Author: Matt Gilligan

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Oscar Meyer Has a Hot Dog Flavored Ice Cream Sandwich

Isn’t it really something when companies take two good things, like hot dogs and ice cream, and combine them into one horrific thing? Introducing the “ice dog sandwich,” a new dessert from none other than Oscar Mayer.

The brand collaborated with Il Laboratorio Del Gelato to create the ice dog sandwich, which consists of hot dog-flavored ice cream, candied hot dog bits (!!!), and spicy dijon mustard gelato, all sandwiched between two cookie “buns.”

Sound disgusting?

Yeah.

Oscar Mayer announced the sandwich on Twitter alongside a poll, and the results were a resounding “no thank you.”

“Please tell me this is a joke,” one user tweeted.

“We don’t joke about hot dogs…or ice cream! It’s artisan crafted in small batches made with candied bits of Oscar Mayer Angus Beef Hot Dogs,” the brand replied. They insist that the sandwich is delicious and “will NOT disappoint,” and to be fair, it’s not entirely unprecedented. Just one day before they announced the ice dog sandwich, French’s debuted yellow mustard ice cream.

Anyway, despite everyone’s protests, Oscar Mayer began selling the sandwiches out of their iconic Wienermobile (a 27-foot hot dog on wheels) in New York City on August 12. They handed out free samples; the sandwich is not available for sale.

For a limited time, those not in New York could slide into Oscar Mayer’s DMs for a sample, but they were flooded with DMs and had to close them.

For most of us, hot dog flavored ice cream will have to remain a distant nightmare.

Luckily.

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This 392-Year-Old Bonsai Tree Survived Hiroshima

If you find yourself at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C., check out a piece of Japan’s history that dates back to the 17th century.

It’s a bonsai tree, gifted by master Masaru Yamaki to America on its bicentennial. The 392-year-old white pine is the oldest tree in the collection – it was planted in 1625, cultivated and personally cared for over the years by one master or another, and was living only 2 miles from where the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

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i met a 400 year old tree today

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The Yamaki family – Masaru’s son and grandson – revealed that the tree was sitting on a garden bench at their home when the bomb went off. It survived (and so did all of the other trees in their garden, along with their family).

Though the tree’s history is amazing (it’s a rare specimen that hails from the island of Miyajima), it’s not the oldest bonsai in the world – that title belongs to a 550-year-old tree at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.

They have one that’s 450 years old, too, though no word on how close either of those were to a bomb that stunned the world with its destructive power.

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Imperial palace Tokyo ??? #tokyo #japan #imperialpalacetokyo

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The gift of the tree was a nice gesture, but you have to wonder how it feels about residing in the country who dropped an atomic bomb so close to its home – and if plants had memories, whether it would ever be able to forget the devastation it must have witnessed that day, and in the years that followed.

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Here’s Another Reason to Embrace Being Lazy: It’s Good for the Earth

Now this is good news!

In 2019, it’s not so unusual to have days where you only have to leave the sofa for pee breaks because entertainment, food, and social interaction all come to us via the internet. There are downsides to the new normal for many, but there’s also one big upside: it’s reducing our energy usage.

A new study by University of Texas researchers and published in Joule examined Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data and found that, between 2003 and 2012, people started to spend more time at home than time traveling to and from stores, restaurants, and work.

That means people weren’t burning fossil fuels tootling around town. And if they were working from home, office buildings were using less energy several days a year, too – in total, around 1.8% less energy in 2012 than in 2003 due to Americans embracing a more home-centric lifestyle.

Considering they used data from 2012, and all of the companies that have jumped on board for home delivery since then, those numbers have likely increased even more.

Only time will tell whether the gas required to deliver all of the essentials (and no-so-essential) goodies to your door causes fewer carbon emissions than everyone driving around getting goods themselves. Right now there isn’t enough data to say, though one study suggested whether you live in an urban or rural environment definitely plays a role.

We do know, though, that delivery trucks and ride-sharing apps are taking a toll on infrastructure, as they have added so many vehicles onto the road that cities are scrambling to keep pace. Drone delivery still presents an interesting alternative to using traditional fuels and existing roads, so perhaps if that idea comes to fruition, the scales will tip fully toward living the life of the hermit.

For now, maybe a good balance is the answer. After all, you still need sunlight and exercise, so you’ll have to go out occasionally.

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Step Aside Christmas, Ugly Halloween Sweaters Are Here

I’m not trying to tell you have to live your life, but you need to get on the Ugly Halloween Sweater bandwagon!

Ugly sweater parties were once only reserved for Christmas. It’s the hot holiday trend where your friends go out and buy the most hideous or blinged-out sweater to wear with pride to your party. Sometimes there were even prizes. But Santa Claus is passé – the Great Pumpkin is bringing it for 2019!

Halloween themed ugly sweaters are here, and they’re the perfect solution for your few friends who refuse to dress up for your Halloween party. Now they have a less involved option that keeps them participating in the spooky festivities.

Where can you find them?

Amazon has several available to fit your creepy fancy. Varieties include witches, Dracula, and even pumpkins.

Photo Credit: Amazon

And for the more reserved woman? Cardigans with skeletons!

Photo Credit: Amazon

FUN Wear is one of the biggest manufacturers that’s embracing all that is Halloween.

“COMFY COZY SPOOKY: We’re bringing the ugly sweater trend to the Halloween season with our exclusively made and expertly designed Ugly Halloween Sweaters. They’re Made by Us, and they’re Comfy Cozy Spooky!”

Photo Credit: Amazon

Photo Credit: Amazon

And if you’re more of a traditionalist who enjoys regular sweatshirts. No…um…sweat!

Photo Credit: Amazon

Even the kiddos can have fun dressing up. They offer many children sizes!

Photo Credit: Amazon

“But what if I don’t get invited to a party?”

No worries my friend, you can still strut your awful knit. Parents might enjoy wearing these while they trick or treat with the little ones – it’s low cost, low maintenance, and you won’t distract from you kid’s incredibly cute pumpkin costume or whatever.

Seems like they thought of everything!

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Here Are Some Tweets About Spiderman Leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe

You were probably as shell-shocked as the rest of us were to learn that Disney’s rift with Sony meant that Tom Holland’s Spiderman (arguably the best iteration) would be getting the boot.

In order to make everyone laugh (to keep from crying), the internet has come through with some pitch-perfect tweets and memes.

13. Meme perfection.

12. Basically.

11. A common enemy is a powerful thing.

10. It’s extra rough when you can’t even drink.

9. The web-rope isn’t that strong.

8. I mean, if Stan Lee said it…

7. Chump change.

6. Just do it.

5. You’d think they’d learn.

4. I can see it.

3. Kids, man.

2. I can’t.

1. This made me laugh so hard.

It doesn’t take the hurt away, but it does help a little bit!

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A Man Karaoked so Hard He Collapsed His Lung

You really have to admire people who put themselves out there on karaoke night. I mean, what’s the point of grabbing the mic and getting up there if you’re not going to give it your all, right?

Right.

Buuuttttt, that said, you probably want to avoid collapsing your lung in the process, eh?

Image Credit: Pixabay

Apparently, a 65-year-old Chinese man named Wang managed to do just that after attempting to hit a particularly intense high note, reports the South China Morning Post.

This came after singing 10 high-pitched songs in a row, so perhaps that was a contributing factor? Although I’ve honestly never heard of anyone collapsing their lungs from singing before.

The man experienced chest pains and breathlessness before deciding to take a trip to the ER.

Image Credit: Pixabay

“I was very excited in the heat of the moment and after singing a few songs with very high notes, I found myself having breathing difficulties,” he confessed.

The doctor in the emergency room said that the collapsed lung was due to “high lung pressure caused by singing high notes.”

A collapsed lung occurs when a hole or a puncture in the lunch results in air leaking into the space between the lung and chest wall. The air can build up and increase pressure in the chest cavity, which obviously causes some serious problems.

Though it’s unusual, collapsed lungs can occur basically out of the blue, but chest injuries are most often to blame.

No word on whether his age or physical condition had anything to do with the incident, but you might want to take it easy during your next karaoke session.

Just in case…

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This Is How to Stop Alexa from Recording Your Private Conversations

Our eventual robot overlords have now been officially invited inside a good number of American homes. Kind of creepy, right?

I mean, if these things are like vampires, we’ve definitely made the wrong move.

If you are one of the households with a listening robot (or more than one – guilty), you might be wondering if there’s a way to maintain your privacy now that they’re in your house (and linked to your Amazon account).

Answer? Maybe.

If you’re worried about Alexa listening in and using your information (or accidentally sending it to someone else, which has happened to a few unfortunate souls), you can tweak some of your Echo or Echo Dot settings to make it less likely.

First, you want to make sure you don’t give Alexa access to your contacts when you set up your device. If you’ve already enabled that feature, you’ll need to call customer service (877-375-9365) to have them remove it. It does mean that you won’t be able to use Alexa to make calls or send texts, but it also ensures that nothing she (it) overhears could be sent to people you know.

You can also change the “wake word” from Alexa. You only have a few other choices (computer, Amazon, or Echo), but if one of those is less likely to be confused with another word you use commonly in your household, they might be way to go. Ideally, if you use a word she’s less likely to hear (or be tricked into hearing), she won’t “wake up” and start listening on accident.

You can easily change this setting by simply talking to your device or using the Alexa app on your phone or iPad.

If you know you’re having a sensitive conversation that you definitely wouldn’t want anyone – the big box store included – overhearing, the best bet is to manually turn off the microphone by simply pushing the button on your device.

Lastly? Make doubly sure the volume is up high enough that you can hear her asking if it’s okay to send an email or text because you probably don’t want her to mistake silence for a yes.

That’s just not how consent works, Alexa.

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Women in Africa Are Recycling Plastic into Bricks for a Schoolhouse

Tthe world produces over 300 million tons of plastic every year, much of which quickly goes into the trash where it takes centuries to decompose. In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, women are putting plastic garbage to good use by turning it into bricks to build schools, New York Times reports.

Many women in Abidjan make a living by gathering plastic waste from city streets and selling it to recycling centers. Those same women are now working with a Colombian company to convert the waste into bricks to build schools.

The project will result in hundreds of classrooms to serve about 26,400 students — plus, it’s an opportunity for the women to make a better living.

Many schools in the area are built out of traditional mud-bricks and wood. These buildings require a lot of upkeep, as they easily erode in the sun and rain.

The buildings made out of recycled plastic, on the other hand, will last practically forever. In this context, plastic’s slow decomposition is a benefit.

Also, the country’s classrooms are severely overcrowded, with up to 90 students in each class. Additional classrooms are desperately needed.

Since Abidjan produces about 300 tons of plastic waste a day, there’s plenty of plastic to use. Each classroom takes about five tons of plastic waste.

The company converting the waste, Conceptos Plásticos, initially produced the bricks at a factory in Colombia, but they are now building a factory in Abidjan, which will make the classrooms much cheaper to produce.

Several classrooms are already up and running, and the project plans to deliver 528 total, each of which will fit 50 students.

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Do Kids Lose What They Learn over Long Summer Breaks?

The Economist recently proclaimed, “Long summer holidays are bad for children, especially the poor.”

This was not the first time such a claim had been made about how kids lose much of what they’ve learned over the year during breaks from school.

Lawmakers, too, are concerned. Each year, bills introduced at the state level attempt to funnel money into summer education programs.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Yet, reports from research groups such as the Brookings Institute show more nuanced findings as it relates to summertime learning loss among children.

So, do kids suffer educationally from long summer breaks?

Researcher Abel J. Koury used current and nationally representative data to determine if there truly is a loss of learning during the summer in school children.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Koury estimates only 7 percent of kids lost approximately a month of learning in reading and 9 percent of kids lost in math between kindergarten and first grade. Before second grade, the percentages increase to 15 percent in reading and 18 percent in math. The majority of kids in summertime do not seem to be experiencing any loss of learning. Koury also suggests that not only are kids not experiencing significant learning loss, they are actually increasing their skills over the summer.

Koury also looked into whether loss of learning became a long-term issue, and he determined that the difference between children who experienced summertime loss of learning and children who gained skills was insignificant by the end of the school year.

Photo Credit: Max Pixel

Kids who were already strong in either reading or math were the ones who experienced the most significant loss in learning. Furthermore, homework over the summer did not seem to be a factor in whether kids gained or lost learning.

Koury concluded that letting children get outside and play was more important than worrying about their loss of learning. Summer reading lists are great and can be helpful against loss in that area, but keeping kids active and exercising should be a priority for healthy, happy and intelligent children in the long run.

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15 People Respond to the Burning Question: How Do You Handle a Person Who Cuts in Line?

When people cut in line, it always seems as if there should be something pithy to say that would put them in their place.

If you’ve always come up as empty as I have when you’re put on the spot, then this list of best practices could be right up your alley!

15. So it’s just you then.

— From the old television show “Dead Like Me” —

[A woman cuts in line at the post office]
Rube:: Afternoon, ladies. Are you two old friends?
Woman: Eh, her daughter is in my son’s class.
Rube:: I have a question for you. Is everyone in this line an asshole?
Woman: Excuse me?
Rube:: Is everyone you just cut in front of an asshole?
Woman: Uhm. No?
Rube:: So it’s just you then.
Woman: I have children in the car.
Rube:: I have a cake in the oven. He’s got three minutes left on the meter. She’s got a lunch meeting. We all have a finite amount of time. Now get in the back of the line. And don’t use your children like that — it’s shameful.

14. Try being polite.

I prefer to pretend they didn’t see the line, which can occasionally happen with a bunch of long lines especially if they leave a space for people to get by, I just politely point out the line.

13. Queueing is the national pastime.

Cutting in line – The one crime the UK retains the death penalty for.

12. I mean it would probably work.

“Oi Cunt get the fuck back to your place before I drop ya”

11. Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Squidward?

Start trying to convert them to something.

10. Yasss queen.

I used to work at a coffee shop at a university. During the transitions we would get a line 4 to 8 people deep. I was pretty quick and could serve people in less than about 10 seconds each. They usually just wanted coffee and the occasional muffin.

On one occasion with 6 people in line a 30ish year old guy steps in right behind the girl I’m currently serving. You could hear the other 5 people grumble but nobody said anything. He comes up and orders a coffee. I pretend like I didn’t hear him and serve the next in line. He gets pissed and says “I’m in a hurry!” “And they aren’t?” He huffs and walks off.

I got lots of tips for the next few minutes.

9. Act like it’s totally normal.

Just go cut back Infront of them, like, walk up, “sorry excuse me” like it’s totally normal.

8. This feels right.

As Finnish person i can’t think better way than keep your mouth shut and look at them furiously while thinking all the things you could say, but then notice that you missed your ‘ opportunity ‘.

7. Take your chicken seriously.

If someone cut directly in front of me I say nothing and cut in front of them. If they complain about it I just say if they are allowed to cut surely I am too. I need this KFC more then u buddy.

6. Every time.

Guys clear the way! We have a VIP coming through!

I use this one every time

5. Being straight-forward works.

“There’s a line. The back is over there.”

I found being straight forward works. Usually they just don’t know.

4. The line is behind me.

People cutting in line is probably my biggest pet peeve and it’s happened to me several times over the years. I always say the same thing: “The line is behind me”. Only once did a young girl ignore me and cut in front of not just me but the person who was in front of me. I said something to her but it was of no use. The cashier did nothing at all about it.

The best one wasn’t the woman cutting in front of me but a woman with a cart full of groceries in the express lane. Ten items or less. I had seven items. I let her put a bunch of stuff on the conveyor belt and then I told her she was in the wrong lane. She looked at me and I pointed to the sign. Ten items or less. Her response was: “I do this all the time”. I said “not today you won’t”. She continued putting her stuff on the belt and that’s when the cashier leaned over to her and told her to go to another lane. She did. When I was about to head out of the store the woman was still checking out. She said, “you must be having a bad day”. I said, “I was having a great day until I ran into you!”

3. Shame them into submission.

Excuse me, sorry, you probably didn’t realise, the start of the queue is back there” point

Is usually enough to shame them, and if not it makes it obvious to others that they’re aware of what they’ve done.

2. IS THERE?

No words need be said.

Whoever is directly behind the cutter cuts in front. Then the next person behind that person cuts the cutter. Then the next, then the next, and so on until the asshole is in the back where they belong.

What’re they going to say? Here’s how that conversation goes:

“Hey, there’s a line here…”

“Oh? IS THERE?” Furious stare

1. I’m sure it’s fine.

Start coughing as harshly as possible, right towards the back of their neck.

Then say “Damn, I knew that trip to west Africa was a mistake”.

Now you’re well-armed the next time it happens to you!

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