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Heroes

A year after Hurricane Harvey, J.J. Watts’ foundation has done incredible things.

The silver lining to the dark cloud of tragedy are the heroes who emerge to help those whose lives have been devastated.

One year ago, Houston, Texas was devastated by Harvey, the most deadly and costly hurricane in American history.

Harvey took an estimated 88 lives and caused over $200 billion in damages.


Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt was a bright light in Harvey’s aftermath.

He launched a campaign to raise $200,000 for relief efforts but his goal was surpassed by more than $41 million dollars.

Watt’s campaign would become the largest crowdsourced fundraiser in world history, earning him the NFL’s coveted Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

The downside to the ever-changing news cycle is that shortly after tragedy hits, the media moves on to the next story, and the work done by first-responders and charities often goes unseen.

But one year after Harvey, Watt has shared the magnificent things that have been done with the $41.6 million in donations.

Donations to the J.J. Watt Foundation supported:

  • The cleanup and rebuilding of over 600 homes
  • The recovery and rebuilding of over 420 child care centers and after-school programs that service over 16,000 children
  • Distribution of over 26,000,000 meals
  • Physical and mental health services to over 6,500 individuals
  • Distribution of medical to over 10,000 patients

“As I reflect on the events of Hurricane Harvey one year ago, the memories of destruction and devastation remain, but they are accompanied by memories of hope, selflessness and the beauty of the human spirit,” Watt said in a statement.

“The actions of professional first responders and everyday citizens alike were an inspiration to the world and a shining example of the inherent good that lies within us all.”

But the foundation isn't done yet. Over the next 12 months it will focus on rebuilding and restoring of Boys & Girls Clubs, assistance with physical and mental health services and home restoration.

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."

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Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

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A new study seems to reinforce this idea. And much to our surprise, it's centered on headlines used in Upworthy stories.

Using a public archive of Upworthy headlines and traffic data from 2012 to 2015, two separate teams of researchers analyzed whether people's click tendencies changed with negative or positive words in headlines. In those olden days of Upworthy, a handful of headlines for a single story were tested on the website to see which one would receive the most clicks. The research teams analyzed those results and found that negative words in headlines led to more people clicking on a story (2.3% more), and positive words in headlines led to fewer clicks (1.0% fewer). They also found a preference for headlines that express sadness over those that express joy, fear or anger.

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Pop Culture

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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.

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Fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are well acquainted with the “Rusical” segment, but in case this word seems like something out of Dr. Seuss, here’s a brief explainer: A Rusical is a challenge on the show where contestants put on a live parody drag musical. Since debuting in Season 6, the Rusical has become a beloved staple of the series, with some of the most popular titles being “Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical,” “HERstory of the World” and “Moulin Ru: The Rusical.”

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