Imagine what it would be like if your mailbox, the physical one attached to your residence, was stuffed with all that “junk” everyday. Oh, pity the poor, mailman! But it’s the world we live in today, the electronic one, that delivers voluminous selections.

I’ve saved a number of emails recently just to help illustrate this story. My guess is most people can relate to deleting 100 or more emails a day to get down to the four or five communications containing information they might possibly need. The remainder of the emails generally fall into the categories from entertainment to nonsense to political hate speech or relate to some subject of no interest at all – such as purchasing a new industrial-size pump from some company in China or how to pay off school loans when you don’t have any.

One that caught my eye recently was one titled “Restaurant spending only down 1% in 2020.” How can that be in the middle of a pandemic with restaurants labeled as being one of the businesses suffering the most? What’s more, says the email from important sounding TOP Data and Zenreach, North Dakotans are spending 16% more at restaurants than they did in 2020. Hmmmm.

The pandemic, which has caused everything from no indoor dining to limited seating and take-out, says the study, “is not as bad as people think.” I wonder how many restaurant owners would agree? Any?

Submitted Photo A recent “good” email from the Antler Historical Society contained interesting information, including this image of three City Square buildings in the state.

Other things I’ve learned courtesy of random emails includes that North Dakota was rated the fourth “riskiest state to travel” during the holiday season. That’s according to Quote-Wizard. Must be true. It’s in writing and it’s a poll.

And there’s this – Comparitech says the most popular Christmas movie in North Dakota is “The Grinch.” “Home Alone” was number one in the U.S. And, in this social-distancing time we live in, perhaps this is of interest. LawnStarter’s data show North Dakota ranks highly among the best states for “living off the grid.” One reason why, says LawnStarter, whoever they are, is that “it’s much easier to heat and insulate an off-grid home than to cool one down.”

If you have chosen to go off the grid you might consider doing so in Sioux County, rated the county with the lowest tax burden in North Dakota by the Smart Asset’s Tax Burden study. Of course, you’ll likely be driving a Ford F-150 or a GMC Sierra 1500, ranked the most popular used and new vehicles in North Dakota by the latest iSeeCars study.

When living off the grid becomes to much and a nursing home is the next step, perhaps avoid South Dakota nursing homes which the Center for Public Integrity called the “deadliest place to be” at the height of the pandemic.

Was your Christmas tree decorated with Santa facemask ornaments? Styles for Less has them bargain priced at $3.99, marked down from $30. An email also says the most Googled safety question in the U.S. is “is it safe to go to the dentist?” In 2019 it was “is it safe to eat romaine?” Then there’s the odd “sunrise ritual” formula to burn two pounds before dinner. Delete.

Submitted Photo Emails covering almost any topic or situation imaginable are commonly shared via computer. Some days there’s too many to give them more than a quick glance.

Back to LawnStarter. In what they call a “year of excessive disobedience,” Alaska was ranked the most rule-defiant state of them all and Indiana the most rule-abiding. Good old North Dakota didn’t even crack the top 10 on either list.

Here’s one you might have missed. Del Monte Fresh Produce released banana and pineapple scented wrapping paper for Christmas. Del Monte says their wrapping paper is both “festive and fruity” and perfectly captures the “vibe and smell” of their most popular products. Unfortunately, the wrapping paper was available “on a limited time only basis while supplies last.” Wonder what they’ll come up with next Christmas.

Other things I’ve learned from emails – Scandinavian babies nap outside in the winter, sleeping during a work day can be seen as a sign of hard work in Japan, and the number one personal gesture most liked by seniors is a home cooked meal.

Now to drinking, the consumption of alcohol. It seems all these research and data companies just can’t get enough of North Dakota where a “third of parents admit they have been drunk in front of their children” and “13% believe the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21.” That number in West Virginia, by the way, is 40% according to a survey conducted by Alcohol.org.

Rehabs.com says their data shows “half of North Dakota will forgo a dry January in 2021” in defiance of a New Year’s resolution of sobriety. The folks in New Hampshire have said phooey to a month of sobriety too with a whopping 79% saying they will “skip a dry January in 2021.”

Recovery.org’s survey finds that North Dakotans have their first Christmas Day drink at 12:48 p.m. Alaskans do so at 11 a.m. Wyoming is the “drunkest driving state’ in the U.S., followed by North and South Dakota, wonderful data from quotewizard.com.

Here’s a surprising one. Not. North Dakotans rank New Year’s Day as the “worst hangover of the year.” AlcoholRehab.com says the day after the Fourth of July and the day following St. Patrick’s Day rank second and third on their list.

Then there’s the matter of working from home, something that has become commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic. Improb.com says they polled 3,000 work from home employees across the country and learned it “appears North Dakotans have not taken to it well!” They say the average employee in North Dakota rates their happiness working from home at just 4.8 out of 10. The national average is 6.6. In neighboring South Dakota the number is 9 out of 10 who are delighted to be working from home.

Did you know this? SoapHub.com says 14% of North Dakota residents planned on a TV dinner rather than a traditional Christmas dinner.

Finally, there’s this wonderful news from Ezvid Wiki. It says their polling reveals “North Dakota overwhelmingly voted for January as the worst month of the year in the misery index” and that “statistically the coldest and wettest day is Jan. 2!”

Happy New Year.