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Pop Culture

People are remembering Lisa Marie Presley for her incredible work fighting to save animals

Presley once famously fought to save a chimpanzee who shared her name.

lisa marie presley, lisa marie presley death

Lisa Marie Presley passed away on Jan. 12 at the age of 54.

Lisa Marie Presley was widely known as a singer and songwriter, following in the footsteps of her father Elvis. But she was also a passionate animal advocate, and after the news of her death on Jan. 12, PETA joined the floods of tributes online to specifically celebrate the late icon’s contributions to animal rights. They began with the lesser known story of Lisa Marie saving a chimpanzee by the same name from a horrendous fate of abuse and exploitation.


Back in 2007, a female chimpanzee would be born, not only sharing the same birthday as Elvis (Jan. 8) but sharing the name Lisa Marie. After being torn away from her family by breeders, the young chimp was shipped off to an Elvis impersonator in Chicago, who used her in his shows.

According to PETA’s website, “When she wasn’t being hauled around by a leash and forced to perform for human amusement, [Lisa Marie] was often relegated to a tiny cage in a cramped basement and made to wear a collar with a padlock on it."

After learning about chimp Lisa Marie’s plight, OG Lisa Marie personally wrote to the chimpanzee’s owners to ask them to free her. Though that plea never got a response, the overall mission was successful—Lisa Marie was freed and taken home to a new family.

And Presley didn’t stop there. Lisa Lange, senior vice president of PETA, shared, "Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when shelters were in desperate need of foster families, Lisa Marie and her twin daughters set a wonderful example by opening their home and hearts to two dogs. Though the 'Lights Out' singer has passed away, her bright vision for animals will continue to inspire all of us at PETA,” she wrote.

Presley’s family made the announcement of her passing only a few hours after she was rushed to the hospital due to a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Her mother Priscilla Presley wrote in a statement, "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us. She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known."

We never know how much time we have on this planet. But time spent trying to make the world a better place for those we share it with is never a waste. Lisa Marie left behind a legacy of great work and great deeds.

Can we bring back some 50s fridge features, please?

There are very few things that would make people nostalgic for the 1950s. Sure, they had cool cars and pearl necklaces were a staple, but that time frame had its fair share of problems, even if "Grease" made it look dreamy. Whether you believe your life would've been way more interesting if you were Danny Zuko or not, most would agree their technology was...lacking.

All eras are "advanced" for their time, but imagine being dropped off in the 50s as someone from the year 2023. A recent post by Historic Vids on Twitter of a 1956 commercial advertising a refrigerator, however, has some people thinking that when it came to fridges, maybe they were living in the year 2056. I don't typically swoon over appliances, yet this one has me wondering where I can purchase a refrigerator like this.

Of course, there's no fancy touch screen that tells you the weather and asks how you'd like your ice cubed. It's got more important features that are actually practical.

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Couple investigating noises accidentally awaken a bear.

It's not uncommon to hear something outside of your house, especially if it's close to trash pick-up day. Raccoons and stray cats treat an overflowing trashcan like a holiday dinner, and even if you weren't sure if you heard something or not, the torn trash bags confirm your suspicion.

This is a pretty universal experience in America, so hearing a rustle under your house typically conjures images of a trash panda that got stuck. But for one family, the noises weren't coming from a raccoon at all. In a viral video on TikTok that has over 10 million views, a couple is outside looking for the source of the noises they've been hearing. The woman is filming at a fairly safe distance, while the guy investigates their crawl space.

Everything is going well. They hear what sounds like a hiss and with relief exclaim that it's a raccoon.

They were wrong. Like pee your pants, everyone for themselves, wrong.

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Australian comedy group Axis Of Awesome

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was found not liable on April 4 in a lawsuit where he was accused of stealing elements of the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud."

The case called attention to the fact that there are motifs and musical structures common in pop music that no one owns, and all are free to use. When it comes to chord progressions, the 12-bar blues and basic I, IV, V, I progressions you hear in country and folk have been used and reused since people first picked up the guitar.

In the wrong hands, the progressions can result in music that is boring and formulaic, but in the right hands, they can be a springboard for fresh ideas.

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Pop Culture

What Hollywood gets wrong about corsets, and how the Victorians actually got a tiny waist

Bernadette Banner, a content creator focused of fashion history, breaks down how Victorians were "masters of illusion."

Bernadette Banner/Youtube

You'll never look at a corset with disdain again.

Usually when we think of corsets, the words suffocation, fainting and shifting organs probably come to mind.

This is certainly what Bernadette Banner has come across in the comments section of her Youtube channel, where she shares all kinds of fashion history education. The general consensus is that Victorian women were either all incredibly tiny or that they went to extremely dangerous lengths to achieve the highly exaggerated signature silhouette of the era, which was to have the bust 10 inches larger than the waist, with the hips 15 inches larger. 34-26-36, for example.

This notion is certainly backed by Hollywood, where we normally see women of that time period being laced up so tightly they can barely breathe, suffering under the crushing weight of whalebone and the patriarchy.

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Ted-Ed/Youtube

Technology isn't everything.

Crooked teeth is a very, very common occurrence in our modern world. Nine out of ten people have at least some misalignment going on in their mouths. Over 4 million people wear braces in the United States alone. I don’t know about you, but I can still feel the utter sticker shock from my own teeth-straightening journey. (I call it a “journey” so it feels a little more whimsical and less devastating.)

And yet, this is not something our ancestors dealt with. Like…at all. How could it be that no one experienced this normal modern-day conundrum in a time when we had exponentially less technological advancement?

As it turns out, technology might be the culprit, and a video from Ted-Ed explains it all.
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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

Lots of joy and laughter in this week's list

Hey ho, happy humans!

Whether you're feeling stressed over end-of-the-school-year chaos, depressed over the challenges our world faces or refreshed by the beautiful spring blossoms blooming everywhere, you can surely use some extra doses of joy.

In this week's list, we have some delightful interactions between parents and young adult children, a hilarious take on millennials getting older, some helpful and entertaining animals, a throwback to one of the most iconic (and earwormy) jingles of all time, a photo that has been blowing people's minds and of course, some utterly adorable toddlers.

We hope these little nuggets brighten your day! Enjoy!

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