8/1/25 - Happy August! Foods People Hate, Birthday Mania, and Skelly

Friday 8/1/25

Celebrate:

Homemade Pie Day

International Beer Day

International Childfree Day

National Girlfriends Day

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

National Spritz Day

Planner Day

Play Ball Day

Respect for Parents Day

Scout Scarf Day

Spider-Man Day

Woman Astronomers Day

World Lung Cancer Day

World Wide Web Day

Yorkshire Day

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Workers at a site in South Carolina that once made key parts for nuclear bombs in the U.S. have found a radioactive wasp nest.

I did not have that on my 2025 Bingo Card.

The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said.

The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said. (BECAUSE THE WASPS ARE LOOSE!!!)

If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests.

Right......

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Someone polled thousands of Americans to find out what the most HATED foods in America are. 

1.  Anchovies.  56% of us "dislike" or "hate" them.

2.  Liver, 55%. 

3.  Sardines.  52% "hate" or "dislike" them.

4.  Tofu, 46%.

5.  Squid, 43%.

6.  Caviar, 43%.

7.  Oysters, 42%.

8.  Blue cheese, 39%.

9.  Chitlins, 39%.  They'd be higher on the list if more people knew what they were . . . they're pig intestines.

10.  Sushi, 38%.  But 23% "love" sushi, which is higher than any other food we mentioned.

A few more that just missed the Top 10:  35% don't like beets . . . 31% don't like kale . . . 29% don't enjoy okra or Brussels sprouts . . . 28% don't like eggplant . . . and 27% of us don't like olives.

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Listerine, yes, the mouthwash brand, insured Cynthia Erivo's mouth for $2 MILLION.

They say it's her "most valuable asset", so they partnered with her for their "Wash Your Mouth" campaign.

Cynthia says, quote, "Oral care has always been an important part of my self-care routine . . . It's the last thing I do before I go on stage.  I just want to make sure that I feel really fresh. 

"It sort of gives me a restart before I go on and sing or speak."

Believe it or not, Cynthia isn't the first celebrity to have her mouth insured.  In 2007, Aquafresh insured America Ferrera's smile for $10 million.

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According to a new survey, 22% of people take their birthday "extremely seriously."  It's even higher (34%) among Gen Z'ers and Millennials.

Some people get depressed about being a year older . . . but most of this seriousness is about wanting to feel "special" and have it be memorable.

It's so intense that 12% of people say they'd "hold it against someone" for not coming out to celebrate with them.

(and then there are some that celebrate their birthday month...just stop)

The survey also broke it down by ZODIAC SIGNS.  The five Zodiac signs that take their birthday the MOST serious are:  Sagittarius, Leo, Libra, Scorpio, and Taurus.

The five signs that don't take their birthday seriously at all are:  Virgo, Aries, Capricorn, Leo, and Taurus.

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Believe it or not, it's been nearly five years since Home Depot snapped us out of our quarantine daze with a 12-foot skeleton decoration, which delighted shoppers, trick-or-treaters, and TikTok'ers around the world.

And this year, "Skelly" the skeleton is getting an upgrade.

Home Depot will be selling "Ultra Skelly," which is an app-controlled version that allows you to "oversee its animatronic elements," like a moving mouth.  It can also be equipped with prerecorded dialogue.  Your recordings can be up to 30 seconds long, which sounds fun.

The one downside?  It's "only" six-and-a-half feet tall.

Ultra Skelly costs $279, which is actually less than the $299 original, so apparently the new upgrades were off-set by the shorter stature.

To be clear, Home Depot is also bringing back the original 12-foot Skelly, and despite inflation and tariffs, it's still $299. 

The entourage also includes:  A scary Skelly dog . . . a cute Skelly dog . . . a Skelly cat . . . a 15-foot LED Worricrow for $399 . . . a troll . . . and a dragon-like wyvern.

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - 20% of the land on the planet belongs to countries whose names start with "A" . . . but 24% of the population is in countries whose names start with "I."  And just to add to the confusion, more countries start with "S" than any other letter.

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