08:48 – Obviously, I had to read this one: Atheists in the Bible Belt: A survival guide
The article focuses on North Carolina, which they apparently consider to be part of the Bible Belt. I never thought of it that way. Sure, we have a lot of Southern Baptists around here, but we’re nothing like the Deep South, not to mention Texas, Oklahoma, and other states where religion is much more dominant in daily life. And apparently many atheist North Carolinians hide their atheism from friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I’ve never done that. Since I moved to North Carolina almost 35 years ago, I’ve been completely upfront about my beliefs (or lack thereof). I think every one of my friends, neighbors, and co-workers that whole time has been aware that I’m not just an atheist but a rabid atheist. Not just non-theist but anti-theist. I don’t care what they believe, and as far as I’m aware nearly all of them don’t care what I don’t believe.
And I spotted another very strange article on CNN: Don’t machine wash your denim, says Levi’s CEO
I actually read something similar to this a year or two ago, about a new fad for never washing jeans. That article recommended putting them in the freezer instead, claiming that freezing killed bacteria. Obviously, no one bothered to tell those teeming masses of bacteria that are happily living atop Mount Everest or in Antarctica about that. Or, for that matter, those foolish scientists who routinely preserve living bacteria by lyophilizing (freeze-drying) them. Freezing jeans doesn’t sterilize them. Not even close. If you really don’t want to wash your jeans, I recommend autoclaving them. Stick them in a pressure cooker at 15 PSI for 30 minutes. They won’t come out clean, but they will come out sterile.