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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 30, 2015
October 30, 2015
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Everybody loves Halloween!
Like Christmas, Halloween's gotten so commercialized that parents who use to dread it are spending as much on themselves as the candy they get for the kids. According to the National Retail Federation, we've gone from spending $5 billion in 1990 to around $8 billion this year --on candy, costumes, decorations and other assorted fright night paraphernalia. Does the giant inflatable spider for the front lawn cost that much?
--Costumes make up the biggest chunk of Halloween sales --about a third of what we spend on the holiday. This year, overall costume purchases will be around $2.5 billion.
--Americans are projected to spend over $350 million on pet costumes this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Make of that what you will, but at least it's still less than children's costumes, which should account for about $1 billion in spending, or adult costumes, which should account for as much as $1.2 billion. Somewhere out there, a black cat owner feels thrifty.Who's wearing what? The National Retail Federation surveyed people on what costumes they --their children-- or their pets would be wearing this year. The results:
Top adult costumes:
10. (tie) Political, wench/tart/vixen
9. Doctor /nurse
8. Action /super hero
7. Vampire
6. Pirate
5. "Star Wars" character
4. Zombie
3. "Batman" character
2. Animal
1. Witch
--o--
Top children's costumes:
10. Minion
9. Pumpkin
8. Witch
7. Zombie
6. "Star Wars" character
5. Disney "Frozen" character
4. Animal
3. Action /super hero
2. "Batman" character
1. Princess
--o--
Top pet costumes:
10. Princess
9. (tie) Shark or Bowties/bandanas/fancy collar
8. "Star Wars" character
7. Cat
6. Dog
5. Bumble Bee
4. Devil
3. "Batman" character
2. Hot Dog
1. PumpkinSome Halloween costumes of the stars:
--HARRISON FORD was a nun with googly eyes
--CALISTA FLOCKHART was Miss Piggy
--LAUREN CONRAD was the Twitter bird
--JOAN RIVERS dressed as SNOOKI from "Jersey Shore"
--LISA RINNA was LUCILLE BALL
--MATTHEW MORRISON was RICHARD SIMMONS
--JOHN MAYER was a Storm Trooper from "Star Wars"
--CHRISTINA AGUILERA dressed up as a police officer
--AMANDA SEYFRIED dressed as a dogFashion Emergency:
Victoria's Secret's perfume, "Bombshell," has been found to be an effective bug repellent.
New York magazine's The Cut says a new study has found that the lingerie retailer's fragrance is an effective repellent against two types of mosquitoes for up to two hours, making it just as good as natural bug repellents. The study was published in the Journal of Insect Science.
Editor's note: Bombshell: A bug repellant, and a guy repellant. (Bartha) -
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