This is True - Best Email Newsletter Out There

Have you tried "This is True," Randy Cassingham's email newsletter that brings the world of weird and interesting (in a funny way) news to your inbox every week? If not, you should be.

I first discovered This is True sometime in the mid-90s (Cassingham started it in June 1994, so I'm thinking it was probably sometime in 1995). Basically, Cassingham compiles a variable number of news stories from around the globe, summarizing them and then adding a little comment at the end of the summary. All of these stories are weird in some way and most are funny as hell. Many will make you stop and think a moment as well, even as you laugh at the absurdity of the story itself (these are mainly stories on "zero tolerance" in schools, where the slightest infraction of often inane rules will result in suspensions without the administrator(s) even thinking about the situation, but there are other topics like this as well).

There are two versions of "This is True" that you can subscribe to. The Premium version costs $24 US a year, but you get 7-9 stories per week as well as other useful benefits. The other version is free, and you get 4 stories without the other benefits. If you can afford it, I very highly recommend the Premium version, but if you can't, the free version is well worth your time reading it every day. It may even inspire you to spring for the Premium eventually, when money isn't quite so tight.

I was a free subscriber for many years, then I dropped away for a bit. I rediscovered it, however, and have been a subscriber ever since. Five years ago (or somewhere around then), I upgraded, figuring that supporting a weekly habit that is both fun and educational, which has given me great pleasure when it appears in my inbox every week, is worth the money.

I greatly encourage you to go the site and explore, seeing what Randy has to offer. There are even sample stories to give you an idea of what you'll be getting. I'll include one here, just to entice you to go to the site:

"A woman had her husband's ashes made into an egg timer when he died so he could still 'help' in the kitchen."

So give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did. I write this not as an advertisement, but as a fan. Thank you, Randy, for the many years of enjoyment you've given me.