- Vacationing during a pandemic has its challenges. Adding to the stress of finding a non-crowded destination is the guilt some people feel for leaving their city. According to a survey of people who have traveled this summer, 62 percent say they were made to feel guilty by friends or family who felt it was better to stay home/staycation.

- A TikTok user captured a family in Santa Monica, California, getting upset and storming out of a restaurant after allegedly being told their dog was not allowed to be on top of the table. They apparently did not pay for the food they ordered before leaving. According to California law, pets are allowed in outdoor dining areas if they are on a leash and under control, but “pet dogs are not allowed on chairs, benches, seats, or other fixtures.”

- A German circus that has been closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic is making some extra money by selling poop — specifically lion poop. The Krone Circus is selling jars filled with big cat droppings, which officials said can be spread in a garden to keep pets and wild animals from damaging plants. Customers can visit the zoo’s pop-up store during special hours Monday through Friday, and the jars of lion feces can also be purchased online for shipment.

- You can change your life for the better in one minute. This is according to Gretchen Rubin, author an co-host of the Happier podcast. Here’s Rubin’s tip: Anything you can do in less than a minute, do without delay. Some examples of tasks you can do in less than a minute: put that dish in the dishwasher; return the document back to the folder where it came from; stick your coat in the closet when you come in from outside. Rubin said a lot of people have told her the one minute rule has massively transformed their surroundings.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BURGLAR DISMANTLES ONE-FOURTH OF CAMERAS _ At a store in Florida a man entered after hours and carefully dismantled its surveillance camera so that he could not be recorded burglarizing the business. However, he apparently did not notice the other three cameras.

 WACKY-BUT-TRUE: FLORIDA MAN DRIVES LAWNMOWER ON HIGHWAY _ A Florida man was stopped for driving his lawnmower on a state highway. Paul Burke was arrested after refusing a sobriety test, saying he only had “a couple” couple drinks. To his credit, Burke admits to the arresting officer “I have had maybe a little too much to drink tonight.” Eventually he tells the cop “just take me to jail.”

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN RECEIVES ID WITH PHOTO OF EMPTY CHAIR _ Driver’s license photos aren’t always the best, but when a Tennessee woman received her new ID the picture was perfect — for a furniture store. Jade Dodd renewed her license online and received it last week, but to her surprise, the photo wasn’t a picture of her. It only showed an empty chair.

… The chair ended up being the focal point of the license because it was the last photo taken and saved to Dodd’s file. The Tennessee Department of Safety says the photo was taken accidentally.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: TRANSMISSION ENDS ATTEMPT TO STEAL A CAB _ A 19-year-old American soldier who is accused of trying to steal a taxi at Munich International Airport was stopped by the car’s transmission. The soldier, a member of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Vilseck in Bavaria, was supposed to be flying back to the U.S. from Munich International Airport last week. Instead, he is accused of trying to take a Mercedes taxi for a spin after seeing the keys in the ignition and no one in the driver’s seat. The soldier tried to drive off but was apparently not prepared for the Mercedes’ transmission. The car was an automatic but the soldier apparently didn’t know how the gear selector operated.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN STUNS GUESTS WITH LIFELIKE STATUE OF LATE WIFE _ At an industrialist’s housewarming ceremony in India (Karnataka), guests were stunned to see his wife sitting on a sofa at the entrance. Shrinivas Gupta’s wife Madhavi had died three years ago in a car crash. It was Madhavi’s dream home and her family couldn’t think of moving in without her. The answer was a silicone statue so lifelike that the guests were speechless when they walked into the businessman’s new house. According to Gupta, the statue was installed just ahead of the ceremony so his wife could always live in her “dream home”. He said, “It is a great feeling to have my wife again at my home; this was her dream home. The house was designed as per her wishes and she alone was monitoring the progress of the construction of the house.” Mr Gupta said, adding he and his daughters missed her terribly.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: ARMORED SECURITY TRUCK TRAPS COPS _ In the UK an announcement blared from an armored security truck: “This van is under attack! Please call the police.” Two officers arrived to help. The first opened an escape hatch and climbed in the back to check the guard — and was promptly locked in. The other officer went to the front to check the driver — and was promptly locked in. There was no robbery: the van crew had apparently accidentally triggered the anti-robbery system.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: FUGITIVE’S FAKE EARS COME OFF _ A dangerous Chinese fugitive tried to cross illegally over the border with a passport belonging to another person. To complete his disguise he had asked a local surgeon to glue on fake ears. Unfortunately they came unstuck just as he was crossing passport control.

Entertainment News

Question of the Podcast - What is the greatest impact Covid 19 has had on your life? The question of the podcast for listener participation for this Wednesday is What is your favorite TV show of all time? You can respond to the question on The Jason & Mindy Facebook page or the Lowtree Studios facebook page and we will feature your response on next Wednesday’s show.

WEIRD FOOD DELICACIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Gourmet coffee, fancy chocolate, caviar — but here are some delicacies you’ve probably never tried.

• Birds Nest Soup, China: It’s something in the saliva of the bird that makes it have this unique gelatinous, rubbery texture and it’s one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. It’s expensive because the swiftlets build the nests during breeding season over a period of 35 days and nests can only be harvested around three times a year. A bowl of soup can cost anywhere from $30 to $100.

• Fried tarantulas, Cambodia: They’re fried whole — legs, fangs and all.

• Puffer fish, Japan: The deadly Puffer fish, or fugu, is the ultimate delicacy in Japan even though its skin and insides contain a poisonous toxin that is 1,250 times stronger than cyanide. That’s why in Japan only expert chefs in licensed restaurants are allowed to prepare it.

• Balut, Phillipines: Fertilized eggs are boiled just before they’re due to hatch, so your yolk oozes out followed by… a chicken (or duck). They are cooked when the fetus is anywhere from 17 days to 21 days depending on your preference, although when the egg is older the fetus begins to have a beak, claws, bones and feathers. The way to eat Balut is to crack open the egg, sip the broth and then eat the yolk and fetus.

• Casu Marzu, Sardinia: This Sardinian cheese is a cheese with a difference — it’s riddled with insect larvae. “Casu Marzu” means ‘rotten cheese’ and is most commonly referred to as “maggot cheese.’ It’s now banned for health reasons but can still be available on the black market in Sardinia and Italy.

• Live Octopus, Korea: The octopus is cut into pieces while still alive, lightly seasoned with sesame oil and served immediately while the tentacles can still be seen squirming on the plate.

• Kopi Luwak, Indonesia: Kopi Luwak is the rarest, most expensive gourmet coffee in the world. It’s actually made from the excrements of an Indonesian cat-like creature called the Luwak. The Luwak eats only the ripest coffee cherries but its stomach can’t digest beans inside them, so they come out whole. The coffee that results from this process is said to be like no other, and the stomach acids and enzymes that perform the fermentation of the beans give the coffee a special aroma. But at $250 per pound, you might stick with Folgers.

Fun Facts

• The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

• In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

- Using marijuana is becoming more and more acceptable in the United States, both medically and recreationally. Despite more states making its use legal, there is still a stigma around pot, especially in the workplace. So does using marijuana really affect your job performance? A new study finds it all depends on when you use it. Researchers from San Diego State and Auburn Universities surveyed 281 employees and their supervisors, looking at the times workers use cannabis products and if managers notice a drop in performance. Although the results show marijuana use before and during the workday decreases performance, supervisors don’t report a drop-off in workers who use it after.

FIVE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD NEVER ASK IN A JOB INTERVIEW

If you’ve had no luck finding work, maybe it’s because you have asked one of the five following questions during the interview.

1. When will I be promoted

2. What’s the salary for this position?

3. When can I expect a raise?

4. What sort of flextime options do you have?

5. Any question that shows you haven’t been listening!

EVEN MORE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD NEVER ASK IN A JOB INTERVIEW

• Is your toilet paper 1- or 2-ply?

• What hour of the day is the building totally and completely empty?

• Do you have video surveillance in this place?

• What’s the company policy on “borrowing” items from the employee fridge.

• How closely do you check the mileage on company vehicles?

• How much Facebook time can I take each day?

• I understand there is a “no pets” policy. Does this include small- to medium-size snakes?

• Do you know if that beautiful carpet in the break room is glued down?

Water Cooler Question

One in four women say they’ve cried over what? (A bad haircut)

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