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Despite his mom's wishes, he proposed to his boyfriend. With a sign. On Splash Mountain.

A few months ago, with the help of his niece and nephews, Eugene Williams began working on a sign asking his boyfriend to marry him.

On May 23, he unveiled it in the most glorious way possible:

"Chris, will you marry me?" Photo by Disneyland/Eugene Williams. All photos used with permission.

"I quickly hid the sign away after the drop and when we exited the ride we walked to see our photo and he was shocked," Williams wrote on Reddit. "I got down on one knee and asked him to spend the rest of his life with me."

"He said, 'Yes,'" Williams confirmed.

Williams and Chris, who met just over a year ago, are huge Disneyland fans.

The pair, who are both from Southern California, have been going to the park once a month together ever since.

Photo by Eugene Williams.

Early in their relationship, Williams says, he learned that Splash Mountain was Chris' favorite ride, which gave him the idea for the sign and proposal.

"I remember hearing a girl saying 'OMG that’s so cute!' And then a few people clapped when I got down and proposed and he said yes," Williams says in an email interview.

But not everyone was thrilled by the surprise proposal.

Williams explained on Reddit that his mom, who hails from a traditional religious background, asked him not to post the photo on Facebook because she's "ashamed" of him and was worried her relatives would "gossip."

"I didn’t even receive a congratulations from my parents, so it was very heartbreaking for me," he says.

Instead, in a moment of anger, Williams posted the photo to Reddit, where it was up-voted thousands of times and received dozens of melt-your-heart compliments.

Williams, his niece, and nephews work on the sign. Photo by Eugene Williams.

"Holy ravioli this is amazing. Congrats to you two!" user jofnj wrote.

"Straight bro here ... y'all are a-god-damn-dorable. Congratulations and wishing you a lifetime of health and happiness together," raved redditor eminently_weird.

One commenter — a dad — even said the photo helped him understand his own son.

"As a middle aged straight guy who subscribes to this sub because my son is not quite sure of his sexuality and I want to keep an open mind, I am often blown away by the overwhelming warmth of love I see on this sub," user EINSTIEN420 explained. "I am legitimately sorry your mom can't feel the happiness that you have here. Shedding a No Homo manly tear for you right now and [congrats] to you and your partner."

Other commenters advised him to ignore his mom's request and celebrate: "Post it on Facebook. It's your happiness before others," user keveeeezy suggested.

The couple spent the rest of the day at the park, smiling, FaceTiming with Chris' family, and cuddling on the Haunted Mansion ride.

Photo by Eugene Williams.

"It was the most romantic time despite the ride being a haunted mansion!" he says.

Williams says he's excited that people are thrilled by the photo — but he's even more excited "about being with Chris and starting a family together."

"I'm just happy that we’re getting such a positive response from people," Williams says. "It makes me so happy to be able to share these positive messages with Chris."

"I did this all for him to have a lasting memory of our love."

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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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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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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Joy

Terrified, emaciated dog comes to life as volunteer sits with him for human connection

He tries making himself so small in the kennel until he realizes he's safe.

Rocky Kanaka|YouTube

Terrified dog transforms after human sits with him.

There's something about dogs that makes people just want to cuddle them. They have some of the sweetest faces with big curious eyes that make them almost look cartoonish at times. But not all dogs get humans that want to snuggle up with them on cold nights; some dogs are neglected or abandoned. That's where animal shelters come in, and they work diligently to take care of any medical needs and find these animals loving homes.

Volunteers are essential to animal shelters running effectively to fill in the gaps employees may not have time for. Rocky Kanaka has been volunteering to sit with dogs to provide comfort. Recently he uploaded a video of an extremely emaciated Vizsla mix that was doing his best to make himself as small as possible in the corner of the kennel.

Kanaka immediately wanted to help him adjust so he would feel comfortable enough to eat and eventually get adopted. The dog appeared scared of his new location and had actually rubbed his nose raw from anxiety, but everything changed when Kanaka came along.

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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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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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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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