4 June 2026

H.I.T.s - Some good news?

After last week’s dismal line-up, I was hoping for some better news for a change, and the universe actually obliged. There were some ugly and/or crazy stories I could have covered this week, but—for a wonder—there were enough ‘good’-ish stories to cover. So as a birthday gift to myself (and a hobbit birthday gift to you!), I’ve stuck with the good (if not terribly important) stuff.

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OH woman wins Wendy’s look-alike contest

On May 26th, World Redhead Day, the Wendy’s fast-food chain held a contest in NYC for the best look-alike of its iconic logo: a freckled, red-headed girl based on the daughter of the chain’s founder, Dave Thomas. Only three of the contestants were actually redheads; most donned fake wigs. Fittingly, since the chain is based in Ohio, the winner turned out to be from Ohio—a woman identified only as Jennifer.

The original Wendy, Wendy Thomas (left), with the contest winner, Jennifer (right) - Source: Fox News

In addition to attempting to look like the logo, contestants also created social media posts and performed their own original Wendy’s commercials. The winner gets a year’s worth of Wendy’s burgers.

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Pres. Trump’s pre-80th birthday physical goes well

Doctors at Walter Reed Military Medical Center gave Pres. Trump a fairly clean bill of health last week, according to a memo released by the White House. Swelling in his legs and feet as a result of chronic venous insufficiency, diagnosed last summer, appears to have improved somewhat since last year. All lab results—including a heart scan—were normal, and he got a perfect score on his cognitive assessment test.

The president reportedly takes only three medications: low-dose aspirin (prophylactic for heart health), and Rosuvastatin and Ezetimibe (cholesterol meds). The only negative finding was a tendency for his hands to bruise, resulting from a combination of the aspirin therapy and his hand-shaking habits.

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Tijuana smuggling tunnel discovered

A high-tech smuggling tunnel in Tijuana was discovered by Mexican authorities last week. The tunnel was 21 feet underground and ran for about 870 feet, presumably surfacing in San Diego, just on the other side of the border, although the exact location of the U.S. entrance is either still unknown or being withheld. The tunnel is reported to have a ventilation system, lighting, and an “electronic transport system”—a sliding mechanism that may have allowed drugs, weapons, and explosives to be transported in either direction between the U.S. and Mexico.

This discovery came hard on the heels of U.S. charges against four people associated with another cross-border smuggling tunnel, which was being used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to transport cocaine into the U.S. That tunnel—which was 55 feet deep and about 1,933 feet long—emerged in the U.S. under a storefront in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego. In addition to similar infrastructure as the newly discovered tunnel, it also had a rail line.

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Four more bodies from doomed Arctic expedition identified

An ill-fated Arctic expedition, led by Sir John Franklin, set out in 1845 with two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, to try to find the fabled ‘Northwest Passage’ through the Canadian Arctic. After the expedition disappeared, later 19th-century searches turned up occasional artifacts and bodies, but the graves on Beechey Island were not opened until the 1980s, and the wrecked ships were not discovered until 2014 and 2016 respectively.

Improvements in DNA technology have recently allowed the identification of four sets of discovered remains, from three different sites, by comparisons with living descendants: William Orren, Able Seaman of HMS Erebus; David Young, Boy 1st Class of HMS Erebus; John Bridgens, Subordinate Officers’ Steward of HMS Erebus; and Harry Peglar, Captain of the Foretop on HMS Terror. The primary surprise in the identifications was Peglar, since the body was found dressed in the clothing of a person of lower rank, despite having paperwork belonging to Peglar. Researchers previously thought that someone else must have been carrying those papers home to Peglar’s relatives.

Only two other bodies from the expedition have been positively identified by DNA. John Gregory, the engineer of HMS Erebus, was identified in 2021. James Fitzjames, the captain of HMS Erebus, was identified in 2024. Five other sets of remains were identified by personal effects in the past. But attempts to locate the remains of all 129 members of the expedition have produced spotty evidence, with remains reported in some locations where later searchers found none; additionally, some of the remains found may have been Inuits. Even the most generous estimates leave at least 20 men unaccounted for. But all accounts—particularly the interviews with Inuits who reported the ship locations and the various camps to later searchers—agree that none survived.

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JiP founder turns 60

This week, Celia Paddock, the founder of Jotting in Purple, celebrates her 60th birthday. Born in Oregon to an unwed teen, Celia was adopted by a Utah couple, John and Elda Paddock. She married a Kansas man at age 20, and the couple had four children. After living in Utah, Oregon, and Kansas, their family settled in Iowa over 20 years ago.

Celia studied at BYU to become a teacher, and then studied graphic arts at Utah Valley Community College (now Utah Valley University), but did not get a degree from either institution. She completed her B.A. in English Literature at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 2000, and her M.A. in the same subject at Kansas State University in 2003. She taught as a graduate teaching assistant, and later taught as an adjunct at Southeastern Community College for 4 years. She has also dabbled in journalism throughout her adult life (perhaps inevitable, since her birthfather came from a long line of newspapermen). She started the Jotting in Purple blog two years ago.

Due to having type 1 diabetes since the age of 19, Celia never expected to live to be this old. She remains cheerfully surprised.

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