The Mindbender goes public
July 9, 2025
You might see social media posts that claim today will be “the shortest day in history.”
No, it’s not. It’s just click-bait.
The rotation of the Earth speeds up or slows down depending on a variety of things, and the difference is nothing you’d ever detect.
It’s true that today will be 1.3 milliseconds shorter than normal. That’s about one-one-thousandth of a second.
But that’s not even the slowest day of this year, let alone in history. August 5th will be the shortest day of 2025.
Scientists have only been tracking this stuff with atomic clocks since the 1970s, and the record was 1.66 milliseconds shorter than normal on July 5th of last year.
And, for what it’s worth, billions of years ago the moon was much closer to our planet, and days were MUCH shorter. Like only four hours long. Try getting stuff done on THAT kind of day.
Let's get on with the countdown.
Along with today's Mindbender you get these bonus stories:
The best U.S. city to visit
Break-up strategies
Your messy house
But first, today's Mindbender:
One in three people admit they do this in public restrooms.
I'll have a clue coming up.
The best U.S. city to visit
Sad day for Charleston, South Carolina.
For the last 12 years, “Travel & Leisure” has had that charming town at #1 on its list of best U.S. cities to visit.
Not anymore. The new top spot goes to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I love this choice. Santa Fe is one of my favorite towns in the country.
Charleston slipped to number three.
But apparently the magazine doesn’t think much of our country. Santa Fe barely cracked the top 20 worldwide. The global #1 goes to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
If you’re looking for some vacation ideas, you’ll find the full report here.
Break-up strategies
If you’re going to dump someone, what’s your go-to strategy?
A study found the most popular way to go about it is the ol’ “it’s not you, it’s me.”
Ah, yes. The classics never die.
That’s followed by “I need a break.”
The third most common way to end things? It’s ghosting.
Researchers claim there are around 45 different methods for breaking up, all grouped into nine separate approaches.
And your individual personality type doesn’t even really matter. They say people adopt “predictable ways” of ending a relationship.
Here's a clue for the Mindbender:
Just don’t walk out with it stuck to your shoe.
Your messy house
If someone surprised you by showing up at your front door this evening, would you immediately apologize about the mess?
You’re not alone. A poll of Gen Z’ers and Millennials found a whopping 45% would be EMBARRASSED by the state of their home.
The top excuse people use for having a messy home: “I just don’t have time.”
But the study shows that’s total b.s. They found the average person says it would take about two hours to clean their entire place—and yet they usually procrastinate for almost THREE hours before they start.
More than a third of people admit they really only clean their home when they’re expecting guests. Otherwise they say they just deal with the filth.
And 31% admit there’s at least one room in their house they haven’t really cleaned in at least six months.
And now, the answer to today's Mindbender:
What do these people do in a public restroom?
Put toilet paper on the toilet seat.
Some places have a dispenser on the wall with pre-formed paper to fit just right.
You might’ve heard them referred to as Texas T-Shirts. Hey, I’m just the reporter.
That'll do it for today's Mindbender. Thank you for being part of The Club.
Enjoy your day!
Dom
The future isn't what you thought.