TWTW: #97
Chatty Cows, Game-Changing Girls and a Very Vulgar Candle

Northern Ireland is having a great start to the year, as it celebrates making same-sex marriage legal. Finally. 

After five years of relentless campaigning, couples will be able to tie the knot in ceremonies, just in time for Valentines Day. 

What’s more, heterosexual partners can now enter civil partnerships – so it’s a win all round.

The health and wellbeing industry is growing fast, but it often fails to speak about one of the biggest sources of anxiety for many people. Money. 

Hence why First Direct is launching a brand new platform, #MoneyWellness, with the aim of transforming attitudes about money, and reassuring people that money worries are something we all share.

The campaign, which is due to run across digital, press, social and outdoors, comprises a series of films featuring real people from around the UK candidly discussing their relationship with money, and the beliefs that have held them back.

A major theme is the way we set ourselves unrealistic goals and expectations by comparing our finances with others. The less of that, the better.

Groundbreaking campaign This Girl Can is back with a brand new track. In celebration of its fifth anniversary, This Girl Can is taking on the many (many) unrealistic fitness bloggers that litter our Instagram feeds, and the detrimental negative effects it is having on their female followers.

We’ve all scrolled past ‘em. Paused. Sighed as we accidentally caught a reflection of our double chin in our phone screen, and carried on. Hair? Perfect. Makeup? Flawless. Body? Probably photoshopped, if we’re being honest. So it’s of no surprise that 63% of women who follow these so-called ‘fitness’ Instagrammers on social media say that it has a negative impact on them and nearly a quarter (24%) who follow a fitness influencer who makes them feel bad about themselves.

Tackling the unrealistic body types, This Girl Can gets down to the nitty-gritty of getting into fitness for all body types with its new video here. 

New Year, same you.

We’re not sure which is more bizarre. The fact that Gwyneth Paltrow has launched a candle smelling of her own vagina for £58, or the fact that it’s sold out. Yep. Everyone wants a whiff, so much so that people are even signing up for the waiting list for it.

Whether or not it’s a PR stunt ahead of the launch of her new Netflix show, Goop, she’s certainly got people talking (and sniffing).

And if you’re still wanting to get in on the bizarre odour experience, don’t worry, The Rock has since one-upped Gwyneth, stating that he’d like to release a candle that smells like balls. 

At this point, anything goes.

Finally, it turns out that it’s not just us ilksters who like to talk about what’s for lunch, and moan about the weather. 

This week, scientists have discovered that cows enjoy meaningless chit-chat too. 

By deciphering the animals’ language and listening to the different pitches of their moos, scientists were able to identify when a cow expresses excitement, arousal, engagement or distress. 

Because the world can never have enough opinions from cows.