15 minute read
That’s Odd
space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”
Blue Origin is auctioning off a seat on its New Shepard rocket, Bloomberg added. The 11-minute trip on July 20 to suborbital space will reach an altitude of approximately 62 miles. Customers will enjoy a four-day experience, including three days of pre-flight training at the launch site near Van Horn, Texas, the company promised.
Bidding will end on June 12 and proceeds from the sale will go to a Blue Origin foundation promoting math and science.
SCOTUS Rules on Non-Citizens
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the U.S. government may block non-citizens who are in temporary status from applying for a Green Card if they entered the country illegally, CNN reported.
The case under discussion concerns Jose Sanchez and Sonia Gonzales, a New Jersey couple who arrived in the U.S. illegally in 1997 and 1998, and who now have four children, the youngest of whom was born in the U.S. and holds American citizenship.
According to CNN, in 2001, following a series of earthquakes in El Salvador, the pair applied for and received Temporary Protected Status, offering them protection from removal from the U.S. In 2014, the couple applied for Green Cards. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied their application, claiming they were ineligible because they had entered the U.S. illegally and had never been formally admitted to the country.
On Monday, Justice Elena Kagan ruled that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) does not confer admission, and since there is “no dispute” that the couple had entered the U.S. “unlawfully,” the government may deny the applications.
“He therefore cannot become a permanent resident of this country,” Kagan wrote of Sanchez.
1,500,231 Pushups
Nate Carroll is pushing the limit. The father of three recently set a world record for most pushups done in a year. How many of those exercises did Carroll perform? A whopping 1,500,231.
The pushups weren’t just meant to give Carroll more muscles. Carroll used his exercise to raise money for the families of fallen first responders.
He broke the record on the 50yard line of MetLife Stadium in front of first responders during half-time of the 48th Annual Fun City Bowl, an annual showdown between the New York’s fire and police football teams.
“It was awesome to be on the field, to be cheered on by so many first responders,” said Carroll.
The dad said he was motivated by his family, and he wanted to “demonstrate to my kids what goals that seem impossible look like when they are broken down into daily manageable chunks.”
The record for most pushups in 365 days had interested Carroll for a few years, but “I understood if this challenge was going to be taken on, there had to be more depth to it besides just breaking a record.”
He spent the last year raising money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Program, which pays off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty and leave behind young children.
“Averaging over 4,000 pushups a day certainly develop muscle in the arms and core,” Carroll acknowledged. “However, what was most noticed was my awareness of how my body felt and responded to the stress of thousands of pushups each day,” Carroll said but noted that the “most dramatic change was … mental strength and the understanding that the body is a phenomenal creation, and if properly cared for and conditioned, can endure significant physical stress and accomplish tremendous feats.”
Carroll advises, “Set a goal, and get after it. Make it who you are, not something you do. That way, when it gets hard and life throws obstacles in your way and offers you convenient excuses to stop or says it’s too difficult, you find a way to endure and persevere and keep after it. Winning those mini-battles each day builds strength and shapes one’s perspective of what is possible.”
Carroll is still not done. His 12-month quest isn’t over until June 13. He said he wants the final total of pushups to feature the numbers 911, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Carroll said he is just getting started. He may be middle-aged but his journey is just beginning.
“In the past 15 months, I’ve ran 50 miles around my house, finished 3,000 pushups during a marathon, 5,000 pushups during a 31-mile trail race, and completed over 1.5 million pushups in 365 days. I’m 45 years old and not getting any younger…”
That makes me feel old.
Sleeping with the Fishes
Want to spend the night among salmon, sharks, and Sebastian the crab?
Mattress brand Beautyrest is giving someone the chance to spend the night at the Long Island Aquarium in August as a way to promote its new Harmony Lux Hybrid mattress.
The person – and one guest – will get to test out the new mattress, meet penguins, dive with sharks and get a private tour of the Riverhead aquarium from August 19 through August 20.
The guests will also receive a champagne dinner, a seaweed wrap pedicure, breakfast on the water, and a private, guided kayaking tour of the Peconic River.
The exclusive stay will be available for a first-come, first-serve booking on World Oceans Day, June 8, on the Long Island Aquarium website.
According to Beautyrest, its new Harmony Lux Hybrid mattress uses fabric made with recovered ocean plastics.
“We’re proud to provide another option to help people find their best fit for a good night’s sleep that provides both luxury and sustainability,” Jessica Goldberg, Beautyrest’s senior brand manager, said in a statement. “This overnight experience provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy all that the Harmony Lux Hybrid has to offer in a once-in-a-lifetime environment.”
Let’s dive right in.
$1.5M of Whale Vomit
Whale vomit just made a group of Yemeni fishermen rich.
The ambergris, also known as whale vomit, came from a sperm whale carcass in the Gulf of Aden. Inside the floating whale’s stomach was 280 pounds of ambergris, which is a solid digestive substance that’s used in the fragrance industry for scent stabilization.
The material is created when a sperm whale can’t digest beaks from squid and cuttlefish, according to recent theories that believe ambergris is regurgitated as a protective mechanism following intestinal irritation.
Thirty-five men reeled in the deceased whale under the suspicion that the whale contained ambergris based on its smell, one of the fishermen explained in a video interview with the BBC.
The 280 pounds of ambergris was reportedly sold for $1.5 million to a trader in the United Arab Emirates. The fishermen split their seven-figure catch and bought cars, homes and boats with their loot while also making charitable donations to their village.
Whale vomit has made others rich as well.
In 2016, Gulf News reported that three fisherman in Oman found and sold 176 pounds of ambergris, which was worth nearly $3 million. Four years later, a Thai fisherman found and sold 220 pounds of ambergris that is worth around $3.3.
And that’s something to gag about.
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100 & Fabulous
Elaine Foster and Evelyn Lowe celebrated their 100th birthday earlier this year.
The twins grew up in Prince George’s County in Maryland. Recently, the county threw a drive-by birthday celebration for the centenarians as part of the Office of Community Relations’ annual “100 Events of Summer” initiative.
Foster and Lane, who were born and raised in the county, received flowers, balloons, gift baskets, and gift certificates to their favorite restaurant at the celebration.
They are planning to use the gift certificates for sangria.
The women live together fairly independently in a house in Bowie, Maryland.
When asked by the “Today” show earlier this year about turning 100 on March 31, Foster said, “I just feel normal.”
“You’re right about that,” Lowe agreed.
Questioned about their secret for a long life, Foster said, “I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know how I happened to live as long as I have.”
“I have not the vaguest idea,” Lowe echoed.
Well, they must be doing something right.
Pricey Park
If you thought parking in New York City was getting expensive, don’t go to Hong Kong.
A parking space in an affluent Hong Kong neighborhood recently sold for $1.3 million – a new world record.
The parking space at the luxury Mount Nicholson residential project was sold to an unidentified buyer.
The whopping $1.3 million price for the 134.5-square foot parking space amounts to about $9,500 per square foot.
The sum beat the previous world record for the most expensive parking spot: a $969,000 space sold at the 79-story Hong Kong office tower The Center in October 2019.
So much for complaining about the parking situation on Central Avenue.
Alligator Plays Piano
We know we got you with that headline, and we admit that it was a bit deceiving.
The alligator playing the piano in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand is acutally 11-year-old Seenlada Supat. She wears an alligator costume as she tickles the ivories for animals at the zoo. Visitation to the zoo has been low due to Covid; Supat is entertaining these animals so they’re not too bored.
“I’m playing music to soothe the animals to help them feel relaxed and give them company so they are not too lonely,” Supat told Reuters.
She wears a bright green alligator costume to blend in with her audiences, which have included music-loving lemurs, meerkats, hippos and zebras.
Supat’s music ― a medley of Thai folk and pop songs ― seems to be striking a chord with the zoo animals, especially the lemurs who often hop on the keyboard.
Supat is happy that her audience is enthused by her music.
“I wanted them to be involved with me while I’m playing music,” she said. “I don’t mind – it’s as if they’re playing music with me too.”
Zoo director Tawin Rattanawongsawat said the animals are giving Supat’s recitals positive reviews.
“We noticed that the animals were reacting,” Tawin said, according to Reuters. “They became curious while others appeared to be enjoying the music.”
And that’s music to our ears.
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