Fool

Jimmy Donaldson, also known online as MrBeast, has become a benevolent YouTube star for his provocative brand of philanthropy. He’s given away homes, cars, a private island, and lots and lots of cash. Usually, it comes with a dark twist: Once, he offered a man $10,000 a day for each day he was willing to live in a grocery store without leaving. In his most popular video, “$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!” 456 people competed in a game show inspired by the dystopian Netflix drama “Squid Game.” (In the Netflix show, down-and-out contestants play deadly versions of children’s games to win $38 million.)

In March of 2024 MrBeast announced “Beast Games,” and thousands of people jumped at the chance, posting on Reddit threads about the application process and waiting hopefully to be accepted. The prize: $5 million.

Familiar with MrBeast’s content and with the lengths to which those who appear in his videos must go in order to win, many expected outlandish and even potentially risky challenges.

During an intake process this year, several contestants told The New York Times that they had been asked whether they would be willing to be buried alive or travel to outer space. One contestant recalled being asked if she would be able to swim to shore if thrown overboard from a boat. “I understand that such activities may cause me death, illness, or serious bodily injury, including, but not limited to exhaustion, dehydration, overexertion, burns, and heat stroke,” read a line in a contract that applicants were required to sign. (Such language is commonplace in reality television contracts.)

In screenshots from a group chat, some of the contestants appeared unbothered by the experience. They had signed a contract that they were willing to die for this.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Martyrdom; Money, love of; Risk – Throughout history, many people have given their lives for causes they felt were noble and worthy. Others have risked their lives for personal gain or glory. The question is, what are you willing to give your life for?

Certain words that many companies use in their annual reports—words like ethical, integrity and responsibility—are meant to convey trustworthiness. But research suggests that companies that use such words in annual filings known are often hiding their untrustworthiness.

The study found that use of “trust” words in annual statements was linked with a decreased interest in the stock of the company in question. Basing their findings on 21 words that seek to evoke a sense of trustworthiness, the authors also found that companies whose annual filings included the words tended to pay about $100,000 more in auditing fees than firms without the words.

Companies using trust words were also about 15% more likely to receive a comment letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission asking them to clarify information on their annual report than companies that didn’t use trust words.

One of the researchers wrote, “Companies likely use trust words to project a positive image and better manage information within the annual report, but it seems that no one is really fooled.”

For most people, a drive home from a day out is rather uneventful, but most people are not Christopher Young. Young was spotted by Portland police officers driving a gray Audi without a license plate, and one of them thought the Oregon DMV Trip Permit in the window looked a little fishy. After running the number and determining it was fake, officers followed Young in traffic, and eventually decided to pull him over. This prompted Young to flee. Police then began a high-speed pursuit in which Young “drove into oncoming traffic, ran multiple red lights, nearly collided with multiple motorists and at one point drove onto a sidewalk,” according to court documents.

Police eventually apprehended Young at his home. Upon securing a warrant for the property, they discovered the VIN on the Audi had been painted over, there were several other stolen cars on the property, and that Young was in possession of firearms, at least one fake ID, and tools associated with car theft.

Young currently faces 51 counts of criminal charges, including identity theft, forgery, possession of a stolen vehicle, and reckless driving.

Possible Preaching Angle:

There's no way to outrun justice or the truth; God's desire for righteousness in the earth is so unrelenting there's no point for anyone trying to lie, cheat, or steal their way to prosperity. It won't work ultimately.

When a local man was carjacked at a Sunoco gas station recently, he probably had no idea the perpetrators would be caught and his car recovered so quickly.

The man had just finished pumping his gas and was entering his car when the two teens approached and demanded his keys. After the man yielded, the two teenagers were baffled by the car’s manual transmission. Unable to put the car in gear, they instead exited the vehicle and ran.

The two teenagers were arrested for the attempted car theft after police chased them on foot. They were charged with carjacking and conspiracy to carjack.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Those who disregard God’s standards for honesty and truth and try to lie, cheat, or steal their way to riches, will ultimately end in judgment, whether immediately or ultimately.

In the town of Merced, which is named after the Spanish word for “mercy,” a bumbling robbery attempt was quickly brought to a merciful end. According to authorities, Stephan Stanley began breaking the glass in the jewelry department of a JC Penney store in Merced Mall. He was grabbed by two nearby men in the store, who attempted to hold him down to prevent him from getting away with any merchandise. Angered at their intervention, Stanley tried to use pepper spray against his sudden captors, but instead he sprayed himself.

Temporarily incapacitated by his own pepper spray, Stanley was easily subdued, and was eventually arrested on suspicion of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug charges. He was subsequently booked into Merced County Jail, where he is unlikely to receive much in the way of mercy.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Justice will come to those who break God’s law, some sooner than is expected. “He that digs a hole will fall into it” (Ecc. 10:8).

Dean Gunther is a tattoo artist currently residing in Manchester, England. And when a recent client came to him with a bold idea, he was so stoked about the idea that he did it for free.

The client was a friend who hates working out, but wanted to have the look of well-toned, “six-pack” abdominal muscles. So, he asked Gunther to tattoo the look onto his stomach. Gunther said, “I had seen really bad ones attempted before. Because I specialize in color realism, I wanted to give it a go.” Of course, it wasn’t only the technical challenge that got him on board. He also had an additional motivation. "I thought it would be funny."

Once they completed the two-day project, they took a video and shared it on TikTok to verify the rapidly spreading rumor of the six-pack-tat, which looks impressive from a distance. Gunther’s followers responded with a combination of disbelief and bemused congratulation. One user summed up the approach with a simple aphorism: “if you can’t tone it, tat it.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

We shouldn't be satisfied with only an appearance of goodness or righteousness. Without spiritual discipline and the holiness that results, it is nothing but empty posturing.

When Bradford Weitzel left a bar recently, he was having difficulty locating his car. Most responsible individuals might consider such a development as a potential sign of impairment and find an alternative mode of transportation--other than, y’know, driving. But Bradford Weitzel is not most people.

Which is why Weitzel stole another car so that he could drive around and search for his vehicle. Unfortunately, his plan ran into a snag. And by snag, I mean “moving train.”

According to a post on the Martin County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, the vehicle Weitzel stole stalled on some train tracks. “Within seconds, the train hit the car, catapulting it into a nearby home where the homeowners were sound asleep. Fortunately, they were not physically injured, although the explosive sound of a driverless car smashing into the side of their home was clearly jolting.”

Undeterred, Weitzel continued in his rampage, vandalizing a fruit stand and attempting to steal a forklift. In the end, authorities didn’t have to find Weitzel to arrest him--he flagged them down for help because he still couldn’t find his car. “Bradford Weitzel was arrested and charged with grand theft and criminal mischief. Additional charges are expected.”

Usually, a protest is designed to produce a favorable or positive goal. But for the passengers of American Airlines Flight 893 to Nassau, Bahamas it’s hard to see anything positive that resulted from the refusal of 30 students to wear masks aboard the plane.

According to a local news station, all the passengers were required to change planes because of mechanical issues. But once aboard the second plane, the students decided not to follow the crew’s instructions to wear masks. Passenger Malik Banks was seated next to the group. “It was bad. First, they were yelling. They were cursing. They were being very obnoxious.” He was quick to clarify that not all the students were behaving this way. “I would say 75% to 80% of them were being terrible kids, saying smart stuff.”

As a result of the students’ behavior, American Airlines canceled the flight. Passenger Christina Randolph was incensed. “Well, I’m a nurse, and it’s really, really hard to get time off work,” said Randolph. “So when you finally get time off, you really want to be somewhere you want to be.” The canceled flight meant everyone traveling to the Bahamas lost at least a day of vacation time, and another passenger noted that the delay was costly. “Some people’s vacations are ruined. They were only going for a couple of nights. Now, they have to get rebooked.”

A representative for American Airlines acknowledged the incident, and said that adult passengers were given hotel vouchers to spend the night. Due to age restrictions in booking hotels, however, the students had to spend the night at the airport. Randolph lamented, “All they had to do was follow the rules, put the mask on, sit there. No smart-mouth comments. And they couldn’t do it.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

God puts a premium on obedience because rebellion is not just costly for us, but for those around us. We have the power to bless others through our obedience or hurt them through our disobedience.

Forty-seven-year-old Anthony Oliveri was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle down a busy street in Indiana when he was struck by another vehicle. Oliveri later recounted the incident, “I remember it happened and I didn’t quite know what was going on for a split second … as I looked back around my left shoulder, all I see is her tire and the left bumper getting ready to run my face over.”

Interestingly, both drivers attributed the crash to God's will. The driver of the automobile did not stop, but police located her a few miles from the accident. When she was asked to explain her actions, she had an interesting response, "God told me to let him take the wheel." Police summarized her statement: "She was driving and out of nowhere God told her that he would take it from here and she let go of the wheel and let him take it."

By contrast, Oliveri recounted: "I was inches from that bumper and I just said to myself today is the day I die. I just shut my eyes and said if this is the way that God wants to do it then I guess that this is the way we’re going to do it." Later, he attributed his survival to divine intervention.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Both statements exhibited a degree of trust. Notice the difference between their beliefs. One presumed on God’s power based solely on human desires or feelings. The other took what was known about God and his sovereignty, and gave him glory for whatever came next. One attempted to force God’s hand, the other recognized his involvement and said “Whatever you want here."

Florida Highway Patrol troopers were surprised and delighted to find that the alleged drug traffickers they pulled over had made their jobs so much easier than they anticipated. Among the materials found in the vehicle was a bag marked in bold text with the words “Bag Full of Drugs.”

Similar bags have been sold for years at novelty shops alongside other gag gifts, but troopers said this bag really did contain a variety of illegal narcotics, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, MDMA, and GHB.

The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office issued a statement, warning potential lawbreakers that not only can their drug-sniffing canine units smell drugs, but they can also read.

Possible Preaching Angle:

1) Sometimes the truth is hidden in plain sight; we must not be so enamored with being clever that we miss the obvious. 2) Secrets do not remain hidden for long. The truth will ultimately be revealed.

Every September, 1,100 well-dressed guests gather at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre, a building crafted with ornate woodwork and golden pillars, for an unusual ceremony. Launched in 1991 by science/humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, the "Ig Nobel" awards (a parody of the Nobel Prize) recognizes ten dubious "achievements" per year for their shallow, obvious, or outlandish research focus or titles. Here's a sample of past Ig Nobel winners (and keep in mind that these were serious, funded research projects):

• The 1996 award winner in physics was Robert Matthews of Aston University, England, for studying Murphy's Law, and particularly for showing that toast often falls on the buttered side.
• 1999 also in the physics category, an award was given to Dr. Len Fisher of Sydney, Australia for calculating the optimal way to dunk a biscuit.
• 2000 in computer science Chris Niswander of Tucson, Arizona received an award for inventing PawSense, software designed to detect when a cat walks across your computer keyboard.
• 2001 Biology: Buck Weimer of Pueblo, Colorado for inventing Under-Ease, a brand of underwear with a built-in, replaceable charcoal filter that deodorizes flatulence before it is released into the atmosphere.
• 2002 mathematics: two researchers from India for their paper entitled "Estimation of the Total Surface Area in Indian Elephants."
• 2014 in Medicine: a team of four scientists for researching how to treat nosebleeds by packing the nasal lining with strips of cured pork.
• Also in 2014 for physics: a team of four researchers for measuring the friction between a shoe and a banana skin, and between a banana skin and the floor, when a person steps on a banana skin on the floor.
• In 2021 for physics: A team conducted experiments to find out why pedestrians don’t collide with other pedestrians.
• In 2022 for literature: Researchers analyzed what makes legal documents unnessarily difficult to understand.
• 2023 for communication: A study which investigated the metal activities of people who are experts at speaking backwards.
• 2024 in demography for studying why supercentenarians (people who live more than 100 years) often come from areas with no birth certificates and rampant clerical errors.

Possible Preaching Angle: (1) Priorities; Values; False Teaching; Idols; Idolatry—What are the things (ideas, priorities, false teachings, values) we give our time and attention that are in the end absolutely trivial? (2) Wisdom; Foolishness—It also shows the difference between "knowledge" (a bunch of facts) and "wisdom" (right living). (3) Legacy—What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Is your life filled with trivial pursuits?

On February 22, 1911, Gaston Hervieu climbed the Eiffel Tower to test a new parachute for pilots. He checked the wind, took a nervous breath, and began the test. His silk parachute filled with air, then sailed safely to the ground. Hervieu did not make the jump himself; he used a 160-pound test dummy. To one man this was an outrage. Franz Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who was developing a parachute of his own. He denounced Hervieu's use of a dummy as a "sham" and, one year later, on the morning of Sunday, February 4, 1912, arrived at the Eiffel Tower to conduct his own experiment.

As Reichelt posed for pictures he announced, "I am so convinced my device will work properly that I will jump myself." Gaston Hervieu pulled him aside and tried to stop him. Hervieu claimed there were technical reasons why Reichelt's parachute would not work. The two men had a heated discussion until, finally, Reichelt walked away.

Modern parachutes use 700 square feet of fabric and should be deployed only above 250 feet; Reichelt's parachute used less than 350 square feet of fabric, and he deployed it at 187 feet. He had neither the surface area nor the altitude needed to make a successful jump. Hervieu was not the only one who had told Reichelt that his parachute suit would not work. It had also been rejected by a team of experts who told him, "The surface of your device is too small. You will break your neck."

He not only ignored experts, he also ignored his own data. He tested his parachute using dummies, and they crashed. He tested his parachute by jumping thirty feet into a haystack, and he crashed. He tested his parachute by jumping twenty feet without a haystack, and he crashed and broke his leg. Instead of changing his invention, he clung to his bad idea in the face of all evidence and advice.

Reichelt fell for four seconds, accelerating constantly, until he hit the ground at sixty miles an hour, making a cloud of frost and dust and a dent six inches deep. He was killed on impact.