We take a lot of miracles for granted: Electricity. The internet. Running water. GPS. Morgan Freeman's voice.
But here's one that continues to amaze me every time I need it: How pain relievers can help anything.
Got a headache? Take a pill. It gets better. Got a sore knee? Take a pill. It gets better. Got arthritis? Take a pill, it gets better.
Those pills – Advil and Tylenol at my house – don't "cure" anything. But they make everything better. The most amazing thing to me (which can probably be explained by a scientist, who would insist it's not a miracle): How does the Advil pill I take know that my knee is sore rather than my back? Or how does my Tylenol pill know to take care of a headache and not a fever? How do those pills know what part of my body to help?
I'm sure there's a rational explanation, but I'd prefer to just accept it as what it appears to be. A miracle.
Those little pills are really, really smart and helpful.
On to the topics du jour . . .
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Five best major sports team nicknames, based on coolness of the name and how well it fits with the city:
5. Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers leaned in on the obvious history of Philadelphia and the Declaration of Independence. Their colors are red, white and blue. There's no subtlety and it's fantastic.
4. Miami Dolphins. The combination of the team name and colors (aqua, orange and blue) reeks of South Florida.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs. Their nickname reflects the entire country (although it should be Maple Leaves). That's pretty great.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers. Seems normal now because we've heard it forever (in the same way the old nickname of the Washington, D.C., team seemed normal through use). But Pittsburgh is the steel city. The logo is based on a U.S. Steel logo! It would be like the 49ers calling themselves the Googles and having a Google logo on their helmet.
1. Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee (along with St. Louis) is the beer capital of America and the Brewers is a perfect nickname. And what a logo: A combination of "M" and "B" that make up a baseball mitt and ball. The team name also lends itself to the nickname of "The Brew Crew" and sparked Bernie Brewer, one of the most iconic mascots in sports.
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Daylight saving time ended today and now we enter 13 weeks of darkness.
But a reminder: Standard time (a misnomer, since it only lasts 18 of the 52 weeks of the year) ends March 12. So just 17 more Sundays like today.
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A few weeks ago, I went to the doctor for my annual physical. They measured me and . . . they said I was 5 feet, 11 inches tall. I was 5-11!
I've been 5-10½ since high school, so this is big news. It may be that I kept on my shoes or that I said their measuring bar touched my head when it was really just touching my hair. It may be a mistake or perhaps they rounded up.
Or it may be that I'm growing again and am on pace to be 6 feet tall in two more years. If you think this is wrong, don't argue with me. Argue with math. And medicine.
I'm going to take an Advil and see if it knows I want to grow.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
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