12 News Items and Fast Facts That, For Better or Worse, You Have to Live With Now
Narcing can make you a millionaire, if you’re dedicated to your craft.
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You Can Make Six Figures Watching Parked Cars
New York City has a policy that pays people who narc on idling vehicles. You can get $90 for recording an idling delivery truck for three minutes (or 60 seconds if it’s on a block with a school). A few dedicated tattletales make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
The Garfield Mutation
After decades of research, scientists have pinpointed the genetic mutation that makes (mostly male) orange cats.
Harvard’s $30 Magna Carta Purchase Paid Off Big Time
A copy of the Magna Carta that Harvard bought in 1946 for $27.50 was thought to be a copy made in 1327. But recent appraisals have found that it’s actually one of six known copies issued by King Edward in 1300.
How Much Do These Bad Boys Go For?
It’s unlikely Harvard will sell theirs, but a 1297 copy sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.
Americans Are Taking Over Soccer
Just... not in America, and not the actual players. Next season, more than 50 percent of English soccer clubs will be owned by Americans.
If You Have a Mountain Dew Tattoo, You Could Be in Luck
Mountain Dew is changing its logo, and they’re offering to put anyone with the old logo into a lottery to potentially win a Vegas vacation.
It’s Not the First Tattoo-Based Promotion From the Food Industry
In 2022, nine people got Subway tattoos to get free subs, and in 2019, 381 people took up Domino’s Russia on their “100 pizzas a year for 100 years” offer.
The Airlines With the Most and Least Complaints
In 2024, the least complained-about airlines were Southwest (1.5 complaints per 100,000 passengers), Alaska (2.6) and Hawaiian (3.8). The most complaints were directed at JetBlue (10.4), Spirit (12.8) and Frontier (23.3).
The $3,000 Chicken
The ayam cemani is like the wagyu of poultry. Its eggs can be $100 for a half dozen, one dead chicken can cost $300 and a live one can go for $3,000.
What’s Faster, the Subway or Running Through the Streets of New York?
Two friends raced from Manhattan to Citi Field in Queens. One took a 17-stop subway ride, while the other got there at (reportedly) the exact same time, running 8.3 miles in 56 minutes.
The Three Horsemen of the New Jersey Transportation Apocalypse
In the span of just a few weeks, three major transportation disasters have plagued the Garden State: First, several sinkholes opened up underneath major highways when centuries-old mines collapsed, then there were at least two 90-second air traffic control blackouts at Newark International Airport, and now there’s been a statewide strike of NJ Transit train workers. Save us, Bruce Springsteen.
The First Bespoke CRISPR Treatment
A baby with a genetic liver disease was successfully treated with a customized gene-editing procedure, the first of its kind. It’s a milestone in the quest to treat rare genetic diseases in humans of any age.
