+
Most Shared

Check out Budweiser's powerful Super Bowl ad celebrating immigrants.

'Go back home!' — a message immigrants have been hearing for a while now.

In 1857, a man named Adolphus Busch arrived in America.

As an immigrant from Germany, he stood out.

Some people didn't like that.

Like many other immigrants in the 1800s, he faced hardships on his journey to find his new home.

But he finally made it to where he was meant to be.

Busch, of course, is the Busch of Anheuser-Busch — the world's largest beer producer. And it's his American story being told in a new Super Bowl ad for Budweiser:

As Slate reported, the ad is a more sensationalized version of Busch's past. Nonetheless, it sends a bold message.

Given today's political climate, the ad's pro-immigrant sentiment has people talking.

The ad — showing Busch overcoming xenophobic attitudes held by early colonists — was released amid talks of President Donald Trump's controversial U.S.-Mexico border wall and just days after Trump signed an executive order banning travel to the U.S. by green card holders and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries.


The ban prompted protests in airports across the country. It resulted in Attorney General Sally Yates being fired by Trump for refusing to defend its legality. Lawyers swooped in immediately, many working pro bono, to defend those affected in transit. And dozens of celebrities and influencers slammed the ban as an attack on civil rights.

And believe it or not, Anheuser-Busch dove into white-hot political territory with this ad ... on accident.

Demonstrators protest Trump's travel ban in Chicago. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Anheuser-Busch didn't intend for the ad — which it's been developing for nearly a year — to be political.

The commercial was conceptualized long before Trump's travel ban was signed and the announcement of his controversial proposal to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall using an import tariff.

The brand wanted to "celebrate those who embody the American spirit" by recapping one of its founder's early days in America — not throw in its two cents when it comes to immigration policy.

Marcel Marcondes, vice president of marketing at Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement (emphasis added):

"Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial highlights the ambition of our founder and his unrelenting pursuit of the American dream. ... It’s an idea we’ve been developing along with our creative agency for nearly a year. We believe beer should be bipartisan, and did not set out to create a piece [of] political commentary; however we recognize that you can’t reference the American Dream today without being part of the conversation."

Either way, it really shouldn't matter what the political climate is — the message of this ad shouldn't have to be a political one.

What often gets glossed over in American history books (besides our horrific treatment of the only non-immigrants in this country, Native Americans) is the fact nearly every ethnicity and nationality endured some form of discrimination upon arriving on our shores.

When the Irish settled, they were seen as lazy, unintelligent criminals. Italian-Americans were deemed superstitious and violent — an ignorant group that was prone to terrorism. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 halted immigration from the East Asian country — even while Chinese-Americans made up less than 1% of the population — in part to uphold "racial purity."

A Muslim woman attends a prayer and rally event against Trump's travel ban in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Today, Latinx are fighting back against a wave of xenophobia — one that's often exploited for political gain. Black people are still trying to overcome the systemic racism that's lingered from slavery and the Jim Crow era. Muslim Americans are witnessing a surge in Islamophobic terrorism against their communities. And just about every other minority group faces its own hurdles in the form of hurtful stereotypes or prejudice.

We have our work cut out for us.

America is a flawed but marvelous melting pot reflecting a big, beautiful world. And whether Anheuser-Busch meant to or not, its ad sent a powerful message every one of us should keep in mind now more than ever: We're all welcome here.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less

Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

Keep ReadingShow less
via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

A major UCLA study says that at least 65 species of animals laugh

If you've never seen a fox giggle, you're in for a treat.

Foxes giggle like children on helium.

Laughter is one of the most natural impulses in humans. Most babies start to laugh out loud at around 3 to 4 months, far earlier than they are able to speak or walk. Expressing enjoyment or delight comes naturally to us, but we're not the only creatures who communicate with giggles.

Researchers at UCLA have identified 65 species of animals who make "play vocalizations," or what we would consider laughter. Some of those vocalizations were already well documented—we've known for a while that apes and rats laugh—but others may come as a surprise. Along with a long list of primate species, domestic cows and dogs, foxes, seals, mongooses and three bird species are prone to laughter as well. (Many bird species can mimic human laughter, but that's not the same as making their own play vocalizations.)

Primatologist and UCLA anthropology graduate student Sasha Winkler and UCLA professor of communication Greg Bryant shared their findings in an article in the journal Bioacoustics.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

People are sharing the weirdest, most unforgettable art they've found in thrift stores

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

A few of the rare finds at Thrift Store Art's Instagram page

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

Even though people can easily buy used items on eBay, the thrift store business thrives in America, bringing in an estimated $10 billion annually. At a time when the economy is shaky, thrift stores are a recession-proof business. When times are tough, people love to find a deal, and there's never any end to the fashionistas who roam thrift stores looking for a rare find.

San Francisco surfer and self-proclaimed thrift store junkie Bryan Dickerson has turned his passion for rare treasures into an Instagram page with over 246,000 followers. Thrift Store Art showcases the most bizarre things that thrifters find in stores and leans heavily into strange-looking works of art and clothing with questionable sayings. His crowds of followers send him countless strange finds every day, and he rewards them by calling them rude names in the comments.

But for Dickerson, it's all in fun.

He told Bored Panda that the idea of Thrift Store Art is “not to bash art but to expand what can be considered as art—clothing, album art, book graphics, vacation souvenirs.” Dickerson's foray into thrift store content was a much-needed break from his job as the editor of a news website.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Guy shares the reason viral gym videos need to end, and it's so spot on

"If you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all.”

“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand."

Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being.

However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame.

Keep ReadingShow less