5/27/26 - Otters, Fashion Trends, and AI Helps

Wednesday 5/27/26

Celebrate:

Cellophane Tape Day

National Grape Popsicle Day

National Gray Day

National Senior Health &  Fitness Day

Nothing to Fear Day

Old-Time Player Piano Day

Sunscreen Protection Day

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Parents are turning to AI to help them navigate daily challenges. According to a new survey, 81 percent of parents have used AI to help with parenting tasks, with 43 percent using it weekly and 15 percent using it daily. Among these parents, two-thirds report that AI has reduced their mental load. The most common uses include:

… Health or medical information (53%)

… Meal planning or grocery lists (49%)

… Behavior advice (43%)

… Homework or academic support (42%)

… Planning activities and crafts (37%)

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Our pets keep our hearts full, but they are also filling up our credit card statements as “petflation” hits the household budget. A new study reveals that the typical American pet parent now spends an average of $2,360 a year — or about $196 a month — on their animal companion. The surge in costs is driven heavily by rising prices for food and veterinary services. (cat litter ain't cheap...dudes..use the toilet)

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When most people think of animals that support grueling search and rescue efforts in the wake of disasters, crime, or conflict, they picture dogs. And those canines can really make a difference.

But one thing they can’t do for long periods of time is do this work underwater.

So, Michael Hadsell, president of Florida-based Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, has turned to river otters. 

Specifically, Splash.

Splash is a 2-year-old Asian small-clawed otter who has been trained to assist in underwater search and recovery missions. He’s turned into something of a celebrity, believed to be the only otter in the country who has successfully been trained in this work.

Hasdell went to Mote Marine and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, where he observed trainers working with otters. He realized it was extremely similar to training a dog.

When Splash is successful, he gets a piece of salmon. 

“It has to be farm-raised salmon,” Hasdell quipped to Outside Magazine. “He won’t eat wild salmon.”

Read more here.

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Excavator Pikachu is ready to report for duty.

The highly anticipated Pokémon Fossil Museum opens at Field Museum in Chicago on Friday, May 22. Making its North America debut, the exhibit features nearly 30 Pokémon fossil sculptures, including Bastiodon, Kabutops, Tyrunt, and Lileep, each paired alongside a real fossil or cast from Field's collection. The exhibit even features a head cast of SUE, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex fossil that calls Field home.

The Pokémon Fossil Museum first opened in Japan in 2021, an initial collaboration between the National Museum of Nature and Science of Japan, four collaborating museums and The Pokémon Company, a plaque in the exhibit informs guests.

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Shoppers are driving a massive trend toward lightweight "balloon pants" made of poplin, linen, and silk. Retail data shows these ultra-loose silhouettes are becoming the primary summer alternative for consumers who find jeans too hot but want to skip shorts.

They would almost make MC Hammer happy.

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In an unexpected footwear throwback, online searches for "red jelly shoes outfit" have skyrocketed by 349% this week as millennial and Gen Z users plan their summer festival looks.

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The hip-hop community is mourning the loss of legendary rapper Rob Base, who passed away at the age of 59 following a battle with cancer. Famous for the timeless, high-energy anthem "It Takes Two," his music remains a fundamental part of pop culture history.

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - Cellophane tape—the household staple we now call "clear tape" or by the brand name "Scotch"—has a surprisingly interesting origin story that’s rooted in 1920s automotive painting and a bit of accidental branding.

In the 1920s, Richard Gurley Drew, a lab technician at 3M (then a sandpaper manufacturer), was observing auto-body painters working on the trendy two-tone car designs of the era. Painters struggled to get clean, crisp lines between the two colors; the paper and glue they used often tore or peeled away the underlying paint.

Drew spent two years in the lab experimenting with adhesives and paper backings. When he finally brought a sample masking tape to a test run at an auto shop, the painter was furious because the adhesive only covered the edges of the strip. He yelled at Drew: "Take this tape back to those 'Scotch' bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!"  In the 1920s, "Scotch" was a slang term for being cheap or miserly. The name stuck, first to the masking tape, and eventually to the transparent product that followed.

In 1930, after his success with masking tape, Drew turned his attention to a new material that was taking the world by storm: cellophane.

Because the backing was made of cellulose film (cellophane), it was colloquially dubbed "cellophane tape."