WACKY FALL FESTIVALS
• OBETZ ZUCCHINIFEST — Obetz Zucchinifest in Obetz, Ohio, is a festival that celebrates all things zucchini and takes place from August 29 to September 1.
• INTERNATIONAL GOAT DAYS FESTIVAL — Scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 6, in Millington, Tennessee, the family festival celebrates goats and offers activities such as food, music, laughter, and entertainment centered around goats.
• KENTUCKY BOURBON FESTIVAL — The Kentucky Bourbon Festival will run September 12-14 in Bardstown, Kentucky. This festival celebrates Kentucky bourbon in the Bourbon Capital of the World. The festival will feature a variety of events, including an Ultra-Premium Cask-Finished Whiskey Tasting.
• JACK PINE GLASS PUMPKIN FESTIVAL — This festival in Laurelville, Ohio, highlights the art of glassblowing with hundreds of blown glass pumpkins on display and for sale. It runs from September 18-21.
• WORLD CHICKEN FESTIVAL — The World Chicken Festival in London, Kentucky, will be held from September 25 to September 28. The festival is held every year on the last full weekend of September to celebrate the history and heritage of chicken in London, which is known as the “Poultry Capital of the World”. The festival features a variety of events, including chicken-eating contests, live music, carnival rides, and food vendors. The festival is also home to the World’s Largest Stainless Steel Skillet, which is used to cook up a variety of chicken dishes.
• WOOLLY WORM FESTIVAL — The annual Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, North Carolina, will take place October 18-19. The festival features various activities and attractions, including Woolly Worm Races. The festival holds races to determine which woolly worm will be used to make the winter forecast.
• THE DAYS OF INCANDESCENCE — Celebrated in Corning, New York, this October festival (October 23-25) commemorates the town’s role in making the first light bulbs for Thomas Edison. The event includes a Cemetery Tour, Themed Libations Crawl, Historic Walking Tours, and more.
• CHITLIN STRUT — The Chitlin Strut in Salley, South Carolina is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Chitlins are boiled or fried pig intestines, a southern delicacy. The Chitlin Strut was born in 1966 as a civic fundraiser when Salley, a town of 450, needed new Christmas lights. The event offers a parade, hog calling contest, pancake breakfast, and a beauty contest where a new Chitlin Queen will be crowned.
YOUR BRAIN BOOTS UP IN THE MORNING _ Did you know your brain transitions into wakefulness each morning through a complex neurochemical switch? As we yawn and open our eyes, the brain stem releases little puffs of nitric oxide into another part of the brain, the thalamus, which acts as the mind’s central relay station. Rather than turning on from a fully powered-down state, the brain uses nitric oxide alongside neurotransmitters (like acetylcholine and norepinephrine) to shift thalamic neurons from a sleep-state firing pattern into an active, alert processing mode. Studies show these first moments of the day allow sensory information to flood the system — the bright sunlight coming through the curtains, the time on the screeching alarm clock — which the thalamus gates and directs to the cerebral cortex. This rapid neural transition sets the stage for higher-level cognitive functions, allowing the prefrontal cortex to organize surroundings and begin performing complex tasks.
SHARE SOMETHING YOU SECRETLY JUDGE PEOPLE FOR ….Only the petty stuff! What the internet said:
• People who stand up the SECOND the plane lands. Where are you going?
• People who don’t turn their turn signal on until they’re turning — I need to know before, doofus.
• When the dad is walking like twenty paces in front of his entire family.
• When you hold the door open for someone and they don’t say thank you.
• People who put their toilet paper in the holder in mullet mode instead of bangs.
• When I’m in an empty waiting room and someone decides to sit right next to me.
• People who have “outside only” dogs. Especially in very hot or very cold places.
• People who say “I seen” instead of “I have seen” or “I saw”.
