Culture

The ER staff is begging you to take your boo-boos elsewhere

Don’t take this as medical advice, just social guidance from the front lines.

The Emergency Room is one of those things that is just named so perfectly. Having an emergency? We’ve got a room for that! But mix up socio-political ideas of toughness with a helping of financial considerations and a healthy dollop of fear, and the question of what constitutes an emergency gets a little complicated. Still, when you’re in fear of life or limb, you should go.

On the far, far, far other end of the spectrum? Mark Wales has collected 33 things that the people who work in ERs are begging you not to come in for. Too embarrassed to buy that pregnancy test? Don’t go to the ER. Need a note to get out of school? Please don’t. Kid scraped their elbow… seriously?

Not everything on this list is so obvious, so before you say “I’d never,” you might want to take a look.

Yesterday’s Results

There are generational divides over what is, and what most certainly is not, polite. Popping over unannounced is one front in this culture war, and I wanted to know where GOOD readers fall in their approach to just showing up. Nearly 60% of you give at least a few days’ notice. To my surprise, the second most popular response? Don’t visit!

• "Warning?" I'm visiting, it's nice! They'll know when I knock. (4.5%)

• I'll text a few days in advance, people are busy, they want a heads up. (58.2%)

• I call from the driveway. Gives them time for a panic tidying up. (11.9%)

• Go to someone's house? I would never have the audacity! (25.4%)

Culture

Seniors share the perks of old age that young people can look forward to

Senior discounts are just the beginning.

Any age can be your best age with the right mental framing, but that’s not what society yells from every advertisement and TV show. Wear this makeup, drink this soda, drive this car to feel younger! As Erik Barnes reports, being older is full of perks of its own, and getting a few bucks off the early bird special isn’t just the tip of the iceberg.

The elder set mentions everything from the “invisibility cloak” of gray hair to getting away with things they never could at 30. Retirement helps too.

Barnes rounded up 15 reasons people say aging is better than advertised, and a few of them might change how you think about what’s ahead.

Animals

There’s the majesty of nature, then there’s this

Perhaps something with a comedic twist to pair with your weekend?

'Tis the season of giving, and since 2015, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been the gift that keeps on giving, so we’ve dipped into our cellar and selected our favorite vintage. The 2019 CWPA has delightful notes of absurdity, strong hints of whimsy, and a finish of cuteness that will send you back for another sip.

From a hilarious frozen moment before a confused cub ruins his father’s day to a quarrel between quail* that is incredibly relatable, you’ll want to scroll through all 20 images. And if you aren’t sated, there are nine other years to explore. Enjoy!

* - I don’t know if they’re quail, but the alliteration was too delightful to pass up.

We don’t think of it as “radio,’ but the magic signals that drive modern life, like Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and cell service, are all variations on basic radio technology that was cutting-edge not that long ago. It wasn’t until this day, 124 years ago today, that a radio signal crossed the Atlantic.

On December 12, 1901, Italian inventor and businessman Guglielmo Marconi climbed Signal Hill on the east coast of Canada, attached a wire to a kite as an antenna, and began listening. Across the pond, in Cornwall, England, one of his employees began transmitting in Morse code. Though the exact science of how the signal curved over the horizon was not yet understood (the signal bounced off the ionosphere), Marconi heard the three distinct pulses for the letter S.

Just three years later, the world would get voice broadcasting, and by 1920, radio as we think of it today was up and running.

Marconi would later win the Nobel Prize for his work in pushing the boundaries of radio communication. Later still, he would tangle with other titan inventors of his age over patents and eventually became aligned with Mussolini’s regime, complicating a legacy that, to this day, connects, informs, and entertains billions.

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