Tuesday Overnight Open Thread - September 9, 2025 [Doof]

Howdy Hordelings! Surprise - I am now your Tuesday ONT host! This night became vacant when scampydog decided to go chase mailmen instead of hosting ONTs. So I decided to move from Mondays to Tuesdays (along with Sundays and Thursdays).
EDIT: Mondays are currently Under Construction, as CBD noted last night.

Anyway, here's a bonus track from the mystery click artist. Opening track to their only album, released in 1989.

Feel Good Story

29-yo Becomes First Woman to Cross U.S. on a Skateboard–Honoring Stepfather Whose Ashes Were Carried in a Necklace

The stepfather who always believed in her was with her at the end, as his ashes rested inside her necklace while she crossed the finish line.

Brooke Johnson had just become the first woman to cross the United States on a skateboard—a record-setting 3,226-mile journey that began in Santa Monica, California and ended when she walked into the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach after 119 days on the road.

The 29-year-old lifted her skateboard over her head and couldn’t help but think about Roger, the man who made it all happen—even though he was only there in spirit.

Late in his life, Brooke’s stepfather broke his C5 vertebrae and became a quadriplegic. His health continued to decline until he passed away last year.

As time was running out, stepfather and daughter often talked about Brooke’s dream of cross-country skateboarding, and she planned to push him across the finish line in a wheelchair.

Roger never once doubted that she’d make it.

***

“If there’s one thing you take away from this trip, it’s that you can truly do anything you put your mind to.”

Read the whole thing. And hug your loved ones because life is short.

The Opposite of a Feel Good Story

Friends Take Turns Shooting Each Other in the Head, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

A Texas man has been charged with murder following a game in which he and his friend took turns shooting each other in the head with rifles while wearing Kevlar helmets.

On 17 August, good friends Sean O’Donnell (37) and Aaron Prout (34) were hanging out in the former’s home when they decided to play a very stupid and dangerous game – taking turns shooting each other in the head with a rifle while wearing a Kevlar helmet for protection. Kevlar helmets are used by modern soldiers because they are known to whithstand heavy impacts, but they are not completely bulletproof. In this particular case, the two friends, who had been drinking, were reportedly holding the Kevlar helmet above their heads while the other tried to aim at it with a rifle. All it took was for one of them to miss their shot by a few millimeters to turn their friendly game into a tragedy.

“Hard to believe two so-called friends would take turns shooting at each other wearing a Kevlar helmet, inside a house in a residential neighbourhood, while using a rifle,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote about the incident on X.

Check out the whole story. News coverage video clip at the link.

It SHOULD go without saying - don't mix guns and booze, and don't shoot at your buddy.

Yuck!

Reusable water bottles are a "breeding ground" for strep and fecal bacteria, study warns

Carrying a reusable water bottle is a smart habit. It saves money. It cuts down on single-use plastic. It keeps you hydrated. There’s a catch, though.

Many of us don’t clean our bottles nearly as well or as often as we think we do, and the germs that hitch a ride on our hands, rims, and lids can stick around.

***

A study on the campus of Purdue University put everyday bottles under the microscope to see how clean they really are and which habits help or hurt. The takeaway is a reality check with simple fixes that anyone can put into practice.

***

The research team kept the question simple: “How clean are the bottles that students actually use all day?”

To get real-world answers, they collected 90 bottles directly from students. They asked owners how they used and cleaned their bottles, then tested the bottles in two ways.

First, they swabbed the outer surfaces using a rapid hygiene test called ATP that lights up when organic residue remains. This signal is widely used in food safety as a quick screen for whether a surface is truly clean after washing.

Second, they rinsed the insides and counted bacteria clinging to water-contact surfaces. They measured common water-loving bacteria and checked for coliforms, an indicator group that can signal when conditions could support more concerning contamination.

Read the whole thing to get the specifics.

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Speaking of fecal matter - the ONT continues a "regular" feature

The #1 Dessert to Help You Poop In the Morning, According to a Dietitian

See what I did there?

Get Yer French Toast, CBD!

Two stories that were fed to me by "The Algorithm" recently.

Here’s Why Maple Syrup Bottles Have Those Tiny Handles

Any guesses? The article is interesting but kinda long (it IS Reader's Digest), so I'll cut to the chase. "It’s all about nostalgia"

Do check it out, though.

Army veteran from Vermont gifted free tractor for maple syrup operation

The Kubota compact tractor was given free to a Vermont maple syrup producer by a special program honoring military veterans who now work in agriculture.

***

According to the website of Wild Woods Maple, Niles served the U.S. Army for more than 25 years and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The website says he was also an instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho. After he retired, Niles and his wife, Katie, started Wild Woods Maple and have been growing their family business ever since.

Wild Woods Maple recently earned bragging rights by winning a pair of awards in the 2025 Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans. According to a May 4 Facebook post from the Vermont Maple Festival, Wild Woods Maple took home blue ribbons for "Best of Class" and "Best of Show" for their amber rich syrup.

Cool story - worth checking out.

DJ Doof - This Date in History Edition
(from thisdayinmusic.com)

Born on this date in 1975: Canadian singer, songwriter and actor Michael Bublé. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible

Born on this date in 1952: Dave Stewart, guitarist, songwriter and producer.

On this date in 1956: Elvis Presley made his first appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan show', performing 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Love Me Tender' and 'Ready Teddy' from the CBS TV Studios in Los Angeles.

Tonight's ONT brought to you by turning the tables

POV : a man when he uses 100% of his brain. pic.twitter.com/4JyxrUkdd0

— Ayu D. Palupi (@ayu_DPalupi) September 8, 2025

posted by Open Blogger at 09:50 PM

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