5/16/25 - Preakness, Red Flag Hobbies, and AI Job Interview

Friday 5/16/25

Celebrate:

Biographer's Day

Endangered Species Day

International Day of Light

International Virtual Assistants Day

Love a Tree Day

NASCAR Day

National Barbecue Day

National Bike to Work Day

National Chartreuse Day

National Defense Transport Day

National Mimosa Day

National Piercing Day

National Pizza Party Day

National Sea Monkey Day

National Wear Purple for Peace Day

O. Henry Pun-off Day

Shades Day

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Sovereignty will not run in the 150th Preakness Stakes, so no chance at a triple crown this year.

After this year’s race, Pimlico race track in Baltimore, Maryland is scheduled to be overhauled. As a result, the Preakness Stakes in at least 2026 is expected to run at Laurel Park between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Here is the small field for the race Saturday 

1 Goal Oriented 6-1

2 Journalism         8-5

3 American Promise 15-1

4 Heart of Honor 12-1

5 Pay Billy                20-1

6 River Thames 9-2

7 Sandman                4-1

8 Clever Again 5-1

9 Gosger                20-1

Post time is 7:01pm Saturday, and you can watch on NBC or Peacock.

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There's a new list online of "hobbies that are instant RED FLAGS," whether you hear about them on dates . . . with coworkers . . . or from family and "friends" on social media.  

But Not having a hobby at all.  Or, "judging other people's hobbies." was one of the answers, so don't go there!

Here are some of them from AskReddit. . .

1.  Beauty pageants, particularly children's.

2.  MLM "work."  Someone joked that it stands for "Moms Losing Money."

3.  People who are into "pranking."

4.  Scratch lotto tickets . . . because it's rarely JUST scratchers.

5.  CrossFit.

6.  Collecting taxidermy animals.

7.  Swooning over serial killers.

8.  Being super into celebrities and their lives.

9.  Collecting Disney memorabilia.  Someone said, "Two Disney-adults can be happy together, but they shouldn't try to have relationships with normal people."

10.  Someone said, "Having to watch every single Hallmark movie."

11.  Making A.I. girlfriends and arguing with them.

12.  Trolling people online . . . for fun.

13.  "Influencing" . . . or being big fans of online influencer culture.

14.  Someone said, "A girl once told me her hobby was 'scrolling on TikTok.'"

15.  Someone else said, "When they have social media as a hobby.  I mean like 'getting mad at you for eating before they can take AND retake the perfect pic for Instagram' kind of social media."

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A 25-year-old guy in Houston named Leo Humphries is trending on TikTok after he landed a big job interview . . . then realized he was being interviewed by A.I.

It's not clear what company it was with, but it was a "large national" brand looking for a "news reporter."  It was a video interview, and he got all dressed up in a suit and tie.

He had a camera running because he also makes money on TikTok, so some people think the whole thing was staged.  But Leo says it really did happen, and others have since chimed in with similar experiences.

He was excited when the interview started.  But the mood changed as soon as he realized it was an A.I. voice.  Then to rub salt in the wound, the A.I. started glitching and saying the same line over and over again on a loop.

It eventually fixed itself, but that's when the interview ended.  It thanked him for answering its questions, and said it "got a lot of great information" from him . . . but he didn't actually get a chance to answer a single question.

Leo posted an update that shows the follow-up email he got less than an hour after the interview ended.  It said, "Hi, Henry" . . . so, not his name.  Followed by, it was "a pleasure meeting you yesterday" and learning about your background, goals, and "passion for storytelling."

It even said he had "wonderful energy."  But then the email ended by letting him know that, unfortunately, they decided he wasn't quite the right fit for the position.

It did say they'd keep his application on file, though . . . so, that's something? 

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Nutella just announced its first new U.S. flavor in 61 years.  So, they've had more than six decades to think about it.

And prepare to have your world rocked.  The new flavor is . . . peanut.  

Normal Nutella is chocolate and hazelnuts.  So, I guess it's for people who like to mix a little peanut butter in?

Even lamer:  They announced it, but it doesn't hit stores for another YEAR. Your world won't actually be rocked until the spring of 2026.

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McDonald's is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the McFlurry with a new Birthday Cake flavor . . . but not in the U.S. (because all the ice cream machines are broken) It's only in Canada.

Also McDonald's says that Squishmallows are officially back in McDonald's Happy Meals after their initial run in 2023 . . . but only for a limited time

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - In the 1700s and 1800s, squirrels were popular pets.

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