Ask Rachel

Cran-troversy, going solo and pickle perplexed
Cran-troversy, going solo and pickle perplexed
11/23/2022

Interesting fact: Americans consume 5 million gallons of jellied cranberry sauce every holiday season, and 73% of them prefer it jellied in the shape of a can. Cran cran, in the shape of cans, cans!

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I'm walkin' here, mommy issues &?after after-party
I'm walkin' here, mommy issues &?after after-party
11/17/2022

Interesting fact: About 2,200 American local print newspapers folded from 2005-21. All the more impressive that we’re still standing. Let’s see how we’re still standing at closing time on Friday.

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Fish feed, pink slips and COVID cop out
Fish feed, pink slips and COVID cop out
11/10/2022

Interesting fact: I guess you should feed an aquarium of fish whatever they will eat in about 2-3 minutes. Then try not to get anxious about your own pace of eating.

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Betting on Burton, mop swap & reader cheater
Betting on Burton, mop swap & reader cheater
11/03/2022

Interesting fact: Just because the film’s director and composer say that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie doesn’t mean they’re right about it.

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'Tis the season, fly by night and a hot mess
'Tis the season, fly by night and a hot mess
10/27/2022

Interesting fact: This #OneChipChallenge tortilla chip monstrosity is made with Carolina Reaper and Scorpion peppers, both of which tally more than 2 million Scoville heat units. I wonder how many Scoville heat units I, personally, would tally.

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Hangover helper, email ghosting & oiled up
Hangover helper, email ghosting & oiled up
10/20/2022

Interesting fact: 7Up is so named for its seven ingredients, including lithium citrate, which was intended to offer a mood lift (but was later banned by the FDA). Also, 7Up was patented as a cure for hangovers. Sounds better than lavender oil.

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Running on empty, hang-xiety and downward dogs
Running on empty, hang-xiety and downward dogs
10/13/2022

Interesting fact: First result on Google indicates that coffee only helps hangovers by preventing you from having a caffeine headache on top of a hangover headache and a regret headache

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Twister mister, foliage foe & too old to WWOOF
Twister mister, foliage foe & too old to WWOOF
10/06/2022

Interesting fact: Aspen leaves are actually red, orange and yellow all year long. They just have so much chlorophyll that you can see only the green, until production fades in the autumn. Now you, too, can sound like a nerd on your fall foliage drive.

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7-down, resting in peace & coyote control
7-down, resting in peace & coyote control
09/29/2022

Interesting fact: Sprite has been reformulated in Europe to remove 30% of the sugar. If they had removed 42% of it, I’d be a devotee.

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Pay to piss, toys for tots and pickle intervention
Pay to piss, toys for tots and pickle intervention
09/22/2022

Interesting fact: In other countries, it’s common to pay a bathroom attendant the equivalent of anything from 10 cents to $2 to use the facilities. I’m thinking of opening my bathroom to the public.

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Loaners, 24/7 festy wear and wining & dining
Loaners, 24/7 festy wear and wining & dining
09/15/2022

Interesting fact: “To the nines” is a reference to the nine Muses, unless it’s a corruption of some Scottish phrase “to then eyne,” meaning “to the eyes.” Me, I like to dress to the fives. Occasionally the sevens.

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Powering down, learning new tricks & dreaded yellows
Powering down, learning new tricks & dreaded yellows
09/08/2022

Interesting fact: When the U.S. acquired the Mexican Cession in 1848, Durango was considered part of New Mexico. There but for la gracia de dios go we.

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Piping down, color commentary and a hill of beans
Piping down, color commentary and a hill of beans
09/01/2022

Interesting fact: The first Harley-Davidson is indeed more than 100 years old, rolling off the line in 1904, the same year the first biker shaved for the last time.

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Vegging out, poisoning young minds & seedy thoughts
Vegging out, poisoning young minds & seedy thoughts
08/25/2022

Interesting fact: Johnny Appleseed was actually a real estate speculator: planting trees to claim land, which he later sold to tech bros at a ridiculous profit.

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Serving up justice, throwing shade & penny pinching
Serving up justice, throwing shade & penny pinching
08/18/2022

Interesting fact: You know that smell of a jar of pennies? That’s actually human body odor: sweat interacting with metal. Yum.

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Crafty grifters, gone batty & getting pickled
Crafty grifters, gone batty & getting pickled
08/11/2022

Interesting fact: Face mask sales generated $743 million on Etsy in 2020. Bat Masks would have doubled that, easy

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Fore play, cat's pajamas and in a pickle
Fore play, cat's pajamas and in a pickle
08/04/2022

Interesting fact: The word “golf” actually derives from the Dutch word “kolf,” meaning “club.” So a five-iron is in fact a “club club.” And a rich man owns a whole bag of good old boy’s club clubs.

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In a pickle, not norm & going postal
In a pickle, not norm & going postal
07/28/2022

Interesting fact: Pickleball’s popularity is growing more than 20% a year and is the fastest-growing sport in America. Maybe the U.S. Postal Service should get involved.

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Ants in pants, fear of flying and office romance
Ants in pants, fear of flying and office romance
07/21/2022

Interesting fact: An infectious disease expert with the Mayo Clinic says you are more likely to catch a bug in the airport than on an airplane. Except, where do you think all the people on the airplane came from, hmm, Dr. Mayo? 

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Monday blackouts, soy boy and getting clean
Monday blackouts, soy boy and getting clean
07/14/2022

Interesting fact: Soy lecithin is an emulsifier, sure, but it’s a food lubricant? Not two words I usually put together outside the ol’ love shack.

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