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Man who lives on a cruise ship reveals the biggest threat to passengers and it isn’t icebergs

And it's not the buffet.

cruise ships, bryan james, titanic

via Alonso Reyes/Unsplash

A beautiful ship crosses the ocean.

Bryan James has become popular on social media for documenting his time working on Royal Caribbean International’s Odyssey of the Seas. He boarded the ship on December 8, 2023, and will continue his voyage through April 9, 2024.

The Odyssey of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in operation. It is 1,138 feet long and has a gross tonnage of 167,704 with 16 decks.

In a recent video, he revealed the biggest threat to passengers on a cruise ship. While most people, citing the Titanic disaster of 1912, would say it’s icebergs, according to James, it’s fires. He recently shared a video that shows just how seriously the Odyssey of the Seas takes the fire threat. The ship has massive doors installed in the ship that can prevent fire from moving through the ship.

“All cruise ships have these things called fire doors and they do exactly what you think. They just help prevent the spreading of fire on a cruise ship. But if you are the biggest ship in the world, you need the biggest fire doors in the world. I've never seen these until this morning,” James explained in a YouTube short.

Look at these things; they are massive!" he continued, "They probably do a really good job at stopping fires."

While fires are rare on cruise ships, in 2013, a blaze aboard one grabbed the public’s attention. A power generator on Carnival Cruise’s Triumph caught fire, which knocked out most of the ship’s power and left passengers with no lights, air conditioning, or working toilets. The ship drifted for 4 days at sea before it could be towed to Mobile, Alabama.

Fire is the BIGGEST threat to a cruise ship, not icebergs or sinking like with the Titanic

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Comedian nails the differences in how each generation arrives at someone's home

"Millennials will arrive late, but they will text you to let you know they're on their way, just as they're about to get into the shower."

Samuel Peter/Pexels

Boomers will knock. Loudly. At all hours.

There's no doubt that there are contrasts between the generations, as baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Z see and experience the world quite differently. While generation gaps have always existed, the tech age has widened those gaps in big ways, which sometimes creates challenges but often results in hilarity.

For instance, watching a Gen Zer try to figure out how to use a rotary phone is pure entertainment. The way emojis are used and interpreted varies vastly by age, making for some chuckle-worthy communication mishaps. Slang terms can be hard to keep up with the older you get, but they can also be manipulated by savvy elders to great comedic effect.

gen z slang, w rizz, generations, generation gap, generational differences Riz W Sign GIF Giphy

And now, comedian Jake Lambert is comparing how the different generations arrive at someone's house in a viral video that's been viewed more than 12 million times.

"You've basically got boomers who will turn up completely unannounced any time from about 7:00 in the morning and they will knock on your door just slightly louder than the police using a battering ram carrying out a house raid," Lambert begins.

"And then you've got Gen X. They would have made the plans well in advance, and they would've also checked in a couple of days before just to make sure the plans are definitely still happening," he goes on. "You see, Gen X is the forgotten generation and they're so scarred by this title they would've assumed that you'd forgotten not only about the plans but about their very existence."

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"Millennials will have hoped that the plans would've been canceled. There's no reason that a millennial will ever actually want to come to your house," he continues. "They will arrive late, but they will text you to let you know they're on their way, just as they're about to get into the shower. And a millennial will never knock on your door. You'll just get a text either saying 'here' or 'outside,' and that's your cue to go and let them in."

"Similarly, Gen Z will never actually knock," he concludes. "But the chances are they won't have to, as they would have been documenting the entire journey from their house to yours, maybe even on Facetime using this angle [camera facing directly up at the chin] as they go along for some reason. Either that or they'll just send a picture of your front door or a selfie of them outside it. And again, just like the millennial, that's your cue to go and rescue them from the outside world."

gen z, selfie, generation gap, generational differences, generations Gen Z will send a selfie from outside your house as an indicator that they've arrived. Photo credit: Canva

People feel alternately seen, attacked and validated by Lambert's assessments, with the most common response being "accurate."

"I‘m a millennial, my husband GenX. Scarily accurate! 😂"

"Described this millennial to a T."

"This is surprisingly accurate 😂 I laughed slightly louder than the police using a battering ram…"

"Sooo accurate…guilty of the lateness and ‘here’ text 🙃"

"I must admit I'm a millennial. But knocking on the door feels so aggressive, uknow? 😅😇"

"Millennial texting to say almost there but just started getting dressed to go out. Why do we do this? It's not intentional, at least not for me."

millennial, ok boomer, generation gap, generational differences, generations Giphy

"Honestly your observations are just brilliant! GenX-er here!"

"The Gen Z angle omg. 😂😂"

Naturally there are some people who don't resonate with their generation's description, but there are exceptions to every rule and some people will never fit a stereotype. However, judging by the wave of affirmative responses, Lambert has nailed the generational generalities across the board—and done so in a way that allows us all to laugh at ourselves.

You can follow Jake Lambert on Instagram.

This article originally appeared last year.

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My friend showed his daughter 'Jaws' and Gen Z's reaction to it changes the movie forever

It’s actually very similar to what the book’s author originally intended.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Canva, Universal Pictures

A teen girl watches the movie Jaws.

In 1975, oceans got a lot scarier for the average moviegoer. It was the summer Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking blockbuster Jaws was released — forever changing a day at the beach and the contents of our nightmares.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that Oscar-winning film, and many theaters are re-releasing it just in time for Labor Day. But my friend Kyle, who has a 14-year-old daughter named Alexis, thought he'd get a jump on it and show it to her a bit earlier. "I wanted to take her to see it on the big screen, but she's very sensitive, so I thought in case she gets scared, we will watch it at home."

Snacks in bowls, PJs on, iPhones off — which is a hardcore rule Kyle, who is a screenwriter, has for movie watching - even on the couch.

The film opens with a casual group of friends, drinking and laughing at a beach bonfire in the fictional town of Amity Island, New York. One woman, with long ’70s flowing hair, stands up and begins to run toward the ocean — a man playfully running after her. "What's your name again?" he asks. "Chrissie!" "Where are we going?" "Swimming," she gleefully replies.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Swimming is one way to put it. The tension builds, one of Spielberg's most genius directorial gifts, as she disrobes and frolics into the water. He's a tad too drunk to go in, despite her pleas to join her. Refreshing and beautiful, she's splashing around when…we get an underwater shot of her silhouette swimming above. (We later find out whose point of view that's from, and it's not a human.)

Suddenly, there's cacophonous music, as she seems to be nibbled on the leg. Then, with the most terrifying of screams, we watch as she appears to be carried on the back of a beast to and fro, all the while screeching as though she were wrestling a demon. Oblivious, her suitor remains intoxicated on the beach, while she goes silent, having surrendered to her fate as a big fish's meal.

(Fun fact: There were rumors that Susan Backlinie, who played "first victim Chrissie," accidentally had her ribs broken, as Spielberg yanked her underwater for her last shot. However, Backlinie has debunked the popular myth, though she did say the filming was "grueling.")

sharks, great white, jaws, Spielberg, movies Bruce AKA Jaws the shark attacks a boat. Giphy Universal Pictures

Kyle reports that Alexis was silent. Shocked. And yes, terrified. She grabbed a couch pillow and yelped, "Nope," as the infamous John Williams composition "Duh Nuh. Duh nuh. Duh nuh" begins to play. She is hooked, pun intended.

As the film goes on, however, and she's able to regain her breath — her attitude changes sharply. Kyle shares, "Around the time when marine biologist Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) appeared on screen, Alexis scrunched up her face. I asked her what was up and she said, 'I kinda feel like maybe the shark isn't the bad guy.'"

"You're gonna need a bigger boat" scene from the movie Jaws. www.youtube.com, Universal Pictures

She wouldn't be the first to have expressed this sentiment. Author Peter Benchley, on whose novel of the same name the film was based, had a complicated relationship with the movie. In an article for the Cape Cod Times, Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll recently writes how Benchley expressed remorse. "Benchley wanted to spotlight sharks' endangerment from modern fishing technology and an Asian taste for shark fin soup. What got more international attention, though, was this passage: '... considering the knowledge accumulated about Great Whites in the past 25 years, I couldn't possibly write Jaws today ... not in good conscience, anyway.'"

Benchley, having become an ocean conservationist before his death in 2006, even set the record straight on shark behavior. "They tend to spit people out," the piece reports Benchley claiming. (He had a lot of ideas for casting that clashed with Spielberg as well, including a wish for Paul Newman and Robert Redford to play the roles that wound up going to Roy Scheider and Dreyfuss.)

Alexis continued, "Just seems like they were in HIS house, ya know? Like what is a shark supposed to eat? If anyone is the villain, it's people who hunt sharks for sport. And the people who lie about them for movies." (Gauntlet dropped, Spielberg.)

Many marine biologists have spent decades trying to undo the shark myths proposed in Jaws. In the clip below for KATU Lifestyle, Dr. Alexandra McInturf says that not only are sharks not man-eating maniacs, "they are very discerning, thoughtful animals. The presence of sharks in an ecosystem is usually a really good sign that the ecosystem is healthy."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

That said, it was peak ’70s water-cooler talk and a deep bond for many Gen X-ers and Boomers. Gen Z, however, is seemingly not as interested. Natalie O'Neill writes in the New York Post that barely "half of Gen Z-ers" have even seen the film. She shares, "The film was such a hit with young people at the time, a whopping 40% of 18-to-29-year-olds said they’d seen it by the end of summer 1975, according to a Gallup poll taken that year." Adding, "At the time, 18% of viewers called it 'the most frightening movie' they had ever seen and 35% said the movie increased their fear of swimming in the ocean, according to the poll."

As part of the half who can now proudly claim they have seen it, Alexis is a fan. But she's team Benchley all the way when it comes to shark advocating. "Just leave them alone and they will leave you alone," she pleaded. True or not, she vows she will never miss an episode of National Geographic's "Shark Week" content moving forward.

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Man finds genius loophole to beat squatters at their own game. Homeowners say he's a hero.

"All I'm doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them."

Canva Photos

Flash Shelton has been nicknamed the "Squatter Hunter" and helps people take their homes back.

Squatters' rights laws are some of the most bizarrely misused legal realities we have, and something no one seems to have a good answer for. Most of us have heard stories of someone moving into a vacant home and just living there, without anyone's permission and without paying rent, and somehow this is a legal question mark until the courts sort it out.

According to The National Desk, squatters' rights are a carryover from British property law and were created to ensure that abandoned property could be used and to protect occupants from being kicked out without proper notice. The argument is that it's better to have someone openly living in a home and taking care of it, properly maintaining it, versus it laying abandoned and rotting away. Families and residents add value to a community, and those residents should have rights — or so the reasoning goes.

It should go without saying that squatter law isn't meant to allow someone to just take over someone else's property, but sometimes that's exactly what happens.

A squatter takeover is exactly what happened to Flash Shelton's mother when she put her house up for rent after her husband passed away.

See on Instagram

A woman contacted her with interest in the property, only she wanted to do repairs and look after the home instead of paying rent. Before anyone knew it, she had furniture delivered (which she later said was accidental) and set up camp, despite Shelton's mom not agreeing to the arrangement.

But since the woman had expressed her intention and already moved in, the matter was out of police hands, as Shelton found out when he tried to contact the local sheriff. If that sounds like trespassing to you, well, join the club.

“They said, ‘I’m sorry but we can’t enter the house, and it looks like they’re living there, so you need to go through the courts',” he shared in a YouTube video.

Shelton rightfully didn't want the expense of a court battle, so he took matters into his own hands—not with violence, but with logic. He had his mom lease the home to him, and then told the squatter that she had to move everything out because he was moving things in.

squatters, homeowners, criminals, trespassing, law, property law, viral videos, youtube, squatter hunter How exactly is squatting not trespassing? It's complicated, for some reason. Giphy

“If they can take a house, I can take a house," he said.

He was calm and clear about her having to get everything out within the day or he would have people come and take it, and thankfully, she didn't put up a big fight.

That experience made him realize how squatter law can be abused, but that there's a faster system for removing a squatter than to go through the court system. If a squatter can move in and force a homeowner to take them to court to prove they are living there illegally, then he could simply move in alongside the squatter, putting the squatter in the position of having to take the homeowner to court instead.

"The legal process is so slow, and at some point when they're in there, you're going to feel like they have more rights than you do and that's how you're going to be treated. So even though you it's your house and you're paying the mortgage or whatever, at some point squatters feel like they have more rights than you, so they don't have an incentive to leave until a judge tells them to, until they're actually ordered to, and that could take months."

After successfully removing the squatters in his mother's house, Shelton has been tackling similar squatter situations for other homeowners in California, earning him the nickname "The Squatter Hunter."

"All I'm doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them," Shelton told CBS News. "I figured if they could take a house, I could take a house."

According to CBS, he's successfully removed a dozen squatters in the past year. ""I'm not going in and I'm not hurting anyone," he said. "I'm not kicking them out, I'm not throwing them out." He's literally just moving in himself, setting up cameras, and then creating small annoyances until the squatters get fed up enough to move out; like making uncomfortable alterations to the home or making a ton of noise at inopportune hours.

Shelton parlayed his success into a reality show on A&E called, fittingly, Squatters. It premiered in July of 2025. To put it lightly, it looks intense! Clips posted on Shelton's social media show hostile standoffs with angry squatters and even he and his team causing damage to the home or creating nuisances to help drive the squatters out.

See on Instagram

California isn't the only state that has seen issues with squatters. There are squatter stories from all over the U.S. of people moving into a property and refusing to leave without a court order, tying owners up in lengthy, expensive legal battles.

Though squatting is relatively rare overall, some areas of the country have more issues than others. California, Texas, Georgia, and Florida are areas, in particular, that struggle with squatters and abandoned properties.

Shelton even has a Change.org petition to try to get squatter laws changed to "make squatting in residential maintained homes criminal." Making squatting illegal "will shift the burden of proof onto the squatter and make the crime punishable with restitution an option for damages," the the petition states.

Not all homeowners will have access to someone like Shelton and his team to fight back against squatters. But until the laws change, he's doing as much as he can.

Watch Shelton share his personal story:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Japanese Brit shares 10 things she loves about living in the U.S. and it's truly refreshing

Many disenchanted Americans are finding some solace in her observations.

Screenshot courtesy of @iamkouka/TikTok, Photo credit: Canva

There's a lot to love about the U.S.

The United States is a special place, unique among nations, and Americans are a special people. However, it's no secret that many Americans are feeling some combination of frustration, annoyance, and terror over the political landscape, making it hard to see the country in a positive light. The U.S. seems to be going through a severe identity crisis, with clashing political ideologies vying for power and many becoming disenchanted with what feels like an abandonment of the principles and ideals that make America what it is.

Many Americans have felt their love for their country getting buried in the political upheaval, but one woman's observations are helping to shake the dust off. Kouka Webb is a Japanese British woman who's been living in the United States for the past 11 years. She shared a list of her 10 favorite things about the U.S., and it's a refreshing reminder that there's a lot to love about this country outside of its current government and politics.

@iamkouka
There’s a lot of negativity online so I hope this is helpful to some people! #nyc #newyork #optimism #positivity #favorites

1. Friendliness

"I really love how friendly Americans are," she says. "The fact that everywhere I go, some random person is going to talk to me on the street—like, at least once a day, I'll talk with some random stranger. It can get really annoying, but most of the time I think it's really cute. And it's special to America. You don't really get that anywhere else in the world."

2. Optimism/Hustle Culture

"I like that people don't make fun of you for trying hard here," she says. "You can have two jobs and people are just going to be like, 'You've got this, girl!' Amazing. And people really believe here that you can do anything you want to do, and that's great. It really rubs off on you."

grand canyon, national parks, united states, America, natural beauty The Grand Canyon is one of 63 incredible National Parks in the U.S. Photo credit: Canva

3. National Parks

"If the Grand Canyon was in any other country, it would be the most incredible thing about the country. But here there are just so many incredible national parks. It's just incredible."

4. Portion Sizes

"Okay, this is controversial because I'm a dietician, but I like the portion sizes. Like, sometimes I want to order a cake and get a massive cake. Sometimes I need that to fill my belly. When you order a salad and it's actually a massive salad, and it fills you up."

Halloween, holidays, holiday decor, Americans, U.S. culture Holidays are a big deal in American culture. Photo credit: Canva

5. Holidays

"I love how Americans go all out on holidays, like Halloween, the 4th of July—it's sweet. It's really cute. And it sets the tone for many other countries…I like that, I like celebrating things."

6. Diversity

"This is obvious, but the diversity of the people. I sit on the train and everybody looks different, and I feel like I can fit in.

thanks, thank you, you're welcome, Americans, U.S. culture Americans take that thank you and acknowledge it with "You're welcome!" Giphy

7. "You're welcome"

In America, when you say, 'thank you,' Americans always take that thank you and they're like 'You're welcome.' They always take the thank you…there's always a 'You're welcome' because they know they helped you. I just find it really cute."

8. Road Trips

"I love that you can spend 8 hours in a car and barely make it to the next state. It's just so nice, there's so much to explore. It actually feels like you're going on a road trip."

customer service, customer is always right, returns, retail, capitalism Customer service in the U.S. is actually pretty impressive. Giphy

9. Customer Service

"I love how if you want to return something, you can return anything…the whole 'customer is always right' thing is an American thing. It's nice."

10. Reinvention Culture

"I'm going back to school. I'm almost 30. No one is like, 'You're old and weird.' No, hustle is respected in America no matter where it starts. My husband's friend's mother went to medical school at 41 and now she's a dermatologist. Has her own practice. I think that's amazing…in America, you really can be anything you want to be. And I love it. I think it's wonderful."

Americans, the u.s., USA, patriotism, love of country There's always something to celebrate. Giphy

People clearly needed to hear this positivity, as the comment section is filled with people thanking her for the perspective:

"It’s nice to see an honest reaction to American culture. I get so caught up in the negatives and the horrendous politics here, I really forget all the good parts that makes me love America."

"Thank you for helping me appreciate my country that I’m not too thrilled with at the moment."

"Honestly, thank you. We’ve been such an s-show for so many years now. It’s nice to be reminded that we don’t 100% suck."

"Love hearing what non-Americans love about America. I want optimism, hard-work, diversity, welcoming attitudes, national parks, going all-out for holidays, etc to be our national identity. Not war or insane politicians."

america, united states, american pride, diversity, love of country People love the U.S. for all kinds of reasons. Photo credit: Canva

"In the funk and depressing state I find myself in as an American, this list of 10 cool things about my country was appreciated and needed. Thank you."

"I LOVE this. As a disenchanted American right now I so appreciate your recognition and sharing of these wonderful things about the American culture. Thank you!!"

"Things are grim in this country. This piece is a helpful pick me up. I need more of this."

"I kind of teared up listening to this because many of us have been feeling so dejected by the state of our country right now, but this was a beautiful take. ❤️"

"Love it! America needs some pride right now. We are such a wonderful country."

Thank you, Kouka, for reminding us all that the U.S. is so much greater than our politics.

You can follow Kouka Webb on TikTok.

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When a 911 operator got a call for a 'large pizza' he quickly realized a woman was in trouble

What looked like a prank, was really an emergency.

via Inside Edition

A pizza and a police dispatcher.

In 2020, an Oregon, Ohio, police dispatcher and the daughter of a domestic abuse victim were lauded for their response to a violent situation. Dispatcher Tim Teneyck was manning the phone lines when a curious call came in that he first assumed was a prank. "I would like to order a pizza," the 911 caller said, giving a residential address. "You called 911 to order a pizza?" a bemused Teneyck asked. "This is the wrong number to call for a pizza." "No, no, no, no, you're not understanding," the woman insisted.

"I'm getting you now," Teneyck quickly replied. "We'll get 'em going."

"Is the other guy still there?" Teneyck asked

"I need a large pizza," the woman said.

"How about medical, do you need medical?" Teneyck replied. "No," the woman replied.

"With pepperoni," the woman continued. "We'll get 'em going," Teneyck stated before asking if the woman can stay on the phone.

"No," the woman replied before the call ends.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Teneyck realized she needed emergency assistance because of her persistence. "She stuck right to it," he told Inside Edition. "I knew there was something else going on." The dispatcher told police to go to the house with their sirens off saying "there's domestic violence going on." When police arrived, they saw the call was from a young woman whose mother was assaulted by her boyfriend, Simon Lopez.

According to the young woman, Lopez came home drunk saying he was going to "beat her ass" before punching her and throwing her into a wall. "I was thinking to myself, 'I need to call 911, but how do I get him to stay in the house so he will be taken out in handcuffs,' and I just thought, 'Pizza!'" the woman told Inside Edition.

Simon Lopez, 56, was arrested by police and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence. Lopez also had a warrant out for failure to appear. "I thank him from the bottom of my heart," the woman said of Teneyck.

Simon Lopez was arrested and charged with domestic violence.via Inside Edition

The next day, Oregon Police Chief Mike Navarre praised Teneyck as well.

"He utilized his training and his experience to recognize that a woman was in distress," Navarre told NBC News. "We have no way of knowing what would have happened if she didn't get through."

After the incident, the dispatcher and police chief learned that some support groups teach people to report domestic violence surreptitiously to 911 by pretending to order Chinese food or pizza. When the operator says, "You have the wrong number," the person reporting the violence is supposed to say, "No."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The practice was highlighted in the 2018 Super Bowl commercial ad by No More, an organization that raises awareness about domestic violence. When this dispatcher asks if it's a joke, she says, "No," so he asks if it's an emergency, and she says, "Yes." The ad concludes with a message: "When it's hard to talk, it's up to us to listen."

Navarre is using the call to train other dispatchers on how to realize if someone is in trouble and can't express it in words. "A good dispatcher is going to recognize that this is a person who wants to talk and needs help. That is exactly what happened here," he said. "Some dispatchers might hang up on this person, but it's worth a try to give it your best shot. That's what she did, and it worked out extremely well."

To get support, resources, and hope for anyone affected by domestic violence in the U.S. call 1.800.799-SAFE (7233).

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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domestic violence