+
Family

A pregnant mom found peace of mind on the road with a helpful piece of tech called Hum.

True
Hum by Verizon

Imagine you're pregnant and stranded on the freeway.

That was Meli Arevalo's biggest worry when one day, smoke suddenly started coming out of her engine. She was seven months pregnant at the time.

"I was pregnant and just being stranded in the freeway ... would've not been a good thing," she says.  


Image via iStock.

"Our car was kinda getting hot," Arevalo remembers. "But we didn't know why."

Luckily, Arevalo had a device installed in her car that could help her spot the issue right away: Hum by Verizon.

Through the Vehicle Diagnostics feature provided by Hum, Arevalo was able to pinpoint the car's alternator as the exact source of the problem. She then gave their helpful Mechanics Hotline a call, and they even assisted her with the next steps she needed to take.

Image by Hum by Verizon.

"I explained what happened," says Arevalo, "and they transferred me to a mechanic right away and the mechanic answered all my questions."

Now that she knew what was wrong, Arevalo was able to quickly have her car fixed before anything more serious happened.

"If it weren't for [Hum]," she adds, "I honestly don't think we would've ever known. It saved us a lot of money."

Hum also helps prevent all sorts of unpredictable hassles down the road — something incredibly important now that Arevalo has two lovely kids and needs the car for their daily routine.

"We only have one car, so it's everyday," she says. "We drive everywhere with it."

When you're a busy family racking up miles on your car, it helps to have a device that can make life a little easier.

Forgot where you parked? (We've all been there.) Well, Hum can find your exact spot and let you know through the app. In fact, if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, just use their Pinpoint Roadside Assistance to let Hum know exactly where to send help. Plus, if your car is stolen, you can find it on the app and notify police right away. "It's right on your phone," says Arevalo. "Like the tip of your fingers."

"Knock on wood that won't happen, but you have peace of mind that if it does happen, we can get the car back," she adds.

Image by Hum by Verizon.

One of the coolest things that Hum provides is the monthly health report. It provides useful data on your car so you always know how it's doing. It's like having your car checked out — without actually having to drive anywhere.

Today, Arevalo and her family drive with much less worry knowing that Hum has their back.

Whether it's visiting family, going to school, or heading to a doctor's appointment, Hum is right there with them every step of the way. "We really like it, and we even recommended it to friends and family," says Arevalo. "Just because of how easy it was for us and the headache that it saved us."

"Even my mechanic asked me what it was so he could tell his clients."

When you have a device whose main purpose is to make owning a car much easier, it makes all the difference when it comes to giving your family a safer — and most easygoing — ride in town.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

Keep ReadingShow less

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

Keep ReadingShow less

YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

Keep ReadingShow less