☕️ The shortest day of the year

It’s time to play two truths and a lie. As per usual, I have three headlines from the past week. The twist? I made one of them up.

The answer is in the tidbit!

“There’s an unfortunate tendency for organisations like ours to indulge in an excess of self-congratulation. No one enjoys being critical, but well-run organisations must be honest about their performance. And if we’re honest, there are important areas for improvement.”
Kim Williams, the new Chair of the ABC, in a speech at the State Library in Victoria.

2000 years old
The estimated age of a bottle of wine found in Carmona, Spain, which was buried when the region was part of the Roman Empire. Scientists believe it is the world’s oldest wine.

1977
The first Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game was held. Penny Toler scored the first ever basket in WNBA during the game.

The shortest day of the year has arrived with the Southern Hemisphere’s ‘winter solstice’.

The winter solstice marks a seasonal turning point, as the sun begins to set later and later each day until December.

The sun will set around 5pm in most parts of the country. Hobart will have the shortest day, with a 4:40pm sunset.

Here are the approximate daylight forecasts for Australia’s capital cities.

The winter solstice occurs when the South Pole is at its maximum distance away from the sun. At the same time, the North Pole is at its closest distance to the sun.

This means the Northern Hemisphere has the most daylight – the summer solstice – at the same time as the Southern Hemisphere has the least.

At the North Pole, the sun remains visible 24 hours a day leading up to and shortly after the summer solstice. Similarly, the South Pole will experience long stretches of darkness around this time of year.

New national research has found essential groceries are 25% cheaper at Aldi than at Coles or Woolworths.

Consumer group CHOICE compared the prices of the same 14 everyday items at supermarkets around the country.

The Government commissioned CHOICE to investigate and monitor grocery prices amid several ongoing supermarket inquiries.

CHOICE will publish updated findings every three months.

Here’s what its first report shows.

In January, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for “clear and regular information” to be made public on “prices across a basket of goods.”

Albanese noted “it can be hard for people to find the best deal” across “thousands of products” on supermarket shelves.

“The Government will fund consumer organisation CHOICE to provide shoppers with a clear understanding of how supermarkets are performing,” he said.

CHOICE’s research is aimed at improving transparency, competition, and value.

For its first report, the consumer group sent ‘mystery shoppers’ to 81 supermarkets in cities and the regions.

This included 27 Woolworths, 27 Coles, 23 Aldi, and 4 IGA stores.

Shoppers were tasked with purchasing 14 everyday grocery items.

These 14 items were purchased by mystery shoppers at Coles, Woolies, and Aldi. Only the top ten items were purchased at IGA.

Here’s what the same basket of groceries cost at different supermarkets:

The average cost for the basket of groceries was $63.74.

The Coles basket was 75 cents more expensive than Woolworths.

However, when discounts or specials were taken into consideration, Woolworths was $3.59 cheaper than Coles, and Aldi’s price remained the same.

Grocery prices for the same products from the same retailers differed across locations.

CHOICE found the most expensive groceries were in the NT, followed by Tasmania. There are no Aldi stores in these jurisdictions.

WA was the third most expensive, with shoppers paying around a dollar more than SA, Vic, ACT, NSW, and Qld for the same groceries.

The basket cost an average of 70 cents more in the cities than in the regions.

Instead of Aldi, CHOICE surveyed IGA stores in the NT and Tasmania, to provide a price comparison against the supermarket giants Coles and Woolies.

The grocery basket was reduced to ten products because some items were unavailable in these locations.

In the NT, CHOICE found that IGA was around 39% more expensive than Coles and Woolworths. However, it said NT prices were impacted by Tropical Cyclone Megan.

In Tasmania, IGA was 21% more expensive.

Are you wearing sunscreen right now?

If you said no, there are many reasons you should make it a priority in your daily routine. Not only is suncare the most important step in protecting yourself against skin cancer but it can also prevent hyperpigmentation.

According to dermatologist, Dr. Michelle Rodrigues there are more than 45 causes of pigmentation on the face alone. By applying a broad-spectrum face sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher you’re protecting your skin against both UVA and UVB rays. Combine this with a targeted serum like Mela B3 Niacinamide Serum, and you can both treat and help prevent sun damage and pigmentation.

Add it to your skincare routine by applying the serum right after you cleanse your face, and applying sunscreen right after you moisturise (before makeup).

Prioritise protecting your skin by wearing SPF every day.

Macquarie University’s Spinal Pain Research group led a first of its kind trial, with over 700 participants over one to three years. It found adults with a history of lower back pain were less likely to experience recurring discomfort if they walked regularly.

This is true. Mary Morrissey, a Republican member of Vermont’s Lower House, publicly apologised to Jim Carroll, a Democrat, when she was caught on camera pouring water into his bag.

Carroll said he’d been finding his tote bag wet for five months, which he described as “torment”.

The two are from the same small town in the U.S. state’s south-west.

This is true. For the first time, scientists have found microplastics in penile tissue. The tiny plastic particles have previously been found in blood, the brain, and breast milk.

After five men presented to hospital in the U.S. with erectile dysfunction, samples of tissue were taken from their penises and studied. Four out of five contained microplastics.

This is a lie. But it would work on me.

In one of the biggest launches of a new company on the Australian Securities Exchange in years, thousands of Australians snapped up shares in Guzman Y Gomez, the rapidly expanding Mexican fast food chain.

The ASX is where Australians are able to buy and sell in shares of companies that have decided to be publicly listed, instead of privately held.

So what does that actually mean and perhaps most importantly, how will that affect you, the consumer? We'll tell you in today's podcast.