There's a tick spreading across the US that makes you allergic to red meat.

It's called the lone star tick (named for the white dot on its back; not Texas), and it carries a sugar called alpha-gal. When it bites you, your immune system learns to attack that sugar.

Which creates issues if you're a red meat eater, because this sugar is in beef, pork, and lamb.

If you've been bitten and develop "alpha-gal syndrome" (AGS), your body reads the average burger as a threat. Consumption causes digestive issues at a minimum, and skin / breathing / circulation issues in serious cases.

What's particularly challenging about AGS is symptoms don't show up for 2-10 hours, which causes many to spend years triangulating "mystery reactions."

And the scale is getting concerning. The CDC has logged 110K+ cases and believes the true number is ~450K. It's concentrated in the South, East, and Central US, but it's creeping north.

Best advice? Use bug repellent, avoid brush and tall grass, and do bug checks.

Forgot to iron and already running late? Not to worry…

Toss two or three ice cubes in the dryer with your wrinkled shirt and run it on high for about ten minutes. As the ice melts it turns to steam, relaxing the fibers and smoothing the creases right out.

Keep it to one or two items at a time, since a packed dryer won't leave enough steam to go around.

Ironing-haters FINALLY catch a break.

1. The wittiest comeback always arrives about seven hours later.

2. The building you're born in is the only building you'll ever leave without first entering.

3. Nobody knows exactly when steps become stairs.

4. It's surprisingly difficult to throw away a garbage can.

5. Every time you clean something, you make something else dirty.