Friday, July 24, 2020

People who like certain ice cream flavors find love younger: study

The study was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Breyers, Southwest News Service (SWNS) reports. In it, 2,000 Americans were split up by the favorite ice cream flavors (limited to the basics: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry). According to the results:

• Fans of strawberry ice cream find love at the age of 24, on average. They also reportedly like doing laundry, listening to jazz and watching sci-fi movies.
• Fans of vanilla ice cream may not find love until the age of 25 (once again, on average), but at least they don’t enjoy doing laundry (instead, they seemingly prefer washing the dishes). They also like dogs, tend to be introverted and are usually night owls.
• Lastly, chocolate fans apparently can’t find love until the ripe old age of 26. (It could be all of the romantic comedies they’re apparently always watching.) They’re also extroverted and like pop and rock music.

Sorry, mint chocolate chip fans, you weren’t included in this survey. Don’t worry, you’ll probably still find love someday. (Fox News)

Video shows man coughing on Walmart merchandise

The Spartanburg County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident in which a man appeared to deliberately cough on merchandise in the Boiling Springs Walmart. Walmart confirmed the incident took place at its store in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. A spokeswoman for Walmart gave the following statement: “It’s unfortunate that a person would behave this way in our store. We appreciate our customers who take the health and safety of others seriously.” The sheriff’s office said the investigation into the incident is ongoing at this time. (WSPA)

Burger King wins dismissal of vegans’ lawsuit over Impossible Whopper

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Burger King of deceiving vegan, vegetarian and other customers into thinking it cooked the plant-based patties for its “Impossible Whopper” on different grills than those used to cook beef and chicken. In a decision, U.S. District Judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida said the seven plaintiffs failed to show that reasonable consumers were deceived into paying higher prices because of Burger King’s actual cooking methods. The judge said the plaintiffs did not ask about Burger King’s cooking method or request an alternative to satisfy their dietary requirements, and that the company’s advertising did not promise cooking on a different surface. “Burger King promised a non-meat patty and delivered,” according to the judge. The judge also found the plaintiffs’ claims “too individualized” to justify a class action. (Reuters)

McDonald’s Employee Pulls Knife During Argument With Customer

According to Evansville, Indiana Police, an argument between an employee and a customer at the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant led to a knife being pulled by the employee. Officers with the Evansville Police Department were dispatched to the McDonald’s on a report of an employee with a knife. Police say when they arrived at the McDonald’s, they placed the employee in custody and removed the knife from him immediately. According to the police report, a customer at the McDonald’s restaurant returned a short time after purchasing food there, yelling about his order. An argument between the employee and the customer ensued before the customer eventually got a refund. Police say after the customer got his money back, he came back to talk to the employee again – at which point the employee felt threatened and pulled out the knife. More words were then exchanged. The employee was getting ready for a fight, so he said he made some threatening remarks. Evansville Police are continuing to investigate the incident. (WEVV)

Saturn-Like Exoplanet Found in Habitable Zone of Gliese 3470

Amateur astronomers from the Habitable Exoplanet Hunting Project, the first international program coordinated by amateur astronomers to search for potentially habitable exoplanets, have announced the discovery of a new extrasolar planet candidate orbiting the red dwarf Gliese 3470. The detection was made using a telescope at the OKSky Observatory in Kiowa, Oklahoma. Gliese 3470 is an M1.5-type star located 100 light-years away in the constellation of Cancer. Also known as GJ 3470 or LP 424-4, the star has around half the mass and size of the Sun. Astronomers had previously detected a Neptune-like exoplanet around Gliese 3470. Named Gliese 3470b, it has a mass 13.9 times that of the Earth, a radius 4.4 times that of our planet, and an orbital period of just 3.3 days. The newfound planet, Gliese 3470c, has a radius of 9.2 times that of Earth, making it a bit bigger that Saturn. It has an orbital period of 66 days and resides in the habitable zone of the Gliese 3470 system. If confirmed, Gliese 3470c would be the first exoplanet totally discovered by amateur astronomers. The researchers detected three transits of Gliese 3470c: the first one on December 23, 2019, the second one on February 27, 2020, and the third one on May 3, 2020. They also detected twelve other transits that could belong to different exoplanets, but they were not able to estimate any orbital period. (SCI News)

Airplane Writes “OBEY” In The Sky

A skywriter drew the word “obey” above a pair of Kentucky cities and the stunt took place just days after Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 mask mandate. The word was formed by a skywriter plane over the Tates Creek Kroger, the Hamburg area, and over Frankfort. The display conjures images of the 1980’s action film “They Live.” A local news TV channel tracked the plane that wrote it to “Ghostwriter Airshows” out of Boyle County. The owner, who did not want to be identified, said he was hired to write the words “Obey” in the sky above Lexington and Frankfort. He would not disclose who the client was or how much it cost. (WLEX)

Plunging travel demand continues to hit some of the biggest airlines as the pandemic upends the industry

United Airlines said it lost $1.6 billion last quarter as it burned through $40 million a day, and warned air travel will remain suppressed until there is a widely accepted virus treatment or vaccine. After warning 36,000 workers their jobs were at risk earlier this month, over 6,000 employees have volunteered to take severance packages and leave, the Chicago airline said. The “relatively low take-up” means United may need to furlough a significant number of workers. (LA Times)

Apple commits to be 100 percent carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030

Apple has pledged to make its entire supply chain and broader business carbon neutral by 2030, echoing similar moves by fellow tech giants Microsoft and Amazon. To achieve this, Apple said it expects to cut emissions by 75% over the next decade, use “innovative carbon removal solutions” and secure commitments from its suppliers to use 100% renewable energy for production. The move comes amid growing pressure from workers, investors and customers to take action on emissions. (Apple)

The fall season was once the pinnacle of network television

The coronavirus pandemic has upended production of new and returning shows, and a huge cloud of uncertainty remains over professional sports. The dearth of new and compelling content will likely spur more viewers to abandon pricey Pay TV subscriptions. For the diehards who hold on, analysts say, news, animation, reality TV, live performances and documentaries will be the order of the day. Networks have had to get creative to fill the gaps. But it’s been hard for them to commit to definitive schedules without knowing for sure when production can return in the U.S. and what’s going to happen to their fall lineups if sports don’t return as planned. Some networks are working on bringing in international shows from international networks. Other networks have had to remove their tentpole programming from the fall schedule due to production delays. Some interesting facts are:

• “Survivor,” for example, won’t appear on CBS this fall for the first time in nearly 20 years.
•  Fox was the first network to debut its fall programming slate. It debuted a mostly safe schedule in May, which includes animated series like “Bob’s Burgers,” game shows and reality TV shows like “MasterChef Junior.”
• The CW so far has been the most forthright, saying in May that it would delay its’ fall season until January 2021, citing delays in production due to the pandemic. The network doesn’t rely on live sports for its programming lineup, which makes it easier for it to be more forthcoming.
• Fall Sports could be in jeopardy as it’s still unclear whether the NFL will definitely be able to return this fall, as players are beginning to sound the alarm around safety. If the NFL doesn’t return, networks’ fall lineups could be in serious jeopardy. College sports also may not return, would have terrible financial repercussions for schools and networks that rely on big conference games. The Ivy League announced last week that it will cancel all fall sports. The move could trigger a ripple effect among other conferences.

(Axios)

Can streaming save the live music biz?

Streaming a live show to fans online has become a veritable “rite of passage” for most musicians since the pandemic essentially shuttered the live music business back in March. Artists like Keith Urban have proffered intimately shot performances offering voyeuristic looks into their living rooms. Although initially free, this venture led to higher production values and higher prices. Now, with the concert business unlikely to meaningfully reemerge until 2021, making livestreams economically viable for artists at a rate fans are willing to pay is suddenly the industry’s most pressing task. (The New York Times)

US secures 100 million doses of Pfizer, BioNTech experimental coronavirus vaccine

The U.S. government has reached a $1.95 billion deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 100 million doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine once it obtains Food and Drug Administration approval. An additional 500 million doses can be acquired, and U.S. citizens would receive the vaccine for free, according to the agreement. A Phase 2b/3 trial of the vaccine, with human subjects, is scheduled to start later this month and will be subject to regulatory review as early as October 2020. If successful, 100 million doses would be manufactured by the end of this year and possibly more than 1.3 billion would be produced in 2021. Pfizer and BioNTech are currently evaluating four possible COVID-19 vaccines, two of which have received Fast Track designation by the FDA, allowing for an expedited development process. (Fox Business)

NFL planning to allow social justice decals on helmets

The NFL is planning to allow players to have decals on the back of their helmets bearing names or initials of victims of systemic racism and police violence. The league has been in talks with individual players and their union since June about somehow honoring such victims. The initiative will be done league-wide, with each team deciding who it will honor and how to display the names or initials. Unlike the NBA, which is allowing players to wear slogans on their jerseys, the NFL will stick to names and initials once a final agreement has been reached with the players’ association. The program will continue for the entire season. Players also have been allowed to represent a cause on their cleats one weekend per season. But a 17-week campaign such as the one being planned is something new for the NFL. (ESPN)

China says US orders it to close its consulate in Houston

China says the U.S. has ordered it to close its Houston consulate in what Beijing called a provocation that violates international law. There was no immediate confirmation or explanation from the U.S. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Washington had abruptly demanded that the consulate cease all operations and that China strongly condemns “such an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage China-US relations.” (AP News)
 

Finally Feel Good Friday Comes Back With:

• Amelia Earhart Day
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Pioneer Day
• Cousins Day
• Drive-Thru Day
• Lumberjack Day
• Self Care Day
• Tequila Day
• Thermal Engineer Day
• Tell An Old Joke Day