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Reader 39 S Digest - Usa - May 2020 PDF
Reader 39 S Digest - Usa - May 2020 PDF
me/whatsnws
ji
Happier E
TODAY! HOW TH
By LISA FIELDS
R N ET
IN TE
p. 54
They Cured
Their Own
DISEASES From CNN.COM
RE-ROUTE
Your Brain
By DANIEL T. WILLINGHAM
5
REASONS
to Love The Best
Butter Mother’s Day
By KATE LOWENSTEIN Gift Ever
& DANIEL GRITZER RD HUMOR
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Reader ’s Digest
CONTENTS
sunset BouleVatd/getty images (notth By notthwest), BoB Betg/getty images (fitness ttaCKets)
Features 76 98
Wit & Whimsy Drama iN real life
54
Cover story
Mother’s Day Gifts
They Will
Never Forget
“I Didn’t Know How
Long I’d Survive”
With his leg caught
HOW THE INTERNET These two unusual in a gigantic corn
IS SPYING ON YOU moms demand some- conveyor, one farmer
You might be surprised thing, um, special. did the unthinkable.
By Catson Vaughan
to learn who—or what—
is keeping tabs on your 86
every move. NatioNal iNterest 108
Why Teens Can’t humor
66 Stop Vaping
Almost overnight, mil-
Straight from the
Horses’ Mouths
health & meDiCiNe
lions of young people A Kentucky Derby
He Cured His Own
Disease started smoking a tell-all, from those
A med student battles trendy e-cigarette. It’s who ran it!
a deadly disorder with time for the damage to By John Kenney
be undone. ftom the new yotKet
his own research.
By Julie Cteswell and
By tyan ptiot sheila Kaplan adapted
ftom Cnn.Com ftom the new yotK times
54
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Reader ’s Digest
Departments
4 Dear Reader
6 Letters
8
EvEryday HEroEs
8 The Party of
Their Lives
“I Got Him!”
By andy simmons
LifE WELL LivEd
14 My Dad and I,
Rebuilt
By collmmn oaklmy
QuotabLE QuotEs
18 Trevor Noah,
Alicia Keys,
Joel Osteen
WE found a fix
21 Use Leftover
Wine, and More
your truE storiEs
30 Sassy Sisters and
Funny Finds
On the Cover
How the Internet Spies on You ............................. 54
on ihm covmr: gmiiy imagms ( 3 )
ihis pagm: amanda Frimdman
2 May 2020
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Contents
How To
32
Today
by lisa fields
13 THings
36
Speeches
by emily goodman 112 Surfing for
THe food on Brainpower
by daniel t.
your plaTe
43 I Am Butter
Humor Willingham adapted
from the neW york
by kate loWenstein times
from top: pagadesign/getty images. Joleen Zubek (2)
everyday miracles 96
52 Guardian Angel Laughter, the Best
by Jill bernick from
country Medicine
112
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Reader ’s Digest
inevitable fu-
DEAR READER ture, in which
bad actors who
are good hackers create
chaos in all sorts of ways. They re-
Hacks of motely crash our cars. They sabotage
our implanted medical devices. They
Terror hijack our cities by disabling millions
of light bulbs or jacking up our thermo-
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WIN $1,000!
Reader ’s Digest
LETTERS
Notes on the
March Issue
6 May 2020
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that someone would literally pay it forward like this. As we open nominations for
this year’s search, please visit rd.com/nicest to tell us the story of a place you
know where people are making good things happen.
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Reader ’s Digest
EVERYDAY HEROES
The Party of
Their Lives
By Andy Simmons
kid Row. The very phrase con- an enrichment center for young chil-
Reader ’s Digest
They took over a room in the girl was so excited. She was jumping
Union Rescue Mission and filled it up and down. And her sister was so
with streamers, gifts, a cake—all the excited. And I’m so excited. And her
makings of a great party. Or so they mom ... she’s crying. ‘You have no idea
thought. “I forgot the music!” Davis what we’ve been through for the last
says, laughing. It didn’t matter. Many 24 hours,’ she told me. ‘Yesterday was
of the 15 kids who showed up had her birthday. I had nothing to give her.
never had a single birthday party be- We went through so much trauma,
fore, and they were so excited to have and today we’re here in a shelter. I
one now that they made their own never imagined we would ever need
music—singing and clapping and, of to be in a shelter. I didn’t know what
course, laughing. to expect. But I really didn’t expect a
Since then, the couple have thrown birthday party for my child.’ I had to
a bash each and every month. They walk away and wipe away some tears.”
Doing her best to normalize these
kids’ lives is both heartwarming and
MANY OF THE bittersweet, Davis says.
KIDS HAD NEVER “We’re on this rooftop. It’s this
HAD A BIRTHDAY beautiful view. The sky is gorgeous.
You’re above everything. But if you
PARTY BEFORE. look down, you see homeless person
after homeless person on the street,
and it reminds you that these kids
routinely attract 250 kids and their don’t get to leave this area after the
parents—they’ve had to take over party.”
more rooms in the shelter and the It may be why, after throwing
rooftop. An hour before each party, 88 parties, she still cries after each
volunteers arrive to set up the deco- one. “I want to bring all these kids
rations and activities: face painting, home, but we have a very small apart-
balloon artists, a DJ, cake, and pizza. ment,” she jokes.
There are small presents for the Davis suffered a second miscarriage
kids celebrating their birthdays that before finally having a child—she and
month, but Davis makes sure there Kadin have two now, ages two and
are more than enough to go around. four. But she credits the kids in the
“I remember a mom came with her shelter with helping her hold on to
two kids,” Davis says. “It was their hope. “We didn’t realize how much
first night at the shelter, and her child joy they were going to bring us,” she
had a birthday. We had an extra gift told CBS News. “And that was so heal-
for her—pink headphones. The little ing for me.” RD
10 May 2020
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Everyday Heroes
“I Got Him!”
By Andy Simmons
cole Hornback, later told news station A good thing, because Winters’s
NBCDFW. “He was just gasping for air.” heroic actions left Nicole speechless.
No one seemed to know how to help. “I don’t really have any words,” she
Except for Winters. A senior with says. “The words that you would say to
dreams of becoming a pediatric sur- anyone who does something for you
geon, she had learned the Heimlich is ‘thank you.’ But that doesn’t seem
maneuver and CPR. Knowing that the good enough.” RD
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Reader ’s Digest
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My Dad and I,
Rebuilt
Working on a home repair project with
my father showed me I had more
to learn about him than I thought
By Colleen Oakley
ILLUSTRATIONs by Agata Nowicka
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Reader ’s Digest
Is your cell
phone bill just as
out of control?
Then this is your
wake-up call.
NEW TRACFONE WIRELESS GIVES YOU COMPLETE CONTROL WITH UNLIMITED CARRYOVER® DATA.*
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Reader ’s Digest
QUOTABLE QUOTES
Happiness is an egg-salad sandwich with salt,
pepper, and mayo in exactly the right proportion.
—Eugene Levy, Actor
FroM leFt: BrAndon WilliAMs, steve grAnitz, cindy ord, AndreW H. WAler (All getty iMAges)
I tried yoga and was bored. I wanted to do a backflip.
—Taylor Hill, Model
POINT TO PONDER
It’s human nature—we become what we see.
We become clones of each other. Break free from that and say,
“I’m deciding to be my own individual self, and it looks
nothing like what anyone else is doing.” There’s something
so powerful about being unique.
—Alicia Keys, MusIcIan
E23G671 jixiansheng
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Reader ’s Digest
WE
FOUND
A FIX
1
Prevent Cat Litter Odor
9 Tricks to Pets It may seem counterintuitive,
Improve Your Life* but cat litter smells better when
you use less of it. Instead of filling
the litter box to the top, pour in
just enough to cover the bottom
of the box—about two inches.
That way, the litter will air-dry
quickly, and you can keep even
the cheapest brand smelling fresh.
For best results, scoop out waste
daily and change the litter at least
once a week.
perets/getty ImAges
Reader ’s Digest
2
Beat the Crowds
4
Shut Down Stress
SHopping Look up where you want to shop today on HealtH If you’re feeling
Google Maps, and it will display a bar graph of the overwhelmed, step
busiest times for that store. You can also look at other outside—or open a win-
days of the week to see how traffic patterns change. dow. Researchers say
Google gathers data from specific stores, so you can getting more oxygen to
compare how busy the various Targets or Walmarts the brain is a quick and
in your area are on any given day. effective stress reliever.
“Taking in a deep breath
of fresh air can immedi-
ately shift your neuro-
3
chemistry,” says Deborah
Serani, PsyD, a psychol-
ogy professor at Adelphi
Put Extra Vino to Good Use University and the author
Food Freeze leftover wine in ice-cube of Living with Depression.
trays (eight cubes = one cup) to add flavor The American Psycholog-
ical Association recom-
to future sauces, stews, and more. White mends the fresh air
and sparkling work approach too.
best in creamy
or clear soups
(think chowder or
simple vegetable),
5
Don’t Overfill
while red wine Your Tank
goes well with auto A few more drops
“““SubiroS, Fabrice”””/Getty imaGeS
22 May 2020
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We Found a Fix
6
Spend Less on
8
Speed Through Ironing
Hotel Rooms HoMe The hotter your clothes, the faster
Travel Weekend bookers
tend to luck out when it
comes to snagging the
best rate. Prices are
lowest on Fridays and
Saturdays, according to
the most recent data from
travel site kayak.com.
Absolutely avoid booking
on Mondays, Tuesdays,
and Wednesdays, when
prices are highest.
7
Don’t Crank the AC
Money When you get
home on a hot day,
do you drop the air-
conditioning way down
so you can cool the place
off quickly? The thing
9
is, your AC can work
only so fast. Setting it at
60°F instead of your
Michael haegele/getty iMages
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All
in a Day’s
WORK
Reader ’s Digest
burglar in Vancouver,
—5newsonline.com Washington. He broke
✦ Peanut allergies are into an escape room
Anything funny nothing to sneeze at, and after hours and became
happen to you at work? one mother whose son trapped. He eventually
It could be worth $$$. is highly allergic wasn’t figured out how to leave.
For details, go to taking any chances. She He called 911.
rd.com/submit. called 911 after opening —ravemobilesafety.com
Rd.com 25
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The first and only overactive bladder (OAB) treatment in its class.
IS YOUR
BLADDER
ALWAYS
TAKING YOU
ON A TRIP
OF ITS OWN?
Urgenc y
Freq uenc y
Leak age
place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.
What is Myrbetriq (meer-BEH-trick)?
Myrbetriq is a prescription medication for adults used to treat the following symptoms due to a
condition called overactive bladder:
• Urge urinary incontinence: a strong need to urinate with leaking or wetting accidents
• Urgency: a strong need to urinate right away
• Frequency: urinating often
It is not known if Myrbetriq is safe and effective in children.
Who should not use Myrbetriq?
Do not take Myrbetriq if you have an allergy to mirabegron or any of the ingredients in Myrbetriq.
See the end of this summary for a complete list of ingredients in Myrbetriq.
What should I tell my doctor before taking Myrbetriq?
Before you take Myrbetriq, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
• have liver problems or kidney problems
• have very high uncontrolled blood pressure
• have trouble emptying your bladder or you have a weak urine stream
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Myrbetriq will harm your unborn
baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Myrbetriq passes into your breast milk.
Talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby if you take Myrbetriq.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter
medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Myrbetriq may affect the way other medicines work,
and other medicines may affect how Myrbetriq works.
Tell your doctor if you take:
• thioridazine (Mellaril™ or Mellaril-S™)
®
• )
• propafenone (Rythmol®)
®
• digoxin (Lanoxin )
• solifenacin succinate (VESIcare®)
How should I take Myrbetriq?
• Take Myrbetriq exactly as your doctor tells you to take it.
• You should take 1 Myrbetriq tablet 1 time a day.
• You should take Myrbetriq with water and swallow the tablet whole.
• Do not chew, break, or crush the tablet.
• You can take Myrbetriq with or without food.
• If you miss a dose of Myrbetriq, begin taking Myrbetriq again the next day. Do not take 2 doses
of Myrbetriq the same day.
• If you take too much Myrbetriq, call your doctor or go to the nearest hospital emergency room
right away.
What are the possible side effects of Myrbetriq?
Myrbetriq may cause serious side effects including:
• increased blood pressure. Myrbetriq may cause your blood pressure to increase or make your
blood pressure worse if you have a history of high blood pressure. It is recommended that your
doctor check your blood pressure while you are taking Myrbetriq.
• inability to empty your bladder (urinary retention). Myrbetriq may increase your chances of not
being able to empty your bladder if you have bladder outlet obstruction or if you are taking
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other medicines to treat overactive bladder. Tell your doctor right away if you are unable to
empty your bladder.
• angioedema. Myrbetriq may cause an allergic reaction with swelling of the lips, face, tongue,
q and tell your doctor right away.
The most common side effects of Myrbetriq include:
• increased blood pressure • dizziness
• common cold symptoms • joint pain
(nasopharyngitis)
• dry mouth • headache
• constipation
• urinary tract infection • sinus (sinus irritation)
• back pain
(cystitis)
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away or if you have
swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat, hives, skin rash or itching while taking Myrbetriq.
These are not all the possible side effects of Myrbetriq.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA
at 1-800-FDA-1088.
How should I store Myrbetriq?
• Store Myrbetriq between 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C). Keep the bottle closed.
• Safely throw away medicine that is out of date or no longer needed.
Keep Myrbetriq and all medicines out of the reach of children.
General information about the safe and effective use of Myrbetriq
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in the Patient Information
ot prescribed. Do not give Myrbetriq
to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them.
You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for information about Myrbetriq that is written for
health professionals.
For more information, visit www.Myrbetriq.com or call (800) 727-7003.
What are the ingredients in Myrbetriq?
Active ingredient: mirabegron
Inactive ingredients: polyethylene oxide, polyethylene glycol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, butylated
hydroxytoluene, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, yellow ferric oxide and red ferric oxide
(25 mg Myrbetriq tablet only).
What is overactive bladder?
Overactive bladder occurs when you cannot control your bladder contractions. When these muscle
contractions happen too often or cannot be controlled, you can get symptoms of overactive bladder,
which are urinary frequency, urinary urgency, and urinary incontinence (leakage).
Marketed and Distributed by:
Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
Myrbetriq® is a registered trademark of Astellas Pharma Inc. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
©2012 - 2018 Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Revised: April 2018
206813-MRVS-BRFS
057-2652-PM
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Reader ’s Digest
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HOW TO
Feel Happier
Today
A popular Yale University course,
now available for free online, is chock-full
of valuable life lessons
By Lisa Fields
Resder ’s Digest
hen I lesrned that the most you learn it and you’re good. You ac-
Rd.com 33
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Reader ’s Digest
34 May 2020
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levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Adam Krause, a psychology fellow and
Perhaps surprisingly, kindness im doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley,
proves overall physical health. Un “but some are forced to sacrifice sleep
surprisingly, healthier people tend to because they have other things taking
be happier. up their time.” In fact, Ian and I tried to
get more sleep during the course, but
Burn some calories. our busy lifestyles made it difficult.
Exercise causes hormonal changes in
the body that make you feel good and To conclude the course, Ian and I
help interrupt negative thoughts. Ac each had to commit to a happiness
cording to research cited in Santos’s promoting activity for four weeks.
course, clinically depressed people Ian decided to exercise more, and I
who exercised regularly improved decided to get more sleep. The first
just as much as those who took anti week, Ian went to the gym four times.
depressants. And after ten months, the During his initial visit, he texted me
exercisers were less likely to relapse. a treadmill photo because he was so
excited to be there. That same week,
I set an alarm to signal myself to get
“IT’S NOT AS IF YOU ready for bed. After a few days, I was
LEARN IT AND YOU’RE so wellrested that I woke up ear
GOOD. YOU HAVE TO lier than usual to spend quality time
with my teenage daughter while she
PUT THE WORK IN.” got ready for school, and I was much
more productive during the day.
The remainder of our fourweek
“Getting out of a depression is not challenge didn’t go as flawlessly, but
exactly the same as happiness,” says when we kept up with our goals, we
Dr. K. Ranga Krishnan, a professor of felt happier. And we walked away
psychiatry at Rush Medical College in from the experience with a desire to
Chicago. “But anecdotally, most peo follow through on our commitments.
ple who exercise will tell you they feel Ian bought a treadmill. And I still have
better.” Anyone who has ever experi an alarm that rings when it’s bedtime.
enced a runner’s high will surely agree. The idea that you can make incre
mental gains in happiness is “one of
Get enough shut-eye. the reasons folks are so intrigued by
Just as shortchanging your sleep can the course,” Santos says. “You can
make you grumpy, making time for work on it. In fact, you should.” RD
sleep can boost your mood. “A lot of
people know that sleep is good,” says With Emily Goodman
Rd.com 35
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Reader ’s Digest
13 THINGS
A Crash Course in
Commencement Speeches
By Emily Goodman
Why is it called a
1 “commencement”
speech? The histori-
cal answer is that stu-
dents in medieval times
entered universities as
apprentices and left
able to “commence”
their professions. The
word commencement
isn’t the only relic from
graduation ceremonies
of yore. We’ve also kept
the caps, the gowns,
and, yes, the speeches.
The earliest
2 commencement
speakers were
graduating students
who delivered their
speeches in Latin. At
Princeton University,
the senior chosen to
give the salutatory
address still does it in
3 mencement
speech is meant to
be significant to the
forgo a paycheck in
exchange for an honor-
ary degree, but certain
the University of Ver-
mont, Tom Kenny and
Bill Fagerbakke deliv-
graduates, sometimes it schools, such as Cor- ered their speech as a
actually makes history. nell University, don’t dialogue between their
In 1947, Secretary of award any—the board better-known charac-
State George C. Mar- of trustees thinks they ters, SpongeBob
shall gave an address cheapen a hard-earned SquarePants and
at Harvard University’s education. Patrick Star.
graduation that out-
lined a program to Many colleges One of the most
help European nations
devastated by World
War II. We know it
6 extend invitations
to coveted speak-
ers a year or more in
8 celebrated com-
mencement speak-
ers of late was billionaire
today as the Marshall advance, but securing investor Robert F. Smith,
Plan. a speaker early doesn’t who gave the address
make a school immune at Morehouse College
Prominent to a last-minute scram- last year. Smith offered
4 speakers come
at a premium.
Matthew McConaughey
ble. Just a month before
its 2015 ceremony,
Temple University
more than just words
of encouragement.
He pledged to pay off
raked in $135,000 for announced that ESPN the student debt of all
the address he gave at anchor Kevin Negandhi 396 graduates. Months
the University of Hous- would give the com- later, Smith announced
ton in 2015. Katie Cou- mencement address he would also foot the
ric banked $110,000 at in place of the school’s bill for the federal stu-
the University of Okla- original pick—Bill dent loans their parents
homa in 2006. For a Cosby. had taken out.
Rd.com 37
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9 benediction bene-
factor was Eugene
Lang, who promised the
nearby. Slate later said
of Lynch, “She goes
to school by herself
of more than 350 ad-
dresses, called “The
Best Commencement
1981 sixth-grade class at and still has more Speeches Ever.” But
his old elementary friends than I had as you’ll have to read
school in Harlem that a teenager.” some of them, as NPR—
he would pay their col- get this—doesn’t have
lege tuition as long as In heg 2017 all the audio files.
they graduated from
high school. More than 11 speech at Lang-
ley High School So what was
half of those 61 kids pur-
sued higher education.
Since then, Lang’s na-
in Virginia, actor Lau-
ren Graham recalled
that her own gradua-
13 the best com-
mencement
speech ever? There’s a
tional “I Have a Dream” tion from the same lot of support for Steve
Foundation has helped school felt like “an Jobs’s address at Stan-
18,000 disadvantaged empty victory.” In fact, ford University in 2005.
students go to college. the folder she received Months after receiving
that day was empty. a cancer diagnosis, Jobs
When eighth- Graham didn’t receive told the graduates,
10 grader Gwen
Lynch gradu-
ated from her one-room
her diploma until she
paid her library fines
(she never returned
“Remembering I’ll be
dead soon helps me
make the big choices in
schoolhouse on Cutty- Robinson Crusoe). life, because almost
hunk Island in Massa- everything—expectation,
chusetts last year, she Even if you pride, fear of embar-
was the only student in
her class. She still got a
big-time commence-
12 miss the
ceremony, you
can still enjoy a good
rassment or failure—
falls away in the face of
death, leaving only what
ment speaker—actor graduation speech. is truly important.” RD
Allowing seniors
to maintain an
active lifestyle and
independence on
their terms
SPECIAL GIFT
Reader ’s Digest
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This is a collection of mother’s experiences spiritual awakening, she ends up discovering the
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Reader ’s Digest
FOOD
the
S to be liked. The lima beans of
the world, the licorices, the pow-
dered coffee creamers, those black-
bean-lentil cakes that call themselves
ON YOUR burgers, all born into sad-sackery.
Me, though, I am a superstar, a tal-
PLATE ented actor with celebrity charisma.
I’m the one people gravitate to at the
dinner party. The smooth one who
inspires superlative idioms—like
butter, baby!—and gets featured in
dramatically lit portraits on Time
magazine.
So how come I’m slogging it
out with those other fats just to
stay relevant?
This just isn’t right! When you’ve
needed something silky and spread-
able to moisten your bread, I’ve been
there. When you’ve hankered for
satiny sauces, I’ve melted myself right
into them. As my old friend Julia Child
put it: With enough of me, anything is
good! And yet you’ve forsaken me. In
my heyday, nearly a century ago, each
of you Americans ate 20 pounds of me
per year. Now you’re down to six!
I Am Butter ... Take that Time cover from a few
Reader ’s Digest
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It’s the way I shape-shift among of Martin Luther’s many gripes was a
these parts that makes me so good. I’m butter fee levied by the Pope.
solid and firm when cold, so you can But then came the sad bits. Em-
layer me into puff pastry or piecrust peror Napoléon III ran low on butter
dough without making a squishy for his troops and put out a call for
mess; when baked, I melt, leaving be- someone to approximate my sub-
hind countless tender and flaky layers. lime flavor and texture. Some dingus
I can be softened at room temperature flavored milk with beef tallow (ew),
just enough to be creamed with sugar, and a long line of poor imitations fol-
trapping air that forms bubbles for the lowed. Later, scientists altered vegeta-
lightest cookie dough. ble oils to hydrogenate them, making
By melting me very carefully to them spreadable like I (naturally) am.
maintain my emulsified state, chefs Yes, margarine pushed itself onstage.
made me the foundation of sunny hol- Butter rationing during World War II
landaise and herbal béarnaise and just helped, too, especially when the gov-
about every other classic sauce with ernment allowed producers to add
body but no greasiness. I’ve always yellow coloring to its unappetizing
known when to act subtly. My ghee, pale gray shades.
unlike my easy-to-scorch milk solids, Read the headlines today about how
has a high smoke point and is very I again outsell margarine and you’d
frying-friendly, so I’m the cooking fat think I’d made a comeback, but my
in India and much of Southeast Asia, saturated fat continues to be a con-
where I also play a significant role in troversial indulgence in the face of
religious rituals, including funerals. healthier options like the monounsat-
In Europe, I first was peasant fare, as urated fats in ho-hum olive oil. But live
the rich were well-larded with poultry a little, would ya? I’m butter, baby! RD
and pork fat. But then medieval Catho-
lics OK’d me for meatless Lent, so I got Kate Lowenstein is a health editor
a toehold in the upper-class diet and currently at Vice; Daniel Gritzer is
took France by storm. I even costarred the culinary director of the cooking
in the Protestant Reformation—one site Serious Eats.
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Reader ’s Digest
I WON!
Mackinac Island’s
STONE
SKIPPING
TOURNAMENT
Maxwell Steiner, age 28,
Las Vegas, Nevada
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can count on
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Reader ’s Digest
48 May 2020
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more of their doctor’s vision loss in seniors), While the study doesn’t
information. Some easy is common in leafy prove causation, you
remedies for nerves: greens, but the way you may want to avoid
Take deep breaths or lis- prepare your veggies pyrethroid-based prod-
ten to calming music in will affect their health ucts, if possible. Look
the waiting room. You benefits. To see how out for allethrin, resme-
can also bring a friend much of this nutrient thrin, permethrin, and
or family member to was absorbable in vari- other common names
take notes for you. ous dishes, a Swedish of pyrethroids in the
team boiled, steamed, ingredients list.
and fried baby spinach,
all of which degraded
much of its lutein. The
best method, even bet-
ter than eating it raw,
was to liquefy the spin-
ach in a smoothie made
with milk or yogurt.
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TM
HearClear GO
Digital Hearing Aids Only 199!*
(*Each when you buy a pair)
The new HearClearTM GO eco-friendly hearing
Reader ’s Digest
EVERYDAY MIRACLES
Guardian Angel
By Jill Bernick
From Country
wenty years ago, I became in- paralyzed on her right side from a
people recognize her, especially the with her paws. The best one is when
kids she has worked with. she crouches on the floor, bows her
We have seen some very special head, and crosses her paws. She stays
things through our pet therapy work. very still and doesn’t move until Jack
I brought Angel to our local hospital says “Amen” and claps his hands. We
to visit a woman who was completely taught her how to say a prayer! RD
Reader ’s Digest
SMART
SPEAKERS
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361667513
COVER STORY
H O W T H E
56 May 2020
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TELEVISIONS
in the future in ways you can’t imagine beams out a report about what’s on
today. So what do you have to worry my screen to Samsung, the company
about, and what can you do to protect that made it. Chances are, your TV is
yourself? Read on—and take notes. watching you too.
Ever wonder why TVs are getting so
cheap? Manufacturing efficiency plays
AT HOME a role. But it’s also because TVs have
milindri/getty images (tv)
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Reader ’s Digest
Cover Story
to sacrifice for the convenience pro- track how much weight we gain. Con-
vided by a smart speaker? If you trust nect a phone to a car, and it knows
that Amazon’s intentions are no more whom we call and text.
nefarious than getting a better idea of But who owns and, ultimately,
what you want to buy on Prime Day, controls the data? Drivers usually
then you have your answer. If you sign away their rights in a small-print
worry about your private information clause buried in the purchase or lease
falling into the hands of the wrong agreement. What carmakers are doing
people, then you have another answer. with the collected information isn’t
CARS
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60 May 2020
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FITNESS
TRACKERS
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comment, or tag a friend, that gives about a scenario that once seemed
Facebook even more ammunition to unimaginable: life without Gmail.
serve up targeted ads. But is Facebook Google, after all, has been repeatedly
listening to our conversations too? accused of improperly collecting user
“We don’t look at your messages; we data. Last year, it paid $13 million to
don’t listen in on your microphone. settle a class action lawsuit about its
Doing so would be super problematic Street View program’s scooping up
for a lot of reasons,” said Adam Mos- personal information from people’s
seri, CEO of Instagram, which is owned home Wi-Fi networks. (It denied any
by Facebook, in a CBS interview. wrongdoing.) And yet, I was still giv-
The truth is, Facebook tracks us in ing it the entirety of my inbox.
ways we don’t even realize and is so This spring I started telling friends,
good at it that we think it’s monitor- family, and coworkers to send e-mail
ing our conversations. Instead, it uses to a new address, hosted by my own
sophisticated demographic and loca- personal server. For searches, I started
tion data to serve up ads. If you use using DuckDuckGo, a Google competi-
Facebook to sign into other websites, tor that doesn’t collect user data. I real-
that gives them even more data about ized I’d been self-censoring my e-mails
you. So that’s one easy habit to stop for years, keeping certain thoughts out
right away. of even personal correspondence due
to a fear that they might wind up in a
GOOGLE hack, or a lawsuit, or some advertiser’s
By Max Chafkin data dump. The experience of having
From BloomBerg BusinessWeek my data sitting only in a little box on
my desk was weirdly thrilling.
Gmail has been more important to me
than any product I’ve ever owned. It’s ONLINE RETAILERS
where my wife and I first started flirt- By Kashmir Hill
ing and where, 14 years and two kids AdApted From The neW York Times
later, we send jokes and Gchat-length
love notes. It was the center of my pro- We all have secret “consumer scores,”
fessional life for years. It contains the hidden ratings that determine how
contact information of pretty much long we wait on hold when calling a
everyone I’ve ever known, plus a de- business, whether we can return items
cade and a half of credit card bills, tax at a store, and what type of service we
returns, embarrassing pictures, bad receive. A low score sends you to the
jokes, and apologies for those jokes. back of the queue; a high score gets
But stories about tech companies’ you elite treatment. Little is known
violations of privacy got me thinking about these scores. Most people have
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GOOGLE
bettman/getty image) (rear window), rebecca )imp)on )teele (google)
no inkling they even exist, and com- all the messages I’d ever sent to hosts
panies are mum about how they come on Airbnb; years of Yelp delivery or-
up with them, or that they exist at all. ders; a log of every time I’d opened the
A watchdog group called the Con- Coinbase app on my iPhone.
sumer Education Foundation wants Sift knew that I’d ordered chicken
the Federal Trade Commission to tikka masala on a Saturday night in
investigate secret surveillance scores April three years ago. It knew about a
“generated by a shadowy group of nightmare Thanksgiving I had in Cali-
privacy-busting firms that operate fornia’s wine country, as captured in
in the dark recesses of the Ameri- my messages to the Airbnb host of a
can marketplace.” The report named rental called “Cloud 9.”
11 firms that rate shoppers, potential The companies gathering the data
renters, and prospective employees. say they find it valuable for rooting out
I got my file from one of these firms; fraud and increasing the revenue they
others gave the runaround. The com- can collect from big spenders. But the
pany that cooperated, called Sift, says process is far from transparent.
its “proprietary scoring system tracks You can’t necessarily stop com-
consumer behavior with hundreds of panies from gathering information,
companies.” My report was shocking: but if you’re curious about what’s in
More than 400 pages long, it contained your Sift file, you can request it by
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PHONES
64 May 2020
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Televisions: © 2019 by The WashingTon PosT; smarT sPeakers, Cars, and online reTailers: © 2019 by The neW
york Times; FiTness TraCkers: © 2019 by vox media, llC, visiT vox.Com; sChools: © 2019 by buzzFeed, inC.;
FaCebook: © 2019 by usa Today, ganneTT-usa Today; google: © 2019 by bloomberg.
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A medical
student battling
a
deadly disorder
finally got a
lifeline—from hi
s own research.
Plus: Two more
stories
of innovative men
who
worked miracles.
By Ryan Prior
Fr om CN N. Co m
Reader ’s Digest
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Reader ’s Digest
opening spread and storc: Hand lettering bc Maria aMador. tHis page: courtesc pecton williaMs/accpHotos.coM
after Christmas 2013, and David Faj-
genbaum was hovering a hair above
death.
He lay in a hospital bed at the Uni-
versity of Arkansas, his blood platelet
count so low that even a slight bump
to his body could trigger a lethal brain
bleed. A doctor told him to write his
living will on a piece of paper.
David was rushed to a CT scan.
Tears streamed down his face and
fell on his hospital gown. He thought
about the first patient who’d died un-
der his care in medical school and
how her brain had bled in a similar
way from a stroke.
He didn’t believe he’d survive the
scan. But he did.
David was battling Castleman dis-
ease, a rare autoimmune disorder in-
volving immune cells attacking vital
organs. It wasn’t the first time a relapse
had threatened his life. Massive “shock
and awe” chemotherapy regimens had
helped him narrowly escape death
during four previous attacks, but each
new assault on his body weakened him.
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Reader ’s Digest
students at Georgetown called Stu “blood moles” meant. But his doctors,
dents of AMF —an acronym for Ail focused on saving his life, weren’t
ing Mothers and Fathers, as well as interested in them.
his mother’s initials. (Reader’s Digest “They went out of their way to say
wrote about his group in May 2008.) they didn’t matter,” David says. But
David went on to earn a master’s the med student turned patient would
degree at the University of Oxford, prove he was on to something.
where he learned how to conduct sci “Patients pick up on things no one
entific research so that he could fight else sees,” he says.
the disease that took his mom. That Castleman disease struck David four
relentless focus and scientific rigor more times over the next three years,
would one day save his life. with hospitalizations that ranged from
David entered medical school at the weeks to months. He stayed alive only
University of Pennsylvania to become through intense chemotherapy “carpet
a doctor like his father—specifically, bombing” campaigns. During one re
an oncologist, in tribute to his late lapse at a Duke University hospital, his
mother.
In 2010, during his third year, he got “I don’t think I would
very sick and was hospitalized for five
months. Something was attacking his
have felt comfortable
liver, kidneys, and other organs and trying the treatment
shutting them down. on another patient;
The diagnosis was idiopathic multi there were too many
centric Castleman disease. First de unknowns. Who
scribed in 1954, Castleman presents
partly like an autoimmune condition
knew what problems
and partly like cancer. It’s about as rare could arise when
as ALS ; there are around 7,000 new you shut down
cases each year in the United States. a volatile immune
The disease causes certain system like mine.”
immunesignaling molecules, called DaviD Fajgenbaum, in his book
cytokines, to go into overdrive. It’s as Chasing My Cure
if they’re calling in fighter jets for all
out attacks on home territory.
In his hospital bed, David felt nau family called in a priest to give him his
seated and weak. His organs were fail last rites.
ing, and he noticed curious red spots After all the setbacks, all the organ
on his skin. He asked each new doc failure, all the chemo, David worried
tor who came in his room what the that his body would simply break. Yet
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David
Fajgenbaum
with his
wife and
daughter
courtesy rachel utain-evans/rachelutainevans.co) (left). Peter )urray (right)
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72 May 2020
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he said no.
Golesworthy has Marfan syndrome, thing had to be done, Goles
a genetic condition affecting the
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research-and-development engineer
with the United Kingdom’s National
Coal Board to good use. He decided
he would fix himself.
“Learning new stuff and devel-
oping new ideas, that was my job,” He Created
Golesworthy says. A bulging aorta, he
reckoned, was much like a bulging hy-
draulic hose—it needed external sup-
an Eye-
port. And wrapping something around
the outside of the aorta would require
Saving App
a less invasive operation. So Goles-
worthy subjected himself to 30 hours
in an MRI scanner; used 3D printing
to create a physical replica of the faulty
part of his heart (the aortic root); and
then used soft, porous textile mesh to
make a sleeve to fit around it.
“Luckily, I’d done a lot of work with
technical textiles, looking at filters for
flue gases in coal-fire processes,” he
says.
Sheer determination coupled with ike almost every set of
an original yet practical solution
won him the support of two leading
cardiothoracic surgeons and helped
him raise the money to develop his
idea. In May 2004, at the age of 47,
he became the guinea pig for his own
invention, the ExoVasc Personalised
L new parents, Bryan and
Elizabeth Shaw started
snapping pictures of their
son, Noah, practically from
the moment he was born. When he
was about three months old, Elizabeth
noticed something odd when she took
External Aortic Root Support (PEARS). his picture. The flash on their digital
The operation was a success. It has camera created the typical red dot in
since been used by surgeons in the the center of Noah’s left eye, but the
United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, right eye had a white spot at the cen-
Czech Republic, New Zealand, Aus- ter, almost as if the flash was being
tralia, and the Netherlands. “When reflected back at the camera by some-
you’re as motivated as I was,” Goles- thing. When Elizabeth mentioned the
worthy told mosaic.com, “you make strange phenomenon to their pedia-
things happen.” trician, she shined a light into Noah’s
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instead of a red one is a telltale sign of blastoma. Armed with that data, he
retinal cancer, and that is exactly what began to work with colleagues in Bay-
Noah had. He endured months of lor’s computer science department to
chemotherapy and radiation, but doc- develop a smartphone app that can
tors ultimately could not save his eye. scan the photos in the user’s camera
Retinoblastoma, the scientific name roll to search for white eye and can
of Noah’s tumor, is treatable if caught be used as a kind of ophthalmoscope.
early. Bryan Shaw couldn’t help but Called White Eye Detector, it is now
wonder whether there were signs available for free on Google Play and
he’d missed. He went back over every in Apple’s App Store. “I just kept telling
baby picture of Noah he could find— myself, I really need to do this,” Bryan
thousands of them—and discovered told People. “This disease is tough to
the first white spot in a photo taken detect. Not only could this software
when Noah was 12 days old. As time save vision, but it can save lives.” RD
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Reader ’s Digest
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MOTHER’S DAY
NEVER
FORGET
For many moms, a card
or some flowers are perfect.
These two unusual women
demand something, um, special.
here is a country—I read much, from the Blue Room. No, take
previous spread: maria amador (Banner and Flowers). This spread: maria amador (Banner)
ber the name of the country; the only of childhood walks with her. Mama
other place I know of with such a cus- noticed everything. We had to stop
tom is my mother’s apartment. to admire a nice house, a nice tree,
Knowing Mama, I have always been a nice flower. Mama regarded the
careful with my compliments, but that people we saw (those who didn’t look
doesn’t stop her. Mama senses admi- like her relatives) as portraits in a
ration far more subtle than what’s museum—no matter if people stared
spoken. If she catches me staring at back. “She was pretty once, but has
anything small enough to put in a seen tragedy,” Mama would whisper,
grocery sack, she hands it to me as I or, “Such a handsome man, but con-
leave. It would do no good to protest. ceited to the core.” Her sharpest epi-
“I was merely staring at that photo- thet was “Minky,” reserved for the type
graph of Mount Hood because I have of woman Mama thought would wear
one exactly like it in my living room.” a mink to the supermarket.
Mama would only nod and say, “Of As far back as I can remember,
course. You were thinking how nice Mama was telling people they were
it would be to have a set. If a mother in the wrong line of work and sug-
doesn’t understand, who does?” gesting alternative careers. If the
Sometimes, while visiting Mama landlord fixed the sink, she told him
and trying not to say anything compli- he should have been a plumber. If
mentary, I reflect on what might have he couldn’t fix it, Mama would wait
been had she ended up in, say, the until the plumber came and then tell
White House. “Here you are, Mr. Prime him he should have been a landlord.
Minister, that nice picture of George And if either one of them told her a
Washington you were admiring so joke, Mama would have to know why
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A Hymn to End
All Hymns
By Alistair Bane
From The MoTh
’m from the Eastern Shawnee fry bread and powwows and stomp
homa, the Cherokee Nation. We got miles from his grandma’s house when
talking about how homesick we were, he said there were a couple of things
and he suggested that we go spend a maybe he should tell me about.
couple of weeks with his grandma. The first was that his grandmother
In the car for the 12-hour drive, we might not be particularly fond of
talked about everything we missed: Shawnee people. This was because of
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she said to me, “You know, Alistair, it’s scanned the congregation, found me,
been nice having you here. Now, you and said, “My grandson brought a
know this Sunday is Mother’s Day. Of friend with him from Denver. His name
course, at my age I never know if this is Alistair, and he is from the Eastern
could be my last Mother’s Day. There’s Shawnee Tribe. But he is a very nice
just one thing I want. I would like you person. Alistair, I would like you to
to be my special guest at church on come up here and sing us a Special.”
Sunday.” Then she said, “Of course, I immediately began making shy
I know you are into your traditional “no” gestures and grinning, kind of
ways. So if you don’t feel comfortable the way my dog does when he’s eaten
going it’s OK, as long as you know this another sofa cushion. But there was
could be my last Mother’s Day.” an old man behind me patting me on
When the invitation is put like that, the back, saying, “Go on up there and
there is really only one thing I could sing, son. I can tell by looking at you
say, which was, “I’d love to be your that you are a singer.”
special guest on Mother’s Day.”
We got to the church. It was a one- “THERE IS JUST ONE
room country church. There were
about 50 to 60 people, mostly elders
THING I WANT,” MISS
from Miss Myrtle’s tribe. The services MYRTLE SAID. “BE MY
started, and they weren’t that different GUEST AT CHURCH.”
from the ones that I remembered my
mom taking me to when I was young,
until they got to one part. People could That was the moment that I realized
walk up the center aisle and put some how true the old adage is that looks
money into this little wooden collec- can be deceiving.
tion box, and that bought them the But my friend had grabbed me by
privilege of inviting somebody from the arm and was guiding me over his
the congregation up to sing a “Special.” knees in the narrow pew. He said,
A Special, it turned out, is a solo hymn. “Grandma’s going to be so happy.”
A few people walked up, donated their And the next thing I knew, I was
money, selected their guests, their out in the center aisle, and it almost
guests all sang beautifully, and every- felt like there was some invisible force
one was happy. And then Miss Myrtle propelling me toward the front of the
started up the aisle. church. It could have been God. And
She was kind of elderly, so it felt I was hoping that, if it was God, when
like it took her a long time to reach I reached the microphone, God would
the front. When she did, she carefully choose that moment to work a super-
folded her money, put it into the box, big miracle and make it so that I could
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sing—and that I knew any hymns at all. different versions of the same song.
I reached the microphone. I waited. There could be extended dance re-
It didn’t seem like any big miracles mixes, where vocals are looped repet-
were imminent, but I told myself it itively. And so I thought I’d sing the
was going to be OK. I did have some line four times, give it a little bit of a
stage and singing experience. It was rest, sing it four more. And so on for a
back in the ’90s, when I lived in San total of 16 times, which seemed long
Francisco and I was in a Goth band enough to be a real song.
called the Flesh Orchids. About halfway through I closed my
And then I thought back to when I eyes, because sometimes it’s better not
was real young and my mom had sent to see your audience. And while I stood
me to Catholic school. It was the ’70s, there singing, I had plenty of time for
and there had been this hippie nun existential questions, like: Who is Mi-
who would come out with a guitar at chael? Why does God want him to
row his boat ashore? And then, finally,
I HOPED GOD WOULD I hit that line for the 16th time and I
stopped. The organist, who was not
WORK A BIG MIRACLE quite sure what was happening, con-
AND MAKE IT SO THAT tinued to play, but when she realized
I COULD SING. it was finally over, she stopped in kind
of an abrupt way, and then there was
silence, and in that silence I walked
recess and sing hymns on the play- back down the aisle. I started to climb
ground. She always sang “Michael back over my friend’s knees. As I did,
Row Your Boat Ashore.” And I was like, our eyes met and he just said, “Dude.”
ooh, ooh—I did know a hymn! I turned I sat back down. Miss Myrtle was
to the organist, who was waiting pa- on the other side of me. She wasn’t
tiently, and I said, “‘Michael Row Your making eye contact. And her posture
Boat Ashore,’ please, ma’am.” seemed somewhat rigid. But once I
The music started, and about the was settled in my seat, she leaned to-
place where it felt like there should ward me slightly and said quietly, “I
be some words, I started to sing. “Mi- don’t believe I’ve ever met someone
chael, row your boat ashore, alleluia. that didn’t know at least one hymn.”
Michael, row your boat ashore ...” It There wasn’t a whole lot I could say
was about the time I reached the sec- about that, so I was just like, “Happy
ond alleluia that I realized that was in Mother’s Day.”
fact the only line I remembered.
But Shawnees have never been As told live At the Moth in sAn Antonio, texAs
(April 5, 2019). Copyright © 2019 by the Moth,
quitters. So I decided there can be theMoth.org.
84 May 2020
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READER STORIES
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NATIONAL INTEREST
HOOKS A NEW
GENERATION
WARNING :
In a blink, millions of young people started smoking
a trendy e-cigarette and became addicted to a
powerful drug. It’s time for the damage to be undone.
By Julie Creswell and Sheila Kaplan adapted from the new York times
Reader ’s Digest
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Reader ’s Digest
88 May 2020
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National Interest
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Juul
cocreator
James
Monsees
testified
before
Congress
last year.
heated, that exceeded the California Trade Commission, the U.S. attor-
limit. The organization had sued the ney’s office in Northern California,
manufacturers to force them to lower and more than three dozen states are
formaldehyde levels and to add a investigating the company.
warning label noting the presence of Juul is still waiting for federal health
a cancer-causing ingredient. officials to completely clear its devices
But in settling the cases, the envi- and nicotine pods from the mysterious
ronmental group saw an opportunity vaping-related illness that emerged
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last summer, making more than 2,800 buying that Juul had a virtuous health
people seriously ill and killing 68 oth- mission. According to two former FDA
ers to date. The CDC said that the likely commissioners—David Kessler, who
culprit is vaping liquids containing served in the George H. W. Bush and
vitamin E acetate and THC (the chief Clinton administrations, and Scott
psychoactive chemical in marijuana), Gottlieb, who ran the agency for Pres-
which Juul does not sell. But it cau- ident Donald Trump for a time—the
tioned that health investigators had agency is likely to make it very chal-
not exonerated nicotine products. lenging for Juul to obtain the neces-
Meanwhile, the FDA must decide sary clearance to stay on the market.
whether Juul products are appropri- Even in the face of mounting inves-
ate for the protection of public health. tigations, Juul Labs has insisted that it
The agency has undertaken a regula- never marketed or knowingly sold its
tory review, weighing the number of trendy e-cigarettes and flavored nico-
people likely to become addicted to tine pods to teenagers.
nicotine via Juul against the num- Still, the company has taken steps
ber who might use it to quit smoking to keep its products away from under-
combustible cigarettes, and assessing age smokers, including stopping sales
the products’ safety. of most of its flavors; halting all broad-
cast, print, and digital advertising; and
REGULATORS WERE offering $100 million in incentives for
retailers to adopt a new electronic
NO LONGER BUYING age-verification system intended to
THAT JUUL HAD A curb illegal sales to minors. Late last
VIRTUOUS MISSION. year, Juul announced that it would
discontinue its mint flavor, which a
It likely won’t help Juul’s case that it new study showed had become its
is now partly owned by Altria, maker most popular among teens.
of Marlboro cigarettes. In December But many kids, now hooked, have
2018, the tobacco giant announced simply moved on to another type of e-
it would pay $12.8 billion in cash for cigarette, single-use vape pens such as
a 35 percent stake in Juul. Under the Puff Bar and blu. Just like Juul, they are
terms of the deal, Altria said it would illegal for minors, but young smokers
use its vast distribution channels to manage to get ahold of them anyway.
sell Juul products. When asked what happens if she
Some Juul employees were unset- doesn’t vape, one teen told the New
tled by the fact that they were now in York Times, “I get all shaky.”
business with Big Tobacco. And FDA The New York Times (November 23, 2019), CopYrighT
© 2019 bY New York Times, NYTimes.Com.
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NICOTINE IS AN
OLD RD FOE
By 1952, Americans magazine as a kind of
were smoking approxi- antitobacco bullhorn. slowing smoking
mately 3.94 trillion Way back in 1944, RD rates—and, ironically,
cigarettes annually, or published “Are You a giving rise to filtered
2,500 for every man, Man or a Smokestack?” cigarettes as a poten-
woman, and child. It’s by a writer who’d quit tially “safe” alternative.
a shocking number smoking and wanted Still, RD never gave
today—2.5 times what to share his secrets. In up the fight, especially
adults burn through 1952, the magazine ran when it came to protect-
now—but it shocked “Cancer by the Carton,” ing young people. A
a few people in the a reprint from the Chris- 1963 story, “... And Slow
smoke-filled 1950s too. tian Herald. “What gives Death,” was a particu-
One of the most grave concern to public- larly searing indictment
affected was DeWitt health leaders,” the of teen smoking and
Wallace, cofounder of story said, “is that the the tobacco industry—
Reader’s Digest. Wallace increase in lung cancer and of magazines that
was himself a two-pack- mortality shows a suspi- helped “harvest a larger
a-day smoker, but he cious parallel to the crop of victims” by tak-
had long worried about enormous increase in ing cigarette ads. The
the media’s luring cigarette consumption.” next year, the American
people into unhealthy The famous surgeon Cancer Society awarded
behaviors. He refused general’s report that the magazine its annual
to run advertisements first warned about the citation for distin-
that profited from vices. dangers of smoking guished service. Also
“I don’t want to feel wouldn’t appear until that year: The surgeon
that we are taking an 1964, but “Cancer by general himself, Luther
active part in introduc- the Carton” made an Terry, quit smoking.
ing millions of people to enormous impact. This The antismoking cam-
smoking and drinking,” single story, published paign was thick in the
joleen zubek
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Reader ’s Digest
LAUGHTER
The best Medicine
A garden gnome is I just love mischief! so he went to check daNNy shaNahaN/everyoNe ’ s a critic/coUrtesy PriNcetoN architectUral Press
busy destroying some And what, may I ask, it out. The horse’s
plants when suddenly creature are you?” owner said, “It’s easy
a house cat appears. The cat thinks for to ride him. Just say
“What are you?” asks a moment and says, ‘Praise the Lord!’ to
the cat. “I guess I’m a gnome.” make him go and
“I’m a gnome. I steal —Newbloggycat.com ‘Amen!’ to make him
food from humans, stop.” Bill got on
I kill their plants, and I A Christian guy named the horse and said,
raise a ruckus at night Bill saw an ad online “Praise the Lord!”
to drive them crazy. for a Christian horse, Sure enough, the
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... Baby Yoda implies The book I ordered from IKEA arrived.
the existence of a —twitter@DitzMcGeee
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“I Didn’t
Know How
Long I’d
Survive”
With his leg caught in the sharp, whirling teeth
of a gigantic corn conveyor and no one around
to hear his screams, this farmer grabbed his
pocketknife and did the unthinkable
By Carson Vaughan
Photographs by Geoff Johnson
Reader ’s Digest
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T
he morning of Good Friday started like any other for Kurt
Kaser, a third-generation farmer in northeast Nebraska.
The 63-year-old, taciturn and as lean as a fence post,
woke around 5:30, his wife, Lori Kaser, by his side. He
lit a cigarette, pulled on his muck boots, stuck an old pocketknife
in a front pocket, and headed outside to start his day.
With 3,000 hogs and roughly a billion dollars’ worth of crops. And
1,500 acres of corn and soybeans, not only the slightest northwest breeze in
to mention a small trucking business, Thurston County. He’d lived there,
Kurt’s to-do list never really shrank just a few miles outside of small-town
so much as recycled itself, though he Pender (population 1,100), his entire
understood all too well the dangers of life—long enough to know the fickle-
rushing on the job. In sixth grade, he’d ness of spring and appreciate a calm
jumped down from his father’s tractor and sunny morning when he caught
only to land with one foot inside the one. Long enough to marry Lori and
corn picker. Though he didn’t break raise a son and two daughters. Long
any bones, the teeth mauled his foot enough to stumble and stand again, to
and ankle so badly he spent the next crutch on booze and finally cut loose,
three months in and out of a hospital to feel his community supporting him
bed, the surgeons finally grafting skin when he needed it the most.
from the top of his leg to the bottom The goal that Good Friday was sim-
before it could fully repair. ple enough: transfer the corn he’d just
“Everybody gets in a hurry and we picked up from a soggy field ten miles
just don’t think,” he says. “I got lucky south to the silo on his homestead,
on that one.” quiet now that he’d dispatched his
On this Friday morning in 2019, help and Lori had left for Sioux City,
he sent a few of his hired hands out Iowa, nearly an hour away. He parked
to load some corn, then hopped in a his truck alongside the tractor next
grain truck himself to do the same. It to the silo and tilted his truck’s long,
was a beautiful day for a drive, Kurt corn-filled bed using the hydraulic
remembers. Crisp and clear and, if hoist. Connected to the tractor was
the meteorologists were to be trusted, a large bin called a hopper, which
headed for the upper 60s by late Kurt wheeled beneath the truck bed
afternoon. No rain, thank God—the to catch the corn when he opened
Midwest and Great Plains had just en- the gate. Inside the hopper, covered
dured historic flooding that destroyed by a protective grate, was a giant iron
After his leg was caught in the auger, Kurt used a basic pocketknife, similar to
this one, to saw away at his leg and free himself.
corkscrew, about 30 feet long, called earlier when the ground was frozen
an auger. Its job was to rotate, slowly solid and he couldn’t fit the auger
and constantly, to convey the corn up beneath the grain bin. He remem-
a long yellow chute and dump it into bered it only when his foot sank into
the top of the gleaming chrome silo. the corn through that very hole—and
With everything now in place, Kurt into the whirring auger funnel. It
turned the auger on. snagged his foot and wrenched him
Despite all that prep work, some- forward, shredding his jeans, then
thing went slightly off-kilter, as often his ankle. He fell backward onto the
happens in the life of a farmer. In this gravel path. The blades, still churning,
case, the corn released too quickly, slowly pulled him into the hopper, all
causing a torrent of kernels to pile the while tearing flesh from bone.
up over the sides of the hopper and “When the corn quit running out of
atop the protective grate, conceal- the truck,” he says, “my clothes were
ing the auger’s rotating blades. Kurt still grabbing on the auger and jerking
stepped onto the corn-filled hopper my leg as I was trying to pull it out.”
to lower the truck’s gate and stem He could plainly see his tibia over the
the flow. In his haste, he forgot that hopper’s red casing, at least six inches
the grate had a rather large hole of bone exposed beneath his knee.
in it, one he’d cut himself months He could see his own severed foot
Kurt was moving dry corn up this chute farmer receive from seed-corn deal-
into a silo when the accident occurred. ers and equipment manufacturers. He
unfolded the small blade, just three or
bobbing like a rag doll up the hopper four inches long. There were no sec-
toward the silo’s opening, tethers of ond thoughts, not with the ravenous
denim still connected. auger still drawing him in and the
But the machine wouldn’t release hole in the grate big enough to pull at
what was left of his leg. He couldn’t least a few inches more of him inside.
reach the controls to shut down the A knee. A thigh.
auger. He needed to call for help. He With his left hand, he gripped the
knew his cell phone was on him— bone below his knee. With his right,
surely his cell was on him. He patted he began to saw away at muscle, ten-
his pockets, his chest, his thighs. He dons, tissue—the blood painting his
came up empty. (Half of the phone fingers red. He could feel the ping, the
would later be found in the silo, an- snap, the sudden release of his nerves
other victim of the auger.) He could with every cut. The handle became
scream for help, but the auger would slicker and slicker, until he lost his
drown out his cries, and anyway, grip and watched the knife slip from
there was no one around to hear his hand. He miraculously caught it
them. How long he could stay con- in his left.
scious he didn’t know. “I would have been clean out of
“I was holding that one bone in my luck,” he says.
leg that was all bare and stuff—there Regripping the knife, he continued
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Kurt’s lesson
learned: “Use your
head? Don’t do
stupid stuff?”
he says.
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with the Pender Fire and Rescue De- strangling the wheel, he feared the
partment. Kurt didn’t waste his words. worst: that his father would bleed out
“I need an ambulance now,” he before he arrived.
said. “I lost my foot.” Less than five minutes later, he
In the midst of buying tractor parts pulled off Highway 16 at the farm
from the local John Deere dealership, and ran directly for the hopper, but
in the midst of a routine day, Adam his father wasn’t there and the auger
was certain he’d misheard, especially was silent—the truck and the tractor
when his father mentioned the “au- too. The picture didn’t reconcile. No
ger” and “hopper.” blood. No painful cries. No droning
“Get me an ambulance now,” his auger. He then noticed the open door
father repeated, and the line dropped to the garage, and inside, his father
cold. splayed out on the floor in a dusty
Ad a m d a r t e d away f ro m t h e shirt and baseball cap, legs hidden by
checkout. He jumped in his pickup, the office wall, smoking perhaps the
stomped the pedal to the floor, and last cigarette of his life.
raced around four miles west to the “How bad is it?” Adam asked.
farm, calling 911 on the way. Hands Kurt looked up from the floor,
smoke trailing from his lips. “I messed recall the helicopter flight to Bryan
up big-time,” he said. Medical Center in Lincoln and all
Strangely, there was virtually no that sodden, muddy farmland below.
blood. (His doctor would later guess After two surgeries, a week at Bryan
this was due to Kurt’s decades of Medical, and two more at Madonna
heavy smoking.) Nevertheless, his foot Rehabilitation Hospital, Kurt returned
to the farm, the stump of his left leg
Kurt slowly dragged wrapped in a clean elastic bandage
just below the knee. For a while,
himself toward the phone he was stuck inside with a pair of
in the office. To stop, to crutches and a walker and too many
pass out, meant death. get-well-soon cards to read in one sit-
ting, just another one of the hundred
or so agricultural workers who sustain
was missing and his leg was horribly a lost-work-time injury every day.
mangled, dusted with dirt and debris, “It’s frustrating. But,” Kurt says, “it’s
the bones protruding beyond his calf just the nature of a farmer. Don’t think.
muscle. Though he’d already called Gets in a hurry. Gets tired. Whatever.”
911 from the road, Adam now called Four months after the accident,
the chief of his rescue squad, told the Kurt received his prosthetic leg, and
squad to “kick it into overdrive,” that soon the farmer was back to doing
his father had severed his foot and what he loves. Strong-willed, as his
would likely need an air ambulance. family has always known him to be, he
Adam then snapped into “firefighter helped with the harvest last fall, even
mode,” as he calls it. He started asking ran that same leg-chewing auger as he
his father questions, keeping him lu- unloaded corn into grain bins.
cid until the roughly 12-person team “When we went down to the hospital
arrived a few minutes later. to see him, first thing out of his mouth
The rescue squad carefully loaded was ‘Why are you guys not working?’”
Kurt onto a stretcher and into the am- farmhand Tyler Hilkemann told KCAU
bulance, then raced back to Pender in Sioux City. “Ever since he got his leg,
Community Hospital. Kurt doesn’t re- you can’t stop him. One of these days
member much of the ride, but he does we might steal it from him.” RD
Rest in Peas
I heard the inventor of autocorrect died. I didn’t even know he was I’ll.
AlAbAmAmAyAn on reddit.com
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HUMOR
STRAIGHT
FROM THE
HORSES’
MOUTHS
By John Kenney
From the New Yorker
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Maximum Security At first, I wasn’t was straight for a while, and then we
sure where we were going. I remember turned. And I kind of expected there
being in a small, like, shed, with gates. to be something there. Like a barn.
But the gates were locked. I remember Or a pond. Or a Roy Rogers. But it just
a very loud bell and the gates opened kind of kept going exactly the same.
really fast and everyone was running. And then there was another turn.
crowded. It was very hard to meet any- I think his name is Duane. But I wasn’t
one, since we were all in little rooms sure. They were calling him Maximum
and then we were running, like, crazy Security. I guess he works in security.
fast. I don’t know why we were run- But I was trying to catch him, because I
ning or whose idea it was to run. I also think he knows my friend Bob. I’m like,
didn’t know where we were going. “Hey! Hey! Do you know Bob?” But he
Also, my name is Greg, not War of Will. didn’t slow down. He seemed super
eager to be in the lead. To this day, I
Code of Honor At first, it seemed like don’t know if he knows my friend Bob.
we were running toward something. It His loss, because Bob is hilarious.
Gray Magician I was looking around And I said, “You know that’s the oldest
trying to figure out where we were go- joke in the world, right?” And I think
ing. I assumed it was a surprise party. honestly he had no idea.
I don’t know why I thought that.
Maybe because of the hats. War of Will That’s what made me
laugh. And then I stumbled because
Long Range Toddy The irony for me it was so funny. And then everyone
is that I don’t love running. I think slowed down. I assumed it had some-
walking at a brisk pace can give you thing to do with my joke, and I felt
the same kind of cardio with much really bad. I’m on the insecure side,
less stress on your body. and I have a hard time meeting new
people—and all of a sudden they’re
Country House It was very crowded running away from me.
and muddy, and I’m thinking, If we
have to run around this circle again, Long Range Toddy I was incredibly
I’m going to slap myself. tired. And really dirty. Everyone was
around Duane. I don’t know why. And
War of Will You know how when then I just felt sad, like, what’s the
you’re running for a while your mind point of it all? Why are we here? Why
wanders? Well, this is kind of embar- run around and around in circles? I
rassing, but I had just heard this joke just wanted to go home.
the day before, and I decide to tell it
to this one horse in front of me. I say, Country House Then some people
“Hey! Hey!” And he says, “What?” But, came over and put a huge bush on
like, kind of annoyed. And I go, “Why me, with flowers, and they were smil-
the long face?” Now, I think it’s hi- ing like, “Isn’t this great?” It was in-
larious, but he says, “Seriously?” And credibly strange.
that’s when he put his butt in my face.
War of Will I was thinking of tell-
Maximum Security I may have put my ing the joke again but had second
butt in his face. But it wasn’t inten- thoughts. I’m really glad I didn’t.
tional. I was trying to get away from
him, like at a party when you’re like, Gray Magician Would I do it again?
“Oh, I see someone I know.” I’d walk it, if that were an option. I
don’t know why they were in such a
Country House When I heard him rush. But then, I finished last. And I’m
say, “Why the long face?” I thought, OK with that. RD
He can’t have just said that. But I
The New Yor)er (MaY 20, 2019), CopYrighT © 2019
looked at him and he’s like, “What?” bY JohN )eNNeY, NewYor)er.CoM.
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THE
GENIUS
SECTION
10 Pages to sharpen
Your Mind
SURFING for
BRAINPOWER
How to avoid being clickbaited by your own brain
By Daniel T. Willingham
adapted from The New York Times
Reader ’s Digest
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Reader ’s Digest
I WANT TO BE DRAWN
IN BY ARTICLES ON THE
NATURE OF QUASARS,
BUT I END UP READING A
MENU FROM ALCATRAZ.
Suppose I ask you, “What’s the may calculate that this will be a rich
most common type of star in the source of information—and she finds
Milky Way?” You’ll obviously feel no herself fascinated.
curiosity if you already know the an- It’s that disconnect between long-
swer. But you’ll also feel little interest and short-term interests that makes
if you know nothing about stars; if you frothy Internet articles so frustrat-
learned the answer, you couldn’t con- ing. The feeling of curiosity promised
nect it to other knowledge, so it would you’d learn something and, admit-
seem nearly meaningless, an isolated tedly, you did—now you know French
factoid. We’re maximally curious citizens’ favorite macaron flavor—but
you’re disappointed because your page, banking that one will strike each
new knowledge doesn’t contribute to reader’s sweet spot of knowledge. So
your long-term interests. You’ve been visit websites that use the same strat-
clickbaited by your own brain. egy but offer richer content: for exam-
If following curiosity results in dis- ple, JSTOR Daily, Arts & Letters Daily,
appointment, maybe it shouldn’t be and ScienceDaily.
allowed to take the lead. Why not And pay more attention to bylines.
just search for topics you truly want Curiosity arises from the right bal-
to learn about? That sounds logical, ance of the familiar and the novel.
but a search for “quasars” will yield Naturally, writers vary in what they
thousands of hits and no way of know- assume their audience already knows
ing which offers the just-right match and wants to know; when you find an
to your current knowledge that will author who tends to have your num-
maintain your curiosity. You’ll prob- ber, stick with her.
ably end up like the surgeon at the Albert Einstein famously advised
boring conference talk. a young student to “never lose a holy
If you wish for more serious reading curiosity.” Given our evolutionary
when you surf the Web, the opportu- history, there’s little danger any of us
nistic approach is actually fine. You will. The challenge is changing its fo-
just need to frequent better foraging cus from the momentary to something
grounds. more enduring. RD
Many websites that snare your time
The New York Times (ocTober 18, 2019), copYrighT
feature scores of stories on the front © New York Times, NYTimes.com.
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Reader ’s Digest
BRAIN GAMES
Quick Crossword
easy May the fourth is Star Wars Day. Place these words (each of which
appears in a Star Wars film title) in the grid. May the force be with you!
1
HOPE
EMPIRE 2 3 4
RETURN 5 6
JEDI
7
PHANTOM
ATTACK 8
REVENGE 9
SITH
ROGUE
FORCE
May Flowers
MediuM Emma is playing
in a field where there
are bees buzzing around
some flowers. She notices
that if one bee lands
illustbation by mabia amadob
Give Me Five
Difficult If all five grids share a common feature, what’s the missing number?
2 3 4 7 0 7 8 2 1 3 3 4 5 2 2
marcel danesi (give me five). darren rigby (jigsaw shuffler). puzzleopedia (opposite day). illustration by maria amador
1 5 6 5 3 2 8 3 0 5 2 3 1 ? 3
6 2 1 4 1 1 4 3 1 7 1 2 5 3 4
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9. unorthodox adj.
WORD POWER (un-'or-thuh-doks)
A not conventional.
B Eastern.
C beneath the surface.
At first glance, this month’s words might
10. welkin n.
not seem like birds of a feather. But each has ('wel-kin)
an animal name (or two!) nested inside, the A fleece vest.
way menagerie contains nag. So make a bee- B sky.
C accordion.
line to the quiz, try to spot the critters, then
11. epigram n.
vamoose to page 120 for all the answers. ('eh-puh-gram)
A long farewell.
By Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon B witty saying.
C ghostly presence.
1. dogma n. 5. forbear v. 12. malevolent adj.
('dog-muh) (for-'bair) (muh-'leh-vuh-lent)
A false belief. A hold back. A masculine.
B perseverance. B go before. B spiteful.
C established opinion. C carry off. C good-hearted.
2. cataract n. 6. simoleon n. 13. papeterie n.
('cat-uh-rakt) (suh-'moh-lee-un) ('pap-uh-tree)
A waterfall. A look-alike. A poetic meter.
B tomb. B dollar. B letter jumble.
C eyeshade. C coincidence. C fancy stationery.
3. toponym n. 7. execrable adj. 14. demur v.
('tah-puh-nim) ('ek-sih-kruh-bull) (dih-'mer)
A misprint. A discarded. A shy away from.
B place-name. B immortal. B take exception.
C opposite. C horrible. C strongly imply.
4. escrow n. 8. camellia n. 15. clamor v.
('eh-skroh) (kuh-'meel-yuh) ('klam-er)
A money held in trust. A flowering shrub. A shine brightly.
B gross exaggeration. B horned lizard. B demand loudly.
C eviction notice. C love song. C leave speechless.
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PHOTO FINISH
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