Now I Know - Now I Know: The Big Lie

View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives

This title is a pun, bordering on self-proving. -- Dan

The Big Lie

If you're reading this in the United States, it's probably somewhat early in the day -- perhaps it arrived before you woke up. And if you haven't had your cup of coffee yet, or if you're just constantly fighting a sleep debt, you probably wish you could go back to bed instead of reading these words. (Sorry, today's story isn't going to be any help.) Sometimes, you just want to stay in bed all day.

But how long could you really do that for? And by "that," I mean, stay in bed? We don't really mean "all day," do we? Putting aside a few minutes to grab some food or use the facilities, and of course, excepting medical needs like hospital stays or doctor-mandated bed rest, most of us would probably limit ourselves to maybe 18 hours in a row in bed. Whether boredom or just an aversion to laziness, almost all of us would ultimately just get up and do something.

That's why most of us would be failures at Montenegro's annual contest to find the nation's laziest citizen.

Montenegro is a tiny, often overlooked nation in Eastern Europe (here's a map) that is home to only 600,000 people; if it were an American state, it would be the 2nd least populous (after Wyoming). And in one respect, it doesn't have a great reputation, as NPR asserts: "the people of Montenegro have long labored under the reputation for being lazy." (For example, as the nation's Wikipedia entry notes, "the Montenegrin road infrastructure is not at Western European standards. No roads meet full motorway standard.") So starting in 2011, a resort owner named Radonja Blagojevic decided to put the myth to the test -- or perhaps, lampoon it a bit. He organized a new event, colloquially referred to as the Lazy Olympics.

The competition has exactly one event: an endurance test to see who can stay in bed the longest. Okay, "bed" is a stretch; Blagojevic lines a room with thin mattresses and invites people to lie down for as long as they can, with the winners getting a cash prize -- €1,000, or about $1,055. Before this year, the rules were simple: you had to lie in your "bed" -- if you got up (or even sat up), you lost. The record coming into this year? 117 hours, per Reuters.

Previously, as CNN explained, "the rules stipulate that standing or sitting are considered a violation and grounds for immediate disqualification" and "competitors can also read and use cellphones and laptops. (Yes, the mats are positioned next to outlets, as seen above via CNN, so there's little chance of your device giving up before you do.) But this year, Blagojevic changed the rules a bit, as Balkan Insite explains: "competitors are [. . . ] given three meals a day and have the right to go to the toilet every eight hours." Previously, getting up to pee meant your time on the mat was over; now, they get a 15-minute break.

As a result, the contest has lasted much, much longer. It kicked off on August 21st of this year and, as of September 23rd, it was still going strong. Per Yahoo, "out of the 21 contestants who entered the competition, just four remain -- putting their obligations to family, work and education on hold for the time being." (The four contestants probably didn't calculate the hourly late of their efforts.)

As of this writing, whether a winner has arisen (sorry) has gone unreported.

Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Please consider becoming a patron by supporting the project on Patreon.

Click here to pledge your support. (If you do, in gratitude, you'll have an ad-free Now I Know experience going forward.)

Bonus fact: Montenegro isn't part of the Eurozone and doesn't have a monetary agreement with the European Union, but they use the Euro as their currency anyway. They're one of two countries -- Kosovo being the other -- that unilaterally uses the Euro as its only currency. As a result, these nations don't print their own currency and are wholly reliant on money already in print. (To date, this hasn't caused much of an issue.)

From the Archives: Unbreakable: Check out the bonus fact.

Like today's Now I Know? Share it with a friend -- just forward this email along.

And if someone forwarded this to you, consider signing up! Just click here.

Forward

Archives · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Now I Know LLC, All rights reserved.
You opted in, at http://NowIKnow.com via a contest, giveaway, or the like -- or you wouldn't get this email.

Now I Know is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some images above via Wikipedia.

Now I Know's mailing address is:

Now I Know LLC

P.O. Box 536

Mt. Kisco, NY 10549-9998

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your email address or unsubscribe from this list

Older messages

Now I Know: A Star Spangled Snafu

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

O say can you roll a seven? View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Hi! I'm back after the weekend/Yom Kippur. Hope you had a good last few days! -- Dan A Star Spangled

Now I Know: Taking Time to Reflect in a Busy World

Friday, September 22, 2023

G'mar chatima tova View this email in your browser · Missed an issue? Click here! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than the rest of the week.

Now I Know: When Being From France Isn’t French Enough

Thursday, September 21, 2023

The French Disconnection? View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Some of the links to videos in the From the Archives story today are broken. Sorry about that -- I'll try

Now I Know: How Bird Poop Shaped Our Maps

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Welcome to the Guano Islands Act View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives This is a re-run from May 2017; enjoy! -- Dan How Bird Poop Shaped Our Maps Imagine the Americas of the

Now I Know: The Fugitive Who Was Put Out to Pasture

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Okay, "fugitive" is a stretch here, but only kind of. View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives I took a slight liberty with the title today. -- Dan The Fugitive Who

• Promote your book series all in one order w/ ContentMo •

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

~ Book Series Ads for Authors ~ All in One Order! We want to help you get your book series out on front of readers. Our BOOK SERIES PROMO Packages can get you there! BOOK SERIES PROMOTIONS by ContentMo

🤝 What do to about an unresponsive biz broker…

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Plus: Diving into deal box struggles and highlighting links, resources, and memes our members are sharing. Hey Biz-Buyers, Welcome to this week's Boring Business Brief, where we share some of the

New course: Strategic Research for Experimentation

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Imagine this scenario: You have the hypothesis that the website navigation bar is confusing your users. So you invest time and money in testing. But turns out that most of your customers couldn't

Google’s AI Search: FAQ + SEO Implications

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Google's Search Generative Experience will soon radically change the way we search. Learn what to expect in my new post Hi Reader, Search Generative Experience will soon radically change the way we

Kindle & Paperback • How Nature Healed a Broken Soul: An Autobiography by Penny James •

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Penny James was a world-renowned fashion model whose career spanned eleven years with the Wilhelmina & Ford agencies. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Now I Know: The Politician Who (Technically) Kept His Pledge

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Technically correct, the best type of correct! View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives This one is a bit complicated, but it's fun. -- Dan The Politician Who (Technically)

Three Practical Ideas To Amplify Your Humanity

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Your weekly 5-minute read with timeless ideas on art and creativity intersecting with business and life͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

One hybrid page, two boosted metrics

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

3x organic clicks and 2x conversions ‌ ‌ ‌ Read this tactic on the CXL blog. Drive both organic traffic and conversions with a hybrid landing page The company: Content marketing agency The Brand

🧙‍♂️ "Hop on a call?" 👎 "Watch this async video!" 👍

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

I ain't got time for that! (you don't either) ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Upcoming webinars: Maximising Talent Potential, Artificial Intelligence & Skills-based Learning

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Join us tomorrow and on December 7 View in Browser | Forward to a Friend 360 Learning Register now Maximising Talent Potential: From Assessment to Hiring and Progression November 28 at 3PM GMT Ready to