No babies born in Britain in 2016 were named Nigel.

December 11, 2019 9:04 AM

British motorways, Korean dog clones, and harbingers of failure: 52 Things I Learned in 2019 from Tom Whitwell
posted by everybody had matching towels (27 comments total)

And we had made so many plans!
posted by chavenet at 9:05 AM on December 11, 2019 [23 favorites]

The disappearing Nigel, previously
posted by saturday_morning at 9:18 AM on December 11, 2019

"Harbingers of Failure" is also my favorite Metallica song.
posted by swift at 9:27 AM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

As chavenet notes, XTC weeps.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:29 AM on December 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

For more surprising facts, I recommend blinry's Advent Calendar of Curiosities. He's dishing them out at the rate of one a day till Dec 25.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:31 AM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Heartened by the immediate XTC reference, but sad I was beaten to it. I guess no one needs to make plans for 2016 model Nigels.
posted by mollweide at 9:57 AM on December 11, 2019

Interestingly, due to a paperwork mixup, EVERY baby born in England in 2020 was named Nigel.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:29 AM on December 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

20. Teenagers with acne get higher marks, are more likely to complete college and, if female, eventually get paid more than people without teenage acne.

brb adding to my short list of things to tell myself when my time machine is complete
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:06 AM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

At least three private companies have fallen victim to ‘deep fake’ audio fraud. In each case, a computerised voice clone of the company CEO “called a senior financial officer to request an urgent money transfer.”

That's...not encouraging.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:10 AM on December 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

Brb, changing my MeFi username to "3D Ravioli Slots"
posted by Ragged Richard at 11:42 AM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Placebos are so effective that placebo placebos work: A pain cream with no active ingredients worked even when not used by the patient. Just owning the cream was enough to reduce pain.

How about placebo placebo placebos? Not owning the cream may be enough to reduce pain.
posted by Foosnark at 11:45 AM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

How about placebo placebo placebos?

As a geek I use an ad blocker blocker blocker (a program which blocks programs which block programs which block ads).
posted by Cardinal Fang at 12:16 PM on December 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

I saw a placebo blocker for sale in the drug store and considered buying it, and I already feel better.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

The Medium article about the completely automated Instagram account that got its creator free meals and other deals was one of the most entertaining things I've read all year. I bet some of the local accounts I follow use a similar methodology.
posted by capricorn at 12:24 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Worldwide, growth in the fragrance industry is lagging behind cosmetics and skincare products. Why? ‘You can’t smell a selfie’.

time to invent the smellfie
posted by cabbage raccoon at 12:59 PM on December 11, 2019 [8 favorites]

Surprised the demand for smellfies (great word, some_kind_of_toaster!) hasn't led to the return of iSmell, by DigiScents.
posted by PhineasGage at 1:09 PM on December 11, 2019

The Medium article about the completely automated Instagram account that got its creator free meals and other deals was one of the most entertaining things I've read all year.

I found it entertaining but also somehow appallingly dystopian and exploitative on some level.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:49 PM on December 11, 2019

#51, about the literal rag trade, is interesting and surprisingly cheerful because it’s detailed about doing a useful job well.
posted by clew at 2:14 PM on December 11, 2019

I found #46, about memories of events in one's own life, struck home. I can recall almost none of my childhood up until age 11-12; my sister, on the other hand, remembers everything and even claims to have specific memories of being an infant in her crib surrounded by several family members.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:21 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

#44 is something I've dealt with at work. Two years ago on an app project for a museum, the client asked for an audio descriptive portion to be added. In our talks with a local high school for the visually impaired, we were compelled to create and add a type of FF button to the app's audio controls so visually impaired visitors could listen to sped-up narration as they desired.
posted by droplet at 3:43 PM on December 11, 2019

Teenagers with acne get higher marks, are more likely to complete college and, if female, eventually get paid more than people without teenage acne.

It's actually unnerving how well this study describes my life to date, to the point where I tried to get my hands on the full article with questions like "And how long do I live? How do I die??"
posted by potrzebie at 3:49 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

I saw a placebo blocker for sale in the drug store and considered buying it, and I already feel better.

A friend just showed me an ad for a placebo blocker blocker and now I don't know how I feel.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:07 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Number 4, about harbinger customers, is fascinating because of the implications that there are people whose decision making is so consistently bad that you can watch them to determine what people should be doing instead, and that these people are findable by looking for clusters of people in areas of sub-optimal real estate.
posted by ardgedee at 6:21 PM on December 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

Number 4, about harbinger customers, is fascinating because of the implications that there are people whose decision making is so consistently bad that you can watch them to determine what people should be doing instead

I bought an Instant Pot and all the associated geegaws. I am both a cautionary tale and a national treasure.
posted by Chitownfats at 3:03 AM on December 12, 2019

A friend just showed me an ad for a placebo blocker blocker and now I don't know how I feel.

Clearly you should have been using a placebo blocker blocker ad blocker.
posted by Daily Alice at 4:32 AM on December 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Now I feel bad.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:39 AM on December 12, 2019

I am so convinced I have SDAM. I had never heard of it. I have intensely impaired visual memory. I cannot hold an image in my mind, except when I'm dreaming, and sometimes not even then. I've had problems staying asleep my whole life because my dreams will go "blank", and my conscious brain clicks on trying to make out shapes, and then i'm just awake.

None of my memories are in first person, and upon waking all of my dreams are like, converted to 3rd person.
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:48 AM on December 12, 2019 [1 favorite]