Not Another Gnome

It is Saturday May 15th: Let’s start your weekend! - As the coronavirus death toll ticks up and some states ease their restrictions, a new study suggests that men might be more likely to leave their face coverings at home. Men in the US report less intention than women to wear face coverings, especially in counties that don’t mandate wearing them, according to a study (Mathematical Science Research Institute in Berkeley, California). This, the authors say, suggests that making face coverings mandatory “has a larger effect on men than on women.” - A survey shows 88% of workers have lied for a boss or supervisor. - A South Carolina restaurant partially reopening for dine-in customers is keeping the tables compliant with social distancing guidelines by filling the dining room with blow-up dolls. The Open Hearth restaurant (in Taylors) closed its dining room due to the COVID-19 pandemic March 17 and was allowed to reopen this week with a reduced capacity and a requirement that customers are seated 6 feet apart. The owners of the eatery said they didn’t want the restaurant to look empty when customers came in to eat. - A British charity is seeking volunteers willing to walk barefoot over Lego bricks to raise money for children with disabilities. Caudwell Children, a charity providing practical and emotional support to children with disabilities and their families, said it is seeking volunteers to participate from their own homes in the May 31 Lego Walk. The charity create pre-recorded instructional videos to show the volunteers how to safely walk across a pile of Lego bricks. - Creepy! Wichita, Kansas, police arrested a 14-year-old boy who allegedly entered a home and was caught on camera standing directly over a sleeping girl. The teen faces charges of aggravated burglary and theft. - For those of us who suffer from seasonal allergies, the spring and summer can be miserable. A few tweaks to your daily routine can keep the outdoors from invading your home. The blog Apartment Therapy gives some great ideas, but here’s one we’ve never heard: change your clothes and shoes as soon as you enter your home. Leaving the clothes by the door prevents the transfer of allergens into other rooms. Don’t bring these clothes into the bedroom and put them in the hamper, either — that brings allergens into the bedroom and defeats the purpose. - If you bite your tongue or stub your toe, your first instinct is probably to yell “Ow!” But have you ever wondered why that is? According to a study, being vocal could actually help you tolerate the pain. Researchers tested how long subjects could keep their hands immersed in very cold water before they couldn’t take it anymore. They found that saying “ow” during the experiment increased the subjects’ tolerance for pain. - A new study examining people’s cleaning frequencies and their personality traits revealed Americans who are “super clean” are twice as happy with their overall lives than those who believe themselves to be “messy.” The study surveyed 2,000 Americans and divided them into three self-identifying groups: super clean, moderately clean and messy. The super cleans were found to be more content in family matters, have a better sex life, get better sleep, have more career satisfaction, and felt less stressed. WHAT IS A FACT THAT CAN POSSIBLY SAVE YOUR LIFE? Some tips from the reddit community. • This is a New Zealand specific one, but all emergency numbers work here. The official number is 111. But 999, 000, 911, etc. will all work. This is so that tourists can still reach emergency services easily. • When having a heart attack, you don’t swallow asprin, you chew it. • If your vomit look like coffee grounds you are bleeding internally and you need to go to the hospital. • There are no rules if a stranger puts their hands on you. Yell, scream, kick, bite, make the biggest scene you possibly can