Leaping back into the DAILY SPAM … and much more.

Who said life is fair?

Tired of hearing people whinge about life not being fair? Tired of people offering up conspiracy theories as to why things don’t work out the way they want them to? There just don’t seem to be that many things that are objectively fair anymore. Right?

And then I saw this little piece on THE FOCUS website about coin flips and the now scientifically proven fact that there is a better-than-even chance of a coin landing with the same side up. It’s not quite “heads I win, tails you lose” but when fifty researchers flip 46 different kinds of coins a combined total of 350,757 times … it’s hard to argue.

I mean, really, here’s a link to an 18-page abstract on the study. Yikes.

There is, of course, a scientific explanation for all this: once flipped, coins tend to spend more time in the air with the intial up-side facing up. As a result, coins have a higher chance (albeit slight) of landing on the same side as it started.

Charlotte isn’t a saint. She’s just a stingray.

What do you get when you cross a Bamboo Shark with a Stingray?

It seems like a bad dad joke, but TikTok is all over Charlotte, the pregnant Stingray (according to Wired Magazine). Or maybe she impregnated herself – a theory which has now spawned comparisons to the VIrgin Mary. This has, inevitably, led to the immaculate conception and birth of the “Stingray Jesus” memo because … well … it’s the Internet and that’s what it does. 

Not sure how Pope Francis might feel about that, but then again who knows the Vatican’s position on Holy Seafood any day other than Friday?

And, as far as I know, the Alabama Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on this latest news item.

Shane Gillis is still getting smacked around for his hosting gig on last Saturday’s SNL

Shane Gillis on SNL (02-24-24)

He was okay, I guess, but they’ve had better hosts this season. And while I don’t necessarily share all the same opinions about the episode as NPR’s media critic Eric Deggans (who is really, really good, btw), I do agree with his summation which was more of an indictment of the state of stand-up comedy and SNL producer Lorne Michaels than of Gillis:

Gillis’ turn on SNL last night felt more like an attempt to court a new demographic and poke a bit at liberal sensibilities, allowing longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels to still feel like a rebel rather than the Lord of Showbiz Comedy he has become.

I mean, he’s not wrong.

It’s Bond-O-Rama time (again)

The name is Stark, Rob Stark.

Gentleman’s Journal is handicapping the expected hunt for the next James Bond. From the gratuitous choices to the obvious choices, the only guy I think is a slam dunk who isn’t Henry Cavil is Richard Madden (GAME OF THRONES) – but doesn’t he have a job to do as Ikaris in the inevitable sequel to THE ETERNALS?

Oh. So maybe he’s available then.

Oh, those nutty Swiss cartographers

What could possibly be more fun than finding line drawings of spiders, naked ladies and aeroplanes in your maps? You guessed it, just about anything.

But that didn’t keep me – a chronic map-a-holic – from reading this little bit on AtlasObscura about intentional “gags” included in maps created by the Swiss Federal Office of National Topography (aka Swisstopo for those of you keeping score at home). Never fear, the maps are still accurate (after all, getting lost in the Alps is serious business), but for those more fun-loving cartographic connoisseurs, this is a real treat. 

I guess.

Striped Marlin, feeling a little blue

Who knew looking a little flushed could be so dangerous?

This piece in Interesting Engineering shares the latest research into how other species communicate. And in this instant, we’re talking giant, attacking fish.

As it so happens, Marlin change their color when pursuing their prey and it’s now believed these color changes aid in communication between hunters as they coordinate their attack strategies (which happen very quickly). The research, conducted by researchers out of Humboltd University in Berlin, shows how Marlin can synchronize their hunting efforts and avoid colliding with one another in the process.

Say “Goodnight” Elsie

Can you spoon a heifer?

So it looks as if the “hot new travel trend” is a recreational activity known as “Cow Cuddling.” Really.

Currently placed in the “top 10” of wellness trends in 2023, interest in cuddling-related activities grew by 85% over the previous year (2022). Cow sanctuaries and creameries now boast hundreds of thousands of social media followers and millions of people watch cow cuddling video content on TikTok and YouTube.

As a born and bred Iowan whose spent a few days on farms, I’m not sure what to think about this. I suppose if you’re going to cuddle something other than a pet or a horse, a cow is probably your best bet. My only advice: if someone offers to let you experience “pig petting” or “bison bonding” you should probably take a hard pass.