Cultural Curiosities

Have you ever wondered about how other people might see this society? The proliferation of “tip jars” when virtually no service is performed; the intense scrutiny of head injuries in football, while players who make great plays deliberately bang their heads together; cars that can go almost four times the speed limit, manufactured and sold despite it. Why do we smuggle dogs into restaurants, refuse to merge in traffic, and think AI will become sentient and rule us when we still have to unplug and replug electronics as the primary repair principle? Laugh tracks, scripted reality shows, “influencers”: Why do we kid ourselves with this stuff? I wouldn't mind Wolfgang Puck giving me advice on menu selections, but I resent my life trickling away while a waiter tells me his or her favorite dishes. Why do tennis and golf professionals require total silence, but quarterbacks, basketball players, and boxers do not? Why do we talk too much and too loudly in public areas, but we’re mute in elevators? My guess is that people who borrow $300,000 to pay tuition to major in philosophy or history, which pay on average about $60,000 a year IF they can find a job, should really take more math courses. Why does an auto DUI not trigger a search for a boating or plane license? Can I lose my driving privileges at noon and take off in my Cessna for dinner? Does the advice “don’t take this medicine if you’re allergic to it” really help if you’ve never taken it? Do we have a right to complain about uncomfortable seats on an airplane taking us cross country in six hours for $100? What the hell is an “influencer”? And then there’s kale….