372 BILLIIIIIION LEGO BLOCKS AND COUNTING

Legos... undoubtedly the coolest and most inventive toy on the planet. They were invented by a Danish company and called Lego after the Danish words "Leg Godt" which translates to "Play Well". Ironically when they named them Legos they didn't realize that it Lego also means "I Put Together" in Latin. Last year Lego produced 19 BILLION lego blocks. Each year they seem to produce two lego blocks for each one that already exists. Currently there are 62 blocks per person on earth which is enough for everyone to build their own own little Lego house. Or we could all join forces and build 10 towers that stretch to the moon.

Adele... The Tear Jerker

So Adele, and rightfully so, won 6 Grammys this past Sunday and cleaned house with songs that everyone can connect with on some level. But did you know there is a reason why her song "Someone Like You" is so hauntingly beautiful and people can't stop singing and listening to it.

When we listen to music our brains are always trying to predict the next notes and lyrics in a song. Her song "Someone Like You" has a classic example of APPOGGIATURA which in Italian means "To Lean." The term basically means that when you're hearing her sing the word in the chorus "YOU" she dips down and then comes right back up again. Our brains are expecting to hear a nice pleasant continuous note but instead quickly hear that unpleasant dip. It triggers an emotional response and lets the listener connect with her pain. Once she bounces back to the original note we are then brought back to a more pleasant melody we expected to hear.

Plus who hasn't been through a heart ache at least once in their life?

McDonalds, CrackDonalds, FactDonalds

Everyone knows that McDonald's makes a gazillion processed and chemically infused fast food and burgers all over the world. But those fat filled fries and burgers is NOT how the company makes its money. McDonald's corporation is technically a real estate company. Back in it's early stages they company was struggling turning a profit from the franchises and being able to cover the costs of keeping the doors open to its restaurants. Ray Kroc started the Franchise Realty Corp which purchases property and builds the franchise stores. The company then charges an upfront fee from each franchise owner to buy into the company (which it then uses to build more stores) and then charges each store the cost of the mortgage plus 40% (or 5% of all food sales for more successful stores) to each franchise store.

McDonald's as a corporation actually owns some of the most expensive real estate on the planet and combined owns more real estate than any other company on earth.