News of the Week: Confusing Supermarkets, Charlie Watts, and How Many Cub Scouts Can Fit in a Phone Booth?

From Beaches to Teachers

August is the month when our supermarket shelves have a personality disorder.

There’s a section of the store where I shop that has all of the “seasonal” items. Usually it’s pretty straightforward, depending on the season and/or holiday. But the end of the summer means that there are a lot of various items and events the store has to cover. Several different things fight for our attention. For example, right now my store has a section with summer gear (beach towels, coolers, BBQ utensils), school supplies, and Halloween candy, all in the same place, right next to each other.

If you had been in a coma for a while and suddenly woke up in this aisle, you wouldn’t know what month it was.

Soon, the summer items will be gone and all that will be left are the school supplies and Halloween candy. They’ll both stay on the shelf until October, when half of the shelf will be Halloween candy and the other half will be Christmas candy, the milk chocolate witches battling the milk chocolate Santas, which, come to think of it, would make for a great SyFy Channel movie.

Adventurefuls

Every once in a while, the Girl Scouts unveil a new cookie for sale, to go along with classic treats like Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, and Samoas, which are by far the best cookies the Girl Scouts sell.

The new cookie this year? Adventurefuls. It’s a brownie cookie with caramel creme and sea salt. Apparently it’s full of adventure.

The official Girl Scouts site has a clock that is counting down to the minute that the new cookie will be available, so I’d bookmark it and check it every single day.

“Puffy Dorito” Is My Rap Name

In other food news, this story answers the question: How much is a puffy Dorito worth?

A 13-year-old girl in Australia found a weird chip in her bag of Doritos. It was all “puffy,” like a 3D Dorito, so of course she posted it on TikTok. It got a ton of views, so she put the chip up for sale on eBay and got bids for as much as $100,000 before eBay took the auction down.

There’s a happy ending though: Doritos heard about it and gave her $20,000 for the find.

(What’s odd is that there actually are 3D Doritos. In fact, they’re called Doritos 3D.)

Last week I found a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup that had two paper liners instead of one. Bidding starts at $1,000.

Headline of the Week

“Horse Escapes Racetrack, Runs Down Kentucky Highway”

RIP Charlie Watts, Don Everly, Sonny Chiba, Michael Nader, Lloyd Dobyns Jr., Chuck Close, Tom T. Hall, Rod Gilbert, and Micki Grant

Charlie Watts was the drummer for the Rolling Stones for almost 60 years. He died this week at the age of 80.

Don Everly was one half of the Everly Brothers, known for such songs as “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” and “Cathy’s Clown.” He died last weekend at the age of 84.

Uploaded to YouTube by Classic Hits

Sonny Chiba was an actor and martial arts expert who appeared in dozens of movies, including Kill Bill, The Street Fighter, Battle Royale II, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He died last week at the age of 82.

Michael Nader had memorable roles on such shows as Dynasty and All My Children. He also appeared on Gidget and in several ’60s beach movies. He died Monday at the age of 76.

Lloyd Dobyns Jr. was a longtime anchor and correspondent for NBC News. He co-hosted the popular NBC News Overnight with Linda Ellerbee. He died Sunday at the age of 85.

Chuck Close was an influential artist known for his large, hyper-realistic portraits. He died last week at the age of 81.

Tom T. Hall wrote and sang the classic song “I Love.” He also wrote Jeannie C. Reilly’s “Harper Valley PTA,” and other songs of his were recorded by people like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Miranda Lambert, and Alan Jackson. He died last week at the age of 85.

Rod Gilbert was a Hall of Fame forward for the New York Rangers who scored over 400 goals in his career. He died last week at the age of 80.

Micki Grant was the first woman to win a Grammy for scoring a Broadway musical. Besides her stage work as a composer and actress, she also appeared on Another World, The Edge of Night, Guiding Light, and Ed. She died last week at the age of 92.

This Week in History

British Invade Washington, D.C. (August 24-25, 1814)

The British troops burned many buildings, including the White House. Rebuilding started right away, but the executive mansion was uninhabitable for three years.

National Park Service Created (August 25, 1916)

President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau “responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the [Department of the Interior] and those yet to be established.”

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Cub Scouts in Phone Booth (August 26, 1961)

Sure, I guess smartphones are more convenient, but they can’t keep you dry when it rains.

National Red Wine Day

You can celebrate it this Saturday the 28th. Or the 29th or the 30th or 31st if you want, because there really aren’t any laws on the books that stop citizens from eating or drinking certain foods on other days (I checked — legally you’re fine).

The first question we have to ask is whether or not red wine is good for you, as we’ve been told for years. Our Dr. Douglas Zipes has the answer. The next question is what can we do with red wine besides drink a glass of it?

Well, you can make this Healthy Baked Potato with Ratatouille (it’s the ratatouille that has the red wine). You can also make this Chicken and Red Wine Sauce from AllRecipes, or Food & Wine’s Red-Wine Spaghetti with Walnuts and Parsley. Of course, the ultimate red wine recipe is Julia Child’s classic Beef Bourguignon.

For dessert, try this Chocolate-Red Wine Cake, also from Food & Wine.

They should make a Girl Scout cookie with red wine in it. Not for the kids, but for their parents.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

College Football Season Starts (August 28)

The first game features Nebraska at Illinois and airs at 1 p.m. EDT on Fox.

U.S. Open Starts (August 30)

After a COVID-induced crowdless Open last year, fans will once again be able to cheer on their favorite tennis players (except for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams, who dropped out because of injuries). ESPN coverage begins at noon, and Tennis Channel will have replays every night.

Frankenstein Day (August 30)

It’s not the doctor’s birthday (nor the monster’s), but it is the birthday of Frankenstein author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

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