5/8/25 - Conclave, Mom, and Tough Jobs

Thursday 5/8/25

Celebrate:

Free Trade Day

Iris Day

Make-A-book Day

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

National Coconut Cream Pie Day

National Give Someone a Cupcake Day

National Have a Coke Day

National Student Nurses Day

No Socks Day

Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War

Victory in Europe Day

World Ovarian Cancer Day

World Red Cross and Crescent Day

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Welcome to the Papal Conclave!

The Cardinals started voting yesterday, and then the votes are put in stove, we watch for smoke.

Black smoke means no consensus like yesterday.

White smoke means there's a new Pope.

First day watch for it from 1-2p.

There could be four rounds of voting in the next days if no Pope is picked.

Our time 4:30a, 6a, 11:30a, 1p.

The longest conclave was in the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact. It’s also where the term conclave comes from — “under lock and key,” because the cardinals who were meeting in Viterbo, north of Rome, took so long the town’s frustrated citizens locked them in the room.

Before 1274, there were times when a pope was elected the same day as the death of his predecessor. After the rules changed with a waiting period it was 1503 who was elected in just a few hours.

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How often do you call your mom?  Is it enough?

22% of people in an early Mother's Day poll said they don't call Mom as much as they should. The average is once a week. 

Here are a few more stats from the survey . . .

How often do you make your mom feel appreciated?  The average answer was less than twice a month. The top ways we do it are by spending time with her or just saying, "I love you."

68% think they know their mom better than anyone else in her life.

70% worry their mom has too much on her plate, and 67% think she spends too much time worrying about other people's needs.

Moms were asked what the "perfect self-care day" would include, 

#1 on the list is getting to sleep in.  Then it's getting her hair done . . . having someone else cook . . . listening to music . . . and getting a massage.

Rounding out the Top 10 are getting her nails done . . . going for a walk . . . reading . . . catching up on TV . . . and taking a nice, long bath.

Just leaving her alone might be a nice gift too.  39% of moms said they get less than one hour of 'me time' each day. 

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There's a new report out on A.I. at fast food drive-thrus, and it found that A.I.-powered interactions provide:  "Faster service . . . improved efficiency . . . and customer satisfaction."

It looked at a series of test cases involving three things:  A.I. voice-ordering . . . mobile ordering for pickup . . . and in-store kiosk ordering.

The results weren't perfect.  22% of the time the A.I. voice-ordering system glitched, and needed an employee to step in and help.

There were also "order inaccuracies" with the A.I.  And 65% of those involved A.I.'s inability to deal with a customization request.

When it comes to ordering at a kiosk, customer satisfaction with the order experience scored higher compared to traditional methods . . . probably because it's easier to place a custom order.

But kiosk-ordering lags on "friendliness."  People complain that there's no connection with the employees or the restaurant . . . with no one greeting them, acknowledging them, or thanking them.

But it's nice to know AI can mess up your order just like a human!

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A poll found the "toughest" jobs in America are firefighter, construction worker, member of the military, doctor, and cop. 

All of these jobs have two of these four things - physically demanding . . . have long hours . . . involve high-stakes decisions . . . or there's an element of danger. 

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"U.S. News & World Report" does a study each year that ranks all 50 states based on everything from education and healthcare, to infrastructure and the economy.

And this year, Utah is #1 for the third straight year.

Utah tops the list, mostly because it landed in the Top 10 in FIVE of eight categories.  It's first in fiscal stability, third in both economy and infrastructure, fourth in education, and seventh in crime.  But it's 48th in "natural environment." 

New Hampshire is second, followed by Idaho . . . Minnesota . . . Nebraska . . . Florida . . . Vermont . . . South Dakota . . . Massachusetts . . . and Washington.

The WORST state is Louisiana.  Alaska is the second-worst, followed by Mississippi . . . New Mexico . . . West Virginia . . . and Alabama. 

New York is #22 with a good Fiscal Stability score

Pennsylvania is #41

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Have you seen the meth-smoking raccoon in Ohio yet?  A woman got pulled over for an outstanding warrant on Monday.  And while a cop was arresting her, her pet raccoon pulled out a meth pipe and tried to SMOKE it.  There's chest cam footage of the whole thing.  The cop couldn't stop laughing.

She was heard to say..Dude...not cool!

See the footage here.

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A poll for National Pet Week found 44% of dog owners have at least one meal time "ritual" for their dog.  The top ones include saying a special word or phrase when it's time to eat . . . giving them a treat as an appetizer . . . and 16% sometimes plate their dog's food like it's a gourmet meal.

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Mosquitoes have killed more people than all of the wars in history combined . . . by infecting tens of billions of people with diseases.

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