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He's into both dudes and chicks. So when he said he'd answer their questions, he got a ton of them.

There were a bunch of them and they were all great, but I'm going to highlight my faves as a fellow bisexual.

"Since you grew up in the church, did you ever dislike yourself for being bi or try to make your feelings for men or boys go away?"

Abso-freaking-lutely. I'd say that was one of my biggest obstacles for coming out or even accepting myself. Like I said, the church teaches you that you have a choice. And I kind of did in a way.

So of course I tried to force myself to make the "right choice" and I had myself pretty convinced that I could do that. Until one day I met my soul mate and he turned out to be a guy. Plot twist!

It's not surprising that he had that experience in church, even though serious study doesn't lead you to the conclusion that gay people shouldn't exist.

"What do you think about [people who are only attracted to one gender] refusing to date anyone who identifies as bi?"

I think it says more about them than it does about us. ... If you're so repulsed by that idea that you can't bring yourself to keep seeing that person, then that's not their fault. Chances are you're about to let someone really special go just because you can't wrap your mind around their sexuality.

He kind of breezes by the whole "misinformation about bisexuals," so let's go back to that real quick.

  • Bisexual people are NOT inherently promiscuous.
  • Bisexual people are NOT inherently incapable of commitment.

Promiscuity and commitment aversion are traits that occur in all sorts of people for all sort of reasons. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

"What advice would you give a teenager who's questioning their sexuality?"

You choose whatever label you're most comfortable with. And just because you choose a certain label now doesn't mean that you're necessarily stuck with it for life. You're allowed to discover new things about yourself. Point is, just do whatever feels right to you.

The only thing I'll add is this: Don't let other people define you. That's not their job.

"Is it really a 50-50 split or can it be like 70-30?"

Everyone is different. So the proportion can be whatever you want. Not to mention that sexuality is pretty fluid for certain people, so that percentage can even change. The key is not to think of sexuality in terms of like separate boxes or bins. Instead you have to try to think of it as like a sliding scale.

On one side you have same-sex attraction, and on the other you have opposite-sex attraction. Some people fall to one side of the scale. Some fall towards the middle. Some move up and down. And some don't even bother with the scale to begin with.

Kind of radical concept right? But here's where it really gets interesting.

"What are your thoughts on pansexuality, and did you ever think that you belong to this group?"

Let's do a quick Oxford check.

Pansexual: n. Not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.

I mean, he was doing a cute little Q&A for his fans about being a bisexual guy and just slips in this perfectly concise distinction between having a romantic type and being prejudiced. You have to hand it to him: It's great.

It's that simple.

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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friendship
Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money
Family

Woman bakes cheeky curse word pies for her grandma and it becomes a quirky holiday tradition

2023's pie is an homage to her favorite word to use while stuck in traffic.

Canva

You never know where a holiday tradition will come from.

Tried-and-true holiday traditions certainly have their merit, but there’s something quite special, magical even, about discovering personal rituals that commemorate one’s unique life. In my household, for instance, nothing quite rings in the Christmas spirit like sipping my partner’s delicious coquito and putting up a cardboard gingerbread house for my cats.

The beauty of creating customized holiday traditions is that they can be as festive, sentimental, or as silly as you want them to be. And you never know how one small moment can become the catalyst for a tradition that sparks joy year after year.

For Jess Lydon, that tradition is baking expletive-laden pies for Thanksgiving. (This is your profanity warning—the images below contain swear words.)

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humor
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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education
Pop Culture

Pianist uses every part of the instrument in this joyous performance of Toto's 'Africa'

"Not sure I can comprehend what just happened! Unbelievable."

via Peter Benace/YouTube

Peter Bence's piano cover of "Africa" by Toto

Peter Bence’s performance of “Africa” by Toto has over 17 million views on YouTube because of his creative reimagining of the song and, well, just about everyone loves “Africa.”

Bence is a Hungarian composer and producer who has become a viral sensation for his Michael Jackson, Queen, Sia, and Beatles covers. He has over 1.1 million followers on YouTube and has toured the globe, playing in more than 40 countries across four continents.

His performance of “Africa'' is unique because it opens with him creating a rhythm track and looping it by strategically tapping the piano and rubbing its strings to create the sound of shakers and congo drums.

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music
Joy

Family posts a very chill note to neighbors explaining why their dog is on the roof

“We appreciate your concern but please do not knock on our door.."

via Reddit

Meet Huckleberry the dog.

If you were taking a stroll through a quiet neighborhood and happened to catch a glance of this majestic sight, you might bat an eye. You might do a double take. If you were (somewhat understandably) concerned about this surprising roof-dog's welfare, you might even approach the homeowners to tell them, "Uh, I'm not sure if you know...but there's a...dog...on your ROOF."

Well, the family inside is aware that there's often a dog on their roof. It's their pet Golden, Huckleberry, and he just sorta likes it up there.

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dogs
Family

12 hilariously relatable comics about life as a new mom.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

All illustrations by Ingebritt ter Veld. Reprinted here with permission.

Some good not so good moments with babies.



Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

Illustrator Ingebritt ter Veld and Corinne de Vries, who works for Hippe-Birth Cards, a webshop for birth announcements, had babies shortly after one another.

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