3/5/26 - The Stapler, Eat Your Skin Care, and Stress

Thursday 3/5/26

Celebrate:

Cinco de Marcho (well, it is)

Multiple Personality Day

Nametag Day

National Absinthe Day

National Cheese Doodle Day

National Hospitalist Day

National Poutine Day

Reel Film Day

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TikTok is recycling the “eating your skin care” trend to achieve a youthful glow. Wellness influencers on TikTok claim loading up on fatty fish like tinned sardines, salmon, and mackerel is like “nature’s Botox.” Sardines are packed with nutrients that may support the skin barrier and reduce inflammation — they may even help with weight loss. Some people are trying “sardine fasts” consuming nothing but briny fish for three days (pause for gagging). Others — including actress Jessica Alba — are opting for viral raw carrot ribbon salads that, packed with beta-carotene, promise to make skin glow from within. Gives new meaning to “you are what you eat.”

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Mark your calendars for the FIRST MONDAY IN MAY! The 2026 Met Gala theme is "Costume Art," and the dress code is "Fashion Is Art." Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman will serve as co-chairs, which means we can expect ICONIC fashion moments. This theme gives designers and celebrities full creative freedom to blur the lines between fashion and fine art. Expect to see architectural gowns, avant-garde pieces, and showstopping looks that belong in museums!

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One of the viral TikTok food trends this month is cream cheese and yogurt dip with finely chopped dill pickles! It started as a Super Bowl snack in America and has now spread internationally with people trying it in the UK and beyond. The tangy, creamy, salty combination is ADDICTIVE. People are serving it with chips, veggies, pretzels—you name it.

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Barbra Streisand is in talks to perform at this year's Oscars (March 15) as part of an In Memoriam tribute segment honoring Robert Redford! Streisand starred alongside Redford in the 1973 romantic drama "The Way We Were"—the only film they were in together. Sources confirmed to Deadline that she may perform a song from the film. This would be an ICONIC moment. 

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STRESS IN AMERICA 2026 (Multiple Surveys, Feb-Mar 2026)

Stress Levels Rising:

49% of Americans experience significant daily stress (Gallup Global Emotions Report)

75% report physical or emotional symptoms related to stress

61% say their stress is at an all-time high

59% say the past 12 months have been the most stressful of their entire lives

83% of U.S. workers say they experience work-related stress

Top Stress Factors:

Stress (53%) and Sleep (40%) have the biggest impact on mental health

79% say inflation is a "very big" concern personally

69% of employed adults say work is a significant source of stress

66% say money is a significant source of stress

65% worry about housing costs

Who's Most Stressed?

69% of people ages 21-24 report rising stress (highest of all age groups)

55% of Gen Z and millennials struggle to function because of stress

Only 30% of baby boomers struggle to function due to stress

Women rate stress at 5.3 out of 10, men at 4.8

Women (22%) more likely to rate workplace stress as 8/10 vs. men (18%)

How Americans Cope with Stress:

47% turn to friends and family for support

83% listen to music

80% watch TV/movies

73% take naps

43% overeat

39% drink alcohol

15% rely on substances (alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis)

Gender Differences:

Women cope by eating (46%) or talking to family/friends (44%)

Men cope by having sex (19%) or using illicit drugs (12%)

Men (83%) more likely to say workplace stress affects personal life vs. women (72%)

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - On March 5, 1868, C.H. Gould of Birmingham, England, received a patent for a device that would eventually become the modern stapler.

Early staplers didn't actually hold a "strip" of staples. You had to load one single staple at a time.

Before the 1860s, if you wanted to keep papers together, you used straight pins, sewing thread, or—if you were King Louis XV of France—actual handmade gold staples engraved with the royal seal.