Filtered for bad addresses and good emotions

19.10, Friday 15 May 2026

1.

I love this terrible fake address generator:

We have spent 3 years collecting data from every country to generate this enormous database.

…it promises.

These are not English addresses:

2 Scott Common Jenniferstad S60 2PT

4 Matilda Via North Emilychester M20 1BT

Flat 48v Harrison Motorway Lake Gary EH4 5LQ

Good story: Inside Number 0, John Finnemore.

2.

Kentucky Superstitions (1920) by Daniel Lindsey Thomas and Lucy Blayney Thomas:

Some household and domestic life superstitions, from part 4:

  • An accidental dropping of a knife brings a woman caller.

(My nan would always say it would be a man caller, to the point that if I drop a knife I reflexively say “man coming” to this day.)

  • If you spill salt on the table, you will get a scolding before Friday.
  • If you burn salt on the stove or in the grate, you will have to pick each grain out of fire in hell.

Salt matters eh.

Part 3:

Some of these I recognise…

  • If you raise an umbrella in the house, you will have bad luck.

Some are new to me:

  • If you whistle in bed, you will cry before you retire again.

Some are quite good, so have a read. (Some are horrifically racist.)

3.

A psychology paper from 2019 categorises 28 enjoyable emotions:

The families of discrete enjoyable emotions, many proposed for the first time, are as follows: (1) Self-praising emotions (authentic pride, fiero, naches, feeling respected), (2) other-praising emotions (admiration, elevation, gratitude, inspiration), (3) past-oriented emotions (forgiveness, nostalgia, relief), (4) future-oriented emotions (anticipatory enthusiasm, courage, determination, hope), (5) hazardous emotions (lust, schadenfreude, hubristic pride), (6) affectionate emotions (love, attachment love, tenderness, positive empathy), (7) arousal-defined emotions (euphoria, serenity), (8) violation-elicited emotions (amusement, awe, curiosity, positive surprise).

Graham, L. E., Thomson, A. L., Nakamura, J., Brandt, I. A., & Siegel, J. T. (2019). Finding a family: A categorization of enjoyable emotions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(2), 206-229.

I made a note of this at the time because Tom Stafford tweeted:

Want to be a scientist? It helps if your personality loads heavily on the ‘violation-elicited’ and ‘future-orientated’ emotions

(I am feeling seen rn)

Forget all the political compasses and Myer-Briggs stuff. I want to know which of these 8 emotional families I chase more than other people.

4.

Yellow Drum Machine (Make: magazine) is a cute robot that drives around your house and plays the drums on whatever it bumps into.

Give yourself a treat and watch the video.

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