The Weekly Dose

STRANGE NEW WASP SPECIES THAT WOULD MAKE THE ALIEN PROUD _ A horrifying new wasp species has been discovered in the US. The insect inserts its eggs into living flies, with the larvae later bursting out of the host’s abdomen. The life cycle of the species — Syntretus perlmani — involves the female wasp depositing her eggs inside a fruit fly using a hypodermic-like ovipositor. The larva then develops within the host for about 18 days before gruesomely erupting from the fly, leaving it to suffer for hours. The wasp was first discovered in a Mississippi backyard.RAMPAGING MONKEY CAPTURED AFTER ATTACKING TOURISTS _ A monkey in India known for its aggressive behavior towards tourists has finally been captured. The simian, despite its cute appearance, had to be stopped after attacking a girl. In total, over 70 tourists were on the receiving end of the monkey’s aggressions. Forest Department officials in Rupnagar, India, set a trap to catch the monkey. The fate of the captured animal is unknown.STRAVA USERS ARE PAYING PEOPLE COMPLETE THEIR WORKOUTS _ Strava, the popular exercise app for tracking runs and bike rides, is facing a rise in “Strava mules” — people paid to complete workouts on behalf of others. Users hire these mules to record physical activities they didn’t do, allowing them to share the stats and win in-app rewards. A guy in the US on TikTok says he’s been a Strava mule for “over a year.” • VIDEO… A Strava mule from Indonesia says he has 76 regular clients and completes runs for those who are too busy or injured to exercise. In the UK, an IT experts works as a Strava jockey, helping clients with long-distance rides.MAN STEALS 11-YEAR-OLD’S LEMONADE STAND _ In Ramona, California, one man has become the state’s most wanted after stealing an 11-year-old kid’s lemonade stand. The stand was placed at an intersection in the San Diego suburb and the boy had left his stand for two minutes to run home to grab more cups. Video from a nearby business shows a man in a pickup pull up and put the stand in the back of the truck. The boy, named Liam, had paid around $100 to build the stand. Liam’s been selling lemonade to save money for a new bike.POLAR BEARS ADAPTED TO THE ARCTIC JUST 70,000 YEARS AGO _ Researchers are uncovering the secrets of polar bear evolution, shedding light on when these powerful Arctic predators diverged from their closest relatives, brown bears. Recent genomic analysis suggests that significant genetic changes that set polar bears apart may have occurred as recently as 70,000 years ago.… Polar bears possess unique adaptations crucial for surviving extreme Arctic conditions. Their double-layered fur, consisting of downy insulation and guard hairs, acts like a built-in raincoat, while their white fur provides camouflage. These bears can efficiently digest high cholesterol from blubber, allowing them to thrive on fatty marine mammal diets.SMOKERS WORK LESS _ A study found that smokers work one month less a year that nonsmokers because of smoke breaks. The average smoker take four 10-minute breaks a day — that adds up to one month less work annually.DON’T MAKE BIG DECISIONS WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY _ Most people know that going grocery shopping on an empty stomach can only lead to heartache, when you realize you have nothing to show for your grocery run but potato chips and Kit Kats. But according to a study (University of Dundee), making any kind of decision while hungry can lead to poorer choices for the long-term.

➠ A study found that just over 65% of adults drink alcohol to relax.➠ A study has found that when you cry, it actually does make you feel betterResearchers say they can predict a relationship’s success based on a couple’s speaking style. [If a couple speaks softly to one another, things are probably good — if a couple prefers to communicate via thrown shoes, there may be a problem.]WE WILL SPEND 47 DAYS OF OUR LIFE WAITING _ The average person will spend 47 days of their life waiting. Obviously the biggest culprit is traffic, which causes us to live life at a complete standstill for over two hours a month. I used to live in California and drove in Los Angeles a lot. I live in Florida now, and have not experienced traffic like that in 3 years and that includes driving in Orlando. ENTERTAINMENT NEWS- Joaquin Phoenix spoke about revisiting his controversial “Joker” diet for the film’s sequel while at Venice Film Festival on Wednesday. Phoenix made headlines in 2020 when he revealed he lost 52 pounds preparing for his role as ‘Arthur Fleck’ in the first film.Joaquin Phoenix is a vegan who also smokes. I always find a little bit of irony I that, I don’t know why.The animated ‘Barney’ reboot will premiere Oct. 14 on Max. This will mark the first time in 14 years that the iconic purple dinosaur is returning to TV. The new iteration, “Barney’s World” will be set in a playground where Barney is joined by his dino-friends ‘Billy’ and ‘Baby Bop’, as well as 3 kid best friends. The Oct. 14 debut will be followed by a premiere on Cartoon Network on Oct. 18. Some episodes will also be available right here on YouTube starting Oct. 11.MUSIC NEWS- Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s hit collab ‘I Had Some Help’ has been named Billboard’s 2024 Song of the Summer.Dwight Yoakam — will release his first album of new music in 9 years, “Brighter Days,” on Nov. 15. The single featuring Post Malone, ‘I Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye dropped on Friday. Yes Post Malone is on every song in the universe now. And, his country songs a pretty good, and they should be since each song a 20 thousand writers on it… Lionel Richie – is booked for New Year’s Eve. He’ll be performing in Dubai, headlining the “New Year’s Eve Under the Stars Gala” at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. Following his show, according to promotors, the audience will be treated to “the greatest fireworks show on earth.”Alright and last thing for the day, besides listening to this excellent podcast, Do you know What you will be doing at precisely 12:06pm today? That’s right, Nothing, probably, because according to new research, that’s exactly the time each Monday when procrastination kicks in. A poll conducted by Talker Research found that 71% of us are guilty of procrastination, and three-quarters of us feel guilty when doing so. The most popular things to do when we should be doing something else were found to be watching TV and movies (50%), scrolling on their phone (of course, 42%), and laying in bed (39%) What are you guilty of. Me? Scrolling on my phone… Been watching a series on amazon prime called Tin Star… Ugh Finished the first season, I don’t think I can continue, the main character is just a down right evil human.

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 DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY12,200: 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...

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 DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY25,000: 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 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...

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 DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY1804: 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...

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 DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY2.8 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...

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 DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY80: 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...

It is Monday July 6th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY• 1785: The dollar was unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.• 1933: Baseball’s first All-Star game was held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League beat the National League 4-2.• 1955: America’s first seat belt law was signed, in Illinois.• 1957: Teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at a church in Liverpool, England, following a performance by Lennon’s band, the Quarrymen.• 2010: Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a residential substance-abuse program for violating her probation stemming from two separate 2007 cases of driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. (She served 14 days behind bars.)• 2014: The state of Washington legalized recreational marijuana, becoming the second U.S. state to do so after Colorado. SPECIAL EVENTS• International Kissing Day• Fried Chicken Day NUMBER FOR THE DAY44: Percentage of drivers who’ve forgotten where they parked.NEWS ATTACK!- Falling from 14,000 feet up is hair-raising enough, but doing it at 103? Al Blaschke made a Guinness World Records-breaking leap with two grandsons Thursday in the skies over Texas. Blaschke, who tied the record back in 2017 at age 100, took the leap again to celebrate his 22-year-old twin grandsons’ graduations. - A California special education teacher was fired from her school district after a video went viral of her allegedly intentionally coughing on a 1-year-old at a yogurt shop. School officials in San Jose said they would not tolerate conduct from any employee that may compromise the safety of a child. The suspect was standing in line at Yogurtland in front of a mother and her child, who was in a stroller. Police say the woman was upset that the mother was not maintaining proper social distancing, so she removed her face mask, got close to the baby’s face, and coughed 2 to 3 times. - On June 27 Tracie Stanley-Wills and her partner Craig were meant to getting married with a ceremony in front of 50 friends and family. Sadly, when coronavirus struck back in March, they decided to postpone until next year. But Tracie still wore a wedding dress last Saturday on the day that she’d planned to get married, instead running a 5K to raise money for two charities close to her heart. Having not been much of a runner before as she lives with fibromyalgia, osteoporosis and a false hip, she chose to complete the couch to 5K program. - A former Russian policeman has been living a normal life with a bullet lodged in his brain for past ten years. The policeman, 36-year-old Vladimir Krutov, got the bullet in his head during an encounter with gang ten years ago. At the time, surgeons refused to remove the bullet saying the procedure would almost certainly cause death. The bullet had entered the base of the skull and passed through his entire brain. At the time, doctors gave Krutov a one in a million chance of survival. A year-and-a-half ago he married and is now the proud father of a five-month-old daughter. - A Tennessee (Franklin) dog played a role in alerting her owner Saturday night to the neighbor’s house being on fire — a blaze started by fireworks. Roux, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, was barking frantically at Jeff LeCates’ front door just before 10:45PM Saturday. When LeCates opened the door to investigate, Roux burst out. LeCates then saw that his neighbor’s house was on fire, prompting him to pound on their door and wake the family of three and their pets. All escaped without injuries. WACKY-BUT-TRUE: DEER ENTERS STORE, GETS FED COOKIES, RETURNS WITH FAMILY _ A deer entered a Colorado store. The store owner gave him some chocolate chip cookies. The deer left the store and returned after half an hour with...

It is Friday July 3rd. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY• 1819: The first savings bank in the United States (The Bank of Savings in New York City) opened.• 1852: Congress established the United States’ second mint, in San Francisco, California.• 1884: Dow Jones published its first stock average.• 1922: Fruit Garden and Home magazine published its first issue. Two years later, the publication became Better Homes and Gardens.• 1970: Some 200,000 heard Jimi Hendrix play “The Star Spangled Banner” as the 3-day Atlanta Pop Festival opened in Byron, Georgia. Two days later Governor Lester Maddox said he would seek legislation to ban rock festivals in Georgia.• 1986: President Ronald Reagan presided over the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.• 2008: Because of a banking error a 16-year-old boy in England went to an ATM and found he had $4 million in his account. He withdrew $600 to spend but after the error was corrected he found he was $600 overdrawn.• 2009: Sarah Palin announced she would resign as Alaska governor with 16 months left in her term. SPECIAL EVENTS• Compliment Your Mirror Day• Plastic Bag Free Day• Stay Out Of The Sun Day• Eat Beans Day• Superman Day• Chocolate Wafer Day• Air Conditioning Appreciation Day• American Redneck Day• Comic Sans DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY9,412: Members in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes in the various Academy Awards categories each year.NEWS ATTACK!- The new research showed a dogs DNA develop more quickly when they’re young and more slowly when they’re old. One dog year does not equal seven human years. Aging in puppies is far more rapid than that.” For example, a 1-year-old dog is the equivalent of a 30-year-old human. A 4-year-old dog is like a 52-year-old human. After age 7, dog aging slows down.- Officials in San Francisco are working to figure out a way to quiet a low hum coming from the famed Golden Gate Bridge that has become annoying to some residents. The noise was first reported on June 5. The culprit is reportedly the northwest winds hitting the bridge’s sidewalk railings that have recently been installed in a retrofitting. Some residents say the noise that is produced sounds like torture and causes them physiological distress. The chief engineer for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District said engineers were unaware that the sound would be produced and consultants have been asked to help solve the issue. - A little more than half of the country keeps an American flag in their home. That’s according to the results of a recent (YouGov) poll. Those 65 and older are the most likely to have the flag in their home (69%). Young adults are the least likely age demographic to have an American flag at home. - From his kitchen window, Ben Ramirez is handing out free coffee and a smile to people in his San Francisco neighborhood. On average, Ramirez makes about 10 to 15 cups a day. His “regulars” are essential workers. In compliance with the six-feet social distancing guideline, he hands out the coffee with a toy gorilla arm, an idea given to him by his five-year-old son, Luca. Ramirez starts his day early — around 6:30AM. After making breakfast for his sons, he’s at his kitchen window from 8AM to noon, serving his community, seven days a week. - A Chinese villager was disappointed to find the bear that had been terrorizing his chickens could also hold its liquor. The poultry farmer had plotted to trap the black bear by baiting it with honey mixed with two liters of strong alcohol. The next morning he found the spiked honey gone and two dead chickens. - A German thief effectively signed his own arrest warrant after photographing himself at the scene of a crime...

It is Thursday June 25th. Let’s start the podcast! IT HAPPENED TODAY• 1947: The Diary of Anne Frank was published.• 1951: The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities.• 1991: Francis Johnson’s world record 8.7-ton ball of twine, which he had been building since 1950, was moved to a prominent place in downtown Darwin, Minnesota, where more people could see it.• 2002: A five-year-old Sicilian boy tore up $1,525 in cash, his father’s monthly salary, the day after his grandfather told him money was trash and couldn’t buy happiness.• 2009: Michael Jackson died at age 50 from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. The singer’s doctor, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.SPECIAL EVENTS• It’s six months till Christmas! • Color TV Day• Global Beatles Day• Global Smurfs Day• Bomb Pop Day• Catfish Day• Hand Shake Day• Strawberry Parfait Day• Goat Cheese DayNUMBER FOR THE DAY66: Players who suited up for just one NBA game.NEWS ATTACK!- A study finds that if processed foods are labeled as healthy, people tend to overindulge in them.- Masks are big sellers on Etsy and the website sold around 12 million in April alone.- Users of Windows 10 will soon see a better Start menu. [You’ll see a list of your apps, a ‘sleep’ switch, and a link for ordering a Macbook.]- The latest poll shows if the election were held today, Joe Biden would win. [And then take a nap.]- The latest poll shows if the election were held today, Donald Trump would lose. [But not on Twitter.]- Baseball fans are happy there will be 60 games and not a canceled season.- Thanks to COVID-19 and drive-in theaters, Jurassic Park is No. 1 at the box office again. - The 2021 summer vacation planning period began earlier than ever, with many people who had planned bigger trips for summer 2020 simply pushing back those reservations to 2021. One travel company says 89 percent of clients with trips cancelled by pandemic shut-downs rebooked the very same itinerary for 2021. - A dog in Tennessee has become the oldest known living golden retriever in history after celebrating her 20th birthday in April. Most golden retrievers live between 10 and 12 years. - Google announced Wednesday it will start to automatically delete users’ location history and web activity after 18 months. Previously, users had to turn this setting on if they didn’t want Google to store their data for an indefinite amount of time. - Men are almost twice as likely to speed on the road as women, according to analysis of more than five billion miles of driving data. On average, men speed 94 per cent more than women, but women in their forties are found to speed 2 percent more than their male counterparts. - A study says delivering bad news is easier — and the information gets delivered more accurately — when done by email rather than face-to-face or by phone. A co-author of the study thinks its because “People don’t sugarcoat” the news — “they just tell it like it is” through email. - Could our favorite morning drink also help fight one of its biggest health issues, obesity? That’s the suggestion from a British study (University of Nottingham) that finds coffee stimulates the human body’s “brown fat,” a heat-generating form of fat that literally burns calories in a process called thermogenesis. - In wacky news - A first date went from locking lips to angry words for a couple in China over a dispute involving dentures damaged during a passionate kiss. Police were called after a 30-year-old man got upset with his significant over the dental disaster. He told officers he had lost four false teeth while making out...