Optical illusions are universally beloved for how they trick our brains and blow our minds. There’s a reason we enjoy magic shows and Escher paintings and are mesmerized by fake oases in the desert. We love seeing things that bend our perceptions of reality, and the science behind the magic always proves fascinating as well.
The Ames window is a pretty well-known optical illusion, but it’s always cool to see. When spun, the angled window appears to oscillate back and forth instead of spin all the way around. But this video adds a twist that makes the effect even more mindbending—our brains simply can’t process objective reality mixed with an optical illusion.
The YouTube channel Curiosity Show explains the science of the illusion and gives a DIY demonstration for making your own Ames window. But wait until the pen gets taped to the window and spun. This is some real-life magic right here. Mind. Blown.
Kayla Berridge had been walking her normal 9-mile delivery route in Newmarket, a small town in New Hampshire, when she noticed something unusual.
The mail she had been delivering continued to pile up over a matter of days at one resident’s home. The resident was an elderly woman in her 80s, and would occasionally share a chat with Berridge, according to CNN.
Berridge told CNN that after noticing the unattended mail pile, she got “a little concerned.”
“I just had this gut feeling and wanted to make sure,” Berridge told WMUR 9 News, explaining that “most people put a hold in if they’re not there, so when people pick up their mail every day, you start to notice their habits.” Not to mention, the woman’s car was still in the driveway.
Berridge followed her instincts and called the local police department for a wellness check, and in the process saved the elderly woman’s life.
CNN reported that officers found the woman trapped on her bedroom floor under heavy artwork and frames. The theory is she tried to use her bed for support, and in the process these items on the bed fell onto her, pinning her down for three full days. Though she was suffering from hypothermia and dehydration, Police Lt. Wayne Stevens confirmed she was stable and recovering.
I can only imagine the agony and fear this poor woman was in, lying in the cold and not knowing if help would come. Luckily, help was on the way, and this story has a happy ending.
In this instance, the familiarity that comes from living in a small town really paid off. “Everyone has each other’s backs,” Berridge told CNN.
But Officer Stevens wanted to give credit where credit was due. He agreed that Berridge’s quick thinking was “part of being a letter carrier in a small town,” he added that her actions were “taking your job to the next level.”
While wellness or welfare checks have historically been associated with the elderly, they are seen as an equally “critical tool” for the safety of many young people as well, especially with the “rise of suicide rates among adolescents and young adults.”
An example of this is when “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson received a wellness check back in 2018. The comedian posted an alarming message to Instagram, saying “I really don’t want to be on this Earth anymore. I actually don’t know how much longer I can last.” This was after breaking off his engagement with Ariana Grande.
Though it certainly didn’t happen in a small town, the interconnectedness of social media helped raise some red flags and prompted authorities to make a visit.
If there’s anything to make you question someone’s well-being, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being.
However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame.
Take for instance a video shared to Reddit by u/ASTATINE_628, where we first see several cuts of a young woman at the gym, seemingly perturbed that people are continuously walking through her frame in her video.
The clip then cuts to a guy who breaks down what’s wrong with this scenario in a very clear and concise way.
“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand,” he said, noting that “for you to get upset because there’s people simply in your video going about their workout, not bothering you, minding their own business, is ridiculous.”
He certainly has a point. Of course, when personal space is actually being infringed upon, like when someone is facing harassment, that’s a different story. But in this case, as the man stated, there is no wrongdoing by simply existing.
The man then summed it all up with a short and sweet reminder about common decency. Or maybe not-so-common, since we’re needing reminders.
“Unless your name is on that gym, your filming is never a priority over other people. They pay the same gym membership that you do. If you can’t film responsibly, if you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all,” he said.
Really, this behavior stems from something larger than modern-day gym culture. We film ourselves a lot these days, and often in public. This has undoubtedly caused a shift in how we view personal boundaries in the outside world, with both positive and negative effects.
On the one hand, it can be fun and self-esteem-boosting to treat your life as one big video diary. On the other hand, we bring strangers unwillingly into our orbit, treating them as punching bags, entertainment, or, in the case of the miffed gymgoers, nuisances. We vainly stop treating other people like fellow humans sharing life on this crazy blue planet. No video seems worth forgetting that.
Even for those who have never set foot into a gym, and never will, this is a poignant reminder to not lose our humanity as our relationship with social media grows. It’s perfectly fine to tap into “main character energy.” Let’s just keep in mind that really, we’re all part of the same story.
Over the past few years, book bans have been happening in public libraries and schools across America. In the 2022-2023 school year alone, over 3,300 books were banned in 182 school districts in 37 states.
Most books that have been banned deal with LGBTQ and racial themes. According to a report from PEN America, Florida has been the most aggressive state regarding book bans, accounting for about 40% of those taken off the shelves.
On November 5, Collier County, Florida, announced that it was banning 300 books from its school libraries out of an effort to comply with state law HB 1069, which says books that depict or describe “sexual content” can be challenged for removal.
Among the books banned by the school district was “Shopgirl,” a novella by author Steve Martin published in 2000. Martin is also the star of the hit Hulu show, “Only Murders in the Building,” featuring Martin Short and Selena Gomez.
Upon hearing about his book being banned, Martin responded with his iconic wit on Instagram, saying, “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now, people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”
“Shopgirl” is a story about a young woman who works in a luxury department store and has an affair with a wealthy older man. It was made into a movie in 2005 starring Claire Danes and Martin. It’s believed the book was banned for its mild sexual content. On Amazon, the book is recommended for readers ages 13 and up.
The only thing tougher than being “the most beautiful woman in the world” (that’s a lot of impossible beauty standards to live up to!) is being the child of the “the most beautiful woman in the world.”
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, supermodelChristy Turlington revealed that her teenage son, Finn, was heckled by the opposing team during a high school basketball game when they passed around a nude photo from a photoshoot of hers.
“I was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner,” Turlington said. “But at the same time, I was like, this is so rude!”
The incident turned into a “bigger thing” once the school got involved. “All I wanted to do was disappear,” she says, growing more animated. But she quickly returns to an even keel: “I don’t feel embarrassed about anything,” she explains. “Regretting things is a waste of time.”
Later in the interview, Turlington, who is also a singer, founder of the non-profit organization Every Mother Counts, and a marathon runner, described herself as “quiet” and someone who “studies people.” She added, “I think I learned how to not stand out. My mom never said, like, ‘Oh, here’s how you’re going to protect yourself.’ I think I just really paid attention, honestly.”
You might even say she respects her… freedom (sorry).
St. Vincent has offered some tantalizing teasers of her upcoming album, All Born Screaming. For those who have been digging the rollout so far, the good news is that the project is, as of this post, just hours away from release. So, here’s what to know about when you Apple Music users will be able to check it out.
When Can You Play St. Vincent’s New Album ‘All Born Screaming’ On Apple Music?
The new album is set to drop when most high-profile new projects do: On Friday (in this case, April 26) at midnight ET, which converts to Thursday, April 25 at 9 p.m. PT. The project should be available when new albums typically are in other time zones, too.
St. Vincent previously said of the album, “There are some places, emotionally, that you can only get to by taking the long walk into the woods alone — to find out what your heart is really saying. It sounds real because it is real.”
She worked on the project with a list of collaborators that includes Foo Fighters members Dave Grohl and Josh Freese, Stella Mogzawa of Warpaint, Cate Le Bon (the project’s only credited feature), Rachel Eckroth, Mark Guiliana, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and David Ralicke.
All Born Screaming is out 4/26 via Total Pleasure Records/Virgin Music Group. Find more information here.
Law & Order: Organized Crime began with octopus-laced humor amid dark material and grew more serious over time. Elliot Stabler began to grow a beard and go undercover. Unlike with SVU, crimes were not solved over the course of a single episode, and that was apparently a reason why the show isn’t considered to be as “mainstream” as its franchise colleagues. That much is true, but the Chris Meloni-starring series still draws a rabid enough fanbase that the awkward situation has worked out, sort of.
The spin off’s fifth season was the subject of panicked speculation after NBC renewed the Law & Order revival and SVU earlier this year and left Organized Crime dangling. Now, a compromise has been struck, and this move is likely designed to boost Peacock streaming subscriptions. Via Hollywood Reporter, it’s close to happening:
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Peacock is putting the finishing touches on a deal that would see Law & Order: Organized Crime move from NBC to the streamer for a fifth season consisting of 10 episodes.
Viewers should not fear for this series ending anytime soon. If this follows the pattern of NBC’s Criminal Intent, there are many more seasons ahead. You know, it also wouldn’t hurt to bring back the weaponized mollusk or Dylan McDermott. Just saying.
Tomorrow (April 26), St. Vincent will share her seventh studio album, All Born Screaming through Total Pleasure Records. Set to be one of her more sonically ambitious albums to date, All Born Screaming features contributions from Rachel Eckroth, Josh Freese, Dave Grohl, Mark Guiliana, Cate Le Bon, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Stella Mogzawa, and David Ralicke.
In the past, St. Vincent has worked with the likes of John Congleton and prolific producer Jack Antonoff. But All Born Screaming sounds like nothing she’s ever done before.
Given the amount of creativity she’s put toward this album, fans cannot wait to give this one a spin upon its release.
When Can You Play St. Vincent’s New Album All Born Screaming On Spotify?
All Born Streaming will arrive to Spotify — and likely, all other digital music streaming platforms at midnight this Friday (April 26).
But fans in the Central time zone will be able to listen to it at 11 p.m. CST tonight (April 25). In the Pacific time zone, fans will be able to stream the album tonight at 9 p.m. PST.
You can find streaming links for All Born Streaminghere.
Zendaya has been in blockbuster hits for years, but even former Disney Kids get a little nervous sometimes.
The actress has already starred in one major cinematic event this year with Dune: Part Two, but her upcoming flickChallengers is the first time she’s been a leading lady in such a large capacity. Turns out she isn’t immune to nerves! Not even her time on Shake It Upcould have prepared her for this.
“I always am nervous — I wish I was joking,” Zendaya told Entertainment Weekly. “From a personal perspective, this is my first time leading a film in this way, so I’ve felt that pressure, that fear, burden, or whatever from the beginning of just wanting to make something that I’m proud of and enjoy it, and sometimes that can be very difficult.”
In Challengers, Zendaya stars as Tashi, a tennis pro-turned-coach who attempts to coach her partner Art (Mike Faist) out of a losing streak by pitting him against his former friend and her ex, Patrick (Josh O’Connor). You can probably see how things get messy. All’s fair in love and tennis!
Even though the film was difficult (tennis is hard!), Zendaya actually takes pride in watching herself back on screen. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m a Virgo or because of the way I’ve been raised or being in the public eye for a long time — whatever it is, it’s innate to be my own worst critic,” she explained, “But for some reason, I enjoy watching the work back. I think it’s just because I lose myself in the character. I divorce myself from whatever’s on the screen. I’ve already given over the fact that it’s Luca’s, it’s Denis [Villeneuve]’s, it’s whoever’s, and I’m in service to this other thing, and now I just get to be a spectator. Now I just get to watch.” It’s a good thing that tennis is one of the best spectator sports around.
The city of Detroit is in the spotlight this week, as the 2024 NFL Draft will take place in the Motor City from Thursday to Saturday. This is coming on the heels of the most successful season in recent memory for the city’s NFL team — the Detroit Lions won 12 games for the second time in franchise history, won the NFC North for the first time ever, and made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
One of the building blocks for that team was Aidan Hutchinson. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Michigan earned a Pro Bowl nod after a sophomore campaign in the league that saw him register 14 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He’s rapidly becoming one of the NFL’s premier edge rushers, and if the Lions are going to end up winning a Super Bowl sometime soon — a collection of words that, given their history, hasn’t been said all that often — the Michigan native is going to play a big role.
For now, Hutchinson is getting ready for a week where the city he loves is at the center of the NFL universe. And ahead of Thursday’s festivities kicking off, Uproxx Sports sat down with Hutchinson, his mom Melissa, and his sister Mia to discuss their partnership with Rocket Mortgage, what to do if you’re visiting Detroit this weekend, Draft day, and more.
What do all of you have going on with Rocket Mortgage?
Aidan: We’ve teamed up with Rocket Mortgage, the official mortgage partner of the NFL Draft. Rocket Mortgage is doing a Dreammate campaign. And really, it celebrates the support system we all have in our journeys to achieving our goals, and my dreammates are my family, my sisters, my mom, my dad — my sister and my mom are right here, and really, they’ve been so instrumental in everything that I’ve been able to do in my career. In so many moments of adversity, and so many moments of all these trials and tribulations that life throws at you, I have my dreammates with me to guide me along the way, and show me the way.
Mia: Rocket Mortgage is encouraging everyone to take to social media, and use the hashtag RocketDreammate. And for every use of that hashtag, they are making a donation to support Habitat for Humanity, which is so cool and so important for us to join with brand who cares about the world and the environment and other people. So, it’s really special.
So much of Aidan’s story is about being near his roots — growing up in Michigan, going to high school in Michigan, going to U of M, now playing for the Lions. How cool is it getting to do something like this, just as a family, being able to tap into those roots that again, which are so important in your overall story?
Aidan: Yeah, it’s unbelievable. I haven’t had too many opportunities to do a marketing campaign with my family, and when Rocket presented this idea, we were all jumping out of our seats, we were all so excited. And the whole message behind it about your support systems, the people that you have in your life who are your dreammates, the people that have helped you along the way, and the whole concept, it is very inspiring. It really gets me fired up, because I am very passionate about it.
Melissa: I was gonna say about Rocket Mortgage, it is really the first campaign that features all of them together, and siblings are a very important part — what I’ve noticed, at least — in the sports industry. They are the ones that actually have gone to probably every game as all the kids are growing up. I know the girls, when Aidan started football in seventh grade, we all went to the games, Aria was a cheerleader when they were in seventh in eighth grade, and then obviously through high school, it was like our family event to go to. In turn, Aidan would go to anything that the girls would do, as well, and they all did do competitive dance together when they were younger. So, they were around each other a lot.
But I loved how Rocket Mortgage came and asked us to do this. It was really super special because it’s something that I think sometimes gets overlooked, and it’s so important, and it’s so inspiring to hear how that support system works in something like Aidan’s journey. It’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s a 24/7 thing that we all commit to and help each other out with everything, but especially in the industry he’s in, it’s essential.
Mia: I think we’re so reliant on each other’s opinions, as well. We always are very truthful with each other, and we don’t let each other walk out of the house looking a certain way or whatever, have something in your tooth, got a booger in your nose, we are that family that will tell you, because we got your back. And I think that’s something that I’ve really, really just valued, having people that I know I can trust completely and lean on with everything. And in all of our endeavors, and Aidan’s endeavors, mine, my sister’s, my parents, we all support each other in that exact same way. So, it was so special that Rocket Mortgage approached us and wanted to do this with us. It’s really amazing, and I love telling our story, it’s fun and I love working together.
This is a great weekend for Detroit, and there are going to be a ton of people coming in from out of town. And let’s say someone comes to Detroit, the Draft ends on Saturday, and they have a day to kill on Sunday before they head home. What do all of you recommend that person does for the day to really experience the best of Detroit before they before they go back home?
Mia: Okay, we’ve actually already done, like, a little bit of a ranking in downtown Detroit. So, they’ll probably already have seen Campus Martius, that’s where the Draft is actually taking place. I think it’s gonna be a nice weekend, you have to do the Detroit Riverwalk. It’s beautiful and now everything is blooming, and it’s gonna get even better, so walk the riverwalk for sure.
Melissa: The best restaurants, there’s so many good restaurants downtown. I mean, Mia, you have a whole list.
Aidan: We talked about, you gotta go to Coney Island. That’s the staple, Lafayette Coney Island.
Melissa: It’s from back in the day, that’s still there, and it’s where everybody goes, you’re gonna get the best Coneys ever. My grandpa used to go there all the time, even, Coney Island is it.
Getting up to Detroit has been on the to do list for me forever, and that’s the one thing everyone says — it’s Lafayette Coney Island, isn’t there a second place and there’s a war over which one is the best or something like that?
Melissa: Yeah, I’m going for Lafayette, because that’s what my whole family, my grandpa ever talked about. Plus, there’s so much shopping now. Speaking of Rocket Mortgage and Dan Gilbert and what he has done for that city, for the so many years of building. And honestly, with all the sports, a lot of the success in sports right now, it’s just the icing on the cake and everybody is fired up. It’s brought a new energy, really, to the city of Detroit.
Aidan, I have a question about the actual day of the Draft. What is the best part of that day other than obviously hearing your name called, going up on stage, getting to shake Commissioner’s hand, and finding out where you’re going to be spending the next however many years of your life playing football?
Aidan: I think one of the most special moments is the aftermath of it. When it’s happening, it’s all such a shock, this euphoric moment, but when it all kind of settles and the reality is kind of set in terms of what your future is going to look like. I was so happy — I had a different experience, but I was so happy with where I ended up. I’m just sitting there in Vegas, I’m getting ready to do a bunch of media things right after I got drafted, and I’m kind of just sitting there, and it’s just that feeling is hitting, and there’s not much that can describe it. It’s just that feeling that everything is right and I’m on the right path, and I just know everything is going how it’s supposed to be going. It’s hard to describe those moments at the aftermath of these very huge victories, these big, happy moments. It’s very peaceful and relaxing, knowing that all is right.
Mia: You know what was funny? It was such a whirlwind, right after you got called, and we went to celebrate. And then really, it was a couple hours later that we had to fly back to Detroit, ditch our old flights and take the Lions’ charter flight back to Detroit, where normally guys would be going to their cities, we’re like, “Oh, well, we’re just going home.” We got to tour the facility and meet everybody, and everyone was so nice. When you walk in there, even now — Aidan, you can attest — the energy is electric, everyone’s vibrating, there’s a common goal there that everyone wants to achieve and they know they’re going to achieve it.
Aidan: For sure, we got a good organization, we’re lucky enough to say that.
Melissa: Great culture, great people, interactions have just been mint. But I think after the Draft, yes, you have that moment. You know the work is going to start up again, but you have that moment to breathe. You’ve just gone through Combine training before that, an insane season with Michigan, breaking down, starting to chip away at those walls that they needed to. There’s so much, and so you’re always in this heightened state, and then once you know where you’re going, no matter where it is, it’s like you can just breathe a little bit, you have a little bit to breathe and then then it starts up again. And I would say, my husband turned to me after — I think it was right after your rookie year, Aidan — where dad said, when it was done, he could finally breathe. It was like the Draft, but it was that first whole rookie year, because the expectation is so tremendous, especially being in the Draft, tremendous for every player. And I think once we beat Green Bay at that last game, and it was your first offseason ever, the first time you’ve ever had one, you didn’t even know what to do with your time. Remember? You said, “What do I even do now? I don’t even have school, I have free time.” That’s when we could all just finally take a big deep breath after it felt like we were holding our breath for a couple years.
My last question here: Is there any way that I could get a Dan Campbell story that people might not know? Because I’ve never seen a coach that fans of other teams like as much as they like this guy.
Aidan: Oh God, people always ask Dan Campbell stories.
Mia: And Jim Harbaugh stories.
Aidan: I can never deliver to the expectation of these stories that these legends live up to. Oh, God.
Melissa: He’s got a lot of analogies, he’s got really good…
Aidan: Every team meeting, it’s unreal. Every team meeting is the most captivating meeting. He’s so real, that’s why everyone loves him this because it’s just so authentic and that Dan that you see talking after games, talking before games, talking during the week, talking during the offseason, that’s the guy that we’d get in a team meeting. And it’s why we all love him, he keeps a real, and a lot of guys, that’s what I feel like players value the most in the NFL is having a coach that’s authentic to his word, authentic to what he says, because it’s just very important. And I unfortunately can’t think of any insane — I think I have this expectation, like this groundbreaking Dan Campbell story, and maybe I should start brainstorming in my free time.
Melissa: Didn’t you say he always says something about horses?
Aidan: Yeah, cause he’s like a farm boy, so he’s always making these analogies. He showed us that … the Kentucky Derby, the horse won that was never supposed to win ever, it was a couple of years ago. He’s shown that video to us at least four times. And I wonder if this video is ever going to run out of its uses, because he uses it at least twice a year … the horse that was, like, the last in the odds ended up winning the Derby a few years ago. I forget the name of the horse.
Yeah, you seem like you end up getting drawn to these coaches who are just, like, 110 percent themselves at every single opportunity they get.
Aidan: Yes.
I’m sure that Jim Harbaugh to Dan Campbell pipeline really is something.
Aidan: It is, it is.
Melissa: And both guys played for the teams that Aidan was on at one point. That’s what was so cool about that, players for that team. Right? So there is a pattern going on here.
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