CONNECT SELECT WEEKEND EDITION A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em and post ‘em! FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26th, 2021

TODAY IS…

NATIONAL PISTACHIO DAY – DID YOU KNOW?…Pistachio shells are naturally beige. The green and reds ones are just dyed with food coloring. PISTACHIO FUN FACTS:  California produces almost all of America’s pistachio crop - about 300 million pounds each year.  The shells naturally split when the nuts are ripe, so don’t bother breaking a tooth on the closed ones. NATIONAL ‘FOR PETE’S SAKE’ DAY – This has absolutely nothing to do with ‘Pete’. Instead it’s all about replacing an offensive word or phrase with something else: like ‘For Crying out loud!’ or ‘Dang!’ NATIONAL TELL-A-FAIRY-TALE DAY – Back in the 16th century, Fairy Tales weren’t cute little stories with a happy ending. Their sole purpose was to scare the crap out of little kids so they’d behave. For example, in the original version of Cinderella, her toes were cut off so they’d fit into the slipper! But over time, the stories became more magical, and now everyone ‘lives happily ever after’. SKIP-THE-STRAW DAY (4th Friday in February) – The world has a major plastic straw problem, and if you think skipping just one day won’t make a difference, consider this: Americans use half a BILLION plastic drinking straws every day!

SATURDAY IS…

NATIONAL RETRO DAY – Whether you’re just ditching your phone for the day or going full-80s with some ‘Hammer pants’ and a ‘side pony’, dust off your favorite ‘throwback’ and bask in an era long forgotten. CLICK HERE FOR THE VERY RETRO-SOUNDING ‘AXEL F’ BY HAROLD FALTERMEYER NATIONAL KAHLUA DAY – Celebrating the creamy rum-coffee liqueur that even your lightweight mother doesn’t mind chugging. Kahlua was invented in 1936 and is the basis for the Mud Slide, White Russian, B-52 and other delicious cocktails you’d be embarrassed to be caught drinking. ANOSMIA AWARENESS DAY – Thanks to COVID, most of us know what this is. Anosmia (ah-NOZ-me-ah) is the medical term for the loss of smell. It’s most commonly caused by upper respiratory infections (like COVID) and in some cases can be permanent. NATIONAL POLAR BEAR DAY – Celebrating the cuddly-looking arctic bear that won’t think twice about ripping you in half. Polar bears can grow to be 9-feet-tall, weigh half as much as a car and have been known to swim hundreds of miles just to find food. The species is threatened by melting arctic ice and loss of their natural habitat.

SUNDAY IS…

NATIONAL PUBLIC SLEEPING DAY – Whether it’s on a bus or in the park, today is the one day where falling asleep in clear view of strangers is actually acceptable. So go ahead and take a nap! Just try not to do it at work. HERE’S THE SOUND OF SOMEONE SNORING NATIONAL TOOTH FAIRY DAY – The Tooth Fairy’s gotta work every single day - even holidays! So today we give a shout-out to the little winged pixie with a pocket full of quarters and a weird night-time obsession with loose teeth.

BIRTHDAYS:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26:

NATE REUSS, 39 – Musician. Lead vocalist for the band Fun. He scored a #1 hit in 2013 with his duet with P!nk, “Just Give Me a Reason.” HERE’S A LINK TO FUN’S “CARRY ON” HERE’S A LINK TO “JUST GIVE ME A REASON” ERYKAH BADYU, 50 – Singer. She’s known as the Queen of Neo-Soul and for her jazzy voice and large colorful head wraps. CLICK HERE FOR BADU’S FIRST HIT “BAG LADY” MICHAEL BOLTON, 68 – Singer/songwriter. How many weddings in the 90s had this guy as their first dance? AND THAT HAIR! Did you know…Michael Bolton actually started out in heavy metal bands? He eventually covered other people’s hits to become an R&B superstar. CLICK HERE FOR BOLTON’S “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU” MARSHALL FAULK, 48 – NFL Player. Hall of Fame running back for the Colts and the Rams. He was named NFL MVP in 2000. MITCH RYDER, 76 – Musician. The 60’s rocker is best known for this classic hits ‘Devil With a Blue Dress’ and ‘C.C. Rider’ He was a huge influence for guys like Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, and Bruce Springsteen. CLICK HERE FOR RYDER’S “DEVIL WITH A BLUE DRESS” HERE’S A LINK TO ‘C.C. RIDER’

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27:

JWOWW (Jenny Farley), 36 – Reality star. One of the original cast members of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” and the spin-off “Snooki & JWoww.” Before TV fame she owned a graphic design business. JOSH GROBAN, 40 – Singer/Actor. The multi-platinum artist with the deep voice turns 40! He first got noticed when he filled in for Andrea Bocelli on the Celine Dion duet “The Prayer” at a GRAMMY rehearsal in 1998. He can act too! He recently starred with Tony Danza in the Netflix series “The Good Cop.” CLICK HERE FOR GROBAN’S HIT “YOU RAISE ME UP” ROZONDA “CHILI” THOMAS, 50 – Singer. Best known as one-third of the group TLC, one of the best-selling girl groups of the 90s. TLC sold over 65 million records. Thomas went on to a solo career and also did some acting. CLICK HERE FOR TLC’S “WATERFALLS” NEAL SCHON, 67 – Musician. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and lead guitarist and songwriter for the band Journey. He started playing guitar at age 10 and by 17 was playing with Santana. CLICK HERE FOR JOURNEY’S “ANY WAY YOU WANT IT” KATE MARA, 38 – Supermodel. The supermodel with the famous mole was once named one of the top three of VH1’s “Hottest Hotties of the 90s” list. She now has a successful beauty line and is the mother of model Kaia Gerber.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28:

JASON ALDEAN, 44 – Singer/songwriter. The Country music star has had 22 #1 Country hits and was honored with the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award in 2019. CLICK HERE FOR ALDEAN’S HIT “BIG GREEN TRACTOR” PATRICK MONAHAN, 52 – Singer/songwriter. Lead singer and frontman for the band Train. CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO TRAIN’S “DRIVE BY” JOHN TURTURRO, 64 – Actor. The versatile actor is known for his roles in the films “Barton Fink,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Do the Right Thing.” He’s appeared in more Spike Lee films than any other actor. CINDY WILSON, 64 – Singer. She is one of the founding members of new wave rock band The B-52s. She plays the drums and bongos with the band. CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE B-52s’ HIT “LOVE SHACK” MARIO ANDRETTI, 81 – Race car driver. Considered one of the best race car drivers of all time. He’s the only driver ever to win the Indy 500, Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship. He’s also what old people call you when you pull out of the drive way too fast (WHAO there, Mario Andretti!) CLICK HERE FOR CAR RACING SOUND EFFECTS BERNADETTE PETERS, 73 – Actress. She’s a star of stage and screen and is well- known for her TV roles in “The Good Fight” and “Smash” and her Broadway roles in “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods,” and “Hello, Dolly!” She’s recorded six solo albums and has authored a children’s book.

TRENDING/ODD

SOMEONE SHOT LADY GAGA’S DOG WALKER, STOLE TWO OF HER DOGS (00:28) Lady Gaga is offering a half-million dollar reward to get her stolen dogs back. Two guys jumped out of a car near Gaga's Hollywood mansion, shot her dog walker and took off with two of her prized French bulldogs, Koji and Gustavo. The dog walker survived the attack. Gaga wasn't at home; she's shooting a movie in Italy. Stealing fancy French bulldogs, like hers, has become a 'thing' since they can be sold for more than 10 grand a piece on black market. Anyone with info can email [email protected].

MR POTATO HEAD GOES GENDER NEUTRAL (SORTA) (00:20) Look who's getting all 'gender neutral'! Mr Potato Head has dropped the mister. Hasbro is rebranding the 70-year-old toy as just 'Potato Head,' and Twitter is blowing up about it, with one Twitter user asking if Mr Clean and Mr Bubble are getting nervous. Hasbro says it's only the logo that's changing. You'll still be able to buy them in Mr or Mrs packages. (HERE’S A LINK TO AN OLD MR POTATO HEAD COMMERCIAL)

NYC STEAKHOUSE GETS WAX FIGURES TO FILL EMPTY SEATS (00:18) Wanna grab a steak with Jimmy Fallon or Audrey Hepburn? The famous Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn has filled its empty seats with wax statues from Madame Tussauds. Restaurants in New York can only fill up to 35 percent capacity, so ‘famous fakes’ like Al Roker and Jon Hamm are filling in the empty the seats. (Just don't try to outdrink Don Draper)

AMERICANS ARE GETTING SICK OF PIZZA (00:18) Looks like a year of pandemic ordering has made us sick of pizza! Domino's and Papa John's say sales have gotten soggy in the last few months. Pizza delivery was doing bonkers business for most of 2020. It didn't help that almost a third of all restaurants added delivery, so now pizza's no longer the only option. CLICK HERE FOR ’THE PIZZA SONG’ (TARANTELLA NAPOLETANA)

CHINA GAVE U.S. DIPLOMATS COVID BUTT TESTS (00:18) China figured out how to get some revenge on the US. There’s word they gave American diplomats COVID tests…in their butts. China denies doing, it but those anal exams aren't exactly uncommon there. Chinese health officials there say they're more accurate since the virus hangs around in poop longer than in your nose.

HE/SHE CARDINAL - BIRD COLORS SPLIT DOWN THE MIDDLE (00:14) Going viral are photos of a rare cardinal spotted in Pennsylvania. It appears to be both male and female, spilt down the middle, bright red on one side and brown on the other. Whether it can procreate, bird experts say anything is possible.

TEXAS COLD LEFT HUNDREDS OF DEAD BATS (00:18) Things may be warming up in Texas, but what's left after that brutal freeze are a lot of dead bats. They are used to milder weather and many tried to escape the cold under bridges where they didn't survive. Hundreds of them piled up. The same for birds; folks are reporting more robins and bluebirds in their yards that died.

LAW & DISORDER

TEACHER’S AID CAUGHT PLEASURING HIMSELF TO ZOOM CLASS (00:20) A teacher's aide in Maryland is in big trouble for what he was caught doing on Zoom. It was pretty naughty. He says he thought class was over, but his camera was still on. The school district has put him on leave. And get this, as a side business he throws "pirate parties" for kids. On getting caught, the T-A says it's his bad and he's only human.

WEIRD SCIENCE & TECH

CREEPY NEW ALEXA ECHO FOLLOWS YOU AROUND (00:20) Amazon has released its newest Echo device and it promises to be the creepiest Alexa yet. That's because this one has a screen that follows you around. The Alexa Echo Show 10's display tilts and pivots 360 degrees. Built in cameras track whenever you move and points the screen at you so you can always see it…(or maybe so it can always see you?…). It costs 250 bucks and ships out this week.

STUDY: COVID LASTS 3 DAYS ON CLOTHES (00:21) Go ahead and wash your hands a million times…but a new study says the coronavirus can hang onto fabrics for up to 3 days. British researchers tested a bunch of different fabrics and found the virus stuck to polyester the longest - up to 72 hours. It only hung around on cotton for about a day. They found washing clothes in very hot water worked best to get rid of the bug.

THANK YOU MASKS! FLU RATES AT THEIR LOWEST (00:14) You did it America! All that mask wearing and now the flu has nearly disappeared. This is the time when it's usually at its worst. Flu cases are at their lowest in decades, so much so the CDC can't figure out how well this year's flu vaccine works.

YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING

FAN FAVORITE MAKEUP BRAND GOES BUST (00:18) Fans of YouTube makeup tutorials are freaking out to hear that that Becca Cosmetics is going out of business. The brand was a cult favorite not too long ago, but they're blaming the pandemic for going bust ('cause who's wearing makeup now anyway?!). Becca says they'll be selling stuff until September - then they'll be out like 'full coverage concealer'.

FRY’S ELECTRONICS SHUTTING DOWN (00:12) Fry's Electronics is shutting down for good (now where ya gonna go to check out a new laptop before buying it for cheaper on the internet?) After nearly 40 years, and without any warning, Fry's just shut down all their stores overnight. They were late to the whole 'online sales' thing and got beat out by Best Buy. CLICK HERE FOR AN OLD ‘FRY’S’ COMMERCIAL

COSTCO GIVES STAFF A RAISE (00:20) It's just gotten 'slightly' better to work at Costco. The company has just raised the minimum wage for its staff from 15 to 16 bucks an hour. They're hoping to lure more good workers away from places like Walmart - who still start their staff at 11 bucks an hour. The bad news: that club pack of muffins will probably end up costing you a bit more.

TJ MAXX PLANS FOR 'REVENGE' SHOPPING' (00:10) The CEO of TJ Maxx says they're getting ready for revenge shopping. He believes once we get the coronavirus vaccine, we'll want to make up for lost time from being cooped up at home.

VICTORIA'S SECRET CLOSING MORE STORES & BATH & BODY WORKS OPENING MORE (00:19) Better get your bra and panties while you can. After closing more than two hundred stores last year, Victoria's Secret plans to shut the doors on up to 50 more stores. The parent company of the lingerie store says Bath & Body Works is doing well with its hand soaps and sanitizers. They're expanding with dozens of stores that won't be in malls.

LIFE/SURVEY SAYS…

TIMES ESPECIALLY HARD FOR MILITARY FAMILIES (00:23) Military families are going hungry during the pandemic. At a food bank in Tacoma, Washington near an army base, they've seen a 20-percent hike in military families needing help. The 23-hundred a month an army private makes isn't enough for a family of four. Part of the problem is army wives having trouble finding work and relocating makes it even harder. Unemployment for army spouses is above 20-percent.

MORE WOMEN WORKING RIDE SHARE & FOOD DELIVER JOBS (00:21) Take an Uber or use Lyft and you may notice more female drivers. Over two million women have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Uber says the number of ladies driving for UberEats more than doubled during that time. Lyft says for them, women are more likely than men to pick up shifts because they've been laid off. DoorDash reports 55-percent of their drivers are women.

AD COUNCIL WILL PUSH FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE (00:19) Get ready to see more ads encouraging you to get the coronavirus vaccine. The campaign is a reminder if you want life to return to normal, or you want a hug, then you'll want the shot. The Ad Council says half a billion dollars in donated media and celebrity time went into the ads and they'll evolve as more people are eligible for the vaccine.

WEEKEND/ICYMI

DRUNK DRIVER HAS THE HIGHEST BLOOD ALCOHOL EVER! (00:18) A driver in Oregon isn't just suspected of being drunk. They think he was the drunkest driver ever busted in the US! His blood test says he had a blood alcohol level of POINT-77. That's almost 9 times the legal limit (of Point-zero-8). The 28-year-old beats the old record of POINT-72, held by a woman in 2007 - who was also from Oregon.

STUDY SAYS IRREGULAR SLEEP/WAKE TIMES CAN LEAD TO DEPRESSION (00:22) Feeling grumpy on a Saturday? It’s nice to sleep in on the weekends, but it could affect your mood. A University of Michigan medical study found that an irregular sleep schedule can increase the risk of depression just as much as staying up late or not getting enough sleep. Experts suggest setting your alarm and going to bed around the same time every day. The consistency will help your body stay on track.

SIX FLAGS WILL REOPEN ALL PARKS THIS YEAR (00:15) Six Flags says it'll open all of its 26 amusement parks for the 2021 season. There'll be capacity limits and reservations required along with face masks. Six Flags is working on exact dates it'll reopen. In the meantime, the company is looking to hire thousands for the season.

DAIRY QUEEN CANCELS ‘FREE CONE DAY’ (00:13) Dairy Queen is cancelling this year's 'Free Cone Day’ (thanks, COVID!) The annual first-day-of- spring tradition has been turfed to keep big crowds from lining up at the stores. Last July, 7-Eleven ditched their Free Slurpee Day for the same reason (don't count on that happening this year, either).

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