Category Archive: Wreckollection

Jan 01

New Words 2020

The following words were added to the Oxford and/or Merriam-Webster dictionaries over the course of 2020.

Blursday (n.) – when everyday is exactly the same (e.g. in lockdown) it is probably Blursday.

Covidiot (n.) – someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety (e.g. toilette paper hoarder; spring breakers; Trump zealots).

Doomscrolling (n.) – the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing.

Dunning-Kruger Effect (n.) the theory that a person who lacks skill or expertise also lacks the insight to accurately evaluate this deficit, resulting in a persistent inflation of estimated competence in self-assessments

Ecoanxiety (n.) – anxiety caused by a dread of environmental perils, especially climate change, and a feeling of helplessness over the potential consequences for those living now and even more so for those of later generations.

Empty Suit (n.) – an executive, manager, or official regarded as ineffectual, incompetent, or lacking in leadership qualities such as creativity and empathy.

Gender Reveal (n.) – a party, online video, or other way in which the gender of an unborn baby is publicly revealed.

Hodophobia (n.) an irrational or disproportionate fear of traveling.

also:

Iatrophobia (n.) intense fear of doctors.

Nosocomephobia (n.) intense fear of hospitals.

Tomophobia (n.) intense fear of surgery.

Information Bubble (n.) – an environment in which one’s exposure to news, entertainment, social media, etc., represents only one ideological or cultural perspective and excludes or misrepresents other points of view.

Ish (adv.) – an adverb used to modify or moderate something previously stated or as a vague reply to a question.

Janky (adj.) – inferior in quality; untrustworthy; disreputable.

Lumbersexual (n.) –  a young urban man who cultivates an appearance and style of dress, typified by a beard and check shirt, suggestive of a rugged outdoor lifestyle

Megxit (n.) – the withdrawal of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,  from royal duties, announced in January 2020

Nothingburger (n.) – an often highly publicized event or situation that is said to have less impact or significance than expected.

Sharent (n.) – a person who uses social media to frequently share photos or other details and information about their child.

Slow-walk (v.) – to delay or prevent the progress of (something) by acting in a deliberately slow manner.

Social Distance (v.) – to maintain a safe or appropriate distance from other people.

Swole (adj.) – very muscular

Truthiness (n.) – a seemingly truthful quality not supported by facts or evidence.

Zhuzh (v.) – to make (something) more lively and interesting, stylish, or appealing, as by a small change or addition.

Not there (yet):

Wealthcare (n): What America’s Despot-in-Chief and his cronies prefer over Obamacare when dealing with their own personal Covid-19 and other health issues.    

 

Jan 01

Predictions for the Year 2021

Donny Despot cements his legacy as the America’s all-time Pardoner-in-Chief when he pardons all statues everywhere of past, present and future crimes against race and/or humanity.

The Dodder orders the execution by firing squad of all democrats on the grounds that they are not in his (so by extension the public’s) best  interests.  His republican lackeys (and everyone else in America – and the world) can only sit back and try not to say or do anything that he might “believe” is also not in his best interests.

After blowing up the White House rather than surrendering it to Biden, America’s outgoing Big Baby La La-in-Chief claims that his explosion was way bigger than Kim Jong-Un’s.

Citing last year’s late breaking death by Covid-19 of a 41 year-old US Republican Congressman-Elect with no preexisting conditions as their last straw, the American Medical Association officially adds Republicanism to the growing list preexisting illnesses that could lead to death by Covid-19. President Joe Biden says he is not lemming the influence of America’s last Shepherd-in-Fleece to cause any more unnecessary deaths when he orders Animal Control Officers in Red Republican States to use helicopters to locate and dart gatherings of those flocking lunatics that still flock to the idea that herd mentality trumps mental illnessity.

In response to a shitty outlook for the American dollar’s popularity as the global currency of choice, the US mint announces a plan to bolster its demand on world markets by printing their money on toilette paper.  Sadly their plan backfires due to sudden “runs” on their banks and their failure to account for the facts that: “#1”- the mindless masses continue to piss their money away on whatever they are told is trending; and “#2” – butt now they can flush it down the toilette twice as fast.

Netflix announces a shitty new series called the Walking Braindead, a new more realistic spin-off of their incredibly popular Walking Dead zombie apocalypse franchise.  In “loo” of brains, these zombies are after your dwindling supply of toilet paper in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone is losing their shit to keep one step ahead of the unclean horde.  Unlike their smarter “brain (food) fed” cousins who can only “turn you” with a bite, just being touched by one of these toilet paperless zombies, gives you an immediate desire to wipe away their fingerprints even if it means turning on your friends for their supply of white.

We learn that last year’s rebound in Kodak share prices was just a “flash in the pan” when they return to negatives after demand for their New Improved Kodak Bleach fails to develop.  Both investors and American tax payers see themselves as having been overexposed when Kodak declares bankruptcy (again) and defaults on the (small?) $750 Million loan they received from D.A.D. (aka Donald the Artful Dealer), himself a 6 time loser (if you are just counting bankruptcies).

In a (funeral) veiled attempt to convince people to stop voting against him, the Donnie Despot Campaign 2024, extends an olive branch when it offers anyone who didn’t vote for him in 2020 free and immediate vaccination with the Russia’s highly effective Novichok vaccine.

In a vain effort to pick up chicks and stave off the march of time pending the next election the Dodder buys an Audi in order to make his heart beat.

The American Bible Belt enters the worst drought in the history of man when the real voice of god sentences them to wander 40,000 years in a Dust Bowl for worshiping their false idol (and self-acclaimed voice of God).

Jan 01

Vital Statistics 2020

 Vital Statistics 2020 2019 2018 2010
a Canadian dollar is worth $0.79US $0.77 US $0.74 US $  1.00US
an ounce of Gold is worth $1,899US $1,517US $1,283 US $1,406US
a Bitcoin is worth $29,259US $7,190US $3,687 US $0.30US
S&P/TSX Composite Index 17,433 17,063 14,323 13,443
your share of the National Debt $17,433 $18,792 $17,994  $15,771
the average Housing Price in Ottawa is $540,500 $501,201 $429,039 $327,225
a domestic Postage Stamp costs $1.07 $1.05 $1.00 $0.57
a local call on a Bell pay phone $0.50 $0.50 $0.50 $0.50
a liter of Pepsi costs $2.79 $2.79 $2.49 $2.29
a liter of water costs $2.39 $2.39 $2.39 $1.99
a liter of milk costs (purchased in a four liter bag) $1.13 $1.10 $1.14 $1.32
a liter of gasoline costs $1.04 $1.15 $1.15 $1.13
a loaf of bread costs $3.49 $3.39 $3.29 $2.99
a paperback novel costs $12.99 $12.99 $12.99 $10.99
a weekly (Time) magazine costs $8.99 $7.99 $7.99 $6.99
a comic book costs $5.25 $4.99 $4.99 $2.99
a daily newspaper costs $2.38 $2.38 $2.38 $1.19
a regular bus ride costs $3.60 $3.60 $3.50 $3.25
a medium cup of coffee costs $1.79 $1.76 $1.71 $1.27
a basic cable television package $24.99 $24.99 $24.99 $31.49
a first run movie rental costs $4.99 $4.99 $4.99 $4.99
an adult’s movie theatre ticket costs $12.99 $11.99 $11.99 $10.75
a children’s movie theatre ticket costs $9.50 $8.50 $8.50 $7.99
Minimum wage (Ontario) $14.25/hr $14.00/hr $14.00/hr $10.25/hr
an adult men’s haircut $21.00 $20.00 $20.00 $17.00
a medium combination pizza $19.95 $17.50 $17.00 $15.50
a roll of toilet paper (based on price of a pack of 8) $1.13

Births this year    140,469,885
Deaths this year      58,972,622
Net population growth this year       81,497,263
Current World Population 7,835,983,035

 

Bonus – Other Vital Stat Meters at a Glance:   https://www.worldometers.info/

 

Jan 01

Epilogue 2020

So, there you have it, despite everyone losing their shit and triggering the great Toilette Paper famine of 2020, we still managed to roll through it and look forward to a New Year “flush” with hope.  As for all that other shit (and those shit-for-brains politicos) sadly, there is no masking mankind’s sullied stupidity as it continues to march forward with the mantra, “future be damned… wipe, rinse, flush, repeat.”

 

Jan 01

2019 Year in Review

The Chinese called it the Year of the Pig. The United Nations dubbed 2019 the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. It was the year that the Apollo 11 Moon Landing and Woodstock turned 50. A&W Root Beer turned 100 years old in 2019 which also marked the 100th anniversary of:

We have come a long way in the last hundred years but everyone everywhere still seems to be protesting in the streets, and, although the sky may be the limit on human ingenuity (and an impenetrable barrier to Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft) you wouldn’t know it with everyone everywhere still wanting to put unlimited numbers of satellites into earth’s orbit.

While on the subject of things getting polluted, if you are expecting a source of sober second thought vis a vis the issues and events that defined 2019 (or if you suspect my interpretation of the facts is as bent out of shape as I might be right now) feel free to drill down into the hyper-linked source stories for more context and/or to come to your own conclusions.

Jan 01

Story of the Year 2019

Story of the Year 2019: The Hong Kong Protests

In a year that saw widespread protests all over the planet, Hong Kong was their king. There was more than HongKing in the streets as the world watched tensions climb in KingHong, the skyscraper capital of the world.  Despite 6 months of protests and defiance, the bigger story may be the fact that 30 years after their crackdown at Tiananmen Square, there have been no tanks in the streets and the Chinese government has shown the kind of restraint the world (if not their media) wants to see from a bona fide global superpower.

Jan 01

Person(s) of the Year 2019

Person(s) of the Year: A few good men on London Bridge

In a year that will probably be most remembered for all talk and no action, these ordinary Joe’s actually took action. Where anyone could have done what everyone else who aspired to be Person of the Year was doing in 2019, how many of those people would have tackled a knife wielding maniac in (what later turned out to be a fake) suicide bomb vest instead of playing to their strengths and just running off (at the mouth).

Honorable Mention: Greta Thunberg and others like her who are actively trying to initiate action in the face of a lot of corporate shills and the blustering hot (air)heads they control.

Jan 01

Feelgood Story of the Year 2019

Feelgood Story of the Year: Cure for from the Common Cold

Doctors in England use the common cold virus to successfully combat and destroy cancer cells in human patients. One patient is completely cured while 14 others show marked improvement. None of the patients experience the usual side-effects of the common cold (nor any other side-effects that require additional drugs).

Runner Up: In a touching children’s story that does not involve priests, politicians, or perverts, new technology for the blind is unveiled when GiveVision’s digital goggles are used by a young girl to read her first book by sight rather than touch

Jan 01

Statistic of the Year 2019

In 2017, the most recent year with available data, nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. died from firearm injuries, more than eight times the number of U.S. military members who died overseas during Operation Iraqi Freedom between 2003 and 2010.

 – Time Magazine, How Likely Is the Risk of Being Shot in America?

Scary Ways to Die Suddenly

Most Recent Totals

Odds of being killed this way

Murders in America

  17,284 2017

  1 in 18,275 2017

Ebola in DR of the Congo

    2,227  2019 

1 in 38,971 2019

Animal Attacks in Australia

 189 2008-2017

1 in 402,750 2017

 

Jan 01

Innovation of the Year 2019

Innovation of the Year: Phone-controlled self-lacing sneakers

Finally, people too lazy to bend over and tie their shoes can burn calories thinking of new reasons not to get out and exercise.  Thanks to Nike, now people can do the smart thing and “just phone it in” at practice and play.

See the rest of the field at: https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/best-of-whats-new-2019/

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