Class is in session

You didn’t need to see The Nutty Professor to know Jerry Lewis was a nut, but when you did see it, there was no denying his comic genius. As the klutzy Professor Kelp, or the charming Buddy Love, he could make the world swing 😎 

If you want a real-world nutty professor, look no further than the University of Tennessee. Professor Matthew Pittman is going viral for allowing students to complete a 15 second dance routine instead of a 15,000 word midterm! 

Sounds like that prof is getting too loose ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)

IN THE NEWS

Liberals hold on, but no majority mandate

Mark Carney and the Liberal Party have secured enough seats to form another government, but appear to have failed to pass the 172-seat threshold required to earn a majority. CTV News was the first to project the Liberals will form another minority government.

In a historic comeback story, the Liberals went from potentially fighting to retain official party status in December to expanding their existing base of support by April.

After former prime minister Justin Trudeau agreed to step down in January, the clock began ticking for his ultimate replacement, Mark Carney.

While the Liberals were spending a period of parliamentary prorogation making Carney’s leadership official, the United States was settling into its 47th presidency, with the man in the Oval Office fixing his gaze on Canada and threatening to annex it through the use of economic force.

Rumblings of making Canada the 51st state while beating it into submission through the use of tariffs helped awaken a patriotism that had been quietly lurking in the proverbial backdrop of Canadian life for many years.

As it awakened, it decided to wrap its arms around Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney, who more-or-less never looked back as his star rose and he secured the fourth consecutive electoral victory for Canada’s Liberal Party.

POLITICS

Canadians equally sour about relations with U.S. and Russia

A new survey conducted by Leger found nearly the same number of Canadians think Canada has a solid relationship with the United States as it does with Russia.

Just 16% of respondents said the Canada-U.S. relationship is “good,” while 15% said the same about Canada’s relationship with Moscow.

“When Canadians give their relationship with the United States such a really horrible evaluation, it’s largely attributable to our expectations about that relationship, which are generally considerably better [than the current situation,]” said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies.

“To see it hit that level where we evaluate our relations with the United States as badly as we do our relationship with Russia—and assess our relations with China better than our relations with the United States—is really mind-boggling.”

The clear top issue for Canada’s electorate leading into yesterday was indeed how Canada will respond to the aggression of President Donald Trump, with many saying the American president had done more to unify Canadians than any of its leaders.

HEALTH

New study sheds ominous light on ultraprocessed food

According to a new study that zeroed in on the health-related ramifications of consuming ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), every single bite can reportedly increase the likelihood of early mortality.

“We looked at the risk of a person dying from eating more ultraprocessed foods between the ages of 30 and 69, a time when it would be premature to die,” said study coauthor Carlos Augusto Monteiro, emeritus professor of nutrition and public health in the School of Public Health at Brazil’s University of São Paulo.

“We found that for each 10 per cent increase in total calories from ultraprocessed foods, the risk of dying prematurely rose by nearly 3 per cent,” said Monteiro, who coined the term “ultraprocessed” in 2009 as part of his “NOVA” system, which breaks foods into four categories of health ratings.

UPFs are the fourth group, made from “chemically manipulated cheap ingredients” and often use “synthetic additives to make them edible, palatable and habit-forming,” according to Monteiro.

TRAVEL TUESDAYS

Europe’s spa towns threatened by climate change

Some towns are underpinned by a single company or factory, with their people relying almost exclusively on the jobs they create. Others, however, rely heavily on the attractions they possess to lure tourists from all over the world.

That’s certainly the case when it comes to Europe’s historic spa towns, nearly a dozen of which are being existentially threatened by climate change.

The Great Spa Towns of Europe have officially joined National Geographic’s Preservring Legacies program in order to help protect against the increased flooding that’s been shutting down access to their natural springs in recent years, including Germany’s Baden Baden, the U.K.’s Bath, and France’s Vichy, each of which are already designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

“Rising temperatures, floods and drought may affect spring emergence points and water flow rates,” says Naomi O’Toole, communications coordinator for The Great Spa Towns of Europe, “but there is not yet enough data evidence to help us understand precisely how.”

Cultural tourism reportedly accounts for 9.1% of global GDP and 40% of tourism in general, making the preservation of Europe’s spa towns all the more important for the industry.

AI

AI still having trouble with social cues

AI may be super intelligent, but it appears to be that awkward type of intelligence where it can easily do incredibly complex math questions, but can’t take social cues.

According to a new study published by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 350 different types of AI models were tested to observe human interactions and then evaluate how they went qualitatively.

In their paper, the researchers revealed human study participants were easily able to pick up on the implicit subtext of the human interactions observed in video clips, but the AI models struggled considerably.

“Anytime you want an AI system to interact with humans, you want to be able to know what those humans are doing and what groups of humans are doing with each other,” said John Hopkins University assistant professor of cognitive science and study lead author Leyla Isik. “This really highlights how a lot of these models fall short on those tasks.” 

For example, the AI models failed to be being able to determine if an interaction went positively or negatively on an emotional level.

“It’s not enough to just see an image and recognize objects and faces,” John Hopkins University doctoral student and paper co-author Kathy Garcia said in a statement. “We need AI to understand the story that is unfolding in a scene. Understanding the relationships, context, and dynamics of social interactions is the next step, and this research suggests there might be a blind spot in AI model development.” 

CURIOSITIES

Dinosaur trees have a new lease on life

A cluster of Wollemi pines was found on the side of a gorge 125 miles from Sydney, Australia in 1994, despite experts’ long-held belief that the prehistoric conifer species was extinct.

These trees are believed to have been a source of nutrients for dinosaurs over 90 million years ago, and after saplings and cuttings were sold to help save what was still a seriously endangered species, new Wollemi trees are alive and well.

That includes retired British couple Pamela and Alistair Thompson, who paid $70 for an 18-inch sapling in 2010, and now have a 13-foot tall tree that—for the first time—just bore fruit for the couple at the foot of England’s Malvern Hills.

“It would be amazing, absolutely amazing, to have seedlings and to propagate from the world’s rarest tree,’ said Pamela, who noted she hopes to be able to propagate the tree to generate more seeds and spread the Wollemia nobilis genus far and wide to keep the species alive.

“I couldn’t imagine being so lucky to do it.

WEEKLY POLL RESULTS

Here’s what you said

MUSIC

Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame lists this year’s inductees

The inductees for the 2025 class of the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame were announced on American Idol on Sunday after months of speculation.

Despite nearly topping the list of likely odds to make it, Mariah Carey will have to wait at least one more year. This year’s inductees include Bad Company, Joe Cocker, and Chubby Checker, all of whom were nominated for just the first time this year.

Also joining them in the hall of immortals is Soundgarden, the White Stripes, and Cyndi Lauper. Third time was the charm for the Seattle grunge legends, while Jack White’s crew and the Queen of Queens will enter on their second attempt.

Lastly in the performers category will be Outkast, who were also nominated this year for the first time.

Artists must have released their first recordings 25 years prior to being eligible for induction. Chubby Checker had been eligible since 1984, and so despite entering on their first year on the ballot, it was certainly a long time coming, as was the case for Joe Cocker and Bad Company, who’d been eligible since 1994 and 1999, respectively.

STAKE TRIVIA

A handle on the scandals

Remember how crazy it was when you learned the truth about Milli Vanilli? Like many a scandal, it was equal parts shocking and entertaining 😂 

From politics to breakups, paparazzi encounters and beyond, the ’70s and ’80s saw their fair share of juicy scandals. Sip the tea and relive them with today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card ;)

Winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.