Don’t buy any Amazon tech now: They’re showing off new gadgets on Feb. 26. Rumor has it we’ll meet the next-gen Alexa that can handle “complex requests,” along with new Echo speakers and earbuds, too. Probably no Kindles since new models dropped in October.
Modern day Jonah
A dad watched a giant whale swallow his son and caught the whole thing on video. Phew, the kid survived! The whale spat him and the kayak he was in out after a few seconds. One moment he’s paddling, the next he’s completely gone.
34 seconds
Mandatory pit stops coming to Formula E. Pit Boost fast-charging stations are debuting at the Jeddah E-Prix this weekend. They’ll power up the electric racecars 10% in just 30 seconds.
🚨 Two recalls to know about: First, over a million Igloo 90-qt. Flip & Tow rolling coolers, which have been slicing off fingers. They were sold from January 2019 until last month. Full list here. If you’re affected, you can get a free replacement. Next up, a canned tuna recall for Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B and Trader Joe’s brands that could cause fatal food poisoning. Return ‘em for a full refund.
What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away: Paramount and YouTube TV couldn’t agree on a renewal contract, so you’ll lose 23 channels today. If you really need CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central or one of the others, try Tubi for a free trial. Just remember to set a reminder to cancel! If tug-of-war drags on for “an extended period of time,” YouTube will give subs an $8 credit. Gee, thanks. Speaking of, ditch the subscriptions you don’t use. I did, and I used the app that makes it easy: Rocket Money. They find everything and cancel whatever you no longer want.
Operation Level Up: The FBI is calling people who fell for crypto scams to stop them from losing even more money. So far, of 4,300 folks across all 50 states, 76% had no clue they were being scammed. If you get a call, the real agency won’t ask you for money or tell you to move yours. They also won’t request your personal info or try to move your chat to an encrypted app.
💸 Imagine winning the lotto: I bet you have. A Hillsboro, Missouri, couple thought the magical moment was real when someone told them they’d won $17 million. All they had to do was pay taxes upfront. They mailed over $800,000 in cash and gift cards to random addresses until their daughter figured out what was going on. They’re not getting that money back.
It’s everywhere: Hackers uploaded a free survival game to Steam. PirateFi was live for a week on the super-popular gaming site, spreading malware. Today’s cybercriminals have too many tricks up their sleeves. You need real-time protection that’s smarter than they are. My pick, TotalAV, is $19 for the first year and works with Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones and Androids.
23 seconds
Tests that predict your fall risk. Test 1: Stand heel-to-toe with one foot touching the front of the other. Test 2: Balance on one leg. Brazilian researchers say 10 seconds (the old baseline) isn’t enough. Aim for 23 seconds. Every extra second lowers your risk of a fall in the next six months by 5%.
57 years old
The new Spanish Scrabble world champion. This is wild. Nigel Richards is from New Zealand and doesn’t speak any Spanish. He has an encyclopedic memory, memorizing words as soon as he reads them. He’s also won the Scrabble world championship multiple times in French and English (paywall link). Reminds me … My dog accidentally swallowed some Scrabble tiles. Her next poop could spell disaster. (Oh, that was so good.)
🎓 Fake it till you make it: On TikTok, people of all ages are pretending they got into Harvard. The viral videos are funny, but it’s no joke that lawsuits have exposed donors and alumni kids getting special treatment. Speaking of … A Texan went to an Ivy League party on the East Coast. He walks up to a group of young women and asks, “Howdy, which school did y’all go to?” One of the women replied, “Yale.” The Texan asked again loudly, “WHICH SCHOOL DID Y’ALL GO TO?” (I saw you smile!)
🙏 Siri to the rescue: I love stories about tech saving lives. A 70-year-old in Florida had a stroke and couldn’t reach his landline. He spent 48 hours drifting in and out of consciousness, then he crawled into the living room. He yelled for Siri to call his daughter, who then contacted 911. He’s doing well! Most stroke patients need help within an hour. Talk about beating the odds.
Fewer bells, fewer whistles: The average CPU performance is dropping for the first time in 20 years. It’s not because chips are getting weaker. Most folks don’t need a powerhouse processor to check emails and scroll social media, so the cheaper option works just fine.
$439
For AirPods that aren’t the default Apple white. ColorWare sells custom-painted earbuds in neutral skin tones with names like “Glaze,” “Toasty” and “Java.” Heads-up: You don’t need to waste money. A colorful AirPod cover is around $5 if you want to jazz yours up.
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You might need this: OpenAI’s fancy ChatGPT deep research agent pulls info from multiple sources but takes 30 minutes per search. It’s coming to Free and Plus tiers pretty soon, not just the $200-per-month option. The catch? Plus users get 10 prompts a month and Free users get two. I’ve mentioned before this is great to use with medical issues, business ideas and just about anything that needs a ton of research.
🦉 Gone but not forgotten: RIP to Duolingo’s green owl mascot. In a very strange marketing stunt, the language-learning app put up a video that shows the little guy getting run over by a Cybertruck, shooting through the sky, past space and straight into hell. Now there’s a reward for anyone who IDs the driver. Hey, it worked, because #RIPduo is trending.
🤖 Not the AI Zuck wanted: Harry Potter, Jesus Christ and Taylor Swift walk into a bar … in the form of Meta chatbots. Anyone can whip up a chatbot on Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp. Meta’s system is supposed to flag religious figures, real-life people and trademarked fictional characters, but it’s easy to get around that with a typo or two.
He’s not that into you: A woman lost $375,000 to someone pretending to be “Virgin River” actor Martin Henderson. It all began when she left a comment on a fan page and “his agent” slid into her DMs to say Martin wanted to chat. The scammer used AI voicemails to lure her in, and she moved to New Zealand to be closer to him. The full story is wild.
🚨 Etsy sellers, watch out: A new scam starts with an email from “support” and a PDF invoice hosted on a legit domain: etsystatic.com. The goal is to get you to fill out fake identity verification requests on a cloned Etsy site. Official Etsy emails always end with @etsy.com.
3.7 cents
Cost to mint a penny. President Trump just told the Treasury to call it quits. The government lost $85 million producing pennies over the last fiscal year at almost four times their face value (paywall link). This makes cents.