Ask Rachel

In a pickle, swinger-curious &?big jugs
In a pickle, swinger-curious &?big jugs
02/17/2022
Interesting fact: Pickleball’s name refers to the pickle boat; Pickles the pickleball founder’s family dog came years later and was named after the game. It remains entirely possible that the pickle boat was named for a predecessor Pickles dog lost to pickle history.
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Makin' no bones about it & falling flat
Makin' no bones about it & falling flat
02/10/2022

Interesting fact: Bubbles in drinks carry aromatic compounds to the nose, heightening the perception of flavor. Plus, they just tickle the tongue. Sorry I can’t go any further into the science without arousing my audience.

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Stoned spasms, year-round X-mas & out-of-office
Stoned spasms, year-round X-mas & out-of-office
02/03/2022

Interesting fact: “Fraggle Rock” was HBO’s first original series, and you can clearly see its creative impact on such successors as “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.”

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Wet January, doggie nail-biter and streak freaks
Wet January, doggie nail-biter and streak freaks
01/27/2022

Interesting fact: Despite the Sonoran sensation in your maw, marijuana does not actually dehydrate you. Unlike alcohol. So really, drinking booze should mean you’re “dry,” not the other way around? I give up. 

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Bear-naked, uppity coffee lovers & emergency contacts
Bear-naked, uppity coffee lovers & emergency contacts
01/20/2022

Interesting fact: Filtered water is actually not “sticky” enough to grab onto coffee flavors. You want hard water for the perfect cup, but only the right kind of hard water, by which (apparently) we don’t mean ice.

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Wet January, doggy nail-biter and streak freak
Wet January, doggy nail-biter and streak freak
01/13/2022
Interesting fact: Despite the Sonoran sensation in your maw, marijuana does not actually dehydrate you. Unlike alcohol. So really, drinking booze should mean you’re “dry,” not the other way around? I give up. 
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Coffeeholics, harshing all the mellows & no touching
Coffeeholics, harshing all the mellows & no touching
01/06/2022

Interesting fact: Coffee can make you tired because of something called “adenosine receptors.” Try it. Go read about them and see how tired it makes YOU feel.

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Friendly disagreement, British invasion & Christ-miss
Building the wall, in the dark and signing off
12/23/2021
Interesting fact: If you dislike Brits playing Batman, just think about how they must have felt when Robert Downey Jr. got cast as Sherlock. Or – wait, Peter Dinklage is American?
 
If you dislike Brits playing Batman, just think about how they must have felt when Robert Downey Jr. got cast as Sherlock. Or – wait, Peter Dinklage is American?
 
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Chex-complex, otter therapy & Hanukkah Hollywood
Chex-complex, otter therapy & Hanukkah Hollywood
12/09/2021

Interesting fact: You think octopuses are clever? Otters store their crab-crushing tool-rocks in a loose patch of skin under their armpits. 

 

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Drought-cember, bigly handymen & Ziplock hoarders
Drought-cember, bigly handymen & Ziplock hoarders
12/02/2021

Interesting fact: Most Hallmark Christmas movies are shot in a mere two weeks, with a paltry $2 million budget. I would do many things for $2 million in a mere two weeks. 

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Vaxx-giving, flipping the bird and working the streets
Vaxx-giving, flipping the bird and working the streets
11/24/2021

Interesting fact: The TV trope of calling women “sir” appears to have originated with Star Trek. Yet military people online tend to say that female officers should be called “ma’am.” I’m all for a hybrid “Sir yes ma’am!” for everyone.

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Contract autocrats, down w/ children & dirty laundry
Contract autocrats, down w/ children & dirty laundry
11/18/2021
Interesting fact: Load rebalancing is the biggest factor in washing machine time waste. So don’t wash your delicates in the same load as your elephants.
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Supply chain scapegoat, hot tub horrors &?Santa unchained
Supply chain scapegoat, hot tub horrors &?Santa unchained
11/11/2021
Interesting fact: You should drain and clean your hot tub every four months. A good rule of thumb is to order cleaning supplies on Day One, and they ought to arrive around that four-month mark. 
 
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Corn-fused, road rage DNA & running w/scissors
Corn-fused, road rage DNA & running w/scissors
11/04/2021

Interesting fact: “Can” is short for “canister,” so technically, any round container is a can, whatever the material. Any other shape is just a con.

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Enya face, the white light and coffee jitters
Enya face, the white light and coffee jitters
10/28/2021

Interesting fact: Enya has recorded songs in 10 different languages. She’s also sold 75 million records, so clearly someone out there likes her stuff.

 

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Clean freaks on holiday, number feels & rotten eggs
Clean freaks on holiday, number feels & rotten eggs
10/21/2021
Interesting fact: Coconut oil’s usefulness as an antibacterial agent is one of those suburban myths that make for much less enticing storytelling than their urban counterparts. 
 
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Checking out, show shrinkage &?Etsy excuses
Checking out, show shrinkage &?Etsy excuses
10/14/2021
Interesting fact: According to the Federal Reserve, checks still account for 12% of all non-cash payments. Some people really need to learn about Venmo.
 
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Woeful wipers, book bandits & space junk spangle
Woeful wipers, book bandits & space junk spangle
10/07/2021
Interesting fact: A recent study estimates between 4,000 and 7,000 tons of space dust falls to Earth every year. This despite other studies estimating it’s more like 40,000 tons. Although if you want to get very technical, the entire planet is made of space dust, so there’s that.
 
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Flaming hot omens, how not to relax &?closet cat haters
Flaming hot omens, how not to relax &?closet cat haters
09/30/2021
Interesting fact: Flaming Hot Cheetos were invented by a janitor at Frito Lay who pitched the idea straight to the CEO, and the janitor is now an executive vice president. No word on what happened to the CEO.
 
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Selling yourself short, swamp stumper & courting friends
Selling yourself short, swamp stumper & courting friends
09/23/2021
Interesting fact: The Creole holy trinity is onion, bell peppers and celery. I am pretty sure that is also the Veggie Tales holy trinity. 
 
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