The boss Mindbender
Happy Friday the 13th.
Legend has it that businesses lose an estimated $800 million annually each time there’s a Friday the 13th, simply because of the potential customers who won’t leave their house on that day.
No year can ever have more than three of them, but every year is guaranteed to have at least one. This is our first in 2024, but we’ll have another in December.
For whatever reason, Friday the 13th is now a big day for people to get inked. Tattoo shops say they offer deals and people take advantage.
And if you’re not afraid of the date, it’s a good time to fly. One travel website insists it’s a cheaper day for air travel because so many people refuse to do it on a Friday the 13th.
If you enjoy fun facts like these, you should sign up for the twice-monthly mailer I do called “Billy B. Good’s Fun Facts and Trivia Snacks.” You even get a free ebook just for signing up.
You’ll find it all right here.
Also, note: The Mindbender and The MB Club will be on vacation for the next week. Everything returns on September 23rd.
Let's get on with the countdown.
Along with today's Mindbender you get these bonus stories:
Betting on elections
Success showers
Newz For Nerdz
But first, today's Mindbender:
A survey said, “You’re suddenly promoted to the head of your company. What’s the first change you will make?”
This was the #1 answer.
Josh said, "make employees work more,” and Jeremy said “institute a four-day work week.”
I'll have a clue coming up.
Betting on elections
We have become a gambling-obsessed nation. And now it might be the only way some people enjoy the elections in November.
A federal judge in Washington ruled that a company can indeed take bets on which party wins control of Congress in the next election.
It’s expected that the ruling will be appealed, and for now it does not include the presidential election. But we’ll see.
Several U.S. states ban the practice of election gambling, but it’s fairly common in Europe.
And with professional sports leagues getting into bed with organized gambling—after years of telling us how evil it was—I wouldn’t expect anyone or any group to stop this tidal wave.
Success showers
Bridal showers and baby showers have been around for ages.
But what if you’re a young woman with no plans for marriage or children? Where’s YOUR party?
Here it is. A trend is slowly gaining traction where women have parties to celebrate a promotion or a new job.
They’re calling them Success Showers.
An author and relationship expert said: “Why do we only consider having a baby or getting married as significant enough reasons to celebrate a woman when there’s so much more that makes up a woman’s identity?”
Read all about it here.
Here's a clue for the Mindbender:
It’s basically clearing dead wood.
Newz For Nerdz
Science stories from this week
In space news:
The first all-civilian spacewalk took place yesterday.
Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis tried out the spacesuits that Isaacman’s company helped develop. They didn’t go out very far—but the video from his helmet cam was stunning.
The view from 435 miles up really does put our silly little lives into perspective.
***
In other space news:
Turns out those two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station COULD’VE come home on the damaged Boeing Starliner after all.
The capsule made a successful landing in New Mexico.
But how could anyone know? It wasn’t worth the risk.
***
And in junk food news:
Could one bag of Cheetos threaten to completely transform a cave’s ecosystem? The answer is yes.
It happened at New Mexico’s famous Carlsbad Caverns. A tourist apparently dropped a bag of the cheesy stuff and didn’t tell anyone.
A park official says that set off a “perfect environment” for microbial life and fungi, which attracted crickets, mites, and spiders—and the critters spread more of the Cheeto dust throughout the cave, causing mold to grow.
Thankfully rangers got it cleaned up before things got out of control. But they stressed that one careless act can be “world changing” to the life of a cave.
And now, the answer to today's Mindbender:
What’s the first thing they’ll do as the boss?
Fire all the lazy/unproductive people.
But then, who will make you look good?
That'll do it for today's Mindbender. Thank you for being part of The Club.
Enjoy your day and have a great weekend!
Dom
You're making a science out of coincidence.
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