Remove Your Personal Information From This Invasive Website ASAP

Right now, an invasive website is gathering more personal information about you than you might realize, and it’s happening without your consent. Even worse, it could put you at a serious risk for identity theft, privacy violations and more. You may recall hearing that National Public Data — an employee background check service — suffered a major data breach in early 2024. As a result, their parent company, Jerico Pictures Inc., was named in at least a dozen lawsuits, eventually shutting down in December 2024. Now, under new ownership, National Public Data is back online, this time billing itself as a “free people search engine.” If you enter your name and hometown into the National Public Data website, the search may return your cellphone number, home addresses, age, the name of your spouse and/or relatives and the names of your closest neighbors. That’s not all — if you have a landline, maiden name, traffic tickets or a criminal record, it will be reported there for the world to see, and it's all done free of charge. To protect yourself, experts are encouraging you to remove your information through an opt-out form. Here’s how to have your information removed:

1. 1. Find your personal profile on nationalpublicdata.com, and copy its unique URL. It will be something like: nationalpublicdata.com/people/john-smith/ny/new-york.
2. 2. Paste the profile URL into the submission box, then click the “Request Removal” button.
3. 3. To complete the process, enter your email and follow the final steps provided to confirm your request.

Please note that you won’t receive a response after submitting your email. Your information will be removed, and you can verify this by checking back later. Most importantly, if you think you’ve been contacted by a scammer, keep calm. Cybercriminals prey on confusion and ignorance. They try to scare people, hoping that victims will act on emotion. Don’t do that.

 

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Teens Build An Igloo That Brings the Neighborhood Together

While millions of Americans hunkered down in their homes after ice storms encrusted the mid-Atlantic, two young teens got busy building community spirit — by building an ingloo. They constructed their igloo in front of a house that was destroyed by fire a few months ago. Adeline Sutich and her friend Maeve Ritchotte carved dozens of ice bricks with a flat shovel, and used a sled to move them to the symbolic spot. The teens say they took on the project to bring joy to their neighbors, who were finding it frustrating and difficult to cope with the winter weather. “I feel like this igloo is a good representation of hope and how things can be rebuilt,” said Adeline. They built chairs and a table out of ice so people could hang out inside the snow cave. “We even made a guest book for people to write in, and their messages were so heartwarming,” said Adeline. With the forecast for the mid-Atlantic calling for more frigid weather, it looks like the teens and their neighbors will get to enjoy the igloo a little while longer.

 

 

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When Will That Giant Mound of Snow Melt?

If you live in an apartment complex or have traveled to the grocery store after some of the massive snow events in recent days, you may have wondered how long it’s going to take for those mounds of piled up snow to melt. Even as the temperature rises and the sun peeks out, one curious thing persists: these snow mounds refuse to melt. They sit proud and dirty, like filthy little monuments to bad weather. So, why do they take so long to melt? First and foremost, there’s the energy needed to turn water from a solid to a liquid, which is different from the temperature. For a huge pile of snow, you need energy and time, not just rising temperatures. Think of how an ice cube won’t immediately melt in your hand — it’s the same way with mounds of piled-up snow. Snow mounds become dense and heavy, and the snow closer to the surface begins to act as an insulator for the snow buried deeper down. The compacted snow requires more energy — not just a sunny day — to dissipate. So, if you’re hoping the unsightly snow disappears quickly, the best you can do is hope for some rain. The wetter the mounds become, the worse they are at insulating themselves from melting. Snow piles can stick around long after the last winter storm has blanketed a city. In fact, a massive snow mound that formed in Boston after a particularly snowy winter in 2015 lingered until July. If, on the other hand, you love snow, it looks like your snowman is going to be around for a while.

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Why Elevators Have Mirrors

Let’s face it, standing inside a metal box being hauled up or lowered down inside a building isn’t exactly the most exciting way to pass the time. In most elevators, you will find mirrors, and maybe you’ve even wondered why. It turns out there are several reasons for them. In the absence of any glass or windows, placing mirrors inside the elevator at least gives passengers the chance to check their hair or outfit as the elevator moves. From a psychological perspective, elevators can trigger anxiety and claustrophobia, so the addition of mirrors gives the illusion of more space, making people feel less confined, thereby alleviating some of that panicky sensation. Then there’s the serious side of adding mirrors to elevators. Reflective surfaces not only let you see yourself, they allow you to keep an eye on anyone else in the elevator with you. As a result, they have been credited with everything from spotting thieves and pickpockets to preventing assaults. There’s also the issue of access. Because elevators are rather small, passengers who use wheelchairs often don’t have sufficient room inside them to turn themselves around. Without being able to turn around, they would have to wheel themselves backwards out of the elevator, which is not an easy thing to do. Placing mirrors on the inside of the elevator ultimately solves this access problem. Having wheeled themselves into the elevator facing forward, wheelchair-using passengers can then use the mirror on the back wall of the elevator to gain a view of the floor they’re exiting onto, similar to a using a rear-view mirror in a car. So, the next time you’re in an elevator that has mirrors, you’ll know exactly why they’re there.

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