1. Bottled Water Is One Thing… But Now Bottled Air?
Fresh mountain air was shipped into one of China’s most polluted cities, Zhengzhou, on Saturday in an attempt, in part, to relieve residents of choking urban air. Locals lined up to gulp down pillow-sized bags of air that were packaged at nearby Laojun Mountain. Each person was limited to just a few minutes of inhales, but the opportunity seemed appreciated. One expectant mother claimed she felt her baby move as she breathed in the smog-free air. The bagged air was brought in by a Henan-based travel agency in an effort to boost tourism to Laojun Mountain, but hopefully the stunt will also spark further conversation about crippling pollution in China.
2. Posthumous Michael Jackson Album Coming in May
Nearly five years after his death, we’ll get to listen to never-before-heard music from the King of Pop. Epic Records and Michael Jackson’s estate will release his new album, “Xscape,” on May 13th. It features eight tracks that mesh vocals from the MJ vault with what the label describes as “contemporized” beats. Super-producer Timbaland is heavily involved in the project and pre-orders start tomorrow.
3. Tech Issues Intrude on Obamacare Deadline Day
Tech issues rendered Healthcare.gov unavailable for several hours Monday morning, frustrating the last-minute efforts of those trying to sign up for health insurance before tonight’s deadline. Luckily for procrastinators out there, the administration announced an extension for those who have started, but not completed an application by midnight. Apparently, as long as you’re in line by midnight, you’ll be ok.
4. “Frozen” Becomes Highest-Grossing Animated Film of All Time
Sorry, Woody. With $1.072 billion already earned worldwide, “Frozen” has dethroned “Toy Story 3” to become the official top-grossing animated film of all time. In another box office milestone, the Oscar-winning Disney film now occupies the number 10 spot on the list of biggest global blockbusters and could soon surpass “The Dark Knight Rises.” “Frozen,” inspired by “The Snow Queen” fairy tale, took home two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes this season for best animated feature and best original song. It looks like it’s time to let it go, Buzz.
5. Dear United States, This 14-Year-Old Can Save You $400 Million
A sixth-grade whiz kid from Pittsburgh, Pa., has a genius idea about cutting government waste: use a different typeface. “Ink is two times more expensive than French perfume by volume,” 14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani told CNN, citing the $38 cost for an ounce of Chanel No. 5 perfume versus $75 for an equal amount of Hewlett-Packard printer ink. If the government switched its favored font from Times New Roman to Garamond, according to Mirchandani, it could save close to $400 million a year on ink costs. Could Mirchandani be onto something? The current cost of printing sets the feds back $1.8 billion annually. It may be worth giving this 14-year-old’s advice a shot.
6. ‘Sharknado 2’ Promises To Be More Ridiculous Than The First
New York, a storm and a ridiculous amount of sharks. “Sharknado 2: The Second One” is really happening. Just look at the poster. Will it ignite another Twitterstorm and reach the ratings height as the original did? Syfy says “Sharknado 2” will premiere July 30th at 9 ET. You’re welcome.
