🐤 Unleash the beast

🏦 Markets: Investors are hoping to turn the page on a dreadful week on Wall Street. Despite continued concerns about stubbornly high consumer prices, one company is offering a bright spot.

Domino’s Pizza, which has been able to keep prices low while maintaining a product that many consumers enjoy, is translating that business model into some pretty impressive dividends for stockholders.

Even though the stock price has taken a modest hit in recent days, a 10% hike in quarterly dividends means that the company is in a good position to weather almost any short-term economic storm.

🥊 “Bring it on”: YouTuber Jake Paul has shifted his focus to boxing in recent years, racking up some impressive stats while facing backlash from some critics who say he hasn’t faced a serious challenger. That changed on Sunday, however, when he squared off against Tommy Fury in an eight-round match. Although he narrowly lost the fight in a split decision by judges, Paul showcased some serious skills and made it clear that he plans to take Fury up on a rematch bout in the future. For his part, Fury lived up to his name by landing a series of blistering blows that kept Paul from ever gaining a steady footing despite the fact that both men were able to hold their own throughout the duration of the match. “If he wants a rematch, bring it on,” Fury said.

🚂 What a waste: As residents and officials in East Palestine, Ohio, continue to fret about the impact of a toxic spill caused by a train derailment earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency is hoping to prevent similar issues elsewhere across the country. Norfolk Southern Railway had been shipping some of the waste from the crash site to other states, but EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore instructed the company to temporarily halt that process. After a period of review, the contaminated waste will be shipped to a secure location outside of the East Palestine area. As Shore said on Saturday: "We know it's far better to have it safely stored in a properly constructed and monitored disposal facility than to have it remain here any longer than necessary when there are licensed, regulated disposal facilities available that routinely dispose of similar waste. At the same time, I know there are folks in other states with concerns — legitimate concerns — about how this waste is being transported and how it is being disposed of."

🤖 Robot layoffs: The tech industry has been beset by widespread job losses as the sector faces economic challenges — and Google’s parent company confirmed this week that it’s not limited to just humans. Alphabet owns a company called Everyday Robots that creates a line of consumer devices aimed at automating a variety of household chores. This week, however, the Silicon Valley titan announced it would be shutting down the subsidiary. Now, the roughly 200 humans and dozens of robots they created are reportedly out of a job. One former employee lamented the decision, explaining that Everyday Robots had been making great strides toward creating useful devices that “can do meaningful work in a general way.”

😂 Name that plow: Residents of Madison, Wisconsin, know the importance of having reliable snow plows on hand in the aftermath of a winter storm. Not only must these machines be robust and ready to work, but they also need appropriate names. The city recently held a contest to provide monikers for a variety of plows and other heavy machinery. The puns ran wild as people showed their affection for Transformers (Saltimus Prime), Star Wars (Snowbi Wan Kenobi), and one of America’s most beloved entertainers (Dolly Plowton). A local poll resulted in these three names and a handful of others rising to the top to forever be associated with the equipment that locals rely on to clear a path in the snow.

Every year, Hollywood churns out superhero films about humans who access some ability that allow them to perform feats that ordinary folks can only dream about. Meanwhile, the animal kingdom appears to be filled with examples of real-life superpowers.

The key, according to scientists, lies in unlocking that potential within humans.

Here are some particularly noteworthy examples:

Think like a bird

As we age, humans have an increased likelihood of developing dementia or some other type of disease caused by the loss of cognitive function. While it might be impossible to eradicate this risk entirely, there are some daily mental exercises that can reduce our susceptibility.

Biomedical researcher David Agus writes that birds seem to set a good example by relying on landmarks and repetition when plotting out their migration paths.

“If you want to retain cognitive function for a long time, you need to do activities that involve pattern recognition and that physical activity,” he said.

Work out like a rhinoceros

When humans set out to increase physical activity, we often take an all-or-nothing approach. This can lead to either overdoing it in the gym and hurting ourselves or settling into a comfortable, albeit unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle.

Taking a cue from rhinos, however, can provide us with a more advantageous routine.

“The best exercise we can do is on, off, on, off, rather than keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing,” Agus says.

Other hidden powers

While it might take some time to benefit from the following animal secrets, here are a few worth exploring:

• Why giraffes don’t suffer from strokes or heart attacks despite their elevated blood pressure
• How elephant genes might prevent the development of certain types of cancer
• What ant colonies can teach us about limiting the spread of infectious diseases

That headline totally sounds like clickbait, but one influential organizational guru who has gained quite a following on social media claims that you really can gain control over your clutter problem with one three-second decision.

Meet Kayleen Kelly

You might have come across her videos on TikTok — but even if you have, it’s worth digging in a little deeper to find out exactly how her simple suggestions can help anyone (yes, even you) become a more organized person.

As someone who struggles with finding a place for all my clutter, I was intrigued by the no-nonsense approach she took in one viral video that has already reached more than half a million views.

Using a pile of blue jeans as a backdrop, Kelly explained how she decides what to keep based on instinct.

“All I want you to do is you’re going to make a decision on each pair,” she advised. “It’s either a yes you keep it or no it goes.”

If that decision takes you longer than three seconds, Kelly concluded, “it’s an automatic keep.”

Repeat as necessary

Speaking from experience, the vicious circle of thinking about whether to keep something or toss it can cause mental paralysis that prevents anything from getting done at all. That’s where Kelly’s three-second rule gets the ball rolling.

Of course, she made it clear that you shouldn’t expect to get everything done on the basis of a knee-jerk reaction. Instead, start off by creating a “yes” and “no” pile. At this point, you’ve already decided to toss out or donate the items in the latter, but if the former still seems too big you can always repeat the process.

Kelly noted: “This technique is all about creating a positive experience and helping you build confidence in your decision-making.”

With the rise of sites like Airbnb and VRBO, an increasing number of property owners are opening up their primary or secondary residences to guests.

In order to become one of the top-rated hosts on such apps, it’s important to be able to go above and beyond to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of guests. Determining how to do that can be tricky, but one expert has a clever idea.

Make sharing experiences easy

Most property owners offer renters an opportunity to leave feedback. If you really want to dig deep into the experiences of those who are staying at your vacation home, however, writer Timothy Harper suggests leaving a journal in a prominent spot.

He’s used this tip to gain insight into how guests have enjoyed his New York guest home.

Put simply, he’s confirmed the age-old idiom: “Different strokes for different folks.”

Some people love exploring the rugged, rural terrain while other find it intimidating or even frightening.

Harper’s guests are generally friends and relatives visiting from out of town, but anyone can get to know how their homes are being enjoyed by soliciting such feedback.

Getting more than you expected

Some people leave just the bare minimum when recapping their stays and include pages of details about all of their activities. And sometimes the guest book includes experiences that will last much longer than a few days in a Hudson Valley guest house.

A singer who left his guitar pick tucked inside the book also drew up some new plans for furniture layout, which the homeowner decided would be worth implementing.

His house has set the stage for ukelele practice, amateur movie screenings, college reunions, and more — and he only knows the details because he let his guests write all about it.