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6 ways Bea Arthur made the world a better place to live, even after her death.

In her life, Bea Arthur was an amazingly generous actress, activist, and human being — and she's not done giving yet.

After her death in 2009, the Ali Forney Center in New York City received a gift of $300,000 from Arthur's estate to help homeless LGBTQ youths.

Arthur in 1975. Photo by AP.

The Ali Forney Center and the Cooper Square Committee then received a $3.3 million grant from the New York City Council and the borough president to renovate a building at 222 East 13th Street to provide housing and assistance to homeless LGBTQ youths.

Named in her honor, the Bea Arthur Residence building is scheduled to be completed in February 2017.

Here are six other accomplishments from Bea Arthur's life, legacy, and career that you may not have known about:

1. One of Arthur's last public performances was a one-woman show to raise money for homeless LGBTQ youths.

As a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community, Arthur in 2005 put on a performance of her one-woman show to raise money for the Ali Forney Center. That night, she helped raise $40,000 and gave the center some serious help at a tough time during the recession.

"These kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay or transgender — this organization really is saving lives,"Arthur told Next Magazine at the time of the benefit show.

Arthur at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony. Photo by Matt Sayles/AP.

"I honestly don’t know how we would have made it through the recession without that extraordinary gift. Bea Arthur truly meant it when she said she would do anything to help our kids," Carl Siciliano, the executive director of the Ali Forney Center, wrote in a Huffington Post piece.

2. Arthur once testified in the California Senate against the sale and production of foie gras.

Arthur was an activist for PETA, working with the organization on many campaigns and narrating videos for them. But in 2004, she was moved so much by an issue that she appeared in the California Senate alongside Sen. John Burton in support of a bill to ban the production and sale of foie gras in the state.

Arthur turns to leave after testifying before a Senate committee in April 2004. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP.

Foie gras is made from the livers of force-fed geese and ducks. Its production usually involves tubes being put down the birds’ throats and having food pumped into their stomachs several times a day to fatten up their livers.

"There is no room in our wonderful state for such a nightmarish industry," she told the Senate panel. The committee approved the bill in a 4-to-1 decision.

3. Arthur was known for picking up and rescuing stray animals — including a German shepherd she found on the highway on her way to a set.

Besides fighting for animal rights through legislation and activism, Arthur strove every day to help animals in need, sometimes at her own peril. Television writer Charlie Hauck told Playbill about an instance when Arthur showed up on set with a German shepherd that had been found running along a highway.

Arthur with her dog, Julie, at her home in Los Angeles in 1978. Photo by Wally Fong/AP.

"I picture in my mind," Hauck described, "this actress, upon whom the jobs of 200 people depended, who had two children, stopping her car in traffic and running around trying to catch a dog."

The dog turned out to be owned by Barbra Streisand. Because of course it did.

4. She was a champion for feminism and helped bring important issues to light in her show "Maude," which addressed topics like abortion and women's rights.

Throughout her acting career, Arthur was also able to bring women's issues to the forefront of the cultural conversation. After appearing on "All in the Family" as the outspoken Maude Findlay, the character was spun off for the show "Maude," which ran for six years.

In November 1972, "Maude" aired a groundbreaking two-part episode about abortion, just months before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on abortion in the Roe v. Wade decision.

Arthur in 1988. Photo by AP.

5. She was in the "Star Wars Holiday Special" — where she sang along to the infamous cantina song.

She was asked to be in the show by producers Ken and Mitzie Welch and agreed to it although she had no idea what it was about.

"I was asked to be in it by the composer of that song I sang — 'Goodnight, But Not Goodbye.' It was a wonderful time, but I had no idea it was even a part of the whole 'Star Wars' thing," Arthur told the Portland Mercury. "I just remember singing to bunch of people with funny heads."

GIF from "The Star Wars Holiday Special."

6. She never stopped being a trailblazer for women on TV — even as she got older.

In a time when the push on TV was for young talent, "The Golden Girls" strove to be something different and more meaningful. The show featured an all-female leading cast over the age of 40, which at the time was unheard of (and is rare still today).

"I think, in both of those shows, we really did change the perception of a woman’s role. I don’t think anybody thought that it was okay to be a feminist back when she was doing Maude," Rue McClanahan told Entertainment Weekly about working with Arthur.

"The Golden Girls" stars during a break in taping: (from left) Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White. Photo by Nick Ut/AP.

Episode after episode of "The Golden Girls" tackled issues of sexuality, ageism, and feminism and used Arthur’s wit and sharp tongue to drive these issues forward.

"She really taught me and every other woman my age how to be a feminist at a time when that was a dirty word," Rosie O'Donnell told Playbill. "And without her, I think, there would not be as many funny women on television today."

Arthur was much more than everyone's favorite quick witted Golden Girl.

She was a champion for equal rights for women, the LGBTQ community, and animals. In 2017, her legacy will continue growing with the upcoming completion of the Bea Arthur Residence in NYC to house homeless LGBTQ youths and help them become independent.

Besides being an activist for animals and LGBTQ rights, she also focused on helping to raise money for HIV-AIDS research. She appeared in the 1992 Pacific Center HIV-AIDS Benefit along with her friend Angela Lansbury. She posthumously donated $25,000 to the AIDS Services Foundation Orange County. After hearing about the donation, ASF co-founder Ken Jillson said, "I can’t believe it. After all these years she’s still doing wonderful things for ASF."

Cheers to Bea Arthur and the legacy of hope and kindness that she left behind. We could all learn a little something from her.

From Your Site Articles
Science

MIT’s trillion-frames-per-second camera can capture light as it travels

"There's nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera."

Photo from YouTube video.

Photographing the path of light.

A new camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second.

Compare that with a traditional movie camera which takes a mere 24. This new advancement in photographic technology has given scientists the ability to photograph the movement of the fastest thing in the Universe, light.

The actual event occurred in a nano second, but the camera has the ability to slow it down to twenty seconds.

time, science, frames per second, bounced light

The amazing camera.

Photo from YouTube video.

 For some perspective, according to New York Times writer, John Markoff, "If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years."


In the video below, you'll see experimental footage of light photons traveling 600-million-miles-per-hour through water.

It's impossible to directly record light so the camera takes millions of scans to recreate each image. The process has been called femto-photography and according to Andrea Velten, a researcher involved with the project, "There's nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera."

(H/T Curiosity)


This article originally appeared on 09.08.17

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science
Family

Dad found out his son bullied a kid at school and came up with a brilliant teaching moment

"I told him that we have the opportunity to make things right."

@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dad Patrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.

“I got an email a few days ago from my 9-year-old son's teacher that he had done a ‘prank’ to a fellow classmate and it ended up embarrassing the classmate and hurt his feelings,” the video begins.

At this point, Forseth doesn’t split hairs. “I don't care who you are, that's bullying,” he said. “If you do something to somebody that you know has the potential end result of them being embarrassed in front of a class or hurt—you’re bullying.”

So, Forseth and Lincoln sat down for a long talk (a talk, not a lecture) about appropriate punishment and how it would have felt to be on the receiving end of such a prank.

From there, Forseth told his son that he would decide how to make things right, making it a masterclass in taking true accountability.

“I demanded nothing out of him. I demanded no apology, I demanded no apology to the teacher,” he continued, adding, “I told him that we have the opportunity to go back and make things right. We can't take things back, but we can try to correct things and look for forgiveness.”

@thehalfdeaddad Replying to @sunshinyday1227 And then it’s my kid 🤦‍♂️😡 #endbullyingnow #talktoyourkidsmore #dadlifebestlife #singledadsover40 #teachyourchildren #ReadySetLift ♬ Get You The Moon - Kina

So what did Lincoln do? He went back to his school and actually talked to the other boy he pranked. After learning that they shared a love of Pokémon, he then went home to retrieve two of his favorite Pokémon cards as a peace offering, complete with a freshly cleaned case.

Lincoln would end up sharing with his dad that the other boy was so moved by the gesture that he would end up hugging him.

“I just want to encourage all parents to talk to your kids,” Forseth concluded. “Let's try to avoid just the swat on the butt [and] send them to their room. Doesn't teach them anything.”

In Forseth’s opinion, kids get far more insight by figuring out how to resolve a problem themselves. “That's what they're actually going to face in the real world once they move out of our nests.”

He certainly has a point. A slap on the wrist followed by being marched down somewhere to say, “I’m sorry,” only further humiliates kids most of the time. With this gentler approach, kids are taught the intrinsic value of making amends after wrongdoing, not to mention the power of their own autonomy. Imagine that—blips in judgment can end up being major character-building moments.

Kudos to this dad and his very smart parenting strategy.


This article originally appeared on 3.24.23

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fatherhood
Education

Expert says there's only one laundry cycle you ever need, no matter what's being washed

Straight from Patric Richardson, the "Laundry Guy" himself.

Representative image from Canva

Because who can keep up with which laundry settings is for which item, anyway?

Once upon a time, our only option for getting clothes clean was to get out a bucket of soapy water and start scrubbing. Nowadays, we use fancy machines that not only do the labor for us, but give us free reign to choose between endless water temperature, wash duration, and spin speed combinations.

Of course, here’s where the paradox of choice comes in. Suddenly you’re second guessing whether that lace item needs to use the “delicates” cycle, or the “hand wash” one, or what exactly merits a “permanent press” cycle. And now, you’re wishing for that bygone bucket just to take away the mental rigamarole.

Well, you’re in luck. Turns out there’s only one setting you actually need. At least according to one laundry expert.

While appearing on HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast, Patric Richardson, aka The Laundry Evangelist, said he swears by the “express” cycle, as “it’s long enough to get your clothes clean but it’s short enough not to cause any damage.”

Richardson’s reasoning is founded in research done while writing his book, “Laundry Love,” which showed that even the dirtiest items would be cleaned in the “express” cycle, aka the “quick wash” or “30 minute setting.”


Furthermore the laundry expert, who’s also the host of HGTV’s “Laundry Guy,” warned that longer wash settings only cause more wear and tear, plus use up more water and power, making express wash a much more sustainable choice.

Really, the multiple settings washing machines have more to do with people being creatures of habit, and less to do with efficiency, Richardson explained.

“All of those cycles [on the washing machine] exist because they used to exist,” he told co-hosts Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson. “We didn’t have the technology in the fabric, in the machine, in the detergent [that we do now], and we needed those cycles. In the ’70s, you needed the ‘bulky bedding’ cycle and the ‘sanitary’ cycle ... it was a legit thing. You don’t need them anymore, but too many people want to buy a machine and they’re like, ‘My mom’s machine has “whitest whites.”’ If I could build a washing machine, it would just have one button — you’d just push it, and it’d be warm water and ‘express’ cycle and that’s it.”
washing machine

When was the last time you washed you washing machine? "Never" is a valid answer.

Canva

According to Good Housekeeping, there are some things to keep in mind if you plan to go strictly express from now on.

For one thing, the outlet recommends only filling the machine halfway and using a half dose of liquid, not powder detergent, since express cycles use less water. Second, using the setting regularly can develop a “musty” smell, due to the constant low-temperature water causing a buildup of mold or bacteria. To prevent this, running an empty wash on a hot setting, sans the detergent, is recommended every few weeks, along with regularly scrubbing the detergent drawer and door seal.

Still, even with those additional caveats, it might be worth it just to knock out multiple washes in one day. Cause let’s be honest—a day of laundry and television binging sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?

To catch even more of Richardson’s tips, find the full podcast episode here.


This article originally appeared on 2.4.24

community
Family

A mom asked if it's appropriate to make a babysitter do housework and set the internet on fire

They're just sitting there while my kids sleep.

Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

Should babysitters be expected to clean?

When it comes to babysitting, you can hit the jackpot with someone who not only enjoys hanging out with your kiddos but also cleans out of boredom. The only babysitter I've had that experience with is my mom, but I do hear they do exist. While walking into a spotless house after a much-needed night out would be amazing, it's not really part of a standard babysitting package.

Typically, whoever babysits for you is solely there to focus on the well-being of your children. They feed them snacks, play games with them, and follow their bedtime routine to the letter. Then they hang out on your couch reminding Netflix that they're still watching and wait for you to return. Sure, they clean up dishes from dinner and whatever toys were pulled out during their time with your kids, but they don't typically clean your house.

But in a private parenting group I belong to, a long debate was started when a mom asked a group of 260k of her closest friends if it would be appropriate for a parent to ask a babysitter to clean their home.

The anonymous mom explained that her college-aged daughter had recently started babysitting for a family, but on the second day, her duties suddenly changed. There was a list of chores waiting for the babysitter that included cleaning the family's dishes and cleaning up messes that were there before the sitter arrived.

This revelation set off a firestorm of comments with many agreeing that anything outside of cleaning up after the children while they're in your care is a separate job. But not everyone was on the same page and it was clear that this was a topic that was going to cause some intense debate. Since summer months are here, there's no wonder this topic is coming up and views are split.

woman holding kid in the street

Should babysitters be expected to clean, one mom asks.

Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash

Scary Mommy recently published an article posing a similar question, only this was coming from a parent who wanted her babysitter to clean while her children slept. Elizabeth Narins explains that she and her husband are stretched thin and have an active toddler she jokingly calls a "toy tornado."

"Given the amount of housework that clearly needs to be done, paying someone to sit on our toy-covered couch during naps or after bedtime just seems... inefficient," Narins wrote before posing the question. "Is it completely out of line for me to ask her to declutter when my kids are in bed?"

Whether it's the expert interviewed for the Scary Mommy article or the parents in the private group, there does seem to be one common theme among the discourse: Any additional chores should be clarified in the original job description, and if it wasn't, then it should be directly brought up in a conversation with the babysitter.

Many parents in the comments believed that a housekeeper should be hired in addition to the babysitter, while others thought the babysitter should be offered more money for the additional work. But there were several people who thought it was just common courtesy for a babysitter to clean the house while the kids were asleep.

It may seem that you're paying a babysitter to do nothing while your children sleep, but you're paying them to be there in the event of an emergency. No matter which side of the debate you're on, it seems proper communication about expectations will save everyone a headache in the future.

Do you think cleaning should be expected from a babysitter?


This article originally appeared on 6.8.23

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babysitter cleaning
Heroes

Heart stopping video shows group of drivers working together to rescue man from burning car

This is what teamwork looks like.

CBS Mornings|YouTube

Video shows group of strangers trying to free man from burning car

Getting into a car crash is not something people hope they experience in their lifetimes, and if it does happen you hope it's just a minor fender bender. Unfortunately not all car accidents are minor. One man found himself in a pretty major accident on a Minnesota highway becoming trapped in his car.

According to eye witnesses, the man struck a light pole on the highway, landing with the driver's side of the car pinned against the guardrail. The car quickly becomes engulfed in flames as other drivers rush to the man's side in an attempt to free him from the fiery vehicle. Kadir Tolla caught the whole thing on his dash-cam accidentally when he jumped out of his running car to help.

Multiple people fought flames trying desperately to pull the car door open to let the driver out, but the guardrail thwarts their efforts repeatedly. At some point, Tolla runs to grab a large piece of hard plastic he found on the road and attempts to break the window. Nothing seems to be going in favor of the civilian rescuers.

"He was saying, 'pull me out, pull me out, pull me out,'" Tolla tells Fox News. "We could crack the door a little bit, you know, give him a little air. It [the flames] was actually smacking us in our face but we was just jumping back."

Eventually a "highway helper" arrived and breaks the glass on the driver's side window, which allows the other drivers to pull the man through the window, carrying him to safety. They got him out just in the knick of time because before they could get the unidentified man away from the car, the flames began to dance right where the driver was sitting seconds before.

The entire video is heart stopping, and shows the power of everyday people working together to save a stranger. Watch the heroic rescue below.

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