Thursday Things: Seventh Issue
26 September 2019. Vol 1 No 7. By Dan McGirt. #7
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Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
This is the first Thursday Things of autumn (or spring in the southern hemisphere). The equinox occurred at 12:50 a.m. on September 23. The good news is that that was the last time the autumnal equinox will be on September 23 until the 22nd century arrives. The equinox date moves for various calendar adjustment reasons explained in the article.
Thing I also learned in this article: There will be no leap year in 2100 because years that end in 00 are not leap years, to adjust for calendar rounding errors. (Except 2000 was a leap year because years ending in 00 that are also divisible by 400 are leap years. Look, I don’t make the rules.) Bottom line: any Thursday Things readers born on February 29 will not have a birthday in 2100. Plan accordingly!)
From our News of Squirrels department: Two squirrels were safely returned to their tree in a park after a squirrel leads a woman to an injured baby squirrel vulnerable to attack from a nearby cat. This amazing, yet apparently true, story from Virginia sounds like something out of a Disney movie. A woman walking in the park was approached by a squirrel that wanted her to follow it. The animal led her to an injured baby squirrel under threat from a nearby cat. The woman stayed with the squirrels until police arrived and were able to get the squirrels safely back into their tree. More details — and a video of the grateful squirrel thanking its rescuer! — at the Pulaski Police Department’s Facebook page. I am not making this up.
Floods in Texas following Tropical Storm Imelda stranded many people, but also brought people together. A few stories that crossed our desk: Driver of an 18-wheeler with a food delivery stranded on the interstate highway teamed up with a stranded cook who had a grill handy to make meals for their fellow stranded drivers … another great Texan caught a 4-pound bass in floodwaters while eating Whataburger … and 21-year-old part-time front desk clerk Satchel Smith at a Homewood Suites hotel became the only employee on duty for more than 24 hours. He stepped up and took care of business, and the guests, with a smile, to rave reviews. Good job!
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth O’Brien, special tactics section chief from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron was selected as one of twelve 2019 Outstanding Airmen of the Year (OAY) based on superior leadership, job performance and personal achievements. Among other things, Sgt. O’Brien was part of the President’s security team for the North Korean Summit, helped save a children’s soccer team in the Thai cave rescue of 2018, saved the life of a Thai Navy SEAL during that rescue operation, and saved someone from a burning vehicle in Korea. Busy year. Recently, while on a commercial flight back to the States to receive the aforementioned award he … relaxed and enjoyed the flight? No! He saved a baby in mid-air! When a 1-year-old child lost consciousness due to an airway blockage, O’Brien jumped up from his seat, cleared the breathing passage, resuscitated the child, and handed him back to the parents. I want Sergeant Awesome on my zombie apocalypse team.
Antioxidants naturally found in cheese may help protect blood vessels from damage from high levels of salt in the diet, according to a new Penn State study. Blah, blah, antioxidants, science stuff, science stuff — what I heard is “Eat more cheese. It’s good for you.”
Giant battlebot for sale! If you are in the market for a 12-ton fighting robot, complete with giant claw, massive drill, car-cutting chainsaw, and 6-inch double-barrel pneumatic cannon attachments, this is your lucky day. The Eagle Prime giant fighting robot can be yours! Comes with cup holders too. Full details at the eBay listing. You know who would be a good pilot for this thing in the coming war against the giant mutant crocodiles from Florida? USAF Sergeant Awesome from two items up, that’s who.
David Rush throws a tortilla 54 feet 5 inches to break a Guinness World Record. I did not even know that was a thing. I can spit a watermelon seed a fair distance, though.
What food-related World Record would you be a contender for? Let us know at thursdaythings@substack.com. Or just hit reply on this email. Which you can also forward to a friend (hint, hint). Thank you for reading Thursday Things! See you next Thursday!