Tuesday 2/22/22
Celebrate Be Humble, Scouts Founder's, Supermarket Employee, Walking the Dog Day, Play More Cards, Recreational Sports & Fitness, National Cook a Sweet Potato, Wildlife, World Spay, and World Thinking Day.
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In the case of Feb. 22, it's loaded with the number two, which in Chinese culture is thought to be a lucky number. And if that isn't enough, the date is falling on a Tuesday, resulting in a social media craze calling it "Twosday."
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America’s commercial casinos won $53 billion in 2021, their best year ever.
The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade group, released year-end figures showing that in-person gambling continues to be the main source of revenue for the gambling industry, even as internet and sports betting continue to grow in the U.S.
The $53 billion won by casinos is more than 21% higher than the previous best year, which came in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“These results are nothing short of remarkable,” Bill Miller, president and CEO of the association, said in a webinar to discuss the results. “The success of 2021 reflects our commitment to health and safety, and how Americans have welcomed gaming’s expansion across the country. Today’s industry is effectively meeting customers how and where they want to engage, whether at a casino or through mobile gaming.”
The numbers do not include tribal casinos, which report their revenue separately. But Miller said that “tribal leaders have similarly shared with me that 2021 was their best year on record.”
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Ariel Chahi (Israel) has grown a supersized strawberry that weighed 289 g (10.19 oz) on 12 February 2021.
The fruit, which has been confirmed as the world’s heaviest strawberry, was 18 cm long, 4 cm thick and 34 cm in circumference.
This strawberry is of the Ilan variety and was grown by Ariel’s family business "Strawberries in the Field" (תות בשדה משק אריאל), located in Kadima-Zoran, Israel.
The size of the world's biggest strawberry was put into perspective when Ariel weighed it after weighing an iPhone XR. The iPhone weighed 194 grams, almost 100 g less than the massive strawberry.
The previous record for world's heaviest strawberry was 250 g (8.82 oz). The berry was grown by Koji Nakao (Japan) and was weighed in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, on 28 January 2015. The strawberry was a Japanese variety called Amaou.
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Coke's new flavor is out of this world.
At least, that's the idea behind Coca-Cola Starlight, a new limited-edition version of the classic soda that comes in regular and zero sugar.
After deciding to discontinue half of its portfolio a few years ago, getting rid of outdated but beloved drinks including Tab and Odwalla, the soda giant has been focusing on promoting its core product, Coke. Starlight is the first beverage from Coca-Cola Creations, a new innovation platform.
Unlike "cherry" or "vanilla," it's not immediately clear how "starlight" is supposed to taste. So Redditors who spotted images of the new product online a few months ago shared some theories about the new drink's flavor. Some say they spotted the mysterious new product on retailer websites ahead of the official launch, slated for next week.
One guessed raspberry, because "a quick Google search says that space tastes like raspberries." (Astronomers do think that the center of the galaxy may taste like raspberries and smell like rum, according to a 2009 Guardian article. Delicious! And not a bad idea for Coca-Cola, which is launching spiked versions of its drinks left and right.) More recently, a YouTuber who tried the product noted after-tastes of "chocolate [and] graham cracker." That led another Redditor to guess that the flavor is "s'mores."
On Thursday, Coca-Cola finally cleared up the mystery. Sort of. The company's explanation is ... well, see for yourself: Starlight is "inspired by space" has "notes reminiscent of stargazing around a campfire, as well as a cooling sensation that evokes the feeling of a cold journey to space," the company said in a release.
"Coca-Cola Starlight combines great Coca-Cola taste with a dash of the unexpected, including a reddish hue."
To this reporter, after tasting a sample of the zero-sugar version provided by the company, that last sentence just about sums it up. The beverage did not taste like space travel or sitting around a campfire. It did, however, taste like a sweeter version of Coca-Cola. And it is definitely red.
Ava Max will be featured in the marketing campaign.
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"The New York Post" just did a big write-up on how the hottest new delicacy, at least at UK restaurants....squirrel meat.
Plenty of hunters eat squirrel meat, but it's not something you see on a lot of restaurant menus. People in the U.K. are seeing it more and more though and they're not even eating their own squirrels they're eating ours. The North American grey squirrel is considered an invasive species over there. So killing and eating them is encouraged.
It doesn't sound like you'll see squirrel meat at Applebee's anytime soon, but some fine dining restaurants might get in on the trend. It's perfectly legal to kill and eat squirrels in most parts of the country. Even New York City has a squirrel-hunting season that runs from November through the end of this month.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Originally created in 1886, and while the term "six-pack" tends to conjure images of beer nowadays, it was originally a way to buy and carry multiple bottles of Coke. According to the company's website, Coca-Cola invented the six-pack in 1923.
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