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Heroes

A powerful 360° immersive video tour of Alaska's gorgeous melting glaciers, narrated by Jared Leto.

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Sierra Club

Jared Leto: Is there anything he can't do?

Aside from being the lead singer and guitarist for the award-winning rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars...



GIF from the music video for "A Beautiful Lie" by Thirty Seconds to Mars, which was actually filmed on a glacier.


...he's also an Academy Award-winning actor (and occasionally punching bag)...

GIF from "Fight Club."

...and a former teenage heartthrob.

GIF from "My So-Called Life."

Now he can add "Virtual Reality Tour Guide" to his resume as well.

Perhaps you've felt emotionally or metaphorically transported by the sound of Jared Leto's voice.

But thanks to a new collaboration between RYOT and the Sierra Club, you can be physically transported as well.

GIFs via RYOT/Sierra Club.

This short interactive film, titled "Act in Paris," immerses the viewer in a 360° tour of Alaska's gorgeous melting glaciers.

Don't worry — you don't need one of those big clunky virtual reality helmets or Google Cardboard or any other extra-fancy tech to enjoy the experience.

As with all YouTube 360 videos, you can use the directional buttons on the screen or the arrow keys on your keyboard to guide your way around the glacier while you listen to the mellow tone of Leto's voice.

You can also download the RYOT VR app and experience the whole thing on your smartphone, either by touching the screen...

...or by literally spinning around the room (although you might get some weird looks).

Pretty cool, right? But what does a VR tour of Alaska have to do with Paris?

This December, the United Nations is hosting a massive climate action conference in Paris with the goal of bringing the world together to enter into a universal and legally binding agreement to fight climate change before it's too late.

As for Alaska, it's ground zero for climate change damage, along with the rest of the Arctic Circle.

As Jared Leto's serene voice will tell you during your immersive video tour, melting glaciers and rising temperatures have had a devastating impact on the Arctic, and it's only getting worse.

The inside of a melting glacier.

Alaska's scenic landscapes show us just how bad the damage is — and what's in store for the rest of us if we don't act.

The Arctic Circle might seem remote, but the effects of climate change have left their mark on the rest of the world as well. It's not quite as apparent yet, but it is happening — and it's happening exponentially faster as the Arctic gets worse.

So as you soak in the sights on your virtual tour, consider what would happen if it all just disappeared.

And if by some chance you aren't feeling moved by the jaw-dropping beauty of the Arctic Circle, consider that wherever you live, the exact same things are happening all around you, whether you notice them or not. Check it out:

The time has come for us to make a difference — because we might not have another chance to stop the damage.

Visit ActInParis.org to find out more and to demand that the world's leaders come together with an action plan while they still can.

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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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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Innovation

A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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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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