American English includes one of the rarest sounds on Earth, but we use it all the time

Er…this is odd.

When (or if) kids learn phonics at school, they're taught the symbols that go with sounds of their country's native language or languages. People all around the world grow up learning to make specific sounds with their mouths by imitating the language(s) they are immersed in, which can leave us completely unaware of how many other sounds there are until we hear a language that's far different from our own.

Even the common foreign languages that American school kids learn have sounds that can be tricky to get down. The rolled "r" in Spanish. The nuances of French vowel pronunciations. The glottal stops in German. The sound that's a mix between "r" and "l" in Japanese. And for people learning English, one of the trickiest sounds to get down is "er," as in the American pronunciation of "bird," "world," "summer," or "percent."

Zillow’s co-founder has a big new idea

Spencer Rascoff grew Zillow from seed to IPO. But everyday investors missed pre-IPO gains. So he did things differently with Pacaso. They’ve made $110M+ in gross profits and reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. Unlike Zillow, you can invest privately in Pacaso. And until Thursday, it’s just $2.80/share.

Simple '30-second rule' can help you win every conversation, even if you're a little awkward

You only have to remember one thing.

There’s no one alive who doesn’t feel some anxiety about making small talk with other people. The difference is that some confront their fears because they know the incredible benefits that it can mean for their social life, romantic prospects, and careers, while some shy away and miss out on many opportunities.

Many people who avoid small talk believe those who excel at it are naturally charismatic or have been blessed with the “gift of gab.” However, many great conversationalists honed their skills and have a set of rules, techniques, and strategies they use when speaking to people, just like how people who do improvisational comedy or acting have a set of rules to follow to put everyone on the same page. Confident, sociable people may make engaging with others look effortless, but that’s because they have a strategy.

Elderly cats are being saved from being euthanized with adorable cat retirement village

It's a cat paradise.

An amazing retirement village is accepting guests in Shropshire, England—but instead of catering to elderly people, it's designed for elderly cats. Shropshire Cat Rescue has been rescuing elderly cats set to be euthanized and providing them with top notch elder care for over 21 years.

Thanks to donations and sponsorship, the retirement village was built in 2009 to create comfortable homes within the rescue for senior and super senior kitties.