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The menu at Cheesecake Factory is the stuff of legends. At 250+ dishes, there isn’t a single restaurant across the American landscape that even comes close to the amount of variety that can be had at there. It’s the only restaurant that attempts to cater to everyone and for the most part, jokes aside, it does a damn good job at fulfilling that mission. A couple of years back we ranked the 25 best dishes and still only managed to scratch the surface of what’s available (we’ve also ranked all 35 cheesecakes).

The biggest surprise about the Cheesecake Factory menu — considering the scope and scale involved — is that all of the dishes are scratch-made on location. All except for one. The cheesecakes themselves.

Yes, ironically given its name, the Cheesecake Factory’s namesake desserts are actually made in two bakery production facilities (one in Calabasas California, the other in Rocky Mount, North Carolina) and then shipped to a Cheesecake Factory restaurant frozen. Those are the real factories. The restaurant at your local mall could more accurately be called “Cheesecake Outlet.”

According to Cheesecake Factory, making the desserts off-site enables the brand to have full “control over the creativity and quality” of its 70 total varieties of cheesecakes and other baked desserts. It’s why the desserts are so consistent at every location you visit. So no, that slice of cheesecake isn’t exactly “fresh made” but at least Cheesecake Factory bakes its desserts itself, rather than bringing them in from a third party.

Is Joe Biden okay? If the 2024 election was held today, he might not be. In some polls the current president is lagging behind a former president, namely probable dictator Donald J. Trump. His approval numbers haven’t been great, despite a strong economy. Maybe it’s time to worry. On the other hand, the 2024 election isn’t being held today. Heck, it’s still 2023, at least for a few more days. Besides, polls aren’t always reliable. Remember the failed “red wave” of last year’s election? Perhaps, for now, we can chill. That’s what one prominent Democrat is advising, however bluntly.

Politico recently spoke with John Fetterman, the famously trolly Pennsylvania senator. Despite all the warning signs, he’s remained confident that Biden can again conquer his state, as he did in 2020. When asked about Trump trouncing Biden in the polls, Fetterman declared that “that doesn’t really matter.” Why not? Because there’s a “whole lifetime in politics between now and next November.”

Fetterman even singled out one of the loudest naysayers about Biden’s 2024 chances.

“I’ll use this [as] another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the fuck up,” he said, referring to the longtime Democratic advisor and the lead strategist for Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign. “Like I said, my man hasn’t been relevant since grunge was a thing. And I don’t know why he believes it’s helpful to say these kinds of things about an incredibly difficult circumstance with an incredibly strong and decent and excellent president. I’ll never understand that.”

It’s quite the diss, and Carville wasn’t having it. When reached for comment by Politico, the “Ragin’ Cajun” consultant said other Democratic senators “apparently haven’t gotten the memo yet” that he’s lost his relevancy, citing that Fetterman’s fellow Pennsylvanian Senator Bob Casey Jr. “asked me to host a fundraiser with him last week.” Ditto Senator Sherrod Brown.

Carville did have something nice to say about Fetterman: About his health issues, Carville said, “I’m glad he’s feeling better.”

So, which is the better stance to take? Do progressives go Chicken Little panic à la James Carville? Or head-in-the-sand acting as though everything’s a-ok, like John Fetterman? Perhaps there’s some in-between space, where you worry and plan ahead without tearing one’s hair out.

(Via Politico)

Have you ever wondered what happens at the dry cleaners? Or are you like me, who just assumed the people at the dry cleaners were wizards and never questioned their magic? Turns out, dry cleaners aren’t magic and there’s actually a pretty interesting explanation of how they came to be and what they do.

Melissa Pateras is known on Tiktok for her laundry knowledge. Seriously, her ability to fold laundry is hypnotizing. This time, she created a video explaining what actually takes place at the dry cleaner and the internet is aghast.

Before Pateras explained what happens in the mysterious world behind the counter of a dry cleaner, she asked a few of her friends what they thought dry cleaning was. Their answers were…interesting to say the least.

One friend surmised, “You put it in a box, right…and then you let some wind, really fast wind, blow around on your clothes and it wipes off all the dirt.” The friend, whose username is @unlearn16, continued with her working hypothesis, saying that the clothes are then blasted with infrared heat to sterilize the garments. While that is certainly an interesting theory, that’s not what happens.

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Another friend guessed, “Dry cleaning is when they take all of your dirty clothes into this big dryer with a clean sheet that sticks all of the dirt to it from your dirty clothes.” This friend was also incorrect, and Pateras finally explained why after her friends dug deep into their brains for their best guesses.

Turns out dry cleaning was invented by accident when Jean-Baptiste Jolly spilled a kerosene lamp on his tablecloth, which dried cleaner than it was previously, according to Pateras.

The laundry guru explained that while it was dangerous, the practice of cleaning things with kerosene continued until a less flammable method was discovered. But even the safer method is still fairly harsh, which is why dry cleaners take buttons off of clothing before running them through, she says.

This prompted one commenter to ask, “They really take the buttons off of every shirt?” to which Pateras replied that it only occurs if the buttons won’t withstand the chemicals.

If you’ve ever been curious about what happens at the dry cleaner, watch the video below. She takes you through each step.

@melissadilkespateras

What is dry cleaning #laundry #laundrytok #drycleaning #funfacts @Tracy Taylor @Unlearn16 @Ana Pac @Ashley Mathieu @Li

This article originally appeared on 5.10.23

When you’re a rideshare driver, passengers leave a lot of things in your back seat. According to Uber, the most common items left in vehicles in 2023 were clothing, phones, backpacks and purses, wallets, headphones, jewelry, keys, books, laptops and watches.

The strangest things left in Ubers in 2023 were a Danny DeVito Christmas ornament, a toy poodle and a fog machine. The rideshare company also notes that the most forgetful cities in the United States are Jacksonville, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Palm Springs, California; Houston, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah.

As reported by WVTM13, Esbon Kamau, an Uber driver in Alabama and father of 5, may have seen the most eye-popping thing left in a car in 2023: $8,000 cash. How he handled it has to make him one of America’s most honest Uber drivers.

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‘Do something good:’ Uber driver returns $8,000 Christmas gift to Hoover teen.

It all started when Kamau took Alex Tisdale, 16, on a 15-minute ride to John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover, Alabama. The two had a nice discussion that Kamau remembered because of the way Tisldale talked about his father. “He told me how his dad is proud of him and how he’s also very proud of him. And he said something which makes me feel very good,” Kamau told WVTM13.

After Kamau dropped off Tisdale, he immediately had another ride and noticed a red, Christmas-themed bag in the backseat. “I realized there’s something at the back of my seat. And I picked it up immediately. And when I checked, I saw this a lot of money, quite a lot, to be honest,” Kamau said.

At the same time, Tisdale was retracing his steps, trying to remember where he had left the bag of money that his father had given him to buy a motorcycle. “I was pacing around the parking lot just thinking, where? Where could I put it? Where would it be?” Tisdale said.

Both contacted Uber about the missing backpack, and the company connected them to organize a drop-off. Without hesitation, Kamau drove to Tisdale’s location to give him his bag full of money.

“I was relieved and so surprised he actually came back because that was a very, very nice thing of him to do. Actually, tipped him $10 for that,” Tisdale said.

Kamau wants his admirable display of honesty to be a lesson for Uber drivers everywhere. “When you do something good, OK, it comes back 10 times,” he said.

Kamau’s good deed is another beautiful reminder that personal integrity and kindness are worth a lot more than money. It’s also a wonderful reminder that in a world where bad news gets all of the headlines, there are still a lot of everyday heroes out there doing the right thing.

This is a touching story, but don’t let this Uber driver’s honesty give you a sense of complacency next time you’re riding in an Uber. If you leave something in the backseat, the rideshare company will charge you a $20 fee to have it returned.

The Denver Nuggets will be without the services of Aaron Gordon for an undetermined period of time. According to a statement released by the team, Gordon, a crucial member of their championship-winning squad last year who has been a fixture in Denver’s starting lineup since joining a team during the trade deadline in 2021, was bit by a dog on Christmas Day and needed medical attention.

“Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon suffered lacerations to his face and hand resulting from a dog bite on December 25th,” the team said. “Aaron is in good condition and will remain away from the team while he recovers. Additional updates will be provided as necessary.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic added some more details, saying he suffered “serious dog bites” to both his face and hand which required stitches.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone was asked about the situation and made clear that he’s both been in contact with his starting forward and wants him to take as much time as he has to before he returns.

Gordon has started all 28 games in which he’s appeared for Denver during the 2023-24 campaign. A former top-5 pick by the Magic, Gordon is averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a steal in 32 minutes of work this year.

Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore have a couple big things in common. They’re both talk show veterans who can also act. And they’ve both worked for Steven Spielberg. For Barrymore, E.T. was her second film. For Winfrey, The Color Purple was her screen debut. Alas, while Spielberg went above and beyond for young Drew, even making it seem like E.T. was actually a living, breathing extraterrestrial, he was a little harsh to Winfrey, at least on her first day.

“When I did my first film, which was The Color Purple [in] 1985, I had never done a film, been in a film, knew anything about filming but wanted to be in The Color Purple more than anything in my life,” Winfrey recalled while on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this month, per Decider.

Sadly, things got off to an inauspicious start. For her first scene, Winfrey — who played the strong-willed Sofia, played in the new movie musical version by Danielle Brooks — was supposed to walk into a juke joint and say hello to Whoopi Golberg’s Celie. Winfrey was so new to picture-making that she committed the biggest no-no: She looked directly into the camera, a result of her years shooting broadcast television.

“Steven yells, ‘Cut! Cut! Cut! What are you doing?’” Winfrey rememebred. “[I said], ‘Uh. I was just doing my lines.’ He said, ‘What are you doing looking in the camera?’ I go, ‘I’m not supposed to look in the camera?’ He goes, ‘No! Ms. Celie’s over here!’”

She added, “I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I had never been on a movie set.”

That’s right: Oprah Winfrey got yelled at by Steven Spielberg. It all worked out in the end, though. Winfrey went on to score an Oscar nomination for her performance, one of 10 the movie racked up. And then the very next year she started a little program called The Oprah Winfrey Show, which did alright. There doesn’t even appear to be any bad blood between her and Spielberg. After all, they’re both producers on the new musical version that’s outgrossing Aquaman 2.

(Via Decider)

From the earliest cave paintings to the statue of David, the human ability and desire to create art is one of our most enduring characteristics. Over the millennia, people have used countless forms and mediums to reflect the world and ourselves back at us, and just when you think people must have exhausted the possibilities, someone comes along with something totally new.

Someone like Benjamin Shine and his portraits made of tulle.

If you’re not familiar, tulle is a very thin mesh fabric that’s usually layered to fluff out skirts and dresses. But Benjamin Shine uses the notoriously finicky fabric to make flowing, lifelike faces that really have to be seen to be believed.

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Shine took 10 years to perfect his craft, using nothing but a big piece of tulle and a cheap iron (the cheaper the iron the better, he says). In that time, he discovered just the right heat, pressure and timing to bring a simple piece of fabric to life.

Watch this Insider segment and see him in action:

The way the tulle flows makes the portraits almost look like they’re made of water, and the realistic detail he is able to pull off is incredibly impressive. Tulle can be tricky to work with, but he makes it look so easy.

If you watch to the end of the video, you can see how he’s used an alternative tulle-like recycled plastic material to create freestanding sculptures like this one:

See on Instagram

And this one he created of him and his wife for their wedding is even more “wow.” Um, good luck topping that one, every groom in the universe.

See on Instagram

And check out this installation in which he used tulle to create dancers that look like they’re mid-movement. Swipe through to see the full range. Absolutely beautiful.

See on Instagram

And there’s plenty more where that came from. Follow Benjamin Shine on Instagram for more of his tulle-y remarkable work.

In recent years, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics have always seemed to get in each other’s way. While the two franchises have long been powers in the Eastern Conference, Miami and Boston have met up in the conference finals in three of the last four years, with the Heat coming out on top twice.

There’s some real animosity there, to the point that one Heat lifer said “f*ck Bill Russell” in the lead-up to a game. On an episode of “The OGs Show,” Bam Adebayo recalled a story about a time that Udonis Haslem got a little riled up during a pregame speech and pointed to Russell’s uniform hanging in the rafters in Miami — the NBA retired his number, 6, following his death in 2022.

“I had to repent that,” Haslem recalled. “I love Bill, no disrespect to Bill. I love Bill, he just caught that stray, no disrespect … but will you ever see a Miami Heat jersey hanging in Boston’s rafters? Respect to Bill Russell, I love him. Why the f*ck he got to hang in here? The sh*t that come out of people’s mouths when we playing there? I might not take back what I said, now that I think about it. The sh*t that they say to us…”

“Bill had to go through it!” Adebayo interjected.

“Yeah, okay, cool,” Haslem responded.

Now, this story did not go over especially well, as Russell’s pretty universally considered one of the greatest players and people in NBA history, which is why his number is hanging in the rafters in every arena in the league. Additionally, it was pointed out numerous times that Miami famously has a non-Heat player’s jersey number hanging in the rafters, as Pat Riley had the franchise retire Michael Jordan’s No. 23 ahead of his final game against the team even though he never suited up for them.

A tweet pointing out that second thing caught Jaylen Brown’s attention, and ended up in his likes on Twitter.

Following all of this, Adebayo addressed the attention that all of this drew, saying that he has nothing but respect for Russell.

“Hey man, I know today was rough. I’m really sorry. I heard it was a doozy.

It started a lot earlier than it should have. I guess you could say the previous day never really ended.

You put your daughter down for bed around 8 p.m., like usual. You scarfed some food and chugged some NyQuil to try to knock out your throbbing cold, the one you caught from her (love those daycare germs!). Two hours later, you woke up to the sound of her coughing through the baby monitor. Then came the crying.

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You rolled out of bed in a glassy-eyed, cold medicine-induced fog. You stumbled your way up the stairs to soothe her. Nothing worked. She cried every time you tried to lay her back down. Your head was throbbing. Your eyes dry and heavy. Her cries like nails on a chalkboard. You got frustrated and had to just put her down, let her cry while you walked away to cool off. “I can’t do this,” you thought, exhausted, drained. It didn’t matter if you could do it or not because she kept crying, and she needed you.

The whole night went on like this before the sun mercifully came up.

Breakfast time. You sleepwalked your way through cooking an omelet (you burned one side, but does it really matter?). She threw it on the floor and wailed. Did she want a banana? More water? Crackers? Was something hurting? You didn’t know. You just kept handing her things.

This was your entire day.

After that, you carried her over to her toy bin and let her play. She was joyful, finally smiling and laughing. You sat, zombie-like, sipping your coffee and enjoying the brief moment of peace. Then she tripped over a wooden puzzle piece and hit the ground hard. More tears. And then more. Normally she wouldn’t cry this hard, but she was sick. She wasn’t herself. You picked her up and held her and kissed the boo-boo, but she wouldn’t stop crying.

You put her back down because the crying in your ear was like a power drill to your temple. Normally, you’d be so much more patient and nurturing. But you weren’t yourself either.

The whole day was like this. You took her to the store where she refused to stay in the cart. She wanted to run up and down the aisles, which was fine, but then she tripped and fell. Again. More tears. She threw her lunch on the floor and cried about it. You tried to put her down for a nap, but she kicked and flailed until you gave up.

It didn’t matter if you could do it or not because she kept crying, and she needed you.

There were things to be done around the house: chores, projects, cleaning. You had nothing in you but medicine and whatever food you were able to scarf down between tantrums. It was all you could do to muscle your way through bath time and get her into bed.

And you weren’t far behind her. You crawled into bed, drained, knowing she’d probably be up within a matter of hours, hacking and coughing and crying. Poor thing.

When it was finally quiet, you felt bad for her. She didn’t mean to be a pain; she’s just a baby. A baby with a cold, at that. You were so disappointed with yourself. Why couldn’t you have been more patient, more loving? She had a hard day too.

You have to be better than that.

You drifted off to sleep locked in on one single thought: Maybe I’m not cut out for this dad thing.

I know your day was bad. Really bad. But mine was great, and I’m sorry, but I just need to tell someone about it.

Get this: It started at 8 a.m. 8 a.m.!

I know, I know. My daughter slept great. It’s hard to believe she’s so grown up. It doesn’t seem that long ago that she was only sleeping a few hours here and there, then struggling through the night. Last night we put her down at 8.p.m. and didn’t hear a peep out of her for 12 hours. I slept gloriously.

So. Much. Better.

The baby monitor gently crackled to life with her quietly babbling to herself. But I was already up. I climbed the stairs and pushed the door open to her room. She jumped to her feet and saw me, and she smiled the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and bounced up and down in her crib. As I got closer, she shot her arms into the air so I could pick her up. I did, and she laid a sleepy head on my shoulder.

She was a joy at breakfast. She sat in her chair and gulped down her banana while I cooked up an omelet (I nailed it, by the way, perfectly cooked, 10/10). I put on some music and she playfully shimmied her shoulders to the beat. When the eggs were ready, first she blew on them to cool them down, just like I taught her. She then showed off her fork skills and wolfed down the entire plate.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. There was the quick run to the store, where she helped put things in the cart and waved at every single person who passed by. Then, a trip to the park where she finally went down the big scary slide by herself. She came out the bottom giggling and ran to me.

I didn’t want the day to end.

And after I kissed her good night and mommy rocked her to sleep, I was left with just one thought: I am doing pretty OK at this dad thing.

It’s hard to believe sometimes that we are the same person, living the same life. But here’s what I know: Tomorrow is a new day.

I don’t know whether it’ll be good or bad. I really don’t. (I hope it’s good!)

But you know what? At some point, you’re going to look at that spot on the floor where your daughter tripped and face-planted, and you’re going to laugh. When you think about it, it was kind of funny, right? (She was totally fine.)

And eventually you’re going to find an old piece of omelet wedged under the kitchen table, covered in dust after she chucked it over her shoulder, and you’re going to roll your eyes lovingly as you scoop it up and throw it away.

Take it from me: You’re doing the best you can. You’re going to have those days where you wish you could keep it together better, where you wish you could be the perfect parent.

But if you can just hang in there, better days are ahead. I promise.

Trust me, I just had one. And it was totally worth the wait.”

This article originally appeared on 11.23.16

Stressed? Of course you are. Luckily for you, and the entire U.S. population, scientists believe they may have identified the most relaxing song in the world.

Music has forever been associated with bringing about relaxation, happiness, and serenity — whether it’s a Gregorian chant or some Enya accompanied by a glass of merlot.

Neuroscientists in the United Kingdom think they have found the one song that relieves stress and soothes our souls more than any other.

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Mindlab International, a market research firm, conducted a study a few years ago in which participants completed difficult (and possibly stressful) puzzles while their brain activity was monitored. To study its effect, music was played while they completed the puzzles.

One song stood out above the rest. “Weightless” by Marconi Union (listen below), an English ambient music band, induced a 65% reduction in stress among participants, according to Inc. And DailyMail.com reported that the song was 11% more effective than most other songs — by such musicians as Adele and Coldplay — in reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing speed.

The 2011 song was created by the band, along with the British Academy of Sound Therapy, to do just that — relax listeners.

If you prefer something with lyrics, try Enya’s “Watermark” or “Pure Shores” by All Saints, which were also proven to be relaxing,

Music therapy is considered to be a natural therapy important in alleviating stress. Because stress is an important cause of other deadly illness, fighting it is key to maintaining good health. Numerous studies have shown how damaging stress can be to our bodies and our brain. So don’t let it get out of control. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the music.

This article originally appeared on 11.03.16