The endangered elephants of Africa have an unlikely hero: Billy Joel.
20 years from now, this scene could be looking a LOT different.There's a big ol' chance that there won't be elephants at Pride Rock!**and also on the actual, real, nonfiction continent of Africa.
When I was a kid, I was very worried about elephants going extinct.
But then I thought they were OK! Turns out, NO. I was wrong to not remain vigilant.
But turns out another relic of my childhood ...
... has been on the case all along!
Legendary musician Billy Joel has reminded me that the elephant problem is still very real.
Mr. Pianoman loves to tickle the ivories, but he's NOT COOL with murdering the ivories. The ivory in elephant tusks is the reason for a lot of elephant deaths.
Billy Joel has a stronger relationship with ivory and elephants than most folks because ... pianos!
Pianos traditionally were made with ivory keys. And if there is one thing Billy Joel is an expert on, it's gotta be pianos.
He says music should never be used as an excuse to destroy a species.
He made this statement on his website:
"I am a piano player. And I realize that ivory piano keys are preferred by some pianists.
But a preference for ivory keys does not justify the slaughter of 96 elephants every day.There are other materials which can be substituted for piano keys. But magnificent creatures like these can never be replaced.
Music must never be used as an excuse to destroy an endangered species.Music should be a celebration of life — not an instrument of death."
Elephant populations in Africa have declined by 60% since 1978.
Their habitats are disappearing, and they're being hunted and slaughtered for their tusks. (Don't Google it! It will make you sad.) 96 elephants die each day!
Even more scary, biologists are now saying that if the hunting and slaughter of elephants continues at this rate, elephants could be extinct in 20 years in Africa.
Elephants could be extinct in Africa in 20 years.
Yep.
The majestic and awesome animals who scientists are certain feel deep emotion when they are grieving and who literally mourn when they lose a family member could be gone.
There are things you can do.
Call your congressperson, visit 96elephants.org, go hug an elephant... And perhaps the easiest and most effective way? Just talk about it. Knowledge is power!
More people simply need to know that elephants are on the verge of extinction in Africa. These elephants need more people to know they're at risk.
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.