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When He Tweeted This Picture Of Oysters, He Probably Wasn't Expecting This Sort Of Response

Steve Vilnit works for a fishery department in Maryland. Not the sort of work you typically associate with social media. But a photo he tweeted showing what oysters do to the water they live in got a massive response. And it even became a fun and teachable moment.

People were like, Whaaaaa...


Some were thinking, What sort of wizardry IS THIS!?

Others were kinda grossed out.

But Steve was there with some pearls of wisdom.

As the photo made its rounds, the curiosity grew stronger. These folks had never really considered WTF they've been eating all this time.

Zinc boosts our immune health and does a lot of other cool stuff. Protein is an essential component of every cell in our bodies and helps us with tissue repair. Here's a list of some of the other health benefits of oysters.

As it turns out, oysters really are a "Best Choice" for sustainable seafood. But you definitely want to be mindful of where they come from.

Then the conversation dove a little deeper.

And Steve was swimming right alongside 'em.

The more the questions poured in, the more I started to look at oysters with, well, endearment.

Here's an article supporting that claim. And while I'm sure there's plenty more to learn (and plenty I'll never understand), we do know that oysters are effective for water denitrification. Too much nitrogen makes aquatic plants grow too big, too fast. That can be dangerous for fish and other underwater creatures.

As for us terrestrial types, beyond the general unsightliness and inconvenience of algae infestations, excess nitrogen in our drinking water can slow the movement of oxygen in our bloodstreams, which is particularly bad for pregnant ladies, babies, and young livestock.

Finally, when the questioning got a little beyond Steve's expertise, he did exactly what he was supposed to do: BE HONEST.

(I'll follow Steve's lead here and not even try.)

Today, I have a much deeper respect for the power of the oyster and its role in the environment. And I'm obviously not the only one.

That said, I'm really craving some oysters. And next time I'm in Maryland, I'll know who to call for a trip to the raw bar.

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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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Joy

Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

The loss of 6 lives is tragic, but the dispatch recording shows it could have been so much worse.

Representative image by Gustavo Fring/Pexels

The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

As more details of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore emerge, it's becoming more apparent how much worse this catastrophe could have been.

Just minutes before 1:30am on March 26, shortly after leaving port in Baltimore Harbor, a cargo ship named Dali lost power and control of its steering, sending it careening into a structural pillar on Key Bridge. The crew of the Dali issued a mayday call at 1:26am to alert authorities of the power failure, giving responders crucial moments to prepare for a potential collision. Just 90 seconds later, the ship hit a pylon, triggering a total collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge into the Patapsco River.

Dispatch audio of those moments shows the calm professionalism and quick actions that limited the loss of life in an unexpected situation where every second counted.

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Yale's pep band had to miss the NCAA tournament. University of Idaho said, 'We got you.'

In an act of true sportsmanship, the Vandal band learned Yale's fight song, wore their gear and cheered them on.

Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

Yale University and the University of Idaho could not be more different. Ivy League vs. state school. East Coast vs. Pacific Northwest. City vs. farm town. But in the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, extenuating circumstances brought them together as one, with the Bulldogs and the Vandals becoming the "Vandogs" for a weekend.

When Yale made it to the March Madness tournament, members of the school's pep band had already committed to other travel plans during spring break. They couldn't gather enough members to make the trek across the country to Spokane, Washington, so the Yale Bulldogs were left without their fight song unless other arrangements could be made.

When University of Idaho athletic band director Spencer Martin got wind of the need less than a week before Yale's game against Auburn, he sent out a message to his band members asking if anyone would be interested in stepping in. The response was a wave of immediate yeses, so Martin got to work arranging instruments and the students dedicated themselves to learning Yale's fight song and other traditional Yale pep songs.

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