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4/26/23 - Side Characters, Naps, and Food To Watch

Wednesday 4/26/23


Celebrate:

Administrative Professionals Day

Alien Day

Audubon Day

Denim Day

Get Organized Day

Hug a Friend Day

International Guide Dog Day

International Noise Awareness Day

National Dissertation Day

National Help a Horse Day

National Kids and Pets Day

National Pretzel Day

National Richter Scale Day

National Static Cling Day

Stop Food Waste Day

World Intellectual Property Day


The American Library Association released their list of the 13 most challenged books of 2022, the titles that have been the biggest targets of banning efforts in schools and public libraries.

For the second year running, Maia Kobabe's autobiographical graphic novel "Gender Queer," a graphic novel about the author's gender journey and eventual coming out as nonbinary, was the No. 1.

Some that appear on the list all time are here. Nobel laureate Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" has been targeted since its release in 1970 for its unsparing depictions of racism and sexual abuse. Also Sherman Alexie's 2007 book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," written from the perspective of a teenage Native American, has been targeted for its depictions of violence and sexuality.

More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago, with 2,571 unique titles challenged.

A former teacher says "Many of the people bringing challenges don’t even have school-age children. For the most part, it’s not actually parents concerned about their kids, it’s people who’ve been swept up into a political game."


Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN.

He was 96.

Belafonte was dubbed the “King of Calypso” after the groundbreaking success of his 1956 hit, “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O).” He also became a movie star after acting in the film adaption of the Broadway musical, “Carmen Jones.”

But Belafonte's biggest contributions took place offstage. He was a key strategist, fundraiser and mediator for the civil rights movement. He continually risked his entertainment career – and at least once his life – for his activism. He became a close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.


The Super Mario Bros. Movie made almost $60 million this past weekend and has already raked in enough during its opening weekend to have the highest-grossing domestic box office debut of the year. with $204.6 million, but it has now more than doubled that. In North America, the film has collected $434.33 million. Meanwhile, at the global box office, the number stands at $871 million.


The heirs of Marvin Gaye's co-writer on the iconic 1974 song, Let's Get It On, are pressing forward with its legal claims against Ed Sheeran and his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.

A jury will now be tasked in deciding if Sheeran is guilty of pirating elements from the older classic. The Associated Press reported that the estate of co-writer Ed Townsend filed a lawsuit in 2017 citing "striking similarities" in the music. Judge Louis L. Stanton is set to hear the case, which is expected to last a week.

Lawyers for Sheeran said the structural similarities in the two songs is evidence that most popular music has the same foundation.

"The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters," his team said in its filing.


Finally, the people at NASA are using their time to research something important. WAY more important than "the moon" or "Jupiter" or "the asteroid that's going to crash into Earth.

No, NASA decided to study how long our naps should be.

And they found the perfect length for a nap is 26 minutes.

When you nap for 26 minutes, you'll be 54% more alert and 34% better at whatever you do next.

Here's why. At 26 minutes, you're only going through the first two stages of sleep you're not entering the others, which can make you feel groggy or even feel worse when you wake up.


"Consumer Reports" just ranked the top ten foods that cause food poisoning, and flour is #10.

1. Bagged salad and other leafy greens. They found 50 different recalls linked to them since 2017. They also caused the most deaths.

2. Deli cheese and meat.

3. Ground beef.

4. Onions.

5. Turkey.

6. Chicken.

7. Papayas.

8. Peaches.

9. Cantaloupe.

10. Flour. - Yes Flour because like most of the stuff on the list, it's raw and uncooked.

Wheat sometimes gets exposed to animal droppings while it grows, and turning it into flour doesn't kill the bacteria.

Cooking it is the only way to make sure you kill it. That's why you're not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, or lick the spoon when you make brownies.

A lot of dough like that has eggs too. They didn't make the Top 10, but they can also have salmonella.


MovieWeb.com put together a list of 10 side characters on TV shows that stole the spotlight.

Here they are:

1. Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) on "The Walking Dead"

2. Chidi (William Jackson Harper) on "The Good Place" ( I would give this to Janet)

3. Esteban (Adrian R'Mante) on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"

4. Erica (Priah Ferguson) on "Stranger Things"

5. Winston (Lamorne Morris) on "New Girl"

6. April (Aubrey Plaza) on "Parks and Recreation"

7. Adam Sackler (Adam Driver) on "Girls"

8. Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) on "Community"

9. The Janitor (Neil Flynn) on "Scrubs"

10. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) on "Lost"


The Mid-Western fast-food chain Culver's is testing a new bacon cheeseburger that comes with peanut butter and jelly on it.

It's called the "PBB&J Pub Burger" . . . short for "Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Jelly."

It's a single patty with cheese and two strips of bacon on a pretzel bun. Then there's a healthy layer of peanut butter under the patty, and what looks like a big glob of grape jelly.

By the way, Sonic had a "Bacon Jam Cheeseburger" in 2021 with a "savory bacon onion jam." but that's a different kind of jam really. This looks more like a spoonful of Smucker's.

Some people think it's overpriced either way. The burger alone is $8.39. (For that?? not worth it!)


Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Before Louis Farrakhan became the head of the Nation of Islam, he was a pretty successful calypso singer. He went by 'The Charmer' or 'Calypso Gene' and recorded several albums.

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