Friday 8/19/22
Celebrate:
Black Cow Root Beer Float Day
International Bow Day
International Orangutan Day
International Talk Like Jar Jar Binks Day
National Aviation Day
National Hot and Spicy Food Day
National Kool-Aid Day
National Men's Grooming Day
National Potato Day
National Sandcastle and Sculpture Day
National Soft Ice Cream Day
World Humanitarian Day
World Photo Day
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American Airlines is betting big on ultrafast planes. The company has struck a deal to purchase 20 planes from Boom Supersonic, with an option to buy 40 more.
These jets are capable of traveling at supersonic speeds, or about twice as fast as most commercial planes. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time supersonic airliners have taken to the skies, but the famous Concorde was retired back in 2003.
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Viola Davis is set to channel her inner villain in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel film to the Hunger Games series.
Volumnia Gaul is the evil mastermind behind the games, and fans will get to watch as she molds a young Coriolanus Snow into the cruel and manipulating president of Panem. The movie is slated for a November 2023 release.
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Adele has revealed what really led to the cancellation of her Las Vegas residency, which was set to kick off back in January.
In an interview with Elle magazine, the singer said, "There was just no soul in it," adding that, "the stage set up wasn't right. It was very disconnected from me and my band, and it lacked intimacy. And maybe I tried too hard to give it those things in such a controlled environment." Adele initially told fans the residency was cut due to delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The slate of shows has been rescheduled and will start on November 18.
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This week the compact disc turns 40 years old. To celebrate, here are a few facts about CDs.
1. The very first CD was produced at a German factory in August of 1982. It's unclear what it was.
2. The "first" CD to be released commercially came out in Japan in October of that year, 1982. It was "52nd Street" by Billy Joel, which wasn't a new release. It was originally put out on vinyl in 1978. By the way, there were 50 albums released on CD at once "52nd Street" just gets the special distinction because it had the first catalog number.
4. The first commercially produced CD player was the Sony CDP-101. In 1982, it cost about $1,000, although some deluxe players went for more than $1,500. By the mid '80s, the average player sold for $300 to $600.
5. The first CDs cost more than $20 apiece. By the mid '80s, they settled into a range of $11 to $15. Although, that was around $30 in today's money.
6. By 1985 . . . three years after the CD's debut . . . there were about 2,600 CD titles available, which is a lot. But by comparison, around 50,000 titles were being printed on vinyl at that time.
Of those CDs, approximately one-third were classical . . . one-third were pop / rock . . . and one-third were other genres, like jazz and Broadway. And a year before that, in 1984, one-half of the available CDs were classical.
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According to a recent poll, the average American eats four salads a week so people somewhere are eating these things.
Someone at USA Today put out a comprehensive ranking of 14 salad varieties.
1. Caesar salad.
2. Taco salad.
3. Nicoise salad, which usually has tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, olives, and anchovies or tuna, dressed with olive oil or a vinaigrette.
4. Cobb salad, with eggs and bacon.
5. Spinach salad.
6. Caprese, which usually includes mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.
7. Wedge salad, with blue cheese.
8. Greek salad.
9. Fruit salad.
10. "Bound" salads, with chicken, tuna, egg, potato.
11. Waldorf salad . . . generally made with apples, celery, walnuts, grapes, and mayo on a bed of lettuce.
12. Chef's salad, which usually has cold cuts and cheese.
13. Boring garden or house salads.
14. Jell-O salad.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Every single odd number has the letter "e" in it when you spell it out.
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