Friday 1/7/22
Celebrate National Harlem Globetrotters, I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore, International Programmers', Bobblehead, Old Rock, Pass Gas, and Tempura Day.
–
The Chevy Silverado is getting an Earth-friendly upgrade. General Motors announced the upcoming all-electric pickup truck at CES 2022, the world’s largest tech convention that began yesterday.
Aside from the demand for electric vehicles, GM officials say this is just one of the steps they’re taking to regain the company's title as a top U.S. auto seller after learning Toyota outsold them last year.
–
The new year is off to a great start for dog lovers, thanks to the addition of two new dog breeds by the American Kennel Club.
The AKC, the world's largest purebred dog registry, announced Tuesday that the Russian Toy and Mudi are joining the list of its recognized breeds.
The Russian Toy (right) is a tiny, active and cheerful dog with roots in Russian aristocracy, the AKC said. The dogs love people and just want to make those around them happy. Fittingly, the Russian Toy will be a member of the Toy Group, AKC said, and there are only about 775 in the US.
The Mudi, (left) on the other hand, will be a member of the herding group, which includes breeds like the German Shepherd or the Collie. The Mudi is originally from Hungary, where the breed was used on farms, the AKC said. The dogs tend to be loyal, energetic and affectionate -- and perfect for any runners in the family.
–
Stephanie Matto became a reality TV star by appearing on 90 Day Fiancé, and then after she took up a new lucrative profession: selling jars of her own farts over the Internet.
Matto, from Connecticut, received a request for her jarred gas on the adult site Unfiltrd back in November. She charged a cool $1,000 per jar, before offering discounts around the holiday season (who knew so many would buy farts as gifts?), managing to make $200,000. At one point, she was pumping out 97 jars over two days to cope with demand.
But it all had to come to an end. "I remember within one day I had about three protein shakes and a huge bowl of black bean soup," she told Jam Press. "I could tell that something was not right that evening when I was lying in bed and I could feel a pressure in my stomach moving upward.
"It was quite hard to breathe and every time I tried to breathe in I'd feel a pinching sensation around my heart."
She believed that she might be having a heart attack, and headed to the hospital with a friend. Thankfully this wasn't the case.
"It was made clear that what I was experiencing wasn't a stroke or heart attack but very intense gas pains," she revealed. "I was advised to change my diet and to take a gas suppressant medication, which has effectively ended my business."
–
Peter Bogdanovich, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Last Picture Show whose career, which also included hits like What’s Up, Doc? and Paper Moon, put him on a path toward living up to the example of those like Orson Welles and John Ford he so lionized, has died. He was 82.
Bogdanovich in addition to writing and directing, he also took on acting gigs, most prominently appearing as a psychotherapist on HBO’s The Sopranos.
--
A project led by one of the key creators of Google Glass, the tech giant’s influential but ultimately ill-fated smart eyewear, aims to let people have conversations without talking or using their hands to type, sign, or gesture.
Called SilentSpeller, the project is a communication system that allows people to send texts using a high-tech dental retainer to spell out words without actually voicing them, according to a demo video and academic paper reviewed by BuzzFeed News. The device works by tracking the movement of the user’s tongue. Researchers claim the system identifies letters with 97% accuracy, and 93% accuracy for entire words.
(that sounds better than talk to text which is abysmal)
The device could eventually be used to help people with movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, other potential consumer applications, like hands-free communication in really quiet places, like a library, or really loud places where people would have to strain their voices to be heard.
–
For many people, Jan. 1 means new beginnings and new resolutions. But for Kitten Kay Sera, Jan. 1 will forever be her historic wedding anniversary.
“I’m actually marrying the color pink,” Sera told KVVU.
With a wedding ceremony at noon Saturday, Sera was the first person to marry a color.
“I actually have a giant pink swatch, like a pink paint swatch, so the colors are like my favorite,” Sera explained. “They’re all listed, and I’ll be holding my pink swatch.”
Sera said she’s had her relationship with the color pink for more than 40 years.
The idea to tie the knot with the color came two years ago when a kid skateboarding was poking fun at her for wearing pink.
“A kid said to me on a skateboard, he said, ‘Wow you love pink, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I love it so much,’ and he goes, ‘You love it so much, why don’t you marry it?’ I thought, ‘This kid’s on to something,’” Sera explained.
While the idea to marry a color may sound a bit far-fetched, Sera said she encourages everyone to do what they love while they still can.
“Have fun with it! Have a ball,” she said. “You’re only here for a little bit of time. Have a blast.”
–
Today's Useless Fact of the Day - It’s impossible to hum while holding your nose.
–
Comments