If you can't study without listening to music, that's actually a GOOD thing . . . and it doesn't seem to matter what you're listening to. A new survey looked into the connection between music and study habits, and it found that students who play music were more likely to have a GPA above 3.2. There are several reasons why.  Some say music is "therapeutic," while others say listening helps them focus better and absorb the information more.  And 81% of those who listen to music say it just makes studying more fun. 31% of people say they like listening to [...]

 Mariah Carey is trying to trademark the phrase Queen of Christmas.  And a lot of people think she deserves it on the merit of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" alone. But a woman named Elizabeth Chan filed a legal opposition to her claim.  Elizabeth is a singer who EXCLUSIVELY does Christmas music.  She even calls herself The Queen of Christmas, and has an album with that title. Chan isn't greedy.  She's not trying to usurp the title for herself.  And she's not trying to keep Mariah from using it.  But she wants to prevent Mariah from being the ONLY person who can use it. She says, [...]

After two-and-a-half years of the pandemic, a new poll found two in five Americans feel like life is more or less back to normal.  And this news might make even more people feel that way . . . The CDC loosened its guidelines yesterday and no longer recommends things like social distancing and quarantines in most cases.  One official conceded it's now obvious that covid is, quote, "here to stay." The director of the CDC already said that was LIKELY true back in March. Basically, they think the weaker variants will start to come and go, more like the flu. They say the [...]

There are three types of people out there:  Those who can take care of houseplants . . . those who will kill houseplants . . . and those who will kill houseplants immediately. A new poll asked Americans if they could keep a houseplant alive for at least six months, and 33% of people are confident they could.  Another 33% said that they probably could. 10% said there's NO CHANCE it lasts six months . . . and another 14% said it's "not very likely." Growing plants are really simple. Just add water, but not too much, and allow it to get sun, [...]

Is this brilliant, or are pet owners nuts?  Like here and everywhere else, it's been hot in Japan this summer.  And it's causing a new trend to take off. People are now strapping portable FANS to their cats and dogs.  (???)  They're called "Cool Dog" vests, and a company in Tokyo is selling them. The owner came up with the idea when she saw how hot and exhausted her chihuahua was when she took him on walks. Each fan weighs three ounces, and it's attached to a mesh vest they have to wear.  The vest itself probably makes them a little warmer, [...]

Dr. James Bellini is a futurologist in England.  Which apparently is a real thing.  "Futurologist," not "England."  We know England is a real thing. He's talking about things that he expects to be "mainstream" by 2050 . . . which means they'll be accessible to everyday people, not just super rich techies.  His list includes: 1.  Households will be using drones to stock the fridge. 2.  We'll grow food in vertical farms, where fields stretch upwards not outwards. 3.  Kitchens will operate almost entirely without water, using ultrasonic waves to clean surfaces.  Also, washing machines will use high-tech beads to destroy [...]

Private jets are the new fur:  That silly extravagance that celebrities are being pressured more and more to give up on.  And now there's a Twitter account that's helping to apply that pressure. It's called Celebrity Jets, and it tracks famous people's private jet flights . . . revealing how long the flights were and how much jet fuel was used.  And it's pretty eye-opening. You may have heard that Kylie Jenner took a 17-minute flight recently, from Camarillo to Van Nuys, California.  The trip would have taken her about 45 minutes by car, depending on traffic. Well, she's not the only offender.  Not by a [...]

Thursday's History Lesson:  July 21st is the 202nd day of the year. There are 163 days remaining until the end of the year Today is National Junk Food Day There are 46 days left until Labor Day There are 102 days left until Halloween There are 108 days left until Daylight Saving Time ends On this date in 1873,  The first successful train robbery occurs in Adair, Iowa when Jesse James and the James-Younger Gain rob the train  On this date in 1899, Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer and journalist, was born (d. 1961) On this date in 1925, John [...]

An old song from 1985 has sored up the charts of late. Kate Bush's single "Running up That Hill" is the hit song in the popular Netflix show Stranger Things. Season 4 was released a few days ago, and the whole world heard Kate Bush's song. "Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music," Wendy Crowley, Sony Music Publishing's SVP of creative marketing, film and tv said to Variety. Due to that they had to get script pages and clips to show Kate of how her song would be used in the show. "I have a running expression [...]

Mother's Day Survey A new Mother's Day survey by One Poll reveals that 86% of people say their mother is the hardest-working person they know. Other findings: - 69% of people say their mother doesn't get enough credit for all she does - 70% of people say their mom is their best friend - 63% of people would classify their mother as a superhero who can take on any challenge and resolve it with grace - the average person plans to spend $300 on their Mother's Day gift Top Mother's Day Presents ... According to a new survey by One Poll photo [...]