The Mindbender lives on
November 25, 2024
Are you ready for the holidays? Ready for family?
Or just ready to take a break from the world?
I’ll have a Mindbender Club mailer for you again tomorrow, and then it will be on vacation for a few days.
But you’ll be thrilled to know that tomorrow you’ll get your own recording of The World’s Greatest Thanksgiving Joke.
Also, coming very soon: Melissa Moore and I are adding bonus content that we call After Hours. We’ll either expand on something we briefly touched on during the show, or we’ll go off on a completely different tangent.
And it’s VIDEO.
You can see an example of After Hours right here. If you enjoy it, there will be plenty more coming, available on YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms.
Let's get on with the countdown.
Along with today's Mindbender you get these bonus stories:
Traveling with kids
Are you successful?
Fast-food first date
But first, today's Mindbender:
Seventy-eight months is the average lifespan of a (blank).
I'll have a clue coming up.
Traveling with kids
We know that millions of Americans will be on the road this week for the holiday.
And now we know just how long parents can drive before their kids drive them out of their minds.
A poll found people with kids under the age of 12 can last about three-and-a-half hours before they hit “peak stress.”
Six in ten parents say traveling with their kids is the most stressful part of the holidays.
And how do they deal with it? The top strategies are to give them unlimited screen time or to bribe them with junk food.
To show you just how bad it is: 28% of parents would rather listen to “Baby Shark” for the entire trip than travel with a screaming child. And 13% would rather get a root canal.
Are you successful?
There are several ways to define what “success” means to you.
But if we’re going purely by annual income, how much would you need to make in order to feel like you were successful?
According to a survey, that number is now $270,000. That’s ONE person’s salary, not household income.
That’s about four times what the average American pulls in, and you can thank the wild expectations of younger generations.
Boomers said they’d need about $100k, while Gen Xers and Millennials said it’s more like $200k.
Then you have Gen Z. In order to feel successful, they claim they’ll need $588,000 per year.
Whatever the number, what are the best paths to get you there? The survey found the top four are:
- Hard work (84% had it in their top three.)
- Talent (65%)
- Who you know. (55%) Yes, nepotism.
- Luck (51%)
We often make our own luck, don’t we?
Here's a clue for the Mindbender:
George Washington. Yes, that’s a clue.
Fast-food first date
First dates cause enough stress to begin with. Then factor in the question of where you go and what you do.
A survey asked 3,000 single men and women how they’d feel about grabbing fast-food on a first date.
Fifty-four percent of men said they’d be into it.
And for women? The number was 66%. Yes, more women than men are down with it.
Perhaps women just like the idea of something fast on a first date so they can get out of there quicker if things aren’t panning out.
As for the specific location? The top choice was Chick-fil-A. I mean, I do like their cookies-and-cream shakes.
McDonald’s was next, followed by Dairy Queen, which was the top pick in Colorado. Nothing like a Blizzard during a blizzard, right?
And now, the answer to today's Mindbender:
What lasts an average of 78 months?
A one dollar bill.
For a $100 bill, it’s closer to 23 years. They obviously don’t pass through as many hands.
How much longer do you think we’ll keep using cash at all?
That'll do it for today's Mindbender. Thank you for being part of The Club.
Enjoy your day!
Dom
Money's only something you need in case you don't die tomorrow.
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