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Happy fun clowns outnumber neo-Nazi clowns at immigration rally 5-to-1.

I don't know what the KKK expected when they planned this anti-immigration rally, but it certainly wasn't these clowns.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

The French Bulldog’s popularity has grown exponentially over the past decade. They were the #14 most popular breed in 2012, and since then, registrations have gone up 1,000%, bringing them to the top of the breed popularity rankings.

The AKC says that the American Hairless Terrier, Gordon Setter, Italian Greyhound and Anatolian Shepherd Dog also grew in popularity between 2021 and 2022.

The French Bulldog was famous among America’s upper class around the turn of the 20th century but then fell out of favor. Their resurgence is partly based on several celebrities who have gone public with their Frenchie love. Leonardo DiCaprio, Megan Thee Stallion, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Reese Witherspoon and Lady Gaga all own French Bulldogs.

The breed earned a lot of attention as show dogs last year when a Frenchie named Winston took second place at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and first in the National Dog Show.

The breed made national news in early 2021 when Gaga’s dog walker was shot in the chest while walking two of her Frenchies in a dog heist. He recovered from his injuries, and the dogs were later returned.

They’ve also become popular because of their unique look and personalities.

“They’re comical, friendly, loving little dogs,” French Bull Dog Club of America spokesperson Patty Sosa told the AP. She said they are city-friendly with modest grooming needs and “they offer a lot in a small package.”

They are also popular with people who live in apartments. According to the AKC, Frenchies don’t bark much and do not require a lot of outdoor exercise.

The French Bulldog stands out among other breeds because it looks like a miniature bulldog but has large, expressive bat-like ears that are its trademark feature. However, their popularity isn’t without controversy. “French bulldogs can be a polarizing topic,” veterinarian Dr. Carrie Stefaniak told the AP.

american kennel club, french bulldog, most popular dog

An adorable French Bulldog

via Pixabay

French Bulldogs have been bred to have abnormally large heads, which means that large litters usually need to be delivered by C-section, an expensive procedure that can be dangerous for the mother. They are also prone to multiple health problems, including skin, ear, and eye infections. Their flat face means they often suffer from respiratory problems and heat intolerance.

Frenchies are also more prone to spine deformations and nerve pain as they age.

Here are the AKC’s top ten most popular dog breeds for 2022.

1 French Bulldogs

2 Labrador Retrievers

3 Golden Retrievers

4 German Shepherd Dogs

5 Poodles

6 Bulldogs

7 Rottweilers

8 Beagles

9 Dachshunds

10 German Shorthaired Pointers


This article originally appeared on 03.17.23

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Train station custodian's act of kindness makes father traveling solo feel seen

Taking your young daughter to a public bathroom as a dad can be tricky.

Kier Gaines|Instagram

Dad thanks train station attendee for validating act of kindness

Any time you travel with a small child it ups the ante a bit. Did you bring enough stuff to entertain them? Did you pack the right snacks? Should you have brought an extra change of clothes just in case? Is it now customary to hand out small bags full of ear plugs and treats for all of the passengers for daring to leave your house to use a public form of transportation?

It's enough to stress you out before you even get down the street. But one of the trickiest parts of traveling with small children of the opposite gender is figuring out public bathrooms. It's usually fairly simple for moms, bathrooms for women have changing tables installed for babies and disabled individuals. They're also usually kept fairly clean and women visiting the facilities think twice about a little boy going into the women's bathroom with his mom.

Dads on the other hand aren't always comfortable bringing their daughters into the men's room with them. Plus rumor has it that men's rooms aren't always the cleanest for girls to go potty.

Kier Gaines has gone viral for praising a Philadelphia Amtrak employee for understanding this struggle resulting in a meaningful act of kindness. Gaines was traveling with his young daughter who looks to be around 5-years-old when she needed to use the bathroom. She's too young to go into the women's bathroom alone and Gaines wasn't comfortable taking her into the bathroom possibly startling women.

He was left with the only choice being to take her into the men's bathroom which had not been left sanitary. That's when the Amtrak Porter steps in.

"One of the porters that cleans here saw me and he was like, 'hey bro, you want me to hit the bathroom and clean it for you?' I said, 'yeah, thank you, man.'" Gaines reflects. "He said, 'yeah I got a daughter who's five.' he says, 'I understand how hard it is to be a dad and try to get them in a clean bathroom where they feel comfortable and safe.'"

Gaines admitted that a fellow dad recognizing the struggle and doing something to help got him a little choked up.

"It validated so many things that I felt frustrated with because they were hard but don't nobody want to hear a man complaining about what's difficult for him. Nobody wants to hear dad complaining about what's hard but for that man to see me struggling and understand deeply what that meant and clean that stall for my baby, man that meant the world."

The dad didn't let his appreciation go without being voiced, not only online to his 600k followers but to the worker's supervisor. He revealed the Amtrak worker's name is George, is dark skinned with two braids and encouraged people to tell him that he's doing an amazing job if they see him.

George definitely deserves recognition for going above and beyond. Sometimes a parent's village is simply other parents in the wild willing to see you and give you a helping hand. If dad's don't speak up about their parenting struggles then the world will never know to be inclusive of things specific to dads solo parenting for a few hours, days or forever. Gaines speaking up can have a positive impact for dads in the future.


This article originally appeared on 1.20.24

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Pop Culture

Lebanese dance troupe wins 'America's Got Talent' with one final incredible performance

The lionesses have proudly walked to victory.

Talent Recap/YouTube

The competition came down to the Mayyas and pole dancer Kristy Sellars.

The fan-favorite all-female dance troupe from Lebanon took home the ultimate prize on a September 2022 episode of “America’s Got Talent,” beating out some incredibly heavy competition this season. With the win came a $1 million cash prize as well as the opportunity to headline a show at Las Vegas' Luxor Hotel and Casino.

From first-round auditions to the riveting live finale, the Mayyas have consistently lived up to their name, which translates to “proud walk of the lioness,” with remarkable skill and fearlessness in each and every performance.

You can take a look at their entire “AGT” journey below, ending with that unforgettable finale. Prepare to be blown away.

The dance crew promised to “hypnotize” during its first-round audition, and did so with flying colors. Having previously won “Arab’s Got Talent” back in 2019, the Mayyas were well prepared to wow the crowd.

Their spellbinding performance granted the Mayyas a golden buzzer from judge Sofia Vergara, who called it the “most beautiful creative dancing” she had ever seen.

They once again left audiences with their jaws on the floor after their semifinal routine, which was even more bold and dramatic. Howie Mandel called it the “best moment in AGT history,” adding that the Mayyas should be “the poster people for female empowerment."

Simon Cowell also predicted that their performance would “change the world.”

Then came the live finale, where the proud lionesses left it all on the stage. The stunning performance had glowing orbs of light, glittery galaxies and a huge white gown made out of large feather fans. In a word, it had everything.

Yeah, it was hauntingly beautiful.

Viewers have been rooting for the Mayyas from the beginning—not only for their ability to create mesmerizing illusions using clever choreography and brilliant prop manipulation, but for their mission to “prove to the world what Arab women can do, the art we can create, the fights we fight.”

As explained by Nadim Cherfan, the team’s choreographer, “Lebanon is not considered a place where you can build a career out of dancing, so it’s really hard, and harder for women.”

This combined with the country’s worsening economic crisis and apparent political corruption made each advancement to the next round mean so much more than getting closer to a coveted title. As Cherfan told People, “It’s about a huge bigger message for our people to make them believe in themselves and to give hope to our country who is going into a dark time."

The Mayyas shared their well-deserved victory with their home country, posting a video to Instagram of the win along with the caption saying “Lebanon, this one’s for you.”

It’s lovely to see incredible talent. It’s even better to hear the incredible stories behind the talent. The Mayyas were dedicated to showing the world what Arab women can do, and they succeeded.


This article originally appeared on 9.16.22

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Science

Two guys captured the speed of light on camera at 10 trillion frames per second

"The light is moving a million times faster than a bullet.”

The Slow Mo Guys/Youtube

The Slow Mo Guys had to use a special camera

Gavin Free and Daniel Gruchy aka the “Slow Mo guys,” have filmed all sorts of things in, you guessed it, slow motion—everything from popcorn makers to giant water balloons to even tattoo guns. Each of their videos feels a bit like “Mythbusters.” Just a couple of guys making science super fun.

One of the Slow Mo Guys’ most popular videos, with a total of 41 million views on Youtube to date, features the fastest thing known to man: light.

Since light travels at an unfathomable 186,000 miles per second, Free and Gruchy had to reach out to CalTech for a camera that could capture “10 trillion frames per second,” which they said was “20 million times faster than the fastest we've ever filmed on this channel."

The team first shoots a beam of light through a bottle of milk water. Even though to the naked eye, it looks as though the bottle instantly lit up, the later footage reveals the light (a sort of blue ghost-like thing in the playback) travels from one side of the bottle to the other.

“Every frame seems to be ten picoseconds,” Free says. “And we're just sort of casually watching this go left to right through the bottle, but in reality the light is moving a million times faster than a bullet.”

Watch the full video below, which includes a few other fascinating slow motion experiments with light.

What is the fastest thing we as the human race know of? Gav and Dan try and film that.


This article originally appeared on 2.22.24

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A teacher is going viral for giving a biology lesson wearing an anatomically correct suit

People are definitely paying attention now!

Being an educator in the American public school system is one of the hardest jobs in our nation. Not only is the work itself challenging, but with constant battles for educational funding and a student body increasingly tethered to their electronic devices, most teachers in America and around the world are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to finding ways to keep their students engaged in their studies.

Verónica Duque doesn't have that problem, at least not now. The then 43-year-old said she was looking for creative ways to engage with her students when she came across a form-fitting, anatomical bodysuit while doing some online shopping. She decided it was the perfect visual aid to convey vital information (pun intended) to her students in Spain.

Duque's husband tweeted a collage of images from the classroom lesson, which quickly went viral, with nearly 70,000 likes. Loosely translated, the tweet from her husband Michael reads: "Very proud of this volcano of ideas that I am lucky to have as a wife. Today she explained the human body to her students in a very original way. Great Veronica !!!"


In an interview, Duque explained the thought process that led her to presenting her third-grade-class with a unique approach to learning.

"I was surfing the internet when an ad of an AliExpress swimsuit popped up," she said. "Knowing how hard it is for kids this young to visualize the disposition of internal organs, I thought it was worth giving it a try."


Twitter

Online retailers like Amazon have a number of similar anatomical bodysuits for sale. While most people apparently purchase them for Halloween costumes or as gag gifts, it's now likely that Duque's viral moment will inspire some other educators around the world to take a similar approach to teaching the body basics to their students.



While some on Twitter were critical of the suit, the vast majority have praised Duque for her innovative approach to teaching. And the anatomical bodysuit is reportedly far from her first creative endeavor in the classroom.

"I decided long ago to use disguises for history lessons," she told Bored Panda. "I'm also using cardboard crowns for my students to learn grammatical categories such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Different grammar kingdoms, so to say."

And when it comes to the inevitable, made-up controversy that tends to latch itself onto virtually anyone that goes viral, Duque said she says there's another far more controversial stereotype she hopes her brief moment of fame will help address.

"I'd like society to stop considering teachers to be lazy bureaucratic public servants," she said. "We're certainly not."

Get this teacher a raise!


This article originally appeared on 12.28.19

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