Lots Of Stores To Say Closed On Thanksgiving
While you may not be thinking of Thanksgiving just yet, retailers certainly are and many have already announced their holiday plans. While over the years, more and more companies have started opening their doors on Thanksgiving to get an early shot at holiday shoppers looking for a bargain, it seems a lot of retailers are keeping their doors shut this year.
According to a new report by retail industry researchers at BestBlackFriday.com, 56 retailers have already confirmed that they'll remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, with that number expected to increase to about 75. Stores that have already announced their intention to stay closed include Costco, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.
As for why most of them are staying closed, the biggest reason is to allow employees to be with their families on the holiday. Another reason is that store traffic has been decreasing on not only Thanksgiving Day but on Black Friday as well. Click here to check out the full list of stores closing on Thanksgiving Day.
Source: 24/7 Wall Street
Do You and Your Significant Other Sleep In Opposite Directions Or Facing Each Other?
Sleeping in opposite directions with space in between you is not, somewhat surprisingly, a negative sign. According to relationship expert Corinne Sweet, these couples are usually "connected and secure in themselves. This position shows both closeness and independence in the relationship." If your backs or butts are touching, you've probably been together for under a year, yet are feeling relaxed and comfortable with each other.
Today is national Techies day and national boyfriend day.
Could tattoos be the next must-have health "wearable?"
While tattoos have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years, they're not much more than a way to express yourself -- and, hopefully, the skill of the person inking that permanent decoration under your skin.
However, Researchers at MIT Media Lab and Harvard Medical School have taken things a step further: by turning tattoos into wearable health monitors that you won't ever be able to forget at home or at the gym like a FitBit or glucose meter.
The research project called Dermal Abyss experimented with swapping traditional tattoo ink with different material that could react, via a change in color, to say, dropping blood sugar or if a person was getting dehydrated.
The project from MIT Media Lab researcher Katia Vega and scientists from Harvard Medical School used pig skin to simulate how these high-tech materials would react to changes in the fluid under a person's -- or in this case, a pig's -- skin. The porkers' covering makes a suitable analogue to human tissue.
Study: Eating The Placenta May Be Bad For You...DUH?
You may have heard that some new mothers choose to eat their own placenta after childbirth. But there's no indication the trendy practice offers any health benefits, and some evidence it could prove dangerous, new research suggests. After reviewing dozens of studies from across the globe on so-called placentophagy, or placenta consumption, the researchers say they're advising obstetricians to discourage their patients from eating the placenta in any form.
"As obstetricians, it's important to tell the truth. And the truth is it's potentially harmful and no evidence it's beneficial, so therefore, don't do it," said study author Dr. Amos Grunebaum.
- Do you know anyone who has eaten the placenta after giving birth to a child?
Link: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/09/29/Study-questions-benefits-of-placenta
Survey says office workers only productive for less than 3 hours a day
If you're among the millions who think an eight hour day is just too long, you're not alone: a survey of nearly 2,000 cubicle dwellers revealed they get less than three hours of work done a day.
The survey was conducted in the UK, and 79% of the 1,989 full-time worker bees polled admitted there's no way they're working at their full potential in a typical day. In fact, only 2 hours and 53 minutes of their 8 hour shift was spent productively, notes the data gathered by the company Vouchercloud.
The paltry sum was an average of the replies to the question, "If you had to state a figure, how long do you think you spend productively working during work hours on a daily basis?"
Not surprisingly, surfing the Internet was listed as a major time-waster, with 47% of respondents admitting guilt for "checking social media," just besting "reading news websites" at 45%.
Also no surprise, "texting" was listed as more attractive than work for more than a quarter of the respondents, 31 percent of whom also cited "making hot drinks" as a fitting distraction, compared to 38% who admitted "discussing out of work activity with colleagues" helps pass the time on the boss' dime.
Biggest time wasters at work, according to Vouchercloud.com survey:
- Checking social media - 47%
- Reading news websites - 45%,
- Discussing out of work activities with colleagues - 38%
- Making hot drinks - 31%
- Smoking breaks - 28%
- Text/instant messaging - 27%
- Eating snacks - 25%
- Making food in office - 24%
- Making calls to partner/ friends - 24%
- Searching for new jobs - 19%
Costco Selling $1,000 Food Kits That Last 25 Years
Costco is helping out both doomsday preppers and those just interested in stocking up in case of a disaster.
The major wholesale retailer has rolled out three emergency kits – costing $1,000, $3,999.99 and $5,999.99.
The cheapest option has a one-year supply of food and is made up of nearly 100 1-gallon cans of wheat, rice, granola, apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries, potatoes, carrots, beans, onions, corn, beef, chicken, milk, sugar and salt. The cans have 6,200 servings of food and will last up to 25 years.
The more expensive kits provide food for larger families for one year – for groups of four and more.
The company gave little details about the popularity of the kit, but said in an e-mail to the Free Press, “The idea came about making a great starter kit for a family who wanted to prepare for any kind of disaster. This is a great value with shipping included.”
Retail expert Ken Dalto expained that after a series of hurricanes that devastated United States’ southern region and increased fear around North Korea, more people may be looking to stock up on nonperishable items.
Other retailers — including Walmart.com — have started to offer emergency kits, but for much a shorter duration like one day to a week and typically offer more portability. Wise Food’s five-day kit comes packed in a bag for easy transport.
Link: http://nypost.com/2017/10/02/costco-selling-1000-food-kits-that-last-25-years/
Millennials To Blame For The Death Of The Postcard?
Remember when you used to go on vacation and would make sure to pick up some beautiful postcards of the destination you just visited? Well, apparently not as many people are doing that anymore, and the death of the postcard is being blamed on Millennials.
Over the past 25 years, the number of postcards sold each year has dropped from more than 20 million to just five or six million. A lot of that can be blamed on Millennials who, instead of sending postcards from a destination, would rather take selfies and just post photos of their trip on Instagram and Facebook.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Millennials have been blamed for an industry dying. Other industries they’ve allegedly been killing include:
- Diamond – Millennials are spending more money on experiences than luxury goods like fancy jewelry.
- Business cards – Apps which allow you to exchange information have taken the place of handing out business cards.
- Movies – Millennials are more likely to stay at home watching Netflix then to shell out money for a movie.
- Soap – Millennials are saying no to bars of soap which they think are covered in germs, and instead use body wash and moisturizing products.
- Beer – Beer sales have been down a smidgen lately with younger folks now drinking more wine and spirits.
Source: New York Post