💬 Quoted: “I’m going to welcome Pinocchio into the Poohniverse with a bang.”

• Move over, Marvel – a new cinematic universe is coming soon to a theater near you. Following the somewhat modest success of Pooh: Blood & Honey, a horror film based on the iconic bear now in the public domain, its production company is planning a major expansion of the “Poohniverse,” or “Twisted Cinematic Universe.” Per Variety, Pinocchio and Peter Pan will be the next children’s characters to receive their own horror movies, with both films currently being sold at Cannes. And like Marvel, the films are setting up for a bigger future in the TCU, as Pinocchio and Peter will converge with Pooh and Piglet in Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble (2025).

🫄 Stat of the Day: A human pregnancy requires an additional ~50,000 calories over the course of nine months, or the equivalent of 50 pints of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, according to a new study published in Science. That figure was significantly higher than researchers expected, as they assumed most of the energy would end up stored in the relatively small fetus – but instead, the study found 96% of that additional energy goes to support the mother’s body. So here’s a PSA to expecting moms: don’t feel guilty about snacking on a midnight cheese melt – and maybe supersize those fries (ya know, for science).

🤔 Did You Know? Lucid dreaming, aka being conscious during a dream and often controlling what happens, is a learnable skill. Techniques and tips include keeping a dream journal, and “reality testing” – or checking mirrors, clocks, and other objects for signs that you’re in a dream.

📰 Worth a Read: How Balkan gangsters became Europe’s top cocaine suppliers → (Reuters)