4/22/25 - Pope Facts, Bananas, and What Sex is the Easter Bunny?

Tuesday 4/22/25

Celebrate:

April Showers Day

Earth Day

Girl Scout Leader Day

National Jelly Bean Day

School Bus Drivers' Day

"In God We Trust" Day - 1864, Congress passed an act allowing for "In God We Trust" to begin appearing on U.S. coins.

Earth Day

International Mother Earth Day

Chemists Celebrate the Earth Day

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Pope Francis has died. He was 88.He was the first non-European pope in over a millennium.

He was the 266th Pope.

The longest run for a Pope was 32 Years in the mid 1800s the shortest was one day in 752. In 1978 we had one for about a month.

I'll be interested to see if there is more interest in the movie Conclave because we will be picking a new Pope.

The gathering of cardinals to elect the new pope is called the conclave. The conclave also refers to the actual space in which the cardinals gather. It is kept secure to maintain confidentiality.

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I’m sure you are still enjoying your Easter candy that came from the bunny, and an online poll asked, "What gender do you think the Easter Bunny is?"  5,000 people weighed in, and here's how it shook out:

32% said male.

5% said female.

And 64% said "neither" or "never thought about it."

There were some interesting "explanations" online, like these:

"I think there are multiple Easter Bunnies."

"If gender isn't explicitly stated, then just assume it's male."

"He's a representation of Jesus.  So male, right?"

"It's a bunny, so it doesn't really have a gender."

"Where do the eggs come from because rabbits don't lay eggs?  Always wondered."

"Everybody knows only female bunnies lay eggs." 

Easter Bunny folklore has been around since 1692 starting in Germany.

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With the world seeming to careen off it's track...guess what is making a comeback?

If you are of a certain age, we were all terrified of The Bremuda Triangle and Quicksand. Well.....

A guy named Mitchell O'Brien got swallowed by sand at a beach on Lake Michigan last weekend, and it turned into an unlikely love story.  He was walking with his best friend, a coworker named Breanne Sika.

The beach swallowed him like quicksand, and he was buried up to his waist.  So they both called 9-1-1.  And at the exact same time, she referred to him as her boyfriend, and he said his girlfriend was also trying to call.  It turned out they've both had a crush on each other for two years.

Firefighters showed up and pulled Mitchell out.  He and Breanne are now officially an item. 

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Here's an intersting question (moral or ethics?) Someone said that they tried to throw their banana peel out the car window and forgot to put down the window.

Of course, people took away that he was throwing the peel out of the car. Is this littering?

His defense is, it's natural, i might be feeding an animal, it's not litter.

Some responses.

Many people were worried that if it's too close to the road and an animal come to eat it, it could get run over by a car.

Then one guy said - If my throwing a banana peel out the window brings a racoon to the street to be hit and killed by another car, I should be considered a hero.

Another - You know, a banana may or may not attract some freak animal that eats banana peels. I don't know what animals eat banana peels. But I do know that ants go for banana peels - and all those ants being run over by the car are on you - banana peel thrower. Live with that buster!

Which is your ripeness?

A banana has about 10 minutes in it's lifetime where it is just right FOR YOU. Everyone has a bit different point. But once you peel that banana, the time is ticking and you have to eat the whole thing. You can't do half and eat the rest later without it looking unappetizing.

Tropic, a biotech company in the UK, has developed a gene-edited ‘non-browning’ banana that they claim will stay fresh and yellow for up to 12 hours after being peeled. It’s also less likely to turn brown when knocked or bumped, such as during harvest and transportation. The company has done this by editing the genes that control the fruit’s browning. The taste and texture is not affected.

The company has also developed a banana with an extended shelf-life, which they’ve achieved by switching off the ethylene-producing mechanism in the banana (ethylene is the gas bananas produce that makes the fruit ripen and soften). This slow-ripening banana can stay on the tree for longer, improving yields for growers. And because these bananas are slow-ripening, they can be shipped more slowly, for less cost. According to Tropic, the fruit has around an extra 10 days of shelf life compared to a regular banana. This variety is expected to be launched later this year.

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - The first-ever comic book convention was in New York in 1964.  And the very first person to buy a ticket was . . . 16-year-old George R.R. Martin, the author of the "Game of Thrones" books. (maybe he still looks at it for long periods of time, since the next book is still not out!)

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