The word laser is an acronym- Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

The most chest-to-ground push-ups in one hour (male) is 1721, achieved by Tommy Vu in 2025.

From 1981 to 1986, Jahangir Khan was unbeaten and won 555 consecutive squash matches, the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport.

Americans' favorite pizza topping is pepperoni. Their least favorite, by far: anchovies | YouGov Pepperoni has many lovers and few haters: Fewer than 1% of Americans say it's their least favorite topping.

Most popular toppings per YouGov - pepperoni, sausage, Xtra cheese, mushroom, chicken.

Mushrooms are surprisingly divisive.

today.yougov.com/consumer/art...

Since 1970, only 43 of 422 NFL teams who lost their first two games proceeded to make the playoffs (10.1 percent).

Longest running musicals on broadway:
1. Phantom of Opera
2. Chicago
3. Lion King
4. Wicked
5. Cats

The only two landlocked countries in South America are Bolivia and Paraguay

According to Aaron Jones, in the 3rd quarter after throwing a pick 6 and having less than a 6% win probability, JJ McCarthy looked at his guys in the huddle and said

“Is there anywhere else in the world you would rather be?”

Is Rotten Tomatoes Still Reliable? A Statistical Analysis Can Hollywood's stamp of artistic excellence still be trusted?

Fandango acquired Rotten tomatoes in 2016 and suddenly critic scores became inflated, uncorrelated with audience scores, and watered down by tons of reviews from publications no one’s ever heard of.

www.statsignificant.com/p/is-rotten-... Is Rotten Tomatoes Still Reliable? A Statistical Analysis

Opinion | Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good

Kids from low income families spend 2 hours more per day on screens than families whose household income exceeds 100K www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/o...

54% of Americans read a book this year | YouGov Just over half of all Americans said they read at least one book in 2023. Most of them read just a few books this year.

If you read just 1 book this year, you read more than 46 percent of Americans. today.yougov.com/entertainmen...

www.nytimes.com/interactive/... Readers Choose Their Top Movies of the 21st Century - The New York Times

Audience list of best movies of the 21st century (and rank on the “experts” list)
1. Parasite (1)
2. Mulholland Drive (2)
3. No country for old men (6)
4. There will be blood (3)
5. Interstellar (89)
6. TDK (28)
7. Mad Max (11)
8. Spirited away (9)
9. Eternal sunshine (7)
10. Social network (10)

When parents were asked “thinking about my child’s experience growing up, I wish _____ had never been invented”

62% said they wished TikTok and Twitter didn’t exist, just behind the percent who wish guns didn’t exist.

Opinion | Gen Z Has Regrets

Nearly half of surveyed gen Z participants say they wish Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat didn’t exist.

We’re not quite where we want to be, with 71% of smokers regretting ever starting.

www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/o...

Joey Chestnut is BACK 💥

Roger Federer’s commencement speech wasn’t just a viral moment. It was masterful Around the one-year anniversary of Roger Federer's viral commencement speech, The Athletic tried to find out why the speech was resonated.

“In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80%. But what percentage of points did I win? 54%… Negative energy is wasted energy. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments.”

www.nytimes.com/athletic/641...

New Data Tool and Research Show Where People Move as Young Adults New research shows where people move as young adults. Eight in 10 live within 100 miles of where they grew up.

Nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles.

Stamford, CT is 165 miles from Essex, MA as the crow flies.

www.census.gov/library/stor...

30% of Americans Consult Astrology, Tarot Cards or Fortune Tellers Most who use astrology (or a horoscope), tarot cards or a fortune teller say they do so just for fun rather than for insights about life. Pew Research Center.

43% of women and 63% of LGBT women believe in astrology. Only 20% of men say the same.

[18-49 age bracket]

www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

The Birth of Grief

Monkey’s mournful scream
Red sunrise more lonely now
Monkey remembers

What can we learn from Gregg Popovich about leadership? Our 4 favorite lessons Gregg Popovich stepped down from his coaching duties, leaving behind leadership lessons anyone can learn from.

Some great nuggets in here

What can we learn from Gregg Popovich about leadership? Our 4 favorite lessons

www.nytimes.com/athletic/633...

“In February 2025 alone, we have already tallied over 2,085 protests … compared with 937 protests in the United States in February 2017”

Texas Is Poised to Create a $1 Billion Private School Voucher Program The Texas House approved the plan, part of a push by President Trump’s allies to offer up to about $10,000 for private school, home-school or virtual learning.

Did federal student loan programs contribute to the exponentially rising cost of college? What’s stopping the same from happening with private schools?

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...

Newton’s 3 laws:

1. Inertia- moving objects continue to move, resting objects continue to rest
2. Force equals mass times acceleration
3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction

The five purposes of punishment are incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution.

The five rights guaranteed by the first amendment are speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Most common surnames in the world- Wang, Li, Zhang, Chen, Liu.

Smith doesn’t appear until 130.

frontofficesports.com/trivia/factle/

forebears.io/earth/surnames

Shopify is looking to AI to keep its workforce lean Teams must now prove AI can’t do the job before asking for new hires....

sherwood.news/tech/shopify...

“Staff are now required to demonstrate why AI can’t do the job itself before even asking about new hires.”

The least we could do is enjoy it. If we don’t it’s offensive to the billions of people who can only dream that one day they could live like we do

Speaking their mind or listening well? How Americans prefer to make conversation | YouGov Men are more likely to value being accurate and funny; women prioritize being empathetic and polite.

today.yougov.com/society/arti...

Simply devastating news for people who sound smart and persuasive.