Looking Back on Tuesday's Storm, An Antigravity Conspiracy, and More

Thursday, August 13th, 2026

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The Midwest is still dealing with the fallout from Tuesday's storms, which left many, including us, briefly wondering if the world was ending.

We're now 80% sure it wasn't the apocalypse. Meteorologists have settled on the next closest thing: a derecho.

A derecho is a storm that behaves like a hurricane on land. To qualify, it has to travel at least 400 miles, measure at least 60 miles wide, and carry gusts of 58 mph or greater along most of its path, with isolated gusts of at least 75 mph.

Tuesday's winds hit 82 mph in Ohio, 97 mph in Illinois, and 99 mph in Indiana.

Suddenly the overturned cars, the torn-off roofs, and the leveled trees make a lot more sense, huh?

Storms like Tuesday's can be pretty cool to look at, right up until they, oh, I don't know, drop a tree on your house. Or worse, your truck.

If you're staring down serious storm damage and have no idea what comes next, don't panic.

Document everything first. Photograph the damage clearly, whether it's from a fallen tree, hail, or flooding, and send it to your insurance company.

You may also qualify for a temporary reduction in your property's assessed value, which means lower property taxes.

See if you qualify and what else to do here.

Let us ask you something. At any point yesterday, did you feel weightless? Did your feet physically lift off the ground?

An online theory that's been circulating since 2025 held that Earth would lose gravity for seven seconds yesterday. 

Two black holes colliding, or something, would disrupt the planet's gravitational field, sending plants, animals, people, and even oceans into the sky before dropping them back down when gravity returned.

Nobody at Tradesman HQ floated for even a millisecond. But who knows. Maybe the conspiracy theorists just got the date wrong.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom, Royce White, and Larry Sanders have all announced plans to make themselves available for the WNBA draft.

The league's rules state that only women may play, without specific provisions covering transgender women. 

Kanter Freedom, White, and Sanders have each said publicly that they identify as women when playing basketball and are therefore eligible.

No word yet from the WNBA on whether it will allow them to enter the draft.

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