Five Things to Know About Superstorm Sandy:
Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone at 7:00 P.M. Eastern last night, but it hit the East Coast with driving rain and hurricane-force winds all over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Here are Five Things to Know About Superstorm Sandy:
#1.) At least 14 people were killed . . . including a woman as far away as Toronto, Canada who was hit by flying debris. Another 67 people were killed in the Caribbean earlier as the storm moved north, including 51 in Haiti.
#2.) The storm made landfall in southern New Jersey around 8:00 P.M. Eastern, with a storm surge strong enough to destroy parts of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, and causing MASSIVE flooding in New Jersey and New York.
The flooding was up to five feet . . . even higher in some places . . . flooding coastal homes, covering cars, and submerging downtown intersections of urban areas.
#3.) Because of winds 85-miles-per-hour and higher, downed trees and power lines, and flooding of electricity substations, over six million people were without power in 11 states and Washington D.C., from Virginia up to Maine.
New York and New Jersey took the worst hits in terms of power outages, including about 700,000 New Yorkers alone.
And that involves fires and downed power lines in flooded areas that authorities and emergency crews couldn't even GET to when the storm was at its most powerful. About 7,000 National Guard troops were on active duty in seven states
#4.) The damage could cost around three BILLION dollars. To give you an idea of the damage and the chaos in New York City alone, the city's 911 system was receiving 10,000 calls every half hour.
There was flooding in subway stations and in one of the tunnels into Manhattan, and some hospitals had to evacuate patients because of power outages.
A lot of people were also talking about a giant crane on top of the tallest residential skyscraper in New York City . . . a building in midtown Manhattan called One57.
The building is still under construction, and the crane was damaged by wind at about 2:30 P.M. in the afternoon. So the part of the crane that sticks out into the air was hanging down and swaying dangerously throughout the storm.
#5.) The storm also created a BLIZZARD in Virginia and West Virigina, with snow, 55-mile-per-hour winds, and reports of LIGHTING and THUNDER WHILE it was snowing.
(CNN)
Dozens of People Tweeted Their Hurricane Looting Plans Yesterday:
Yesterday, as most people in the Northeast prepared for a HURRICANE . . . other people went on Twitter to announce their LOOTING PLANS.
"If this hurricane gets real bad I'm looting stores! I always wanted to do that."
"Who wants to go looting with me when Sandy hits?! I need some new [s***]!"
"Bout to do some looting when this hurricane finally hits . . . gonna get a new laptop and TV . . . this hurricane might be the best thing to happen."
As of now, we haven't heard any reports of looting . . . but they could be coming.
(Infowars)
One in Four People Admit to Falling Asleep on the Job . . . and That Includes Airline Pilots:
According to a survey by a British hotel chain called Premier Inn, one in four employees admit that they've fallen asleep at their desk.
Desks are the SECOND most popular place to nap while on the job. The most-popular way to sleep at work is to sneak out to the parking lot to take a nap in your car.
17% of people . . . or about one in six . . . have snuck into an empty conference room to sleep at work.
While we may not think it's a big deal for all of us to take a nap while on the clock . . . ANOTHER survey found that airline pilots do the SAME THING.
Four out of 10 commercial airline pilots say that they've fallen asleep in the middle of a flight . . . not while they were taking a break and letting someone else fly . . . while they were FLYING the plane.
Not only that, but one in three of the pilots that fell asleep said that when they woke up, they saw that their CO-PILOT was sleeping too.
Two-Thirds of American Men Have Some Kind of Facial Hair:
According to a new survey, 64% of American men say they have facial hair.
50% say their father had a mustache, beard, or both. Which means facial hair is MORE popular today than it was three, four, or five decades ago. Including the '70s. Somehow.
40% of men say the top reason they grow their facial hair is that it makes them feel more confident. 36% say it makes them feel more attractive . . . 15% feel more sophisticated . . . and 9% feel more intelligent.
And American women are down with facial hair too. 80% say they like facial hair on a guy . . . that's the highest number of any of the eight countries in the survey.
Women voted a goatee as the best type of facial hair. And, of course, the soul patch came in last.
(Zoosk)
A Woman Legally Changed Her Name to Include 13 Different Bond Girls:
I don't know if this woman did this as a stunt for the new James Bond movie, or just because she's a LUNATIC.
There's a 28-year-old woman in England named Emma-Louise Hodges, who supposedly wanted some of the ALLURE of the Bond girls to rub off on her. So she legally changed her name . . . to include 14 Bond girls.
Her new name is: Pussy Galore Honey Rider Solitaire Plenty O'Toole May Day Xenia Onatopp Holly Goodhead Tiffany Case Kissy Suzuki Mary Goodnight Jinx Johnson Octopussy Domino Moneypenny.
Technically that's 13 Bond girls and Miss Moneypenny, the secretary, but she's kind of an adjacent Bond girl so it counts.
She plans to go by "Miss Moneypenny" because, quote, "Ultimately, I'm a good down-to-Earth girl."
(The Sun)
A Drunk Woman Tries To Climb Into Her Locked Apartment Through a Garbage Chute . . . and Almost Loses Her Arm:
30-year-old Maggie Baumer is a lawyer in Manhattan. And on Friday night, she got HAMMERED DRUNK, and didn't get back to her apartment until 6:00 A.M. And that's when she realized she didn't have her keys.
She buzzed other apartments until someone let her in the building, but she still didn't have keys to her first floor apartment. So she came up with a brilliant plan . . .
She figured she could get in by climbing down the GARBAGE CHUTE, into the garage, head over to the building's garden space, and climb in through her window. So she got into the garbage chute HEAD FIRST.
Unfortunately, she automatically triggered the building's TRASH COMPACTOR, which CRUSHED HER ARM and almost completely SEVERED IT. Then she called 911.
When the fire department got there, they found Maggie with her arm DANGLING OFF. Quote, "It was barely hanging." They gave her morphine during the HOUR it took for them to get her out of the chute. Then she was rushed to the hospital.
Amazingly, she won't lose her arm, because surgeons were able to reattach it. But it's not clear how much function it will have in the future.
Five Safety Tips for Dealing with the Aftermath of a Hurricane:
Hurricane Sandy slammed the East Coast yesterday and left over five million people without power. So WebMD posted some tips on how to be safe after a big storm where flooding is involved. Here are the five things they say everyone should know.
#1.) When Your Power Goes Out, Eat the Stuff in Your Refrigerator First. It sounds obvious, but a lot of people go straight for canned foods.
Just so you know, your refrigerator stays cold for about four to six hours without power. And if your freezer is half full, it stays cold for about 24 hours . . . or up to 48 hours if it's COMPLETELY full.
#2.) If You Run Out of Water, You Can Get It from Other Things. The easiest thing to do is just drink stuff that has water IN it . . . like juice or soft drinks.
But if you get REALLY desperate, you can also get water from your hot water heater, or from the tank behind your TOILET. You have to disinfect it though, which means boiling it for a few minutes.
Or if you CAN'T boil it, you can kill off SOME of the bacteria by adding 8 drops of BLEACH for every gallon of water. You just have to stir it and let it stand for about 30 minutes. Obviously that should be a last resort though.
#3.) If Your House Floods, Don't Walk in the Water Unless You Have To. If any live electrical wires are in contact with it, you can get shocked.
#4.) Don't Use a Portable Generator Indoors. They put out carbon monoxide, which can build up and kill you.
You're also not supposed to let them get wet, which isn't always possible after a big storm. But if your porch has a roof, that might be a good spot for it.
#5.) Be Careful When You're Driving. Look out for downed power lines, and don't drive over them.
Remember to look out for branches and downed trees too. And if a street is flooded, don't drive down it, because the water can be higher than it looks.
(WebMD)
