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from JPT Group   |   June 2023   |   Vol. 16 No. 6

It’s the Law

âž”    The British government, anxious to stop protests, passed a law in 1714 called the "Riot Act." It allowed public officials to break up gatherings of 12 or more people by reading aloud a proclamation, warning those who heard it that they must disperse within the hour or be guilty of a felony punishable by death. Hence, says Merriam-Webster, the source someone being “read the Riot Act.”

    Muphry's law, says Twitter, is an adage that states: "If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written." The name is a deliberate misspelling of "Murphy's law” which says that "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time."

    The law of the sea is a body of customs, treaties, and international agreements by which governments maintain order, productivity and peaceful relations on the sea… This from oceanservice.noaa.gov – it forms the basis for the conduct of maritime commerce critical to the economy, codifies the rules of freedom of navigation that are essential to national security. 

    According to legendsofamerica.com, “Back in the days when the cowman with his herds made a new frontier, there was no law on the range. Lack of written law made it necessary for the trailblazer to frame some of his own, thus developing a rule of behavior which became known as the “Code of the West.” 

    The Law of Unintended Consequences is a nebulous term that refers to situations where intended fixes to a problem only serve to cause more severe problems. Google says that it occurs when an impulsive, emotional decision is made that unintentionally creates more problems than it solves.

    Last, and certainly not least, there is Nelson’s Law which says that nothing is impossible for the person who doesn’t have to do it.
 

homer in court

“Government - If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.”

– despair.com    

BUSINESS UPDATE

Another glass ceiling

Chinese laws prohibit women from modeling lingerie claiming they are “spreading obscene material.” So men have stepped into those roles. Critics now complain that the men are “depriving women of job opportunities.” Stay tuned for more revealing developments.

—   CNN   

 

Chinese lingerie models

It is Grand, Isn’t it?

âž”    Yesterday, June 14th, was Flag Day — so designated because the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution on June 14, 1777 adopting the basic design. Several sources report that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a naval flag designer and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed the flag in 1777. (Sorry, Betsy Ross.) Supposedly, he submitted a bill for his work to the Congress but there is no record of him ever being paid.

    Unfortunately, Flag Day is another one of those observances that go mostly unnoticed in today’s society. The Tearsheet, however, has decided to take a closer look at “Old Glory” and we’ve uncovered the following.

    Most Americans know that the 13 stripes of alternating red and white bars represent the 13 original colonies and that there are 50 stars, one for every state, in the upper-left blue canton. (Look it up.)  However, the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934. Marketers take heart, there is a “style guide” for the flag identifying precise sizes, shapes, colors, etc. Also The United States Flag Code specifies various aspects of flag display and etiquette such as when to display the flag at half-staff (half-mast in naval usage.)

    The 50-star version has been the official flag since so designated by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959 and adopted in July, 1960. The 48-star flag was in use for 47 years (1912-1959), making the current 50-star version – at more than 60 years – the longest running version in history. Note: there are 51 and 52-star designs ready for adoption – just in case.
 

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“Keep your eye on the grand old flag.”

– George M. Cohan, an American actor, popular songwriter, playwright and producer
 

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What’s it stand for?  Developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, the initials in ChatGPT stand for “generative pre-trained transformer.”

—   Wikipedia   

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If you were only more productive.  The most productive employees are 242 percent more likely than their colleagues to be using AI and other automations.

—   Slack   

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Drink up, Shriners.  When a man allegedly found a dead mouse in a can of Mountain Dew, a Pepsi expert claimed in an affidavit that the drink was so acidic it would have dissolved the mouse after 30 days.

—   Mental Floss   

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Woman’s work is never done. The labor force participation rate for U.S. women ages 25 to 54 rose to 77.5 percent in April, a record high.

—   Bloomberg   

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A little broad in the beam. Two top Spanish transportation officials were fired after they ordered new trains too wide to fit in the nation's old railway tunnels.

—   newser.com   

Splitsville.  79 Percent of Americans believe access to the internet and social media has made people more divided in their political opinions, the highest percentage among the countries polled.

—   Pew Research   

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Don’t tie me down.  The plastic tags or metal ties on bread wrappers indicate on which day of the week the bread was baked.

—   tastingtable.com   

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Burial at sea. Ocean-going cruise ships are required to carry body bags and to maintain a morgue.

—   cruisecritic.com   

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Just call me “Joe.” Former Korean leader Kim Yong Il was called by more than 1,200 titles, including: Heaven Sent Hero, Guardian of the Planet, and Eternal Bosom of Hot Love.

—   QI   

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Ups and downs. The National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, California houses the country's largest collection of yo-yo artifacts. Yo-yo classes are available.

—   nationalyoyo.org   

The Month of June

Month of the Month

    June must be a happy time. You can celebrate Give A Bunch of Balloons Month which may lead to National Smile Month. Also, you might be glad to know that it’s Sorghum Month.
   Today, June 15th is a treat for your pallet and then some. In addition to National Lobster Day, it’s also Prune Day.

Question of the Month

    Why is the “surgery room” in hospitals referred to as an “operation theatre”?

    Spelling aside, the answer does not include a “drive-in” version.
 

Quote of the Month

Lee Grant

"I’ve been married to one Marxist and one Fascist, and neither one would take the garbage out."

—   Lee Grant,   
Twice married,  

Oscar-winning actress   

A Gridiron MBA?  
Maybe that’s not possible, but there is much you can learn about business from football in the book, Hard Hitting Lessons.  The subtitle says it all, “Some not-so-obvious business lessons learned from playing football.”

 

Get your copy here!

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