What a Weird Week Podcast for Sunday May 22 2022: Martian Doorway! and The Parents Who Sued Their Son for Failure to Produce Grandchildren

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Thanks for checking out What a Weird Week, the Top Ten Weird Things from this  week's news. This is episode 3.34
For Full Show Notes and Podcast Links just remember www.Shownotes.page or search "What a Weird Week"... or ask your smart speaker to play the "What a Weird Week Podcast"



Here's the Top Ten... 


❿ Parents sue their son because he won't give them a grandson...
Notes:
- this story is from India
- the internet sure got angry fast at the parents
- the stress and mental anguish over not having a grandchild after their son has been married for 6 years caused them to sue him and the daughter-in-law
- they're demanding $650,000 in compensation unless a grandchild is born in the next year  
 
 https://globalnews.ca/news/8832832/india-parents-sue-son-no-grandchild/
 
 
 
❾ UFOs or UF Nos? ©DadJokesRUs
This week they had a public hearing on UFOs in the USA. 
Notes:
- first time since the 1960s that they've done this
- they want to figure out what could be causing these weird things in the sky
- the weird things in the sky have been officially acknowledged by the government as a real thing
Results:
- at the hearing they said that a lot of the weird things in the sky can be identified, but not all... 
- they don't think there's evidence of aliens being the cause of the weirdness
- THIS LINK has a good rundown  but essentially... to be continued

 
 
 
❽ They keep seeing Weird Fish you guys...
- they got a photo of a Dragonfish 1000 feet down
- "In more than three decades of deep-sea research and more than 27,600 hours of video, we've only seen this particular species four times!"
- the Monterey Bay Aquarium folks are on this stuff like glue on glue... they also had that rare sighting of a jelly with sparkly poop (see archives if that's what you're into)

 
 
 
❼ Ketchup of the Future seems like it might be a mushy situation...
- Heinz teamed up with a company called Pulpex who specializes in better-for-the-environment packaging
- the wood pulp ketchup bottle is supposed to be better than plastic and glass
- they'll be recyclable 
- still in the testing phase now to make sure they don't leak
- I'm glad when big companies show concern about planet earth
- I'm concerned about mushiness but am willing to keep an open mind
 
 
 
❻ Piece of the Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs located, being held for questioning... 
Notes:
- it's just a little fragment of the asteroid from 66 million years
- NASA says the find is mind-blowing
- How can they track down asteroids from when the dinosaurs were around? I'm glad you asked... this was found at a site in North Dakota with a bunch of fossils from the time when it all went down for the dinosaurs... these fossils started to tell the story of a big catastrophe... they found two tiny specks of rocks that got preserved in amber and those particles are testing positive for asteroiditis* (*see, I can talk sciencey too you guys)
- they still need to do more tests
 
 
 
❺ Will Elon hit Purchase or Exit?
- at publish time Elon Musk has put his purchase of Twitter on hold
- more reports are coming out that he might be getting cold feet
- Elon says (essentially) that he needs to be thorough before writing the big cheque
- to be continued



❹ In other Netflix News... besides the layoffs and stock stuff and that talk about them maybe getting commercials... (some of the other streamers are in on commercials now BTW) ... Netflix continues to slowly turn into regular TV - they might start doing live shows...
- would be for their "unscripted" shows like dance competitions and stand-up specials 
- also maybe live reunion specials (you know, those shows that come on after a reality show finishes and they want to get one more episode out of it...)
- Wait to see
 
 
❸ Stonehenge Seems to be Weirdening...
- archaeologists discovered thousands of hunting pits at Stonehenge 
- some of the holes were likely for catching deer and wild boar
- THIS ARTICLE says the holes are mysterious and also points out how wild it is that we're still finding out new stuff about Stonehenge because it is studied all the time... it's waaaayyyy studied you guys
- the article also mentions how they discovered ancient pits near the parking lot... like they made a parking lot for visitors... years go by... then they discover these mystery holes from thousands of years ago right there by the parking lot? That's weird, right?
- icymi, Stonehenge was built around 5000 years ago, but the mystery pits are 7000-8000 years old so people were hanging out at the site for a long time before someone was like "you know what this place needs? Rocks. And more pits!"*
*not an actual quote.

 
 
❷ Algae Computers are real...
- Engineers at University of Cambridge kept a microprocessor going for over six months using algae
- algae generates energy that can be harnessed
- they're looking at how to power bigger things... imagine a fleet of autonomous boats that clean the ocean or something and they're powered by algae...thank you algae
- it seems a little like the matrix but instead of humans being the battery, we turned the tables and enslaved the algae! (evil laugh)
 
 
 
❶ Martian Doorway! 
- The Curiosity rover (you know, the one on Mars?) has a twitter account and tweeted a photo that got shared all over the place the other day
- sorry-not-sorry, it looks exactly like a doorway going into a mountain on Mars
- apparently it isn't? are you TOTALLY SURE you guys? because it really looks like a doorway on Mars.
- One article says it's not an actual doorway on Mars but it IS a DOORWAY TO SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY (barf)
- this article says it's just a crevice. K. But still. 



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*PotatoMan Update: Mission Accomplished!* Giant Potato Man GoFundMe info: now with charity song #giantpotatoman

* UPDATE 2: Mission Accomplished!
"AMAZING!!!
With the awe-inspiring help, and your overwhelming generosity, we have basically achieved our goal.  
Mr. A. Deveau, of Edmundson, NB - who restores statues for the Irvings, as well as others all over the Maritimes - Is scheduled to  begin restoring our beloved Big Potato Man on May 30th.  This work will last a minimum of 10 days, weather permitting.  
We are grateful for the gracious support, offers of help and many donations that everyone has shown us.  In these hard times, we are very thankful.
Our Big Potato represents locally grown products, and we are SO very thankful for your support!! "

* UPDATE: we have a charity song now...


The Giant Potato Man Statue in Maugerville is run down and needs some TLC. Here's the story of the fella who's hoping to get it fixed up (if the GoFundMe donations come through)



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What a Weird Week for Fri May 13th 2022: Chainsaws on Chins and enormous (way enormous!) bottles of booze

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Thanks for checking out What a Weird Week, the Top Ten Weird Things from this  week's news. This is episode 3.33
For Full Show Notes and Podcast Links just remember www.Shownotes.page



Here's the Top Ten... 



❿ Man continues to shine a light on education with chainsaws on his face...
Actually just one chainsaw... David Rush is on a mission to break world records until the Guinness World Record People put out a book that's just him... a Guinness Book of David Rush Records *citation needed*
He began the world record journey because he wanted to promote STEM education (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) ... so THAT's why he balanced a chainsaw on his chin... "furthest distance walked balancing a chainsaw on the chin"...
https://davidrush4stem.com/chopping-another-record-down/

 
 
❾ Passenger with zero knowledge about flying a plane landed it safely with a quick tutorial from an air traffic controller...
Notes:
- pilot slumped over on the controls sending the plane into a nosedive and sharp turn.
- "I've got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the aeroplane."
- air traffic controller also happens to be a flight instructor.
- the passenger landed the plane safely at Palm Beach airport, the pilot is now being treated in hospital.

 

❽ California couple returns home to find that hundreds of birds are now living in their home...
Notes:
- the lesson here is "NEVER LEAVE YOUR HOME for more than 30 minutes OR NATURE MAY CLAIM IT!"
- They think the birds got in through the chimney
We talked about it on the radio show this week...




❼ KFC in Singapore has come out with a fried chicken taco containing Mac and Cheese.
Notes:
- it's called a Mac-n-Cheese Kentaco
- a bunch of Mac and Cheese wrapped by chicken
- that's all our editorial team needed to know
 
 
 
❻ Rabbit gets into Walmart and has a feast in the garden section...
Notes:
- happened in Colorado
- the video started showing up in my feed last week
- rabbit will be fined $180 and ordered to pay three dollars restitution
- rabbit will have to wear an ankle monitor for the next 6 months
menace to society



❺ Science has finally cracked it you guys... how to use science to flirt with someone!!
Notes:
- scientists are researching the most effective ways to flirt
- study involved almost a thousand men and women in either Norway or the USA
- they found that the most effective thing to do while flirting is use humour.
There's more science/ romance stuff in the article... they should call it SciMance right? 
Story HERE
 
 
 
❹ Andy Warhol painting breaks a record...
Notes:
- This story got reported a lot
- painting is of Marilyn Monroe's face
- I don't know art...it looks like one of the photoshop filters a lil bit
- the Record part is that it got auctioned off for $195m so it's the most expensive piece of 20th century art ever!
- that's pretty good considering that the 20th century also gave us the Where's Waldo (or Wally in the UK) series of artworks in book form... Warhol had a lot of competition is what I'm saying.
story HERE


 
❸ Update on the methane-from-cows situation: you can see it from space now...
Notes:
- now they can monitor cow gas using satellites 
- cow gas is a problem we need to solve to curtail global warming
- in 2019, the EPA estimated that nearly 27 percent of methane emissions came from... burping cows
- it's not all terrible news... now that they can measure cow gas accurately they can get to work on fixing the problem... they have a few ideas but my fave is: Capture the gas and use it for energy... once they get good at harnessing cow gas, we'll have cow burping competitions at livestock shows! *citation needed



❷ Science knows why teenagers don't listen to their mom?!
Notes:
- brain changes at around age 13 make Mom's voice seem less important and easier to tune out
- so blame nature, teenagers... it's not your fault!?
- they think it's the brain developing a teenager's social skills so that more voices can be appreciated, mking mom's voice less of a priority
That's my take, but read the article HERE


 
Honorable Mentions:
Notes:
- thanks for sending this one to me!
- Mexican Pizza: The Musical is coming to TikTok on May 26 at 8:00p Eastern
- Taco Bell says it's because of the overwhelming response they received when they discontinued Mexican Pizza... sort of like "Wow, it's so popular,, there should be a Musical written about it!"
- Mexican Pizza is coming back on May 19th*
*I live in a town with one Taco Bell and they never had Mexican Pizza?! 



Honorable Mentions:
Notes:
- researchers fed them to mice
- No, I didn't know what Sea Squirts are
- Yes, it's fun to say "Sea Squirts"
- article title is "Eating sea squirts reverses signs of cognitive decline and aging"
- Sea Squirts are sea animals "that often look like potato tubes" 
- Eat them raw or cooked
- often are part of Korean and Japanese cuisine
- I always knew that something I never heard of would save me some day!

 
 
Honorable Mentions:
Sunday night/ Monday morning is the Super Flower Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Spectacular...
Notes:
- with special guest, the actual sky! 



Honorable Mentions:
They did not find a paved road to Atlantis in the Pacific Ocean...



❶ Big Bottle of Booze in the News!
Notes:
- the biggest bottle of Scotch in the world is a bottle that's as tall as your average Canadian... 5 foot 11"
- volume-wise it's 311 liters of 32 year-old Macallan Scotch 
- a normal bottle of that kind of Scotch sells for around £3,000... this giant bottle is like 444 bottles!
- It's going to auction on May 25th and they think it'll go for the most money ever - the most expensive bottle of Scotch
- They call this gargantuan bottle of booze "The Intrepid"
story HERE


 
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What a Weird Week Fri May 6th 2022: Flying Cars and the Dog ate my Passport!

Stream and Subscribe Links
 
 
 
Thanks for checking out What a Weird Week, the Top Ten Weird Things from this  week's news. This is episode 3.32
For Full Show Notes and Podcast Links just remember www.Shownotes.page



Here's the Top Ten... 



❿ The first flying car airport in the world is in the UK...
- it's kind of a Pop-Up airport because they wanted to show how fast a flying car airport could get up and running (built in 15 months)
- it's a 3 hour drive away from the city (I thought we'd be landing our flying cars in our own front yards so this is disappointing)



❾ Space Murder now against the law for Canadian Astronauts...
In a disappointing turn of events for anyone who hoped to be able to get away with space murders, would-be space assassins now cannot murder people in outer space without repercussions.
Until now There was a loophole in Canadian law which, in theory, meant that Canadians who committed a crime while in space or on the moon, might not be not subject to earth laws.
This is really about getting in front of the Lunar Orbit project that Canada will be involved in where a permanent space station will go into orbit around the moon... so the new law will make the moon, space, and rockets on their way to space, all fall under the same law as here on earth. Sorry Ponzi-scheme astronauts, but it's about to get a LOT harder to run your Ponzi scheme from space...
Props to Calgary Herald for the amazing headline: "Canadian astronauts no longer free to rob and kill with abandon in space or on the moon".



❽ Weird Mars lights...
Notes:
- scientists have known about Weird lights on Mars for years
- this new discovery is just way bigger than they've seen before and they say it looks a little like an enormous snake twisting up from the planet into the sky
- it's thousands of miles long
- the light is behaving strangely, maybe because Mars has a Weird magnetic field


❼ another new Coke flavor that tries to assign a certain taste to something intangible... The new release is flavour aimed at gamers and they call it called Coca-Cola Byte.  It has a fruity flavor. LINK



❻ Reminder: We live in a world where someone can lose 13 billion dollars in an afternoon and still be one of the richest people in the universe...
That's what happened to Jeff Bezos. Amazon stock lost value, so he lost 13 billion in an afternoon the other day... he lost more than that overall as the stock kept moving, but the 13 Billion in an Afternoon had a ring to it and a lot of news outlets went with that headline. 
Notes:
- Jeff Bezos is still a Richie Rich Person, so no GoFundMe accounts have been set up yet. 
- at peak Billionaire status last year, he had around $210 billion.
- if you're keeping score, Elon is the richest person and Bezos is second place.



❺ Our shortest story ever - the most popular emoji is...
The Laughing-and-Crying emoji. 😂
The Guinness Book of World Records folks shared that this week...



❹ The dog who ate a lady's passport just before she was supposed to travel to someone's wedding...
Notes:
- sure, blame the dog
- dog's name is Prince
- it looks like the lady (Sophia) will miss her friend's wedding in Cyprus and lose over £800... so now I believe her
- Sophia was supposed to fly out on May 11th
- She says even if by some miracle she can get a new passport by then, she won't be able to get a dog sitter because her family hates her awful dog!


❸ Who falls for Fake News? Not you, right?
A Study this week that took a look at Fake News had a couple surprises...
Notes:
- older people are no more likely to fall for fake news than any other age category *until you're over 70... folks that age did a little worse in the study
- study looked at college-aged kids and people 61-87 years old
- Which group picked out fake news most consistently? It was basically a tie between the two groups
- both groups did worse at picking out fake Covid news and did better at picking out fake every day news...




❷ College grads are guessing wrong about starting salaries...
Notes:
- People graduating from college in the US will average a salary of ~ $50,000.
- People graduating from college in the US THINK that they'll be making an average salary of ~ $103,880 for their first job.
I say aim big, college grads!
When I graduated radio school and got my first job I had to pay them*
*citation needed


Honorable Mentions:
*Followup* Dolly gets into the Rock and Roll Hall After all!
- she had declined the nomination
- the Rock Hall people said "oops... we already sent out the ballots!"
- people voted for her



Honorable Mentions:
Another Comedian Accosted on-stage! #Chapelle
Everybody reported this, no need for further comment by me... somebody tried to tackle Dave Chapelle on-stage at the Hollywood Bowl... #securitybreach... that person who rushed the stage got beat up then handcuffed and taken away by ambulance... the guy had a gun-knife... a knife that looked like a handgun...
There aren't very many swear-free tweets about what happened so I guess I'll just share the E! News story... 



❶ NHLer Louis Domingue is the backup goalie for the Penguins. Their playoff game went into overtime the other night... Louis wasn't playing... so he ate some spicy pork... then, moments later the starting goalie got hurt and Louis had to go in the game... Penguins won the game thanks largely to Louis and the spicy pork he ate... because he used to play Junior in the City where we do our Radio Show, we had to take a moment to give credit to Louis... and the Pork Industry...



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May 3rd is Paranormal Day #Ghosts #Cryptids #OuijaBoard #Seance #MissingTime #WeirdEncounters #NBsMostHaunted



Paranormal Day by the numbers...
- 83% of people surveyed said they had some kind of paranormal activity in their home
- Most common types of paranormal activity are hearing sounds, lights turning on and off, and hearing voices
- 1 in 10 people say they sold their home after a paranormal experience
- Good News, Split Level Home owners, your home is far less likely to be haunted!
(via)


- Steer clear of those things you guys!
- Legend: Ouija boards got their name when one of the investors of the product asked it "What's your name" and it spelled out Ouija.
- Legend: when they went to get the thing registered at the patent office they had to show the patent office guy how it worked and used it to spell out the patent office guy's name... "A patent file confirms she did a demonstration and the patent was issued on February 10th 1891"
- the things sold like crazy and they had to open more factories to produce them... in 1927 one of the guys running the company fell to his death from the roof of a new factory - one he claimed a Ouija board told him to build. 
- Steer clear of those things you guys!


The Haunted Places of NB...
- Algonquin Hotel in St Andrews
- Grey Island Cemetery in Hillsborough
- Capitol Theatre in downtown Moncton
- the Dungarvon Whooper is in Blackville
- the Phantom Ship that's been seen on the Baie de Chaleur
Go HERE for a big list and great article





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Carrie Underwood at the Stagecoach Festival: she finally got to sing with this superstar... #CarrieUnderwood #Stagecoach


 

Carrie Underwood had been playing some Vegas shows but if people who showed up at Stagecoach thought they were gonna get the Vegas treatment,they were wrong-o.
Even when the band started playing "Sweet Child O Mine" nobody acted surprised. Carrie loves GNR and has done their songs before. But then she was like "Give it up for Axl Rose!!!"

 

 


"Underwood is in-between stints on a residency at Resorts World Las Vegas that took a hiatus after April 2 and returns in May. The Stagecoach show was a substantially different one than what she’s doing in Vegas, and not just because of the bucket-list 10-minute cameo by Rose. Gone, of course, were the aerial rope tricks and getting drench while singing in a waterfall. Added were a lot more fireworks and pyro than the enclosed space of a casino theater could withstand… but also the live premieres of two previously unheard songs, “Denim and Rhinestones” and “Crazy Angels.” Those and the already released “Ghost Story” are teasers for an upcoming album, “Denim and Rhinestones,” that will arrive June 10."



See more in Variety

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What a Weird Week for Sunday May 1st 2022: Dirty Waffles and Kentucky Fried Buckquets





Thanks for checking out the What a Weird Week Podcast, a countdown of the Top Ten Weird Things in the News from the Week that was. This is episode 3.31
For Full Show Notes and Podcast Links see www.Shownotes.page


BBC podcast about the war in Ukraine - if you want to understand what's happening there, it is a good way to get informed. It's called Ukrainecast (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bqztzm) ... ways to help  Ukraine (https://www.scottyandtony.com/2022/03/here-are-ways-to-support-ukraine.html)


Here's the Top Ten... 


❿ What is that mystery noise under the house? (Dramatic movie music plays) 
Spoiler alert, it was bear snores.
Five bears were hiding under this California house for months like master criminal trespassers. The guy renting the house said he heard loud purring noises coming through the floor... finally after months of the noise, the renter called The Bear League a week or so ago. Btw, How great is that name!? The Bear League is a group of humans who try to help bears. The Human League is a band from the 1980s. If we could get them together for a photo op that would be great. 
Notes:
- it was five black bears
- they'd been under the house since December
- this is generally the same area where that Bear named Hank the Tank made news for systematically breaking into people's houses.
- the bears came back but the experts put up a Bear proof fence to discourage them... and a strongly worded note explaining that it's not cool to trespass.
- if you encounter a Bear you should know what to do... do not reason with the Bear. Even if you're a moderately important person. The Bear doesn't care. Even if you have an electric car and good credit. The bears hardly ever get impressed by status. Once in awhile a Bear might be a fan of your Instagram and decide not to eat you, but it hardly happens. Even if you've won debates on the high school debate team, the Bear won't care. If you have a funny joke, the Bear won't laugh. Don't waste your A material on that Bear.

❾ This is a weird stat that no one saw coming... the researchers were baffled at first...
Road signs that flash messages about safe driving cause accidents?
This study focused on Texas... the example sign they show in the article is "1669 deaths this year on Texas roads". It's a sobering statistic and they thought signs like that would get people to drive safely and reduce accidents. Nope. According to the stats, when you drive by one of those electronic safety signs (and for about the next ten kilometers), you are MORE likely to have a car crash.
Notes:
- 28 states in the US have signs like this
- researchers had all kinds of data from before the signs were installed and then after... 
- after they installed these safety-awareness signs, accidents went up by 4.5% which for Texas would mean an extra 2600 car crashes per year.
- Why does this happen? Researchers think the signs distract us. Also, anxiety could be a factor... it looks like when the sign has really awful accident statistics, we get anxious and drive worse...  

 
❽ Money can save your marriage! - research. 
I don't know what minimum wage is where you're at but if they were to raise it, there would be less divorces. 
This study was a team effort by psychologists from UCLA and a group of economists. If you want to lower divorce rates, raise minimum wage. 
When states raised their minimum wage by a dollar, divorce rates dropped between 7 % and 15 %. 
Notes:
- it could be because as people make a little more money, they don't jump into marriage as early in life...
- this was a HUUUUUGE survey of more than 300,000 households
- why there's interest is saving marriages: divorce is linked to a bunch of negative things in society and we end up using different government programs more...
- lawyer's note: this doesn't mean you should stay married to someone who's a low-down dirty dog though! https://www.studyfinds.org/minimum-wage-divorce-rates/

 
❼ Burger Deliciousness revolution!
Heinz has a new Burger Dipping System that had been a Tik Tok trend... then Heinz packaged it up and made it available for purchase (God bless them!)... 
Heinz Dip-n-Crunch© looks to me like a side-by-side dipping system where one side is sauce and the other side of the tray is smooshed chips... 
https://www.fastcompany.com/90745333/heinz-has-a-new-crunchy-dipping-sauce-that-went-from-viral-tiktok-trend-to-actual-burgers 

 
❻ it looks like the guy who took selfies and jumped out of a plane that crashed... he was wearing a parachute btw... he also had a Selfie stick... the FAA says he crashed that plane on purpose... the video got under 2 million views... looks like the fella will be losing his pilot license but that's just about all the FAA has the power to do...

 
❺ *PG13 warning* a restaurant in British Columbia has been in the news for their dirty waffles...
It's a pop-up waffle shop (which makes it sound a little dirtier) and the waffles they sell look like ding dongs. Why? Is that the optimal shape for waffles on a stick? 
 
 
❹ KFC and Pro Flowers in the USA are teaming up to offer an incredible gift for special moms this Mothers Day... Flowers and fried chicken. They're calling it Kentucky Fried Buckquet... Give him something that shows you care... 
 *"Mother’s Day is KFC’s biggest day for online ordering and delivery, and one of its busiest days of the year, as the chain sells nearly 400,000 buckets of fried chicken on the holiday"
 
❸ rockets are so expensive that a company is trying something bonkers... 
A rocket company that sends up satellites thinks they can grab a rocket - as it plummets back down to earth - using a helicopter with a grappling hook!
Notes:
- this would save them the hassle and expense of retrieving the rocket booster from the ocean.
- as it falls back to earth, the rocket will deploy a parachute and the helicopter pilot will try to catch it by the parachute or parachute cord.
It's bonkers but worth the gamble... ???

 
❷ the giant robot that is set to destroy us all...
Notes:
- West Japan Railway built an enormous robot that looks like it's from the Transformers Movie
- it is fixing railway power lines in hard-to-get-to places
- it's controlled by a pilot who sees everything through virtual reality
- let's face it, at some point the robot will stop taking commands from the pilot and just go rogue
Here's a clip...
 
 
here's a clip of the robot becoming sentient ...
 
 
Honorable Mention: did Elon Musk do something or something?? 
 
 
❶ Good News Story!! Solar Panels you can see through are coming... they can be used as windows and capture solar energy while you look through them at the wasteland outside!! :) :) :)
We're not quite there yet but science is ON IT!!
https://interestingengineering.com/transparent-solar-panels-replace-windows-in-the-future-heres-how


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