What do you think about when you wait at a crosswalk? What about browsing the internet? Chances are, if you're not visually impaired, you don't think much about these everyday activities as you're doing them. But for blind and low-vision people, these sorts of things can be dif cult if the people designing them don't take steps to make them accessible.
About 90 percent of people who are legally blind” have some sight-they can make out some amount of light or movement. But their vision isn't good enough to allow them to interact with the world in the same ways as seeing people. They might use a seeing-eye dog or white cane to get around, or use a text reader to help them access written material. Audio descriptions of scenes in TV shows and movies also let blind people enjoy the latest streaming hit and blockbuster.
Some Surprising Obstacles
In stores and restaurants, automatic kiosks are convenient options for many people, but can make life more difficult for blind people if they're not designed with accessibility in mind. Those kiosks often use a touch screen, which is harder for blind people to use than something with tactile buttons.
Delivery apps can be inconvenient, too, says Everette Bacon, president of the Utah chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. “Delivery is something you would think blind people would welcome and we do, but a lot of the delivery applications were very inaccessible and they also weren't thought of with us in mind at all, he says.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.
