If Someone Says They'll Be "A Few Minutes Late," How Late Will They Be?
If you're meeting up with someone, and they text that they're going to be "a FEW minutes late," how late do you expect them to be? Someone polled 5,000 Americans, and the most popular answer was five to ten minutes late. Some of us aren't that patient though . . . 6% said they still expect the person to be on time, and 9% said less than five minutes late. 51% said five to ten minutes . . . 23% said 10 to 30 minutes . . . and 3% said "running a few minutes behind" means they'll be MORE than a half-hour late. Young people between 18 and 25 were the most likely to say it means "more than 30 minutes" late.
Six Fall Activities We're Googling Right Now
Google Trends looked at some of the top autumn activities Americans are googling right now. Here are a few that are trending . . . 1. "Fall rock painting ideas." Meaning things to paint on decorative rocks. Google searches for it are up 350% in the past week. 2. "Corn maze near me." It's seen a big bump in the past month. 3. "Easy pumpkin carving." No matter how complicated it is, just don't jump the gun. Those jack-o-lanterns probably won't last more than a week. 4. "Apple picking near me 2021." 5. "Haunted hay ride near me." Also, searches for "haunted houses near me" are up 850% this month.
Friends Pooling Their Money to Buy a House Together Is More Common Now
I don't know if this is a good idea or not. But apparently it's more and more common for friends to pool their money and buy HOUSES together. Mainly because it's the only way young people can afford to buy a home these days. A real estate analytics firm called Attom Data Solutions has been tracking the trend. They say the number of co-buyers with different last names has soared 771% in the last seven years. Not all of those people are friends buying homes together, but a lot are. Unmarried couples are also getting in on it, and the pandemic may have accelerated that. According to the National Association of Realtors, 11% of people who bought homes between April and June last year were unmarried couples. And 3% were listed as "other," which tends to mean friends or roommates.
Bill Murray Has Already Played a Marvel Character, and You Had No Idea
BILL MURRAY has yet to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but did you know he played a Marvel character long before the MCU even existed? Back in 1975, before he joined "Saturday Night Live", Bill was the voice of the Human Torch in a "Fantastic Four" radio drama that nobody remembers.
The episodes were basically just audio versions of existing "Fantastic Four" comics, and there were 13 in all.
32% of People Say Pandemic-Related Halloween Costumes Are Offensive
If you're planning on skipping a generic Halloween costume for something TOPICAL . . . you might want to think twice before choosing a costume based on the biggest news story of the past two years: The pandemic. A new survey asked 2,000 parents what costumes they considered the most offensive, and COVID-19 made the Top 10, along with more obvious stuff: Holcaust-related costumes was #1, followed by anything blackface . . . anything with the Confederate flag . . . and "transphobic" costumes. Pandemic-related costumes were #5, with 32% of people saying it's offensive. These could include things like wearing hazmat suits, or dressing as a virus or a vaccine. Basically, not mocking a tragedy that's killed so many people. Cultural stereotypes is next on the list, followed by controversial figures . . . overtly sexual costumes . . . homeless people . . . and religious costumes. As for the "sexual costumes," this was a survey of PARENTS who were thinking about kids costumes. Adults are probably still fine doing the sexy cop / sexy nurse thing.
Showbiz Highlights
1. THE ROCK says that when he called VIN DIESEL out for his on-set behavior, everyone on the "Fast and Furious" crew reached out to thank him. But he also admits he shouldn't have done it publicly. 2. An actor named JAMIE COSTA does a great ROBIN WILLIAMS impression. He just posted a video of himself in a dramatic scene as Robin, learning about JOHN BELUSHI's death. And now the Internet thinks he should play Robin in a biopic. 3. A list of actors who had great on-screen chemistry, but never dated in real life includes: John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer . . . Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga . . . and Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. 4 The Brooklyn Nets won't let KYRIE IRVING play until he's vaccinated, or gets an exemption. Under current New York City COVID guidelines, he's not even allowed to be at home games, and the team isn't interested in only having him available part time. 5 BILL MURRAY was Marvel before Marvel was cool. He was the voice of the Human Torch in a "Fantastic Four" radio drama that aired in 1975. Also, there's a rumor that he'll be in the third "Ant-Man" movie. 6. JAMES JUDE COURTNEY plays Michael Myers in the new "Halloween" trilogy, and he learned his killing technique from a roommate who was once a real-life hitman. The guy told him the key to murdering someone is,quote, "Get in, get the job done, get out." 7. "Days of Our Lives" will be revisiting the demonic possession storyline of DEIDRE HALL's character. For protection purposes while filming, the executive producer gave her holy water and a crucifix. 8. DUA LIPA reposted a TikTok video of an 80-year-old grandpa being gifted tickets to her concert for his birthday and totally fangirling. She said, quote, "O.M.G. this melts my heart!!!"
9. SMASH MOUTH singer STEVE HARWELL is retiring after last weekend's chaotic concert. Steve said, quote, "I've tried so hard to power through my physical and mental health issues, and to play in front of you one last time, but I just wasn't able to." 10. TIM MCGRAW left the stage to confront hecklers at his show on Saturday in Reno, Nevada. They were mocking him for forgetting lyrics, because he was. Later, Tim confessed to the crowd that he was off his game because he spent "48 straight hours" shooting the movie "1883".