'Zombie Preparedness Month' Serious Business In IL
Yes, having an official "Zombie Preparedness Month" might sound like a joke on the surface, but it holds serious meaning in Illinois. Democratic state Representative Emanuel Chris Welch sponsored the so-called ‘living-dead legislation’ that was actually adopted by the Illinois House last month designating October as "Zombie Preparedness Month."
So what gives? When Welch addressed the state House, he explained that he's been told if people are prepared for zombies, they can deal with any natural disaster, such as flooding or tornadoes. He said people would have proper food storage, a safe shelter to go to and will have taken other steps to survive.
Someone not feeling the humor? Rep. Jeanne Ives, who slams the House for focusing on “fun and games,” instead of the state’s ongoing budget issues. But Rep. Grant Wehrli, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said he appreciates the resolution's good humor is a “good thing.” “It’s not when things go well that we need a plan,” he offered. “It’s when things go off the rails.”
Source: NBC Chicago
Nature Documentaries Could Ease Anxiety
When the news of the day is stressing you out, take the BBC’s advice and watch a nature documentary. Sure, the network is currently showing the high-quality series “Planet Earth II,” but their suggestion is backed by a recent study analyzing the effects nature footage has on happiness and well-being. And it turns out, watching these nature shows really helps.
In the study, the 7,500 people around the world who watched clips of “Planet Earth II” reported feeling less nervous, anxious, stress, and fear, as well as feeling more joy, enthusiasm, relaxed, and amused. Previous research backs these findings up as well, generally finding that nature has healing powers.
So when you just can’t take hearing or reading anything else about politics or the state of the world today, treat yourself to a little nature instead. You’ll learn something and get a mental health boost. And doesn’t that sound like a nice way to deal with the stress of life today?
Source: Huffington Post
Today is National Good Samaritan Day
March 13th is National Good Samaritan Day! The term “Good Samaritan” originates from the parable of the Good Samaritan, which can be found in the Gospel of Luke. The parable portrays a good-natured Samaritan who helps an injured stranger in need, despite their religious and ideological differences. The term can now be understood to encompass all actions that are done unselfishly for those in need.
This holiday provides an opportunity for us to spread goodwill and show compassion for others in need. So celebrate National Good Samaritan Day by volunteering at a local soup kitchen, paying for a stranger’s coffee, or helping out a co-worker. However you choose to celebrate, make sure to spread kindness and generosity today.
Today is Napping Day
This year, March 13th is Napping Day! This day was created in 1999 by Boston University professor William Anthony and his wife, Camille. Napping Day is an unofficial holiday set aside to help people adjust to Daylight Saving Time and to promote health and productivity benefits of napping. That’s why the date varies to allow for when the first Monday after the “change” takes place.
After losing an hour of sleep by "springing forward," people are more sleep-deprived and find it easier to nap. Scientists say that mid-afternoon is a time when many people experience a slump in alertness, especially after a poor night’s sleep. But research shows that it’s totally natural for us to take a mid-afternoon nap – so DO!
Do You Have A “Bang List”?
This is the 3-year anniversary of Linsday Lohan accidentally leaking a hand written list of all the men she dated on the web. Form a list of all the people you have had relations with.
Your Dog May be Manipulating You to Get What it Wants
A new study published in the journal Animal Cognition has found that our canine companions are able to deceive us in order to get something they desire. And they can figure out how to do it quite quickly.
Researcher and lead author of the paper Marianne Heberlein was curious about her own dogs' behavior. Like many dog owners, Heberlein had a nighttime routine: let the dogs out to relieve themselves and then give them a treat when they came back inside.
However, one day she noticed that one of the dogs would just pretend to pee in order to get the treat. This spurred her curiosity as to what was really going on and if the dog was purposely attempting to deceive her.
In order to study the behavior, Heberlein and her research team from the University of Zurich conducted an experiment. Using 27 dogs, the team paired each one with two human partners: a co-operative one who allowed the dogs to eat treats, and a competitive one who withheld the treats.
After the dogs learned which was which, the dogs then had the chance to lead them to one of three boxes: in one there was a sausage; in another was a less appetizing dog treat; and the last one was empty.
On the first day, the dogs led the co-operative partners to the sausage box more often than expected by chance and more often than the competitive partner. On the second day that increased in both cases.
By leading the competitive partner to the incorrect box, this meant that the dog had a chance to keep the delicious sausage for itself later on, when the experiment was repeated with a co-operative partner. Hence, the apparently deceptive behavior.
As for the age-old battle over which is smarter, cats or dogs, Buchsbaum laughed, saying, "I think one of the biggest differences is that the dogs care and the cats don't. The argument is: are dogs smarter than cats because they understand our communication and they do what we tell them to, or are cats smarter because they don't do what we tell them to and we feed them anyway?"
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/technology/dogs-deception-
You Can Now Buy A Ranch Dressing Fountain
Love ranch dressing? You can literally buy a whole fountain that serves it. Yes, Hidden Valley has cashed in on people's obsession with ranch by inventing the first ever (that we know of) ranch fountain. Think chocolate fondue or cheese fondue but replace those with ranch dressing. The invention is sold at the Hidden Valley Ranch Outlet.
The one catch? It's going to set you back about $100, but can you really put a price on love, right? Didn't think so.
What else can you buy at the outlet? For the most hardcore ranch lovers, you can buy a bejeweled bottle, a t-shirt, and a ranch koozie that keeps your ranch nice and cold when you bring it out for everyone to enjoy in the hot weather.
What a time to be alive.
Source: Cosmo
These Are The Best Cities To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In
Where are the best spots to celebrate you Irish heritage? You will be very surprised at who’s on the top of the heap!
If you're looking for a place to party on St. Patrick's Day, you might want to shuffle off to Buffalo. The western New York city ranked number one on WalletHub's list of best cities for St. Patty's Day celebrations. It was followed by Madison, Wisconsin and Boston. The personal-finance website crunched data ranging from Irish pubs per capita to weather conditions to come up with their list. Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Worcester [[ WOO-ster ]], Massachusetts round out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 are:
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Tampa, FL
- Philadelphia, PA
- Cleveland, Ohio
Source: WalletHub