The volcano Vesuvius destroys Pompeii

 This is as frightening as it can get when you realize that it happened over a sequence of hours--and each time, the results were more devastating than before.

Job-seekers and students: Apply here for a life-changing opportunity

 THIS is another reason I say the aviation industry is a place for future students and job seekers.

In 6 years, Justin Mutawassim went from a ramp agent hauling bags to piloting a Boeing 767.

Mutawassim struck up a conversation with an older Black pilot who became his mentor. He gave him a “flight plan” to achieve his goals, & here we are.

Famous Faces in History - WHO are they and why are they famous?

Calling all history majors, English majors, journalists, advertising majors, and marketing reps--and a few instructors too: let's see you solve the puzzle of 16 Famous Faces. 
 ==============================
Here are 16 faces: who's who? (Hint: one just became a royal grandfather again.)

In 1995, I was substitute-teaching and saw a Wall Street Journal. (It's not my normal reading, but it was there.) In it, I saw an advertisement for Dewar's Scotch: these were the images used, and the selling point was something about so few leaders available for such good Scotch. My response: I showed initiative and pro-active thinking BY CALLING THE DEWAR'S ADVERTISING OFFICE AND ASKING TO SPEAK TO WHOMEVER DESIGNED THE AD. I WANTED TO KNOW WHO THREE (3) FACES WERE: I thought I knew 13, and I did. But the last three stumped me--and I wasn't giving up. Not me with my encylopedic-photographic memory. And they obliged me--and I was right about at least one. The other two...now I recognize them.

And there was more. Dewar's sent me a color image of the ad, and I had it framed and hung on the wall for years. I've let it since go, but the significance is in their eyes: who ARE these people, what did they do with their lives to be this important, and why were they selected? 

(Another hint: at least 2 had the same position in life and circumstances as the background; two held the same position of service to their country, and two are notorious strategists. Fascinating, isn't it, what you can do when your curiosity does more than just push buttons on a phone?
       By the way, this would make an excellent history or education--or marketing! lesson--because of the strategic placement of some of the candidates. It's almost bitter irony in some instances.

Otter Eats Sardines for the First Time and Gets Hooked

Hey, kids!! Look what Grandma and Grandpa want to get you!! Your own otter!              And you can swim with it and splash with it and more fun than that!                                                                                                                                                                                   That's right! Tell them that YOU want an otter for a pet, and watch them go...after me with a fury of "What have you done NOW?!? This kid won't stop crying 'I WANT one of those!'"                   

 (Thank you. Today's mischief is brought to you by YoursTruly.)

The Golden Ratio of Math in Nature: the Fibonacci Sequence

Groucho disturbed by crazy eyed guest - Rare clip from You Bet Your Life...

Julius "Groucho" Marx, one of my favorite comedians, gets his come-uppance by a guest who is just WILD about being on the show!

I Surprised African Tribal Warriors by Speaking Their Language

Sawfish - see? So--saw.

 

This is no sword. It’s alive. And it hunts.

Meet the Sawfish — nature’s underwater chainsaw.

Armed with a serrated rostrum that looks like a medieval weapon, this ancient creature doesn’t just slice through water… it slashes through schools of fish with a side swipe. In a flash of motion, its snout stuns prey and stirs sediment, making ambushes even deadlier.

But here’s the twist: that “saw” is loaded with electro-receptors, allowing the sawfish to detect the faintest electric signals from hidden creatures buried in sand. It's both a weapon and a sensor — the Swiss army knife of the ocean.

Once widespread, these magnificent fish are now critically endangered. Hunted for their saws and caught in fishing nets, they’re vanishing fast. And yet, they’ve survived for over 100 million years — longer than the T. Rex.

So next time you picture a shark, remember the one with the blade…see? Saw.

Why Lions Fear The Grass-Eating African Cape Buffalo

Oh, Marketing class! Yes, you do have to design a product and how to sell it...

 Gary Dahl made millions selling… rocks. And he did it with a straight face.

In 1975, the advertising copywriter was sitting in a bar when friends started venting about their pets — the barking, the shedding, the vet bills. Dahl joked, “You know what the perfect pet is? A rock.”

The joke didn’t end at the bar.

He went home and wrote a 32-page manual on how to care for a Pet Rock. It came in a cardboard box with breathing holes, a bed of straw, and simple instructions like “don’t walk it” and “avoid feeding it after midnight.” It was absurd. It was satire. And it worked.

Within six months, Gary Dahl had sold over 1.5 million Pet Rocks at $3.95 each. He became a millionaire off a product that literally did nothing.

But the fame turned sour fast.

He was called a con man. A symbol of consumer stupidity. Fellow advertisers mocked him. Friends turned cold. Everyone wanted a piece of the rock.

Dahl retreated from the spotlight. He bought a bar. He wrote a novel. He created other inventions, but none came close. Not because he didn’t have ideas — but because America wasn’t in on the joke anymore.

He later said, “Sometimes, the best thing that can happen to you is also the worst.”

Gary Dahl’s Pet Rock wasn’t just a gag — it was a mirror. A commentary on consumerism. On marketing. On us.

And the man behind it? Not a huckster. A satirist who proved the line between genius and ridiculous is paper-thin — and often wildly profitable.

=======================================================================Now: why do I mention this (aside from some historical marketing news):

See this. And I have kept an idea since 1975 (and Mr. Dahl's success) that I will share if you call and ask. And it's about...water. Because we ALL need water, yes? Even if someone puts a silly label and brand on it...and it goes viral and sells...something like...are-you-kidding-me Diet Water? 

Mine is just as good an idea. I'm not looking to be in business now. Just to create-invent ideas.

And when YOU buy your own island in the Caribbean after selling it out to a bigger label-distributor...just remember me. (Hint: a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, please.)

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Word Crimes (Official 4K Video)

Did the M8.8 Russia Megaquake Disturb the SUPERVOLCANO MONSTER in the Ar...

DNA Analyses and Genetic Origins of the Ainu of Japan

The monster 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake...watch out for this region!

This Pyramid Changes The Entire History - Gunung Padang, Java, Indonesia

MBA Finance lesson

 This is a strategy/knowledge base lesson I use in my MBA class for new students, especially those going for the Finance diploma. With that said, these are my notes to my students:

Finance majors: STOP here and watch. HR majors, you, too.

If you're a finance MBA major, you'd better stop here--and see the real world that waits ahead.

Stop right here--ESPECIALLY if you are a finance major. If you're a human resources major, then watch and make notes that this kind of person exists in the executive offices above you. 

This is a real-life event: it came from the Mortgage Collapse of 2008, and Shearson-Lehman Brothers brokerage was the role model for this kind of casualty that cost jobs and a BOATLOAD of money. But NOT for this CEO--because in estimation, he was making $70 million a year and wasn't about to give that up. And he KNOWS what the problem is because he's signed off on it months ago. And he KNOWS what should be done--he just wants to hear that his team is in synch. 

So this is what I call a verbal business brief: "Explain what's the problem, why is it a problem, how did it happen, what should be done, and how fast." The capacity that you answer may be either the exit door or a promotion.

(PS: listen to him rattle off those years of economic crashes--and his view of the results. "It's only pieces of paper with numbers on it so that we don't have to kill each other to get something to eat.") And you want something MORE keen that this? Look at the comments posted by others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fij_ixfjiZE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D7KVozqRvk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqAl292ozs

The Amazon's Largest Predator Is One You've Never Heard Of

McDermitt Caldera: America’s Forgotten Supervolcano Is Hiding Something ...

APA formats (videos)

 (This reminds me why I still have nightmares five years into retirement):

(Administration: "Mr. Lopate! Why are the students unruly?")

(Me: I don't know!)

(Administration: "Mr. Lopate!! Where are your lesson plans?!?")

(Me: I don't know!!)

(Administration: "Mr. Lopate!!! Why ARE the students misbehaving? The adult ones?!)

(Me: I DON'T KNOW!!! Maybe...it's because of citation formats?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEqRqSsNDjc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKu2-tjNMok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVOU9VZqyI&t=29s

UPDATE! Stranger than Oumuamua!