There's a List of Foods That Boost Your Mood . . .
A recent study looked into the foods that people think make them FEEL BETTER, and . . . I know this is going to come as a shock . . . but almost ALL of them are NOT healthy. Milk chocolate is the #1 food people think has mood-boosting powers . . . followed closely by DARK chocolate. Coffee is next, followed by ice cream, chocolate cookies, cake, bananas, tea, berries, pizza, beer, red wine, fries, cheese, and "sweets." "Nuts and seeds" is next at #16, followed by "oily fish" like salmon. Bacon finally pops up at #18, and then "potato chips and other savory snacks," and cookies.
Do You Have a Least Favorite Month? 72% of Us Do
Is there one month of the year you hate more than every other month? Most of us do have one, according to a recent poll. But July is NOT a very common answer. Only 3% of people said July is their least favorite month. That's on par with most months. But four different months stood out. Our least favorite month of the year is JANUARY. 19% of people said it's the worst, followed by February at 15%. And third on the list is NEXT month. 10% of adults say August sucks the most . . . maybe because it's Back to School Month. December is fourth at 7%. So not everyone loves the holidays. And March is fifth with 4% of the vote.
26% of Americans don't have a least favorite month. And 2% couldn't decide which one they hate the most.
10 Interesting Stats on the Tokyo Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympics finally launch this Friday in Tokyo, so WalletHub put together some interesting facts and stats about the Games. Here are 10 highlights: 1. The estimated cost of the Summer Olympics is $26 BILLION, which is mostly why Japan is pushing forward with it, despite 80% of the population NOT wanting the Games to happen due to the pandemic. That's partially because the country has lagged on vaccinations. Only 21% of the population is fully vaccinated. The U.S. is currently at 48%. 2. COVID-19 countermeasures alone cost around $900 million . . . and Japan is losing more than $15 billion because they've had to ban spectators. 3. This is the second time Japan is hosting. They also had the Olympics in 1964. 4. More than 11,000 athletes from 205 countries and territories plan to participate. 5. Around 5,000 medals are up for grabs, across 50 disciplines in 33 sports. And get this: They were made out of recycled metals from 79,000 tons of small electronic devices like cell phones. The gold, silver, and bronze were extracted from them. 6. Two sports are making a comeback this year: Baseball for men and Softball for women. They'd both been out since 2008. 7. Four new sports are making their Olympic debuts: Karate, Sport Climbing, Surfing, and Skateboarding. 8. In all, there will be 339 sporting events at this year's Games, and they will take place across 42 venues . . . 33 in Tokyo, and nine in other co-host cities. 9. Just one country pulled out of the Olympics due to the pandemic: North Korea. 10. The U.S.A. has won 2,523 Summer Olympic medals throughout history, and that's more than any other country.
Who Are Our Favorite Billionaires?
Billionaires seem to be in the news more and more . . . especially now that they're all becoming fake astronauts. But do we really LIKE these people? According to a new poll, the answer is mostly . . . meh. Oprah appears to be our most liked billionaire, with 45% favorability. But another 45% of respondents view her UNFAVORABLY. The rest said they didn't know. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are viewed favorably by 41% of Americans. But Bill's unfavorability is at 46%, and Warren's is 30%. Elon Musk rated 39% favorable, 37% unfavorable. And Richard Branson is viewed favorably, 34% to 23%. The rest on the list have higher UNFAVORABLE ratings than favorable. They are: Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and George Soros. Zuckerberg had the highest unfavorability rating of them all, 60%. How Many Email Addresses Have You Had in Your Life?
Remember when you made your first email address, and it was something like KyleBBall4Lyfe@hotmail.com or BrokenAngel13@yahoo.com? Are you STILL CHECKING that email? Or even using it? A recent poll asked people how many email addresses they've had in their lives . . . and the most common response was TWO, with 19% of the vote. 18% of people have had three. 71% have had between one and five, and 7% have had more than 10. The age group that had the FEWEST email addresses was people 55 and older. Another poll asked people how many unread emails they have in their PERSONAL email inbox, and it sounds like most people keep on top of that. 23% of people only have between one and 10 unread emails.
14% have ZERO . . . and 8% have "more than 1,000."
A Typical Road Trip Is Four Hours, with Four Cries of "Are We There Yet?"
We're in the thick of summer, so a gas company recently commissioned a study to determine what a "typical" road trip looks like. After consulting 2,000 people, the typical road trip lasts just under four hours . . . covers 150 miles . . . features FOUR people . . . who play TWO travel games . . . and who, on average, hear FOUR cries of "Are we there yet?" Families have on average TWO arguments, which involve things like: Windows being open or closed . . . who sits where . . . and who ate the snacks. A total of SIX snacks are consumed . . . with the most popular being sandwiches . . . chips . . . and sweet stuff. 41% love listening to the radio, and the typical road trip has about 40 songs. Some favorites include "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. . . "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi . . . "Happy" by Pharrell . . . and "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers.
Pit stops last roughly 17 minutes . . . and we usually go on EIGHT road trips like these per year.
The Average Price People Shell Out for a Baby's First Birthday Is . . . $293
Kids' birthdays can be pricey: Sweet Sixteens . . . those "invite the whole class" parties at Chuck E. Cheese . . . and those years when your teenager is asking for a new gaming system. But the FIRST birthday should be a breeze . . . because there is a ZERO PERCENT CHANCE the kid remembers ANY of it. Still, the average price parents shell out on their baby's FIRST birthday party is . . . $293. For comparison, the average Sweet Sixteen costs $280 . . . while parents spend $229 on 10th birthday parties and $226 on 5th birthdays. One of the big expenses for a first birthday is a personalized cake, and social media probably plays a big role in that. Other big-ticket items include: New clothes, "balloon arch" decorations, party props, and a children's entertainer.
One in Four of Us Have Had Sex on Public Transportation?
People joke about becoming members of the "Mile High Club" . . . but do you actually know anyone who's done it? Well, according to a new survey, a lot of people actually DO have sex on public transportation. 23% said they have, which is almost one-in-four people. That's about 59 million Americans. This comes from "The Vacationer", as part of their annual "Sex Travel Survey," which was released yesterday. So what kinds of public transportation relations are the most common?
11.6% have done it on a commercial plane. 9.2% have been naughty on a train or the subway. 8% have messed around on a bus. 6.2% have done it on a ferry or a water taxi. And 5.6% have defiled someone's rideshare or taxicab.
Today's Showbiz Highlights
1. SHAILENE WOODLEY doesn't like sex scenes where the woman keeps her bra on, because they're not realistic. Quote, "In real life, I don't think I ever did that, sex with a bra . . . or very, very rarely." 2. RYAN REYNOLDS says he met BLAKE LIVELY on, quote, "the darkest crease in the anus of the universe." By which he meant the "Green Lantern" movie. He also said they moved in together within a week of being a couple. 3. In a new poll about billionaires, Oprah Winfrey got a 45% favorability rating, the highest of any of them. And Mark Zuckerberg had the highest unfavorability rating, at 60%. 4. A list of celebrities who are surprisingly tall includes: Adele who is 5-foot-9 . . . Ben Affleck who is 6-foot-4 . . . and Taylor Swift who is 5-foot-11. 5. JUSTIN BIEBER posted a photo of himself and wife HAILEY with the caption, quote, "Mom and Dad." Initially it seemed like he was hinting at Hailey being pregnant, but she later commented that he should change the caption to quote, "Dog Mom and Dad". 6. PEYTON and ELI MANNING will provide alternate commentary for 10 "Monday Night Football" games this season on ESPN2. They'll be joined every week by guest athletes and celebrities. 7. Sounds like we can count on seeing KENAN THOMPSON on "SNL" in the fall because he's trying to get to 20 seasons. He said, quote, "Like, why should I ever have to leave?" 8. PEARL JAM bassist JEFF AMENT isn't sure if he wants to do shows that require vaccination cards. He's hoping that by March, quote, "we turn a corner and we're rocking, and everybody can feel good about traveling and getting 20,000 people into [a venue]." 9. PARKER MCCOLLUM's song "Hallie Ray Light" is named after his now-fiancée. And yet, she's not a fan. Never was. He could tell she wasn't impressed the first time he played it for her.