15 Crazy (And Surprisingly Accurate) Predictors of The Next U.S. President.

Who will be the next U.S. President? Will Donald Trump lead us to a new era of restored prosperity? Will Jeb Bush take over the reigns that his father and brother held before? Or will Hillary continue the Clinton dynasty, or upstart Bernie Sanders shock the nation with a fresh start like Barack Obama did in 2008?

While you may think that we need to wait until the early morning hours after November 8, 2016 to find out who will be the 44^th Commander in Chief of these United States, there are ways to predict who will be victorious.

In fact, our methods of predicting who will be the next U.S. President, and whether the Republicans or Democrats will seize power, has nothing to do with New Hampshire or Iowa, Quinnipiac polls or economic indicators. We’ll rely on 15 other weird, funny, and downright bizarre, but shockingly accurate, predictors of Presidential races:

1. Popular Halloween masks.

According to CNN Money, Halloween mask sales are a rock solid predictor of who will be elected the next U.S. president. In fact, whichever candidate sells more masks or costumes with their likeness has also won the presidential election going back to 1980.

Accuracy: 100%

Prediction: Donald Trump masks will be more prevalent than Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders masks, so the Republicans win.

2. Which candidate has better hair.

Since television became popular, starting with Kennedy beating out Nixon, the candidate with the better hair is almost entirely ensured to win the presidential election. In fact, Obama and his close-cropped haircut beat out a balding John McCain in our last election.

Accuracy: 100%

Prediction: It depends who runs!

3. The kid vote.

To educate and familiarize our children with Presidential elections, many elementary schools set up their own voting booths and conduct mock elections. Teachers collect and tally the results, announcing them to the children as a fun part of the learning process. But those results are also turned over to Scholastic News, who has published them in advance of the real Presidential election. Incredibly, the kids have polled for the correct president in 15 out of the last 17 elections. The only exceptions were in 1960 when our nation’s children chose Nixon over Kennedy, and in 1948 when they voted Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman.

Accuracy: 88%

Prediction: We’ll have to check the Scholastic News results early next year!

4. How the Los Angeles Lakers fare.

Nine times in history the Lakers were in the NBA championship series in the same year as a presidential election. They’re record in those finals is 5-4, but that’s not the predicting factor. The first eight times the Lakers were in the finals, Republicans won the presidency later that year, with a perfect 8-0 record.

Accuracy: 100%

Prediction: Since the Lakers have a broken-down, old Kobe and a bunch of rookies, it looks like the Democrats are a lock.

5. Oscar-winning movies.

This is an amazing predictor. During election years, take a look at which film won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year before. If the movie has a bummer, sad, or negative ending, the incumbent party will win the election. But if the movie has an upbeat or storybook happy ending, a new party will be in the White House.

Accuracy: 90%+

1975 Best Picture winner One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Bummer ending, so the incumbent party lost the presidential election the next year.

1979 Kramer vs. Kramer

Bummer ending, so the incumbent Democrats lost the Republicans won the presidential election the next year.

1983 Terms of Endearment

Family heals and comes together, the incumbent party wins.

1987 The Last Emperor

This is the only year that didn’t really work, since the communist system was restored at the end of the movie, but the incumbent lost.

1991 The Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal got away, so Incumbent loses.

1995 Braveheart

William Wallace may have met his demise but Scotland won her freedom.  The incumbent party won.

1999 American Beauty

The main character is murdered and things go from weird to catastrophic, which means the incumbent party lost.

2003 The Lord of the Rings

Our heroes are victorious and evil is defeated, which means the incumbent party wins.

2007 No Country For Old Men

The bad guy gets away with murder, and the incumbent party loses.

2011 The Artist

Happy ending, the incumbent won.

Prediction:

2015 Birdman

This film had a light, positive ending to a dark film so means the Democrats will win as the incumbent party!

6. The thickness of women’s eyebrows:

According to “Women’s Wear Daily,” in years that Republicans win, you’ll typically see thinner eyebrows and more red lipstick among ladies. However, in years a Democrat wins the presidential election, you’ll see bigger eyebrows and softer shades of lipstick.

Accuracy: Questionable at best

Prediction: Republican

7. Pick whomever Sylvia Browne doesn’t.

Do you remember The Montel Williams show? He had a psychic named Sylvia Browne who appeared on there from time to time. Every four years she would announce the winner of the presidential election months ahead of time, as reported to her by the spirits. The only problem was that Browne hasn’t been right yet.

Accuracy: 0% (or 100% if you pick against her)

Prediction: The Montell Williams show is no longer on the air, but years ago, Sylvia “The Psychic Who’s Always Wrong” Browne made a bold prediction that Hillary Clinton would never run. Hmmm…

***

Read part 2 of this blog where we cover the next eight Presidential race predictors, including the Redskins Rule, candidate height, and First Lady cookie recipes.

A Burning Problem: 20 Facts About Wildfires in the United States.

Every year, wildfires plague our landscape, reducing millions of acres of natural beauty to smoke and ash, threatening our communities, burning homes, draining resources, and jeopardizing lives. 

In fact, 2015 has been the worst year on record for wildfires in the United States. To date, more than 11 million acres have burned in wildfires across the country since January 1, 2015, as reported by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). TO put it in perspective, 11 million acres is about the size of Massachusetts and Vermont combined.

The scary thing is that it wasn’t just concentrated in the hot summer months, but 250,000 acres are still burning in wildfires well into October, including four new fires that have sparked to life since October 1. In particular, the western United States has been engulfed in flames at a record rate, with significant fires in California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, and Alaska.

Here are some notable facts about wildfires:

1.  With this year’s record 11 million acres burned, 2015 enters a dubious group. In fact, more than 8 million acres burned only six other years since the NIFC started tracking data in 1960: 2012, 2011, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004.

2.  Every year in the U.S., an average of 1.2 million acres burn in uncontained or wild fires. But the instance and severity of wildfires has grown exponentially worse in the last decade and a half because of draughts, and climate change from global warming.

3.  Whenever our national wildfire preparedness level is 5, like it has been most of the summer and fall of 2015, Our Forest Service spends $100 million per week fighting fires. With record blazes in 2015, this will be the first year that the Forest Service spends more than 50% of its total budget fighting fires.

4.   We know them simply as wildfires, but fire fighters, scientists, and firefighting professionals also refer to them as wild land fires, surface fires, forest fires, dependent crown fires, spot fires, running fires, or ground fires.

5.  Wild fires certainly aren’t typically started with wild conditions in nature. In fact, 90% of all wildfires are started by people.

6.  Human beings commonly start fires either intentionally from arson, or unintentionally through carelessness or a disregard for safety and precautions. That could mean a still-lit cigarette butt, a campfire that emits embers, or sparks from train exhaust.

7.  The other 10% of wildfires that are not started by humans are either combusted after lightning strikes, or lava in fewer cases.

8.  It’s estimated that Lightning strikes hit the earth an astounding 100 times each second, or 100,000 times a day. 

9. With temperatures up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit – five times hotter than the surface of the sun - up to 20% of all lightning strikes have the potential to initiate a fire.

10.  Weather and wind patterns contribute to many wildfires, but some fires are so big, they actually change the weather. Huge wildfires produce their own wind, which in response feed it more oxygen and further strengthen the blaze. In fact, a large enough wildfire can generate winds up to 120 mph, as strong as in a hurricane.

11.  Of course wind is also the enemy of firefighters because strong winds not only feed oxygen to fires but push flames toward new fuel sources as well as spread burning embers and sparks that start new “spot” fires.

12.  Wildfires usually end up with names made popular in newspapers and on the TV nightly news, but who comes up with the names? Usually first responders will name a fire, basing it on a nearby feature like a meadow, creek, city, or type of plant they see.

13.  Prolonged draughts, like the one in California, contribute tremendously to the risk of wildfire because dead matter like leaves, twigs, fallen trees, brush, etc. become devoid of any moisture and therefore extremely susceptible to alight. With the right conditions and hot enough temperatures, fires can even break out by spontaneous combustion.

14.  The worst wildfire in U.S. history is referred to as The Great Fires of 1871. During the week of October 8-14 that year, four of the worst fires in the history of the nation all blazed at the same time in the Upper Midwest, including The Great Chicago Fire which destroyed or damaged a third of the city’s buildings and homes, leaving 100,000 residents homeless.

15.  But even worse that week was The Great Peshtigo Fire in nearby Wisconsin that ended up killing 1,500 people, making it the most fatal fire in U.S. history. 

16. Of course they didn’t have modern technology and instrumentation to analyze the cause of the fires, but the consensus was that it was no coincidence that so many terrible fires broke out in the same region the same week. The prevailing theory was that a shower of meteorites falling to earth sparked the blazes, while others said it was unusual wind patterns that year.

17.  The greatest fire in our nation’s history by area burned took place in 1910. Called the “Big Burn” or the Great Fire of 1910, the inferno burned 3 million acres across Idaho, Montana, and Washington. In response to that fire, the U.S. Forest Service was formed, with the mission to fight all wildfires.

18.  Wildfires also cause monumental damage not only to forests and rural areas but encroach upon communities and homes. Here are the largest wildland fires losses (according to the National Fire Protection Association):

October 1918 - Cloquet, Minnesota: $35 million in 1918 dollars.

June 1990 - Santa Barbara, California: $273 million loss in 1990 dollars.

October 1991 - Oakland, California: $1.5 billion loss in 1991 dollars.

October 1993 - Orange County, California: $528 million loss tin 1993 dollars.

May-June 1998 - Florida: $395 million loss in 1998 dollars.

May 2000 - Los Alamos, New Mexico: $1 billion loss in 2000 dollars.

October 2003 - Julian, California: $1.1 billion loss in 2003 dollars; and San Bernardino, California: $975 million in 2003 dollars.

October 2007 - San Diego County, California: $1.8 billion in 2007 dollars.

November 2008 - Sacramento, California: $800 million loss in 2008 dollars

19.  Each year, brave volunteers, fire fighters, and professionals from the Forest Service and other agencies fight these fires, making the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe.

Firefighter Wildland Fatalities:

(U.S Fire Administration)

2001: 15

2002: 23

2003: 29

2004: 21

2005: 19

2006: 22

2007: 11

2008: 26

2009: 16

2010: 11

2011: 10

2012: 15

2013: 31

20.  To combat wildfires, the National Forest Service now uses modern technology and scientific methods. But all fire fighting or prevention still focuses on an old premise: The Fire Triangle. In fact, wildfires need three things to keep burning: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Without one of those, a fire will cease to burn, and so fire-fighting measures focus on cutting off one of those elements.

10 Smart tech innovations every modern home needs.

1. Transparent TV

As TVs get bigger, better, flatter, and more crystal clear every year, it’s hard to guess how much farther TV technology can go before we run out of ideas. With this transparent TV designed by Michael Friebe, combining our familiar LCD with the vanguard TOLED display technology, we see that the innovations are far from done.

2. The Ring

Some times, technological innovation comes so fast that it skips a generation or renders brand new products almost obsolete – just think of the mini disc player, portable CD player, and now, maybe smart watches. That’s because the Ring is the first wearable gesture-controlled device. It’s really cool and has plenty of uses around the house since you can program it to close shades, turn lights on and off, and operate your TV. The Ring’s features don’t stop there, since you can get on apps to request an Uber ride or write a note on Evernote. And at $150, it’s even more inexpensive than most smart watches.

3.  Orbital Washing Machine

If you have children and run a household, you’re well aware that the laundry to hamper to washing machine to dryer back to hamper routine is virtually endless. But this brilliant innovation makes it easier and cuts time, allowing you to fill up your laundry basket or hamper right in a globe or orbital device that you simply place in the washing machine when you’re ready to do laundry.

4. 3-Dimensional Wall Panels

This is one of the coolest things you’ll ever see, blurring the lines between functionality and art. Called 3D walls, these panels create interesting shapes, colors, and other design arrangements, turning any mundane wall into a futuristic focal point. The best part is that they’re easy to install and inexpensive.

5. Sony Eclipse

Constantly plugging in your media devices becomes almost obsolete with the new Sony Eclipse media player, a concept invented by Hoang M Nguyen and Anh Nguyen. It’s a media player just like any tablet or iPad, but is lined with photovoltaic cells on its back side, drawing solar power from natural sunlight in the room or against a window, even when it’s in use. 

6. Floor Plan Light Switch

The best inventions always seem to be the most simple, making us wonder why we never thought of it before. Instead of flipping a switch manually every time you enter and leave a room, why not just manage lighting on every room on an entire floor – or your whole house – with this smart LED master panel designed by Taewon Hwang?

7. Facial Recognition Welcome Camera

The Netatmo Welcome is a smart security camera that doesn’t only shoot video footage of who comes and goes from your house, but recognizes your family members and approved friends and others by registering facial recognition. You can program it to give your smart phone a signal every time your children or spouse get home, and if someone unrecognized shows up, you’ll know immediately. The Welcome also let’s you to tap in remotely to see a live stream any time, and this whole set up is only $199 with no subscription service needed.

8. LED Ceiling

Turn your ceiling into a giant smart lightshow, with infinite options for new patterns and designs. Created by Seo Dong-Hun, the LED Ceiling basically transforms your ceiling into a big overhead Light-Brite, as you can “draw” anything on the ceiling in colored lights with a laser pointer.

9.  Electrolux Fireplace

With new environmental regulations, long gone are the days when you can throw a few logs in your fireplace and set it ablaze. But let’s face it, gas fireplaces are better than nothing – but not nearly as charming as the real smoky open-flame experience. For those who live in a home without any fireplace, adding one with permits and gas lines and venting is usually more trouble and cost than it’s worth. But the Electrolux Fireplace, designed by Camillo Vanacore, solves all of that, elegantly creating real flames in a modern display. An opaque ceramic column instantly transforms into a clear vessel for flames.

10. Change It! Wall

This innovation actually isn’t that new, but still a best kept secret among home designers and modern home art enthusiasts. The amazing thing is that the Change It! Wall isn’t digital or based on any technological or computerized optics at all. Instead, it’s a wall panel that’s made with rotating triangles of different colors. The wall shifts and changes into an endless variety of patterns, creating a stunning dynamic and rainbow backdrop for any room.