8/22/25 - Drop Your Phone, Tooth Fairy, and Focus Friend

Friday8/22/25

Celebrate:

Be an Angel Day

National Bao Day

National Eat a Peach Day

National Pecan Torte Day

National Tooth Fairy Day

Never Bean Better Day

Take Your Cat to the Vet Day

World Plant Milk Day

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For the second year in a row, an annual Delta Dental survey found the tooth fairy is paying less for lost teeth than the year before.

The average value of a single lost tooth declined by 14% from $5.84 to $5.01, according to the survey of 1,000 parents of children ages 6 to 12.

Despite the decline, the average cash gift per tooth increased 285% from 1998 when a lost tooth fetched $1.30 on average.

The first tooth still rules $6.24.

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According to a report, the average American says the perfect salary is $74,000.  But 19% of people say they'd need to make at least $100K.

69% of Americans are looking for ways to make extra money . . . and 32% of people are interested in starting a side hustle.  And 29% of those in the survey already have a side hustle.

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A poll found the average person will drop their phone at least 10 times this year even though it's basically our most prized possession now. (60% of people said this)

Just under a third of people say they've CRIED because their phone broke.

38% would rather lose their wallet . . . 25% said breaking their phone would be more upsetting than crashing their car . . . and 25% also said it would be more upsetting than losing their CHILD in a supermarket.

They also asked people if they'd be willing to do five uncomfortable things to rescue their phone from disaster.  Here's what people said.

1.  Would you dive into a pool fully clothed at a wedding to save your phone?  59% say they'd do it.

2.  Would you climb into a dumpster?  56% said yes.

3.  Would you reach down into a port-a-potty at a big music festival?  54% would.

4.  Would you miss an international flight?  51% would catch another flight.

5.  Would you risk climbing down onto subway tracks?  20% of us are dumb enough to do it if we dropped our phone down there. 

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Have you heard of the app Focus Friend yet?  YouTuber Hank Green is behind it, and it just became the #1 free app on the App Store, passing ChatGPT.  It's supposed to help you focus and avoid time-waster apps like TikTok.

There's a little character that wants to knit stuff.  But it can only focus if YOU focus and avoid those apps.  You trade in the stuff it knits for things to decorate the little room it lives in.  Some people say it really does help them focus.

(I'm not sure how well this worked, I spent 20 minutes playing with it)

See the video here.

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A new Instacart report found pumpkin spice season is peaking earlier and earlier each year.  Back in 2021, sales of pumpkin-spice products didn't peak until October.  But last year's peak was September 17th, a full 10 days earlier than the year before.  The PSL returns to Starbucks next Tuesday.

By the way, That's four days later than last year. 

West Virginia is more obsessed with pumpkin-spice products than any other state. Pennsylvania is a distant second. Then Oklahoma, Ohio, and Delaware.

Folks in Hawaii are the most likely to think pumpkin spice is gross.

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William Shatner is writing a new book, and he wants to interview YOU.  Well, maybe.  The book is called "William Shatner . . . And You".  It'll feature personal reflections from fans on how his work touched them.

He's asking people to submit stories about how he's influenced their lives.  And if he chooses yours to include in the book, he will personally interview you, and that conversation may be included, too.

Shatner says, quote, "My greatest joy has been the connection I've shared with fans over the years.  [The book] is a celebration of them:  their stories, their passion and the bond we've built together."

The only catch is that you have to pre-order the book if you want to submit your story.  Then again, if Shatner means that much to you, you were probably going to order it anyway. 

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - On Saturn, there's an enormous spinning hexagon in the clouds at its north pole, which is about twice the size of Earth.  It's a continuous vortex . . . similar to a hurricane that's about 50 times larger than a typical Earth hurricane.

One scientist refers to it as, "The belly button of Saturn."

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