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After Brussels, many leaders were quick to blame refugees. Here's what Pope Francis did.

Unsurprisingly, the terrible bombings in Brussels have already sparked a backlash against refugees and Muslims.

Photo by Dirk Waem/Getty Images.


Prime Minister Beata Szydlo of Poland declared that her country would no longer accept any Syrian refugees.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images.

U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz called on law enforcement to increase surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

But Pope Francis?

Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images.

Two days after the attacks, he went to a refugee shelter outside of Rome, where he washed and kissed the feet of Muslim migrants.

Migrants arriving at the shelter where the pope performed the ritual. Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/Getty Images.

"We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace," Francis said at the camp, where he also performed the ritual on Christian and Hindu migrants, according to an AP report. Francis began washing the feet of Muslims soon after he became pope in 2013.

Pope Francis reportedly proclaimed the refugees "children of the same god," and his symbolic act speaks volumes at a critical moment.

Migrant children in Greece. Photo by Andrej Isakovic/Getty Images.

There are over one billion Muslims in the world. While nearly every religious community has its share of violent extremists, the entire diverse population shouldn't be held accountable for the actions of a tiny deranged minority.

To say ISIS is incredibly unpopular among Muslims would be a vast understatement.

Refugees are the last people who should have to shoulder the blame for the latest outbursts of violence.

Many of those fleeing Syria and Iraq are running from the exact same people who committed horrific acts of terror in Brussels.

The two attackers killed in the blasts were born in Belgium.

Driving a wedge between the West and the Muslim world is part of what ISIS is trying to achieve. Turning on our Muslim and refugee neighbors would be giving them the satisfaction.

With his visit to the shelter, Pope Francis' message was loud and clear: Even when terrible things happen, let's not fall back on prejudice. At the end of the day, we're all people.

Pope Francis arrives at the shelter. Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/Getty Images.

Whether you're religious or not, that deserves an amen.


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






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Joey Grundl, Milwaukee pizza guy.

Joey Grundl, a pizza delivery driver for a Domino's Pizza in Waldo, Wisconsin, is being hailed as a hero for noticing a kidnapped woman's subtle cry for help.

The delivery man was sent to a woman's house to deliver a pie when her ex-boyfriend, Dean Hoffman, opened the door. Grundl looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman. She appeared to be mouthing the words: "Call the police."

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Photo by Katerina Holmes|Canva

Mom in tears after another parent calls about daughter's lunch


People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt so you do your best to prepare for that day.

But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.

Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it too.

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Pop Culture

Listen to this organ in Croatia that uses the sea to make hauntingly beautiful music

It's a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.


In 2005, a Croatian architect designed a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.

Nope, not nonsensical bellows or chaotic tones. Real, actual, music.

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Modern Families

A comic from The Oatmeal illustrates how we're missing the mark on happiness.

I do the things that are meaningful to me, even if they don't make me "happy."

By Matthew Inman/The Oatmeal. Used with permission.

How to Be Perfectly Happy


Matthew Inman is the Eisner Award-winning author of The Oatmeal. He's published six books, including New York Times Best-Sellers such as "How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You"and "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances."He enjoys running marathons, writing comics, and eating cake.

You can read more of Matthew's comics here.

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Health

Sweeping UN study finds that 9 out of 10 people worldwide are biased against women

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways.

Photo by Joe Gardner on Unsplash

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.

The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people's personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world's population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity.

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways. Splendid.

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