ALTERED ASSUMPTIONS
THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF
CADILLAC NEWS -- SEPTEMBER 9, 2023
Have you ever assumed something to be true and then discovered you were incorrect? Me too. We all have made innocent assumptions based on common misconceptions. Altering those beliefs can be enlightening and even enjoyable.
For example, we all probably assume that a second is one-sixtieth of a minute. Well, we're all misinformed. “In 1967, scientists changed the official definition of a second from 1/86,400 of a day to 'the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.'” Did you get all that? Me neither. However, we all now know why atomic clocks are off by one second every 15 billion years. (https://www.interestingfacts.com/fact/623924356fd7b70008ed5a26)
Another assumption we all probably share is that there are no flamingos on Lake Cadillac. We're correct for now, but that may change in the future. Flamingos have been spotted as far north as Ohio. “The Ohio Department of Natural Resources believes the birds flew into Ohio because of Hurricane Idalia.” Recently, pelicans were seen on Lake Cadillac, so it's no stretch to imagine flamingos may be headed our way. (https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/warren-county/a-rare-bird-sighting-2-flamingos-spotted-in-warren-county)
Deer hunting season is almost here, which reveals sobering statistics. “More Michigan drivers crashed into deer in 2022 than any other time in at least the last ten years. State police reported 58,984 deer-involved crashes throughout the state last year, which was a thirteen percent increase from 2021.” If you assume most of those crashes happened “up north” you'd be mistaken.
“A county-by-county look at 2022 deer crashes ranked Kent (Grand Rapids area), the state’s fourth-most-populous county, as number one for deer crashes. The next highest totals by county were in Oakland (2,009 crashes), Jackson (1,652), Ottawa (1,511), and Lapeer (1,500). On the other hand, ten of the twelve counties with the fewest deer-vehicle crashes were located in the Upper Peninsula.” (https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/09/20-michigan-communities-with-the-most-deer-vehicle-crashes.html)
When it comes to assumptions, there's a subject that falls into the “agree to disagree” category. “Which foods do we collectively loathe at higher rates than others? There’s a spectrum of foods that spark passionate debates among our taste buds, and some are more polarizing than others.” In essence, one person's likes are another person's dislikes. (https://www.instacart.com/company/updates/love-it-or-loathe-it-instacart-reveals-americas-most-polarizing-foods/)
According to Instacart, the three foods most hated by Americans are anchovies (50% of Americans), black licorice (45%, and oysters (41%). Conversely, only 13% did not like pickles. “Thirty-seven percent of Americans say they are eager to try new foods that have a polarizing or controversial reputation.” Fine, I'll guard your Kosher dill while you inhale a bucket of anchovies.
Unlike food choices, sometimes assumptions can deal with the smallest of things. Take fonts, for instance. If you assume there's not much difference in fonts (typeface styles), guess again. It turns out that one particular typeface is the most hated font on the planet – Comic Sans. “Some things in modern culture people just love to hate. For more than a decade, Comic Sans been derided as one of the worst typefaces ever.” The derision is so intense that entire websites are devoted to mocking the font, like Comic Sans Criminal. (https://www.interestingfacts.com/fact/64ed038d07ee0c16df742c57?liu and
https://comicsanscriminal.com/)
Luckily, there is a font that most experts in the field regard as “the best font in the world.” If you're reading this column in the Cadillac News print edition, you are enjoying this font right now – Nimrod. “Designed for current newspaper technology, the Nimrod font family evolved as a result of extensive examination of newspaper industry needs. A highly legible font family, especially in smaller sizes, its clear unambiguous character shapes make easily readable blocks of text. The Nimrod font family has become a popular choice in newspapers for text and headlines.” (https://www.fonts.com/font/monotype/nimrod/story)
Some assumptions are very personal. To wit, every dog owner thinks their canine is the cutest pup in the world. If you're one of these owners I won't say you're wrong, but once you see the ten pups vying for the title of “World’s Cutest Rescue Dog” you may change your mind. (https://people.com/2023-worlds-cutest-rescue-dog-contest-voting-7814156)
The cool thing is that People magazine needs your help in choosing the winner. “These ten pups were chosen from thousands of entries, and one will win the contest's grand prize. Animal lovers can now vote to help pick this winner. Voting for the World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest is open through September 22 at people.com/rescuedogcontest.”
Finally, if you assume all dogs loath loud noises that may not always be the case. Storm, a German shepherd in California, apparently likes a particular form of man-made thunder. See, she escaped from her home and was later found sitting in a seat at a Metallica concert at SoFi stadium in Inglewood. A social media post included a photo of the canine enjoying the show. “She had a great time listening to her favorite songs.” (https://www.arcamax.com/homeandleisure/pets/catsanddogs/s-2874934?)
Storm's owners wondered: “How did she get in the concert and actually sit in a seat? How did she get past all of the security and the gate and the metal detectors and everything? She probably just squeezed her way through the crowd and sat down in a seat.”
For those of you unfamiliar with Metallica, let's just say their concert volume is “stand under a jet engine” loud. We can assume that Storm likes her heavy metal played full blast.
Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews.
