Happy Friday! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format differs from the rest of the week. On Fridays, I pause to write the "Weekender," my  "week in review" type of thing, or to share something else I think you may find interesting. Thanks for reading! — Dan

Hi!

Last Friday, I sent you a list of 25 fun facts about myself, three of which were not true. Many of you sent in your guesses as to the lies. Here’s the reality.

Lie #1: I’ve never seen a Batman movie.

I’ve probably seen all the Batman movies (other than the second Joker movie, which may not actually be a Batman movie for all I know). Yes, including the 1966 one starring Adam West and Mask of the Phantasm.

Batman is probably my favorite superhero. The Dark Knight is one of my top three movies of all time.

Lie #2: I’ve been to more than a dozen NFL games at different NFL stadiums.

Despite having contributed to two football books, I’ve never been to an NFL game at all. I grew up in Connecticut in a family of non-football fans, and there are no truly local teams to Connecticut with the Giants and Jets playing in New Jersey. I went to college near Boston but didn’t have a car and the Patriots play pretty far outside the city. I’ve lived in NYC and its suburbs and Philadelphia, but haven’t had the occasion (or, really, desire) to go to an NFL game — particularly because I don’t really love sitting outside in the cold.

Lie #3: Despite being a die-hard Mets fan, I do not own a single Mets cap.

I actually own north of 50 Mets caps — I collect them. However, I do not have the standard on-field one they wear. One of my sons noticed that I didn’t have one when my collection was about a dozen, and made me pledge that I’d not add one; I agreed and have held to it.

Some fun facts about the truths:

Yes, I can vibrate my eyes. It’s called a voluntary nystagmus and it’s harmless. An involuntary nystagmus is not, and according to an eye doctor I once visited, the treatment is to severe the hemispheres of your brain. He decided to use me as a lab rat of sorts, asking me to pretend, in front of his students, that mine was involuntary to see what they’d suggest. Thankfully, he stopped them before the scalpel came out.

Yes, a plumber once paid me to fix my own toilet. The short version of the story won’t do it justice, but Rotor-Rooter came to my house to fix a toilet, successfully, but months later, the same part they replaced fell off. I was able to repair it myself while on the phone with the regional manager (who called me from vacation because of a massive, massive scheduling snafu). He sent me a “customer appreciation” gift a few weeks later equal to one hour of plumbing services.

Yes, I am the Connecticut State Magic the Gathering Champion (1997) in both Limited and Standard formats. There’s no public record of the tournaments that I can find; there used to be one online but it’s long gone, and I never saved it. In the Standard tournament, I used a red direct-damage deck with a few Ball Lightnings, if that means anything to you.

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Monday: The Reality TV Show That Wasn't Out of This World: Unlike the mail below, it didn’t go to space.

Tuesday: The Driver That Can't Give the Cops the Split: This is literally bananas.

Wednesday: When Astronauts Smuggled Mail into Space: I hope we pay astronauts better now.

Thursday: The Worst 2.6% of the Planet?: People who hate turtles.

Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Yes, you! Many of my readers donate a few dollars a month to help Now I Know grow and thrive. And in exchange, they get an ad-free version!

And thanks! — Dan

Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend:

1) “Can Robots Save an Aging Japan?” (New York Times/gift link, 18 minutes, August 2026). The subhead: “Monster Wolf and Pochi are among the robots deployed to scare away bears and transport cherry blossoms in a northern region where many farmers are in their 70s or older.”

2) “An Internet of Checkpoints” (Longreads, 7 minutes, February 2026). The subhead: “A mysterious YouTube video gave thousands of people a place to breathe. Then it vanished.”

3) “Where to Find the Colors Your Screen Can’t Show You” (Ryan Moulton’s blog, 29 minutes, June 2026). I have no idea who Ryan is but this was really well done.

Have a great weekend!

Dan