Have you ever had a week where it seemed you kept hearing random things that made you roll your eyes, shake your head or drop your mouth? It’s been one of those weeks around here. The random, crazy facts just seemed to keep piling up, until there were enough of them swirling around in my brain to share with you in a post. You’ve heard the saying that one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Well, the same can be said for random facts.
What one person considers entirely normal, another person thinks is totally bonkers. Regarding the three things I’m about to mention in this post, I consider myself in the latter category—BONKERS. You might think these things are totally ordinary and reasonable. If so, we can agree to disagree, because I don’t find anything about any one of these facts “ordinary” or “reasonable.”
The first of our crazy facts has to do with Taylor Swift
Chances are, you either have a “Swifty” in your own household or know someone who does. This young woman has swept the world by storm when it comes to creating a fan base. Her followers are loyal to the core and will travel great miles and pay big bucks to watch her perform on stage. Now, some people might consider what I’m about to say as simply part of the Taylor Swift fan loyalty. I, on the other hand, find this information highly unusual. In fact, I think it’s disturbed and perverse and borders on mental illness.
Ms. Swift was scheduled to do a show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this past summer. A week or so before the show, several local news outlets reported a shortage of adult diapers and undergarments from store shelves. It turned out there was a connection between these shopping sprees and Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert. People were buying adult diapers and padded underwear so they didn’t have to use the restroom during the show. Yes, you read that right. Grown people would rather relieve their bladders and defecate in their own undergarments (on purpose!) than miss some of a Taylor Swift concert by standing in line to use the restroom. This ranks high on my list for CRAZY FACTS.
The purpose of soccer is to get as many goals as you can, except when you get too far ahead of the other team
I recently attended a youth soccer game. Part way through the game, one team had a five-zero lead over the opposing team. Suddenly, the opposing team charged, kicked and scored! Their coaches and teammates and families cheered ecstatically. I, on the other hand, along with several other spectators, was dumbfounded. Here’s why: When they kicked their scoring goal, there was no goal tender at the net. In fact, there was no goal tender for the defending team on the field at all!
I soon learned that this is “perfectly normal.” It is a rule that is supposedly designed to maximize “just the right challenge.” It is meant to keep one team from dominating the other. WAIT. Or, as my generation would have said in grade school, “HOLD THE PHONE.” The entire purpose of structured competition is to try to dominate the opposing team! If you read the article I just hyperlinked and you happen to be a baby boomer, your head is going to spin.
In addition to removing a goal tender so the losing team can score, coaches across the country reportedly implement other “tools” in a secret manner. For instance, if they have “too big of a lead,” they don’t shoot on goal unless they have completed six passes first. Talk about crazy facts! I come from a time and place where kids just played the game. If they got the pants beat off of them, so be it. That’s how you learn.
Mandatory meeting for teacher whose student identifies as a bird
Add this to your list of crazy facts this week: A teacher was required to attend a meeting with school administrators, board members and the parents of a particular student. This student goes through life pretending to be a bird. I would consider it reasonable or a normal course of action if such a meeting were held to discuss ways to provide mental health support for this child. That’s not what this meeting was about, however. On the contrary, the teacher was called to the meeting for another reason. The goal was to let her and the school officials know how they can accommodate their “bird-child.”
I’m all for imaginative play. In raising my own children, I made sure they had ample hours in every day to make believe and play pretend. They would invent elaborate stories or structures in the yard to build pretend communities, like farms or forts, etc. They would pretend to be parents or soldiers or store clerks. Sometimes, they would even pretend to be monsters. Imaginative play is good and healthy and necessary for a child’s development.
We’re not talking about make believe play here, though. We’re talking about an elementary school student. This student’s parents allow him to live as if he were a bird, not a human. They expect school teachers and administrators to participate in their child’s delusion. Children who experience delusions are suffering from mental disorders. Our job as adults is to provide support to help them get well, not encourage the behavior.
What crazy facts have you heard lately?
