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A woman captured an epic, 90-minute parking standoff that anyone from L.A. will totally understand.

A woman captured an epic, 90-minute parking standoff that anyone from L.A. will totally understand.
via Marc Cooper / Flickr

L.A. people have a reputation for being a bit more laid back than people in other major cities. And why not? The weather is great, the weed is legal, and now it's one of the safest big cities in America.

But when we get in our cars everything goes out the window. To survive in L.A. traffic you have to be alert, cunning, and not give a flying f**k about anyone or anything. As Axl Rose once said, “Welcome to the jungle baby, you’re gonna die.”

On the streets of L.A. everything is personal.

Although the following standoff between two drivers seems like two people being utterly childish over a parking spot, if you’re from L.A. you'll get it.

The hunt for a good parking spot can be maddening, and once you claim your spot with your blinker, nobody better encroach on your territory.

It all started in L.A.’s Koreatown, the mid point between downtown and Hollywood. A black car drove past an open spot and tried to reverse into it, but a silver car pulled up behind to prevent the black car from backing in.

This stared a standoff that would go on for 90 minutes. Thankfully, this battle of the wills was caught on video by Twitter user chicken tikka mariah.

It all began at 6:35 pm, the tail end of rush hour.

6:40 pm: The hazard lights go on.

6:46 pm: Nobody's budging.

6:48: The standoff has forced cars attempting to pass to drive into oncoming traffic.

6:53: Even though a spot has opened across the street, these guys ain't budging. It stopped being about parking a long time ago.

7:08: Even though they're being honked at, the combatants won't budge. This is a game of will.

7:16: The symphony of horns blow louder.

7:19: The stalemate continues.

7:28: The sun has set on the City of Angeles, but these two aren't moving.

7:30: We've hit the hour mark. Don't these people have families?

7:30-ish: The Prius in front of the black car pulls out, revealing an open spot. The black car pulls in.

7:30-ish: The silver car pulls in behind the black car.

7:30-ish: The cars turn off their hazard lights, but no one is getting out of their car. This isn't over folks.

7:30-ish: Even though they have spots, no one is getting out. Are they afraid there will be a fight?

7:51: For 20 minutes both drivers haven't left their cars.

7:50-ish: Chicken tikka mariah questions her role in the fight.

7:50-ish: The driver in the silver car exits, ending this existential game of chicken.

Chicken tikka marsha left a note on the silver car asking for both sides of the story.

"Your resistance is inspiring," she wrote. "Thank you for an hour & a half of entertainment. I'll never forget you. I hope you and black car can be friends after this. — A Koreatown neighbor."

She also left her contact info so she can get the inside scoop.

She then wrote a letter to the victor, black car.

Three days later, chicken tikka mariah revealed a twist.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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education
Family

Mom’s blistering rant on how men are responsible for all unwanted pregnancies is on the nose

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

Gabrielle Blair/Twitter

Mom has something to say... strongly say.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, are a conservative group who aren't known for being vocal about sex.

But best selling author, blogger, and mother of six, Gabrielle Blair, has kicked that stereotype to the curb with a pointed thread on reducing unwanted pregnancies. And her sights are set directly at men.

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women
Family

Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids. It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons, confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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parenting
Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

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Education

8 changes that were made to a classic Richard Scarry book to keep up with the times. Progress!

All the misogyny and racism you may not have noticed are now gone.

Images via Alan Taylor/Flickr, used with permission.

Updating the kitchen.


Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

Books from when you were a kid?

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Education

Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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history
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