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A Texan built an inclusive water park. It says a lot about how we design our world.

Gordon Hartman was unsatisfied with the typical water park.

Water parks are a fun way to cool down in the summer heat, but they're often not very inclusive for people with special needs. Hartman decided to change that.

His daughter, Morgan, has a cognitive disability that makes it hard for her to communicate. In watching her try to interact with other kids, he realized he wanted to create spaces where she — and other kids like her — were able to easily join in on the fun, ABC News reports.

Hartman went on to build Morgan's Wonderland, an amusement park in San Antonio, Texas, that opened in 2010. It features rides and attractions specifically designed for guests with disabilities.

Once the amusement park was open, Hartman set his eyes on water parks. For the next five years, he and his team worked with therapists, caregivers, parents, doctors, and water park experts to completely rethink what a water park could be for people with disabilities.

They broke ground in November 2015 and finally had their grand opening on June 17, 2017.

What they created is a stunning facility designed to make sure everyone can have fun.

[rebelmouse-image 19528625 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="This is, like, awesome Roman Mars' "99% Invisible"-type stuff. Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics." expand=1]This is, like, awesome Roman Mars' "99% Invisible"-type stuff. Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

It's called Morgan's Inspiration Island, and while there are accessible options in other water parks, Inspiration Island's dedication to inclusiveness goes beyond the pale.

Instead of steep-walled pools, guests can get soaked on splash pads instead, which are much friendlier for people with limited mobility.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

They can rush through rain curtains and geysers or take a spin behind (or in front of) a water cannon.

She might look cute, but beware, she can kill a man at 30 paces. Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

Spacious walkways and play areas make sure everyone can move around without restriction. There are also private areas for transferring in and out of wheelchairs as well.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

Waterproof wheelchairs make sure technology doesn't limit access either.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

For guests with battery-powered wheelchairs, getting hit with a water cannon might seem like a terrible idea. That's why the park teamed up with the University of Pittsburgh to create a waterproof version. The chairs, called the PneuChair, run on compressed air, not electricity, so a dip in the pool is perfectly safe. They're also designed to be lightweight and fast-charging to make sure the guests don't have to wait to have fun in the sun.

Photo from Morgan's Inspiration Island.

Parkgoers can enjoy a warmer water temperature at the reef exhibit to make it more tolerable and comfortable.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

Meanwhile, waterproof RFID-enabled wristbands help parents keep track of children.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

The wristbands make sure that if a kid wanders off, it's easy for parents to find them again.

Normal water parks can get overwhelming. At Morgan's Inspiration Island, they've created plenty of quiet, private spaces for guests to step away when they need.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

The park also purposefully caps the number of guests they let in at a time to make sure it never gets too crowded. People can make reservations online ahead of time.

The park is even economically-accessible — anyone with special needs is admitted free of charge. Being in Texas, water conservation is important too. The park is designed to continuously filter and recirculate its water, providing a clean, refreshing experience while also wasting as little as possible.

For Hartman, designing this park was about making sure everyone has a place to play and have fun.

Photo from Robin Jerstad/Jerstad Photographics.

"Morgan's Inspiration Island is not a special-needs park; it's a park of inclusion," Hartman said in a press release.

Everyone is welcome here, and through their empathetic, thoughtful approach, they really do mean everyone.

Finally, someone explains why we all need subtitles when watching TV

No, you're probably not losing your hearing.

Finally, someone explains why we all need subtitles

It seems everyone needs subtitles nowadays in order to "hear" the television. This is something that has become more common over the past decade and it's caused people to question if their hearing is going bad or if perhaps actors have gotten lazy with enunciation.

So if you've been wondering if it's just you who needs subtitles in order to watch the latest marathon-worthy show, worry no more. Vox video producer Edward Vega interviewed dialogue editor Austin Olivia Kendrick to get to the bottom of why we can't seem to make out what the actors are saying anymore. It turns out it's technology's fault, and to get to how we got here, Vega and Kendrick took us back in time.

They first explained that way back when movies were first moving from silent film to spoken dialogue, actors had to enunciate and project loudly while speaking directly into a large microphone. If they spoke and moved like actors do today, it would sound almost as if someone were giving a drive-by soliloquy while circling the block. You'd only hear every other sentence or two.

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One moment in history shot Tracy Chapman to music stardom. Watch it now.

She captivated millions with nothing but her guitar and an iconic voice.

Imagine being in the crowd and hearing "Fast Car" for the first time

While a catchy hook might make a song go viral, very few songs create such a unifying impact that they achieve timeless resonance. Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is one of those songs.

So much courage and raw honesty is packed into the lyrics, only to be elevated by Chapman’s signature androgynous and soulful voice. Imagine being in the crowd and seeing her as a relatively unknown talent and hearing that song for the first time. Would you instantly recognize that you were witnessing a pivotal moment in musical history?

For concert goers at Wembley Stadium in the late 80s, this was the scenario.

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The far-right is calling this viral Grammy performance 'Satanic.' Don't fall for it.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance of "Unholy" left some calling it a satanic ritual.

K.G/Youtube

Sam Smith and Kim Petras performing "Unholy" at the Grammy Awards.

Depending on which corners of social media you call home, few happenings from the 2023 Grammy awards were as divisive as Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ performance of the song “Unholy.” Was it a historic moment of inclusion or a historic display of a Satanic ritual broadcast to the world?

On the one hand, the pair made music history. After winning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Smith became the first non-binary artist to win the category, along with Petra who became the first trans woman to win the category.

However, not everyone was a fan of their live hell-themed performance, featuring Smith clad in red leather and sporting a top hat with devil horns and Petras dancing in a cage surrounded by dominatrixes.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz took to Twitter to call the act “evil,” and his fury was quickly echoed by other conservative influencers who declared it an example of mainstream devil worship.

“Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.” wrote conservative political commentator Liz Wheeler.

However, it doesn’t take a lot of research to find out what the artist’s original intentions were behind the song.

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