from JPT Group | August 2024 | Vol. 17 No. 8
Here’s What’s Left
In case you missed it, for the past 42 years, August 13 has been International Left-Handers Day. Why should anyone care? For starters, according to ChatGPT, approximately ten percent of all Americans are left-handed.
Pity the poor southpaw. Consider the every day items not made for lefties: scissors, writing with slow-drying ink (the hand tends to smear it), can openers, guitars, cameras (the shutter button is always on the right), many tools, dinner tables (don’t bump elbows), spiral notebooks, etc.
If you’re looking for confusion, the history of Major League Baseball regularly features players who played out of their natural handedness, a phenomenon that is seen occasionally in other sports but is a regular occurrence on the diamond. Go back more than a century to the present day and you’re likely to see players who bat one way and throw the other. Ask them to sign their autograph and there’s no telling which hand would hold the pen.
Being a lefty doesn’t appear to be a hinderance. Left-handed people who overcame their struggles to achieve great things include: Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Curie, Leonardo da Vinci, Bill Gates, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Babe Ruth and Oprah Winfrey. As well as the long list of left-handed presidents: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Although being left-handed is nothing to laugh about, that doesn’t stop some people from trying. In a full-page ad in USA Today on April 1,1998, Burger King detailed a program whereby left-handed people could order Whoppers with its condiments rotated 180 degrees, creating a left-handed taste. Then in 2015, Cottonelle announced that a special line of toilet paper (er, sorry, bathroom tissue) designed especially for lefties would be available on April 1, 2015.
According to journalist Tod Perry, “The greatest lefty-rights advocate of our times (is Simpsons character) Ned Flanders.”
BUSINESS UPDATE
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it’s investigating if and how companies use AI to target consumers with individualized pricing based on their personal data, a tactic known as surveillance pricing.
According to Morning Brew, surveillance pricing is a cousin of dynamic pricing, which has been used by airlines and ride-hailing companies to charge customers higher prices when there’s higher demand. And, while adjusting prices for different customers is a common sales strategy, the FTC is concerned about the level of specificity — and opacity — involved in the practice.
I’ve Been Asked to Say a Few Words
Death. Now there’s a scary topic. In fact, there have been numerous studies over the years that have indicated that many people fear death second to public speaking. That’s a scary thought.
Yet some of history’s most famous (and infamous) personalities have been known as great orators. Go as far back as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. Closer to home we have Abraham Lincoln. More recently we have two speakers from the mid-20th Century who couldn’t have been further apart: Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler.
According to Inc. magazine, the Greeks determined that there are three things that go into being a successful speaker (and/or delivering an effective speech). The first is credibility, or authority. Without these, your content will almost assuredly fall flat on its face. The second then is the content itself. Artistotle’s main point was “to encourage your audience to reach the conclusion to your argument on their own.” The final leg of the triangle has to do with emotion. Make it personal, establish a connection for your audience. Share a relatable story.
Apparently the Greeks figured this out 2,500 years ago. Too bad so many of today’s so-called leaders haven’t quite grasped the concept.
“When you make a speech, have a conversation with the audience.”
― Anonymous
KEEPERS
As reported by Forbes, according to keyword research compiled by QR Code Generator over the last 12 months, these are the most confusing (and most searched) TLAs and FLAs. (Not the state of Florida; we’re talking [three and] four-letter acronyms).
AFK - Away from Keyboard
AWOL - Absent without Leave
CEO - Chief Executive Officer
COO- Chief Operating Officer
CRM - Customer Relationship Mgmt
DEI - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
DM - Direct Message
ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival
ICYMI - In Case You Missed It
KPI - Key Performance Indicator
NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement
NSFW - Not Safe for Work
OTP - On the Phone
PTO - Paid Time Off
RFP - Request for Proposal
ROI - Return on Investment
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
TBD - To Be Decided
VPN - Virtual Private Network
WFH - Working from Home
Crime doesn’t pay? Almost 21 percent of Americans, or 56 million U.S. adults, were defrauded out of $25 billion in telephone scams in 2023.
— U.S. Spam & Scam Report
Not what you’d call a no brAIner. Intuit is laying off ten percent of its workforce amid an AI-related reorganization plan.
— Inc.
It’s the law. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that “boneless” chicken wings don’t have to actually be “boneless.”
— oddee.com
Could be a scary deal. Six-acre Drake Island off southwest England is for sale complete with a private beach, fortifications and 15 ghosts.
— news.sky.com
Gold in dem, dar hills. Mount Erebus, an active volcano in Antarctica is releasing approximately 80 grams of gold daily.
— ripleys.com
How so, Mr. Wordsmith? The (in)famous Canadian interjection “eh” is actually listed in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as a valid word.
— mustdocanada.com
Out of season. Realizing that the machines used for making cream-filled strawberry shortcakes sat idle when strawberries were out of season, an inventive baker conceived of a snack cake filled with unseasonal banana cream… and the legendary Twinkie was born.
— Los Angeles Times
Berry interesting. Due to the ways they reproduce, bananas are classified as berries, but strawberries are considered aggregate fruits.
— uselessdaily.com
He never got here from there. Wealthy 19th Century British globe-trotter James Smithson, the namesake of America’s famed Smithsonian Institution, actually never set foot in the U.S.
— Mental Floss
The Month of August
Month of the Month
Apparently everyone now gets their own month. August is Feeding Pets of the Homeless Month. If you play that game, you’re part of What Will Be Your Legacy Month(?). In the event you want to think twice about it, it’s also National Cowgirl Month.
Today, August 15, is a very busy day. For starters it’s National No SpongeBob Day (which, of course, is everyday for some people.) Not sure what this means, but it’s also Green Data Day. If you need a break from such tom-foolery, it’s National Relaxation Day as well as Best Friends Day.
Question of the Month
Why do dogs wag their tails when they're happy?
Woof your answer here!
Quote of the Month
“I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.”
— Edith Sitwell, British poet and critic
Get a Headstart
If you have ever thought about including a newsletter in your marketing communications toolkit, before you begin, download our free digital booklet – Getting Started with Your Newsletter – to get some basic questions answered as well as a little inspiration to nudge you forward. Be sure to check out “Something Special” at the end. Download your copy.
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!
