5/12/26 - Limericks, The 10-$10 Rule, and Nurses Day!

Tuesday 5/12/26

Celebrate:

International Awareness Day

International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day

International Nurses Day

Limerick Day

National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

National Nutty Fudge Day

National Odometer Day

Sex Differences in Health Awareness Day

–

The limerick is a poetic form shrouded in mystery: nobody knows why they’re named after Limerick, who invented the form, or when they were first composed.

The earliest dates back to the middle ages.

a five-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme of AABBA, where the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines share a different rhyme.

So let's enjoy some...

There was a man from Nantucket....whoops..not that one!

The limerick packs laughs anatomical

Into space that is quite economical.

But the good ones I’ve seen

So seldom are clean

And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

One Saturday morning at three,

A cheesemonger’s shop in Paree,

Collapsed to the ground,

With a thunderous sound,

Leaving only a pile of de brie.

--

Miners in Myanmar have discovered a rare ruby of enormous size, considered to be the second-largest by weight ever found in the conflict-battered Southeast Asian nation, state media reported Friday.

The ruby, measuring 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or 4.8 pounds), was unearthed near the town of Mogok, in the upper Mandalay region, the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry that has recently experienced intense fighting in the country’s wide-ranging civil war.

According to a report from the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival.

While it weighs roughly half the weight of a 21,450-carat (4.29 kilograms, or 9.45 pounds) stone found in 1996, the new discovery is considered more valuable due to its superior color and quality. It is described as having a purplish-red hue with yellowish undertones, a high-quality color grade, moderate transparency and a highly reflective surface.

--

A travel writer at Nerdwallet.com has a 10-$10 rule!

When traveling, packing less makes it easier to experience more. When you’re not weighed down by bulky bags, you have more freedom to jump on public transit or walk long distances without tiring. You’ll have fewer worries about repacking or losing items. With carry-ons only, you’ll avoid checked bag fees, waiting at the luggage carousel and the risk of lost luggage.

If you travel backpack-only, you'll be forced to leave even more at home than you otherwise would with a full suitcase. It means sacrificing just-in-case items.

And that’s where my 10-$10 rule comes in.

The premise is straightforward: If you can acquire a just-in-case item upon arrival for less than $10 and within 10 minutes, don’t pack it.

You generally shouldn’t pack:

Books (perhaps pack one, but will you really read that second one?).

First-aid kits.

Over-the-counter medications that you only sometimes use (e.g. antacid tablets or ibuprofen).

Weather-contingent items like ponchos and umbrellas (particularly if it’s not even rainy season).

Know where you're going and pack accordingly. 

Read more here.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/10-10-packing-rule

--

Some age-verification systems are no match for enterprising children, who have found that drawing on a fake mustache with a makeup pencil is enough to skirt the blocks of adult websites.

U.K.-based nonprofit Internet Matters surveyed a thousand children about age-verification checks online, and about half said that age checks were easy to bypass.

“Children demonstrated a clear awareness of how to bypass age checks, either through their own experiences or by hearing about methods from others,” the report says.

–

If you feel a little (or more than a little) anxious leaving the house without your phone, you’re not alone. According to a survey (by Reviews.org), 83 percent of Americans feel the same way. 

If you feel a little embarrassed texting or otherwise using your phone while on the toilet, don’t: 70 percent of participants admitted to doing it.

• 83% of Americans use their phone as an alarm clock.

• 80% of Americans say they check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up.

• Americans spend an average of 50 minutes on their phones before bed.

• 67% say they have texted someone in the same room as them before.

• 54% of people say they panic when their phone battery goes below 20%.

–

Thank the Onion for this!!!!

In an effort to meet growing demand for her nuptials, pop superstar Taylor Swift announced on Instagram Friday that additional dates for her wedding had been added in Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. “I’m so excited to bring this special night to as many people as possible,” said Swift, who has reportedly booked 300-seat country clubs in multiple cities across the nation with plans to bring her caterers, string quartet, and wedding party along in a bus to each venue. “Travis and I have been working so hard on our vows, and I’m really proud of what this team created. And of course, each night will end with a special stripped-down section where I’ll tell a surprise anecdote about our courtship.” Swift went on to say that Phoebe Bridgers would warm up the crowd each night by getting married right before her.

--

Savannah Guthrie announced she'll be hosting a new show at NBC during Monday's episode of the Today show.

She will serve as the host for a Wordle game show, which will see contestants compete for money, executive-produced by Jimmy Fallon and premiering on NBC.

"It kind of feels strange to do everything right now, but this is something that's full of joy," Guthrie said.

Wordle has been around since 2021, and you probably did one this morning (I'm on a 515 game play streak)

–

Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Today is International Nurses Day, chosen because it’s the birthday of Florence Nightingale (born 1820). While everyone knows her as the "Lady with the Lamp," she was also a math genius. She actually invented the polar area diagram (a variation of the pie chart) to prove that more soldiers were dying from poor sanitation than from battle wounds.

Florence gained the nickname 'the Lady with the Lamp' during her work at Scutari. 'The Times' reported that at night she would walk among the beds, checking the wounded men holding a light in her hand.

The image of 'the Lady with the Lamp' captured the public's imagination, and Florence soon became a celebrity. One of the main creators of the Nightingale cult was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who immortalized her in his poem 'Santa Filomena'.

--