You might find Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s story "2BR02B" ("to be or not to be") an interesting read. It's not exactly like your theory, but it's not too far off.

That's what people said about the mountain pine beetle, until the winters weren't cold enough anymore and thousands of hectares of forest died, which then became forest fires. Now it's not a matter of if, but how many forest fires BC will have.

Being proactive now will reduce the problem later.

Portraits were definitely "improved" by artists to make the person look thinner, paler, etc. The happier the customer, the more likely they would get work within their elite inner circle (portraits were a luxury, not common for most of history).

They were done by skilled people with training though. Early paints were not easy to use as they were not nicely mixed in metal tubes. They had to be manually mixed pigments and binders (many containing lead and mercury).

The poor penguins don't deserve that.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

I hold a monthly b-grade movie night and have never had that experience, but attendance has varied. Sometimes only 2-3 people come, and other times we're cramming kitchen chairs between the couches. Most people will let me know if they cannot come, though. There have been people over the years that didn't come, didn't message, and I stopped inviting them. Those who do attend regularly are reliable, and tend to introduce friends with similar qualities.

If I may offer a friendly suggestion, just directly provide event information to your potential guests. Making people click on extra links reduces the likelihood they'll come. If something is important, make finding the information as straightforward as possible. I directly message each friend via their preferred platform a short message with the date, time, what to expect and what to bring (write it once, then copy and paste).

Also, timing of an invite is important. I find 1 week notice is good for most, and one friend needs 2 week notice so they can arrange their work schedule. Almost no one can make last minute invites work (day of or day before). For more context, all of my invitees are working adults with no children. You may need to adjust your timeline for what is suitable for your demographic.

I had the misfortune of having to deal with Sun Life a few years ago- they are one of the worst companies to deal with. Their claim forms conveniently had no mailing address, so I had to call and ask for it. Their online claims were no better - cumbersome and confusing. I was convinced that they purposely hired illiterate people to process claims as the rejection reasons often were for missing information...that was right on the receipt. Only after resubmitting the receipt with the item circled for them did I get my reimbursement.

My sympathy goes to those forced to deal with this company.

At least in the 18th we can recognize they were operating off of flawed, nonscientific theory (4 humours, miasma theory of disease). RFK Jr, however, does not have that excuse.

Stella also enjoys being a tripping hazard.

If I'm going to spend that on a cafe beverage, I have better options, like locally owned cafes that often have better quality and service.