9/10/25 - Use It, Mascots, and What Are You Driving?

Wednesday 9/10/25

Celebrate:

Blame it on the Large Hadron Collider Day

International Creepy Boston Dynamics Robotic Horse Day

International Male-Up Day

National Hot Dog Day

National Port Wine Day

National Swap ideas Day

Sew Be It Day

TV Dinner Day

World Suicide Prevention Day - If you ever need to talk to someone..it's a simple number. 988.

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A new study found that music can help alleviate motion sickness, which seems like GREAT news.  But you can't just listen to ANYTHING.

The best music to relieve car sickness symptoms is "gentle music and cheerful music."

 "Joyful" pop music includes:  "Happy" by Pharrell . . . "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake . . . "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift . . . and stuff like "Hakuna Matata" from the "Lion King" soundtrack.

The idea is that motion sickness often causes negative emotions and tension, which triggers symptoms like dizziness and nausea.  Music can calm "negative triggers," which can relieve the effects of car sickness for some people.

The study notes that "sad" and "agitated" music could "exacerbate" discomfort and motion sickness.

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A new report says that living the American Dream now costs "over $5 MILLION."  That's up 14% from last year, due to the rising costs of . . . retirement, healthcare, raising kids, and, well, everything.

Someone asked, "What's the most expensive thing you've seen someone buy . . . that they basically never use?"  The responses include:

A motor home, RV, or "camper."

A really pricey accessory, like a purse or bling-y watch.  Someone said, "I learned a long time ago that if I'm afraid to use something, I shouldn't buy it."

A commercial grade deli slicer.  Some people think they can save time and money buying niche, expensive contraptions.  But you have to USE them a LOT.

A "smart fridge" with a giant touchscreen.  People can be talked into splurging on high-tech upgrades . . . but if you're not into tech, don't bother.

Collecting stuff for hobbies.  One person said, "If you make me talk about my wife's craft room, I'm going to cry."  And someone responded, "Collecting craft supplies is its own hobby, thank you very much."

Collecting tools for fixing things.  Someday.  A person said, "My uncle is not a handyman, he doesn't even do projects.  And yet, he has a large room full of expensive tools, all neatly arranged and organized."

Someone said, "Everyone I know, it seems, bought aPeloton 5 years ago."

A boat.  Even after buying a boat, they can be expensive to store and maintain, and depending on the situation, they can also be a big hassle to use, so you have to really commit to the lifestyle.

An education.  It's unfortunate, but just paying tuition doesn't mean you're going to get anything out of it.  You have to actively ENGAGE with the learning process.  The diploma itself only goes so far.

A gym membership.

A horse.  A lot of animals can apply, even pets.  Many people don't consider the costs of a lifetime of care when they see a cute baby animal.

A gaming system.  Someone said, "I bought a Nintendo Switch on a whim with a few games and have only played it once.  It's still in my closet in the original box." 

A wedding dress.  They said, "$10K, and worn for an hour and a half.  Divorced three years later."

A grand piano.  "Growing up in the Midwest, a lot of families had random pianos . . . we had one too.  And once or twice every generation, they'd be tuned so that a kid could take a year of lessons."

See the Reddit thread here.

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The Fyre Festival is back . . . but not in festival form.  There's actually a play in the works called "Fyre Fest the Musical".  It's a comedy based on the debacle that was the original 2017 Fyre Festival.

The producers include Rita Ora (who should be a bigger star in America, She's been on Masked Singer as a judge for a few seasons) and her husband Taika Waititi, director of "JoJo Rabbit", "What We Do in the Shadows", and the last two "Thor" movies.

Taika says, quote, "I think the idea is exciting, weird, and potentially disastrous, which seems apt and is how I like to work.  I can't wait to get started and snatch me some of that sweet American theater money."

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Which NFL team has the heaviest mascot?  Which has the lightest?

We're talking about the actual thing the team is named for.  DraftKings came up with a ranking..from...well does it matter?

it should come as no surprise that the New York Jets top the list, since their mascot is an ACTUAL AIRPLANE . . . which they estimated at 110,000 pounds.

The New York Giants are second, because a literal giant would apparently weigh 20,000 pounds.  In third is Tennessee.  A mythical titan apparently tops out at 10,000 pounds.

After that, we start hitting the animal kingdom with the fourth-place Houston Texans.  Even though a "Texan" sounds like a person, their logo is a BULL . . . which weighs 2,400 pounds.

The American Bison that represents the Buffalo Bills rounds out the Top 5, at 2,000 pounds.

The bottom of the list is for the birds...literally.

The Eagle is the heaviest at 14 pounds, and the Cardinal is the lightest, at 1.5 ounces.

But he's only the second-lightest mascot.  The last spot goes to the Los Angeles Chargers . . . because a lightning bolt weighs nothing.

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It seems like every half-decent news site has some sort of paywall now.  Or maybe not?

This all comes about since the New York Time (jerks) put their Mini Crossword behind a paywall last week.

A full third of Americans in a new poll claim they've never encountered a paywall while reading the news.  33% said they haven't.

We thought maybe a third of people just don't read the news, but no.  95% of folks polled said they do follow the news online.

It also found 21% of us have started a paid subscription after getting blocked while trying to read the news.  35% have done it because they wanted to stream something.

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A man in Canada named Kasper Lincoln was arrested, after he was caught driving through town last weekend . . . in a child-sized, pink Barbie Jeep.  He was also wearing aviator glasses, for some reason. 

Kasper claims he was being "lazy," and decided to take the Jeep out on a "Slurpee run," while a friend walked alongside him.  He says he drove on the sidewalk mostly, but he did drive on the side of the road too . . . and that's what got him in trouble.

A cop pulled him over, and noticed some REAL violations.  Kasper had a suspended license . . . and he also had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.

Some onlookers got a laugh out of it . . . and were surprised that the police got involved, with everything else they have on their plate.  But the police say this is NOT a laughing matter.

Kasper insisted he didn't know he was breaking the law, and said he has no problems with the police.  He even said the arresting officer was "nice." When asked what his takeaway was, he said, "Don't drink and drive."

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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - Marvin Gardens on the Monopoly board has always been misspelled.  The actual neighborhood in New Jersey is spelled M-A-R-V-E-N, but in Monopoly it's M-A-R-V-I-N.  Parker Brothers apologized for the mistake in 1995.

It's also the only property on the board that's not located within Atlantic City.

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