Dinner and a movie was a two-part affair, but increasingly, the two have merged into a single experience, allowing moviegoers to get fries and a beer while they watch the latest superhero blockbuster. Full-service theaters have become a Friday-night pastime as American as, well, going to the movies.

Dine-in cinemas are not altogether new. In the late 1980s, brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin opened one in Portland, Ore. A decade later, inspired by the McMenamins, Tim and Karrie League began pairing trendy beer with hits like The Craft at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. But in recent years, the trend has expanded from niche (小众) to mainstream. There are now 29 Alamo locations nationwide, from Omaha to El Paso.

Full-service theaters appeal to a broader, more regionally diverse customer base. At Movie Tavernin Roswell, Ga., for instance, you can order popcorn shrimp and a “Jumbo Jar” margarita while watching Jumanji:Welcome to the Jungle. AMC, the biggest U.S. movie-theater company, launched Dine-In, where meals can be ordered with the push of a button. iPic Theaters offers something similar to a first-class flying experience: leather reclining chairs and a menu developed by a James Beard Award-winning chef. For the most upscale experience, you’ll have to fly to Paris, where Europa Corp First Class, owned by The Fifth Element director Luc Besson, serves top-ranking food and service, such as champagne, caviar(鱼子酱) and Pierre Hermé macarons.

The rise in full-service moviegoing is a coincidence with declining ticket sales across the industry more broadly. North American movie attendance in 2017 dropped to what appears to be a 27-year low. The downward tendency is the continuation of a 15-year trend. Between lots of uninspired remakes hitting theaters, younger audiences choosing to consume content on their smartphones and the dramatic rise in the popularity of streaming(流媒体), it’s no wonder that theater owners are seeking creative ways to tempt customers off their couches. It’s working: despite a 2% decline in movie attendance over four years, AMC Dine-In achieved 4% growth in just two.

Full-service theaters are not without criticism. Though the servers attempt to do it on their tiptoes, many find them distracting when serving food. Some others prefer to eat post-movie for a chance to discuss what they’ve just watched. And as expensive as traditional theater discount tickets have become, prices tend to get higher once some fancy dishes are on the menu.

But for those with the funds, the full-service theater offers reason enough to quit online movies.

How good are you at maths? Some people love the challenge of algebra (代数) or enjoy working out number puzzles. Maths is all around us, from working out the bill after a meal, to calculating your daily bills. But many are confused about the moment when they have to deal with numbers and figures. 【小题1】 Also, you’re definitely not alone. Actually, our anxieties and fears over maths don’t necessarily reflect our ability.

【小题2】 Research has found that maths teachers, who are nervous about teaching the subject, can pass on their anxiety to the pupils. Girls may be more likely to be affected than boys. The Programme for International Student Assessment found that around 31% of 15 and 16-year-olds across countries reported they got very nervous while doing maths problems, and 33% said they got tense while doing maths homework. Other students said they worried maths classes. 【小题3】

Writing for BBC Future, David Robson says “【小题4】The fact that there’s a right or wrong answer — there’s no room for frightening — might make you more worried about poor performance.” And once we believe we’re not a “maths person”, we avoid solving things that we probably could do. Some experts suggest that teachers should encourage children to see a maths test as a challenge, not a threat. Ideally, we need to think positively about maths and give it a second chance.

Most of us know what it’s like to get presents. Whether it’s for a birthday or other celebration, it’s hard to beat the excitement of opening a carefully wrapped box to find something that’s both unexpected and suits you perfectly. Now, imagine if you could get the same feeling when you go shopping for yourself. That’s the feeling that mystery boxes hope to reach.

Mystery boxes are not a new idea—they were a feature of department stores in Japan in the early 20th Century. They contain different products sold at a lower price than their combined value. The key thing is that customers don’t know what’s in the box before they buy. All kinds of mystery boxes are available: fashion boxes, food boxes, beauty boxes, even loot boxes, which are virtual items for video games.

The pleasant surprise is not the only attraction of mystery boxes. They also allow people to try things that they otherwise wouldn’t. Seasonal vegetable subscription(订购)boxes might lead people to learn to cook new meals. They can also potentially offer great savings—as the recommended selling price of the contents is often far higher than the purchase price. For sellers and suppliers, the benefits are clear- it allows them to sell unwanted things for a profit. British fashion mystery box businessman Mario Maher highlights how mystery boxes can help reduce the amount of waste in the fashion industry. People might discover product ranges that would otherwise be thrown away.

There is an obvious disadvantage to mystery boxes -when you buy them, you don’t know what you’ll get! It may be that the goods inside are not to your taste, but there is also the potential for cheats to use the unpredictability of mystery boxes to send items that have a much lower value than the price of the box.

So, are mystery boxes a fun way of reducing waste and making shopping more exciting, or more an opportunity for disappointment, or worse—tricks?