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10 remarkable things about Lucille Ball that made her totally fierce.

Lucy was way ahead of her time in so many ways.

1. She paved the way for female comedians.

Actresses like Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus can thank Lucille Ball for opening the door. She trained with Buster Keaton and Red Skelton to become one of the best physical-comedy actors of all time. She really earned her nickname "Queen of Comedy."


GIFs via "I Love Lucy."

2. First interracial couple on TV.

Lucy insisted that her husband, Desi Arnaz, co-star in her show. When producers refused, saying he was "too ethnic" for American viewers, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She and Desi took the show on the road, creating a huge fan base for him. Before long, he became her leading man on TV too.

3. First woman to run a major television studio.

Lucy and Desi co-owned Desilu Productions (yep, she made sure her name was in it) until she bought him out and ran it on her own. It had 2,000 employees, 36 sound stages, and 62 acres. She eventually sold it for $17 million (in 1967 dollars). The name was changed to Paramount Pictures. Now, that deserves a round of applause.

4. Married a younger man when it wasn't really acceptable.

He was only six years younger, which was nothing compared to the age gap of older male actors and their younger starlet wives. Think Lucy would let that double standard dictate who she would marry? Not a chance.

5. First pregnant woman to be shown as pregnant on TV.

Women had to hide their pregnancies on TV. They also worried they wouldn't be allowed to continue their careers and be moms at the same time. Lucy broke that mold by incorporating her pregnancy and her son into the show. She compromised with producers, promising not to use the word "pregnant." She used the word "expecting" instead.

6. Was 40 years old when she started "I Love Lucy."

Ageism is real. but Lucy wasn't going to be put out to pasture. In fact, she became America's #1 star with over 16 million weekly viewers. People still watch it to this day. That says a lot.

7. Reflected the frustration of women struggling for equality.

We need to put the show in the context of it's time. She pushed limits to show how gender roles oppressed women. At the same time, she knew she had to remain "likable" to a 1950s audience that mostly preferred "childlike" female characters. Using humor helped her walk that delicate line.

8. Didn't always act like a lady.

June Cleaver wasn't dirty, clumsy, or overtly funny. She also didn't complain, defy, or get too assertive. Lucy did all of these things. She made qualities deemed "unfeminine" become a little more accepted.

9. Left a man she loved because she deserved more.

"Desi was the great love of my life. I will miss him until the day I die. ... I just couldn't take it anymore," she said. Lucy's daughter said Lucy spoke with Desi just days before he died of cancer and quoted her as saying through tears: "I love you. I love you. Desi, I love you."

10. The world's favorite redhead.

She colored her hair so she would stand out from the typical Hollywood "beauty image."

She was courageous, pioneering, talented, funny, and ahead of her time.

And that's why we will always "Love Lucy."

See Lucy in action with the best clips from season 1:

Share the laughs in honor of an extraordinary trailblazer.

Pop Culture

Here’s a paycheck for a McDonald’s worker. And here's my jaw dropping to the floor.

So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, *full-time* wages. Woo.

Making a little over 10,000 for a yearly salary.


I've written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it.

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Joy

5-star Scottish resort offers whimsical afternoon tea experience with 'naughty sheep'

Cameron House's Woolly Wellness retreat includes tea in the garden with adorably rude guests.

Cameron House/Naughty Sheep

Cameron House's Woolly Wellness retreat includes a unique sheep encounter.

Remember when "goat yoga" was all the rage? And then "cow cuddling" and "turkey cuddling" made everyone's bucket lists?

Now we can add "nuzzling with naughty sheep" to the mix, but with a fancy Scottish twist.

Less than an hour from Glasgow, Scotland, the Cameron House resort sits on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, looking as if it were plucked straight out of a fairy tale. Sprawling green grounds, gorgeous lake views and a four-story castled mansion greet guests as their "home away from home" (only better), and a perusal of the reviews show guests raving about the 5-star resort's elegance, beauty and exceptional service.

I mean, just look at this place:

drone view of cameron house grounds and lakeCameron House sit on Lake Lochmond in Scotland.Cameron House


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A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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@caitlin.the.realtor/TikTok, used with permission

Wait, so 90's fashion is in, but 90's hair is out?

Every era has its own version of what’s attractive. And very rarely does that aesthetic hold power with the following generation. In fact, it often becomes the opposite of cool.

Just think of Elvis. He might have been a universal sex symbol for a time, but it also wasn’t long before his pompadour became passé. Same goes for Paul Newman’s rugged manliness, David Cassidy’s babyface, Tom Selleck’s mustache. Indeed, for everything a season.

Which brings us to the 90s. The age of beach blonde surfer boys (real surfing skills not required, but a plus). Of flannel, lots of flannel, and super chiseled bodies. Let’s not forget this was the dawning of the term “metrosexual,” and also the time period that brought us that Calvin Klein ad with Mark Wahlburg.

How exactly would these guys measure up with the Gen Z kids today?

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popular

A wild Eurasian crow befriended a toddler and won't leave his side

Crows are so much smarter than we think.

A Eurasian crow.

A family from Denmark has created a touching video montage documenting their unique friendship with a wild Eurasian crow. This crow, affectionately named Russell, has become an honorary member of their household, forming special bonds with each family member, including the pets.

However, the crow's relationship with their son, 2-year-old Otto, is truly extraordinary. “They could spend hours just playing,” Otto’s mother, Laerke Luna, says in a video shared by The Dodo. "When Otto is outside, he will never leave Otto’s side.”

Russell, the free-spirited crow, ventures away from the family's home from time to time, but never for too long. He always comes back and announces his return by tapping on the door, swooping in to lounge on the sofa, or awaiting Otto's return from school atop their roof.

“When we are inside, he will sit inside the window because he wants Otto to go outside with him,” Laerke said.

The family’s relationship with Russell didn’t come out of nowhere. When Russell was a young bird, he had health problems so the family took him and nursed the bird back to health. Eventually, they witnessed his first attempts to fly.

Recently, Russell became friends with another family member, their second child, Hedwig. Although he does get a little annoyed with the bird’s frequent attempts to nab his pacifier.

Even though it’s rare for humans to strike up such a close bond with a crow, according to research, it’s not that surprising. Audubon says that crows are “some of the smartest animals in the world” with an intelligence “on par with chimpanzees.” They are also very social and family-oriented, so no wonder Russell loves Otto and his family.

Crow Named Russell Waits For His Favorite Kid To Get Home From School | The Dodo


Learning

Why you shouldn't throw your dishwasher pod into the bottom of your dishwasher

Dishwashers actually use the dirty water to know how to wash your dishes.

Photos by cottonbro studio and PhotoMIX Ltd. via Canva

Why your detergent shouldn't go in the bottom of the dishwasher

There always seem to be something going on with the pods and powders you're supposed to use in the dishwasher to clean your dishes. Either the pods don't dissolve completely or the powder gets all goopy and hard, never really fully dispensing into the dishwasher.

The inconsistency in product dispensing can leave you wondering if the dishes are even getting cleaned, causing some to toss the detergent pod into the bottom of the dishwasher. It would seem that placing the detergent at the bottom would allow for it to actually reach your dirty dishes. But Melissa Pateras, a domestic expert, explains that doing it that way isn't doing what you think it's doing.

Pateras actually breaks down exactly how dishwashers work to clean your dishes while explaining why putting the detergent on the bottom is ineffective.

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