Your Wi-Fi was part of 2.7 billion records leaked
I bet you’ve never heard of Mars Hydro. It’s a company headquartered in Communist China that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Their speciality? LED lights and hydroponics equipment.
Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler (I had him on the show about other breaches, and he’s a smart, standup guy) was digging around and found they had a massive 1.17TB database online for anyone to see. There was no encryption and no password required.
🐋 Modern-day Jonah: I thought this was totally fake, but it’s not. A dad watched a giant whale swallow his son and caught the whole thing on video. Phew, the kid survived! The whale spat the son and his kayak out after a few seconds. The video is terrifying. One moment, he’s paddling, and the next, he’s completely gone.
Winter bash goes viral
I love this and I know you will, too. An 87-year-old guy in Bucks County, Pennsylvania is having a party tonight. Doug Turner went door to door with handwritten invites. The winter celebration is from “4 p.m. until the cops arrive.” His neighbor shared their doorbell cam chat on TikTok. No strangers at the party, but after Doug said he liked the snail mail, letters flooding the PO Box his daughter set up. He’s planning to reply to each one with his special fountain pen.
$2
For a Toyota Corolla with 116,000 miles. Yes, the side mirrors are duct-taped, the license plate is bolted on with pliers, and there’s a minion painted on the hood. But mechanic Scotty Kilmer said in a viral TikTok he’d never get rid of an old Corolla. Under the ugly paint job is a 1.8L engine that’ll last forever. Here’s one for ya: Can a Toyota stretch? No, but a Mercedes-Benz.
Is AI making us dumber? Maybe. A Microsoft study found AI tools hurt our critical thinking skills. Some people are so dependent on AI responses, they stop questioning things. When faced with a real challenge (and no AI), they have a hard time analyzing and solving problems. I use AI as a starting place, not a common-sense replacement.
Remember the 'Charlie Bit My Finger' video?
You know, the toddler crying because his baby brother bit his finger. Almost 900 million views later, Charlie is 18 and says the clip helped him pay for law school. The 55-second clip has earned his family over $1 million. A big chunk of that came in 2021 when the video sold as an NFT for over $600,000.
Don’t buy any Amazon tech now: They’re showing off new gadgets on Feb. 26. Rumor has it we’ll meet the next-gen Alexa that can handle “complex requests,” along with new Echo speakers and earbuds, too. Probably no Kindles since new models dropped in October.
34 seconds
Mandatory pit stops coming to Formula E. Pit Boost fast-charging stations are debuting at the Jeddah E-Prix this weekend. They’ll power up the electric racecars 10% in just 30 seconds.
🚨 Two recalls to know about: First, over a million Igloo 90-qt. Flip & Tow rolling coolers, which have been slicing off fingers. They were sold from January 2019 until last month. Full list here. If you’re affected, you can get a free replacement. Next up, a canned tuna recall for Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B and Trader Joe’s brands that could cause fatal food poisoning. Return ‘em for a full refund.
What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away: Paramount and YouTube TV couldn’t agree on a renewal contract, so you’ll lose 23 channels today. If you really need CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central or one of the others, try Tubi for a free trial. Just remember to set a reminder to cancel! If tug-of-war drags on for “an extended period of time,” YouTube will give subs an $8 credit. Gee, thanks. Speaking of, ditch the subscriptions you don’t use. I did, and I used the app that makes it easy: Rocket Money. They find everything and cancel whatever you no longer want.