Category: World Culture

Posted on

Vinyl Record Sales Surpassed CDs Last Year for the First Time in Decades

As someone who has collected vinyl since high school, I think this is awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I like CDs and cassettes too (I don’t currently have any 8-tracks), but I prefer vinyl records.

I just honestly believe they sound the best out of all formats.

In 2019, people bought $224 million worth of vinyl records. This was the first time since 1986 that vinyl outsold CDs.

That’s a long time for a medium to spend on the outs before it stages a takeover from its replacement format, don’t you think?

Vinyl has been competing with CDs, cassettes, and now with digital music for many years, but a resurgence in the popularity of records along with annual events like Record Store Day have made vinyl a hot commodity again over the past several years. Records have gone from practically obsolete, to objects of desire once again.

In the week that ended on December 26, 2019, 1.243 million vinyl albums were sold – the first time that’s happened since Nielsen began tracking music data in 1991.

View this post on Instagram

Recent arrivals to the shop! Lots of jazz!

A post shared by Creme Tangerine Records (@cremetangerinerecords) on

And it isn’t one generation that’s making up a bulk of the vinyl sales; Millennials and Generation Z folks are just as likely to buy records as Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers. Plus, people are buying records from artists across many generations. Currently, some of the biggest-selling vinyl artists are Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, The Beatles, and Queen.

Just for fun, I’d like to include some of my favorite record stores across the country. Check these folks out online or in-person if you’re in the area!

Creme Tangerine Records in Costa Mesa, California.

Premium Sound in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, Kansas.

Go buy some records!

The post Vinyl Record Sales Surpassed CDs Last Year for the First Time in Decades appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A Czech Drugstore Has a Shampoo Refill Station to Help Cut Down on Plastic Waste

What a great idea!

This is something that definitely needs to happen in other countries besides the Czech Republic.

A Reddit user shared a photo with a caption that said, “Some drugstores in the Czech Republic introduced shampoo and shower gel filling machines. Customers can refill their empty bottles with various products so they don’t have to buy a new one every time.”

Some drugstores in the Czech Republic introduced shampoo and shower gel filling machines. Customers can refill their empty bottles with various products so they don’t have to buy a new one everytime from interestingasfuck

The photo looks like a regular, everyday drug store, but that filling station for shampoo and shower gel must cut down on plastic waste in a big way. Think about how often you buy a new bottle of shampoo or some kind of soap for your shower…and then think about everyone else who uses your local CVS.

Those numbers add up.

These kinds of measures not only cut down on plastic waste, but also reduces landfilled trash in general, which cuts down on methane release. And, on top of that, it helps reduce the demand for new plastic to be produced (which takes more fossil fuels). It’s all a cycle, you see?

At the landfill

Shopping in bulk is a classic way to cut down on plastic waste, and if you’re looking to do your part, it’s a good route to go – because I don’t know how common these kinds of soap refilling stations are in the U.S. There are a lot of good resources online for buying in bulk and to help you cut down on waste, including the blog Litterless and the website Zero Waste Home.

RECYCLE

This is a seriously great idea, and I hope it turns into a worldwide trend. We all need to do our part to help out the environment – climate change isn’t going to solve itself, and even though reducing trash doesn’t seem like it makes a difference, when enough people do it, it really does.

So let’s get moving in the right direction. Every little bit helps.

The post A Czech Drugstore Has a Shampoo Refill Station to Help Cut Down on Plastic Waste appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A Man Had the Perfect Comeback for a Racist Who “Couldn’t Believe” He Belonged in First Class

Stories from all over the country have made clear that doing pretty much anything while also being black can be enough for racists to call a person out – or call the police.

It’s a horrible comment on the state of affairs in the U.S., and a disappointing, frustrating, and humiliating way to expect African-Americans to live on a day-to day basis.

This man, though, when he was confronted by a terrible woman who questioned his right to be in a priority boarding line, had a response that left those in earshot literally applauding him.

Her: excuse me i believe you may be in the wrong place you need to let us thru. This line is for priority boarding Me:…

Posted by Emmit Eclass Walker on Tuesday, December 5, 2017

DC-based music executive Emmit Walker was innocently waiting in line for his flight – right where he belonged – when a fellow passenger tried to cut in front of him.

When he wouldn’t move, she told him he was in the wrong place, because that was the line for priority boarding.

Image Credit: Facebook

Mr. Walker informed her that not only was he in the right place – see his first class boarding pass? – but that he had been there longer than she had, so he wouldn’t be moving.

Image Credir: Facebook

At which point she commented to her companion that he must have gotten the seat because he was in the military or something, and because they had paid for their first class seats, they should get to board first.

Which is when he said the best thing:

Image Credit: Facebook

The other passengers in line burst into applause, and people who read the story online wore out the hand-clap emoji, too.

Image Credit: Facebook

Rightfully so. I wish everyone had the self-confidence and speaking ability to stand up for themselves in times like these.

But not as much as I wish there weren’t so many times like these.

The post A Man Had the Perfect Comeback for a Racist Who “Couldn’t Believe” He Belonged in First Class appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Staying at Home With Children Is More Stressful Than Going to Work

Parents who stay at home are often pretty misunderstood. While many people assume they sit around relaxing at home all day, the reality is it’s a 24-hour job that is exhausting. Between caregiving and household management, the work seemingly never ends. One new survey found that, for many people, staying at home is more stressful for parents than going to work.

The Aveeno Baby survey, conducted in the U.K., asked 1500 mothers and fathers about their experiences as working or stay-at-home parents.

The survey found that a significant percentage of parents (31%) feel that staying at home with the kids is more stressful than going to work, rather than the other way around.

Photo Credit: iStock

“Becoming a parent is an amazing experience, but we understand that entering this new chapter of life can also bring with it a great deal of stress and worry, so we wanted to discover more about what new parents experience in the first few years, what they wish they had known and how best we can support them,” Aveeno Baby skin expert Rebecca Bennett told The Sun.

“From what you put in your baby’s mouth to what you put on their skin, every small decision becomes much bigger and you worry you might not be making the right choice, or are being judged by others.”

Regardless of whether you work or stay at home, having a baby is HARD, the survey found. 39% of parents reported constant exhaustion while 55% believed that having a baby is hard work even with a strong support system.

In the age of social media, many parents also reported that parenting apps make it harder for them to feel like good parents due to the constant comparisons to others.

Photo Credit: iStock

The lesson? Never assume another parent has it easier than you!

The post Staying at Home With Children Is More Stressful Than Going to Work appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

This Man Turns Discarded Christmas Trees Into Canes for Veterans

You always see a ton of discarded Christmas trees dragged out onto driveways to be hauled off by garbage trucks after the holidays. I’ve never really thought about what comes next for this near-endless supply of trees, but I suppose they just decompose in the dump, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere.

Great.

That’s not what happens to (some of) the trees in Copperas Cove, Texas, however. One local man has found a creative and important use for some of these old trees.

Jamie Willis is an Army veteran, and he’s asking people to send their old Christmas trees his way because he turns the trees into canes for fellow veterans who need mobility aids – and for other folks who require canes as well.

I'm happy you like the cane. Thanks for sharing your picture brother.

Posted by Canes For Veterans Central Texas on Thursday, March 30, 2017

Willis’ cause is called Canes for Veterans Central Texas and he’s made about 200 canes so far. Willis said, “The whole process, it’s just done off donations. I make the canes myself. Everything’s done out of pocket.”

This is the second year that Jamie Willis has reached out for tree donations, and he has been overwhelmed with this year’s response. He said, “It’s been an outpouring of donations this year, more than I ever thought I would get. Home Depot flooded me with trees, they’re sending me 400, and the rest of the community will be giving me about another 100 trees.”

Posted by Canes For Veterans Central Texas on Saturday, January 4, 2020

Willis said he usually takes an entire day to make one cane. He got the idea to start making his own because the one he was given by Veterans Affairs kept collapsing on him, and he didn’t trust it. So he reached out to an organization in Florida called Free Canes for Veterans.

The man behind that organization, Army veteran Oscar Morris, told Willis they didn’t have any more canes and instead taught Willis how to make his own. Willis then asked if he could branch off of that organization and start his own canes-for-veterans nonprofit in Texas, and Morris gave him his blessing.

Mr. Paul Miles and cane #209 standing tall. Another veteran brother who I met while at a local tire shop. And after talking with him we were honored to make him a cane. Much love and respect go out to you sir.

Posted by Canes For Veterans Central Texas on Thursday, August 8, 2019

Morris said that Jamie Willis is the fifth veteran to start their own branch of Free Canes for Veterans. Great work by all!

The post This Man Turns Discarded Christmas Trees Into Canes for Veterans appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Illinois Sold More Than $3 Million Worth of Marijuana on the First Day of Legalization

As a former Chicagoan, all I can say is…why the hell didn’t this happen when I lived in Illinois? I know, I know, things are moving along and more and more places are legalizing marijuana, but it sure would’ve been nice…

And now I live in North Carolina, and I really don’t think legalization is coming anywhere near this state anytime soon…

The Cannabis Joint

But back to the story. Though it was passed into law in 2019, it became officially legal to purchase marijuana for recreational use in Illinois on January 1, 2020.

And apparently, people were pretty fired up about it (who could have expected?).

On January 1st, the first day of legal sales, the state sold nearly $3.2 million of weed. The exact numbers were 77,128 transactions totaling $3,176,256.71. Not bad for a one-day haul, huh?

If you’re curious, the state hasn’t yet released figures for how much tax revenue that will work out to.

Toi Hutchinson, senior advisor to the governor for cannabis control, said:

“As we start a new decade, Illinois has achieved a monumental milestone, launching the legalization of cannabis in a way that includes communities left behind for far too long, creates good jobs and expunges thousands of records for those who have lost out on opportunities and ends prohibition.”

Illinois became the eleventh U.S. state to legalize weed, joining Alaska, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Weed

You have to be 21 years old and have a government-issued ID to buy weed in Illinois. Non-residents of the state can also buy marijuana but in smaller quantities. And keep in mind that all purchases must be made in cash, because cash is king baby!

And also because weed is still illegal at the federal level, and banks are wary about working with an industry that is both illegal and legal at the same time.

Time for a road trip?

The post Illinois Sold More Than $3 Million Worth of Marijuana on the First Day of Legalization appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Appalling but Real Scientific Research Says You Should Make Tea in the Microwave

Sorry to all my British friends out there…

It’s time to ditch those pretty, whistling teapots (and having to wait 10 minutes for hot water) because science says the best way to brew a cuppa is in the microwave.

There is a method to measure a good cup of tea, apparently, and it is by how much of the catechins and caffeine contained in the leaves you can get into the brew (more being better). With the microwave method, you get 80% and 92%, respectively.

Catechins are a complex group of chemical compounds that are potentially good for your cardiovascular health, while caffeine’s effects – positive and negative – on the human body are well-documented.

And the microwave gives you way, way more of both than the traditional method of adding kettle-boiled water to your teabag.

So, here’s your new tea-making routine:

  1. Put hot water in the cup with your teabag.
  2. Put the whole thing in the microwave, set to 500 watts, and set the timer for 60 seconds.
  3. Wait another 60 seconds, dunk your teabag up and down 10 times, squeeze it out, and enjoy.

If you need more reason, look no further than David Tennant, whose Broadchurch character was seen microwaving his tea on the show. It caused a flutter of horror among tea enthusiasts, but according to researchers like Dr. Quan Vuong, microwaving also extracts more nutrients from green tea leaves.

I guess technology might actually be worth something after all?

If you can bring yourself to retire your grandmother’s tea pot to the china cabinet, I mean.

The post Appalling but Real Scientific Research Says You Should Make Tea in the Microwave appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A New Law in Wisconsin Punishes Parents in Bullying Cases

From cities to workplaces to schools and other educational institutions, leaders are looking for better ways to punish bullies. There are initiatives from the White House all the way down to small communities, but on a big scale, nothing really seems to be moving the needle.

So Shawano, Wisconsin, is trying something new – they’re going to make the parents of minor bullies culpable by law, and see if that makes a difference.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by allontheboard (@allontheboard) on


The law applies to online and in-person bullying, and it includes a grace period after the first infraction is met with a warning. The idea is that once parents are aware of the situation, they should have an opportunity (a 90-day period) to deal with the situation themselves before further action is taken.

If the child does not improve after the 90 days and gets caught bullying again, the parents will be fined $366.

Another infraction results in a second fine of $681.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bullyproofing (@bully.proofing) on

Not chump change, especially for families who aren’t well-off to begin with.

Police are hoping that the new law can help them combat both bullying and cyberbullying in the area, says Police Chief Mark Kohl.

“We feel without getting the parent involved, just giving a ticket of fining someone out of this isn’t the answer. This isn’t generated toward the kids being kids, some playground banter. This is the person that is meticulously using social media or saying things that are vulgar in an attempt to hurt, discredit, and really demean a person.”

I’m waiting for follow-up statistics on how this ends up working before making any final judgements on the idea itself, but I applaud their out of the box thinking – and their attempt to get the parents involved in combatting an issue that typically starts at home.

What do you think?

The post A New Law in Wisconsin Punishes Parents in Bullying Cases appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A 62-Year-Old Man Is Currently 38 Years Into a Life Sentence He Received After Stealing $9

A man’s story of spending 38 years in prison is the perfect illustration of just how unfair the U.S. criminal justice system can be sometimes.

Willie Simmons of Enterprise, Alabama, was sentenced to life without parole in 1982 — for stealing $9. He had three prior convictions at the time, so he was prosecuted under Alabama’s Habitual Offender Act, passed in 1977 to crack down on repeat criminals. The prison population has skyrocketed by 840 percent since that law was passed, from 3,455 to over 30,000 prisoners.

Willie was only 25 at the time of his life-changing arrest. Why did he take the money? He was high on drugs and “trying to get me a quick fix.” His trial lasted all of 25 minutes, with no witnesses called and no plea deal offered.

He’s now at Holman, one of the most notoriously violent prisons in the country. Incredibly, he got sober 18 years ago, despite the prison being absolutely filled with drugs and drug use.

Investigative journalist Beth Shelburne shared Willie’s story on Twitter recently.

“Mr. Simmons was 25 when the state said he should die in prison,” Beth wrote. “Today he’s 62. When I asked his age he paused &  laughed. ‘Been so long since somebody asked me that,’ he said. He hasn’t had a visitor since 2005 after his sister died. ‘Haven’t heard from nobody since then.’”

Beth added that Willie is studying for his GED. He “tries to stay away from the wild bunch,” he says. He hasn’t gotten a disciplinary citation in 10 years.

“My hope is to get out of here, settle down with a woman and do God’s will,” he told Beth. “I’d like to tell people about how bad drugs are.”

But after filing appeal after appeal, Willie still has no end in sight. With no lawyer, every one of his appeals has been denied. And in 2014, Beth says, lawmakers removed the last avenue of appeal for “habitual offenders” like Willie. Still, he says: “I ain’t giving up.”

Beth shared the story to demonstrate why Alabama’s habitual offender law “needs to go.”

What do you think? Does it need to go?

The post A 62-Year-Old Man Is Currently 38 Years Into a Life Sentence He Received After Stealing $9 appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Mansplaining Convention Is Selling $2,000 Tickets to Help ‘Make Women Great Again’

As if things weren’t ridiculous enough in the world, there is now a Mansplaining Convention set to take place in May 2020. Tickets are only being sold to women, who will get to enjoy watching a panel full of men explaining things to them. Sounds fun, right?!

The event is officially called the 22 Convention, and it’s “destined to be the mansplaining event of the century,” according to organizers. The organizers. Do they not know mansplaining is bad?

It will be a three-day-long event in Orlando, Florida. The goal? To “make women great again.”

Oh, and tickets to this convention cost $1,999. Cue eternal screaming.

The 22 Convention comes from the same “Orlando-based bros” who host the 21 Convention to actualize the “ideal man,” according to Orlando Weekly.

“Women today are being taught to act more like men,” the 22 Convention website says. “Where has that led us? Skyrocketing rates of divorce, depression, dysfunction, and America at the #1 spot in the world for single motherhood.”

But no more, thanks to these mansplaining heroes!

“No longer will you have to give in to toxic bullying feminist dogma and go against your biological nature,” the website says.

At the convention, women will learn about all those horrible topics that have poisoned their brains, such as: feminism, infertility, body positivity, overconfidence, and more.

The website also explains that feminism is “hiding under a mask of fake progress.”

“At The 22 Convention, you will learn the truth that unhealthy militant feminists have been hiding from you your entire lives,” the website says.

In place of feminism, the mansplainers will teach women how to regain their “femininity” and learn to be the “ideal wife.”

There’s also a note on the homepage that says, “Regular ticketing is only available for natural born women.”

This sounds like absolute torture.

The post Mansplaining Convention Is Selling $2,000 Tickets to Help ‘Make Women Great Again’ appeared first on UberFacts.