Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Mom pulls over and delivers her own baby as her kids wait in the car

Giving birth can be serene and magical, filled with swear words, death stares and some serious contemplation on why you thought having a baby would be a good idea. Preparing for birth is often meticulous; everything is planned out months in advance, bags are packed by the door and your favorite doctor or midwife is on speed dial. You worked hard to get things in place and everything should run as smoothly as a well oiled machine. But for one mom in Kentucky, that birth plan went out of the window.

Heather Skaats, 34, is no stranger to having babies and likely can tell a doctor a thing or two about how her deliveries are going to go after after six children. Heather was three weeks away from her due date for her seventh child when she started having light contractions. When in labor with her older children, the mom labored for hours so she was not terribly concerned when she started experiencing mild labor pains. Skaats told Today Parents, “I thought I wouldn’t have a baby in my arms until eight or ten hours later.”


Due to her history with her other labors lasting so long and her contractions being light, Heather decided to run some errands before it was time to call the midwife. The plan was for the seasoned mom to have a water birth at home, but baby had other ideas. While Skaats was driving her contractions intensified and she had to pull over. Now is a good time to note that all five of her other children were in the car, ages ranging from 2-13. Skaats’ other child, Leilah died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 4.

After pulling over and reassuring her kids that everything was OK, the mom got out of the car and squatted down when she felt her water break. Skaats said, “I put my hand down there and his head started coming out with his body,” she said. “I didn’t even have to push. It was so quick. I was on the phone with my husband, Nick, and 20 seconds later, I was like, ‘He’s here!’”

Heather was able to catch her son, who started crying right away. But the birth story doesn’t end there. Mom and baby had to make it back to the house with five other shell shocked but excited kids. She was able to wrap the baby in a blanket and drive the family back to the house while she held him close to her chest. Once Skaats made it home she delivered her placenta in the shower with the help of her 13-year-old daughter, Kaelynn. The midwife arrived shortly after.

As for how she remained calm throughout the whole unexpected ordeal, Heather said, “I think having home births in the past sort of taught me to trust my body. Knowing the process really helped.”

Currently the newest member of the Skaats clan doesn’t have a name but the parents are considering the names of the cross streets where he made his grand appearance, Wolf and Porter. No matter what name they choose, there’s no doubt the story behind his birth will be the talk of the town.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

These paramedics are training with jet packs to quickly reach victims in remote areas

Jet packs and jet suits have been part of science fiction and fantasy fiction for a long time but who would’ve thought we could really be living like “The Jetsons” sooner rather than later? Paramedics in the UK have been trying out a jet suit to reach stranded explorers who have been injured in remote areas. The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is testing out the flying jet suits invented by Richard Browning from Gravity Industries. Andy Mawson, the director of operations from GNAAS, hopes to have the technology fully up and running by the summer of 2022.


The jet suit has five mini engines: two built into both hand units, and one built into the backpack. It can reach up to 85 mph with a total flight time of 10 minutes. When speaking to BBC, Mawson said, “There’s still a lot to work out. Safety is key, and myself and the other paramedics training need to make sure we’re capable.” While it would be pretty cool to take a ride with a paramedic wearing a jet suit if your leg were injured, that’s not the purpose. Mawson explained, “What we’re really improving here with this equipment, is the time in which we get a highly qualified paramedic to the patient’s side, not getting the patient to the hospital.”

It would be a surreal experience for anyone to see their rescue team showing up over the horizon like “Iron Man.” It’s hard to believe that this will be a reality for some people in the very near future. Hopefully no one needs paramedics while exploring remote areas of the countryside but if you do, this sure would be an awesome story to tell your friends.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Need an uplifting listen? Here are some podcasts we love.

There are over 850,000 podcasts with 48 million episodes in the world so it can a little overwhelming to find the right one to throw on in your earbuds. If you’re a fan of Upworthy’s uplifting news stories and social media posts, then you’ll probably enjoy some of these podcasts that brighten our days.


Upworthy Weekly

Ok, we may be a little biased but we love our first-ever podcast that’s a lighthearted look at some of our most popular and engaging stories. It’s the perfect way to shake off the Monday-to-Friday news cycle with a refreshing dose of good news. Upworthy Weekly is hosted by Alison Rosen from the super-popular podcast “Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend” and Upworthy staff writer Tod Perry.

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeart Radio.

Follow Friday

“Follow Friday” is your guide to the best people on the internet. Every week, Eric Johnson sits down with writers, podcasters, comedians and more to find out who they follow, and why.

Were You Raised By Wolves?

Etiquette, manners and beyond! Join Emmy Award-winning journalist Nick Leighton and acclaimed comedian Leah Bonnema (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”), the perfect odd couple, as they try to make the world a nicer, more polite place and offer up practical advice to help you smoothly glide through any situation.

The Good News Podcast

Everything we hear in the news these days is bad. We wake up, read the headlines and immediately get stressed out. We hear all the bad news, but we rarely hear the good news—and there’s actually a lot of it. So to make each day more bearable, Cards Against Humanity created “The Good News Podcast.”

The Ten News

“The Ten News” podcast explores topics kids care about most including events, sports, science, gaming, pop culture, entertainment and more. With new episodes every Tuesday, Thursday and extras on Saturdays, it’s a great way for you and your family to stay connected with what’s going on in the world. “The Ten News” also features some pretty awesome guests; LEGO Masters Judge Amy Corbett, America’s top doctor Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sarah Natochenny, the voice of Ash Ketchum for “Pokemon” fans and many more.

The Newsworthy

“The NewsWorthy” is on a mission to help people enjoy staying informed with its fast, fair, fun approach. They keep you well-rounded and up-to-date on a wide variety of stories—from politics to tech to entertainment and more—all in about 10 minutes each weekday.

Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend

“Upworthy Weekly’s” Alison Rosen has her own twice-weekly podcast that we’re sure will make her your bestie. Mondays are one-on-ones featuring surprisingly honest conversations that are equal parts silly, serious and revelatory. Thursdays are roundtable group shows. You will laugh, think and feel less alone.

Secretly Incredibly Fascinating

A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator and “Jeopardy!” champion Alex Schmidt.

The Only One in the Room

Writer Laura Cathcart Robbins found herself in an all too familiar position. In September 2018, she was the only Black woman in the room at Brave Magic, a famed writer’s retreat. After it was over, she wrote about her “only one” experience in The Huffington Post and comments started flooding into her DMs. These comments were from people from all races, ethnicities, creeds and nationalities who had felt “othered.” On her podcast, Laura beautifully interviews a person about their “only one” story each episode and addresses as many of those DMs as possible in the process.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Margaret Atwood Made A Version Of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ That Literally Can’t Be Burned

Recently, Republicans have been demonstrating their love of freedom in unusual ways: by not letting teachers and students discuss LBTQIA+ issues and by banning books. There have even book burnings. But there’s one tome they won’t be able to reduce to ashes.

As per The Hill, Penguin Random House is releasing a limited edition of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood’s classic novel about a theocratic/patriarchal dystopia in which women have been stripped of even basic human rights. The new edition is made of fireproof materials, including a “black Cinefoil dust jacket, white heat shield foil pages, section sewn with nickel wire, a phenolic hard cover, stainless steel head and tail bands and a Kapton high temperature adhesive.”

With all that, it can withstand heat up to a whopping 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

The unburnable Handmaid’s Tale won’t be available in your local Barnes & Noble. Instead it will be up for auction at Sotheby’s New York, with proceeds going to the advocacy group PEN America, which defends free expression.

Atwood’s novel, first published in 1985, has been a target of book banning for ages. It’s attracted new interest in the last five years, partly because of its acclaimed (and still-going) Hulu TV adaptation, which premiered in the early days of the Trump administration. Since then, the “red maiden” costume worn by its protagonist has become a popular one to wear at protests. There was even a “sexy” version of the get-up that wound up being pulled, in part due to copyright infringement.

You can watch a video about the new edition, which includes the sight of Atwood herself trying — and failing — to torch her most famous work with a blowtorch.

(Via The Hill)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

It’s Finally Happening: Seth Green’s Bored Ape NFT Was Stolen Through A Phishing Scam And Now Cannot Star In Its Own Show

Who could have expected this? It seems as though a phishing scam has caused actor/writer/former Buffy werewolf Seth Green to lose out on his Bored Ape NFT. To make matters even worse, Green has been developing a TV show based on the ape (really!) which he can’t seem to release now, because he technically no longer owns the IP. Whoops!

This past weekend, Green was at VeeCon, which is an NFT convention that was held in real life in a half-empty stadium. Green gave a sneak peek of the show called White Horse Tavern which was slated to star Fred, the ape. Yeah, the NFT has a name, it’s a whole thing, and the trailer does in fact feature an Imagine Dragons song from 2012.

But now the future of the show is uncertain after the ape was stolen. “I bought that ape in July 2021, and have spent the last several months developing and exploiting the IP to make it into the star of this show.” Green said at the con. “Then days before — his name is Fred by the way — days before he’s set to make his world debut, he’s literally kidnapped.” Green has since been Tweeting at the scammer trying to get his fictional ape back, but it doesn’t seem to be so easy.

And then there’s always legal action, which one would think would be a no-brainer.

Go ahead, take a minute to soak in “the promise of the ape community.” It’s okay, we understand.

According to Buzzfeed News, the hackers have already sold two of the NFTs that were stolen from Green: the Bored Ape for over $200k and one of the Mutant ones for $42k. Because of how new NFT copyright law is, the situation doesn’t look good for Green. OpenSea, the NFT marketplace where Green’s NFTs were stolen, already has three pending lawsuits from similar phishing accounts. It’s unclear what will happen to the TV show, but here’s to hoping Imagine Dragon’s got their royalty check early.

Green has previously worked with NFT King Steve Aoki for their NFT shenanigans. He is now allegedly working with the FBI to get his little monkey back. Predictably, people on social media are taking turns dragging Green for the events.

Maybe just cast real actors in your show next time! They can’t be stolen legally.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘Stranger Things’ Recap: Everything To Remember Before Season 4

(Spoilers for Netflix’s Stranger Things will obviously be found below.)

Stranger Things fans have waited three years to return to Hawkins, Indiana and plenty has happened in that long and painful interim. The cast has grown up, the episodes have reached cinematic run times, and the story about a group of misfits saving their cursed town from Demogorgons, Mindflayers, and Russian scientists has expanded. A long hiatus and more plot threads than a Marvel multiverse movie mean there are likely some characters and storylines audiences have probably forgotten about over the years.

Look, we don’t judge, but we do want you to be prepared for season four, which is why we’ve crafted this handy guide to refresh your memory when it comes to the biggest plot points and character arcs last seen hanging off the proverbial cliff in season three. Here’s where we left Hawkins, and where things might be headed next.

stranger things
NETFLIX

Back to the Beginning

Over the course of three seasons, Stranger Things immersed us in a nostalgic sci-fi trip back to the ’80s, complete with government experiments and Goonies references, and monsters. So many monsters. The show’s central focus was on a group of preteens called The Party which was made up of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo). When Will went missing, Mike met Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl with incredible powers who may have been responsible for creating a rift between our world and its evil twin, a place called The Upside Down. As the kids searched for their friends, the adults in town, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Jim Hopper (David Harbour) did their own digging. Eventually, Will returned safe — though deeply traumatized — and Eleven was able to close the crack temporarily. Following seasons proved though that The Upside Down and its many horrors were weirdly drawn to Hawkins, which meant The Party (which added both El and new girl Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, to its roster in season two) seemed to always be tasked with saving the day.

Stranger Things Season 3
Netflix

Summer Lovin’ and the Starcourt Mall

The show kicked off its third season by leaning into not one but two teenage rights of passage: summer hookups and mall hangouts. Eleven and Mike were navigating their relationship while trying to manage Hopper’s protective instincts as her adopted dad while Max and Lucas also started dating. Dustin returned from summer camp with a girlfriend too — and a long-range DIY radio that proved surprisingly helpful later in the season — while poor Will was left alone, wondering why none of his friends wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons anymore. Hawkins also got a brand new mall, filled with Jazzercise studios and extinct retail shops like Radio Shack. It was, for all intents and purposes, a simpler time. A happier time.

stranger-things-3.jpg
Netflix

The Mindflayer

Of course, this is Hawkins we’re talking about so the season’s big bad reared its ugly head early on and it chose Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), Max’s arrogant and abusive stepbrother as its havoc-wreaking avatar. The Mindflayer manipulated the thin veil between our world and The Upside Down to possess Billy and other residents in town, consuming them in order to feed a gnarly-looking creature the kids would face off against at the end of season three. Eventually, Eleven was able to “rescue” Billy (who’d already killed plenty of people by that point) and the show’s resident bad boy decided to sacrifice himself to save the group in a showdown at the Starcourt Mall.

Stranger-Things-3
Netflix

The Scoops Troop

But monsters weren’t the only threat using Hawkins’ most popular hangout spot as a base of operations, the Russians were camped out there too. At the beginning of season three, Russian scientists were seemingly frustrated by failed experiments concerning The Upside Down. When an intimidatingly large laser couldn’t create a portal in their homeland, they came to Hawkins to re-open the tear between the two worlds. Why? We’re still not entirely sure, but it may have something to do with the military’s hope that Demogorgons and all of the other terrifying creatures inhabiting The Upside Down could be harnessed as weapons by whoever controls that world. Unfortunately for them, the Russians weren’t as clever as a group of bored teenagers motivated by free ice cream and unsolvable puzzles. In season three, the Scoops Troop, which was named after the mall’s ice cream shop where babysitting hunk Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) worked with newcomer Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) banded together to decode a Russian transmission Dustin accidentally picked up on his supercharged walkie-talkie. They recruited Lucas’ younger sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) to help, eventually discovering the Russians had built a bunker deep beneath the mall where they were blasting through the wall between our world and its opposite.

Stranger-Things-3
Netflix

The Grownups

Magnetic anomalies and Russian bodyguards lingering around Hawkins Town Hall alerted Hopper and Joyce to the weird sh*t going down in town too, but it took the adults a while longer to clue into the larger conspiracy. First, they had to kidnap a naïve, slushie-loving scientist named Alexei (R.I.P.) and recruit help from their old friend, private investigator Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman). Eventually, they returned to the Starcourt Mall, and, while the children battled the Mindflayer, Joyce blew up the Russian’s operation (literally) with Hopper trapped too close to the laser to avoid the fallout.

stranger things s4
netflix

Where They Are Now

Stranger Things ended its third season by scattering its cast to the four winds, which is just a dramatic way of saying some kids went to California and some stayed in Hawkins. Dr. Owens, the clueless-yet-well-meaning government guy from season two popped up to help relocate The Byers family who apparently decided Will had been terrorized by The Upside Down long enough. With Hopper gone, El went with them, assuming a new identity as Jane Hopper and attempting to start fresh after losing her superpowers in the fight against the Mindflayer. Though Jonathan and Will seem to be thriving on the West Coast, El looks like she’s having a tough time adjusting to handling school bullies without her abilities. Meanwhile, in Hawkins, Nancy’s heading the school newspaper, Lucas is trying to get in with the jocks by joining the school’s basketball team, Dustin and Mike have joined the Hellfire Club (a DnD group the rest of the town believes to be low-key Satanists) Max is mourning the loss of her stepbrother, and Robin and Steve are working at a video rental shop.

Based on trailers for season four, the group will face off against another fantasy-inspired villain named Vecna who’s into an even more terrifying form of demonic possession than the Mindflayer and who may have his sights set on Max. And, all the way around the world in Kamchatka, Russia, a believed-to-be-dead Hopper is planning his escape from a Siberian prison, likely with help from Joyce and Murray.

So, now you’re all caught up.

Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ returns on May 27.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘There’s Literally No Need To Be Horrible Online’: Florence Pugh Clears Up Those Beach Photos With Will Poulter

Florence Pugh is denying rumors that she’s dating Will Poulter after photos of the two actors on a beach in Ibiza were published by the Daily Mail. While the two are both recent additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pugh wants to make it clear that they are not additions to one another’s love lives.

In a new post shared on her Instagram Stories, Pugh sets the record straight that she and Poulter are not dating, which the Daily Mail did not insinuate in writing. In fact, it stated that Pugh is still dating Zach Braff. However, what the Mail allegedly did do is run deceptively edited photos, which Pugh called out in her Instagram Stories by showing the original shots and highlighting the discrepancies.

Via FilmDaze on Twitter:

Ooookay. Man. This is getting a little silly now. No, Will Poulter and I are not dating. We went to the beach with our friends, who are always about half a metre away from us in every picture, but have been cleverly cut out/framed out so that it looks otherwise. You can LITERALLY see my best friend in the corner of so many shots and Archie’s arms at the sides.

I understand that the nature of this job is that you sometimes get your privacy bulldozed by paprazzi, but to fabricate this stuff actually does more damage than good. Thanks for saying we look sexy.. doesn’t mean we’re doing the sexy.

Pugh ended her statement by saying anyone who speculates about her relationship at Braff’s expense is engaged in “bullying.”

“On another note, a very important note. There’s no need to drag people through this,” Pugh wrote. “Regardless of your opinion on who I should or shouldn’t be with, at the end of the day if you’re complimenting someone by trolling another person.. you’re just bullying. There’s literally no need to be horrible online- no need.”

(Via Florence Pugh on Instagram)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

A Hacker Edited Tucker Carlson’s Twitter Bio To Describe Him As Vaxxed And *Very* Inclusive, And People Are Having A Field Day

Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s been busy as usual lately. He’s been theatrically backpedalling on “replacement theory,” claiming not to know what it is despite discussing it for quite some time. His pants are apparently now also on fire after catching wind of what former Fox News reporter Carl Cameron really thinks about him, and yup, he might be a little bit distracted. Too distracted, perhaps, to notice that his Twitter account’s bio may have been rewritten without his knowledge.

Has Tucker Carlson been hacked? Thor Benson, a writer for The Daily Beast and The Atlantic, asked this question while noticing that Tucker’s Twitter bio now claims that he’s “Fully Vaccinated” and identifies as binary while preferring the “They/Theirs” pronouns.

Now, Tucker has made it pretty clear that he’s not vaccinated against Covid and doesn’t intend to change that status. As for the pronouns, well, he’s either messing with people, or someone’s messing with they/theirs. But good for Tucker, maybe? Who knows, but as journalist Aaron Rupar pointed out, the “bio suddenly reflects inclusion and human empathy, therefore he must’ve been hacked.”

Heroes and capes comin’ at ya from the WUTangKids account.

From there, the jokes were almost too easy. “Tucker Carlson comes out as non-binary (2022)” is surely not happening, but people are sure having fun with this.

Of course, there will be naysayers. Newsmax correspondent Alex Salvi claims that Tucker’s bio’s been like this for a few weeks, although that still doesn’t explain the “why” of the situation.

Perhaps Tucker will weigh in tonight on the air. Oh boy.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Is Planning To Give People What They Want In Season 4 (More Baby Colin Robinson)

The internet is all Baby Yoda this and Baby Yoda that, but where’s the love for Baby Colin Robinson from What We Do in the Shadows? I mean, sure, maybe he didn’t have the cutest introduction after blasting out of adult Colin Robinson’s corpse, and he looks creepy with an adult’s face on a baby’s body. But energy vampire tykes need love, too. In season four of the terrific vampire comedy, that love (?) will be provided by Laszlo.

FX shared the plot summary for the upcoming season of What We Do in the Shadows with Bloody Disgusting, and it confirms that Baby Colin Robinson will be back. “Laszlo struggles with the question of nature versus nurture as he tries raising Baby Colin to be anything other than an energy vampire,” it reads. “And even Guillermo finds himself on a powerful emotional track that touches on his love for his family, and for others.”

Also, Nadja will open “the hottest vampire nightclub in the Tri-State Area,” while “Nandor’s eternal search for love finally yields results.” I hope whoever it is loves Nandor as much as Nandor loves yelling “bazinga!” Here’s more:

With such terrifying locations as the secret supernatural Night Market, the Jersey Pine Barrens, and a wedding altar, and with more strange beasts, surprising guest stars, and tap dancing than ever, season four of What We Do in the Shadows continues to make the case for blood and comedy. And this time with just a touch of home renovation.

If it turns out that Baby Colin is the Jersey Devil, I will not be surprised. Delighted, but not surprised. What We Do in the Shadows returns to FX on July 12.

(Via Bloody Disgusting)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

A List Of Better Things To Do With $50,000 Than Betting The Mavs To Come Back From Down 3-0 To The Warriors

The Golden State Warriors took a 3-0 series lead on the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night with a dominant performance on the road, effectively snuffing out the Mavs’ hopes of reaching the NBA Finals.

The NBA has never seen a team come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, as teams to win the first three games of a seven-game series are a perfect 146-0. The Warriors do, of course, hold the unfortunate distinction of being the only team to lose an NBA Finals after going up 3-1, but this is just not a hill anyone has ever successfully climbed and few would expect the Mavs to be the team to do it.

However, there is at least one person with an upsetting amount of confidence in Dallas to comeback from 3-0 down, as a bettor at Caesars Sportsbook has laid down $50,000 on the Mavs +3000 to win the series.

Listen, in a situation where teams are 0-146 all-time, 30-1 odds are not good enough to make this bet worthwhile at any amount, much less $50,000. I would assume this person also has a heavy investment in the Warriors to win the West from earlier this season and is taking a chance to hedge but even so, this feels incredibly dumb.

We here at Dime don’t like to see people light money on fire, so we have come up with an incomplete list of things you could do that would be a better use of $50,000.

  • Donate it to an organization that helps people
  • Buy two base model Honda Civics
  • Put a down payment on a new house
  • Buy 50,000 spicy potato tacos from Taco Bell
  • Pay for the Mavs bench to stand up and celebrate for an entire game
  • Put one (1) tank of gas in each of your new Civics
  • Bet it all on black
  • Bet it all on red
  • Play (at least) five hands of blackjack with Charles Barkley
  • Take the entire Mavs team to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun after they are eliminated
  • Buy 50 Rex Grossman Cameo videos for Bears/Gators fans in your life
  • Buy Seth Green’s stolen NFT apes
  • Invest in literally anything other than ape pictures that are easily stolen via phishing scams
  • Help your favorite school sign a 3-star linebacker
  • Pay someone to be your personal assistant and tell you not to bet on stuff like this

This is just a start, but we are happy to work with you to come up with even more things to do with $50,000.