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Grab the tissues: A Halloween PSA about gender nonconformity has all the feels.

A new PSA encouraging kids to dress up as they please for Halloween includes a twist in the final 30 seconds that's garnering praise.

Called "My Heroes," the two-minute video by Landwirth Legacy Productions features a family celebrating Halloween in typical fashion: buying costumes, carving pumpkins, getting excited for the candy in their near future. The kids, a boy and a girl, decide to go as Batman and Wonder Woman, but the parents — especially the dad — seem a bit anxious for some reason.

After a successful night of trick-or-treating, both children are tuckered out by the TV, having eaten their fair share of sweets. It's subtle, but eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the children's faces haven't been shown since they both got into costume.

In the final moments of the PSA, as the parents tuck in their kids, it's revealed that the boy is dressed as Wonder Woman, while the girl is Batman. The PSA ends as the dad — his earlier anxiety now revealed to be that his kids would be treated differently because of their costumes — whispers, "My heroes," before turning off the light. It's definitely a tearjerker.


People who've watched it are having  e m o t i o n s.

The PSA is clearly tugging on the heartstrings of many, and its message is an important one to keep in mind.

Brian Carufe, one of the PSA's co-writers, said the production team wanted to make something that nudges audiences in the right direction when it comes to breaking gender norms.

"Society is traditionally slow at accepting new status quos, and gender nonconformity is no different," he writes in an email. "While we made the film knowing it would resonate with the LGBT community, it carries a message that’s universal, namely being comfortable and confident in every life choice regardless of the opinions of others."

But Alexander Day, the PSA's executive producer and lead writer, hopes the video will have an especially big impact on the parents and kids who see it.

"This Halloween, little boys and girls all over the world will be unable to dress up as they want because of fear they will be teased [and] bullied, or because of unaccepting parents,” he writes in an email. "This video is for them, and I hope that that child out there sees this and realizes they are our greatest superheroes for being themselves."

Every kid deserves to celebrate Halloween in a costume they love — whether they're more of a Batman or a Wonder Woman.

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Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Unfortunately, because of the misinformation from the anti-vaccination movement, some of these diseases have trended up in a really bad way over the past several years.

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One of the most popular health trends over the last few years has been staying as hydrated as possible, evidenced by the massive popularity of 40-oz Stanely Quencher cups. The theory among those who obsess over hydration is that, when you pee clear, you’ve removed all the waste in your body and are enjoying the incredible benefits of being 100% hydrated. Congratulations.

However, according to Dr. Sermed Mezher, an NHS doctor in the UK, peeing clear isn’t always a sign of being healthy.

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Innovation

A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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via PamTina_/Twitter

Pam's little brother is so sweet.

Pam has a little brother, who recently learned that he is actually her half-brother.

Of course, half-siblings are still very much siblings, but Pam's brother doesn't quite grasp the concept yet and seems upset about having to part with 50% of his sister.

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Jennifer Garner's Ziploc care package.

Homelessness has been on the increase in America since 2016 and the numbers exploded in 2020. On a single night in January 2020, there were more than 580,000 individuals who were without a home.

There are many reasons for the increase in homelessness and one of the leading causes is a lack of affordable housing across the country. Housing prices have been on a steady increase and, according to PBS, we are about 7 million units short of affordable housing in the country.

So what can the average person do about this human tragedy taking place in America’s streets? Some people who would like to help don’t feel comfortable giving money to homeless people, although experts in the field say that most of the time it is OK.

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