12/30/25 - Vibe Coating and Phone Free Issue

Tuesday 12/30/25

Celebrate:

Bacon Day

Falling Needles Family Fest Day

Festival of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Naitonal Bicarbonate of Soda Day

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The internet is currently divided over Martha Stewart’s "bagel habit," and it is surprisingly fierce. A simple post about how she prepares her morning bagel has sparked a debate so intense that some commenters are jokingly saying she should "go back to jail" for her topping choices. It’s proof that nothing triggers people like a controversial take on breakfast carbs.

Instead of eating the bagel as a sandwich or in traditional open-face form, Stewart cut it into smaller portions — topping each piece individually with cream cheese.

"PopUp Bagels is known for eating bagels a little differently — grip, rip and dip style. That being said, we encourage everyone to enjoy their bagel however they want, which is why we sell them hot and whole."

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New 2025 data shows that six "classic" American Christmas side dishes have officially disappeared from the majority of modern tables. Items like ambrosia salad and certain heavy casseroles are being swapped for "cleaner" botanical-heavy dishes. If you served a gelatin-based salad this year, you might officially be a vintage relic.

Many of these were time-consuming to make

1. Creamed Onions. 

2. Duchess Potatoes - Piped potatoes and then baked. 

3. Braised red cabbage - Danish (and looks terrible)

4. Spinach Soufflé - a symbol of sophistication and needed careful timing

5. Yorkshire pudding - British kind of roll to soak up gravy. 

6. Parsnips

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A viral TikTok claim that eating baby carrots before bed improves sleep quality has been officially debunked by experts today. While healthy, there is zero scientific evidence that a late-night carrot snack helps you catch Z’s. Sorry to everyone who turned their skin orange this week hoping for a better night’s rest. (how many were they eating?? Also, at least it's healthy)

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The newest tech trend for the non-techy is "Vibe Coding," where people use AI to build "Mood Apps" for their 2026 resolutions. Instead of writing code, users just describe the "vibe" of the app they want—like "an app that feels like a rainy coffee shop for tracking my reading." It’s making app development accessible to anyone with an imagination and a prompt.

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This school year many schools went phone-free. The phone ban has been a major success at the school, and has helped kids focus in class and socialize at lunch. Foot traffic is moving more swiftly in hallways.

BUT, it seems that reading a traditional clock is a skill that they're not used to at all.

For years, parents and teachers have blamed technology for a range of lapsed skills — from legible handwriting to sustained attention to reading whole books — even as their proficiency with technology far outstrips their elders.

In addition to not being able to read an analog clock, some students are unable to correctly use expressions like “quarter past” and “half past.”

This seems like something that they should know from their home...or, why isn't this being taught in younger grades!!!! I'm sure most schools have that clock on the wall.

Want to do a fun experiment. Watch to see when someone looks at their watch. Right after they do, ask them what time it is, they’ll most likely have to look again. It’s one of those things that really only registers in your head and has satisfied your need to know, and you forget right away.

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - The Pacific island nation of Kiribati (specifically the Line Islands) is the first inhabited place to ring in the New Year. Because of its position right next to the International Date Line, they celebrate while it's still only 5:00 AM on December 31st in New York.

The last places on Earth to hit midnight are the uninhabited U.S. territories of Howland Island and Baker Island.

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