1/30/26 - Believe It For Years, Dishwashers, and Mumbling

Friday 1/30/26

Celebrate:

Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day

National Big Wig Day

National Croissant Day

National Escape Day

National Fun at Work Day

National Inane Answering Message Day

National Preschool Health and Fitness Day

Yodel for Your Neighbors Day

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New in Theaters this weekend

Iron Lung - Horror movie on space stations and starships.

Send Help - Horror movie directed by Sam Raimi, with Rachel McAdams, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang, and Dylan O'Brien.

Shelter - Action movie with Jason Statham, Bill Nighy, Daniel Mays, Naomi Ackie, and Bodhi Rae Breathnach.

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What white lie did someone tell you as a kid that you believed for years?  

Someone said his oldest son — age 15 — once told his youngest son — age 5 — that telephone poles are planted. Years before a new pole is needed electric and phone companies have to tell the pole planters to plant a seed so they’ll be able to use it in 10 or 15 years.

"When I was 6, I was obsessed with Christmas music. I’d play Christmas albums on the record player for hours. I guess my mother took all she could take, and one day she told me it was illegal to listen to Christmas music after the New Year. I believed her for years."

 "My dad doesn’t have a middle name. When I was little, I asked him why he didn’t have one. He said his parents couldn’t afford a middle name for him. He was just making some off-hand dad joke, but then I asked if he was serious, and he said, 'Yep, you pay by letter on the birth certificate, and we were a poor family, that’s why my name is Pat, and I have no middle name.' Well, I had no reason not to believe him, so I believed that for yeeears until I was like 16."

"My parents told me it was bad luck to sing at the dinner table. It was many, many years before I realized they were just trying to get me to shut up for twenty minutes."

"I used to go see a local hockey team with my dad. I would often ask if we could leave early, then he’d say we could leave after the third period. I just assumed hockey had four like other sports. It took me years to figure it out."

"My parents told me I was only allowed to eat as much of a vegetable as my age. For example, at 3, they would 'allow' three peas on my plate. Apparently, I would beg for more veggies because I felt that I was old enough and sophisticated enough for more. Fifty-plus years later, I still love vegetables, so score one for mind games."

Get in on the conversation here.

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Clinical trials for a universal influenza vaccine have shown a 95% efficacy rate across multiple viral strains, potentially ending the need for annual shots. It's still in the early phases and will be years until something like this possible.

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A new study is raising red flags for users of popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound. Researchers found that while the weight loss is impressive, patients who stop the medication tend to regain weight faster than those using traditional diet and exercise methods.

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A new study reveals that AI models learn much faster and more accurately when they are allowed to "mumble" to themselves internally. Researchers found that this internal dialogue helps the AI adapt to complex tasks in a way that mimics human short-term memory.

And if I happen to do this I'm deemed crazy! Thanks!

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - On January 30, 1934, the first patent for an automatic dishwasher was granted in the U.S. (though the first manual one was patented way back in 1850).

The inventor of the first successful manual dishwasher, Josephine Cochrane, reportedly invented it not because she hated washing dishes, but because she was tired of her servants chipping her fine china while hand-washing it.

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