Author: Cortlyn McCarthy

Lefties Unite! 10 Sneaky Things Designed for Right-Handed People

International Left-Handers Day (August 13th) is one of those silly holidays no one pays attention to, except the 1 in 10 folks – like myself – who have to spend every day operating in a world that’s basically a giant right-handed playground.

If you’re a righty, you likely don’t realize how many small, everyday things are stacked against us. I’m not saying we deserve our own handicapped spaces, but living in a world designed for righties comes with all sorts of disadvantages we just learn to adapt to.

Even a lot of left-handed folks don’t fully realize how many products are designed and engineered without even the slightest nod to the the sinistral portion of the population that makes up roughly 10% of the world.

Fun fact: The scientific term for left-handedness – “sinistral” – comes from the Latin “sinister,” meaning “left”… because ya’ll used to think we were witches and warlocks. Seriously.

Sure, the big offenders like scissors and can openers get all the press. But the real betrayals are sneakier. Let’s take a tour of the subtle design choices that feel like a personal attack if you’re a lefty.

Zippers on jeans

That flap covering the zipper? It’s always on the left, which means trying to zip with your left hand is basically an Olympic-level sport.

Credit card machines

The swipe slot is always on the right side. And if there’s a pen, it’s tethered to the right too. Same story at banks.

Measuring cups

Hold it in your left hand and suddenly you’re measuring in milliliters instead of ounces. Not a problem if you’re doing metric, but this is ‘Merica! (Luckily, left-handed bakers do have options now.)

Car fobs with flip-out keys

The switchblade-style ones are designed so righties can flip them open smoothly. Lefties? It opens into the palm of your hand unless you do it upside down and push the button with your finger instead of your thumb.

Microwaves

Hit the open button with your left hand and get smacked in the arm by the door. Every. Single. Time.

Rulers and tape measures

Use one left-handed and the numbers are upside down. Why you gotta be sabotaging my DIY projects all the time!?

Power tools

This one’s a serious safety issue! Chop saw handles are commonly on the right, meaning lefties have to cross their arms over the blade like they’re auditioning for a workplace safety video.

Novelty coffee mugs

If there’s only printing on one side, it’s usually placed for righties so everyone else sees the funny design. Lefties get to see it, but don’t get to share. Everyone else just sees the blank side.

Playing cards

Many decks only have numbers in two corners, which means if you’re playing left-handed, you’re basically flying blind.

Serrated knives

The teeth are angled for right-hand cutting, so lefties end up slicing bread thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top. Seriously, it’s a thing that even most lefties don’t know about. They sell special left-handed knives now that would cause the same issue if righties tried to use them.

Yes, it’s a right-handed world out there, and lefties have to adapt every day. So if there’s a special lefty in your life, maybe buy them a pair of lefty scissors and a mug with printing on both sides. It’s the little things.

NASCAR Driver Celebrates Win, Breaks Collarbone

NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch won the Xfinity Series Mission 200 on Saturday, August 9th at Watkins Glen, and celebrated by immediately breaking his collarbone.

He’s seriously lucky it wasn’t worse, because it looked really bad – like “is he still alive” bad. But thankfully the answer was yes, very much so. Connor’s dad, Jim Zilisch, even took time out that night to joke it was his son’s new low.

Connor returned to the track for an interview the next day and said he was feeling fine. (I’m guessing he was on some painkillers by that point, so… yeah.)

10 Things That Happened 10 Years Ago: Aug 10-16

Dad Bods, “farting carrots,” and love songs for face-numbing narcotics. Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

“Dad Bods” were coming into style

A student at Clemson named Mackenzie Pearson had just coined the term months earlier in an article called “Why Girls Love the Dad Bod.” A poll that August found overweight or plus-sized men were the best in bed.

Selena Gomez sang about “farting carrots”

A radio host in the U.K. asked Selena to clarify what the lyrics were to her new song “Good For You.” People thought (or hoped) the opening line was, “I’m farting carrots. I’m farting carrots.” It’s actually, “I’m a 14 carat. I’m 14 carat”… like a diamond. (Sure, Selena… if that’s the story you’re sticking with.)

An NFL player sucker-punched his own QB and broke his jaw

New York Jets defensive end IK Enemkpali was beefing with star QB Geno Smith, who supposedly owed him $600. On August 11, 2015, he sucker-punched Smith in the locker room and broke his jaw. Smith ended up having to cede the starting QB job to Ryan Fitzpatrick and only appeared in one game that season. Enemkpali was immediately released and signed with the Buffalo Bills, but never played in the NFL after that season.

Jimmy Carter announced he had cancer

He was 90 years old when he announced he’d been diagnosed with stage IV melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. But the former president and peanut farmer would go on to beat cancer and live another decade. He passed away on December 29, 2024 at age 100.

Seth Meyers took a seat

He’d been hosting “Late Night” for just over a year when he opted to start doing his monologue from behind his desk instead of standing. Fans thought the standing monologues were awkward, and sitting behind his desk more closely mimicked his “Weekend Update” segments from “SNL.”

“Watch me nae nae” was ranked one of the worst lyrics of the year

The BuzzFeed community ranked Silentó’s “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” at #3. The top spot went to Chris Brown and Tyga’s “Ayo” for the line, “I’ma take her ass down if she bring her friend around / F*ck ’em both like ayo.” (Classy stuff from two classy guys.)

“Rolling Stone” ranked the 100 best songwriters of all time

They really went out on a limb and put Bob Dylan at #1. The rest of the Top 5 were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson.

“Can’t Feel My Face” was the #1 song in America

The Weeknd topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his ode to cocaine. The #1 album in America was Luke Bryan’s “Kill the Lights,” and the N.W.A. movie “Straight Outta Compton” debuted at #1 in theaters that week.

Mexico said they wouldn’t pay for the wall

Then-candidate Donald Trump had been promising to build a wall across the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. A spokesman for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto responded by calling the comment irresponsible and saying, “Of course it’s false.”

LeBron James offered college scholarships to 2,300 kids

He partnered with the University of Akron, offering $9,500 scholarships to up to 2,300 underprivileged kids if they decided to pursue higher education. Not all of the money came directly out of LeBron’s pocket, but the pledge was valued at nearly $90 million.

Ash-Spreading Ceremony Interrupted by Constipation Ad

Spreading a loved one’s ashes is usually a deeply emotional, solemn moment. But for one family near Seattle, their heartfelt goodbye turned into something else entirely thanks to a poorly timed Spotify ad and one extremely unfortunate sound effect.

They gathered on a boat in the Puget Sound in mid-July to honor someone they’d lost and say farewell, and they queued up a touching soundtrack for the moment – Frank Sinatra’s soaring version of “The Impossible Dream.” And that’s where things took a sharp turn.

They had the free version of Spotify

The touching moment was ruined – or depending on your perspective, improved – because the person playing the song didn’t have the ad-free version.

Just as the final note faded out and everyone was no doubt holding back tears, an ad kicked in. And not just any ad.

Cut the fart SFX!

The ad was for some sort of constipation remedy and opened with a loud, prolonged fart sound. Because nothing says rest in peace like a digital toot echoing across the water.

What followed the fart wasn’t any better. The first spoken line of the ad was “This is the quickest way to clear out stuck poop.” 💩(Whoever wrote that ad copy is one classy individual.)

They had a great sense of humor about it

Everyone on board burst into laughter, and the guy who filmed it joked later that his mom “really needs to subscribe to Spotify Premium.”

The fact that they weren’t devastated makes the whole thing strangely beautiful in its own way. A serious ceremony with a totally unserious interruption – and a reminder that even in grief, laughter can still find its way in.

The natural question from people on social media is whose ashes were they – and would they find it funny? If so, maybe it was their parting gift.

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15 Unhygienic Habits We All Secretly Do (Even Though We Know Better)

Despite surviving a global pandemic and stocking up on hand sanitizer like it was gold, it turns out many of us are still out here living like hygiene is optional. Someone on Reddit recently asked, “What’s extremely unhygienic but everyone seems to do it anyway?” The answers were equal parts horrifying and relatable.

So before you go touching your face, let’s take a grimy little tour through the gross things we’re all probably guilty of.

  1. Sticky condiment bottles at restaurants. Yep, the ketchup is basically a community petri dish. Delicious.
  2. Licking your fingers while counting money or flipping pages. We know this one is bad, but the finger-lick-flip combo lives on.
  3. Placing tortillas on top of the packaging instead of the counter. Congrats, you just upgraded your clean countertop for plastic touched by 40 different hands in the grocery store.
  4. Eating while bowling. Everyone focuses on the rental shoes, but the real horror? Bowling ball finger holes. You’re basically marinating your mozzarella sticks in germs.
  5. Using your phone on the toilet. We all do it. Then we take that same phone to bed. Sweet dreams.
  6. Neglecting to wash your sheets regularly. If your bedding smells like “vintage sleep,” it’s probably time.
  7. Plopping your suitcase on the bed. That bag’s been rolling through airport bathrooms and taxi floors. And now it’s snuggling your pillows.
  8. Wearing outside shoes indoors. Basically a parade of public restroom bacteria, now starring in your living room.
  9. Trusting ice machines. Ever seen one cleaned? Exactly.
  10. Touching gym mats with your bare skin. Bonus points if you’re also sweating buckets onto them.
  11. Letting cats roam on the counters and dinner tables. To be fair, cats go wherever they want. But maybe wipe down that surface before prepping your sandwich.
  12. Sticking unwashed hands into shared snack bags. It’s not a party until someone’s fingers go elbow-deep in the Doritos.
  13. Showing up to work or school sick. Maskless and coughing in shared spaces? A modern classic.
  14. Not washing your hands after, uh, private activities. Not great. Please wash.
  15. Buffets. Self-serve food under a sneeze guard? Bold move in a post-pandemic world.

Basically, we’re all just a walking episode of Dirty Jobs. But hey, at least we’re in this mess together. Maybe give those hands a quick rinse after reading this? Just saying.

A Zoo in Denmark Wants Your Pet—So They Can Feed It to a Lion

Move over, Disney. There’s a zoo in Denmark that’s rewriting The Circle of Life… and not everyone’s thrilled about it.

The Aalborg Zoo in northern Denmark just sparked a social media firestorm after a Facebook post invited the public to donate their pets – specifically so they can feed them to lions and other carnivores. Cue the outrage.

Seriously?? Who would do this??

Before you start clutching your dog or cat in horror, let’s clear something up: the zoo isn’t after Fluffy the golden retriever or Mr. Whiskers. According to its website, only healthy small animals are accepted, including rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, and – perhaps most eyebrow-raising – small horses. Yes, horses.

So what exactly is going on here? The zoo says it’s about giving their carnivores a more natural diet. Large predators in captivity, like lions, tigers, and lynxes, benefit from eating whole animals, fur and all, because it mimics what they’d consume in the wild. They argue it’s more enriching for the animals and reduces waste in the broader ecosystem. It’s not exactly a new concept in the zookeeping world, but advertising it to the public? That’s where things get a little… controversial.

Instagram is outraged

Understandably, social media users are losing it. Some are calling the policy “barbaric,” and others say they’re disturbed that anyone would part with their pet bunny or pony like it’s an expired can of soup. Memes, rage-posts, and lots of “What’s wrong with you?” comments are currently flooding the zoo’s social accounts.

But not everyone is upset

It’s not all outrage. Some folks are defending the move, calling critics “soft” and out of touch with how nature works. A few are even praising the zoo for being transparent and practical about food sourcing.

For the record, the zoo claims that any donated animals are “gently euthanized” before being offered as lunch to the apex predators, so it’s not exactly the Hunger Games happening behind the scenes.

Still, if you’ve got 10 surplus guinea pigs and you’re thinking about a donation run, be warned: the zoo has a four-animal limit per visit. You’ll have to schedule your pet purge accordingly.

The whole situation raises big questions about ethics, ecology, and the uncomfortable reality of what “feeding the animals” actually means. But one thing’s for sure: this zoo’s Facebook page is wild right now.

Courtesy of Aalborg Zoo

“Ozempic Face” Is Sending More and More People to Plastic Surgeons

Losing weight quickly might be great for your waistline, but it’s not always great for your face lines.

Thanks to the rise of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, there’s now a new wrinkle in the weight-loss conversation—literally. It’s called “Ozempic face,” and according to some doctors, it’s driving a fresh wave of plastic surgery procedures.

While it might sound like a joke, the trend is all too real. The gist? People are dropping pounds fast on these GLP-1 medications, but their skin isn’t keeping up. The result is sagging, wrinkles, and an overall “sunken” or “aged” look that has some users sprinting from the pharmacy to the med spa.

Who coined the term “Ozempic face”?

New York-based dermatologist Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank claims credit for coming up with it. (Yeah, Paul?? We want receipts!!) But whether he actually coined the term or not, he’s definitely an expert on this stuff.

According to Dr. Frank, rapid weight loss can make facial fat disappear before the skin has time to bounce back. It’s especially true for people over 40. By the time you hit your fourth decade, your skin has lost some of its elasticity… or potentially gone full catcher’s mitt.

In other words, your body gets smaller, but your face suddenly starts doing a spot-on impression of a prune. And the solution for more and more Ozempic patients seems to be a follow-up appointment with a plastic surgeon.

Not everyone needs the scalpel.

Fillers can help restore some volume, and they’re often the first option newly skinny folks opt for. But Dr. Frank says more patients are now opting for full-on facelifts or skin-tightening procedures.

“You can only refill a deflated balloon so much.“

Yeah, Dr. Frank doesn’t mince words. Though he does admit sometimes fillers can be enough.

“You can only refill a deflated balloon so much, and often surgical intervention is necessary. [But sometimes], just upping the dosage of their volume replacement is more than enough. Someone who may have used one syringe of filler in the past is now using two or three.”

“Ozempic face” is just a trendy term.

To be clear, this isn’t just an Ozempic issue. Any rapid weight loss can do this, whether it’s from dieting, surgery, or a different medication.

But with drugs like Ozempic exploding in popularity, doctors say they’re seeing a noticeable uptick in patients seeking cosmetic fixes to go along with their slimmer bodies.

The Ozempic / facelift link is just a theory… for now.

There’s no conclusive data yet tying the rise in plastic surgery procedures directly to these weight-loss drugs, but anecdotally, experts say it tracks.

For now, it’s another example of how the path to looking better sometimes comes with unexpected detours—and in this case, sometimes a knife.

10 Things That Happened 10 Years Ago: Aug 3-9

“Justiniston,” gun-cooked bacon, Kermit gets dumped, and “Fantastic Four” sucks! Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

Jennifer Aniston married Justin Theroux

They went to great lengths to keep their backyard Bel-Air wedding a secret, reportedly storing all of the decorations at another mansion nearby until the very last minute. The guest list was a Bezos-level of star studded, if not more so.

Guests included Chelsea Handler, Howard Stern, Jason Bateman, Ellen DeGeneres, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Will Arnett, Tobey Maguire, Jimmy Kimmel, Sia, Kathryn Hahn, Sandra Bullock, Orlando Bloom, Rachel McAdams, Whitney Cummings, and Lisa Kudrow. Jen’s other “Friends” co-star Courtney Cox was her maid of honor. 

Jen was 10 years removed from her divorce with Brad Pitt and had been engaged to Justin since 2012. Sadly, this marriage fizzled as well. She and Justin announced their split less than three years later in 2018. They never even got an official couple’s name… even though the undeniably catchy “Justiniston” was right there for the taking!

“Fantastic Four” was a box office bomb

The 2015 version – with Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, and Kate Mara – was not the box office juggernaut the 2025 incarnation would turn out to be. There was also another “Fantastic Four” flick with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans in 2005. So yeah, they keep cranking these suckers out, literally every decade.

Ted Cruz cooked “machine-gun bacon”

Using the muzzle of an AR-15 was a decidedly impractical – but absurdly “American” – way to cook breakfast. Ted was in the early stages of losing the Republican primary to Donald Trump and was trying (a little too hard) to court the 2nd Amendment vote.

Robert Downey Jr. was the world’s highest paid actor for a third straight year

He was in the midst of an epically profitable run as Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” and “Avengers” movies. “Forbes” estimated his annual earnings at $80 million. The rest of the top five were Jackie Chan ($50 mil), Vin Diesel, ($47 mil), Bradley Cooper ($41.5 mil), and Adam Sandler ($41 mil). 

A girl released balloons at her dad’s grave, and they landed in her backyard 25 miles away.

It happened in Oklahoma earlier that year – on Father’s Day, no less – but the heartwarming story made national headlines in August and had people thinking larger forces may have been at work.

Kermit and Miss Piggy broke up

Their historically rocky relationship went from on-again to off-again when they released a statement that said, “After careful thought, thoughtful consideration and considerable squabbling, we have made the difficult decision to terminate our romantic relationship.” If they’ve rekindled things in the past decade, they’ve kept it quiet. As of 2025, they’re still officially just friends and colleagues.

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale announced their divorce

They’d been married nearly 13 years, and Gwen’s future husband Blake Shelton had recently announced his own split from Miranda Lambert. 👀 There were also rumors Will and Jada were about to break up. But honestly, who could find time to care with the pain of the Kermit/Piggy news so fresh and so raw? 

Did Leonardo DiCaprio have fleas?

“The National Enquirer” circulated a rumor – which Leo’s camp denied – that his big beard was harboring a large number of vermin. An anonymous source told the now defunct celeb news site “Gossip Cop” that the story was “absurd.” He was sporting the beard for his film “The Revenant”, which would hit theaters in January 2016. Leo finally ditched the beard for a more flealess look a few weeks later.

Jared Leto’s lawyer threatened to sue over rumors his client had huge junk

A law firm representing the actor/singer sent a letter to the gossip site “Lipstick Alley,” complaining that people were posting potentially defamatory comments – including the claim that Jared was well-endowed. People wondered how that was “defamatory.”

A trailer for a new Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie movie landed

No, not “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, that was 2005. Their 2015 film “By the Sea” – ironically, about a couple trying to save their marriage – was written and directed by Angelina. No one saw it, and it made a dismal $538,000 in the U.S. (Oddly enough, Brad and Ang did not receive an invite to the Aniston-Theroux nuptials. 🤔)

Marvel Plot or Real Life? Radioactive Wasps Found in U.S.

It sounds like the start of a Marvel movie, but nope, this one’s real: A wasp nest contaminated with radiation was recently discovered near a nuclear facility in South Carolina.

The Department of Energy confirmed that a radioactive nest was found on July 3rd just outside the Savannah River Site, a sprawling Cold War-era nuclear facility located near the Georgia border.

The site, which once produced plutonium for the U.S. military, has long been associated with leftover radiation, often referred to as “legacy contamination.”

Savannah River Site

“Moderately high” levels of radiation detected

Tests showed the nest was emitting 100,000 disintegrations per minute (DPM)—a term used to measure radioactive decay. That number puts it in the “moderately high” range, though it’s still far below the kind of levels you’d see in something catastrophic like Chernobyl.

Officials were quick to clarify there’s no active leak or immediate danger to the public.

So how did the wasps become radioactive?

No one’s sure, but the insects may have picked up old contaminants while building the nest, possibly from soil or materials around the aging nuclear facility.

While it sounds horrifying, this isn’t the first time nature has had an awkward meet-cute with radioactive leftovers. Similar incidents have occurred over the years, usually involving small animals or plant life near long-decommissioned nuclear sites.

In response, crews treated the nest like any other radioactive waste. They sprayed it down and disposed of it according to nuclear safety protocols.

The nest is gone, but the wasps are still M.I.A.

One weird detail: A local report said the nest didn’t contain any actual wasps when it was found. That’s either a relief—or a setup for the sequel, where the mutant wasp swarm emerges. (We’re half-kidding. Probably.)

The story is a strange reminder of the long environmental shadow cast by Cold War nuclear production. While the situation sounds alarming, energy officials and local authorities maintain there’s no reason to think there’s an ongoing leak or elevated risk to people nearby.

So no, you don’t need to stock up on wasp spray and hazmat suits just yet. But if you live in the area and hear a suspicious buzzing sound… maybe stay inside.

Stock photo of wasps building a nest. Not the radioactive kind… the normal, huggable kind.
Photo by David Hablützel

“Everyone Has Hemorrhoids Now”: Why Your Butt Might Be in Trouble

If you’ve been feeling a little… inflamed lately, you’re not alone. According to a cheeky but surprisingly informative feature by The Cut titled “Everyone Has Hemorrhoids Now”. . . the unglamorous condition is having a major moment. And no, it’s not just your grandpa who’s struggling—young people are increasingly dealing with it too.

Hemorrhoids, for the uninitiated, are swollen veins in your lower rectum or anus. They’re super common, often uncomfortable, and in severe cases, can require surgery. So, why the sudden hemorrhoid boom? Doctors told The Cut it’s a mix of modern habits and lifestyle choices, many of which are… avoidable.

Here are some of the biggest culprits:

1. We sit too much.
Whether you’re binging shows, working from home, or deep into a TikTok spiral, sitting for hours puts pressure on your nether regions. It restricts blood flow and can cause—you guessed it—hemorrhoids. Bonus fun: lack of movement also makes constipation more likely, which doesn’t help the situation back there.

2. We bring our phones into the bathroom.
Yep, your daily scroll on the toilet may be hurting more than your productivity. A 2021 survey found that nearly three-quarters of people admit to phone use while pooping, with under-30s leading the pack at 93%. Longer bathroom sessions = more strain. Doctors recommend keeping it under two minutes. (So maybe leave the doomscrolling for the couch?)

3. We’re fiber-deficient.
A low-fiber diet makes bowel movements harder (literally). More strain means more irritation. It also leads to more wiping, which can worsen inflammation. The fix? Load up on fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Your gut—and your butt—will thank you.

4. We’re dehydrated.
Not drinking enough water slows digestion and ups your chances of constipation. Again: more straining = bad news for your backside.

It’s not just these four things, but they’re some of the most common causes doctors are seeing. And while hemorrhoids are treatable, ignoring them can make things worse. Many people put off seeing a doctor out of embarrassment, only to end up needing a very un-fun surgery.

So, moral of the story? Stand up, drink water, eat your greens, and leave your phone out of the bathroom. Your future self—especially the part that makes contact with chairs—will be grateful.

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