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An open letter to Barack Obama regarding that first post-presidency speech.

Oh hey, Barack!

Former President Barack Obama arrives for a conversation on civic engagement and community organizing on April 24, 2017. Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast/AP.

Can we call you Barack now?

Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast/AP.

Anyway, you look good! Tan and well-rested.

Photo by Jim Young/AFP/Getty Images.

You earned that time off.

Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (left); Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images (top right); and Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

We saw your speech in Chicago the other day.

Photo by Scott Olsen/Getty Images.

You still got it with the jokes!

GIF via Time/YouTube.

Man, that was a good speech. So good it made us cry. Not sure it was a happy cry.

A man reacts to protesters at the Women's March in January. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images.

Gotta be honest, when you left the White House, our emotions were not in a good place.

An emotional Gerardo Ruiz reacts to results of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, 2016. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

In the back of our minds, we secretly hoped that you'd come galloping back atop a golden unicorn, laminated copy of the Constitution in hand, and tell us to follow your lead with those famous words you ... uh, never really said.

And we know you were worried about us when you left...

GIF via Time/YouTube.

...that we might not be up to the challenge.

A Hillary Clinton supporter reacts to the presidential election swing on Nov. 8, 2016. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

But life is funny.

When you went away, something kind of weird happened.

We didn't fold like a cheap card table.

We didn't shut the door, pull up the covers, and go to sleep for 500 years.

Protesters outside the National Press Club and the Deplorable Ball in Washington, D.C., in January. Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images.

We got up, and we got organized.

People rally against Donald Trump. Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images.

And we handled this protesting stuff on our own. Because we had no other choice.

Protesters hold anti-Trump signs in Chicago on Jan. 20, 2017. Photo by Derek Henkle/AFP/Getty Images.

In a way, peaceing out to Fiji was one of the best things you could have done for us.

While you were enjoying a well-earned restorative kitesurf with Branson...

...we were marching.

Protesters settle in at the Women's March on Washington. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

While you were regaining your sense of style...

...we were piling into airports to protest an unjust Muslim ban.

Demonstrators at O'Hare Airport protest the executive order that refuses admittance to refugees and places a ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

We were chanting in the cold.

People gather to protest the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images.

We were putting our law degrees to work on a chilly terminal floor at 4 a.m.

Volunteer attorneys and legal advisors offer to help travelers at O'Hare Airport in February 2017. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

And we were winning.

Syrian refugee Baraa Haj Khalaf cradles the U.S. flag as she leaves O'Hare International Airport with her husband and father in February 2017. Photo by Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images.

While you were hanging out in the South Pacific with Oprah and Springsteen...

...we were organizing in our communities, calling our elected officials, and holding their feet to the fire.

Crowd members respond to a woman supporting Donald Trump at a town hall meeting in March 2017. Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images.

We got Paul Ryan to admit that "Obamacare is the law of the land."

U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks after Trump's health care bill was pulled from the House of Representatives on March 24, 2017. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Tens of thousands of women decided to run for office.

From left, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Maxine Waters. Photos (from left) by Zach Gibson/Getty Images; Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images; and Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

A new generation of activists was born, and an older generation came roaring back to life.

(From left, in back) Ginny Suss, Carmen Perez, Gloria Steinem, Linda Sarsour, and Tamika Mallory and (in front) Mia Ives-Rublee appear onstage at the Women's March on Washington. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.

We remembered what you said when you left office. You warned us what was at stake.

Obama delivers his farewell speech Jan 10, 2017. GIF via ABC News/YouTube.

You encouraged us to get out and fight for our values. In person.

You reminded us what democracy requires of us. Specifically ... us. And not just when there's a big election on the horizon.

We thought you'd have to hold our hand through it. But here's what we learned:

It turns out, we're pretty good at this stuff on our own.

People take part in a protest called No Ban! No Wall! Get Loud! at Grand Central Station in March 2017. Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images.

When the chips are down, we can pull ourselves together and fight back.

The crowd reacts to U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz at a town hall meeting in Utah in February. Photo by Rick Bowmer/AP.

We don't always need you to show us the way after all.

The March for Science on April 22, 2017, spanned many cities, including Los Angeles. Photo by Sarah Morris/Getty Images.

But we're glad you're back and down to help.

Photo by Scott Olsen/Getty Images.

In the words of our all-time favorite meme of you...

Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images.

Thanks for the pep talk.

Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast/AP.

Glad to have you on the team. Let's do this.

Love, America.

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Ocean Wise
Be Ocean Wise
Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

True

The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

Joy

Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

The safe was stolen 22 years ago.

via Wikimedia Commons

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.


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Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul|YouTube

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

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Service dog flunks out of training school in spectacular fashion

The other dogs can't believe what they are seeing.

Double H Canine Academy in Louisville, Kentucky is a place where dog owners can take their rambunctious pets and have them turned into respectable members of the family.

However, as you can tell in this hilarious video, not all dogs are meant to follow orders.

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Video of sisters trying to fix a DIY haircut perfectly captures the chaos of sisterhood

“This is THE sisters experience…you captured the whole thing."

@palmview956oficial/TikTok

Sisterhood in a nutshell

Ask any group of sisters what it was like growing up with each other, and they will undoubtedly use the word chaos. Girlhood in itself is a bit of a delightfully feral time. Add yet another wild child (or more) into the mix, and you never know what’s going to happen.

But there’s also a beautiful loyalty. Sure, sisters can turn from friends to enemies on a dime, but in those purer moments, you’ll see them stop at nothing to help one another.

And it’s all these aspects, and everywhere in between, that were captured in a hilarious TikTok as three sisters banded together to fix a DIY haircut gone wrong…the day before school picture day, no less.
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Mom tells wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a 'chocolate baby' while out grocery shopping

People have a sneaking suspicion that the little girl has seen 'Corina, Corina' one too many times.

Maranda Arbogast|TikTok

Mom shares wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a baby

Sometimes we hear a story that makes us collectively confused. Should we be offended? Laugh? Donate to a parents future bail fund for their children? It's really a toss up but the consensus on this mom's eyebrow raising story is that laughter and bail money are both appropriate responses.

Maranda Arbogast, a mom that runs the TikTok page, momma.chaos, shared a hilariously mortifying story of a time she took her three daughters grocery shopping and somehow wound up in a, "one of these things is not like the others" moment. The mom of three leads into the story by explaining that she is raising children that will likely have run ins with the law.

"Some families gotta save money for medical expenses or college funds. We gotta save money for bail because we are raising criminals, especially my middle daughter. It's always the middle child," Arbogast jokes. "She's gotta be frisked before we leave anywhere."

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Dad-to-be straps watermelon to his belly to experience what his pregnant wife goes through

The viral watermelon challenge isn't for the faint of heart.

@hannahjeanrn/TikTok

What a unique bonding experience

Period simulators gave cis-gendered men a painful glimpse of what women go through on a monthly basis. But what about going through life with an actual human growing in their belly?

That’s where the watermelon challenge comes in.

TikTok’s watermelon challenge is a simple concept, where dads-to-be strap watermelons, weighing somewhere around 14 pounds, onto their bellies in order to simulate what it’s like for pregnant moms. Bonus point for taping mangos onto the chest because #lactation.

The results are both hilarious and illuminating.

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