Daily Dirt for Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Missourians only come in at number 27. Welcome to The Daily Dirt’s Vol. 1,337: Three Thoughts for Today.
1. Americans love their sports.
According to Luke Powers of smilehub.org, Americans are obsessed with their favorite sports, from watching the U.S. win medals at the Olympics to watching Super Bowl victories at home with friends.
Powers is not being hyperbolic.
According to Nielsen data, 80 of the 100 most-watched TV shows in 2024 featured sports-related content.
According to Powers, the success of local professional and collegiate teams, the availability of kids, and educational options in associated industries all demonstrate how much Americans care about sports outside of television.
Interestingly, SmileHub used 20 important variables to try and identify the states that love sports the most.
According to Powers, the data collection includes things like the number of sports charities per person, the number of championships won by professional teams, and the amount of money made from sports betting per person.
This is what the SmileHub computer produced when it decided which states were ideal for sports fans:
- 1. Ohio
- 2. New York
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3. Illinois
- 4. California
- 5. Indiana
- 6. Pennsylvania
- 7. Colorado
- 8. Massachusetts
- 9. Iowa
- 10. Virginia
Other noteworthy states
15. The state of Kansas
27. Missouri
50. Hawaii
2. Did you know (Part 420)
- That arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
- That omphalophobia is the fear or belly buttons.
- That phobophobia is the fear of phobias.
- That arithomophobia is the fear of numbers.
- That MLB goes through about 900,000 baseballs every year at a price of $72 per dozen. That s about $5.5 million spent on baseballs each season.
3. Some of the craziest street food you ll find being sold on the sidewalks of the world:
Taiwanese pig intestine skewers: grilled and marinated on sticks. Perfect as a light snack, according to reports.
BBQ chicken feet from Japan: grilled, deep-fried, or even added to soup. The chewy texture seems to be very enticing. Apparently, the most important thing is to remember to spit out the bones.
Thailand, Cambodia, and portions of China are home to fried insects and scorpions.Typically, they are topped with salt or poured with soy sauce or chile. Yes, they are, of course.
Vietnamese pig brain soup: accompanied by fish sauce and green onions. The texture of the brain is creamy and custard-like. The greatest is supposedly piping hot. What other option is there?
South Korean silkworm pupae are offered in paper cups after being boiled or steam-cooked. I’ve been informed they have a nutty flavor and a pungent fragrance. (Incidentally, the third stage of a silkworm moth’s life cycle is called pupae.)
Steve’s Daily ThoughtThat mixture of pig brain is the only street dish that I might even think about trying, as indicated in Thought No. 3.
Every day, Steve Eighinger contributes to Muddy River News. Who does he believe he is joking with? He wouldn’t attempt any of such nonsense.
