Wednesday 8/14/24
Celebrate:
Color Book Day
Congressional Starup Day
National Creamsicle Day
National Financial Awareness Day
National Navajo Code Talkers Day
National Tattoo Removal Day
National Wiffle Ball Day
Social Security Day
World Calligraphy Day
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In Paris, we witnessed the greatest athletes on Earth displaying their almost superhuman talents.
And yet, the real breakout star of the Paris Games was a woman who calls herself Raygun and hops like a kangaroo.
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn caught the world's attention. And she caught Adele's attention.
During one of her German residency shows, Adele asked the crowd if they'd seen, quote, "the breakdancing lady." She called her "[effing] fantastic" and "the best that's happened in the Olympics the entire time."
Like a lot of people, Adele couldn't figure out of the routine was a joke or not, but she said it made her "very very happy," and added, quote, "Me and my friends have been [pooping] ourselves laughing for 24 hours."
Sadly, breakdancing will NOT return for the 2028 Summer Olympics. This was its first year . . . and it may very well be its LAST.
Raygun got 0 points for her performance, and the memes have been hilarious. One was the Seinfeld folks and their discussion of Elaine's dancing, others have been compared to thier dog in the grass.
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Yesterday was Lefthanders Day, celebrating the 1 in 10 people who have it just a little bit harder in life. Unless you're a lefty, you don't notice how many little things are designed for right-handed people.
You know the big ones, like scissors and can openers. But here are a few more things that are like a middle finger to left-handed people . . .
1. Zippers on jeans. The flap covering the zipper is on the left. So it's nearly impossible to zip with your left hand.
2. Credit card machines. The swiper is always on the right. And if there's a pen, it's tethered to the right side of the machine, just like the pens at banks.
3. Measuring cups. If you hold one in your left hand, you're stuck measuring in milliliters instead of ounces.
4. Car fobs. The kind with a key that opens like a knife. The button is always set up for righties. Lefties have to open them upside down.
5. Microwaves. If you push the button to open it with your left hand, the door hits your arm.
6. Rulers and tape measures. If you use a tape measure left-handed, the numbers are upside down.
7. Power tools, like chop saws. The handle you pull down on is on the right. If you want to use it lefty, you have to cross your arms and reach over the blade. Not safe.
8. Novelty coffee cups. If there's only printing on one side, it faces out for righties, so other people can see it. For lefties, it looks blank to other people. (So you get to enjoy the printing...how nice!)
9. Playing cards. A lot of them only have numbers in two of the four corners. So you can't see them well when they're in your left hand.
10. Serrated knives. Even a lot of lefties don't know. The teeth are set up to offset the tendency to twist clockwise with your right hand. So lefties tend to cut things like bread thinner at the top and fatter at the bottom.
See more in the Reddit thread here.
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Ranker.com asked its followers which ones they'd want to work at. Here are the most popular answers:
1. The Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department from "Parks and Recreation"
2. Cheers, the bar from "Cheers"
3. Kim's Convenience from the show of the same name
4. Party Down from "Party Down"
5. The 99th Precinct from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
6. "TGS" from "30 Rock"
7. Bob's Burgers from "Bob's Burgers"
8. Dunder Mifflin from "The Office"
9. Cloud 9 from "Superstore"
10. Central Perk from "Friends"
11. WNYX from "NewsRadio"
12. Cage and Fish from "Ally McBeal"
13. Abbott Elementary from "Abbott Elementary"
14. Merlotte's Bar and Grill from "True Blood"
15. The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from "The Simpsons"
See the latest ranking and vote here.
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The first day of fall is still over a month out. (September 22nd) But an early poll for it found 58% of Americans think pumpkin spice is NOT the best fall flavor.
It only ranked fourth overall. So, what beat it? Here are the Top 10 . . .
1. Cinnamon. 39% said it's one of their favorite fall flavors.
2. Salted caramel, 37%.
3. Candy apple, 36%.
4. Pumpkin spice. Only 32% said it's a favorite.
5. Maple, 28%.
6. S'mores, 28%.
7. Pecan, 26%.
8. Toasted marshmallow, 24%.
9. Sweet potato, 20%
10. Cranberry, 19%.
What exactly is Pumpkin (pie) spice????
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
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It's almost Back to School season, so it's a good time to have a movie night featuring your favorite high school movies. On Ranker.com, people are voting on the best high school movies of all time. Here are the Top 10:
1. "The Breakfast Club" (1985)
2. "Back to the Future" (1985)
3. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986)
4. "Grease" (1978)
5. "Sixteen Candles" (1984)
6. "Mean Girls" (2004)
7. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) Released today.
8. "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999)
9. "Dead Poets Society"(1989)
10. "Clueless" (1995)
See the latest rankings and vote here.
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This year has been weird weather for us here in the Northeast. Tornados, minor earthquakes, and recently a hurricane (mostly the rain...but...the raaiinn.)
There's a new poll out on natural disasters, and nearly THREE in FOUR Americans say they live in an area where hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes are major or minor problems.
And 26% say they live in an area where one of the three is a MAJOR problem.
Not surprisingly, people are most concerned about hurricanes in the Southeast U.S. Places like Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.
People are worried about tornadoes in the Central U.S. Places like Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Alabama, and Texas.
And people are most concerned about earthquakes in the Western U.S. Places like California, Oregon, and Washington state. (LA just had a 4.4)
Strangely, Alaska is pretty paranoid about ALL THREE . . . even though they haven't had a lot of devastation to this point.
29% of Alaskans say earthquakes are a "major problem." They've had 17 over the past 100 years. There were two 60 years ago that were LETHAL, and people may be worrying more since seven of those came in the last 10 years.
31% of Alaskans say hurricanes are a "major problem." Even though they've never been hit by a full-on hurricane.
And 22% of Alaskans say tornadoes are a "major problem." Even though they've only really had six . . . although one was earlier this year.
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A 34-year-old guy in Pittsburgh named Charles Felder got arrested Saturday morning for trying to break INTO jail.
He tried to break into the lobby at four o'clock in the morning by kicking the glass doors and using garbage cans as battering rams. He ended up breaking the two-inch-thick bulletproof glass, but never got inside. He also ripped a door handle off.
He kept at it for THREE HOURS, and apparently no one noticed. They found him after he finally passed out.
He resisted as they loaded him into an ambulance to treat him for minor injuries, and he spit in a medic's face.
He's facing harassment and burglary-related charges. And now he's right where he wanted to be . . . in jail.
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Today's Back-To-School Useless Fact of the Day - The average pencil can be sharpened 17 times and write about 45,000 words or draw a line 35 miles long before it’s out of service.
Pencils can also be used in zero gravity, upside down, or even underwater!
Before pencil erasers were invented, a common way to get rid of pencil markings was with a rolled up piece of white bread!
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