The Mindbender kids around
November 5, 2024
Let me clear up some confusion and some concern:
The Mindbender Club is free, unless you WANT to become a paid subscriber.
It’s run on a platform called Substack, and Substack recently sent emails to subscribers asking if they’d like to upgrade to a paid subscription. Those emails are technically not coming from me.
I’ve had several people reach out and say they’re concerned because they think they now have to pay.
You do not have to pay if you don’t want to. Upgrading to a paid subscription is voluntary.
All Substack is doing is offering people $5 off if they join the paid version. That’s all.
Many people ARE paid subscribers, so they get bonus mailers from me on Saturday and bonus audio versions Mon-Fri. Huge thanks to everyone who helps support this labor of love.
I apologize if Substack freaked you out.
Any questions, write back to me. Just remember there are thousands of subscribers, so sometimes it takes me a while to reply. 🙂
Whew! Let's get on with the countdown.
Along with today's Mindbender you get these bonus stories:
Election Day tidbits
Your soulmate
The 21st Century’s best TV shows?
But first, today's Mindbender:
Fifty years ago, 90% of kids had done this. Today, it’s less than one in three.
I'll have a clue coming up.
Election Day tidbits
Here’s a collection of Election Day quickies:
Just over 20% of Americans say they’ve gotten into an argument over politics with a family member in the past year. Nearly 10% have argued with a coworker.
One in seven people say they regret how they voted in a previous election.
Thirty-four percent of people say they would SELL their vote—but they’d need to get at least $5,000 for it.
Eight percent are attending a watch party for the election. But 45% say they’ll watch the results alone.
And finally, 70% of Americans believe Election Day should be a federal holiday. But the majority say they’ve either voted early or wouldn’t have a hard time voting during the work day. They just want another holiday.
I’m just happy to get my mailbox back.
Your soulmate
Some people believe in soulmates. I love the surveys that show a ton of people who are married but say that person is NOT their soulmate. Ooh, juicy!
If you’re still looking, a bunch of relationship experts listed the top signs you’ve found the one:
- A near-instant feeling of closeness. Not necessarily love at first sight, but rather feeling comfortable around them right away.
- You care about their opinion and they care about yours.
- You’re okay doing things without each other. I personally think this is way more important than it gets credit for.
- You’re okay being bored together. It’s easy to feel like it’s perfect when you’re doing new, exciting things. The real test is if you enjoy each other’s company when you’re doing housework or just sitting around.
- You describe your relationship as “easy.” Again, personally, I LOVE hearing this. I’ve always pushed back against the saying that “relationships are hard work every day.” Sheesh, if you’re having to work hard every day, you may be with the wrong person, ya know?
See the full list here.
Here's a clue for the Mindbender:
Yes, but can you Double Dutch?
The 21st Century’s best TV shows?
Some say we’re in a golden age of TV. I do think all the competition from various streaming services has made producers up their game.
“The Hollywood Reporter” posted their top 50 of the best TV shows of the 21st Century.
At the top they chose “Mad Men.” Kinda hard to argue with that one.
They tapped “The Sopranos” as #2, and “Succession” at #3.
Some might consider it shocking that they stuck “Breaking Bad” way down at #16, but at least it’s still top 20.
See the story and full list of 50 here.
And now, the answer to today's Mindbender:
(scroll down)
What have so many fewer kids done today?
Jumped rope.
Just for health and fitness reasons, it might be a good idea to encourage more kids to do this.
I tried it a bunch as a kid. I just was never good at it. And nothing looks more awkward than failing at jump rope.
That'll do it for today's Mindbender. Thank you for being part of The Club.
Enjoy your day!
Dom
So vote for me, because I don't even want to go to college, and I don't care, and as president I won't do anything. The only promise I will make is that if elected I will immediately dismantle the student government, so that none of us will ever have to sit through one of these stupid assemblies again!