Tuesday 4/4/23
Celebrate:
404 Day - computer error
Hug a Newsperson Day
International Carrot Day
Jeep 4X4 Day
National Cordon Bleu Day
Tell a Lie Day
Vitamin C Day
Walk Around Things Day
World Rat Day
–
The U.S. actually does get more extreme weather than other countries. Having a lot of land makes the U.S. a large target, but the biggest factor is that in the Western hemisphere, Arctic air and tropical air converge right over us, creating a higher potential of extreme weather. It's uniquely bad in the South, which can have everything from blizzards to hurricanes, and where storms are more likely to hit at night. Climate change is going to make this weather worse, and so are demographics: More people are moving to areas vulnerable to extreme weather even by U.S. standards, including the South.
--
Baseball season is here. And to celebrate, AV Club put together a list of the best baseball-themed movies.
Here are the Top 10:
1. "Bull Durham" (1988)
2. "Field of Dreams" (1989)
3. "Moneyball" (2011)
4. "The Natural" (1984)
5. "Eight Men Out" (1988)
6. "42" (2013)
7. "A League of Their Own" (1992)
8. "Major League" (1989)
9. "The Sandlot" (1993)
10. "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
–
A lot of people talk about "Southern hospitality," but there's a report out on the most polite states in the U.S., and it highlights a different part of the country.
The report analyzed Google searches including "polite terms" like: Please, thanks, excuse me, beg your pardon, cheers, friendly, sir, and thoughtful.
In the end, Montana was named the most polite state, with more than 270,000 searches per 100,000 residents containing polite terms.
Vermont was second, followed by Alabama . . . Minnesota . . . Delaware . . . Wyoming . . . Arkansas . . . Utah . . . Hawaii . . . and Idaho.
On the other end, people in California might need a little help with their manners. It's a much bigger population, but they had only 10 searches per 100,000 residents containing polite terms.
Kansas was the second-worst, followed by Illinois . . . Louisiana . . . Michigan . . . Pennsylvania . . . Oregon . . . Massachusetts . . . Florida . . . and West Virginia.
–
A woman from Maine named Meghan Leavitt was arrested on Saturday after she made several calls to police, making fake claims about a Walmart.
She first called to report an explosive device at the store. . . then she called again to report a man with a gun at the same Walmart. Both calls were hoaxes.
The police responded, but Meghan was easily tracked down, because she made both calls from her own cell phone . . . in an Uber . . . on speakerphone. The Uber driver heard it all, and he alerted the police as soon as he dropped her off.
Police say the woman made the calls because her boyfriend was about to be arrested at the Dick's Sporting Goods across the street . . . and she was trying to distract them. It didn't work, and now they're both in jail.
–
Do you wait for a series to end before you start watching it? You're not alone. According to a new survey, 46% of Americans either sometimes or always wait for the series finale before we dive in.
More than a quarter of those people . . . 27% . . . say they do it because they're afraid a show will be canceled with an unresolved ending.
Which is a legit concern these days. 31% of adults who use streaming services say that one to three shows they had started since February of 2022 had been canceled . . . sometimes with unsettled plotlines.
Meanwhile, 24% do it because they hate finishing a season that ends with a cliffhanger, and having to wait for the next season to see how it's resolved.
Which is harder than ever, now that you sometimes have to wait years for the next season.
–
Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Velveeta was invented in the early 1900s when a cheese company needed to figure out something to do with broken wheels of Swiss cheese they couldn't sell.
--
Comments