Finding Inspiration, Warning Labels and Dish Soap Formulation: What I'm Reading This Week

I’m so grateful for these quiet winter months. I love how a blanket of snow elicits feelings of quiet, coziness and contentment, at least when I’m looking out the window from the warmth of my home.

But I can feel the rumblings of spring, with the longer days, social gatherings and promise of warmer temperatures.

I am making a more conscientious effort to embrace the here and now. It’s been a helpful tactic to keep my mind from racing and panicking, as my mind is wont to do.

Wherever you are physically, mentally or spiritually, I hope you can find something to give you pause (and maybe stop in wonder and awe). Until next time, stay safe and be well!

Finding Inspiration

I’ve written about languishing many times over the course of this column, because it’s so gosh darn easy to get stuck in a rut. Winter weather can certainly exacerbate this feeling. Yesterday morning, I was greeted by another 2 inches of freshly fallen snow.

I love the comfort of routine, as our human brains are hardwired to, but it also deprives us of happiness. Study after study finds that people would be happier if there was more variety in our life.

Shigehiro Oishi, a psychologist professor and leading happiness researcher, says we need to try more things.

“Both pigeons and humans don’t explore enough,” he writes in his new book, Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life. “We underestimate the joy of social exploration.”

The advice? “Try to explore at least 12 potential mates, apartments and restaurants before you settle down.” I’m not going to touch the reference to romantic partners or settling down, but I like that the advice is to try something new instead of sticking to the same old, same old.

It’s so easy to rewatch old episodes of The Office because I remember many of the plot lines and jokes. While I will always laugh at Kevin spilling a giant stockpot of chili all over the carpet, I laugh more when I’m watching something new for the first time. Don’t believe me? Try it!

Read more about the science behind inspiration and happiness here.

Warning Labels

Recently, my mom bought one of those adjustable rolling pins. When she got home, she noticed a warning label for cancer or hormone disruption. She returned it and bought one that didn’t have a warning label. She didn’t want to take that added risk. Neither do many others, researchers have found.

A recent study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that warning labels about harmful chemicals in their products has persuaded many companies to use less of those chemicals or avoid them altogether.

Researchers interviewed 32 global manufacturers and retailers. Almost 80% said that California’s 1986 right-to-know law, also known as Prop 65, prompted them to reformulate their products.

There are still criticisms of the law; a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council told The New York Times that there isn’t a definitive cause and effect relationship between presence of a chemical and harm. However, it’s clear that those warning labels are effective.

Dish Soap Formulation

Let’s file this under something I never thought of but am fascinated by. The most consumed household food in 2024 was meat. While an interesting fact, especially since meat wasn’t in the top five in 2017, it’s the implications that have piqued my interest.

That’s because this research isn’t being done by a governmental agency or health or medical organization. It’s research from Procter & Gamble, maker of Dawn.

“Proteins and fats we see are really on the rise,” said Angelica Matthews, P&G’s VP of North American Dish Care to Fast Company. “Things like a one-pan casserole dish like a chicken cheesy bake is something we see being really popular.”

Because of the change in Americans’ diets, the company has spent the past two years developing a new dish soap formulation that would cut through the proteins and fats that are on our plates. The company also interviewed 10,000 people last year about their dishwashing habits. Their new detergent, PowerSuds, is bubblier and better able to cut through the grease than any of it’s products to date; the grease trapping formula has five separate patents.

As author Mark Wilson notes, stronger dish detergents are a small piece in the broader picture of a more protein-laden American diet, which has serious environmental impacts.