⇒ Issue #129 (In numerology, 129 is optimistic and inspirational.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 10/28: 228,366*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 10/28: 10,084*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 10/28: 44,551,634*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 10/28: 10,084*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 10/28: 44,551,634*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 10/28: 1,175,148*
Have you noticed that certain individuals may be getting a bit curt and snappish as the strain of the pandemic wears on? A pair of Chicago sisters elevated that bad attitude to an entirely new height on Tuesday, according to CTV News. Jessica and Jayla Hill, aged 21 and 18 respectively, took umbrage when a security guard in a retail store asked them to wear masks while shopping. Perhaps on a better day, the ladies might have complied or at least remonstrated with a displeased glance before haughtily taking their custom elsewhere. Not this time. Instead, they responded to the store employee’s impertinence by stabbing him a total of 27 times in the chest, back and arms. The sisters’ court-appointed lawyer says it was a matter of self-defense, which just reinforces the principle that some mouths really do need to be covered -- if not taped shut entirely.
October 29, 2020—Good morning, CurveFlattners. It’s Mitch Shannon here with your "Wacky World o’ Deadly Infectious Disease" update for this Thursday. (Get ready to cue the accompanying zany cartoon-music, DJ John.)
Have you noticed that certain individuals may be getting a bit curt and snappish as the strain of the pandemic wears on? A pair of Chicago sisters elevated that bad attitude to an entirely new height on Tuesday, according to CTV News. Jessica and Jayla Hill, aged 21 and 18 respectively, took umbrage when a security guard in a retail store asked them to wear masks while shopping. Perhaps on a better day, the ladies might have complied or at least remonstrated with a displeased glance before haughtily taking their custom elsewhere. Not this time. Instead, they responded to the store employee’s impertinence by stabbing him a total of 27 times in the chest, back and arms. The sisters’ court-appointed lawyer says it was a matter of self-defense, which just reinforces the principle that some mouths really do need to be covered -- if not taped shut entirely.
And, arriving just in time for those who might have that very need, here comes a commercially available solution. Vice News reports on the (literal) last word in health products, known as SomniFix. The device, endorsed by someone calling himself a "sleep medicine dentist," is classed as a disposable sleep-aid, and its YouTube ad, below, has already been viewed 2.3 million times. Essentially, it’s an adhesive strip used to temporarily seal shut the upper and lower lips. A month’s supply goes for about Cdn$26.
We can see how the product might be useful for decreasing unwelcome verbalizing by, say, the American president or any of his supporters, but the question persists: Why would anyone want to tape their own lips shut? Well, it turns out there’s a myriad of purported pro-healthy reasons, including several that seem far-fetched, such as improved athletic performance, facial restructuring, and weight-loss. Actually, the last one makes a modicum of sense. Stands to reason that having a tape barrier placed over one’s mouth would likely discourage excessive Twinkie consumption, wouldn’t it?
COVID CHRONICLE 10-29-20
Ian Sansom is a prolific U.K. novelist and essayist whose appeal hasn't spread much beyond his native country after 25 years of acclaimed scribbling. His output features misfit protagonists with literary tendencies, including the "County Guide" series that lampoons England of the 1930s, one county at a time. The fifth and latest installment is set in Sussex and involves his recurring characters, who are hilarious: an overbearing auto-didact author, his free-spired daughter, and the sullen Spanish Civil War veteran who signs on as the writer's self-loathing factotum. Recommended for Anglophiles, bibliophiles, and anyone who digs sly, funny writing.
The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Kevin Leshuk. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma
- Women aged 45 to 85 who lack social connections are significantly more likely to develop hypertension and stroke than similarly aged males, according to new research from the University of British Columbia. The finding, published in the Journal of Hypertension, has consequences during the ongoing social isolation imposed to manage the Covid pandemic. Said principal investigator Annalijn Conklin, assistant professor in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC: "Our new findings underline how social isolation affects health in men and women differently. At a time when Covid-19 is forcing us to limit our social interactions, it's important for those working in health care and public health to encourage older women, in particular, to find new ways to be socially active."
- Two out of five Canadians think the pandemic has damaged their financial wellbeing, and a similar ratio says they don’t have sufficient savings to get through a second Covid wave, according to a recent survey of 1,538 respondents conducted by the Leger polling firm. Financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons tells Yahoo News: “The coronavirus pandemic is a financial emergency that’s turned into a crisis because of how long it’s been sustained.”
- Spanish researchers found a large majority of hospitalized Covid patients had a vitamin D deficiency. Eighty-two per cent of 216 patients examined by researchers at the University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain were vitamin D deficient, compared to 47 per cent of a control group. Males had significantly lower vitamin D levels than females, the study found.
WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY
Cory Perla, bureau chief of Chronicle's USA mission, is enjoying a pleasant week Down East, spent among the Mainers, studying their local language and customs, which include consuming fried clams, rather than the steamed preparation offered in his usual Buffalo, N.Y. taverns. Right now, he's probably saying something such as, "Howdy, neigh-bah! Tell me, can I take this road back to Buffalo?" And a crusty Maine resident, eyeing all the antique purchases loaded in the back of Cory's BMW, will ritually reply, "Ay-yuh. Don't see why not. Looks like you've already taken everything else." Actually, I have no idea what anyone is working on today. I just wanted to tell you that joke.
TONIGHT WE ARE READING...
Ian Sansom is a prolific U.K. novelist and essayist whose appeal hasn't spread much beyond his native country after 25 years of acclaimed scribbling. His output features misfit protagonists with literary tendencies, including the "County Guide" series that lampoons England of the 1930s, one county at a time. The fifth and latest installment is set in Sussex and involves his recurring characters, who are hilarious: an overbearing auto-didact author, his free-spired daughter, and the sullen Spanish Civil War veteran who signs on as the writer's self-loathing factotum. Recommended for Anglophiles, bibliophiles, and anyone who digs sly, funny writing.
TOMORROW AND TOMORROW
Tomorrow, DJ John will assume his other identity as mild-mannered medical reporter John Evans, and in that guise he'll continue your CurveFlattener coverage. Meanwhile, please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener, to let us know what you're up to today. Feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector, and, by all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues.
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