fact
Forty years ago, a prominent designer received a call from an undergrad architecture student who told him that a design flaw in his 59-story Manhattan skyscraper could cause it to collapse during a storm. Initially he scoffed, then disturbingly, figured that she was right. 00
Mosquitoes are the worst, huh? I can pretty much get behind every insect, animal, and living creature that walks this earth, except mosquitoes. Not to mention the fact that they spread disease, including ones that can be pretty scary if you’re at risk or pregnant.
The process they use to extract your blood (to make other bloodsuckers, blech), is pretty gross, btw: the mosquito injects saliva to numb the area, then that same saliva expands your blood vessel and prevents it from clotting while the little bugger feeds.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
The itch, it turns out, is a reaction the histamines in your own body produce in response to the saliva and not anything the mosquito leaves behind – it’s an immune response, essentially.
Sure, you can try sprays and candles and essential oils, but chances are, a couple enterprising pests are going to find your bloodstream and leave with a full belly – so, what’s the best way for you to cope with the fallout?
First off, here are some common tricks that definitely do not work:
Photo Credit: Pixabay
A hot bath: heating up your skin makes it itchier, so just say no.
Alcohol (the kind you rub, not the kind you drink): it will dry out your skin and bring on more itching.
Honey: it is a good antibacterial, but it doesn’t have any proven effects on immune response.
Here are some that could work…
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Lemon (or other plant-based oils): there is some research that says lemon or lemon juice could work, but as far as other plant-based materials, make sure you’re not going to have an allergic reaction and make the initial response worse.
A cold compress: Cold will reduce swelling andblood floww, so it could temporarily relieve the itch and puffiness associated with a fresh bite.
But the best option? A steroid cream.
Photo Credit: Amazon
A simple cortisone cream will constrict the blood vessels and reduce the inflammation that’s causing the itchiness – something essential oils can’t do, and something cold can only do temporarily – and they’re easy enough to find at your local drug store.
You’re all set – go forth and enjoy the rest of your summer!
The post How to Get Your Mosquito Bites to Finally Stop Itching appeared first on UberFacts.
If you suffer from anxiety, you’re probably not the only person in your family who has. Scientists and doctors have long been aware of that fact, but new research shows that is might be directly passed down from generation to generation. In other words, if you have anxiety, your parents might be the cause.
Photo Credit: Unsplash,Xavier Sotomayor
The new study comes from the University of Wisconsin and focused on the heritability of anxiety and which parts of the brain are involved. The researchers conducted anxiety-inducing experiments on 378 rhesus monkeys and monitored their brain activity.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
The results showed increased activity in two parts of the amygdala, where the brain processes fear and anxiety, in the monkeys who expressed the most anxiety. The scientists then looked at those monkeys’ lineage and discovered that their ancestors going back eight generations also elicited the same type of brain response. This led the researchers to determine that the anxiety may have been inherited.
Photo Credit: Unsplash,Niklas Hamann
The researchers believe that their study could eventually help with treatment for children who suffer from extreme anxious temperament (AT), which often leads to anxiety disorders later in life.
The post Anxiety Might Be an Inherited Condition, According to Science appeared first on UberFacts.
Boycotting may not have a huge impact on a business, but when they’ve made you angry, it sure does feel good to announce that you’ll never use them again. Has a business ever done anything that made you want to boycott like these people did?
These folks on AskReddit definitely felt that, and they shared their stories for all of us to enjoy.
“I boycott a local restaurant because the guy in their car cut me off real bad and flipped me off.”
“Every day for a few years in high school and college, I used to read a particular website that published syndicated op-eds.
One day I got there to see they had “modernized” their layout and I didn’t care for it, so I never went back. It’s probably been 12 years.”
“I’ll never shop at a Big Y supermarket because one was built where this nice meadow used to be when I lived in Connecticut. I liked that meadow, Big Y. F*ck you.”
“My dad has had a long standing boycott of Exxon gas stations since the 80’s because apparently they used to not give out change for cash purchases after 4pm (idk why) and the cashier refused to give my dad change at 4:01 pm after he had waited in line for 5 minutes. He has literally not gone to an Exxon station since then unless it’s an emergency and has actually planned out fuel stops on road trips to avoid Exxon….whole new level of petty.
Edit: In case you’re wondering, the total amount of change that my dad was owed totaled $0.36.”
“Geico. I requested an online quote from them in March of this year and the next day one of their local offices called me 3 times a day for 2 weeks straight. I even answered the phone twice and told them to stop calling me. The voicemail the woman would leave me when I didnt answer sounded a lot like a collection agent. Like she was doing me a favor by calling me and that I MUST call them right away to start my insurance with them. She was extremely pushy.
I had to leave a negative Yelp and Facebook review to get it to stop. They finally sent me a message saying they would stop calling me and then they contacted Yelp and Facebook to dispute my reviews. Two weeks ago I got an e-mail from Yelp saying they were removing my review as the owner proved that my review didn’t have anything do do with their location. I put it back up with a screenshot of my missed call logs showing their phone number calling me over and over again.”
“Hyundai because they offered a $40 gift card if you test drive one of their new vehicles. I took the test drive, and dealt with the endless stream of spam and phone calls. Gift card never arrived.”
“I won’t go to the deli by my parent’s house anymore because I once bought a stale Rice Krispie treat from them.”
“I boycotted a fast food restaurant because I stood at the register waiting to order for about a minute and two workers were casually talking, another was on her phone. They knew I was there, so I turned around and walked out. Never went back there.”
“I will never in my life even consider buying a Nissan because of their 30 second unskippable ads on youtube.”
“I went to get a haircut at a place I’d never gone to before. I sat down and the lady said “what happened to your eyebrows? You have a fireworks accident”. I got up and walked out and never went there again.”
“I’ve boycotted a gas station for 30 years because I didn’t like the jingle in their ad.”
“I’ve boycotted an incredibly popular local Italian restaurant because it is my best friend’s ex girlfriend’s favorite place to eat and she cheated on him.”
“I didn’t eat at McDonald’s for a long time because they made a huge deal about all day breakfast and I’m like, but what about the people who want fries at 9 am? Do we not matter?”
“Annoying Spotify Ads. So far I know for a fact I’ll never spend money on:
5 Hour Energy
Febreeze Car Clips
TGI Fridays
NAPA auto parts
For the time being I have very cheap premium because I was a student, but once that runs out I’m sure there will be other companies that make this list.”
“My dad ordered a thin crust pizza from a local delivery joint, they sent a regular crust and refused to fix it. Never ordered from there again. Ten years later they closed their doors forever, I can only assume because of his steadfastness and commitment.”
The post The 15 Pettiest Reasons People Have Boycotted Something appeared first on UberFacts.
All the men out there need to listen and listen good!
This advice from AskReddit is coming STRAIGHT FROM THE LADIES, so you know it’s legit.
So if you want to meet some women (and have them respond positively), read on and pay attention.
“Approach her in a place where she won’t feel like she’s being cornered. Other people around, casual setting, etc. An empty train car probably isn’t your best bet.
Be friendly and engage in at least minimal small talk before asking her out, for her number, etc. Literally asking 2 seconds into the conversation can be weird, because even if we know your intent right away, you haven’t given us any time to feel out the situation and feel comfortable.
Don’t be demanding. Just ask if she is interested, and do not be forceful about it if she rejects you.
Go in understanding that some women don’t like being approached by strangers, period. You might be good looking, funny, and friendly and she still might be uncomfortable or uninterested
I know this is hard to execute in practice, but just don’t be too weird about it. Don’t treat her like a foreign species or a piece of meat, just like a normal person.”
“Wait until you’re in a place where it’s appropriate. Bar, coffee shop if she doesn’t have headphones in or is reading. Ask if you can join her. Talk about something interesting.”
“If this is someone you see regularly, smile. If she returns the smile, say hi.
Let the conversation flow.
Do take a hint if she’s not interested.”
“Whether she is someone you see frequently or not I suggest being short and sweet. Obviously get to know her a little so you’re not complete strangers, but you should give that no more than 5-10 min and leave it off with asking for her number and then proceed to text her the next day and ask her out if you still want to. Don’t ask her anything super personal but find out what she likes to do around town and use that as a way to help you ask her out.
From my experience, I get so annoyed when a guy just wont leave and basically turns our first time we meet into a date, so definitely don’t overstay your welcome.”
“Every person is different and can’t be approached the same way, but the one thing across the board is pay attention to whether or not you think she WANTS to be approached. If they have headphones in at all, what their body language is telling you (not making eye contact, turned away, etc), if they’re busy and trying to get something done.
It makes the difference between me categorically ignoring you and also being annoyed or possibly even scared depending on context, or at the very least making friends.
And if you are rejected for any of those reasons or different ones, just remember that you or anyone else don’t have the right to someone’s time and attention just because you want it. Don’t take it personally and move on and leave her alone.”
“The guys I remember the most fondly had very casual conversation starters and transitioned smoothly into asking my name. Don’t start with “Hey, I’m so and so” or “What’s your name?” It catches me so off guard.
Try mentioning something that doesn’t have to do with her specifically. When you approach me, I’m trying to assess the situation, determine if you’re dangerous, examine my surroundings, and figure out what your intentions are. I don’t want to be doing all of this while answering questions about myself, even if it’s just my name.
Also, read that body language. Make a little eye contact and smile. And then read her body language and make sure she’s not already creeped out or on guard.
For instance, if you’re in line at Target or something, smile and read her body language. Then mention something about your surroundings or the store: “I always come in here for a specific thing and end up leaving with 30 things I didn’t need and forget the one thing I came here for.” Every girl at Target can sympathize with that. If she doesn’t say anything, don’t push it. She’s not into it. If she seems good with the conversation, just make small talk in line and then give her your number.
NEVER FOLLOW HER OR WAIT FOR HER IN THE PARKING LOT. That is creepy. We are constantly told how dangerous parking lots are so you immediately come off as a threat.”
“Don’t corner or confront them. Don’t ask personal information off the bat. Compliment their outfit, hair, makeup, or something they have control over and not their body or face (don’t objectify). If they they’re doing something (reading, listening to music, shopping, etc.) leave them alone. If they ignore you, leave them alone. Realize that they probably get unwanted attention all day long and might not want to talk.”
“Don’t approach them as someone you are interested in, approach them as someone you want to make friends with. Start with “hello” or a wave, and then try making a friend. If you don’t want to make a friend, you are not worth getting to know.”
“Approach her casually in a public place and compliment something she has control over (i.e. clothes, hair, makeup, etc) and use words like “cool” “awesome” or “rad”. Nobody is intimidated by compliments like that.
Also if someone isn’t interested, just accept it and respect their space. There is no excuse to bother someone in their own time if they aren’t interested.”
“I hate when men come up to me and say “hi, what’s your name? I just wanted to introduce myself…blahblahblah”. It’s fine but that has never resulted in me having an awesome connection or giving my number out. It just feels forced. Like I know we haven’t met, that’s why your introducing yourself. Be confident. If you notice she’s watching the game say “oh don’t tell me you like the xyz team” or if she has an interesting looking drink ask her what it is. If she’s looking at the menu tell her they make killer nachos. If she doesn’t want to talk, she won’t. If she’s interested you’ll start talking and at the first lull that’s when you can tell me your name/ask me mine/etc. I don’t want to hear the standard question list. Show me you can actually talk to me and you’re fun to be around.”
“Striking up a conversation about a mutual interest sometimes works. The thing is you have to be genuine. Strange guys approach single women all the feckin’ time and feign interest when the real message is, you’re good enough; I’d do you.
Take an interest in her personality, in her tastes. Relate to her as a human being. She may shut you out for any of a thousand reasons and she doesn’t owe you an explanation, but once in a while a woman might decide that you seem fun and interesting.
That being said, women tend to be less on guard when there’s an introduction through mutual friends or if the two of you belong to the same club.”
“Honestly? the same way you would approach a dude you simply wanted to have a conversation with.”
“If I am on the street, just don’t approach me. Period. I live downtown and I have received death threats after engaging with strangers.
Make your introduction light, and if shes not feeling after a couple of seconds, wish them a good day and leave. If you are engaged with a women for at least 30 seconds and shes not feeling it, I guarantee shes has thought of an exit strategy already.
Give her space to talk, so if she does want to leave, she doesn’t have to wait for you to finish speaking or interrupt you.
Just giving a woman freedom to leave a situation makes a huge difference really.”
“Don’t forget this quote:
“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” “
“Also, if it’s out in public, bear in mind she’s probably on her way to do something- going to work, meeting a friend, trying to catch a train, making an appointment, etc… so if she ignores you or brushes you off, it might not be you, specifically. I’m often harried when I’m out and about, or otherwise very focused on what I’m trying to get done, and a random person trying to talk to me is more like a gnat buzzing around my ear.
I might not even really notice someone is trying to talk to me until 10-20 seconds later, and I’ve already walked off. I’ve been called all manner of horrible things because I more or less ignored someone trying to talk to me. Well, I’m not going to turn around and talk to you NOW. Remember that she’s not there purely for your benefit, so be polite.”
The post Women Share the Best, Non-Creepy Way for Men to Approach Them appeared first on UberFacts.
I shouldn’t be laughing too hard at this, I almost got fired my very first day of my very first job at a taco place in high school. Whoops!
Here are some great stories from AskReddit users about how quickly they had to fire an employee.
“Back when I was a manager of an auto shop I had to hire a new guy to handle “driveability” problems – basically carburetors and engine tunes and sensor problems back then. It took forever to find someone, but I finally hired a guy who had 20 years experience, an impressive resume and all the certifications.
Suspicious thing was he showed up for his first day driving an old beater Chevette, body one color, hood another, fenders another, giant toolbox hanging out the back hatch. Supposedly he was a top-end high-earning tech? First week there were problems with misdiagnosis and comebacks, Monday after his wife called in sick for him. She showed up to pick up his check. Next week more problems, wife called in sick for him Monday again. Our dispatcher figured something was up with the guy. Tech goes for a smoke-break, dispatcher comes out and checks the big-gulp the guy always had at his toolbox; turns out its like straight vodka.
Anyway, fired, third week in.”
“Hired a kid to work opening shifts at a local pool. We were short staffed so he was learning the ropes with me on a 5 am shift. As we opened he asked if he could make a quick cup of coffee. I agreed asking him to make me one. Around 5 minutes later a swimmer comes up to me and said she saw my lifeguard snorting something. I was obviously pissed and went to go see what was going down. I go up to the window and saw him doing more. After a short argument he finally decided to just leave and not make me drug test him. Lasted a whole 10 minutes of us being open.”
“I managed a gas station for a while. I hired this guy who seemed completely normal, which was hard to come by so I had him start the next day. After about 30 mins of working he says he needs a break. No big deal, something must have come up. Maybe 10 minutes later a customer came in saying a man was passed out in the men’s restroom. I send another guy working into the restroom and the dude I just hired was naked and completely unresponsive. Paramedics come and turns out he overdosed. He survived but I still never got an answer on why he was naked.”
“One week. I got a call from the county jail because this girl I had just hired had been arrested and she refused to give any info to the police except for the fact that she worked for this particular store. They called me trying to figure out her info and a person to contact about her arrest. I told them I couldn’t give out that info but I would call her emergency contact to let them know that she was in jail.
I call this girl’s emergency contact (who was her mom) and told the mom that her daughter was currently sitting in jail. All the mom said was, “figures” and she hung up on me.
After she was released from jail, about two days later she ended up in the hospital from alcohol poisoning. So yeah, I had to let her go. The worst part is that I actually liked her.”
“Not a manager, but I usually sit in with the manager during interviews.
They decided to bring in a contractor; I didn’t think much of his technical skills during the interview, but the manager decided to give him a chance.
He fell asleep during his orientation, then twice at his desk. This was his first day, before lunch.”
“I had a person who was all smiles in the interview to be a personal banker. She seemed to have a knack for sales, and just, really sharp. Within the first hour of her starting, post training, she attempted to deposit 100,000 into a dummy account she had set up. It set off about a million red flags in the system that alerted me, my boss and my bosses boss. Time from clocking in first day post training, to being fired/arrested….20 minutes. 10 of those were waiting for the cops.
Within 20 minutes of her first shift she took around $200 out of the register.
We put exactly $300 in the register at the start of each shift for the float.”
“Less than an hour after orientation.
Got a call shortly after he went to work that he was harassing all the women and claiming “we wouldn’t dare fire him or he’ll come back at night and break our panels with a hammer, like he did to his last job” he was bragging this to EVERYONE.”
“About an hour. Kid was a temp hire and we set him up at his job, showed him what to do, and turned him loose. There was a can of degreaser sitting with the machine he was operating. I came into my office and sat down, looked up, and watched him pick up a shop rag, spray a lot of degreaser on it, then he pressed it into his face and started huffing it. Deeply. I got up, went over to him, and said, “Come on, son” and walked him to the door. I asked the temp agency to please attempt to weed out a little better.”
“I had a bartender who lost money her first shift by herself. The drawer started with $200, came back with $140. She had worked 6 hours and did not have many credit card tips or anything, so she “somehow” managed to spend all of her tips + $60 without leaving the building. Yeah, fired.”
“I worked for a major 3 lettered computer company. A new service tech was hired. Once he logged in, he pulled out a portable hard drive from his backpack, connected it to his machine, and started to copy everything he had access to. Within 3 hours security was escorting him out the door.”
“I hired a guy – he shows up late on his first day then proceeds to make offensive and racist remarks to co-workers and the clients. 2 hours.”
“Not me, but I had a friend who supervised a movie theater. They hire this kid, first day, first showing of the day, he lets 20 people in and follows them in himself. he thought no one would notice he and his friends partying while watching a movie that he closed sales to so they’d have the room to himself.”
“I work at a daycare. I’m not a supervisor but I watched my supervisor fire someone on the first day.
Most of our new hires are actually middle aged women. 90% of them are awesome but a lot of them feel super entitled because they’re middle aged. Doesn’t help that I’m only 23 either. Anyway our new hire’s first day of work. She seems ok, doesn’t make to much of an effort with the kids. Not that abnormal, takes sometime to get comfortable with other people kids.
We change diapers on a schedule unless they poop or obviously need a change. I’ve changed a couple diapers already and noticed she doesn’t lift a finger if the kid needs a change. 10 am roles around which is when we change every kid.
I ask her to help me. She seems surprised and goes, “Oh I don’t change diapers honey!” Yep this lady refused to change diapers. She took a job caring for babies… she was fired maybe an hour later.”
“Ok, i have one, but I’m not a manager. I had worked IT for quite a while. There was a guy I worked with at a job that was… troubled. but trying to get it together. He had lost a previous IT job because he was selling surplus gear on eBay.
Through an odd set of circumstances, i met this guy in a social setting, unrelated to work. My friends that had known him a while said that the eBay thing is what led to him losing his last job. Anyway, smash cut to 4 years later, I’m a a completely different job and I see him. He had lost a TON of weight (not that he was fat or anything to begin with). Anyway. I said _”dude what’s up?” _He looked super skittish and said that he had just got hired. I said cool, hit me up sometime and we’ll catch up.
I never saw him again. That night he allegedly entered the building and made off with several servers. He didn’t realize we had cameras everywhere and had him dead to rights hauling it off. He was given a choice to return it and leave or they’d file charges. He returned it and left.”
“I let some poor kid go after 30 minutes. He didn’t want to quit because it was his first job, and he bought scrubs entirely for this occasion- but he was clearly in over his head the second he started his orientation (to my own credit, he interviewed like a CHAMP, and some people are just really good at saying all the right things). I asked if he would feel better if he was fired (my intention being to remind him the “fired” is a bad thing, so if he doesn’t think he can hang- he should quit on his own terms).
He said “yes,” so I fired him. He shook my hand and told me I had nice eyebrows and left. The next day he emailed me to let me know he was quitting… I told him there were no hard feelings since he was already fired. I have now learned to ask every PHLEBOTOMIST applicant if they are comfortable being exposed to blood. Thanks Connor.”
The post 12+ Managers Share Stories of How Fast They Had to Fire a New Employee appeared first on UberFacts.
It might seem strange, but back in the day there was a secret language regarding guests and pineapples. Guests would give the hosts a pineapple when they arrived, and when it was time for the guests to leave, the hosts would serve pineapple upside down cake. There’s no misinterpreting that!
Nowadays, we have to find other ways to tell people to get the heck out, and these 12 people have found ways that work – for them.
“English here. I have 2 sets of tea mugs in my house, small and large. If someone turns up and i don’t want them to be there long, i give them the small mugs and hope they leave when they’ve finished.”
“Say, “Well, it was great catching up with you.” Stand up, head towards the door. Yawn loudly.
Although one time this didn’t work and I lost it. We had friends come to pick up an item they’d bought. They wouldn’t stop chatting. Oh, the questions about everything. I had an appointment 2hrs drive away and I didn’t want to be late. SO and I finally got them out of the house but they just stood there now talking about different stuff. I’d said I had to leave. Now. That I might be late. I felt panic. “It was great seeing you.” I walked to the car and started getting in. SO was trapped on the doorstep talking to them. I lost it, screaming, “Hurry up (SO’s name), we’re going to be fucking late. Get in the car, now.” I look up to three shocked faces. SO says, “I’m coming. We’re just saying good bye.”
“In my third year flat, my flat mate had this constant need for attention. He’d stand in my doorway or sit on my bed for hours chatting, I didn’t mind at first, but it turned into every night of the week without fail and got really, really tedious.
I used to say all sorts like I’m going to chill and watch a film, he’d invite himself to watch it. Got to do my Diss work, he’s bring in his laptop to do this.
In the end the only way to get rid of him was to play warcraft while we chatted he’d have half my attention and eventually give up
Edit:
So this blew up a lot more than I expected. I just want to make a note, while the guy was insane to live with, he’s still a decent friend and had a few personal issues which might have made this whole thing worse.”
“Stomach problems. Tell a guest that
“Play ‘Closing Time’ over and over again until they get the hint.”
“Start talking about a topic that bores them.
Had that one friend living in the same building and visiting me too often and too long. But she kind of detested video games so whenever I started with “When I was playing Final Fantasy the other day…” she always blocked “Oh, look at the time! I have to go! Bye!” and went home for the day.”
“My grandpa used to get up, put on his pyjamas and act surprised that people were still in his living room. Worked like a charm.”
“My grandfather would always turn up the thermostat so all of the rooms got unbearably hot/stuffy haha”
“Fall asleep.. my dad does that! He invites my uncle, and he’ll stay for HOURS, my dad will just fall asleep in the chair until my uncles decides to stop starring at him and finally leave!”
“If you’re British, you wait for any lull in conversation, put your hands on your knees as you stand up and say, “Well then…”
“Finally, a post where I can tell this story.
My sister comes back from university for the weekend and one her friends gave her a lift home, let’s call him Adam. Bare in mind she arrived home at around 4pm. I get home from school around 5 and Adam is still there after inviting himself in as he wanted a quick rest from the 2 hour drive from Birmingham to London.
Anyway, skip forward a couple of hours. It’s 7pm, he’s still there and keeps saying he needs to leave soon as he is having Friday night dinner at his aunties, whilst my mum is cooking for our Friday night dinner. Finally my dad walks in at 7.30 and is greeted by Adam who he has never met before with his hood up and feet sprawled over the sofa. My bald dad asks why he has his hood up to which he responds wittingly with “I didn’t want to make you jealous of my hair.” Dad’s not happy, but laughs it off.
Eventually, Adam asks if he can stay for dinner, my mother being the typical Jewish mother that she is even though she has only cooked for the four of us can’t say no. Now, we don’t have a traditional Friday night dinner it usually last around 45 mins- 1 hour so think he will leave after. Oh, wrong we were, he’s still here at 11pm and not looking likely to leave any time soon.
Eventually, Adam leaves to use the toilet. At which point my dad comes up with an ingenious solution, someone will phone he mobile and he’ll pick up and pretend to be his brother claiming some emergency and we all have to go to his house. So, Adam comes out of the toilet, I ring my dad’s phone, he has a fake conversation with no one and hangs up. He tells Adam we have to go over to my uncles whilst my dad puts on his coat. Adam accepts this and start to get ready to leave.
10 minutes later, Adam is still there ‘getting ready’. This time my dad say we have to leave now and ushered everyone outside, locks the front door and we head to the car. Adam, gets into his car and just sits there. We wait a couple of minutes expecting him to drive off, but he never does, he just sits there looking at his phone. This is getting ridiculous now, my dad turns on the ignition and drives off. We go around the block and drive back up the road, and he is still there. So my dad parks up in the road next to house and wait 10 minutes to go back when he has finally gone.
We had to run away from our own house to get rid of an unwanted guest, because we are too polite to tell him to fuck off.
TLDR: Sister’s friend outstays his welcome, invites himself to dinner and we have to pretend to have a family emergency in order for him to leave, and he still stays.”
“My girlfriend and I always act like we’re getting pissed at each other and about to fight. No one wants to be around that.”
The post 12 Ways to Get Rid of Unwanted Guests appeared first on UberFacts.
Russia is a fascinating country, rich in history and culture.
It’s also very misunderstood by many of us in the West. Take a look at these 10 facts about the largest country on Earth.
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Photo Credit: did you know?
Photo Credit: did you know?
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The post 10 Interesting Facts About Russia appeared first on UberFacts.
Can you believe that no one has set foot on the moon since the United States last landed way back in 1972? It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Now, several countries like Japan, India, and China are all planning to send up crewed moon missions in the near future, and the question of who has a claim to the moon is cropping up all over again – this time, for space lawyers.
Really.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
In a recent post for Real Clear Science, an attorney and professor of space law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law, Frans von der Dunk, looks at the question of moon ownership in light of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The treaty solidified the moon as a “global commons,” which basically means it can belong to no single nation.
Any secrets, resources, and other untapped potential should be used for the betterment of global society, and the U.S. even shared its soil and rock samples with Russia during the Cold War.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Von der Dunk does say that even though no one can own the land on the moon, the treaty is less clear about cultivated resources from the moon and asteroids – if one country mines assets, can they own them, or must they be distributed?
Which is why, I suppose, there is space law and space lawyers floating (heh) about these days, and why they’re probably going to be more in demand than ever as various nations plan to explore the moon face-to-face once again. Some believe that mining on the moon or on asteroids will be a lot like commercial fishing – you have to be licensed, and there will be guidelines, but you keep what you catch – while others, particularly in Russia, believe the previous treaty requires communal benefits on anything extracted from space.
Photo Credit: Touchstone Pictures
So, the answer is that no one owns the moon, but the stuff in and on the moon? Well, that’s complicated, Cold War-era treaty or no.
Nothing much is clear, really, so perhaps space remains the last great frontier – for explorers and lawyers. What a time to be alive.
h/t: Mental_Floss
The post Who Owns the Moon? appeared first on UberFacts.
You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to be a wedding planner. Dealing with angry brides when everything doesn’t go exactly according to plan? No, thank you.
These 15 wedding planners have some eye-popping tales of their worst work day ever.
“Not a wedding planner but was directly involved.
A few years ago my sister got married. The wedding was in a small town up north and the church was old and small but beautiful. Of course she asked my brother and I to usher the wedding.
Wedding day comes, everything is great, everyone is seated in the church. We close the outside doors to prepare for my sister to walk in.
The wedding planners are standing outside with us doing a final check. Everything appears to be okay.
Except no one knows where the priest is. He is no where in any part of this small church. My sister comes out and calls the priest, who as it turns out, thought the wedding was actually an hour later than it really was. So he started speeding towards the church, in the mean time, the harpist that was playing keeps playing and everyone inside is getting a bit antsy.
Then we realize that while we were figuring this whole thing out, no one bothered to clue in my soon to be brother in law, who was just standing alone at the altar.
After this event the planners added “Check that the priest is there” to the list”
“Catering for a wedding, bride’s mother brought in shrimp and ate that, she was allergic to it and had to have an ambulance take her to the hospital.
Turns out, the mother didn’t want a white Australian for a son-in-law and tried to kill herself in protest.”
“Photographer here. I was just getting into the wedding photography game, and was taking any client that would let me shoot them, often on a shoestring budget with very late notice. Only had one client that ended up being so bad that I thought i was getting pranked.
Some of the highlights included:
bride and groom showed to the church up an hour and a half late with McDonalds
bride got ready in a room that was under construction – had to avoid 2/3rds of the room when taking photos as they were torn apart.
groom got ready in a room that had signs leftover from a church production that said things like “I was addicted to crack” and “I sold my body” etc.
Ceremony happened in a room that was so small you could hear the brides 3 month old baby crying in the next room over
Ceremony was in a church with two very short isles instead of one big isle, they decided to last minute have people walk down each seperate isle, i couldnt be in two places at once – missed a lot of essential shots there
They turned the lights on and off at different parts of the ceremony in an attempt to highlight the bride, but the person flipping the switches had awful timing, and the isles were so short i couldnt adjust my camera perfectly – created a TON of work in post
person playing piano & singing couldnt sing or play the piano well at all.
reception was 45 minutes away – keep in mind they were an hour and a half late, so now photos that shouldve been at sunset are now done at night
The reception was at a nice townhome with a pool. Dancefloor was in the living room. Wall on the west was playing the game. Mirror on the east wall was reflecting the game. North wall was open and led to the pool where a tv was playing the news, south wall was non-existent and led into the kitchen where everyone was eating.
I asked if they’d turn the TV off – they said they wanted to keep it on so people could watch. At this point i had given up and just delivered pictures with donald trumps face, or reflections of a cripsy chicken sandwich commercial playing on the tv.”
“I’m a simple woman. I see wedding thread, I upvote.
As an aside, I did see a wedding coordinator talk down a full grown groomzilla from screaming so loudly at my manager in a gourmet chocolate shop that she almost called the cops. Just full on red faced “DO YOU KNOW WHAT A WEDDING IS? WE’VE HAD IT PLANNED FOR MONTHS TO HAVE HAND MADE GODDAMN ARTISINAL CHOCOLATES FOR ALL OUR GUESTS. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE WERE PLANNING TO SPEND? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN TOO SHORT OF A TURNAROUND? YOU BITCH I CAN SEE YOUR STAFF SITTING ON THEIR HANDS, YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU’RE TOO BUSY? ITS A GHOSTTOWN HERE AND ITS. BECAUSE. YOU. ARE. SHIT!”
The wedding planner was fluttering around him like an anxious moth while my stone faced manager had to explain to this full grown man that just because he wrote it down in a binder months ago it didn’t mean he’d placed the order. And that it’s way too late to order 400 individual chocolates for a wedding a week out.”
“I felt so sorry for the wedding coordinator for my niece’s wedding. It’s always a bit of a white trash show with that part of the family, but they went all out for the wedding.
Mother of the bride was noticeably drunk (like leaning over to one side drunk) and noisy during the ceremony. The stepmother of the bride was in a snit. The father of the bride was being his typical spineless self. The bride, groom, and wedding party were all chain smoking and drinking natural light beer before, during, and after the ceremony, and most of them were a lovely shade of orange from the fake tans. The officiant showed up in a t-shirt and sweatpants. There wasn’t enough food for the guests, not even enough for everyone to get a bite of something. Arguments broke out all over, between all members of the bride’s family. If there had actually been dinner, it would have been a great “dinner and a show” thing.”
“I had a couple and her mother come to see me by appointment to plan wedding music for their forthcoming church ceremony.
Each time I’d demonstrate a potential processional on the organ, the bride and groom liked it, but the bride’s mother objected and asked to hear something different (when asked what her idea of “something different” might be, she had no ideas).
The situation got more and more tense as the groom and bride’s mother argued. Finally, the mother said, “Listen – I’m paying for this wedding, and you’ll do it MY way, and that’s the end of it!”
In an effort to bring harmony, I said to the mother, “It’s the couple’s wedding, not yours or mine. Let them make the choices they like, and I’ll provide music at no charge, so the question of who’s paying for it is no longer a factor.”
That solved the problem instantly. But the groom left glaring at his future mother-in-law, probably wondering what he was getting into for the long term. (To my surprise, the best man came to see me at the organ on the day of the ceremony, and gave me an envelope containing double the normal amount.)”
“Officiant here, Sat with a couple to talk about their ceremony. They asked for the barest of bare bones, 5 min or less package. Welp, ok I guess.
Show up, knowing the ceremony was casual and poolside in their backyard. Didn’t realize it was in swimsuits. Ok, cool, sure. Hottest day in Phoenix ever, so we all appreciated the shortest ceremony ever.
Get a call Monday from a family member that bride and groom broke up, he had been cheating. Right as I dropped the license in the mail.
So, if you’re ever cheating on someone and don’t plan on staying married after the air comes out of the floaties, just ask your officiant to be a bro and not mail the thing, that way you’re only out $75 and not the cost of an actual divorce.”
“Not a wedding planner, but this a funny/tragic story.
My mother’s friend is a florist, and she makes the flower arrangements for a lot of weddings.
Anyway, for this wedding, the bride wanted flowers on the chairs (not very smart because they would eventually get crushed, and/or ruin someone’s clothes), and each chair with flowers costs about 75€, and there are about 300-400 guests.
Plus, there are all the other flowers arrangements for the tables, and around the venue, so the bride’s mother spent about 20k€ on flowers, alone. I can’t even imagine how much the whole thing cost.
Anyway, the wedding day went by uneventful, until the bride and groom were at their honeymoon. The bride received a call from her ex-boyfriend, they made up, and she left her husband, and went to live with her ex.
Apparently, the mother had a nervous breakdown.”
“Wedding Coordinator here – The couple that never paid their final balance for the reception.
I’m a “day of event” coordinator (so I’m not part of the arrangements, only handle the details to make sure everything goes smoothly. This was one of the rare times it didn’t.
Once the ceremony started, I headed over to the reception hall to oversee the setup, only to find out that the couple paid the deposit, but never paid the balance-about half of the total cost (IIR about $30k). The catering hall was refusing to hold the reception until they got their money in cash (no personal checks allowed). It was a Sunday before a bank holiday and while most commercial banks would have been fine, their local bank was not open until that Tuesday.
Slightly panicking, I called the main coordinator who was still at the church with the couple to try to figure this out. The older brother tried to help by trying to get money from relatives, but they were obviously short of the sum needed. We were at the point where guests were starting to arrive. After going back and forth, the catering manager said they would hold the cocktail hour since the deposit covered that.
When the couple arrived, the groom, the brother, and my lead coordinator met with the manager and they basically offered their money box, along with whatever payment they were able to round up to hold as ransom until they made the payment. The reception went on as planned, and once everything was set, I broke my work rule and had a strong drink.”
“Not a wedding planner, but a member of a string quartet booked to play the wedding & reception afterwards.
The person who was going to officiate was a rabbi who was also a professor of the bride and groom. He never showed up for the wedding. So our quartet was asked to keep playing while the couple desperately tried to find a last-minute justice of the peace to perform the ceremony.
We played for hours, and were invited to eat the food offered to the guests. In the end, the couple found someone to perform the ceremony. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for them to see their professor the next day.”
“Obligatory not a planner, but my mom made wedding cakes for almost 20 years in the 1990’s-2000’s.
Several of her horror stories involved Precious Moments figurines, of all things. They’re the ones that look like creepy babies/angelic children.
For some ungodly reason, Precious Moments cake toppers were all the rage for awhile. Unfortunately, they are made of ceramic, and can be a bit heavy to place on top of stacked pastry.
One time, Mom was mid-cake-setup when the mother of the bride (MOB) handed her a 5 lb. Precious Moments wedding car, and told her it was their cake topper. Besides being heavy, it was also larger than the top tier of the cake. My mom flat-out told her, “No way. That thing is way too heavy, it will crush of top the cake.”
MOB didn’t want to take, “no,” for an answer, and kept insisting that the wedding would be ruined if they didn’t have this cake topper. Mom refused, and explained several more times that the cake could not support the car. She placed the car next to the cake, and got a pretty spray of flowers from the florist to put on top, instead.
An hour later, she got a frantic call from the reception hall, because the cake fell, “all by itself.”
Turns out, MOB waited until Mom left, placed the car topper on top of the cake, and left for the ceremony. The reception manager found the cake all over the floor shortly after.
A similar scenario occurred with a motorcycle- themed Precious Moments figurine several months later. Mom banned all Precious Moments after that.”
“i was at a wedding reception where the maid of honor (sister of the bride) had a fight with her boyfriend and threw herself onto the hood of his car as he tried to drive away with her poor father trying to pull her off. In a purple satin, puffy-sleeve 1987 atrocity. Mass quantities of alcohol was involved.”
“This happened at a wedding reception that took place where I used to work:
Bride and groom were fighting when they arrived for the reception, groom starts chugging back wine and passed out before he could make a speech and had to be carried out by his groomsmen.”
“I planned my own wedding, I’m not sure how popular wedding planners are in the UK… I had to have a church wedding despite being non religious due to my (now) husband’s very Christian family. At the time he was also hanging on to being one and I figured that if it was important to them and I had no real default then that was fine.
In the UK if you aren’t getting married where your family is linked to a church you have to (usually) be part of the community for a year. So we went most Sundays and I sat through it, did the pre marriage councilling, picked the hymns (one’s from school) etc. I organised literally everything with my husband, we even made most of the wedding stuff by hand.
The week before the wedding he receives an email from his very religious uncle. It has a freeware word document attached to it which is a 3 page essay on how I am, amoungst other things, souless, going to hell, from the cup of demons, a sin etc. We told his family and almost no one stood up for me.
Needless to say I was pretty upset after jumping through so many hoops to be respectful of their beliefs. My husband replied to his uncle’s email and then called him to inform him he was uninvited. I sent him a wonderful email explaining exactly what I thought of him. We gave his picture to the wedding party lads in case he turned up. They were under strict orders to make a scene. Luckily he didn’t but it’s caused a massive crack in his family. No one even reprimanded the guy.
So that’s how my husband be ame almost completely isolated from his family, including a loss of faith. All I wanted was a beach wedding!
(Edit: ohgodwalloftext and speeling)”
“I’m a professional violinist who works with wedding planners, and I’ve seen some things.
Once I got an email from a bride asking me if I’d play at a wedding, for free, in bleak midwinter, in a pavilion waaaay down the path of a hiking trail. Uh, no ma’am.
My first college gig was a wedding that was supposed to be in a beautiful sunny garden, but being in the Deep South, guess what? There were actually tornadoes that day instead. The families decided to go on with the wedding… so they had the wedding under the reception tent instead and moved the actual reception indoors (weird thinking, huh). Things were actually going ok until near the end of the ceremony, when weather sirens went off. We didn’t get hit by a tornado, but the rain and wind that eventually came in made it so that it was even hitting us under the tent. We obviously couldn’t couldn’t play for the recessional and had to run a short distance inside to pack the instruments up rather than risk staying outside and getting the instruments soaked. The wedding was completed outside ASAP and everyone made a beeline for indoors as fast as possible once it was over! The bride was laughing thankfully but everyone was wet and worried about tornadoes and it was just such a crazy day.
Also another Deep South wedding I played for: two avid football fans left their own reception early to watch their team’s football game that was on that day. (I knew the girl personally. She divorced him a year later, he ended up being an egotistical, abusive, cheating ass.)
I also played in a quartet at this gorgeous mountainside wedding and we got there quite early to set up. A fight broke out between who I later realized was the bride and groom, they busted out of the clubhouse behind us literally kicking and screaming at each other. They appeared ok during the wedding amazingly, but I would be surprised if that marriage lasted.
And last but definitely not least was the day my sister and I played a wedding when my grandfather died in the hospital. My family had been called to the hospital as I was getting ready to leave for the venue, and got the news he passed when I finished. I knew he was dying the whole time, though. Playing an entire wedding and reception through the death of a loved one is something I never, ever want to do again. I had to keep my sobs in so hard I got the hiccups.
Treat your wedding musicians well, most of us deal with and see a lot of shit.
Edited for two words.”
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