In Other News

[toWERS]

Sure, let's fill the streets with rats to stop the plague and then we can inject ourselves some bleach :b :

[Dauphin]

Not sure I buy that.

I’ve heard opposite arguments - that large rat populations actually decrease the chance of spread to humans compared to small populations. The fleas that spread the disease prefer rat hosts, and so would only feed from, and so infect, a human host if there were no nearby rats to live on. More rats, lower likelihood of picking a human to feed on.

Outbreaks of plague would therefore occur if there were a sudden decline in rat population in the area, causing the fleas to seek new human hosts, en masse.

[Uncle Sparky]

All Obama's fault.

[Berzerker]

dont know if this is true but i heard one of the reasons the plague hit Europe so hard was they killed cats out of superstition allowing for more rats to spread

and the plague coincided with the little ice age so rats and people were spending more time inside

[SlowwHand]

Go cats!

[Uncle Sparky]

I bet a witch came up with that plan! Burn the witches!

[SlowwHand]

Don't like cats? I do. There are worse things.

Animal Rescue Has Released 1,000 Feral Cats into Chicago's Streets to Combat City's Rat Problem

[ricketyclik]

Chromosome 6 by Robin Cook.

[DARcness]

https://6rmdtdlklvenw5ikxlb2nyh5iy-ac5fdsxevxq4s5y-amp-tagesanzeiger-ch.translate.goog/putzfrau-ersetzt-ihren-chef-als-buergermeisterin-237162216558

[BeBMan]

FB is bad for ppl anyway:

In 2014, researchers in Austria found that participants reported lower moods after using Facebook for 20 minutes compared to those who just browsed the internet. The study suggested that people felt that way because they saw it as a waste of time.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...d-the-unknowns

[Uncle Sparky]

No Facebook for Pussygrabber.

[BanditGaming]

I feel that it's ethically bad, but I'm curious as f*k to see it goes successfully.

[SlowwHand]

[Broken_Erika]

Canadian 'sign war' captivates the internet



For the past week, the Canadian town of Listowel has been embroiled in a war of words via business signs that has captivated local residents and people around the world.

It started as a battle between two businesses in the Ontario town - Speedy Glass and Dairy Queen (DQ) - and has since spread to the entire town and even further afield.

Locals have been joining in, creating fun mottos for their business' sign.

"There are thousands of signs on local businesses from our town alone to neighbouring towns and cities and counties," Trevor Cork, owner of Speedy Glass, told the BBC.

He decided to challenge DQ to a sign war after seeing a similar attempt in Virginia that had gone viral.

"It absolutely blew up," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56972907

[Broken_Erika]

There can be only one

Josh fight: Hundreds join friendly battle for naming rights


Hundreds of people have gathered in a US park, armed with pool noodles, to take part in a friendly battle over the right to use the name Josh.

Last April, Arizona student Josh Swain, 22, jokingly messaged dozens of people who shared his name, and challenged them to a fight.

It quickly went viral online.

A year later, dozens of people called Josh arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, to battle for the popular name.

The event began with "an epic contest of rock, paper, scissors" between organiser Josh Swain and another Josh Swain from Omaha, said Yousef Nasser, a reporter with local broadcaster KLKN, who filmed the battle. The Arizona Josh won the contest.

The subsequent pool noodle fight was open to anyone with the first name Josh. Dozens of Joshes - some wearing Spider-Man costumes and others in Jedi robes - tried to hit one another with the noodles, as a large crowd of cheering supporters looked on.

In the end, four-year-old Josh Vinson Jr, nicknamed Little Josh, was crowned the winner. He received a Burger King crown, a champion's belt and a small trophy.

"From the start it was a spectacle," Mr Nasser told the BBC. "I would describe it as an internet meme come to life."

The event also sparked a charity fundraising drive, which raised over $8000 for a local children's hospital, Mr Nasser added.

The idea for the event began in April 2020 when Mr Swain, in "a spell of pandemic boredom," started a group message with as many people he could find on Facebook who shared his first and last name. The college student challenged the doppelgangers to a duel for the right to be known as Josh Swain, on 24 April 2021.

He posted the exchange on Twitter, where it gained tens of thousands of "likes".

Mr Swain said he was surprised at how big the event turned out.

"I did not expect people to be as adamant about this as they are right now," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56886857