4/25/25 - Mow Right, AMA Noms, and Chuggas
- bribriny
- 23 hours ago
- 5 min read
Friday 4/25/25
Celebrate:
Childcare Professionals Day
DNA Day
East Meets West Day
Hairstylists Appreciation Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day
International Financial Independence Awareness Day
National Arbor Day
National Crayola Day
National Hairball Awareness Day
National Historic Marker Day
National Mani-Pedi Day
National Plumber's Day
National Telephone Day
National Zucchini Bread Day
Parental Alienation Awareness Day
Red Hat Society Day
World Malaria Day
World Penguin Day
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April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month . . . and in a new report, 86% of drivers admit to being distracted by technology, usually their phones. But that isn't the only thing keeping our focus off the road.
Oh but there's more.
"Getting Ready" While Driving. 27% of drivers admit to working on their appearance while driving . . . that's changing clothes, shaving, putting on makeup, or painting their nails. And among Gen Z drivers, that number jumps to 50%.
Eating While Driving. It isn't just snacking. A whopping 72% of people who eat while driving admit they've tried some RISKY meals, like eating BBQ ribs or a bowl of hot soup.
Creating "Content" While Driving. 74% of people say the most embarrassing distraction is filming videos or creating social media content while driving.
Stress and Anxiety. 20% of drivers say stress from work or school, or relationship issues, can mess with their focus behind the wheel.
The report also includes a map of "distracted driving" hotspots throughout the country . . . and the most distracted states are in the Southwest, like California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.
Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, and Connecticut are also danger zones.
The rest of the South is somewhat dangerous, up into West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. The areas with low levels of distracted driving are in the Northwest and Northeast, including New York state.
And the safest states are in lesser populated Middle America, including Montana, Wyoming, both Dakotas, and Minnesota. Maine and Vermont are also rated as safe.
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It's lawn-mowing season, but are you doing it correctly? A lawn care expert weighs in.
1. Always mowing in the same direction. You probably alternate on each pass and go back and forth. But they mean switching it up every time you mow. Do each pass the opposite of how you did it last time.
If you always mow the same patch of grass in the same direction, it trains it to lean that way. It's not great for the grass or the soil. But some people want that baseball-field look.
2. Starting in the middle. It's mostly just inefficient, because you have to move your mower around the yard more. But it's also bad for the grass. Ideally, you just want to make one pass over each part of your yard, and not have to roll your heavy mower over it again.
3. Using the wrong mower for the job. Do you really need a riding mower? They're hard to maneuver if your yard isn't big enough. The general rule is you only need a riding mower if you're cutting half-an-acre or more. Most people aren't and should stick with a push mower instead.
4. You've never sharpened the blades. Dull blades can tear your grass instead of cutting it. You can buy a sharpener online for about 10 bucks.
Just don't get them TOO sharp, because that's not good either. Razor-sharp blades are more likely to chip if they hit a rock. You want them to be about as sharp as a kitchen knife, but not as sharp as a razor blade.
I add...if you do it yourself.
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"People" magazine has named 62-year-old Demi Moore this year's Most Beautiful Person. She tells the magazine how she used to "torture" herself to stay in shape, but has developed a more relaxed relationship with her body.
Now she has a more "intuitive" and "relaxed" relationship with her body. Quote, "I trust when it tells me it needs something to eat, that it's thirsty. I listen to my body today, and I have a lot less fear.
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There has always been speculation on how a movie would go with a different actor. Maybe the first choice was busy or didn't like the role and they went with someone farther down the list..but it turns out you can't think of anyone else in that role.
Buzzfeed has a new list of actors that turned down roles in a movie that eventually was hated by the public.
Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, "Cats". No explanation necessary.
Jordan Peele, "The Emoji Movie". He was offered the voice of the POOP emoji . . . which was ultimately taken by Patrick Stewart. Being offered that part was one of the reasons Peele decided to focus on directing, so I think we all won.
Emma Stone, "Wonder Woman 1984". The original was such a hit, you'd think this would be a safe bet. But Emma was smart not to accept the part of Cheetah, which went to Kristen Wiig. The movie was NOT well received.
Drew Barrymore, "Showgirls". This one's become kind of a cult classic, but it did ruin Elizabeth Berkley's career for a pretty long time.
Val Kilmer, "Batman and Robin". That left George Clooney with the distinction of starring in the worst Batman movie ever.
Margot Robbie, "Ghost in the Shell". Scarlett Johansson ended up taking the lead, and got tons of backlash for portraying what was originally an Asian character.
Zendaya, "Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B". She wisely dropped out because Aaliyah's family didn't support the movie.
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Kendrick Lamar leads the nominees for this year's American Music Awards with 10. He's followed by Post Malone with 8, then Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Shaboozey all have 7.
Kendrick, Billie, Chappell, and Postie are all up for Artist of the Year, along with Ariana Grande, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, Taylor Swift, and Zach Bryan.
Shaboozey is in the NEW Artist of the Year category.
The AMAs are happening on Memorial Day Monday, May 26th, on CBS. Jennifer Lopez is hosting. (really...on a holiday...boooo)
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A new poll found the average new parent in 2025 will take around 1,000 photos of their kid in the first year, or about three a day.
They'll also celebrate almost 50 milestones in their child's first year. The top three parents look forward to are first steps, first word, and first laugh.
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This older poll from Reddit popped up today, How many "chuggas" come before "choo choo?" The choices are two, four, six, eight, or 12.
Over 1,000 people voted, and the winner is . . . two chuggas: 33% said two . . . 25% said four . . . 15% said six . . . 18% said eight . . . and 8% said 12.
Come on...The correct answer is eight. Two is lazy . . . four is fine . . . six is meh . . . and if you're doing 12 chuggas, get over yourself.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - You know when you download an app you never read and just say ok to the terms and conditions. Who has the time or patience to do that?
Maybe you should because you've promised that you won't use Apple's Music app to make nuclear or chemical weapons, and you don't even realize it. There's a line in the terms and conditions you agreed to that prohibits it. (now I'm curious on how you would even do that! There has to be a reason it's in there.)
One Business Insider editor whimsically responded with: "If you can use iTunes to build nuclear weapons, you deserve to do whatever you want."
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