Fonseca Trending 10/08/21

Google Has a Tool to Help You Pick the Perfect Halloween Costume

Have you settled on a Halloween costume yet? If not, Google has a tool that's supposed to help you find the PERFECT one. It's called "Costume Wizard." It debuted in 2019, but not a lot of people know about it. It's got four different options that let you dial in the type of costume you want to wear. First, you choose your desired "Spookiness Level" on a scale from zero to 100. Then you choose between "classic" or "modern" costumes. There's also button that lets you base everything on the top-trending costumes in your area, or the entire U.S. And at the bottom, there's another scale from zero to 100 that lets you choose your desired "Uniqueness." If you mess with the settings, you'll get all kinds of ideas. For example, we asked for a "classic" costume, with the Spookiness and Uniqueness set to zero . . . and it said that an "Angel" is the perfect costume. Then we asked for a "modern" costume, and set Spookiness and Uniqueness to 100 . . . and it said to dress as a character from the movie "Saw". You can check it out at Frightgeist.WithGoogle.com. Just look for "Costume Wizard" in the top left corner.

Science May Have Figured Out Why Women Always Feel Colder Than Men

Men and women fighting over the thermostat is an age-old problem. But the core issue might be older than we realized. Like, MILLIONS of years old . . . A team of scientists in Israel think they've finally figured out why women always feel colder than men. There might be an EVOLUTIONARY reason behind it. Researchers at Tel Aviv University say it's not just an issue for humans. A lot of animals like birds and bats deal with it too. For example, female birds tend to migrate to warmer climates, while male birds head for cooler ones when they're not mating. And with mammals, it's common to see males hanging out in the shade while females sit in the sun. The question is WHY, and now they think they have an answer: We may have evolved to feel temperature differently as a way of encouraging us to spend more time APART. When male and female birds migrate to different areas, it cuts down on competition for food. That way, the guys don't eat all the food their kids need to survive. And males can also be overly aggressive and DANGEROUS to offspring, so that's another reason. Obviously we're not birds, and deadbeat dads are a BAD thing now. But humans and apes may have evolved to feel temperature differently too. Because before we got all civilized, it WASN'T necessarily good for males to be around all the time.

The Best Cookies of All-Time, from Hall of Fame to "Entirely Overrated"

If you're looking for something to argue about this morning, someone has put together a ranking of the 40 best cookies . . . from "these couldn't get any better" to "not worth the hype." The top spot goes to Golden Oreos . . . because, "These are hands down the best cookie on the market. This may be an unpopular opinion, but these taste way better than the regular Oreos . . . [especially] the THIN Golden Oreos." Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies are second, followed by Original Oreos . . . Keebler 'Fudge Stripes' Cookies . . . Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . Nutter Butter . . . and Chips Ahoy Original. The rest of the Top 10 is: Pillsbury Holiday Sugar Cookies . . . Mrs. Fields Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . and Entenmann's Milk Chocolate Chip cookies. Further down the list: Oreo Double Stuf are 13th . . . Girl Scout Shortbread a.k.a. Trefoils are 16th . . . Nilla Wafers are 25th . . . Girl Scout Thin Mints are 28th . . . and Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies are 37th. In last place, are Fig Newtons. But that's not really fair, because as those classic commercials pointed out, they're not cookies, they're "fruit and cake."

A Majority of People Have Such a Regular Routine That They Never Know What Day It Is

At the height of the COVID-19 quarantines, people were always talking about how hard it was to keep their days of the week straight . . . since every day was the same. In a new survey, 63% of people say they "frequently" have to ask what day it is . . . with 51% saying it's because their days are so similar. And 81% say their days have become more repetitive during the last 18 months. So there is still some carryover from the quarantines . . . not everyone is back to work at an office, and the ongoing precautions make it harder to be spontaneous. But it's not specific to being shut inside. 20% of people admit to regularly drifting through life without giving any thought to what they're actually doing. And 54% would be happy to experience the same day over and over . . . like in "Groundhog Day" . . . if it was their perfect day. Some of the daily routines that people say they do on autopilot include: Eating, showering, getting dressed, cooking, cleaning, and going for a walk.

What's the Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Candy?

Since Halloween is coming up, some candy experts were asked about the differences between cheap candy, like the stuff we all grew up eating . . . and expensive candy, like you'd see in specialty stores.

They say the differences mostly come down to three main things . . . 1. The packaging. Fancy candy tends to come packaged in boxes with ribbons you need to unwrap. It's different than just tearing into a Snickers bar. 2. The production process. Artisan candy is usually handmade in small batches, which takes a lot more time and effort compared to the mass produced stuff. There might also be better-sourced ingredients or an emphasis on more sustainable practices. 3. Brand partnerships and marketing. Luxury candy retailers spend big bucks on brand partnerships and collaborations with celebrities. Like Sugarfina's gummy bears that are made with Dom Pérignon Champagne. But, ultimately, according to one expert, "sugar is sugar." And things like gummy bears and jelly beans are made up almost entirely of sugar. So the calories and nutrition facts would be similar no matter how expensive it was.

Top 5 Other Human Mysteries Scientists Need to Solve

Scientists figured out why women always feel colder than men. If you're keeping track, that's one human mystery down, billions left to go. For instance, anything on today's list of the . . . Top 5 Other Human Mysteries Scientists Need to Solve. Why do we think every animal on Earth responds to a tongue click? Why do we chest-bump the complete stranger next to us at the bar when the complete stranger on TV scores a touchdown? Why do we trust the opinion of a tiger when it comes to breakfast cereal? Why do we have that one hair on our pinky toe? Why are we only fascinated with our hand when we're high? Why do we put "No poop" signs in our yards when we know dogs can't read? Why do we let Wendy's get away with calling a milkshake a "Frosty"? Why are we still allowed to do an"Italian voice" without getting called racist? Why do we tell our kids not to see color but give them crayons to play with? Why would we never let someone watch us bathe, but we think it's okay to do that with birds?

The Top-Trending Halloween Costume for Babies Is . . . "Squid Game"???

"Squid Game" is definitely not a show for children. But apparently, it's okay for BABIES. According to Google, "Squid Game" is the #1 trending Halloween costume for babies. It's followed by Little Red Riding Hood, a Spider, Peter Pan, and the Addams Family. "Squid Game" is also the #1 trending costume for adults . . . followed by a Gorilla, Britney Spears, Carnage, and Venom. The top trending costumes for couples are Timmy and Trixie from "The Fairly Odd Parents" . . . Bonnie & Clyde . . . Skid and Pump . . . Mr. and Mrs. Smith . . . and Cosmo and Wanda from "The Fairly Odd Parents". Finally, the top MOVIES people are Googling right now are the original "Halloween" from 1978 . . . "Friday the 13th" . . . "Hocus Pocus" . . . "A Nightmare on Elm Street" . . . and "Halloweentown"

.Today's Showbiz Highlights

1. The #1 trending Halloween costume for adults is "Squid Game". For some reason, it's also the top trending costume for BABIES. The top trending couples costume is Timmy and Trixie from "The Fairly Odd Parents". 2. WOODY HARRELSON punched a guy at a bar at the Watergate Hotel, but it was self-defense. The guy was drunk and taking pictures of him, and Woody asked him to stop. The guy got mad and lunged, so Woody took him out. 3. The Seattle Seahawks have a live hawk that they release before games. It's supposed to fly around the stadium and return to its handler. But last night, it landed on a fan's head. 4. The 25th Bond movie "No Time to Die" is out this weekend. It's Daniel Craig's farewell to 007 and his fourth overall. 5. "Hellraiser" is getting a reboot for Hulu and they're bringing a female take to the Pinhead character. CLIVE BARKER is returning as a producer and JAMIE CLAYTON from "The L Word: Generation Q" is your new Pinhead.

6. JON BERNTHAL says LEONARDO DICAPRIO totally improvised the "sell me this pen" scene from "The Wolf of Wall Street", after hearing a real-life anecdote about the guy he was playing. 7. TOM CRUISE only just finished filming "Mission: Impossible 7", and he's already practicing one of the crazy stunts he's going to do in Part 8. Tom is going to fly an 80-year-old World War 2 biplane in a chase with another old aircraft, and he's learning to fly it now. 8. JACK MCBRAYER co-created and is hosting a kids show called "Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show" for Apple TV+. He will be inspiring kids to solve problems with "heart", and teaching them that one act of kindness can grow from one person to another. 9. DOLLY PARTON's first "real kiss" was when she was in grade school. It was at a party and they played spin the bottle, and she ended up kissing "one of the cute boys."