Quote of the Week:
“Do or do not. There is no try.” –Yoda
Fact of the Week:
Tree shrews are the only mammal other than humans that deliberately seek out spicy foods. According to National Geographic, “Researchers in China found a mutation in the species’ ion channel receptor, TRPV1, that makes it less sensitive to capsaicin, the ‘hot’ chemical in chili peppers.”
With that mutation, these little creatures happily feast on spicy foods, though chili peppers are their favorite.
News Update:
Via Yale Daily News and Hedy Tung
The Bulldog Bandit has been caught. After nearly ten years of stealing over $40 million of electronics from Yale University, Jamie Petrone was finally caught.
Petrone, 42, was the director of finance and administration for the Department of Emergency Medicine. She had the authority to make and authorize any purchases for the department below $10,000.
Beginning in 2013, Petrone ordered Microsoft Surface Pros, iPads, and other electronics using money from the Yale School of Medicine. She would then personally ship the items to a third-party business in New York, which would sell the electronics. They “would later pay Petrone by wiring funds into an account of Maziv Entertainment LLC, a company she created,” NPR reported.
In 2020 Petrone was nearly caught after the high-volume orders attracted attention, but she explained them by saying she was updating her department’s equipment.
Despite the near catch, Petrone decided she still hadn’t stolen enough. Apparently her six cars (two Mercedes-Benz, two Cadillac Escalades, a Dodge Charger and a Range Rover) and three properties in Connecticut were not sufficient. (All six cars and three properties have now been seized, and Petrone may lose a fourth property in Georgia).
In August 2021, her gig finally ran out.
NPR reported, “Yale officials received an anonymous tip that Petrone was ordering ‘suspiciously high volumes of computer equipment,’ court records state. These orders were made more suspicious by the fact that Petrone was putting some of the packages in her own car. Later that month, Yale auditors dug into Petrone's purchase orders and her emails, among other things — eventually turning over their findings to law enforcement."
In total, Federal prosecutors say Yale lost approximately $40,504,200.
On Monday, Petrone pleaded guilty. She faces up to thirty years in prison and will be sentenced in June.
NPR contributed to this article.
Sports Update:
The winner of the most annoying college football fan base is… the Tennessee Volunteers. They might not be winning much on the field, but at least they are number one at something.
Via Unnecessary Roughness
According to a Twitter poll conducted by Unnecessary Roughness, the Volunteers beat out Ohio State for the spot by taking 65% of the vote. They have not been dominant since the 1990’s when Peyton Manning played (they won the 1998 BCS National Championship the year after he left), but that doesn’t stop them from pissing people off.
Sports Illustrated found several fans who fully agreed with the decision.
“We absolutely deserve this because I’ll confess we’re unbelievably annoying and will outright go at anyone that comes after our team,” one fan tweeted.
“WE DID IT AGAIN!!!!! GO BIG ORANGE!!!” joked another.
“Easy win! We’ll be back next season and will claim the worst fan award again. Go Big Orange” said a third.
The list was dominated by SEC schools, and rightfully so as it has the usual football powerhouses with massive fan bases. If there is one thing all these fanatics have common, it is this philosophy: If you ain’t with us, you’re against us. Unsurprisingly, everyone finds everyone else annoying.
To check out the full Twitter thread and bracket of annoying fan basses, visit this link:
Sports Illustrated contributed to this article.
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Tree shrews also poop in plants that provide them nectar, so I think they're a pretty suspicious species. Something fishy going on with them