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A straight guy gets what it's like to be gay.
It's clear that empathy is becoming the norm. Thank goodness.
10.21.13
The Feeding America network of food banks
Walking into the supermarket these days is more anxiety-inducing than it has been for decades. Shoppers are now taking second looks at the prices of everyday items before dropping them into their carts to make sure they haven’t skyrocketed since their last trip to the store.
The meat and dairy aisles have been especially daunting. Over the past year in the United States, the average price of eggs has gone up 11.6% and chicken is up nearly 9%.
A recent national survey for Bankrate found that 71% of Americans say they’ve had to pay more at the grocery store.
The cause is a perfect storm of events: the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and rising food prices.
While we're all feeling the impact in one way or another, the situation has been overwhelming for people facing food insecurity. The good news is that the Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies have continued to serve people experiencing hunger, even though there’s a huge strain on the system.
First, the increase in demand at food banks has risen so much over the past fiscal year they have had to purchase 58% more food.
Second, snags in the supply chain have led to higher transportation costs, increasing overhead and further reducing the amount of food that food banks can afford.
Freight costs to move donated food are up 20% over this time last year. As a result, Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, has subsidized millions in transportation-related costs to food banks since April 2020.
When the price of food and transportation goes up, the amount that food banks can supply goes down.
How We Work 2021 – Feeding America www.youtube.com
According to the USDA 38 million people, including nearly 12 million children experience food insecurity in the U.S.
It’s hard for many to grasp the enormity of the hunger issue because it’s an invisible problem that’s hiding in plain sight.
It’s when a co-worker calls in sick because they haven’t eaten enough nutritious food to have the energy to come to work. You see it when an eighth-grader can’t focus in algebra class because they haven’t had enough to eat.
New challenges may arise around winter when free meal programs at schools are closed, and many people with low incomes must choose between paying for heat or buying meals.
By visiting FeedingAmerica.org/TakeAction you can learn how to help ease the strain on the network of food banks that help provide food to millions of people facing hunger.
Blockbuster video sign and pagers.
In “Back to the Future,” teenager Marty McFly goes back in time 30 years, from 1985 to 1955. But what if the film were made today and he went back from 2021 to 1991? I think the culture shock of a modern teenager going from a post-to-pre internet world would be much greater than the one that Marty experienced in the original film.
Would a kid from today be able to dial a payphone? Read a clock with actual hands? Look up directions on a Thomas Guide map?
A lot has changed since the dawn of the new millennium so a group of Redditors marked the changes in a post entitled: “What is something that was used heavily in the year 2000, but it's almost never used today?”
Here are 17 of the best posts.
"Geocities, neopets, livejournal, kazaa," — PapaWeir
GeoCities is definitely one of those things that was everywhere and then suddenly disappeared. At its peak, GeoCities hosted millions of websites, but its popularity declined after it was purchased by Yahoo and web hosting became cheaper.
"If you had a big screen TV it was probably a ridiculously thick rear projection TV," — ParoxysmAttack
Before plasma TVs came around, if you had a big screen it was also a seriously deep-screen TV.
"Re-writable CDs. I used to burn so many mix cds after downloading from napster, bearshare, limewire, frostwire," — Shittinwithmykitten
Napster created a music revolution overnight, but where were we going to save all of that new, stolen music? Rewriteable CDs were all the rage before the iPod came along and put 'em in the palm of your hand.
"Payphones. (Yes I know payphones still exist. Also, I am now very aware payphones are free in Australia, thank you for informing me.)" — Adreeisadyno
Kids these days have never had to walk five blocks to make a phone call.
"Dial-Up.
weeeeeeeee WOOOOOO_OOOOOO_
E E E E E E E EEEEEeeeeee
eee
eee URRRRRRRRRBEDULUDOLEDULUDOLEEPEEPEEP
R R R R R R R R R R R R RUMMMMMMMMMMMM," — Martini_Man_
Those of us who lived in the dial-up era will never, ever forget the whizzing, belching sound that we had to sit through to experience the World Wide Web.
Who had this dial up modem tone as their phone\u2019s ringtone at least once?\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got mail!\u201d Was heard 35 million times a day.\n\nElwood Edwards, the voice to the @AOL \nhttps://youtu.be/cv1B9sPPOXo\u00a0https://twitter.com/JonErlichman/status/1428141025986502665\u00a0\u2026— \u261c Art (\ud83d\udcf1,\ud83d\udcf2) (@\u261c Art (\ud83d\udcf1,\ud83d\udcf2)) 1629394603
"Indoor smoking. My young-ish kids marvel at the fact that people used to sit in restaurants and smoke," — TurdFergDSF
People used to smoke on airplanes, in hospitals, at restaurants ... pretty much everywhere.
"Blockbuster card," — larrythetarry
It wasn't Friday night in the '90s without a two-liter of Pepsi, a large pizza and a stack of VHS tapes from Blockbuster video.
"VCRs," — Murtamatt
Want to feel old? In 2016, Funai, which manufacturers the VCRs in China for Sanyo, announced it would produce its final VHS player, making it the last one ever produced.
"AOL," — PacMan8112
"Welcome!" "You've got mail!" AOL was the leading internet provider in the late '90s but soon lost its relevance after merging with Time Warner, Inc. in 2000.
"Calculators; teachers kept saying 'you won’t have one with you all the time,' look who’s stupid now?! Both of us…" — elika007
A calculator was a luxury item in the '80s. In the '90s, a Texas Instruments graphing calculator could cost you $90. Now, it's all on your phone along with a million other apps.
"A/S/L" — Smart_North_3374
Anyone who's a proud member of Gen X knows the "age/sex/location" question. It's the first thing you asked in an AOL chatroom when people used to try to hook up online. Of course, nobody answered it honestly, but that was half the fun.
"JNCO jeans," — ccherry124
In the 2000s everyone wore skinny jeans. But in the 1990s, people wore the baggiest jeans possible. The award for baggiest jeans goes to JNCO, the manufacturers of raver pants that fit two legs and a few kilos worth of MDMA.
"Pagers," — skaote
The pager was one of the most popular status symbols of the '90s. Nothing said "cool" like having a pager that was constantly blowing up. (Does anyone under the age of 40 know what it means for a pager to "blow up"?)
"'Wanna Cyber?'" God . We were awful," — icanbeafrick
Back in the AOL days, the closest you could come to getting it on while online was through cyber sex. There were no pictures or video so you just exchanged dirty messages until the other person logged off. The typical cyber session began with, "What are you wearing?"
"Limp Bizkit," — Timmah_1984
Unfortunately, they're back.
"Travel agencies. Now I can do everything on my phone," — whatdoineedaname4
If you can belive it, before there was Priceline, there was a person sitting at a desk with a rotary phone who booked your seven-day trip to Europe.
Five year-old Abi has a passion for fashion. Like many creative people her age, the self-described fashionista loves singing, dancing, and dressing up for mother-daughter photoshoots alongside her twin sister.
You wouldn’t know it from her bright smile, but just last year Abi received a life-saving bone marrow transplant to treat a painful blood disorder she’s had since birth. “We were told she needed a bone marrow transplant or the alternative was for her to have a stroke at the age of three,” Abi’s mom says.
That is scary news no parent wants to hear, but Abi’s mom knew her daughter needed the treatment to survive. Despite the pain, Abi bravely received repeat bone marrow transplants over the course of a year. (Her twin sister Vivi was the generous donor!)
After the treatments, the family was connected with Make-A-Wish®, a nonprofit that spreads hope and positivity by granting wishes for young people like Abi who are fighting critical illnesses.
“I like dressing up and taking pictures with my sister,” Abi says. “I have been doing it for a long time and my mom told me that one day I will be on billboards all over the world.”

Inspired by her family’s stylish shoots, Abi wished to be on a Macy’s billboard. To fulfill that dream, Abi, Vivi, and their mom traveled to New York City earlier this year to participate in a photoshoot with the Macy’s creative team in partnership with Make-A-Wish. The two siblings posed in a series of outfits that included an animal print number with a white fuzzy vest and a festive red lace dress with black-and-white sneakers.
The event was a huge success for Abi and her family. And the billboard debuts November 29 in Prince George, Maryland this holiday season.
“I loved NYC, I really enjoyed the photoshoot. It made me soooo happy and I can't wait to go back to New York,” Abi says.
“The effort put into our experience was phenomenal,” Abi’s mom adds. “I know the experience in New York was special and etched in the minds of the twins. They often ask when we are going back to New York for another photoshoot. Throughout the experience, we felt loved, thought about, and seen.”
Make-A-Wish couldn’t spread joy to children, families, and communities without the generous support of individuals and partners like Macy’s. Giving can start with something as simple as a letter to Santa: If you write a letter online or drop one off at a big red letterbox in-store, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million in total.
Besides sending letters to Santa, there are even more ways to support Make-A-Wish at Macy’s during the season of giving. For every purchase of the $4 Believe Bracelet, Macy’s will donate $2 to Make-A-Wish from now through December 31. Customers can also donate on Macys.com through the end of 2021 to help spread hope and happiness to children with life-changing illnesses.
Since 2003, Macy’s has donated over $137 million to Make-A-Wish. These donations have helped Make-A-Wish fulfill the dreams of more than 16,000 young people just like Abi!
This article originally appeared on 05.22.15
This is true even if we take it one state at a time—no single state, no matter how wealthy or small, matches the top scoring countries. And yet, the U.S. spends more per student than many other countries in the world.
Image via Amanda Ripley/PopTech.
In the above image, each state is mapped to a country that had similar scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, an international test of mathematical reasoning given to 15-year-olds. The top 15 countries are in purple. No, there isn't any purple on this map.
She started asking random people what they thought and she followed up on their ideas. The same theories came up over and over: People blamed poverty and diversity for the difference between U.S. students and students everywhere else. But when Ripley dug into the numbers, she discovered that, while those are factors, they don't fully explain the difference.
Kids spend more time in school than anyone. They've got strong opinions about school. They have opinions on what is working.
She talked to the only students who could have firsthand knowledge of the differences between schools in top-performing countries and those in the U.S.: American kids who were exchange students in those countries.
The students all said that in their host countries:
To hear more from these amazing kids (and a great story about how an education reporter managed to take an international standardized test), check out the video from PopTech.
Microscopic images satisfy TikTok commenters' natural curiosity.
Ever wondered what an espresso looked like under a microscope? How about a pumpkin? Octopus sucker?
Thanks to pharm tech college student and TikTok star of science Justice Dodson, all of your micro-curiosities can be satisfied. And wow, it is crazy to look at our big, big world through this teeny tiny lens.
Dodson’s channel, where he takes requests for items to go under a microscope, is a unique blend of fascinating, educational and grossly pleasing. With more than a million followers, this kid gets a ton of requests. But here are some of the nanoscopic gems I found particularly interesting:@justice.dodson Reply to @user646472910474810 Corona or Corona? ##foryou ##microscope ##science ##TargetHalloween ##MakeItCinematic
♬ Pink Soldiers - 23
It’s probably no surprise that many, many, many people ask to see the coronavirus up close and personal. Although Dodson does a bit of a bait-and-switch here.
He starts the video by letting us know, “I have Corona, so I can finally show you what it looks like under a microscope”
… and then proceeds to pull out a Corona beer bottle.
This was still a teachable moment, because we learned that the virus is way too small and would need a much more powerful device to be visible. Something called an electron microscope. Sounds like something from a Marvel movie.
As one person commented, “I was excited, disappointed, and informed all in the span of 30 seconds,” and that accurately sums it all up.
@justice.dodson Reply to @that_trippy_chick22 Cow + Pig = Pepperoni ##foryou ##microscope ##velabco ##wehavethemeats ##CurameChoreo
♬ #3 - Aphex Twin
It looks like pimply skin, then a gaseous planet. Don’t watch before pizza.
@justice.dodson Davy Jones vibes 🐙 ##foryou ##microscope ##velabco ##ocotpus ##NissanShowUp
♬ Davy Jones Theme (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Je Suis Parte
First off, an octopus is already fun to look at. But Dodson took a piece of an octopus arm (I’m guessing from a market?) and under the microscope it looks even more like an alien creature.
Bonus points for creativity, as he used the “Davy Jones Theme” from "Pirates of the Caribbean" for his audio. I giggled at that.
It’s also great to see that Dodson is inspiring other scientists-in-training, as many share their appreciation, knowledge and enthusiasm in the comments.
One person wrote, "hoping to be a medical lab scientist one day, love your videos."
@justice.dodson Reply to @defender2090 I found it like this all shriveled up :( ##foryou ##microscope ##velabco ##123PandoraME ##TakeTheDayOffChallenge
♬ The Banjo Beat, Pt. 1 - Ricky Desktop
People really, really, really like the squishing ones.
@justice.dodson Reply to @user646472910474810 Happy Halloween! 🎃 ##foryou ##microscope ##pumpkin ##velabco ##science ##PUBGMOBILE
♬ Halloween Theme - John Carpenter & Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies
Holy moly, that crazy transformation from 100x to 400x. I will never think of jack-o-lanterns the same way again.
@justice.dodson Reply to @hnnh.cstr Red wine, extra red 🩸🔬 ##velabco ##microscope ##science ##wine ##JifRapChallenge
♬ Je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson
In a beautiful cascade, the red blood cells meet their demise, due to the alcohol.
So yeah, in case you were considering it, don’t inject red wine!
@justice.dodson Reply to @.seanm RIP George ##foryou ##CowboyBebop ##MunchiesWithTubi ##microscope ##velabco ##science
♬ where is my mind - jewel :*
I was half hoping for some kind of hidden clue-like message that “National Treasure” always promised us. But still quite cool to see.
Especially toward the end where you see how money is a bunch of fibers seemingly sewn together. There's a metaphor for capitalism somewhere in there.
@justice.dodson ##stitch with @noelmulk0 Do you have mold in your water bottle? 🔬🔬 ##foryou ##microscope ##velabco ##mold ##k18hairflip
♬ original sound - Justice Dodson
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Dodson's TikToks, it’s that nowhere is safe.
@justice.dodson Reply to @nikki_smiht LOOK AT THOSE LITTLE CLAWS 🥺 ##foryou ##microscope ##velabco ##MyBrawlSuper ##waterbear ##tardigrade
♬ Elf - Main Theme - Geek Music
Found inside a little puddle on moss and dirt, and with a bonus tardigrade egg!
This is one of the cuter ones, most definitely.
@justice.dodson Reply to @user646472910474810 lil bubbles ##foryou ##microscope ##CustomersMostLoved ##velabco ##DoTheJuJu
♬ original sound - джузель
It basically looks like a bubble bath, making me love coffee even more.
@justice.dodson Bananas making bananas 🍌 ##foryou ##didyouknow ##microscope ##velabco ##SaveIt4TheEndZone ##banana ##cells
♬ Eleanor Rigby - Cody Fry
Why no, Dodson, I did not know that banana cells look just like little bananas. But I certainly can’t un-know it moving forward.
GiphyWe all have a science nerd inside, an inner curiosity that wants to know how things work, both big and small.
That’s what makes TikTok truly amazing for its bite-sized glimpses into subjects we might not otherwise be aware of.
Trust me, I did not wake up thinking I’d go down a rabbit hole like this one, but I’m so glad I did. Thanks Justice Dodson for sharing your passion and for helping us see the world in a whole new way.