Lifestyle
Chris Hemsworth Plays Drums at Ed Sheeran Concert
![Chris Hemsworth Plays Drums at Ed Sheeran Concert Chris Hemsworth Plays Drums at Ed Sheeran Concert](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/91/16by9/2024/08/25/9106213127cf48ea9782d220997c39dd_xl.jpg)
Chris Hemsworth‘s trading in Thor’s hammer for a pair of drumsticks … wielding the wood as he learns to play drums — and testing his skills out behind Ed Sheeran.
The actor joined Ed during his show in Romania Saturday night … and, Ed shared a vid to his IG detailing how their collab came to be — explaining the actor reached out to him back in December.
ES says Chris has really been diving into cognitive health on his docuseries ‘Limitless’ … and, he started learning an instrument because of the benefits that come along with it.
Welp, Sheeran wanted to put Chris’ skills to the test … so, he brought the star out in front of 70,000 screaming fans.
Check out the clip … Hemsworth plays pretty well — and, Ed even presents him with “The Participation Award for Drumming Excellence” after the gig. Not exactly a Grammy, but it’s a start!
Hemsworth’s “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth” follows the actor as he travels the globe looking for different ways to keep himself healthy. In the first season he worked to slow down his aging … unclear what the theme of this upcoming season will be.
The episode’s expected to come out some time next year … so, fans will get to hear all about Chris’ musical journey very soon.
One things for sure … whether with a hammer or the sticks, Hemsworth knows how to leave an audience thunderstruck!
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Lifestyle
Sunday Puzzle: Two of the same
![Sunday Puzzle: Two of the same Sunday Puzzle: Two of the same](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/10/18/sunday-puzzle-2col_wide-7a6c01fcea2c3251ccf332869c4a0fee5dc77880.png?s=1400&c=100&f=png)
Sunday Puzzle
NPR
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NPR
On-air challenge: I’m going to give you two five-letter words. Put two letters after the first one and the same two letters before the second one to complete two seven-letter words.
Ex.. TRACT CHARD –> TRACTOR, ORCHARD
- AGAIN RANGE
- SHELL QUIRE
- DIVER LATIN
- BREAD EATER
- ALBUM GROSS
- CHIME THOLE
- FINES ASIDE
Last week’s challenge: Last week’s challenge comes from listener Peter Collins, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Think of a famous movie star — first and last names, nine letters in all. The third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth letters, in order, name a profession. The star’s last name is something that this profession uses. Who is the movie star and what is the profession?
Challenge answer: Emma Stone, mason
Winner: Dan Robinson of Washington, D.C.
This week’s challenge: This week’s challenge comes from listener Lillian Range, of New Orleans. The word NONUNION has four N’s and no other consonant. What famous American of the past — first and last names, 8 letters in all — has four instances of the same consonant and no other consonant?
Submit Your Answer
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, August 29th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.
Lifestyle
It's somehow pumpkin spice season already. Why fall vibes are here earlier than ever
![It's somehow pumpkin spice season already. Why fall vibes are here earlier than ever It's somehow pumpkin spice season already. Why fall vibes are here earlier than ever](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3992x2246+0+208/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F68%2F73%2F8b54974c46e0bc1be4f02b477666%2Fap23244799083759.jpg)
People browse Halloween displays at Lowe’s Home Improvement hardware store in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 30, 2023.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
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Ted Shaffrey/AP
Summer is weeks from being over, but ghosts, goblins and pumpkin spice lattes are here once again.
“Summerween” is that time of the year when big-box retailers start to promote all things sweater weather even though shorts and flip-flops are still in season.
It’s been a trend for a while now. But this year, fall and Halloween-related goods are appearing earlier than ever.
![Here's why the smell of pumpkin spice moves us, according to science](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/10/26/gettyimages-1348060715_sq-ae370263e8db0817d3984ebabadbe834ed6246b9.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Home Depot was considered the first major retailer to launch Halloween merchandise with an online campaign that began in April — six months before the actual holiday. Lowe’s, Party City and Michaels all started to sell some of their spooky season items online in June, earlier than in previous years.
And on Thursday, Starbucks began serving its iconic pumpkin spice latte and apple spiced seasonal drinks in the coffee chain’s earliest rollout yet. So what’s causing the fall spell?
A Halloween comeback
Marketing experts say retailers typically seek early holiday promotions to prevent unsold inventory or to beat their competitors to the punch. They say the early launches are also a sign that consumer demands are changing, especially since COVID.
Lowe’s, Michaels and Party City all attributed growing customer demand as a reason for their early rollouts. Home Depot similarly told NPR that a big driver of their “Halfway to Halloween Sale” was early interest from Halloween superfans, adding that several items from their April sale were quickly sold out.
That’s not surprising to Peter Fader, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“When I was in college, the idea of doing anything for Halloween would have been appalling,” he said. “But if you look at college students today, they embrace Halloween.”
![We're spending $700 million on pet costumes in the costliest Halloween ever](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/10/30/image000000_sq-dff0e01663b52e689520e026d66663849cf85948.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
According to Fader, Halloween is no longer viewed as a children’s holiday or just about trick-or-treating. Instead, it’s increasingly popular among adults, and that enthusiasm magnified after the COVID shutdowns.
In the few years before and into the start of the pandemic, Halloween spending was declining in the U.S., from $9.1 billion in 2017 to $8 billion in 2020. Fast forward to 2023, and shoppers in the U.S. spent a record $12.2 billion on Halloween goods, according to projections from the National Retail Federation.
Fader attributes some of the attitude shifts to the seasonal retailer Spirit Halloween, which has become a staple associated with fall itself. Part of the store’s popularity is how its costumes and other merchandise continue to stay culturally relevant.
“I think it really opened the door, legitimized it, and made it more than just for little kids,” he said.
Can retailers be too early with their early rollouts?
George John, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, says these early rollouts also have a better chance of being successful now — compared to 20 years ago — thanks to consumer data and online shopping.
“They now have bigger and better ways to slice and dice who’s buying what and when they buy it. And therefore, [they] have a better ability to run promotions that are more targeted,” he said. “As the ability to use data has increased, therefore the temptation to use it has increased.”
But John added that even with more sophisticated data on consumer trends, retailers can still be at risk of being too early and can diminish a sense of urgency.
“If they just stretch every darned holiday out to being a season, it just loses its meaning and it loses its intensity,” he said.
![It's spooky how fast Spirit Halloween stores pop up. Here's how the retailer does it](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/10/05/gettyimages-185493989_sq-ba1997f82f846c9091318d6a062b82ea740a4067.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Fader also believes it’s possible for retailers to be “too early” on the fall and Halloween bandwagon. He added that dropping merchandise prematurely can hurt companies’ bottom line.
“There could be merchandising issues,” he said. “If you’re taking some stuff off the shelf and putting things on the shelf that people don’t want at that time, you’re only hurting yourself.”
Lifestyle
Jake Paul Impressed By Ronaldo's YouTube Numbers, But Says He Won't Catch MrBeast
![Jake Paul Impressed By Ronaldo's YouTube Numbers, But Says He Won't Catch MrBeast Jake Paul Impressed By Ronaldo's YouTube Numbers, But Says He Won't Catch MrBeast](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/ce/16by9/2024/08/23/ce9c46c5848f4ccba0d6102d3a467314_xl.jpg)
TMZSports.com
Cristiano Ronaldo may have broken the record for most subscribers in 90 minutes on YouTube … but there’s just no way in hell he’s catching up to MrBeast‘s astronomical figures — so says Jake Paul.
Many had wondered if the soccer superstar could reach 300 million like Beast, given his wild numbers in just a few days of launching his channel — but Paul told TMZ Sports on Friday, he just doesn’t see it happening.
Now, that’s not any kind of shade from the boxer — Paul actually praised Ronaldo for scoring the number — but he just thinks MrBeast’s digits are in a whole ‘nother stratosphere.
“Kudos to him,” Paul said of Ronaldo. “Hopefully he drops some awesome videos and I think it’s dope that he’s on the platform.”
Of course, Paul knows a thing or two about how YouTube works … he spent most of his life chasing followers on the site — and currently has around 20 million subs.
And, while Ronaldo’s numbers keep growing by the minute — he’s up over 39 mil now — Paul says he’s expecting a plateau soon.
Ronaldo likely won’t care too much, after all, he’s got the leg up on Beast on Instagram — coming in with a staggering 637 million followers there.
SIUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
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