Because it doesn’t hurt to know a little about these things, too.

News of the Week: Lottery Woes, Robert Redford, and Why Do People Swear So Much?

In the news of the week ending September 19, 2025, are lots of profanity, a stone skimming scandal, and saying goodbye to Robert Redford.

Bob Sassone

Random Notes

If I ever win the lottery, remind me to save and invest the money.

Every time I put down an ant trap, a mouse comes in overnight and takes it away. What are they doing with them?

I love prescription medication commercials that say “Tell your doctor what medications you’re taking.” Shouldn’t my doctor know that already?

Could you eat an entire meal at a restaurant without your phone? That’s what you have to do at the new eatery Hush Harbor in Washington, D.C., which doesn’t allow cell phones. They will supply you with letter-writing materials and board games though!

Life advice: Try not to be the type of person who would go on a reality show.

Kids, what if I told you that in the 1960s and ’70s, companies embedded vinyl records on the back of cereal boxes? It’s true!

If I put down mouse traps, will a larger animal come into the house overnight and take those?

Mass. Appeal

Why do things have to change?

Massachusetts is currently in the process of picking a new state flag and a new state seal. The old ones were perfectly fine but I guess they’re no longer appropriate for modern times. Or something.

Unfortunately, the finalists are TERRIBLE. The seals are passable, I guess, but the state flag choices are a mayflower (the flower, not the ship), a mountain with a gold star on top, and a circle of turkey feathers.

Writer Matt Taibbi thinks the state should run with the turkey idea but maybe in a Norman Rockwell direction.

Some people have joked that the new flag should be the colors of Dunkin’ Donuts, and compared to the finalists that might not be a bad idea.

Peak Profanity

I have a theory that everyone swears. They may not do it all the time and they may even pick the mildest of curse words. But everyone from the ages of 9 to 90 does it.

The New York Times thinks so too. The writer, Mark Edmundson, grew up in the 1950s and ’60s when cursing was relatively rare. And the people that swore were almost always guys (only never in front of a parent, teacher, or cop). But it’s everywhere now, from homes to schools and on television. I’m still sometimes shocked by what the basic cable channels can get away with now.

We try our hardest to leave out certain words in the pages of the Post, and if you leave a comment, please try to control yourself as well.

Headline of the Week

“Cheating Scandal Rocks World Stone Skimming Championships”

RIP Robert Redford, Bobby Hart, Patricia Crowley, Thomas Perry, Marilyn Hagerty, and Ricky Hatton

Robert Redford starred in many classic films, including All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, The Sting, Three Days of the Condor, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Candidate, and many other movies and TV episodes. He was also a director, helming Ordinary People (for which he won an Oscar), Quiz Show, and A River Runs Through It. He died Tuesday at the age of 89.

Here’s the Post’s Bill Newcott on Redford’s career.

Bobby Hart was half of the music duo Boyce & Hart. They not only recorded their own music, they wrote and produced songs for The Monkees, including “Last Train to Clarksville” and the theme song to the show. They also wrote “(I’m Not Your” Steppin’ Stone,” “Come a Little Bit Closer,” and the theme song to Days of Our Lives (!). He died last week at the age of 86.

Here’s Boyce & Hart on a classic episode of I Dream of Jeannie (they also made an appearance on Bewitched around the same time).

Uploaded to YouTube by Willy Gilligan

Patricia Crowley starred in the TV series Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and played Mary Scanlon on Port Charles. She appeared in dozens of other TV shows and films. She died Sunday at the age of 91.

Thomas Perry was a writer of bestselling thriller and suspense novels. He died Monday at the age of 78.

Marilyn Hagerty achieved fame at the age of 85 when her newspaper restaurant review of Olive Garden went viral. She was championed by Anthony Bourdain, and he even published a collection of her columns, titled Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews. She died Tuesday at the age of 99.

Ricky Hatton was the former world boxing champion. He died Sunday at the age of 46.

This Week in History

William Howard Taft Born (September 15, 1857)

Here’s how Taft’s bid for a second term made for a chaotic 1912 election.

Lots of TV Shows Debuted! (September 15, 1965)

This was a big day for the debuts of classic shows. Lost in Space, Green Acres, I Spy, The Big Valley, and Gidget all started on this day in 1965.

It was actually a big week for debuts. Other shows that launched this week in 1965: I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan’s Heroes, F Troop, The Dean Martin Show, and The Wild, Wild West.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Dole Fruits and Veggies (September 16, 1950)

That woman has a lot of hands.

September Is National Fruits and Veggies Month

You can use your own hands to make these recipes with those fruits and veggies.

Smitten Kitchen has Broccoli Parmesan Fritters and a Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad. Jellojoy has a Jello Fruit Cake, while Martha Stewart has Boiled Asparagus. The Pioneer Woman has a recipe for something called Melting Potatoes, and Allrecipes has Copycat Cracker Barrel Fried Apples. Iowa Girl Eats has this Marinated Vegetable Salad, Love & Lemons has Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and Dance Around the Kitchen has Banana Pudding.

All these recipes sound $%&*! great!

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Fall Begins (September 22)

If you’re keeping track, it happens at 2:19 p.m. ET. (It also starts at that time even if you’re not keeping track.)

National Punctuation Day (September 24)

This, is, the, day to celebrate? periods, Commas; Exclamation “points” and other … forms of punctuation!!!!

Ryder Cup (September 26-28)

The annual U.S. vs. Europe golf event takes place at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. Here’s the broadcast schedule.