The Daily Dose

It is Tuesday July 14th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY • 1881: The outlaw known as Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. • 1913: Gerald R. Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother’s second husband later adopted and renamed him. • 1969: The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills were officially withdrawn from circulation. • 2003: The United States Government admitted to the existence of Area 51. • 2015: NASA’s New Horizons probe reestablished contact to transmit the first close photos of Pluto and its moons. The probe launched in 2006 and had traveled over 3 billion miles. SPECIAL EVENTS • Cow Appreciation Day • International Nude Day • Shark Awareness Day • Mac & Cheese Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY 12,200: Commercial parking facilities in the U.S., which take in around $9.8 billion a year in fees. NEWS ATTACK! - Doctors in Italy did remote surgery over a 5G network while nine miles away from a patient. - As COVID-19 cases climb, California is closing dine-in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, museums and other indoor businesses. - According to a study, human attention span has supposedly dropped from 12 seconds in 2002 to only eight seconds today, which is a second shorter than a goldfish. - A guy in China posted a note for help on social media after he was locked inside a convenience store overnight. - A review of major studies found that one-third of the things the studies said were good for you turned out to actually be bad for you. - A new streaming service, Peacock, debuts Wednesday. It will include a free version with commercials. - According to a survey (by AVG Technologies), many kids notice their parents’ screen addictions and it can profoundly affect their views on the subject. • 54% of children felt parents checked their devices too often • 32% of kids feel unimportant when parents get distracted by their phones • 52% of parents agreed that they check their devices too frequently • 25% of parents want their child to use their device less - According to a new survey, six in 10 Americans say their sleep routine during quarantine has them feeling more exhausted than they’ve ever felt in their life. The poll finds nearly 70 percent agree their sleeping habits have become inconsistent. Another 63 percent think their sleep schedules might be permanently ruined by the pandemic. - PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO WEAR A MASK HAVE LOWER COGNITIVE ABILITY. Following a survey of 850 Americans, a team discovered that those with more working memory capacity were more likely to comply with recommendations during the early stage of the outbreak. Those with a low capacity are unable to make effortful decisions. This memory also determines your intelligence and decision-making. - CORONAVIRUS IMMUNITY CAN START TO FADE AWAY WITHIN WEEKS. Researched found that the presence of antibodies peaked three weeks after symptoms appeared, before fading away. In some cases, the antibodies were undetectable three months afterward. - A STUDY SHOWS HUMANS ARE OPTIMISTS FOR MOST OF LIFE. The research found that even people with fairly bad circumstances, who have had tough things happen in their lives, look to their futures and life ahead and felt optimistic.” The optimism decline into older adulthood. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: DUMPSTER DIVING _ A drunk Ukrainian man ended up in the hospital after he tried to prove his bar boasting by climbing to the roof of the bar to do a belly flop into the dumpster. He made it but needed a few stitches. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MYSTERY SURROUNDS CAR WITH COVID 19 NUMBER PLATE _ A car with the number plate “COVID 19” has perplexed staff at an airport in Australia, who say it has been parked there for months. The grey BMW sedan has been left in the staff parking area at Adelaide Airport since before Australia’s coronavirus lockdowns began. Staff are speculating the car might belong to a pilot who had gone overseas and can’t get back. Water Cooler Question 26% of parents say they never make their kids wear this. (Sunscreen) https://www.lowtreestudios.com [https://www.lowtreestudios.com] https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose [https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose]

It is Monday July 13th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY • 1923: The Hollywood sign was dedicated. • 1985: Live Aid, an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, Australia, was held to raise money for Africa’s starving people. • 1994: Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, was sentenced in Portland, Oregon, to two years in prison for his role in the attack on Harding’s skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan. • 2008: Anheuser-Busch accepted a $52 billion cash offer from No. 2 brewer InBev. The new company would be called Anheuser-Busch-InBev. SPECIAL EVENTS • Embrace Your Geekness Day • Gruntled Workers Day • French Fries Day • World Cup Soccer Day • Barbershop Music Appreciation Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY 25,000: Bacteria on the average telephone. NEWS ATTACK! A restaurant in Upstate New York is telling customers to stop hitting on the staff. Saratoga, New York’s Broadway Deli wrote on Facebook: “This is a PSA for you thirsty bros out there: Stop asking out my staff while they’re trying to work. Owner Daniel Chessare said that customers flirting with employees has been an occasional issue since the Jewish-style deli opened two years ago, but says it has intensified in recent weeks — though he’s not sure why. Chessare said, “Staff come and go, so I’m not sure if it’s because my staff now are particularly attractive or if it’s because people aren’t traveling, so these thirsty bros aren’t on vacation somewhere else.” • LINK [https://www.facebook.com/SaratogaBD/photos/a.1790884924326376/3102523416495847/?type=3] The Facebook post includes this advice: “If you are going to ask a girl out at least tip. How’re you gonna look her in the eye, tap ‘no tip’ on the tablet, then follow it up with ‘Hey baby, let’s go out.’ Cuz nothing says attractive like treating service people poorly.” - Researchers in northern Botswana have come up with a unique way to protect farmers’ crops from elephants: disco lights. Lines of flashing multi-colored lights set up around farmers’ fields near Chobe National park have been shown to be highly effective at scaring off elephants. The park is home to 7,500 elephants. It’s the site of a floodplain whose nutrient-rich soils are a draw to farmers. - A Toronto woman spotted a cleaner at a grocery store spitting on a towel and then wiping down grocery baskets with it. She got video of the incident at a FreshCo location. In the video, the employee is seen using a small white towel to wipe down baskets. At one point, he appears to spit into the towel and continues wiping down the baskets. After the customer reached out to the company’s corporate office it said the employee works for a third-party service provider and that he is no longer working at the store. - A hair stylist in Virginia, who went above and beyond, was touched to receive a heartwarming letter from a widower. Sara Verkuilen received a personal note from the widower who said his wife, who had dementia, was delighted with her haircut. The letter writer, who didn’t leave his name, wrote: “This is a little bit awkward. But I’ve waited a really long time to pass this on to you. My wife and I came in for haircuts shortly before Christmas of last year. My wife was suffering from dementia, and you treated her as if you’d been working with dementia patients all your life. You let us sit next to each other, and when it came time for her cut you turned her chair towards me so I could watch her expression as you cut her hair. Sadly, she died in March. And that haircut was one of the last, best moments of her life. She felt so pretty. She visited the mirror in her bathroom several times during the day and would come out beaming. To see her so happy was priceless. … I hope you always realize the power of your profession.” … Sara was moved by the letter and shared it on her Facebook, saying “This is why I love what I do.” - UK-based newspaper The Guardian says the government will launch an “emergency” effort to get citizens to lose weight and reduce the incidence of conditions such as type 2 diabetes. The goal is the get UK residents to drop some pounds before an expected second wave of coronavirus. … The UK has experienced the highest death rate from coronavirus in Europe, and one potential factor may be high rates of obesity and associated lifestyle-linked conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which are strongly associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. In England, 64% of adults are classed as overweight or obese. - A report says the healthy properties of beer, when consumed in moderation, are a rich source of vitamins, fiber, minerals and antioxidants and that beer has a relatively low calorific value compared with many other alcoholic beverages. The report, commissioned by The Beer Academy — of course — aims to help people enjoy beer sensibly and says that when consumed in moderation, it’s one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks available. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: PIZZA SHOP OWNER THREW PIZZA AT ATTEMPTED ROBBER _ The owner of a pizza shop in Delaware (Greenwood) stopped a would-be robber carrying a machete Friday night by throwing a pizza at him. The owner of Stargate Pizza was closing his restaurant around 10:30 Friday night when he was approached by a man who brandished a long knife and asked for money. The owner of Stargate told the man he did not have any money and then threw a pizza at him, causing the suspect to flee. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: IGUANA CAUGHT IN BICYCLE SENDS MAN TO HOSPITAL _ A man was injured after an animal darted in front of his bicycle and got caught between the front tire and wheel fork, causing him to crash. The man lives in the Florida Keys. The animal was an iguana. The victim said he was riding along a bike path when the iguana darted in front of him and got lodged between the tire and wheel fork, causing the tire to lock. He was thrown over the handlebars and onto the asphalt. Water Cooler Question Allen and Wright are the guys this drink was named for. (A&W Root Beer. They launched the drink and the restaurant chain.) https://www.lowtreestudios.com [https://www.lowtreestudios.com] https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose [https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose]

It is Thursday July 9th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY • 1892: The first concrete road in America was completed in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The first asphalt road was laid down in July 1870 in Newark, New Jersey. • 1910: The first airplane to fly a mile in the air did so this day with W.R. Brookins of Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the controls. • 1985: Football great Joe Namath signed a five-year pact with ABC-TV to provide commentary for Monday Night Football. The former New York Jets quarterback reportedly earned one million dollars a year for the job. • 1997: Boxer Mike Tyson was banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear. • 2008: Prosecutors cleared JonBenet Ramsey’s parents and brother in the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old beauty queen in Boulder, Colorado. SPECIAL EVENTS • No Bra Day • World Body Painting Day • Sugar Cookie Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY 1804: Year the world’s population is thought to have reached one billion. NEWS ATTACK! PANDEMIC DELIVERS ROADKILL REPRIEVE _ A new report finds the pandemic has apparently spared one form of life — the animal kind, in the form of less roadkill. The report comes from the Road Ecology Center at the University of California at Davis. Data was taken from the departments of transportation in California, Idaho, and Maine dating to 2015 to determine that road traffic sagged by roughly 70 percent in those states from early March to mid-April due to pandemic-related shutdowns. Using roadkill data in those states, researchers reported that in the same period, Maine saw a 44% decrease in roadkill and Idaho saw a 38% drop. California saw a 21% drop, with a much bigger decrease — 58% — for mountain lions specifically. - A 6-year-old girl fishing in a Maryland river reeled in a cellphone that was dropped into the water nearly a year ago — and it still works. Reagan Votaw’s mother, Emily, said they took the phone home and let it rest for a while in rice to absorb any moisture. They then plugged the phone in and were surprised to see it still functioned perfectly. The phone belonged to Preston Shapiro, an eighth-grader who said he dropped the phone into the water while kayaking nearly a year earlier. Luckily Preston had the phone in a waterproof case. - A Canadian man who won a lottery jackpot of nearly $75,000 said the winning ticket sat forgotten for months in the pocket of a jacket he had loaned to a friend. Jose Lima told Ontario Lottery officials he got his jacket back after loaning it out to a friend and discovered the pocket contained a forgotten ticket for the September 28, 2019, drawing. Lima took the ticket to a store and found he won $74,045.50 - A new survey finds women are spending the equivalent of almost an entire month of the year worrying. The survey found women spend an average of almost two hours a day feeling worried or stressed, with two thirds of this time spent feeling anxious about other people rather than themselves. In comparison, men spend about one-and-half hours worrying each day. Almost two thirds of women have periods where they feel constantly worried, with their biggest concerns being the pandemic, protests, and fears about the economy. The health of loved ones, their family’s safety, and needing to care for older parents is also causing women to feel stressed. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN DRUGS GIRLFRIEND TO KEEP PLAYING VIDEO GAMES _ A court fined a man in Germany after he admitted to giving his girlfriend a sedative so that he could keep playing video games with a friend. After ten hours at work, the girlfriend had been planning on a quiet evening rather than one interrupted by video game noises. After drinking some drugged tea the woman slept until midday the following day. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: LAWYER CENSURED AFTER SHOWING UP DRUNK TO REPRESENT DUI SUSPECT _ Tennessee has taken action against a lawyer accused of showing up to court drunk to represent a DUI suspect. The incident happened back in 2017 but the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility censured the lawyer this week. The board says on that day back in September 2017, Kent Thomas Jones was late to court, smelled like alcohol, and acted erratic. He was removed from the courthouse and later charged with public intoxication, but that was later dropped. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BRITISH POLICE: DO NOT CALL US FOR WRONG-ADDRESS DELIVERY _ A British police department took to social media with an important reminder: an appliance delivery to the wrong address is not a police emergency. The West Yorkshire Police said someone recently called their emergency number to report their new appliance — a freezer — had been delivered to the wrong address. The police department shared on Twitter: “If your freezer has been delivered to another address by accident, then this isn’t a police issue.” Water Cooler Question Nearly one in four airline passengers never does this. https://www.lowtreestudios.com [https://www.lowtreestudios.com] https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose [https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose]

It is Wednesday July 8th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY • 1680: The first confirmed tornado in America killed one person in Cambridge, Massachusetts. • 1776: The Declaration of Independence was read aloud in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • 1831: John Stith Pemberton was born in Knoxville, Georgia. Pemberton was a pharmacist addicted to morphine after using it to treat a wound he received as a Confederate officer in the Civil War. His search for a cure for the addiction, which he never found, led him to create a beverage. His syrup debuted in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. Soon called Coca-Cola, it went on to make his partners and investors quite wealthy. But not Pemberton, as the inventor sold his interest in 1888. • 1881: The first ice cream sundae was served for the first time by druggist Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. • 1947: Reports were broadcast that a UFO had crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico. • 2011: Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. SPECIAL EVENTS • Coca Cola Day • Freezer Pop Day • Video Game Day • Chocolate with Almonds Day • Body Painting Day • Blueberry Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY 2.8 million: Miles of paved roads (concrete or asphalt) in the U.S. Another 1.3 million miles are unpaved. NEWS ATTACK! -In recent weeks, the Senate Intelligence Committee included language in an authorization bill that if passed, would require US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to put together a detailed unclassified analysis of all the data they have collected on “unidentified aerial phenomenon.” But Americans aren’t necessarily convinced the government will share any evidence of UFOs with the public. A poll of more than 8,000 US adults finds most (56%) Americans believe that if the government had evidence of UFOs, this information would be hidden from the public. - A cyclist who left from Vancouver, British Columbia, biked across Canada and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 20 days later. Bianca Hayes said her 3,666-mile ride across Canada set a new record for female cyclists, although her 20-day ride fell short of her original goal of finishing in under 15 days to beat the male record. Hayes’ ride raised more than $22,000 for ovarian cancer research. She said the cause is personal to her, after her sister, Katrina, died after a battle with the disease in 2018. - While calorie information is available for most of the food we eat, that data doesn’t really do the eater any good if you don’t know how many calories you should be consuming each day. Unfortunately, a survey shows that an overwhelming number of Americans are either mistaken or clueless when it comes to that information. According to the survey (funded by the International Food Information Council Foundation) 63 percent of those surveyed couldn’t accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume and 25 percent couldn’t even venture a guess, leaving a slim 12 percent who were properly informed. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: CAR THIEF LOCKS HIMSELF INSIDE VEHICLE _ A car thief in China was found nearly dehydrated after he accidentally became trapped in the BMW he was trying to steal. The car’s owner alerted local police after he received a phone call from the thief pleading to get him out of the sweltering vehicle. The suspect was so weakened by the oven-like interior that police had to take him away in a wheelchair. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN BREAKS INTO RESTAURANT, DRINKS SAUCE _ A guy in Germany stole a bicycle, tossed it through a restaurant window, then went inside the restaurant and drank half a bottle of hot sauce. He told police he did it because he was thirsty. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BURGLAR GIVES POLICE THE FINGER _ In Spain a burglar was trying to steal carpentry equipment from an industrial complex when he accidentally severed a finger. Unable to stop the bleeding, he went to the city’s hospital. The officials notified police who went to the site and found the man’s finger, which they used as evidence to arrest him. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: HUSBAND TRIES TO SWING FROM TREE TO GO DRINKING _ In Romania, a guy ended up in the hospital after he tried to swing from tree to tree to escape his wife and go out drinking. The wife had locked her 66-year-old husband in the bedroom. The husband broke an arm, an ankle and a leg when he slipped from a vine outside the window. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: POLICE WARN OF ALLIGATOR ON THE LOOSE IN MICHIGAN _ Police are warning residents of a Michigan area to be on the lookout for an unusual escapee: an alligator. A one-foot alligator. Police say the small alligator escaped from a home (near Lucerne/Lantz). Police said the alligator was a pet being kept at the home. Water Cooler Question A survey found that this is the most popular salad dressing by a two-to-one margin in America. (Ranch) https://www.lowtreestudios.com [https://www.lowtreestudios.com] https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose [https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose]

It is Tuesday July 7th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY • 1863: The United States began its first military draft; exemptions cost $100. • 1865: Four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln were hanged. • 1928: Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. It was described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped”. • 1954: Elvis Presley made his radio debut when Memphis, Tennessee, station WHBQ played That’s All Right. • 2017: Tesla Motors produced its first mass-market car, the Model 3. The first 30 were delivered to customers later in the month. • 2019: The U.S. beat the Netherlands 2-0 to win its fourth Women’s World Cup. SPECIAL EVENTS • Chocolate Day • Father-Daughter Take A Walk Together Day • Global Forgiveness Day • Strawberry Sundae Day • Macaroni Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY 80: Percentage of air in a marshmallow. NEWS ATTACK! - Americans have lost all hope of getting a summer body this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of 2,000 Americans found that 63 percent are giving up on a summer body and are now focusing their efforts on achieving a post-quarantine body. 76 percent of 2,000 respondents shared they’ve gained up to 16 pounds during their time in isolation. - When most nurses finish their long shifts caring for the sick, there is little else on their minds but seeing their families, eating and sleeping. Not so Damaris Silva who twice a week, when she finishes her shift at a Chilean hospital, picks up her violin and returns to the ward. Silva spends several hours walking the corridors of the hospital (in Santiago). She plays a mix of popular Latin songs, bringing a moment of levity for both patients — some of whom have spent weeks in COVID-19 critical care — and exhausted colleagues. Silva’s goal is to “give a little bit of love, of faith, of hope with my violin. Every time I do it, I do it from my heart.” - Firefighters in Britain came to the rescue of small fox with its hind leg stuck in a wooden picnic table. The firefighters extracted the fox’s hind leg from the table, but the animal appeared to be injured so they waited with the animal until rescuers arrived to care for it. - Illinois is one of the few states that’s coming out of COVID-19 pretty well. The state locked down in late March and its governor told residents to wear masks early on. Despite Illinois’ better-than-average situation, some residents aren’t happy and are planning — ready for this? — a Millions Unmasked March on July 25. - Men who dance well are more likely to attract women. Scientists discovered that being able to pull off dance floor moves with the ease indicates strength and ability to produce healthy offspring. Researchers found that the men who women said looked attractive on the dance floor are actually physically stronger than those who are considered to have two left feet. This in turn indicates an ability to have strong children. injuries. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: SEWAGE TRUCK OVERTURNS IN NORTH CAROLINA _ A truck carrying sewage waste overturned in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday, blocking traffic. More than a dozen firefighters and EMS workers were at the scene using shovels to clean up the road. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: FOUR TONS OF GARBAGE REMOVED FROM APARTMENT _ More than four tons of garbage were removed from an elderly couple’s home in China. It took 12 hours for 20 workers to remove the piles of what they described as “trash” collected by the couple. Workers were forced to toss the garbage from the apartment’s fourth-story window to be collected below. When asked why he stored the trash instead of selling it, the husband said current recycling prices are too low and he was waiting out the market. Water Cooler Question 75 percent of employers provide this free of charge to employees. (Coffee) https://www.lowtreestudios.com [https://www.lowtreestudios.com] https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose [https://www.patreon.com/theweeklydose]