Strange But True: Griefbots

By Lucie Winborne

• AI systems can simulate the language patterns and personality traits of the dead using their digital footprints, resulting in "deadbots" or "griefbots." Researchers from the University of Cambridge have warned that this "afterlife industry" could cause psychological harm unless strict design safety standards are implemented.

• According to one study, most dogs reach peak cuteness between 6 and 8 weeks old.

• The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 handbook classifies caffeine withdraws as a mental disorder.

• A Canadian police officer named Ward Clapham created a program that gives "positive tickets" to people who do good deeds.

• "Baby," "sport" and "waterproof" sunscreens don't exist. They're just marketing tactics.

• In 2016, scientists measured pollution variation in Los Angeles and Chicago, and found that violent crime rose when pollution was worse.

• Snow in Alpine regions can be pink due to pigments produced by algae, resulting in what's known as "watermelon snow."

• Michelle Pfeiffer was literally vacuum-sealed into her Catwoman costume in "Batman Returns."

• The Venus flytrap plant can count -- it waits for something to tap its pads twice before they shut.

• In 1864, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman captured Savannah, Georgia, and in a telegram to President Lincoln wrote, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, also about 25,000 bales of cotton."

• The largest playable instrument in the world is the Great Stalacpipe Organ, located in the Luray Caverns in Virginia. It uses rubber mallets to tap on the cave's natural stalactites.

• At a specific temperature and pressure, water can exist simultaneously as a solid (ice), liquid (water) and gas (steam).

Thought for the Day: "Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul." -- Rebecca West

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.