6/4/26 - Hurricanes, No Bananas, and Languages

Thursday 6/4/26

Celebrate:

Hug Your Cat Day

National Cheese Day

National Clean Beauty Day

National Cognac Day

National Moonshine Day

Old Maid's Day

Shopping Cart Day - you shouldn’t have to be bribed to return your cart!!! I try to park by a cart return area so it’s easy!

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Forecasters with NOAA’s National Weather Service are predicting a below-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic basin this year. NOAA’s outlook for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1 to November 30, predicts a total of 8-14 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 3-6 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1-3 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA has a 70% confidence in these ranges. An average season has 14 named storms with seven hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. 

But remember, it only takes one big one to hit land and it's a bad season. Here's to one like last year!

With that said, the Pacific basin might see more this year, and one is brewing. Tropical Storm Amanda popped up yesterday.

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Feel a panic attack coming on? Try sucking on a sour candy.

The intense sour taste can act as a grounding technique by forcing your brain to focus on a strong physical sensation instead of anxious thoughts.

While it won't stop every panic attack, many people find that sour candy helps interrupt the cycle long enough to regain control and slow things down. It's a simple trick that's easy to keep in your pocket just in case.

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Bananas are a smoothie staple, but they may be reducing some of the health benefits of other ingredients.

Bananas contain an enzyme called PPO that can break down flavanols found in foods like berries, cocoa, tea, and apples.

Research suggests this can significantly reduce the amount of these beneficial compounds your body absorbs. If you're making a smoothie specifically for maximum antioxidants, consider swapping the banana for mango, pineapple, or yogurt.

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Writing by hand might seem effortless, but behind the scenes, the brain is putting in a lot of work. Handwriting requires a combination of movement, coordination, memory, and thinking—all working together at once. Which is why researchers say subtle changes in handwriting patterns could be a tool to help doctors easily spot cognitive decline.

Ultimately, the researchers say these findings could help shape a cost-effective, non-invasive method for the early detection of cognitive decline. The study concluded that handwriting analysis may offer a “clinically relevant approach for detecting cognitive vulnerability.”

It's still in the early stages of research.

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English and Spanish dominate when it comes to languages spoken by those living in the United States. A majority of Americans speak English, with 77% speaking the language at home, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Another 13.9% speak Spanish at home, making it the second-most spoken language in the country.

Third place depends on what state you live in.

13 states have Chinese languages of Mandarin and Cantonese next. PA and NY are here.

7 states speak German

Others are Arabic, French, Navajo, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Pennsylvania Dutch (Yiddish)

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New York police are investigating a bizarre mystery involving groups of people emerging from the city’s manholes in recent weeks.

The investigation follows the circulation of multiple social media videos showing people climbing out of sewer systems across the city, all in the middle of the night.

A senior law enforcement official told NBC that one theory investigators are considering is that the men are “scouring the system for valuables that get into the sewage”.

It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected.

Doesn't seem to be any damage or anything left behind. So who knows....maybe that's where the backrooms are!!! (see the new movie)

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - 1992 When the United States Post Office decided to do an Elvis stamp, they put it up for a vote: a young Elvis or an old Elvis image, and young Elvis won by a landslide, getting more votes by a factor of three to one. Priscilla Presley makes the announcement at Graceland. (don’t forget that postage stamps go up in price in July.)