is she healthy?” The queen is the largest bee in the colony, with a long and graceful body. She is the only female with fully developed ovaries. The queen’s two primary purposes are to produce chemical scents that help regulate the unity of the colony and to lay eggs — and lots of them. She is, in fact, an egg-laying machine, capable of producing more than 1,500 eggs a day at 30-second intervals. That many eggs are more than her body weight! The other bees pay close attention to the queen, tending to her every need. Like a regal celebrity, she’s always surrounded by a flock of attendants as she moves about the hive (see the image below). Yet, she isn’t spoiled. These attendants are vital because the queen is incapable of tending to her own basic needs. She can neither feed nor groom herself. She can’t even leave the hive to relieve herself. And, so, her doting attendants take care of her basic needs while she tirelessly goes from cell to cell doing what she does best: lay eggs. A queen and her attentive attendants The gentle queen bee has a stinger, but it is rare for a beekeeper to be stung by a queen bee. I have handled many queen bees and have never been stung by any of them. In general, queen bees use their stingers only to kill rival queens that may emerge or be introduced into the hive. The queen can live for two or more years, but replacing your queen after a season or two ensures maximum productivity and colony health. Many seasoned beekeepers routinely replace their queens every year after the nectar flow. This practice ensures that the colony has a new, energetic, and fertile young queen each season. You may wonder why you should replace the queen if she’s still alive. That’s an easy one: As a queen ages, her egg-laying capability slows down, which results in less and less brood each season. Less brood means a smaller colony. And a smaller colony means a lackluster honey harvest for you. As a beekeeper, your job is to anticipate problems before they happen. An aging queen — more than a year old — is something that you can deal with by replacing her after checking her egg-laying, before you have a problem resulting from a poorly performing queen. The industrious little worker bee The majority of the hive’s population consists of worker bees. Like the queen, worker bees are all female. Worker bees that are younger than 3 weeks old have working ovaries and can lay eggs, but they are not fertile, as the workers never mate and, therefore, lack sperm to fertilize eggs. Workers also look different than the queen. They are smaller, their abdomens are shorter, and on their hind legs they possess pollen baskets, which are used to tote pollen back from the field. Like the queen, the worker bee has a stinger. But her stinger is not a smooth syringe like the queen’s. The stinger is three-shafted, with each shaft having barbs (resembling a fish hook). The barbs cause the stinger, venom sack, and a large part of the bee’s gut to remain in a human victim — a Kamikaze effort to protect the colony. Only in mammals (such as humans) does the bee’s stinger get stuck. The worker bee can sting other insects again and again while defending its home. The life span of a worker bee is a modest six weeks during the colony’s active season. However, worker bees live longer (four to eight months) during the less-active winter months. These winter workers are loaded with protein and are sometimes referred to as “Fat Bees.” The term “busy as a bee” is well earned. Worker bees do a considerable amount of work, day in and day out. They work as a team. Life in the hive is one of compulsory cooperation. What one worker could never do on her own can be accomplished as a colony. During the busy season, the worker bees literally work themselves to death. The specific jobs and duties they perform during their short lives vary as they age. Understanding their roles will deepen your fascination and appreciation for these remarkable creatures. From the moment a worker bee emerges from her cell, she has many and varied tasks clearly cut out for her. As she ages, she performs more and more complex and demanding tasks. Although these various duties usually follow a set pattern and timeline, they sometimes overlap. A worker bee may change occupations, sometimes within minutes, if there is an urgent need within the colony for a particular task. They represent teamwork and empowerment at their best! Initially, a worker’s responsibilities include various tasks within the hive. At this stage of development, worker bees are referred to as house bees. As they get older, their duties involve work outside of the hive, as field bees. House bees The jobs house bees do (described in the following sections) are dependent on their age. Housekeeping (days 1 to 3) A worker bee is born with the munchies. Immediately after she emerges from the cell and grooms herself, she engorges herself with pollen and honey. Following this binge, one of her first tasks is cleaning out the cell from which she just emerged. This cell and other empty cells are cleaned and polished and left immaculate to receive new eggs or to store nectar and pollen. Undertaking (days 3 to 16) The honey bee hive is one of the cleanest and most sterile environments found in nature. Preventing disease is an important early task for the worker bee. During the first couple weeks of her life, the worker bee removes any bees that have died and disposes of the corpses as far from the hive as possible. Similarly, diseased or dead brood are quickly removed before becoming a health threat to the colony. Should a larger invader (such as a mouse) be stung to death within the hive, the workers utilize propolis to deal with that situation. Obviously, a dead mouse is too big for the bees to carry off. So, the workers completely encase the corpse with propolis (a brown, sticky resin collected from trees and sometimes referred to as bee glue). Propolis has significant antibacterial qualities. In the hot, dry air of the hive, the hermetically sealed corpse becomes mummified and is no longer a source of infection. The bees also use propolis to seal cracks and varnish the inside walls of the hive. Working in the nursery (days 4 to 12) The young worker bees tend to their baby sisters by feeding and caring for the developing larvae. On average, nurse bees check a single larva 1,300 times a day. They feed the larvae a mixture of pollen and honey, and royal jelly — rich in protein and vitamins — produced from the hypopharyngeal gland in the worker bee’s head. The number of days spent tending brood depends on the amount of brood in the hive and the urgency of other competing tasks. Attending royalty (days 7 to 12) Because her royal highness, the queen bee, is unable to tend to her most basic needs herself, some of the workers do these tasks for her. They groom and feed the queen and even remove her excrement from the hive. These royal attendants also coax the queen to continue to lay eggs as she moves about the hive. Stocking the pantry (days 12 to 18) During this stage of their life, young worker bees take nectar from foraging field bees that are returning to the hive. These house bees deposit this nectar into cells earmarked for this purpose. They add an enzyme to the nectar and set about fanning the cells to evaporate the water content and turn the nectar into ripened honey. The workers similarly take pollen from returning field bees and pack the pollen into other cells. Both the ripened honey and the pollen, which is often referred to as bee bread, are food for the colony. Fanning (days 12 to 18) Worker bees also take a turn at controlling the temperature and humidity of the hive. During warm weather and during the honey flow season, you’ll see groups of bees lined up at one side of the beehive entrance, facing the hive. They fan furiously to draw air into the hive. Additional fanners are in position within the hives. This relay of fresh air helps maintain a constant temperature (93 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit [34 to 35 degrees Celsius]) for developing brood. The fanning also hastens the evaporation of excess moisture from the curing honey. The workers also perform another kind of fanning, but it isn’t related to climate control. It has more to do with communication. The bees have a scent gland located at the end of their abdomen called the Nasonov gland. You’ll see worker bees at the beehive entrance with their abdomens arched and the moist pink membrane of this gland exposed. They fan their wings to release this pleasant, sweet odor into the air. You can actually smell it sometimes as you approach the hive. The pheromone is highly attractive and stimulating to other bees and serves as an orientation message to returning foragers, saying: “Come hither, this is your hive and where you belong.” This helps direct other members of the colony back to the hive. Beekeepers can purchase synthetic queen-bee pheromone and use this chemical to lure swarms of bees into a trap. The captured swarm then can be used to populate a new hive. Becoming architects and master builders (days 12 to 35) Worker bees that are about 12 days old are mature enough to begin producing beeswax. These white flakes of wax are secreted from wax glands on the underside of the worker bee’s abdomen. They help with the building of new wax comb and in the capping of ripened honey and brood cells containing developing pupae. Some new beekeepers are alarmed when they first see these wax flakes on the bee. They wrongly think these white chips are an indication of a disease or mite problem. While the bees are working, the wax flakes will fall to the bottom. Nothing to be alarmed about. Guarding the home (days 18 to 21) The last task of a house bee before she ventures out is that of guarding the hive. At this stage of maturity, her sting glands have developed to contain an authoritative amount of venom. You can easily spot the guard bees at the hive’s entrance. They are poised and alert, checking each bee that returns to the hive for a familiar scent. Only family members are allowed to pass. Strange bees, wasps, hornets, and other creatures intent on robbing the hive’s vast stores of honey are bravely driven off. Bees from other hives are occasionally allowed in when they bribe the guards with nectar. These bees simply steal a little honey or pollen and then leave. Field bees When the worker bee is a few weeks old, she ventures outside the hive to perform her last and perhaps most important job — to collect the pollen and nectar that will sustain the colony. With her life half over, she joins the ranks of field bees until she reaches the end of her life. It’s not unusual to see field bees taking their first orientation flights. The bees face the hive and dart up, down, and all around the entrance. They’re imprinting the look and location of their home before beginning to circle the hive and progressively widening those circles, learning landmarks that ultimately will guide them back home. At this point, worker bees are foraging for pollen (see the figure), nectar, water, and propolis (resin collected from trees). Foraging bees visit 5 million flowers to produce a single pint of honey. They forage a 2- to 3-mile radius from the hive in search of food (even more, if necessary, for water), and propolis. That’s the equivalent of several thousand acres! So, don’t think for a moment that you need to provide everything they need on your property. They’re ready and willing to travel. Foraging is the toughest time for the worker bee. It’s difficult and dangerous work, and it takes its toll. They can get chilled as dusk approaches and die before they can return to the hive. Sometimes they become a tasty meal for a bird or other insect. You can spot the old girls returning to the hive. They’ve grown darker in color, and their wings are torn and tattered. This is how the worker bee’s life draws to a close, working diligently right until the end. The woeful drone This brings us to the drone, the male bee in the colony. Drones make up a relatively small percentage of the hive’s total population. At the peak of the season, their numbers may be only in the hundreds. You rarely find more than a thousand. New beekeepers often mistake a drone for the queen, because he is larger and stouter than a worker bee. But his shape is in fact more like a barrel (the queen’s shape is thinner, more delicate, and tapered). The drone’s eyes are huge and seem to cover his entire head. He doesn’t forage for food from flowers — he has no pollen baskets. He doesn’t help with the building of comb — he has no wax-producing glands. Nor can he help defend the hive — he has no stinger. He is not the queen or a worker — merely the drone. The drone gets a bad rap in many bee books. Described as lazy, glutinous, and incapable of caring for himself, you might even begin wondering what he’s good for. He mates! Procreation is the drone’s primary purpose in life. Despite their high maintenance (they must be fed and cared for by the worker bees), drones are tolerated and allowed to remain in the hive because they are needed to mate with a new virgin queen from another colony (when the old queen from that other colony dies or needs to be superseded). Mating occurs outside of the hive in mid-flight, 200 to 300 feet in the air. This location is known as the drone congregation area, and it can be a mile or more away from the hive. The drone’s big eyes come in handy for spotting virgin queens who are taking their nuptial flights. The few drones that do get a chance to mate are in for a sobering surprise. They die after mating. That’s because their sex organ fits something like a key into a lock so they can effectively discharge their sperm into the queen. The queen will mate with several drones during her nuptial flight. After mating with the queen, the drone’s most personal apparatus and a significant part of its internal anatomy is torn away, and it falls to its death, a fact that prompts empathetic groans from the men in my lectures and some unsympathetic cheers from a few women. Once the weather gets cooler and the mating season comes to a close, the workers do not tolerate having drones around. After all, those fellows have big appetites and would consume a tremendous amount of food during the perilous winter months. So, in cooler climates, at the end of the nectar-producing season the worker bees systematically expel the drones from the hive. Drones are literally tossed out the door. For those beekeepers who live in areas that experience cold winters, this is your signal that the beekeeping season is over for the year. Depending on where you live, the calendar of events for you and your bees varies depending on temperature ranges and the time of year.

Article / Updated 10-16-2024

Floor squeaks happen, and when they do, most of us just tolerate them as a part of the “charm” of living in an older house! But as annoying as squeaking floors can be, they have a rather simple cause and solution – and squeaks rarely indicate a structural problem forming under foot. No matter what kind of finish flooring you may have — carpet, vinyl, tile, or hardwood — unless your home is built on a concrete slab, underneath it’s wood. And it’s that wood that causes the squeaks — well, sort of. Usually, the squeak is a loose nail rubbing inside the hole it was originally driven into. Lumber that’s used to build homes contains a certain degree of natural moisture, which makes the wood easy to cut and minimizes splitting when it’s being nailed together. Unfortunately, as the wood dries, it shrinks — a natural process that can take years. When the wood shrinks enough, once tightly seated nails can loosen and rub when the wood flexes below the pitter-patter of foot traffic, creating the familiar irritating sound: a floor squeak. The good news is that floor squeaks aren’t as tough to fix as they are to listen to! They’re not difficult or expensive to repair, and with a little guidance, you can avoid the frustrating part of the task: actually, finding the cause of the squeak. Finding the squeak The first step in repairing a floor squeak is to find the nail that’s rubbing up against the wood floor — a task akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Here’s a trick that I use to pinpoint a floor squeak so that I can make a repair: Use a short length of garden hose as a stethoscope. Hold one end of the hose to your ear and the other end on the floor while someone else walks across the floor to make it squeak. Fixing the squeak If the problem is a loose subfloor (the wood floor beneath the carpet, vinyl, hardwood, and so on), the repair can get sticky depending upon the type of finish flooring you have. However, if access below is available (that is, you can get to the subfloor through the basement or crawlspace), installing a wood shim shingle between the subfloor and the floor joist is a quick and easy means of preventing the subfloor from flexing, and it quiets the squeak. Just squirt some carpenter’s glue on the thin end of the shingle and tap it in with a hammer. Most squeaks can be solved by driving an extra screw through the subfloor to the floor joists directly underneath the squeak. But when the floor is covered with wall-to-wall carpet, that can require taking the carpet up. Here’s a shortcut: take a 12d finish nail (use a galvanized nail — it holds better) and drive it through the carpet into the subfloor and joist below. You’ll find this leaves a divot in the carpet, which will no doubt have you (or your spouse) thinking you’ve just ruined the rug! Ah, but not so fast! Just grab the nap of the carpet above the divot and pull it up until the nail pulls through the carpet backing. Voilà, the divot will have disappeared right along with the squeak! Another means of quieting a squeaking floor by preventing it from flexing is a nifty gadget called a Squeak-Ender. It consists of a metal plate and threaded-rod assembly that’s screwed to the underside of the subfloor and a steel bracket. You slip the bracket beneath the joist and over the threaded rod; then you tighten a nut onto the rod to pull down the floor and close the gap. For more information on the Squeak-Ender, go to www.squeakender.com or call 586-978-3377. If access below is not available, after you locate the culprit nail, the next step is to create a better connection. Don’t use nails to make the repair — use screws. Just follow these steps: Locate the squeak using the method discussed in the preceding section. Locate the nearest floor joist under the squeak. The floor joist is the horizontal floor framing member that the wood subfloor is attached to. If the subfloor is exposed, this is easy — just look at the nails, which will line up over the floor joists. If not, you can locate the joist using a stud finder, an electronic tool used to locate wood studs to joists below walls or floors. Near the existing squeaking nail, drill a small pilot hole through the wood subfloor and into the floor joist. Drilling a small pilot hole in the floor joist makes driving in the screw easier. You can leave the old nail in place, or, if it’s loose, remove it using a nail puller or pry bar. Drive a construction screw into the pilot hole, through the subfloor, and so on. When working on a hardwood floor, countersink (recess) the screw head so that it can be concealed with hardwood putty. Use a putty knife to install hardwood putty. Touch up the floor finish with 400- to 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper. I recommend construction screws because they’re easy to drive and they grip like crazy. You can purchase screws with a finish head (like a finish nail), which makes them a particularly good choice when working on a hardwood floor. You simply countersink them slightly and place putty over them. A construction screw’s coarse threads and really sharp tip make it the perfect fastener for old, dry wood. The sharp tip gets through harder lumber more easily, and the coarse screw threads go in faster and hold better.

Article / Updated 10-16-2024

When basements leak, people panic. The good news about these unplanned indoor pools is this. While wet basements are often thought of as one of life’s biggest home repair headaches, basement water problems are generally easy and inexpensive to fix. Yes, that’s right–easy and inexpensive! The basement is one of the greatest untapped spaces in any home. Think about it — if you have a basement, it’s like having an entire extra floor to do with what you wish. That is, however, unless it’s a swimming pool! Damp, leaking, or flooded basements (or crawlspaces) can severely diminish the value of a house. They can lead to a host of associated problems like mold, rotted floor structures, insect infestations, and more. Worse yet, the cost of fixing a wet basement will generally be in the tens of thousands! Well, let’s stop right there so I can let you in on a few facts about fixing floods: Most wet basements are blamed incorrectly on the home having a rising water table. This is usually not the case. The top cause of a wet basement or crawlspace is a lack of adequate roof and surface drainage. Clogged or misdirected gutters, along with grading that directs rainwater toward the house foundation, cause almost all below-grade water leakage. For years, so-called waterproofing companies have caused panic among homeowners by advising that a failure to install expensive sump pumps and drains will cause foundations to crack, and mold to take over. These high-pressure tactics could not be further from the truth and are simply an attempt to make a high-dollar sale on a system that’s rarely needed. And the best news? Most wet basements can be fixed in a weekend using a few hundred dollars’ worth of materials at most. I’ll show you how. Where basement leaks wait to happen: Start outside In the 20 years I spent as a professional home inspector, it wasn’t unusual for me to be asked to inspect a house that had a below-grade water problem. On one such occasion, a young couple had received five-figure estimates from multiple waterproofing companies along with a heaping helping of fear that the home would disintegrate if they didn’t hire them. They’d called me to help them decide which five-figure-estimating company to hire. With that in mind, I walked up to the house, glanced up, and immediately saw a series of 1- to 3-foot trees growing out of their insanely clogged gutters! Problem solved. Mike drop. Tom out! Designing and cleaning gutters to keep water away The primary reason that basements or crawlspaces leak, flood, or just get damp, is that the home does not have a properly functioning gutter system. There are several common gutter failures that I see. Clogged gutters: The season is called Fall for a reason! Leaves, pine needles, and other tree droppings, along with the occasional tennis ball, regularly clog gutters. When that happens, gutters overflow, dumping all the rain that Mother Nature has to offer right along your foundation wall, where it has nowhere else to go but down and into your basement or crawlspace. (See Figure 4-6.) Too few downspouts: For standard five-inch gutters, a home needs one downspout for every 600 to 800 square feet of roof surface. Stand back and stare up at your roof and try to estimate if your home has this. Be sure to include any gutters on second-floor roofs that drain to first-floor roofs on their way to the downspout. If you are moving more water than that, you’ll need bigger gutters and spouts, or just more spouts. Downspouts discharging too close to the house: Gutter installers have a really bad habit I’d like to break. They typically extend the downspout discharge about a foot, and then into a splash block, which runs it out another foot. If you have any indication that there’s a water problem in your house, these need to be run out more like four to six feet. Improving your gutters and site drainage are the two most effective ways to correct a leaking, damp, or musty basement. But of those two, gutter improvements are far and away much more important than grading improvements. In my 20 years as a professional home inspector diagnosing basement and crawlspace leaks, I’ve found that gutters cause 90 percent of the problem, with grading causing the rest. So, tackle your gutter fixes first. They are more likely to solve the problem (see Figure 4-7) and are actually a lot easier to do than hauling dirt to add around your foundation! Making the grade to keep water away After leaking gutters, the second reason basements flood is when the soil around the house settles and prevents water from draining away from the house. Here’s why that happens: When a home with a basement or crawlspace is built, excavators dig a deep hole to allow the masons to start building a foundation. This hole is wider than the house so that contractors can access all sides to build the foundation. As the home nears completion, the excavators return to backfill the soil around the house and — hopefully — grade it to slope away from the foundation walls. As time marches on, however, that soil starts to settle and compact. The grade that initially was pitched to run away from the house, goes to flat and ultimately reverses to run water toward the house. Once that happens, rainwater soaks into the soil around the foundation, and if it rains hard enough, it shows up in the basement as a leak or full-out flood. Restoring a positive grade is not all that difficult. You’ll need to add soil along the foundation perimeter and grade it to slope downward about 6 inches over the first 4 feet away from the foundation. For this project, you’ll want to use clean fill dirt — not topsoil or mulch, which is too organic and will hold water instead of letting it drain. Aside from maintaining a positive grade, be mindful of anything that traps water along the house, like brick, stone, or wood landscaping. If you are trying to fix a leak, you can’t afford to have anything holding water too close to your house. Paths and patios should slope away from the foundation, too. A path or patio that slopes toward the home discharges water into the basement or crawlspace.

Article / Updated 10-16-2024

When the mercury drops, your water pipes become increasingly vulnerable and may freeze and burst. When water freezes, it expands, and the force of that expansion can split a copper pipe wide open. A burst water line can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage and forever destroy personal possessions in the path of the raging water. The good news is that you can take steps to help prevent a burst pipe and the chaos that it causes. When the mercury drops, your water pipes become increasingly vulnerable and may freeze and burst. When water freezes, it expands, and the force of that expansion can split a copper pipe wide open. A burst water line can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage and forever destroy personal possessions in the path of the raging water. The good news is that you can take steps to help prevent a burst pipe and the chaos that it causes. An ounce of prevention If you’ve ever experienced a frozen water line that did not burst wide open, consider yourself lucky! Before that luck wears out, it’s smart to take a few steps to prevent your pipes from freezing and keep water running all winter long. Turn on your faucets just a little. A faucet left dripping at the fixture farthest from the main water inlet allows just enough warm water movement within the pipes to reduce the chance of a freeze. Insulate your above-ground pipes. Pipes in unfinished spaces are most susceptible to freezing. Insulating these pipes prevents them from freezing during most mild-to-medium chills — even when faucets are off. Be sure to focus on insulating pipes in the crawl space, basement, attic, and any pipes that are located along exterior walls, such as a main water line and shut-off valve. Open your cabinets. If the pipes that supply water to your kitchen or bathroom sink faucets are prone to freezing, leave the cabinet doors open at night. The open doors allow warm air to circulate in the cabinet and warm the cold pipes. Install electric pipe heating cable. If you’re in an area where temperatures frequently drop below freezing, think about purchasing pipe heating cable, commonly known as heat tape. Heat tape is an electric appliance that is attached to copper pipe. When temperatures drop, a thermostat activates the heat tape and keeps the pipe warm to prevent it from freezing. Heat tape is also useful for thawing out a pipe that’s frozen. Heat tape must be used cautiously, and strictly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Throughout my 20 years as a professional home inspector, I frequently observed heat tape being misused more often than being used correctly. It wasn’t unusual for me to find heat tape that got so hot, it singed wood framing or insulation! To prevent a fire, never overlap one section of heat tape on top of another and never add insulation to a pipe where heat tape is being used. Doing so can cause the heat tape to overheat and lead to a fire. Lastly, heat tape is not designed to be plugged in all the time. Once the pipe thaws, unplug the heat tape. If the same pipes in your home freeze over and over again, you are better off replacing that section of copper pipe with PEX, which can be rerouted through warmer areas of the home instead. I did this exact project in my home some years back. The water supply for our kitchen sink ran through the exterior wall and frequently froze in cold weather. To fix the problem, I disconnected the copper pipe, inserted a section of PEX tubing, and ran it inside the kitchen cabinet, where it never froze again!

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-04-2024

Doodles are very popular dogs, which means there are reputable breeders, committed to producing the healthiest dogs possible, and then there are breeders looking to make a quick buck. You need to know how to spot the difference so you can find the right dog for you. When faced with a lapful of adorable puppies, you may want to take all of them home with you, but doing a simple temperament test will help you find a dog who’ll settle in to your family with ease. Finally, you need to stock up on supplies before you bring home a new dog — knowing what to buy and where to shop will allow you to focus on your puppy, not all the stuff you forgot to buy. Photo by April Walker on Unsplash

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-16-2024

If your dog suffers from anxiety, you’re not alone. Many factors contribute to your dog’s distress. For decades, dog anxiety was attributed to isolation distress, AKA separation anxiety, while reactions to people, dogs, noises, and other stimuli were dismissed as mere character flaws. Now, canine anxiety is studied, diagnosed, and treated compassionately to address a range of behaviors once considered maladaptive, such as destructiveness, leash reactivity, accidents, excessive barking, and aggression. Dog anxiety has always existed. However, before leash laws and modern domestication, dogs would simply disappear when faced with a stressful event. Nowadays, people delight in pampering their dogs like children. Confined to homes, yards, and leashes, dogs' ability to retreat, explore, greet others, and self-soothe has been significantly compromised. When considering how your dog’s anxiety affects their everyday life, it’s helpful to note that dogs, like people and other animals, are driven by routine impulses and emotions. See if you can relate to any of these actions: Seeking: To fulfill the certainties of everyday life, such as locating food, water, and shelter. Curiosity: The instinct to discover, explore, and identify unknown sensory experiences. Play: To engage in spontaneous, joyful, and non-serious activities. Fear: To respond to a perceived threat or danger. Frustration: The feeling of impatience or annoyance when needs or desires are unmet. The emotions that drive your dog’s anxious reactions are fear and frustration. When a dog feels trapped or cannot escape a frightening event, fear can evolve into panic. When frustration has no outlet, it can morph into rage. While isolated incidents of frustration — such as barking when a ball rolls out of reach — may not reflect emotional dysregulation, chronic fear and frustration from certain sensory experiences, prolonged isolation or containment, and forced interactions with people and other dogs can result in deep-seated anxiety.

Article / Updated 09-11-2024

If you’re looking for a refreshing way to get your daily dose of caffeine, look no further than cold brew coffee. This versatile drink is super easy to make at home and will save you tons of money compared to coffee shop and restaurant versions. Cold brew vs. iced coffee Are you curious if there’s a difference between cold brew and iced coffee? There are several differences, in fact. These drinks differ in the way that they are made, and those methods affect the finished products’ flavor and texture. Iced coffee can be made by pouring hot coffee over ice or cooling hot coffee to room temperature before pouring over ice, but though these methods are fast, they don’t produce a consistently great taste. Pouring hot coffee over ice necessarily dilutes the coffee, resulting in weak flavor. Cooling the coffee before pouring it over ice is better, but this process produces a fairly acidic drink. The best way to make a cold coffee drink takes more time, but it’s worth the wait. Cold brew coffee is made by leaving coffee grounds to steep undisturbed in room-temperature or cold water at least overnight. This slow-and-steady cold brew method allows the coffee flavor to gradually seep into the water and creates a smooth beverage. Because cold brew uses a higher coffee grounds-to-water ratio and because the coffee grounds soak in the water for such a long time, cold brew is also often more caffeinated than iced coffee or hot coffee per ounce. Iced coffee Cold brew Quick as a cup of hot coffee Slow process can take up to 24 hours Can be acidic or bitter Smooth, less acidic taste Same caffeine as hot coffee May have more caffeine Same cost as hot coffee to make Costs more because it uses more coffee grounds Drink right away for best flavor Keeps fresh in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks How to make cold brew You can make cold brew coffee at home easily. Starbucks and a few other brands make premeasured filter packs filled with coffee grounds and sealed so you can soak them in water and then just remove them like a tea bag. These are foolproof, but they’re also pricey compared to regular coffee. Fortunately, you can DIY cold brew coffee easily. This recipe makes enough coffee to store in the fridge and drink all week. If you want to make more (or less), you can easily adjust the recipe. Just keep in mind that you need about an ounce of coffee for each cup of water. You need the following: A large plastic or glass pitcher with a snug-fitting lid (a large mason jar also works well) 8 cups of cold, filtered water 1/2 pound of medium roast coffee (grind it fresh if you can for the best flavor, but pre-ground works fine, too) A fine-mesh sieve, cheesecloth and colander, or a good old drip brew coffee machine (for straining) Pour the water into the pitcher or jar and add the ground coffee; mix well. Attach the lid securely. At this point, you can choose whether you want to leave it on the counter or refrigerate while it steeps. The counter takes less time; you can leave it overnight, and it will be ready in the morning. If you leave it in the fridge, it takes 18 to 24 hours. The two different methods produce very subtle variations in flavor and texture; chilling the water while the coffee steeps produces a slightly less acidic, smoother beverage. When you’re ready, remove the grounds from the coffee. You can do this a number of ways. The easiest way is to pour the whole mixture through a fine-mesh sieve if you have one. If you don’t, a cheesecloth-lined colander works, but it can be a bit messy. Here’s another simple method, if you have a drip coffee machine and paper filters handy: Simply put the filter in the coffee maker’s brew basket, pour the mixture slowly into the filter, and then close the filter and let it drip into the empty pot below. (Don’t turn it on! You’re just using the filter.) You have to repeat this method a few times because the basket doesn’t hold all of your coffee at once. Do you need a cold brew coffee maker? Cold brew coffee makers are a luxury item and aren’t necessary for a great cup of cold brew, but they sure make the process easier. They’re a great option for anyone who wants to make and enjoy this drink on the regular. Some of the benefits of a cold brew coffee maker include these: They’re not too expensive (most cost around $25). They have indicator lines that make it easy to measure your coffee and water. Cold brew coffee machines make it easy to strain the coffee with minimal effort. Some cold brew coffee machines have a timer on top to remind you when to strain it and how long it has been in the fridge. They’re probably more attractive than the random pitcher you have in your cabinet. Recipes for cold brew coffee Get creative when flavoring your cold brew coffee. You can use any commercial sweeteners or syrups you like or get creative and flavor it yourself. While the coffee is steeping, you can add any of the following: A cinnamon stick or two Whole spices like cloves or allspice A vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract A handful of fresh mint leaves You can use regular sugar to sweeten your cold brew coffee, but it may be a bit grainy since the cold beverage doesn’t fully dissolve the sugar. One way around this is to make a simple syrup like most coffeehouses use. It’s very easy to do. Just mix sugar and water at a ratio of 1:2 in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir the mixture until all the particles of sugar are dissolved, and let the syrup cool completely. Pro tip: Add cinnamon sticks, sliced fresh ginger, or whole cloves to the syrup while it boils and then strain them out at the end for delicious flavored syrup. You can store your simple syrup in an airtight jar for a week. How to make Thai iced coffee from cold brew Another popular way to enjoy cold brew takes its inspiration from Thai iced coffee. In Thailand, coffee is traditionally sweetened and creamed simultaneously with sweetened condensed milk, which is shelf stable and lasts longer than refrigerated dairy in the country’s tropical climate. Sweetened condensed milk gives the drink a thick, very sweet taste that’s hard to beat. Ingredients: 8 oz. cold brew coffee Ice 1–3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, to taste Pour a serving of cold brew coffee into a tall glass, add ice, and instead of adding milk, add sweetened condensed milk. Swirl it around and enjoy the thick, sweet syrup A Latin American twist on this recipe uses dulce de leche in place of the sweetened condensed milk for a delicious caramel flavor. Dulce de leche, or sweet milk, is simply sweetened condensed milk that has been cooked until caramelized. You can buy dulce de leche already made in the Latin American section of most grocery stores, but it’s also very easy to make your own. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk and a large stockpot. Simmer the unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a large pot of water for three or four hours, adding more water as needed. Afterward, let the water and can cool down, and then move the can to cool completely in the refrigerator before opening (take care not to open it until it’s totally cooled; otherwise it will splash you with boiling syrup, so be careful!). Other ways to drink cold brew coffee at home Cold brew is a versatile drink. You can Pour cold brew over vanilla ice cream to enjoy a coffee float. Blend cold brew coffee with ice (and ice cream, if you like) for a tasty frozen drink. Mix cold brew coffee with a shot or two of Kahlua, amaretto, Cointreau, or Bailey’s Irish Cream for a refreshing adult beverage. Freeze it in an ice cube tray to make ice cubes for your cold brew, ensuring it doesn’t water down as you drink it. Pour cold brew coffee into a Popsicle mold and freeze it. (This is even better if you swirl in a little sweetened condensed milk!)

Article / Updated 09-11-2024

Pet lovers understand that there’s nothing like a furry friend to keep you company. But then shedding season arrives, and you’re wearing more of your pet’s hair than he is. You find it on your sofa. You find it in your coffee. You find it in little dust bunnies on the hardwood floors. Don’t let your cat’s or dog’s fur take over your home. We’ve compiled our best tips for how to choose the best vacuum cleaner for pet hair, including information on the best robot vacuum for those who want a little convenience. We also have some great tips on other ways to reduce the fur storm in your home so you can get back to enjoying your pet. Best vacuum for pet hair on carpet Most vacuum cleaners that are worth their salt are also good for pet hair. But some models stand out for features that are especially important in a home with a shedding cat or dog. We’ve compiled a list of the top vacuum cleaners for pet hair by budget. Best vacuum for pet hair under $150: The Eureka NEU180B is less than $100 and is surprisingly powerful for its small price tag. It’s an upright vacuum but is only 12 pounds, so it’s easy to use frequently (which you know will come in handy all through shedding season). It has an extra-large capacity dustbin to hold all of that fur. Best vacuum for pet hair under $300: The Shark Rotator Powered Lift-Away TruePet Upright Vacuum sits right at $300 and is also one of our top overall picks for vacuums. It comes with a mini brush attachment meant for pet fur and also has anti-allergen seal technology specially designed to reduce the dander in your home. Its LED lights make it easier to see the little hair dust bunnies under your furniture and in the corners of your home. Best vacuum for pet hair under $500: At $400-$500 depending on the model, the Dyson Animal 2 Upright Vacuum is the best on the market. It has an allergy filter, incredibly strong suction (Dyson says it’s the strongest on the market), and easy maneuverability to get under all the furniture where Fido likes to hide. You can also use this vacuum cleaner’s special attachments to remove fur from your furniture and even your clothes. Best robot vacuum for pet hair Truthfully, robot vacuum cleaners can’t compete with classic upright vacuums for removing pet hair from the carpet. But the right robot vacuum can handle some of the workload for you so you don’t have to vacuum every single day. We found two models that are ideal for pet owners. Best robot vacuum for pet hair under $300: The Proscience 790T comes in at $260 and has several features that make it ideal for a pet-friendly home. It has a built-in filter and a stronger motor than most robot vacuums at similar price points. It also has a mop feature that can help clean up pet accidents and stains on hard floors. Best robot vacuum for pet hair under $500: The iRobot Roomba 890 is a great option for pet owners. It’s about $400. It has a built-in filter to reduce allergens caused by pet dander. It also has an auto-adjust feature that senses the height of the carpet or floor and adjusts accordingly for a nice snug vacuum, ensuring even suction across surfaces. How to vacuum your dog This definitely doesn’t work for all dogs, so only try it if you have a laid-back pup that is obedient. You can vacuum your dog by using a hose on an upright or canister vacuum cleaner. Some companies sell a pet attachment to attach to the hose, or you can try the upholstery attachment that came with your machine. Get your dog used to the vacuum cleaner gradually by letting him sniff it when it’s turned off. Then turn it on and set it down near him, offering him treats for coming near it. Do this over several days if needed; the important thing is to get him accustomed to the vacuum without being afraid of the loud noise or mysterious suction. After he’s used to the vacuum’s sound, pet him while gently vacuuming across his back. You can use the hose with no attachment or use the upholstery attachment, whichever he prefers. Be careful to avoid his face, ears, tail, and underside (and his paws if he’s sensitive about them). Reward him generously with his favorite treat frequently as he sits still for you. Many dogs actually come to love being vacuumed and come running each time they hear the vacuum cleaner turn on. Others never learn to love it, and that’s okay, too! You can use other strategies if your dog won’t let you vacuum him. How to get dog hair out of a car We’ve all been there: Your dog rides in your car one time, and the car looks like a fur bomb went off in there. Or maybe you never let your pet in the car, but somehow his hair magically appears anyway. Once the hair is in your car, it’s difficult to remove. Something about the fabric in many vehicles makes it much harder to remove pet fur from it than from other fabrics; the fur just sticks to it and gets embedded like Velcro. Before you get too desperate, try using the upholstery attachment on your upright or canister vacuum cleaner. If you have a handheld vacuum, you can try that as well, though most of them don’t have enough suction power to remove pet fur. A few vacuum cleaner brands have a special attachment for pet hair, and that may work as well. You can even purchase a pet hair attachment from the pet store from brands like FURminator; just be sure it’s compatible with your model of vacuum cleaner. If the vacuum doesn’t cut it, you can purchase a specialty glove to remove fur from your car; this is what many auto-detailing professionals use. You simply put the glove on and rub it across the fabric, picking up the fur as you go. The gloves themselves can be hard to clean, but you’d probably rather have a furry glove than a furry car. Another option is to try using a boar hair brush to gently brush the fabric on the floorboards. It might scratch up leather seating, so be sure not to use it there. Some people swear by using Velcro-style hair curlers to remove the fur from floorboards. Other tips for shedding season Whether your pet is blowing his coat or sheds year-round, these tips can help keep the fur out of your carpet and minimize how often you have to vacuum in the first place. Wash your pet, especially if it’s a dog. Weekly baths help loosen the undercoat so that it comes off easier during brushing. Use a gentle pet shampoo, using your fingernails to massage it all the way through his coat. Use your hand or a special fur-removing glove to coax as much of his fur off of him as you can while he’s soaking wet. Then apply a gentle pet conditioner and rinse it off, again using your fingers to brush through his coat and remove as much loose fur as possible. Rub him down with a towel and then, if he allows it, blow dry his coat on a warm or cool setting while brushing. Have your pet professionally groomed. Long-haired pets especially benefit from a trim or even a shave in the warm months. This leaves less hair to adorn your carpets. Brush your cat or dog every day. Train your pet to sit still while you brush him with a curry brush, and reward him with treats and lots of love when he does well. Most pets learn to love this time with you, and it’s also great for their skin and circulatory system. Once a week to once a month, use a tool specially made for shedding, like the FURminator deShedding Tool for cats or dogs. These tools remove more loose hair with each swipe than a standard pet brush, so you can spend less time brushing and more time playing.

Article / Updated 09-11-2024

The trend we know as "juicing" didn't really become popular until around 2010. Today, you can find all types of juicers on the market to help you get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. While juicing daily can bring a lot of health benefits, there are also some risks with juicing, especially for people with certain health conditions or who take prescription medication. Understand the risks involved with juicing so you can make the best decisions for you and your family. Health Benefits of Juicing In general, anything that gets you to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet is good for you. Proponents of juicing say that it’s a relatively easy and delicious way for people who wouldn’t otherwise eat the recommended amount of fresh fruits and vegetables to get them into their diet. Make sure you know which fruits and vegetables to avoid juicing before you get started. In addition to getting these added nutrients, there are several other benefits of juicing as part of your daily routine. There’s some controversy in the medical world over whether the risks of juice cleanses outweigh the benefits, with some experts expressing concern that extreme juice cleanses can cause more harm than good. However, adding a glass of freshly squeezed juice to your diet every day, generally, can positively impact your health. Juicing can add good bacteria to your gut A lot of research suggests the connection between gut health and overall health. Specifically, having the right kind of bacteria in your gut can help you feel better physically and mentally. The best way to improve your gut health through juicing is by using cruciferous vegetables, which are rich in prebiotics. Prebiotics are fermentable carbohydrates that nourish your intestines. They can help you feel fuller for longer, plus they aid in digestion, boost immunity, and reduce inflammation. You can take prebiotic supplements, or you can get the benefits by eating foods that are rich in prebiotics. Examples of vegetables that contain beneficial prebiotics include cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, radish, kale, rutabaga, and brussel sprouts. Studies that look specifically at the connection between juicing and gut health are limited. One small research study found that participants who did a three-day juice cleanse had a heightened sense of wellbeing 14 days after the cleanse was over. Researchers contributed this to the altered intestinal bacteria that resulted from the juice cleanse Juicing can help cancer patients Juicing can’t cure cancer, but it can make it easier for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments to get essential vitamins and nutrients into their diets. Your doctor can advise you on what type of diet you should follow and will likely tell you not to follow a strictly liquid diet. For patients undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer-fighting treatments, juicing can be an easy way to get essential nutrients when eating whole fruits and vegetables is too much. Add protein-filled flaxseed, yogurt, milk, or peanut butter to your juice to add calories and help you retain muscle mass. Juicing aids fast and easy digestion Because juicing removes the fibrous pulp, the juice that gets left is really easy for your body to digest, and digestion happens quickly. Just keep in mind that because you aren’t getting the benefits of the fiber from the fruits and vegetables you juice, you do still need to incorporate whole fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. Juicing shouldn’t replace whole fruits and vegetables; it should supplement them. If you want to get the added benefits of fibrous pulp, you can add extracted pulp to other dishes, like muffins or soups. You can also rotate between blending and juicing, since. Juicing can combat adrenal fatigue It’s common to get rundown from time to time. After all, stress is part of our busy lives. But when your body gets overstressed and rundown, it can lead to something referred to as adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is a term used to describe a condition in which your adrenal glands are overworked, usually from stress and burnout. While many experts in the medical field don’t consider adrenal fatigue to be a diagnosable condition, many people still experience symptoms of it and find relief by changing their diet. to nourish your adrenal glands and recover from burnout and chronic stress. Juicing can help you lose weight—if you do it right It’s true that juicing can help you lose weight, but only if you take a thoughtful approach to it. Juice fasts are trendy, but they can actually lead to weight gain if you drink juices that are made from mostly fruits and are therefore loaded with sugar. Plus, because you aren’t getting the filling fiber from the fruits and vegetables you juice, you might end up feeling hungry and bailing on your cleanse altogether. In general, adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet by starting your day off with juice from your juicing machine can contribute to a healthier lifestyle and lead to gradual weight loss. Juice cleanses can temporarily help you lose weight since they’re extremely calorie restrictive, but they don’t provide a permanent weight loss solution. You’re best off using a juicer to improve your diet, not to replace whole foods. Risks of Juicing While juicing has plenty of health benefits, there are also some risks you should be aware of before you dive in. In general, it’s best to add juicing to your diet in addition to eating whole foods instead of going on a juice cleanse to replace whole foods. Going on a juice fast or juice cleanse can be detrimental to your health by depleting your body of vital nutrients. Talk to your doctor if you have any specific concerns before you start juicing, especially if you’re taking any type of prescription medication or have a chronic condition. Juice goes bad fast Fresh juice is great, but only for a limited time. Only make enough juice for one serving and drink it immediately. It’s easy for bacteria to can get into unpasteurized juice, which can lead to food poisoning. People who are especially at risk are children, the elderly, and anyone who has an immune disorder. Juicing can negatively interact with medication Talk to your doctor if you’re taking prescription drugs before you start juicing, as some drugs can negatively interact with key ingredients in fresh juice. For example, the blood thinner Warfarin can work improperly in patients who get a huge dose of vitamin K in their diet from foods like kale and spinach. Grapefruit juice can be harmful for people taking certain statins to manage their cholesterol by blocking an important enzyme that controls how your body absorbs drugs. In addition, drinking grapefruit juice while you’re taking statins can cause pain in your joints and muscles, muscle breakdown, liver damage, and even kidney failure. The FDA also warns that grapefruit can interact with certain medications that treat everything from allergies to high blood pressure. Your doctor can help you determine which fruits and vegetables are safe to juice with and which ones you should avoid based on your medical history and your current list of prescribed medications. Juicing can hurt your kidneys Some research suggests that juice cleanses can hurt your kidneys and lead to kidney stones or other kidney problems. This tends to be a concern for people who have an existing kidney condition or for people who do extended juice cleanses. Juices are high in oxalate, which can contribute to kidney malfunction. Talk to your doctor before you start juicing if you have, or have ever had, kidney problems. Juicing can lead to dehydration It sounds counter intuitive but drinking too much juice can actually dehydrate you. That’s because some juices have a diuretic effect, which can lead to diarrhea and dehydration. Having a daily glass of juice shouldn’t cause you to become dehydrated but going on a juice fast or juice cleanse can have this effect. Stop juicing if you start getting headaches, feeling lightheaded, or experience diarrhea as these are all signs that you’re dehydrated. Juicing can be harmful for people with diabetes Because juicing takes out all the fibrous pulp, it essentially all goes straight into your bloodstream. If you’re drinking juice that’s full of fruits and loaded with sugar, that can make your blood sugar spike, causing problems for anyone, especially people who have diabetes. In fact, a Harvard study determined that people who were considered pre-diabetic were 21 percent more likely to get diabetes when they drank juice instead of whole fruits. If you’re pre-diabetic or diabetic, talk to your doctor before you start juicing. Juicing can be beneficial as long as you’re juicing the right combination of fruits and vegetables. Bottom line Juicing in moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle can give your body valuable nutrients and encourage you to eat more fruits and vegetables. If you have specific health concerns, consult with your doctor before you start juicing to make sure you’re using the right combination of ingredients. Juicing at home is easier and less expensive than buying juice from the store or from a juice bar. Plus, you get to choose exactly what ingredients you add to your juice to make your own delicious concoctions anytime you want. Are you ready to try juicing? Check out our top picks for juicers and see what different types of juicers are on the market so you can get the best one for your lifestyle.

Article / Updated 08-30-2024

August 20, 2024 (Hoboken, NJ) - Dummies, a Wiley Brand, is excited to announce its collaboration with Marvel on a co-branded series of books to bring the beloved characters of Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe to fans through Dummies’ approachable and engaging books. The anticipated six-book series is scheduled to publish in three parts, with the inaugural titles, Marvel Comics For Dummies and Captain America For Dummies, set for release in February 2025. Future titles in the series will cover the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All titles are planned to release in 2025. Jennifer Yee, Senior Editor at Dummies shared, “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Marvel to bring the Marvel Universe to fans through Dummies’ signature style of accessible, friendly storytelling. For new fans looking for a primer to the Marvel Comic Universe, to superfans alike, this series of books will serve as approachable reference guides to some of Marvel’s most popular and enduring super heroes.” Marvel Comics For Dummies Troy Brownfield | February 2025 | ISBN: 9781394299294 | Paperback | $29.99 Marvel Comics For Dummies is a comprehensive reference guide and definitive primer to the immense catalog of comics created by the most iconic comic book publisher in history. Marvel Comics For Dummies will introduce readers of all ages to key Marvel comic book characters, their super-powers, strengths, weapons, allies and enemies, and more. Readers will be introduced to key storylines that have been woven through Marvel comics for decades and learn the essential facts and foundational backstories necessary to understand how the comics and characters are inter-related. Along the way readers will get the scoop on popular characters like Iron Man, Wolverine, Black Panther, Thor, and Captain Marvel. Marvel Comics For Dummies author Troy Brownfield is an Executive Editor of The Saturday Evening Post and kid’s magazines -- Jack & Jill and Humpty Dumpty. As a comic book expert and fan, Troy has written and created content for DC Comics, Comiccon.com, Fangoria Comics/Graphix, comics for Zenescope Entertainment, and has written trading cards for Topps Trading Cards, including HALO series content and Star Wars 2018-present. Captain America For Dummies Stuart Moore | February 2025 | ISBN: 9781394299447 | Paperback | $29.99 Captain America For Dummies will introduce readers to Captain America, the character and the history of the comic, originally published in 1940. The book will walk readers through Captain America’s origin story, how civilian Steve Rogers became a super hero, thanks to a secret government project and a dose of Super-Soldier Serum, and how others, including Sam Wilson, have taken up the mantle of Captain America over time. Captain America For Dummies author, Stuart Moore, is the author of the Marvel Crisis Protocol novels Target: Kree and Into the Dark Dimension (Aconyte Books), three volumes of the New York Times bestselling middle-grade series The Zodiac Legacy (Disney Press), created and cowritten by Stan Lee, and was a founding editor of the acclaimed Vertigo imprint at DC Comics, where he won the Will Eisner Award for Best Editor. ### PRESS CONTACT: Amy Seratt, Senior Publicity Manager, Wiley | [email protected] ABOUT WILEY: Wiley (NYSE: WLY) is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. ABOUT MARVEL: Marvel is one of the world’s most prominent entertainment brands, built on an unparalleled library of iconic characters and stories that have shaped pop culture for 85 years. The Marvel brand spans entertainment, including film, television, publishing, licensing, games, live events, digital media, and more. For more information visit marvel.com. © 2024 MARVEL