News Sidequest

A BYU study of nearly 1,700 married couples finds that those who exercise together report stronger communication, better conflict resolution, and lower marital stress — and walking was the most commonly reported form. Only about a third of couples who exercise do so together. Also: the New York Times reports that AI agents are now logging directly into Canvas and Blackboard, watching lecture videos, completing quizzes, writing discussion posts, and posing as students — and 73% of faculty say they have personally dealt with an AI academic integrity issue. And a new paper in Translational Psychiatry finds that people with stronger psychopathic personality traits have significantly higher levels of three specific gut bacteria — Allisonella, Prevotella, and Cloacibacillus evryensis — and the researchers suggest the gut-brain axis may be influencing behavior in ways previously unrecognized. Plus octopus fight club, a tortoise found 12 miles from home, the polar bear foghorn fine, and tomb raiders stealing from the dead.

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The Washington Post reports that as the Iran war approaches the six-month mark and inflation hits 3.8%, Americans are cutting corners on groceries, entertainment, and clothing — with Dollar General's CEO noting that core customers are cutting food purchases due to rising gas prices. Also: a new UNIGE study published in Social and Emotional Learning finds that improv theater outperforms mindfulness meditation and emotion-focused board games for improving cognitive empathy and willingness to collaborate in anxious teens specifically — and the mechanism explains why. And the USS Abraham Lincoln has now been at sea for 260 days, extended twice past its expected May return with no end date announced, with multiple sailors having attempted to go overboard, one wife describing her husband's 13-year career potentially ending "just because he was burnt out," and 200 families confronting Navy leadership in San Diego. Plus the demon cavefish, the ancient wrestler's tomb, the Dobby grave pipeline diversion, and the Mini-Mozart heist.

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The New York Times reports that a bipartisan federal bill — the Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act — is making its way through Congress specifically because parents are being investigated by CPS for letting their kids play outside unsupervised, with only nine states currently having explicit free-range parenting protections. Also: a Zety survey and multiple HR industry reports confirm that parents are showing up at job interviews, contacting recruiters, challenging performance reviews, calling in sick on behalf of adult children, and intervening in layoffs — with one survey finding 77% of Gen Z job seekers have brought a parent to an interview at least once. And a new iScience study using fMRI brain scans finds that dogs can distinguish not just positive from negative emotions but fear from anger and sadness from fear — with happy human faces activating the dogs' reward centers. Plus the TSA's live-animal-in-electronics plea, 7UP's formula change, a bird strike flame landing, and the boy who listened to cicadas for four hours.

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A Talker Research survey of 2,000 US college students finds that only 45% feel optimistic about the job market, 69% fear AI will cause a "job apocalypse," and 22% have already changed their major because of it — while simultaneously, 91% are using AI to upskill. Also: a Brazilian study of 5,117 adults published in PLOS One finds that "nonordinary experiences" — hearing a voice, sensing a presence, feeling sudden overwhelming awe — are far more common than clinical research suggests, and roughly 51% said the experience had a positive long-term effect on their life. And a University of Missouri study of 67 adults published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine finds that a consistent daily routine was linked to lower physical pain and fewer symptoms of depression — regardless of whether participants had insomnia. Plus a machete vs. hatchet Florida parking lot duel, a flight canceled because a child wouldn't buckle up, a 162-year-old Guinness bottle in a shipwreck, and flesh-eating bacteria.

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BuzzFeed compiled 19 "giant lies" sold to entire generations — get a degree and you'll be set, work hard and you'll get ahead, starter homes are just a few years away — and the comments are full of people adding smaller ones that stick just as much. Also: New Orleans has confirmed AI has been answering some 911 calls since 2023, triggering a national debate — but what it's actually doing is considerably more limited and more defensible than the headline suggests, which raises its own questions. And a new eight-year study of nearly 13,000 adults published in the journal Neurology finds that people under 60 who consume artificial sweeteners regularly showed cognitive decline 62% faster than the lowest-consumption group. Plus 90,000 rubber ducks in the Chicago River, a hotel bathtub full of potatoes, a locust swarm in Russia, and a bar banning Meta smart glasses.

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Betty Bromage is a 97-year-old former nurse from Cheltenham who suffered a stroke in August 2025, recovered, and on Tuesday walked along the wing of a moving airplane to break her own Guinness World Record — which she previously set at 93. She's already planning something for her 100th birthday. Also: University of Nottingham researchers conducted three studies with more than 1,200 participants and found that hardship alone doesn't predict conspiracy belief — what matters is whether the hardship leads someone to see the world as fundamentally unfair. And on Monday, Booklegger in Old Town Eureka, California received a bubble-wrapped package with an illegible return address. Inside: a first-edition Edward Gorey book stolen roughly 40 years ago, a handwritten apology note from a "young man" who said he was 18 or 19 at the time, and a $100 bill. Plus the Grim Reaper on a hospital roof, gene-edited allergy-free beagles, Neil Armstrong's childhood home, and Americans returning to dairy.

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A UC Berkeley study conducted with Meta researchers during the 2020 election reduced users' exposure to untrustworthy content on Facebook and Instagram by 70% — and measured almost no change in beliefs across 20 primary outcomes. The researchers' conclusion is the uncomfortable one: social media companies can change what you see, but beliefs are shaped by something deeper. Also: a new BMC Psychology study of 664 adults finds compulsive dating app use is linked to a weaker belief that romantic love is meaningful and a more transactional view of relationships — people fall in love faster but less discriminately and see love as less worth taking seriously. And a San Francisco billboard is advertising "ChatTJB," described as "the leading chatbot powered by AI" — where AI stands for "average individual," the chatbot is Tucker Bryant, a former Google staffer, and he answers every message by hand to make a point about cognitive surrender. Plus a bush-disguised cop, a prehistoric three-way chomping, the koi fish murder, and a Little Debbie delivery scheme.

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A yearlong University of Edinburgh study of 45 workers aged 50-66 using wearable sensors found that nearly 70% had persistent clinically significant sleep problems and 92% met sleep disorder criteria at least once — despite most averaging a normal 6.5-8 hours of sleep nightly. The problem isn't duration. It's disruption. Also: Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong — currently having one of the best offensive seasons in franchise history, with numbers that compare favorably to Babe Ruth — appeared on a podcast and said "Babe Ruth never existed is one that I like" as his craziest unpopular opinion. And a two-week study tracking 900 adults published in PLOS ONE found that temptation, not stress or mood, is the strongest predictor of problematic internet use — roughly doubling the odds of going online on any given day. Plus a JetBlue free fall, the Idaho Hungry Hungry Hippos record, nude dining in Florida, and a bison with opinions about tourists.

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The Wall Street Journal reports there were 6,376 properties with HOA-related foreclosure filings in Q1 2026 — up nearly 40% from two years earlier, rising faster than mortgage foreclosure rates, driven by rising insurance premiums, maintenance costs, and homeowners falling behind on dues. Also: a new study published in Psychological Science finds that conversations about boring topics are significantly more enjoyable than people expect — and people systematically underestimate how much strangers enjoy talking to them. And at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, a State Department official presented a map of Africa generated by an OpenAI tool that placed Nigeria in the Sahara Desert, moved Mozambique to the Horn of Africa, and relocated the Ivory Coast away from any coast. Every single country was wrong. Plus the Minnesota spike strip man, the wildfire near Area 51, the nude man claiming to be Jesus, and the Only Fans marmots.

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Fortune reports that the US has lost a fifth of its movie theaters and nearly a third of its bowling alleys since 2001, all 12 categories of "third places" tracked by a 2025 Census study declined from 2019 to 2021, and economists now put the loneliness epidemic's cost to the US economy at $406 billion annually. Also: a Talker Research survey of 2,000 Americans finds the average salary needed for "true love" is $106,417 — with 78% of Gen Z saying salary will determine whether someone can find true love, compared to just 32% of Baby Boomers. And University of Virginia biology professor Erin Clabough writes in The Conversation that the American education system is functionally optimized to produce anxiety — not learning — and a 2026 study confirms that academic pressure at 15 predicts depressive symptoms that persist into adulthood. Plus Civil War cannonballs in checked luggage, a plane preacher banned by Alaska Airlines, a flying saucer alert over Gatwick, and a lawn mower OUI in Iowa.

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