Tuesday 8/8/23
Celebrate:
Global Sleep Under the Stars Night
International Cat Day
National CBD Day
National Dollar Day
National Frozen Custard Day
National Zucchini Day
Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day
The Date to Create
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Again the numbers eluded someone and tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is $1.55 Billion ($757.2 million cash option)
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William Friedkin, the famed filmmaker who directed "The Exorcist," has died at 87.
While he might best be remembered for his work on the 1973 horror flick -- which, by all accounts, changed the genre forever -- He had several other notable credits to his name ... including the Oscar-winning "French Connection," which he also directed.
Other films he helmed included ... "The Brink's Job," "Sorcerer," "Cruising," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Rampage," "Deal of the Century," "The Guardian," "Blue Chips," "12 Angry Men," "Rules of Engagement," "The Hunted," "Killer Joe" and lots of others.
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Well over three years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies on treatments for long Covid, the illness that afflicts millions with any of about 200 symptoms including brain fog, extreme fatigue and heart palpitations. Between 10% and 30% of people infected with the virus get symptoms of long Covid to varying degrees.
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Barbie is a billionaire! 'Barbie' — the movie — has surpassed a billion dollars globally with another smashing weekend at the box office. It's actually outpacing the Harry Potter films. The summer blockbuster shows no sign of slowing and is bringing some relief to a movie industry still recovering from the loss of moviegoers during the Covid-19 pandemic and now the ongoing actors and writers strikes.
This weekend it brought in $53 Million and director Greta Gerwig is the first woman to lead a film that has made more than a billion dollars.
It's also the highest-earning Warner Brothers movie for the 2020s.
2. Meg 2: The Trench #30 Million
3. Oppenheimer $28.7 Million
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem $28 Million
5. Haunted Mansion $9 Million
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A new study used computers to determine when workers are the MOST and LEAST productive. They looked at metrics like typing speed, typing errors, and mouse activity. And it was comprehensive. The data was from almost 800 workers over the course of two years.
In the end, they found that workers are the laziest and least productive in the office on Friday afternoons which isn't shocking. Mondays are also on the lower end.
The study didn't specifically say when the workers are the MOST productive . . . but according to the data, the general trend is for workers to be MORE productive as the week goes on, before dropping off at the end of the week.
Mornings are also better than afternoons . . . so it's probably safe to say that workers are the most locked in Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
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Someone in England asked their neighbors if they'd "take their trash out" while they were away. But instead of just taking it out to the curb, they took it out on the town and staged a photoshoot.
They stuck googly eyes on it, and got shots of it at the store . . . out walking a dog . . . and out at a playground where it went down a slide.
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Some scientists are trying to understand play.
So..they tickle rats.
The researchers identified a part of the brain that’s active both when rats are playing and when they’re tickled.
Play is also often accompanied by vocalizations — in humans, it’s laughter. “Both animals and humans, when they play, they can be very vocal,” he said. These vocalizations connect the players and help ensure that everyone’s still having fun. In rats, the equivalent of laughter is an ultrasonic squeaking, which is too high-pitched for the human ear.
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Ed Sheeran is now in the gender reveal business.
Ed paused a show in Kansas City on Saturday to surprise a couple of fans with the gender reveal for their upcoming baby. They handed him an envelope, and he opened it, and said . . . "It's a girl!"
He added, "Can I just say as a father of two daughters, it's very awesome. It's very awesome. Congratulations."
It's unclear if this was set up ahead of time, or if the fans had a sign asking him to partake in the reveal. Either way, the couple seemed overjoyed, and nobody died.
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A new study in the journal "Sleep Health" found people who take naps have BIGGER BRAINS.
Our brains shrink as we get older. But it found that taking short naps when you feel like you need them could help prevent it. Just don't nap too long. 15 minutes is enough.
Researchers looked at DNA samples and brain scans of more than 35,000 people between 40 and 70 years old. And they found a noticable difference between nappers and non-nappers.
Nappers' brains were slightly bigger . . . the equivalent of two-and-a-half to six-and-a-half YEARS worth of shrinkage.
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A new poll of 2,000 moms found 89% had food cravings while they were pregnant . . . sometimes WEIRD things they wouldn't normally eat. 30% said that was true for them.
A few of the strangest cravings listed were: Pickles and cheese, sardines with ketchup.and one woman who couldn't stop eating peanut butter-and-marshmallow sandwiches with five layers of bread.
Weird combos are big in general. They're the second most popular type of pregnancy craving. Here are the top five . . .
1. Seasonal foods that are hard to find. Like it's June, and your husband's driving around looking for pumpkin pie. 47% of moms said they had cravings like that.
2. Weird food combinations, 42%.
3. A specific food you could only get at one place or restaurant, 35%.
4. Junk food, 33%.
5. A healthy one: 33% craved whole foods, like fruits and vegetables.
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Believe it or not, it's been 25 years since Furby-Mania and Hasbro is bringing it back for its 25th anniversary.
Furby was first launched in 1998 and over 40 million of them were sold globally in the first three years.
Furby will be available for the first time since 2016, and the new version comes with "five voice-activated modes" . . . and more than 600 responses.
It can also interact with other Furbys, so you can buy multiple.
Furby also "responds to hugs, pats, belly tickles, and shaking."
Furby is available online now on Amazon for $70 and you should see it on store shelves as well.
And with the success of Barbie - The Movie....just wait.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - The opposite of ambidextrous is ambilevous . . . it's when someone's clumsy with BOTH hands.
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