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How one goat herder started humanity’s centuries-long coffee craze

Had a cup of coffee today? If yes, you are part of the world’s 4.83 billion coffee drinkers. That’s approximately 60% of our entire adult population.

Coffee is virtually everywhere, in various different forms. A dark roast americano at the press of a button at home. Fancy lattes at the nearest coffee shop, of which there are two more across the street. The cheap, diluted stuff from the gas station. The possibilities are endless.

Coffee is so commonplace now that it’s almost hard to fathom a time before it…a time when people had to either take a nap or surrender to being tired all day (those were the real dark times).

But just like every modern day convenience, coffee has an origin story. And a pretty interesting one at that.


As a video from Ted-Ed explains, coffee is said to have been discovered by a goat herder.

So sayeth the Ethiopian legend: A goat herder named Kaldi noticed that when members of his flock began to eat the berries off of a certain tree, they’d get bursts of energy. When Kaldi decided to try the berries himself, he too got a jolt.

Considering Ethiopia is where most agree that coffee originated, why not go with their legend? Coffee was being foraged here by the 1400s, but instead of roasting the beans, the leaves would be brewed just like tea. Or the berries would be combined with butter and salt for a quick energy snack. (I’ll stick to my chocolate covered espresso beans, thank you very much.)

Eventually the berries would be made into an “energizing elixir” and traded along the route to the Middle East. By the 1450s, coffee was already popular in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Yemen and Persia.

By this time, coffee was also used for ritual worship in Yemen, which brought about the new brewing methods of roasting and grinding the beans. Dark roast lovers…you can thank the Ottoman Empire.

There was even a period in the 1500s when authorities tried to ban coffee, for fear that it was too much of an intoxicating drug (which, scientifically speaking, isn’t too inaccurate). But eventually that concern was ruled out, and coffee houses began popping up all over the map, spreading to Istanbul, Damascus, and beyond.

Not only more coffee shops, but coffee bean farms. And this is where we got certain names for coffee drinks, like Mocha and Java.

By the 1650s, at the dawn of the Enlightenment Period, coffee shops were opened in Europe. This had an especially powerful effect on London culture, as tavern-going was replaced by attending coffee houses, dubbed “penny universities.” For just one penny (the price of a cup of coffee), customers could not only get a burst of energy, but exposure to new ideas from academics, artists, and intellectuals.

Of course, new ways of thinking didn’t really sit well with King Charles II at the time. Fearing that it might become a threat to his throne, he attempted to “close coffee-houses altogether,” an order which he went back on two days before it would go into effect, as Brian Cowan writes in “The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse.”

By 1906, when the world’s first commercial espresso machine and industrial roasting machine were introduced, we began getting our first coffee brands, which would slowly make their way into many homes around the globe. Only a few short years later, coffee breaks were introduced to a majority of workplaces. And here we are today, in a land where PSLs (pumpkin spice lattes, for the uninitiated) are an expected annual delight and you can take your cup of joe with a zillion different kinds of alternative milks. What a time to be alive.

Luckily, the ways of creating and consuming coffee continue to evolve in ways that are more ethical and sustainable. It’s no secret that, historically, slave labor was used to harvest the product, and Indigenous peoples have been displaced to secure more growing land. Today, there are certification efforts being made to right those wrongs, including livable wages and incorporating different farming techniques like agroforestry. There’s certainly more progress to be made here, but progress is being made nonetheless.

There you have it, folks. Next time you’re enjoying a nice cuppa joe, savor all the history that goes into every single sip.

Watch the full video below:

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4Batz And Drake Ball Out For Their Ladies On Their Charming New ‘Act II: Date @ 8 Remix’

4Batz is having a hell of a breakthrough. Last year, the Dallas artist released his single, “Act II: Date @ 8,” on which, he charmingly explains to a young lady how he plans to woo her.

“I’ll come and slide by 8 p.m. / And send a text to your DM / Five hunnid for your f*ckin’ hair / Two hunnid for your f*ckin’ nails / You runnin’ out of shoes to wear / So I bought you another pair,” 4Batz sings on the song’s chorus.

Since its release, the song has proven to be a viral hit. And now, 4Batz has received another coveted feat — a cosign from Drake. On the song’s new remix, Drake makes an attempt to step back into his ladies’ man bag.

“Two hunnid on your f*ckin’ nail / Yeah, this sh*t feel like a fairy tale / I swear, I’ll make them open up Chanel / I’m a stand-up guy like Dave Chapelle,” Drake rap-sings on his verse

This is just the beginning for 4Batz. In a recent interview for our Uproxx 20 series, he shared that he is striving for longevity and wants for his music to have a long-lasting impact.

“I would like to be remembered as, the biggest artist in the world,” said 4Batz, “and one of the most humble people in the world who gave back and inspired people, and who you know was talented.”

You can listen to “Act II: Date @ 8 Remix” above.

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Ariana Grande Comes To A Heartbreaking Conclusion On Her New Single, ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’

At long last, Ariana Grande has dropped her long-awaited seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine. Since announcing the album in January, fans have been dying to hear what the album will sound like. Grande had previously only released the lead single “Yes, And?” and told fans she wouldn’t release anything else until the rest of the album drops, as she wanted for fans to experience the album in full. On the album is the second single, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love).”

The song features a forlorn Grande moving through the wreckage of a love that no longer exists in the way it once did. Navigating complex emotions, Grande arrives to the conclusion that she and her once-lover need to simply rip the bandage off.

“I don’t wanna tiptoe but I don’t wanna hide / But I don’t wanna feed this monstruous fire / Just wanna let this story die / And I’ll be alright,” she sings on the song’s opening verse.

This Saturday (March 9), Grande will appear on Saturday Night Live as this week’s musical guest.

In the meantime, you can listen to “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” above.

Eternal Sunshine is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

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Ariana Grande Reimagines A ’90s Classic With Her New Song, ‘The Boy Is Mine’

Ariana Grande‘s new album, Eternal Sunshine is bound to have everyone talking. On the new album, which dropped tonight (March 8), Grande pays homage to one of her all-time favorite songs.

Inspired by Brandy and Monica’s 1998 song “The Boy Is Mine,” Grande’s new album features a steamy song by the same name.

On the song, Grande can’t get her mind off of guy, whom she feels was destined for him.

“I can’t wait to try him / Let’s get intertwined / the stars, they aligned / the boy is mine,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

In an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Grande revealed how the inspiration for the song came to her.

“I’ve always wanted to re-imagine [‘The Boy Is Mine’] in some kind of way… In a way, I was kind of like, ‘This is a very bad idea.’ But there is a large group of my fans that really do love a bad girl anthem, and this is an elevated version of that,” said Grande.

Also in the interview, Grande revealed that she repurposed parts of “Fantasize,” a leaked demo that surfaced onto the internet last year.

This Saturday (March 9), Grande will appear on Saturday Night Live as this week’s musical guest.

In the meantime, you can listen to “The Boy Is Mine” above.

Eternal Sunshine is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

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In a thermostat war? The ideal room temperature for work is warmer than you might think.

For a species that evolved in a wide range of climates and conditions and had little ability to choose the temperature around us until recently, humans are awfully persnickety about our thermostat settings. Some of us are so sensitive to temperature fluctuations we can tell if someone has raised or lowered it by a degree or two—a reality that set the stage for many a workplace thermostat war.

If you think 68 degrees is the optimal room temperature in the office and start sweating at your desk when it hits 72, you’re not alone. And if 68 degrees has you putting on your parka and begging the office manager for a nice, balmy 77, you’re also not alone.

Obviously, there’s a huge range of preferences, but is there an optimal room temperature for work productivity? And if so, what is it?


According to a study at University of Southern California, the answer to that question depends on whether you’re a man or a woman.

“It’s been documented that women like warmer indoor temperatures than men, but the idea until now has been that it’s a matter of personal preference,” study author and associate professor of finance and business economics Tommy Chang said. “What we found is it’s not just whether you feel comfortable or not, but that your performance on things that matter — in math and verbal dimensions, and how hard you try — is affected by temperature.”

In the study, women performed best when temperatures were between 70 and 80 degrees, while men’s productivity increased as the temperature went down. However, men were not as negatively impacted by warmer temperatures as women were at cooler temperatures, which led Chang to pinpoint a number that seems ideal.

“I’m cringing a little bit to say this,” Chang told the Los Angeles Times. “75 degrees to me is boiling. That’s hot. I’m very warm at 75. But in a gender-balanced office environment, our results suggest that something like 75 degrees might be the optimal temperature to have for optimal productivity.”

Of course, there are men who run cold and women who run hot, but a clear difference in gender preference and performance overall was observed in the 543 people involved in the study, which tested productivity at temperatures ranging from about 61 degrees Fahrenheit to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit. This was especially apparent on verbal and math tasks.

“One of the most surprising things we learned is this isn’t about the extremes of temperature,” Chang said. “It’s not like we’re getting to freezing or boiling hot. Even if you go from 60 to 75 degrees, which is a relatively normal temperature range, you still see a meaningful variation in performance.”

For many of us, 60 and 75 do feel like extreme temperatures, but that’s neither here nor there. If all else fails, take a poll to see what people’s temperature preferences are and find the median to come the closest to making everyone happy. But considering the entirety of a workplace, assuming an even number of men and women, the thermostat should be set somewhere around 75 if you want people to have the greatest productivity overall.

But maybe provide a desk fan for the under-70-degrees folks, because 75 will likely feel like the surface of the sun for them.

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Anthony Edwards Sealed A Win Over The Pacers With An Insane Block In The Final Seconds

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On the first play of Thursday’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Indiana Pacers, Anthony Edwards came up hobbling and was forced to leave the floor. Three minutes later, Edwards thankfully returned and, when he did, the 22-year-old All-Star put together one of his best performances of the season. Edwards led all scorers in what became a 113-111 road win for the Wolves and, in the final seconds, the hyper-athletic wing made an impressive blocked shot in transition that paved the way for Minnesota to avoid overtime and win the game.

When watching the replay, it quickly became clear that Edwards jumped so high that he hit his head on the rim on the game-saving play.

Then, after the final buzzer, Edwards was interviewed, and he delivered a memorable moment. For one, he confirmed that he hit his head and, while hopefully he isn’t in too much pain, Edwards also said he may have never jumped higher.

It has been a tough week for the Wolves, with star big man Karl-Anthony Towns set to miss extended time with a torn meniscus in his knee. While one victory in March doesn’t solve the uncertainty created by that absence, Edwards was brilliant on this night, finishing with 44 points on 18-for-35 shooting in the game. For all of his offensive exploits, the biggest single play of the evening came on defense, and it helped to give Minnesota a much-needed win.

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The Ladies Of Boygenius Were Each Featured As ‘Jeopardy’ Categories, Including ‘The Tallest One’

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Supergroup Boygenius has had an incredible past 12 months. From releasing their full-length debut album, performing at Coachella and SXSW, and pulling in several Grammy nominations, Boygenius has proven to be inescapable. Now, Boygenius — which is comprised of artists Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus — can add another feat to their collective resume.

Today (March 7), Boygenius and its members’ names were categories on the iconic game show, Jeopardy. The latter four of six categories were labeled “Boy Genius,” “Bridgers,” “Baker,” and “The Tallest One.” Though there was no direct allusion to Dacus’ name, Dacus is the tallest of the group.

Dacus herself was actually an answer for the “Tallest One” category in a prompt presented to actor Ike Barinholtz.

Boygenius is currently on hiatus, but at the end of last year, the ladies spoke with Variety about their dynamic and how their musical chemistry has proven rewarding throughout the group’s journey.

“This collaboration is as important to each of us, if not more important, than our solo work,” she says. “And I bet a lot of supergroups are, even internally, thinking of it as a side project or a momentary thing.”

You can see clips from the Jeopardy episode above.

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Luka Doncic Celebrated Drawing A Foul By Throwing His Arms In The Air And Saying ‘I Got A Call!’

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Luka Doncic doesn’t exactly have the most friendly relationship with the referees. While basically every NBA player goes back-and-forth with the refs whenever they step onto the floor, few guys complain as frequently as Doncic, who seemingly thinks that he draws a foul every time he’s on offense. Jason Kidd has complained about this to the media on multiple occasions, and even Doncic has admitted he has to stop doing that.

Having said that, old habits die hard, and a guy as competitive as Doncic is always going to think that he should get every call. And during Thursday night’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat, Doncic actually got one, which led to one of the funniest moments of the season so far. He drew a foul while going up for a shot after backing down Terry Rozier, and to celebrate, he threw his arms to the heavens and very sarcastically said “I got a call! Yeaaaaaaaaaah!”

The sheer nihilism in his voice as he says “yeah” is nothing short of hilarious — you can tell that this is a man who has been desperate to get this exact call for a while but hasn’t. As such, all of us here at Dime would like to say congratulations to Luka Doncic.

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Ariana Grande Cleverly Lists Off Tracks From her New Album In A Cheeky ‘SNL’ Promo

Ariana Grande is celebrating her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine. The album drops tomorrow (March 8), and the “Yes, And?” hitmaker will be celebrating her new project all weekend long. This Saturday, Grande will appear on Saturday Night Live as this week’s musical guest. Ahead of her appearance, NBC has shared a promo for the episode featuring herself, SNL cast member Chloe Fineman, and this week’s host, Dune: Part II actor Josh Brolin.

In the promo, Grande finds a clever way to list off track names from her new album.

“This is going to be such a fun show,” says Fineman.

Brolin adds, “I know, music, sketches, ‘Weekend Update,’ some videos.”

“Yes, and?” asks Grande.

“Cold open and monologue?” replies Brolin.

“Yes, oh, and we can’t be friends,” says Grande.

Confused, Brolin asks, “What? Why not?”

Grande explains, “Imperfect for you.”

Having caught almost immediately, Fineman explains to Brolin, “Ariana is just listing track titles from her new album.”

After learning this, Brolin tells Grande that this is “Kind of a genius marketing strategy.”

To which, Grande simply replies, “Bye.”

You can see this week’s SNL promo above.

SNL airs Saturday nights on NBC at 11:30 p.m. EST, and are available to stream on Peacock.

Eternal Sunshine is out 3/8 via Republic. Find more information here.

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In a thermostat war? The ideal room temperature for work is warmer than you might think.

For a species that evolved in a wide range of climates and conditions and had little ability to choose the temperature around us until recently, humans are awfully persnickety about our thermostat settings. Some of us are so sensitive to temperature fluctuations we can tell if someone has raised or lowered it by a degree or two—a reality that set the stage for many a workplace thermostat war.

If you think 68 degrees is the optimal room temperature in the office and start sweating at your desk when it hits 72, you’re not alone. And if 68 degrees has you putting on your parka and begging the office manager for a nice, balmy 77, you’re also not alone.

Obviously, there’s a huge range of preferences, but is there an optimal room temperature for work productivity? And if so, what is it?


According to a study at University of Southern California, the answer to that question depends on whether you’re a man or a woman.

“It’s been documented that women like warmer indoor temperatures than men, but the idea until now has been that it’s a matter of personal preference,” study author and associate professor of finance and business economics Tommy Chang said. “What we found is it’s not just whether you feel comfortable or not, but that your performance on things that matter — in math and verbal dimensions, and how hard you try — is affected by temperature.”

In the study, women performed best when temperatures were between 70 and 80 degrees, while men’s productivity increased as the temperature went down. However, men were not as negatively impacted by warmer temperatures as women were at cooler temperatures, which led Chang to pinpoint a number that seems ideal.

“I’m cringing a little bit to say this,” Chang told the Los Angeles Times. “75 degrees to me is boiling. That’s hot. I’m very warm at 75. But in a gender-balanced office environment, our results suggest that something like 75 degrees might be the optimal temperature to have for optimal productivity.”

Of course, there are men who run cold and women who run hot, but a clear difference in gender preference and performance overall was observed in the 543 people involved in the study, which tested productivity at temperatures ranging from about 61 degrees Fahrenheit to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit. This was especially apparent on verbal and math tasks.

“One of the most surprising things we learned is this isn’t about the extremes of temperature,” Chang said. “It’s not like we’re getting to freezing or boiling hot. Even if you go from 60 to 75 degrees, which is a relatively normal temperature range, you still see a meaningful variation in performance.”

For many of us, 60 and 75 do feel like extreme temperatures, but that’s neither here nor there. If all else fails, take a poll to see what people’s temperature preferences are and find the median to come the closest to making everyone happy. But considering the entirety of a workplace, assuming an even number of men and women, the thermostat should be set somewhere around 75 if you want people to have the greatest productivity overall.

But maybe provide a desk fan for the under-70-degrees folks, because 75 will likely feel like the surface of the sun for them.