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Mariah Carey's Christmas classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is claiming the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard says the iconic holiday song is the first song to top the Hot 100 for the fifth year in a row. The song was originally released in 1994 as part of Carey's "Merry Christmas" album. Mariah edging out another Christmas favorite by Brenda Lee. "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" goes to the second spot after hitting number one on the charts a record 65 years after its release.
The National Forest Service is weighing in on a viral video. It shows a Tesla Cyber Truck with a Christmas tree tied to its roof, sliding down a snowy hillside and then getting stuck at the bottom. A driver in a Ford pickup truck comes to the rescue and gets the Tesla back to safer ground. The Forest Service is now using the mishap to educate people about online maps and the best off-road practices on public lands.
A new scratch-off game being offered by the Texas Lottery has a second-chance prize that's truly out of this world.
Anyone who doesn't win a prize on the Texas Lottery's new one-million-dollar Cash Blast ticket can enter a second-chance drawing for a trip to Kennedy Space Center. During the trip, four people plus their invited guest will be selected for a flight to the edge of space provided by a company called Space Perspective. During the flight, one of the travelers will also be awarded 100-thousand dollars. The contest will run through next summer.
Celebrities will soon be descending on Orlando. The organizers of MegaCon are announcing their guest list, which includes Ewan McGregor, Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars. Also appearing: Thelma & Louise stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis and, Captain Kirk himself: William Shatner. Organizers describe it as the ultimate fandom weekend of celebs, cosplay, comics, anime and more. The event runs from February 1st through the 4th at the Orange County Convention Center. Tickets went on sale at 11:00 Wednesday morning, and you can get more info on the MegaCon Orlando website.
https://fanexpohq.com/megaconorlando/
A Scottish woman who picked up a first-edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in a bargain bin for around 12-dollars sold it at auction last week for 69-thousand dollars. The hard-cover book, titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the U.S., was one of 200 printed that went to bookstores back in 1997. It was the first in the series by author J.K. Rowling. The woman kept it for years, thinking it was worthless without a dust jacket, but then learned it never had one in the first place.
A humpback whale in southeast Alaska is making history. Scientists from the California-based SETI Institute say they had a conversation with the whale back in August 2021. They played a recorded call underwater, and the whale responded. Scientists say it's the first known communication between whales and humans. The SETI Institute, which looks for potential signs from aliens, also admits it could become the model for communicating with extra-terrestrials.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-contact-whales-in-world-first-communication-experiment