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150 strangers had a chance to win a free vacation — but only if they agreed on one place.

Would you rather go nowhere or fly free with some compromise?

That was the option JetBlue Airlines presented to 150 passengers on a flight bound for Phoenix from Boston. "Everyone who's willing to participate has a chance to win one round-trip ticket to anywhere JetBlue flies," the Captain told them as they hovered some 30,000 feet above the planet.

But there was a catch:



GIF from JetBlue/YouTube.

150 people. 97 different options. That's a 9.354306 x 10-297 chance of everyone instinctively agreeing. Or, as explained to me by our brilliant Director of Intel, "that's worse odds than if you put every planet in the universe in a bag, and picked one out, and it happened to be Earth."

Which I think means the odds are pretty bad.


Presumably there were more people interested in Bogotá than Buffalo right off the bat, which could skew the probability. GIF from "The Empire Strikes Back."

Fortunately, the passengers were given some time to talk among themselves and figure out a plan.

The passengers immediately turned to their neighbors in the seats beside them then reached across the center aisle to state their case for Anchorage or Aguadilla or Albuquerque or wherever else they were hankering to go.


GIF from JetBlue/YouTube.

Although most people were on board for some international travel, there were some passengers who had personal reasons pulling them toward domestic destinations — and some of them didn't have passports, further complicating the international issue.

And still the clock kept ticking down toward their deadline. For all the gains that certain individuals had made in convincing others over to their side — and despite the obvious incentive that everyone only wins if they all agree to compromise — the passengers on this JetBlue Flight 603 were soon trapped in a stalemate: Costa Rica or Turks and Caicos?


"Some days, you just can't get rid of a time bomb." GIF from "Batman '66."

Within only minutes to spare — and with some stubborn minds still holding tightly to the convictions of their preferred tropical destination — a few individuals even rose to their feet to address the assembled masses with grandiose speeches!


GIF from JetBlue/YouTube.

Things were definitely heating up.

As the plane approached its point of descent, the passengers cast their ballots. Would they vote in favor of the greater good? Or would self-interest rule over mutual benefit?

Attention passengers: We interrupt this melodramatic retelling of a delightful social experiment to offer an insightful bit of Real Talk™. Please fasten your seatbelts as we could experience some turbulence:

It's understandably easier to get people to cooperate for a free vacation getaway than about health care or national defense or economic security or general social welfare.

But why is that? Why do temporary leisure activities inspire greater empathy and teamwork than our long-term happiness as individuals and as a society?


Even minions understand. And they're evil sidekicks! GIF from "Minions."

Because if 150 unsuspecting passengers can find a way to come together for the sake of a Costa Rican getaway, then there's no reason that the rest of our country can't do the same.

Of course the passengers ultimately united for the greater good. Why wouldn't they?

Maybe you were on that flight and you really, really wanted to go to Tahoe. That's cool. But what's more important: You going to Tahoe or you and everyone else getting a free vacation, even if it's not exactly where you want to go?


Don't be like Tony Stark. GIF from "Iron Man."

As hard as it is, sometimes you need to stop worrying about legroom and settle for that tropical vacation for the benefit of everyone around you. Because that's better than not going anywhere at all.

OK, so maybe it's not a perfect metaphor. But you get the idea.


GIF from JetBlue/YouTube.

Check out JetBlue's whole exciting social experiment below:

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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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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