Texas sends out three Amber alerts for Chucky doll
In a test malfunction of the Amber alert system, Texas informed residents of a suspect answering to Chucky from the “Child’s Play” film franchise. The alert was sent to people’s cell phones three times before the error was discovered and squelched. Meanwhile, residents were on the lookout for a red-headed doll carrying a knife and […]
Nomad superstar Bob Wells featured in Oscar-tipped film
New film “Nomadland” by Chloé Zhao starring Frances McDormand as “Fern,” an out-of-work and out-of-luck middle-aged woman shows real-life nomad Bob Wells, founder of CheapRVLiving, as a mentor to her as she travels solo in a van, migrating from one seasonal job to another across the western states. The Guardian picked up on the story […]
COVID-19 deaths higher in schizophrenia patients
In a new study, researchers looked at health records from 260 outpatient clinics and four hospitals across New York City between March 3 and May 31, 2020, looking for correlations between existing conditions of the mind, including schizophrenia, mood disorders and anxiety. They were able to rule out mood disorders and anxiety, however, they found […]
It is I: A Strange Analysis
It is I. A statement of alleged fact. Sounds like Dracula making a dramatic entrance. Compare to “It is me.” Or the more likely phrase, “It’s me.” What does the secret letter say? I is it. A third-person conjugation of a first-person statement. Oh no! Not graphs! Compare to “I am it,” the expected response. […]
Farmers destroy millions of pounds of fresh food
ORLANDO, Fla., April 6 (UPI) — U.S. farmers have destroyed millions of pounds of perishable food like tomatoes, lettuce and green beans because growers lost a vast number of customers after the coronavirus pandemic struck. “It’s a catastrophe, it really is,” Tony DiMare, a long-time tomato grower based in Palm Beach County, Florida, told UPI. […]
The smell of rain
That musky scent so many people adore about the rain when it first begins to fall is apparently not the raindrops at all. Instead, there is a complex array of soil organisms and their by-products that give rain its distinctive smell. Tim Logan wrote in a piece for The Conversation that a naturally occurring soil […]
Watch movies for free
If you’re tired of watching the same films over and over and looking for something new to watch, there is a solution. A film festival in Amsterdam has opened up its vault of over 300 films to watch for free. Davide Abbatescianni wrote for Cineuropa that “in total, IDFA’s selection offers 302 titles, released between […]
Fingers found on ancient fish
Today, the average fish only has fins, but paleontologists have discovered that in the remote past, about 380 million years ago, at least some fish had fingers. The digits on these ancient fish were rudimentary, but apparently functional, as they include finger bones, similar to vertebrates that came later. “We have made a major breakthrough […]
The consequences of listening to various kinds of music while working
It may be that there are hidden truths in the idea embodied in the Disney song, “Whistle While You Work.” A new study examined by Martin LaMonica for The Conversation showed that what music people listen to while performing various tasks can have a significant impact on productivity. The study found that “participants who listened […]