8/19/25 - Easter Eggs Point To A Taylor Half-Time! (we just live in a Swift world)

Tuesday 8/19/25

Celebrate:

Black Cow Root Beer Float Day - made with chocolate ice cream

International Bow Day

International Orangutan Day

International Talk Like Jar Jar Binks Day (who? I may have blocked him from my memory)

National Aviation Day

National Hot and Spicy Food Day

National Potato Day

National Sandcastle and Sculpture Day

National Soft Ice Cream Day

World Humanitarian Day

World Photo Day

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Had your blood pressure checked lately?

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology issued their first new set of guidelines to help minimize hypertension since 2017.

The new guidelines used by clinicians nationwide recommend that Americans limit the amount of alcohol they consume. While forgoing alcohol consumption altogether is preferable, the groups found that men should limit their intake to no more than two drinks per day, while women should limit their intake to no more than one per day.

Limiting salt and exercise are also still in the recommendations.

See the full article here.

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Last week during Taylor Swift's appearance on the "New Heights" podcast, she shared that sourdough has taken over her life and it's what she talks about 60% of the time.

Well, considering she loves baking, the most casual fan probably wouldn't think much of her comments.  But not the Swifties.  They know Taylor's affinity for inserting "Easter eggs" into almost everything, and this is no exception.

They suspect she might be the Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner.  And here's why:

1.  Super Bowl 60 will go down at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.  Their mascot?  Sourdough Sam.

2.  When Taylor says she thinks about sourdough "60%" of the time, it could be a nod to it being Super Bowl 60.

3.  And at the beginning of the "New Heights" episode, Taylor thanks Jason Kelce for "screaming for, like, 47 seconds."  Well, Taylor's 47th stop of her Eras Tour was none other than Levi's Stadium. 

The headliner announcement will be in September as usual.

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Volkswagen just debuted a new subscription plan for its electric cars.  They're making people pay extra to unlock the full amount of horsepower.  

It's only happening in the U.K. for now.  No word on when they might try to do it in the U.S. or other countries.

Here's an example of how it works:  Their Volkswagen ID.3 electric car has 228 horsepower.  But if you don't pay the fee . . . just over $20 a month . . . you only get to access 201 of that horsepower.

They claim it's "nothing new."  Quote, "Historically, many [gas] and diesel vehicles have been offered with engines of the same size, but with the possibility of choosing one with more potency."

They're not the first car company that's tried to gouge customers like this.  A few years ago, BMW tried to charge folks in the U.K. to use their heated seats.  They ended up nixing it after too many complaints.

VW drivers in the U.K. who want the extra zip will have to pay $22 a month for the privilege, or a yearly fee of around $225.

There's also the option of paying a one-time fee of $880.  Volkswagen says that option keeps it unlocked, even if you sell the car.

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PETA's latest target is "Mario Kart".  They want Nintendo to remove Moo Moo Cow's nose ring . . . because they believe it's a sign of animal abuse.  Nintendo hasn't responded. You think they'd be upset about weaponizing turtles!!

"Mario Kart World:  Cow!"just came out in June, but the Moo Moo Cows have been represented the same way . . . with the ring . . . for almost three decades, dating back to the Nintendo 64 days.

They're usually in the background, but now they're a playable character.

One commenter online joked, "How do they know the cow didn't go to a body piercing place to get it?  The damn thing knows how to drive so it's not like this is out of the realm of possibility."

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Have you ever flown and gotten a window seat, but it's not really alligned with your seat?

Airlines could now face lawsuits over windowless "window seats."  So, rows that don't line up with a view . . . or the ones without a window at all. This is a problem because they often charge more for window seats.

Of course, airlines sometimes use "aisle" and "window" generally to describe where the seat is positioned.

But this could be a problem because many airlines charge extra for "window seats" . . . and so, if someone is paying for an actual window view, and there isn't one, they could join this lawsuit.

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A new study looked at how much people scroll on their phones, and then converted the distance that you move through feeds into miles.  

According to their data, the state that scrolls the farthest is:  Arizona.  People there scroll 115.4 miles per year, which is roughly the distance between Phoenix and Tucson.

That's also the equivalent of almost nine hours of screen time per day.

Washington was second at 108.2 miles

Kentucky (105 miles)

Missouri (102 miles)

New Mexico (96 miles)

Here's the rest of the Top 10:  Texas (95.8 miles) . . . Maryland (95 miles) . . . Louisiana (93 miles) . . . South Carolina (92.8 miles) . . . and Georgia (91 miles).

According to one of their data sources, it looks like the bottom five would be:  Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.

Overall, the average American spends 6 hours and 35 minutes per day on screens, which adds up to 2,403 hours annually.  And people check their devices an average of 58 times a day.

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - Bulbagarden.com asked - What is your favorite way potatoes are cooked/ potato focused dish?

French fries  84.6%

Potato Chip 61.5%

Mashed 46.2%

Baked 46.2%

Tater Tots 46.2%

Hash Browns 46.2%

Boiled 30.8%

Au gratin 19.2%

Other 19.2%

Latkes 11.5%

Raw 3.8%

Potato salad 3.8%

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