CONNECT SELECT A selection of interesting stories – rip ‘em & read ‘em before they go viral! FOR WEDNESDAY, November 6, 2019 TODAY IS … NATIONAL NACHOS DAY – Go ahead: just try to find a bar, a movie theater or a ball park that doesn’t serve nachos! The idea was born in a Mexican bar in 1943. A line cook, named ‘Nacho,’ was down to a few ingredients, so he cut up tostadas, sprinkled on some cheese and jalapenos, baked it for a bit and the rest is history. NATIONAL SAXOPHONE DAY – What’s jazz (or adult movies from the 70s) without a saxophone? It was invented in the 1800s by a guy named Adolphe Sax, who then promptly named it after himself. That sexy sound may have mostly gone out of style in the 90s, but artists like Taylor Swift (False God) and Kanye West (Use This Gospel) are bringing it back. (That’s Kenny G, y’all!) BIRTHDAYS … EMMA STONE – You can recognize this girl’s laugh anywhere. The ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ actress turns 31. LAMAR ODOM – Is he more famous for basketball or for being the ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian? Chew that over while eating some cake. “Lam” turns 41 today. SALLY FIELD – She made us bawl in ‘Steel Magnolias’ and laugh in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’ The Academy Award winning actress turns 73. THANDIE NEWTON – Do robots like cake? The ‘Westworld’ star turns 47. MARIA SHRIVER – This Kennedy has gone far! She’s received a Peabody, an Emmy AND she’s head of several nonprofits. Where does she find the time? The NBC correspondent turns 64. CHRIS SOULES – Bachelor Nation was shocked to hear he was involved in a fatal accident after hitting a tractor with his truck. It happened near his farm in Iowa. Guess that country boy shtick was the real deal. The former Bachelor turns 38. ETHAN HAWKE – The ‘Dead Poets Society’ star turns the big 5-0! TRENDING/ODD BLACK CAT BLAMED FOR GIANTS LOSS ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (:22) There was an unexpected visitor at Monday's Cowboys/Giants game. A chubby black cat made it onto the field and halted the game for at least 2 minutes. Fans cheered when it crossed the 50 yard line and made it into the end zone. The scared kitty then took off into a tunnel. It was good luck for the Cowboys who won the game 37 to 18, but Giants fans say the black cat was a game "curse." FACEBOOK UNVEILS BRAND NEW LOGO (:23) Facebook officially has a new logo to make sure it stands out in the app world. The logo features the word "Facebook" in all-caps and the color will alternate depending on where you see it. It will still be the original blue on Facebook. The logo will be mint green on WhatsApp, and purple, red and orange for Instagram. We don't know how that will help the massive privacy issues on the site, but there ya go! FAMILY SUES FLORIDA AMUSEMENT PARK OVER ZIP LINE ACCIDENT (:20) The family of a 10-year-old boy is now suing the "Urban Air Adventure Park" in Lakeland, Florida after the boy fell from a zip ride called "Sky Rider." The accident happened in September, and the boy was seriously injured. The family blames it on "operator error" accusing a worker of leaving the ride's harness undone. The boy fell head first onto a concrete floor. MANY U-S COLLEGES NOW OFFERING "MARIJUANA" MAJOR (:18) Some college kids major in math, others major in marijuana. Many universities around the country are now offering courses and full majors in medical marijuana. That's because pot is now legal in about two dozen states. Stats also show there will be at least 600,000 people working in the cannabis industry by the year 2025. CRIME DRUNK GUY STEALS WALMART E-BUGGY TO AVOID DUI (:22) A guy in Louisiana planned a night of boozing, but, being solo, he needed a ride. So he “borrowed” one of those electric carts from a Walmart and went to the bar. The cops found it crashed, and found him - drunk. He told em he didn’t want to get charged with DUI, so he took the electric buggy. He was right. The cops didn’t charge him with drunk driving … they arrested him for theft instead. A FIGHT OVER POPEYE'S NEW CHICKEN SANDWICH TURNS DEADLY (:24) Seriously, what do they put in Popeye's new fried chicken sandwich? People are still going nuts over it, and a fight in Maryland turned deadly on Monday. Police say a man fatally stabbed another man while they were in line to get their chicken fix. The line was specifically for people just wanting to get the new spicy or classic sandwich. Police say the two men argued over who was in line first and it all ended in bloodshed. HEALTH/SCIENCE & TECH STUDY: AIRPLANE WATER ISN’T EVEN CLEAN ENOUGH FOR HAND-WASHING (:28) If you’re gonna use an airplane bathroom … you’re probably better off NOT washing your hands afterwards. That’s ‘cause a study has found a lot of airlines don’t stock their bathrooms with clean water. New York’s Hunter College tested 23 airline bathrooms and found that JetBlue and Spirit had the grossest water. Alaska and Hawaiian airlines had the best, but even that stuff wasn’t exactly clean. They found tons of e-coli and other bugs, so you better just stick to using hand sanitizer instead. ASTEROID BARELY MISSES EARTH, AND NASA ALMOST MISSED IT, TOO (:18) Phew! That was close … an asteroid the size of a bus just zipped by earth. It was closer to us than the moon and by astronomical standards, it barely missed us! And NASA nearly missed it, too. Their asteroid-tracking radar spotted it just hours before it zoomed by, making it too late to act if the thing was any closer. STUDY: PLANTS FREAK OUT WHEN THEY GET WET (:26) You’d think plants would like getting wet, but scientists have somehow figured out that they actually ‘freak out’ and panic when they’re watered. Researchers at the University of Western Australia put plants under a microscope, sprinkled them with rain and found they reacted (chemically) kinda the way we would if someone sneezed on us. They think it has something to do with a plant’s internal immune system and how it braces for disease. Who knew plants could be so smart? U-S KIDS ARE LOSING THE TECH BATTLE (:28) A new international study shows that just because students "grow up" with digital devices, it doesn’t mean they have sophisticated computer skills. It turns out U-S 8th graders scored in the lowest level for "computer competence" across the board, compared to countries like Germany, France, and Denmark. Specifically, American kids are less likely to understand the purpose of "sponsored content" on a website, and they barely know how to "control" color and text when creating a presentation! WARNING: YOUR SMART SPEAKER CAN BE HACKED WITH A LASER (:19) Did you know your smart speaker could easily be hacked with a laser pointer? That's what researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered. They say lasers can easily override the controls and make the smart speaker do whatever the hacker wants like, "Alexa, open the garage door.” This could lead to thieves getting very crafty. Yikes! WINE DELIVERY AT THE INT’L SPACE STATION (:19) Talk about a special delivery at the International Space Station! 12 bottles of fine French wine were recently sent, but the astronauts will not be drinking it. The wine will age for a year to study how weightlessness affects wine's aging process. Each bottle had to be carefully packed in a metal canister to keep them from breaking. YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING NESTLE RECALLS COOKIE DOUGH (:21) Whether you just got dumped or can’t be bothered to turn on the oven, ya might not want to eat any raw cookie dough for a while. Nestle is recalling some of its ready-to-bake Toll House Cookie Dough because it might contain chunks of rubber. (And NO, that’s not how they make ‘chewy’ cookies!) The recall includes some of their holiday-themed cookie dough. If you have any in your fridge or freezer, bring it back to the store. IS THAT COUNTERFEIT FISH ON YOUR PLATE? (:21) All this time you may have been eating shark and didn’t even know it! Scientists have developed new genetic testing that reveals an estimated 15-percent of all swordfish on the market is actually shark meat. Apparently fisheries have been pulling this con-job for a while, but are only now getting caught - by science. They say about one-fifth of all seafood in the US is mislabeled. HAIR SALON OFFERS CLIENTS THE ‘SILENT TREATMENT’ (:15) There’s a new hair salon in London where you can choose the “silent” option when you book your cut. The owner says some clients just don’t feel like talking. The only chit-chat is at the beginning - to go over what you want - then, it’s “the silent treatment” all the way! PRINGLES "TURDUCKEN" KIT BEING RELEASED ON THURSDAY (:19) If you really love the giant food spread on Thanksgiving, Pringles has you covered. This year's "Turducken Kit" is on the way which are chips flavored with turkey, duck and chicken (and even pumpkin!) But if you want a Turducken kit, you better act fast. They'll be selling for $15.99 this Thursday at "KelloggStore.com." Last year the kits sold out in 41 minutes! ORIGINAL "MONEY PIT" MANSION BECOMES REAL LIFE MONEY PIT (:16) The mansion featured in the 80's flick "Money Pit" (starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long) has become a real life financial nightmare.