- It’s long been believed that children who learn a musical instrument generally perform better in school. A new study may provide an explanation for this musical connection. Researchers from the University of Zurich say musicians have super connected brains compared to people who don’t play instruments. Their findings reveal those who begin practicing an instrument at a younger age have stronger connections than those who pick up an instrument later in life. The discovery shows just one of the ways in which people’s experiences can shape their brain.

- Your sweetheart or your pet. Who would you choose to dump if one had to go? Most current pet owners said they would hold on to their spouse or significant other (84 percent), but a sizable 14 percent picked their pets.

… And while both men and women were equally likely to go with their spouse or significant other, women are far more likely than men to say the human-pet choice would be a tough one (40 percent among women compared with 26 percent among men).

- In another sign that 2021 will be better than 2020, Peeps will be back for the Easter season and the treats have even been spotted back in stores. Peeps took Halloween and Christmas 2020 off and didn’t release any themed shapes for those holidays due to the effects of the pandemic. But, as planned, they’ll be heading back to stores in time for Easter. They tweeted earlier this month counting down to Easter, and even showed production revving up for their favorite holiday.

… Some specialty Peeps have even been spotted back in stores and online retailers, including Peeps Party Cake and Hot Tamales. What is available near you will vary.

A study found that 86 percent of adults and 91 percent of youngsters admitted to being very scared of something. War? Terrorists? Loss of social security? Actually, monsters. Forty-three percent of adults and 55 percent of youth polled thought monsters were in or around their house.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN STABS HUSBAND AFTER CATCHING HIM WITH PICS OF HER _ Ever hear the term blind rage? It’s phrase for the phenomenon that occurs when otherwise rational people become completely irrational due to something that upsets them. For example, finding your husband with pictures of a much younger woman on his phone is the type of instance that might send one into a blind rage. A guy in Mexico took some old photographs of his wife from their younger days, scanned them, and then saved them to his phone so he would have them to look at any time. But his wife, not recognizing herself, thought it was a younger woman he was having an affair with and stabbed him multiple times. The husband was able to wrestle the knife away from her and explain that it was her in the pictures, but not before neighbors heard the fight and called the police.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: TRAIN PASSENGERS STRANDED AT WRONG STOP _ Around 100 train passengers were left stranded at a station in China after a conductor called out the wrong stop. The passengers were stuck for hours thanks to the confused conductor.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN FELL OVER PILE OF ACCIDENT CLAIM FORMS _ In Scotland a woman suffered pain and loss of earnings after falling while at work. The woman was an insurance worker. She won a settlement after she tripped and fell over a pile of accident claim forms left on the floor by a fellow employee.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: COUPLES COUNSELING OVER TIKTOK _ A husband and wife in Brazil are seeing a marriage counselor because she spends too much time on TikTok. According to the husband the wife is so obsessed with creating and watching TikToks she’s taken leave from her job and asked her mother-in-law to watch their children for a few weeks until her TikTok career takes off.

Entertainment News

Question of the Podcast - Pull a card! The question of the podcast for listener participation for Wednesday is: pull a card! 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.

Fun Facts

✓ At this moment, nearly 2,000 thunderstorms are taking place around the world.

✓ Only about a third of the world’s population eats with a knife and fork.

- Researchers (European Society of Cardiology) say the idea of being “fat but fit” is a myth. They say the theory that staying active can counteract the negative effects of obesity is false and even overweight people who exercise still suffer from poorer heart health. While fresh analysis of data on more than 520,000 adults does suggest exercise helps to reduce the odds of developing hypertension and diabetes, researchers find being overweight still significantly raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, compared to inactive normal weight people, those who are active and obese are still around twice as likely to have high cholesterol. These individuals are four times more likely to have diabetes and five times more likely to have high blood pressure.

WHAT IS THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY TO BE WOKEN UP?

This question was asked on reddit: What’s the worst way to be woken up?

• I was sleeping on an air mattress and my friend dove onto the other side of the mattress, bouncing me up into the air. I woke up not touching the ground, weightless, falling. It sure got the adrenaline going.

• For those who have dogs or cats: The sound of “GUH GUH GUH GUH” as your dog is about to throw up all over your bed or your floor.

• Waking up and thinking you have hours left to sleep and then hearing the alarm go off right as you’re about to drift back into sleep.

• My friend’s dad woke him up once by pouring a gas can on him. When my friend realized what was going on, his dad was lighting a match and threw it at him. The gas can was filled with water. My friend never overslept for school again.

• I rarely am able to sleep on airplanes, but I was on a flight last year and somehow managed to nod off into a peaceful slumber. All of a sudden I’m jostled awake by an intense free-falling feeling and screams of terror coming from all around me. You know that 1 in 1,000 type of turbulence pilots talk about from time to time? The plane went into what felt like a sideways dive at like a 30-40 degree angle for a good 6-8 seconds. Everyone in the plane lost it. The pilots regained control and all was well. They admitted on the intercom that it was some of the worst turbulence they’d ever encountered. I woke up right in the middle of that.

• One time I was woken up by my 3-year-old cousin sitting on my chest and rubbing peanut butter into my mustache. When I opened my eyes she said, “We’re out of cornflakes. Fix it.”

Water cooler question

On average, the typical U.S. household serves what 7 times per month? (Chicken)

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