Month: October 2026

31 life skills

Most adults know most of these. Just in case, here’s a list of skills you should probably know. Details in the article…

1. How to tip without doing panicked math
2. How to unclog a toilet
3. How to make an actual appointment on the phone
4. How to spot an obvious scam
A lot of scam emails say they’re from your bank, Amazon, PayPal, etc., but the real address is something completely different and gives the game away.
5. How to do laundry without ruining your clothes
6. How to replace the battery in a smoke detector or carbon monoxide alarm
Most importantly, do not spend six months living with the chirp… chirp… chirp because you’ve decided that’s simply part of your home’s personality now.
7. How to reset a tripped circuit breaker
8. How to use a fire extinguisher
And if the fire is spreading, forget being a hero and get out.
9. How to know when NOT to DIY something
10. How to make a basic meal without a recipe
11. How to cook eggs
12. How to cook rice without creating either soup or concrete
13. How to safely use a chef’s knife
Keep your chef’s knife properly sharp, stabilize the cutting board so it doesn’t slide around, curl the fingers of your non-knife hand into a “claw,” and cut away from yourself. A dull knife usually requires more force and is more likely to slip, which is why a properly sharp knife is actually safer to work with.
14. How to tell when meat is safely cooked
“It looks done-ish” is not a temperature.
15. How to read a nutrition label
Start with the serving size, because everything else on the label is based on it.
16. How to remove a stain without making it worse
17. How to sew a button back on
18. How to iron or steam a wrinkled shirt
19. How to jump-start a car
First, check your owner’s manual, especially if you have a hybrid, EV, or a car with designated jump points. If its instructions differ from these, follow the manual…
20. How to change a flat tire
21. How to check your tire pressure
…Use a tire-pressure gauge when the tires are cold, then add or release air as needed until you reach the recommended PSI.
22. How to check your car’s oil
23. How to understand a credit-card statement
Here’s my most important “nagging Dad” tip: Paying only the minimum can keep you in debt for an extremely long time. Whenever possible, pay your full statement balance by the due date.
24. How to create a basic budget
…Once you’re sitting there, it’s simple: write down your monthly take-home income, then list your fixed bills; necessities that change month to month, like groceries and gas; debt payments; savings; and money you spend on fun or other non-essentials. If the money going out is consistently greater than the money coming in, congratulations: you have identified the central plot problem.
25. How to read your paycheck stub
26. How to understand what the heck a 401(k) actually is
27. How to write a check
Checks are increasingly becoming one of those things from the olden days, like fax machines and Blockbuster, but every once in a while a landlord, government office, contractor, or other institution will still demand one. Here’s what you do…
28. How to address and mail an envelope
29. How to keep your important documents organized
30. How to make a basic first-aid kit — and actually use it
…And for anything serious — major bleeding, trouble breathing, loss of consciousness, etc. — stop playing Dr. House and call emergency services.
31. How to stop minor bleeding

3,700 words: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/31-basic-adult-life-skills-everyone-over-18-should-know.

Good news from Fix the News:

Mexico’s murder rate has halved in two years. Homicides averaged 40.8 a day in August 2026, down from 86.9 in September 2024, the month before Claudia Sheinbaum took office. Killings fell in 30 of 32 states, and the preliminary annual rate is 12.9 per 100,000, down from 25.4 in 2024. The government credits closer coordination with the states and a crackdown on violent crime (although critics argue some murders are being recorded as lesser crimes). Mexico News Daily

And an image from my collection:

Pelican asks scientists for help

A recent quiet morning at a Florida marine research facility was interrupted by tapping at the back door. A biologist walked over to investigate and found a brown pelican standing on the stoop and pecking at the glass with its long beak… Fishing line was wrapped around the pelican’s right wing, and a double-barbed treble hook was stuck in the wing, restricting the bird’s ability to fly. About a dozen cactus spines were lodged in its left foot.

Scientists at the facility study fish and sharks, but they quickly helped the pelican after discovering it on Sept. 8….

The pelican was calm throughout the procedure, which Hilton said took about five minutes but felt like an hour because of the unusual nature of the situation… Gerald Hough, a professor who studies bird behavior at Rowan University in New Jersey, said the pelican might have previously seen researchers carrying fish in and out of the facility. In its desperation, the pelican might have visited in hopes of finding food. Pelicans associate people and docks with food, Hough said, so when they’re hungry, they sometimes spend time near people.

About 850 words: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/09/20/scientists-heard-knock-door-it-was-pelican-need-help.

Good news from Fix the News:

China has finished phasing out ozone-depleting HCFCs from its solvent industry. It’s the last stage of a project running since 2016 that forced 53 enterprises to move to substitutes (a nationwide ban on HCFCs in cleaning agents took effect on 1 July 2026). Since accepting the Kigali Amendment in 2021, China has cut HFC-linked emissions by 759 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent — roughly equal to 13% of the United States’ annual greenhouse gas footprint, or the same as taking about 175 million average passenger cars off the road for a year. China Daily

And an image from my collection: