"Among the items that now take up space in David Rush’s basement and garage are: Four unicycles, hundreds of juggling objects, piles of chopsticks, three pogo sticks, a Samurai sword and a water balloon launcher." The Samurai sword may sound a little worrisome. And I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a neighbor who juggles axes in the backyard. But David Rush is probably pretty harmless (if you keep a distance) to everyone other than those clinging to one of many bizarre Guinness World Records. Those people should beware. He's coming after you. Rush now holds the record for most records, and that includes setting a new record (after his old one had been broken) by "smashing 55 vinyl records in 30 seconds." WaPo (Gift Article): It began with sibling rivalry. Now he has 181 Guinness World Records. Maybe David Rush is a little crazy. Or maybe, in a moment when we're all desperate for momentary distractions from political battles and geopolitical news, a guy who spends his time focused on trying to balance 101 rolls of toilet paper rolls on his head will also set a record for holding onto his sanity the longest. 2Racing Against the RaceThere are two campaign races: One for votes, one to suppress or overturn them. And while one candidate currently has a lot of momentum in terms of enthusiasm, the other candidate has a lot of momentum when it comes to convincing people the vote is rigged, limiting the number of people who get to vote, and laying the groundwork for disputing results. Heather Cox Richardson in Letters From an American on the little lies that support the big one: "The lie that there was widespread voter fraud in 2020 led to a wave of new state laws to suppress the vote. MAGA lawmakers defended these laws on the grounds that they must respond to voter fraud. The nonprofit law and public policy Brennan Center for Justice recorded that in 2021 alone, from January 1 through December 7, at least 19 states passed 34 laws that restricted access to voting. As MAGA Republicans and their plans—especially their assault on reproductive healthcare and the policies outlined in Project 2025—become increasingly unpopular, Republican-dominated states are ramping up their effort to keep the people they assume will oppose them from voting." 3Moving to the Land Down Under"After weeks of scrolling, I found a handful of dream hideaways on the market whose sellers were willing to let me take a tour. There were two bunkers in Montana, one of which sleeps at least ninety; a prepper bunker in Missouri that features an inconspicuous entrance and a conspicuous arsenal of guns (not included in sale, but makes you think twice before criticizing the kitchen-countertop choice); a defunct missile-silo site in North Dakota; and a twenty-thousand-square-foot cave in Arkansas used by its previous owner to raise earthworms. (Favorite bit of real-estate marketing copy: 'The worm room speaks for itself.') Patricia Marx in The New Yorker: Real Estate Shopping for the Apocalypse. "Thirty-nine per cent of Americans believe that we’re living in end times, and the market for underground hideouts is heating up." 4Band of BrothersWill the Gallagher brothers really put aside their infamous feud for what could be a highly lucrative Oasis reunion tour? I mean, they say yes. So fans are looking forward with anticipation. But will they end up looking back in anger? The shows the band has announced are scheduled for next summer. That leaves a lot of time to get into another fight. The Gallagher brothers are reviving Oasis. Here's a look at their decades-long feud. (These Gallagher brothers should not be confused with the much more reasonable Gallagher brothers famous for smashing watermelons with a giant mallet.) 5Extra, ExtraStem Cells Offer Seeds of Hope: "Smith is at the forefront of a medical experiment that seeks to treat the root cause of diabetes by replacing the cells the disease destroys. It’s a key step forward in the long quest to develop a cure for diabetes and a front-runner to finally deliver the sci-fi promise that has enveloped the stem cell field for more than two decades." Diabetes took over her life, until a stem cell therapy freed her. 6Bottom of the News"A 15-year-old girl and her boyfriend are studying alone together on a hot summer day when she removes her jacket and clings to his shoulder. What should he do? In Hong Kong, the authorities advise the young man to continue studying or to seek a diversion, including badminton, to avoid premarital sex and other 'intimate behaviors.'" NYT (Gift Article): Fighting Sexual Temptation? Play Badminton, Hong Kong Tells Teenagers. (Whacking a shuttlecock was about as far as I got as a teenager.)
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