Of Jim Nabors, stress-free gays and sexy Super Bowl ads

Sometimes, The Times’ website is like the old “Wide World of Sports” -- you know, “spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety” -- of news.

Why, just perusing it on Wednesday, I stumbled onto these tidbits:

1: Jim Nabors -- forever known to those of us of a certain age as Gomer Pyle -- not only is gay but has married his male partner of 38 years. And the great thing is, most people’s reaction (beyond the younger folks’ “Who the heck is Jim Nabors?”) is probably just “Golly! Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

2: Straight men are more stressed than gay men, according to a Canadian study published Monday in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. (Something I guess Jim Nabors already knew?)

The study cited several factors, but the one that intrigued me most was this:

Noting that clinical indexes for stress include measures of body weight and fat, authors speculated that it was possible that gay and bisexual men focused more on maintaining thinness and muscularity than straight men.

Which I think means that many of the best-looking guys out there are gay. Which also means: Who’s stressed now, ladies?

3: As with every such study, though, there are exceptions. For example, what to make of this story: “Hoax suspect says he’s ‘in love’ with Manti Te’o.”

Seems that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo fell “deeply romantically in love” with the Notre Dame linebacker and said he was “confused” about his sexuality, TV’s Dr. Phil McGraw told the “Today” show in a clip that aired Wednesday.

So I guess maybe being gay isn’t always stress-free. Duh.

4: And speaking of straight men, there’s this story: “Husbands who share in housework have less sex, study finds.” I really wanted to know more, but sadly, when I clicked on the link, the only text that came up was this: “Since the 1960s, mens contribution to housework has double from.”

Obviously, someone wasn’t doing enough housework on our website. Though truth be told, this one kinda falls into the “dog bites man” news category.

5: Then my wandering cursor landed on this gem: “Carl’s Jr. launches new cod sandwich with swimsuit model.”

I must confess a certain fondness for cod sandwiches. It’s a weakness of mine. And fortunately, with this story not only was all the text there, but it came complete with a “behind the scenes” video clip detailing the making of the new commercial. With commentary from its star. And footage. And more footage.

Take it from me, it’s a great-looking cod sandwich.

And suddenly, I was not as stressed out (see study, above). And I was much less interested in housework (see partial story, above).

Then again, I’m an ad guy’s dream. Why, just the other day, I developed a sudden urge to buy a Mercedes after doing some research and viewing the car maker’s Super Bowl ad featuring model Kate Upton.

6: Which brings me, of course, to this headline: “Score! Super Bowl Sunday recipes.” Word of warning: Don’t click on that one on an empty stomach.

As I said, The Times’ website: It’s a cornucopia of news.

Wonder if I should have the fish sandwich on Super Bowl Sunday?

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