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Social media goes orange for gun violence awareness, and celebs are getting involved.

Social media turned a little more orange than usual on June 1.

It's National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and for the past several years, people have marked the occasion by wearing orange. The tradition was started by the friends and family of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed in 2013 at the age of 15 on the south side of Chicago. There was nothing particularly unique about Pendleton's death. Every day, innocent children get shot. With her death, however, a community came together to say "enough," similar to the movement we saw after the February 2018 Parkland shooting.

Orange has long been associated with gun safety, typically worn by hunters so they stand out to others while shooting. Safety, not confiscation or regulation, was the driving message of the movement, which made orange the perfect color to represent it.

Celebrities and everyday citizens took to social media to show their support for the gun safety movement by wearing orange.

Actors Mark Hamill, Julianne Moore, Melissa Joan Hart, Alyssa Milano, and Mayim Bialik posted images.

#wearorange #enoughisenough #notonemore #gunsafety @everytown @momsdemand

A post shared by Melissa Joan Hart (@melissajoanhart) on

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kate Walsh, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Platt, and Patrick Fabian took part as well.

Felicity Huffman, Clark Gregg, Angela Basesett, Katie Aselton, and Kevin Bacon added to some of the actor-based campaign images.

Musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Spoon, The National, Cyndi Lauper, and Andrew Bird joined in.

Demand a future free from gun violence. #wearorange @everytown

A post shared by Andrew Bird (@andrewbirdmusic) on

Designers Christian Siriano and Zac Posen took part in the campaign.

Journalist Katie Couric did, too.

Gun safety is a cause we should all be able to rally around, no matter where we land on the political spectrum.

We all want a safer country, and we all believe our children should be able to go to school without having to worry about whether or not they'll come home at the end of the day. While the "National Rifle Association versus the rest of the world" mentality plays a big role in media coverage about responses to gun violence, the truth is that even the NRA's own members support many of the same actions supported by organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety.

A Monmouth University poll found that nearly 70% of NRA members support closing background check loopholes which allow the private sale of firearms from one person to another (compared with 78% support among non-NRA members). Taking steps to ensure that every person who obtains a gun has passed a background check would be a good start in keeping firearms out of the hands of people who shouldn't legally have them.

Another idea that's gaining support in some states is banning people convicted of domestic abuse from owning guns. While a federal law already bans possession for some abusers, states are making it easier for police and prosecutors to enforce.

The truth is that we're in this together, even if it's not always easy. If there's hope of changing this culture of gun violence, it has to begin with acknowledging the problem, drawing attention to it, and mobilizing for change — and that starts with all of us. If you want to take action on gun safety, visit wearorange.org for more info about how you can get involved.

Pop Culture

Tired of 'hacks?' Here are 20 of the best life tips sourced from 21.9 million real people.

All of them are simple and practical. A few might just change your life.

via Arjun Mahadevan/Twitter

Arjun Mahadevan's life pro tip Twitter thread

Arjun Mahadevan gave the world a gift when he crowdsourced the best “life pro tips” from nearly 22 million people. He shared the top 20 in a Twitter thread that’s got over 619,000 views. Mahadevan sourced the tips from the Life Pro Tips subforum on Reddit, which has been running since 2010.

Mahadevan is the CEO of doolaHQ which he calls the “business-in-a-box” for LLCs.

Mahadevan labeled his advice “20 life tips you wish you knew when you were 20,” but they are helpful for everyone regardless of age. They’re useful for anyone who is in a relationship, has a job or wants to stay sane in an aggravating world.

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life advice
Science

Fascinating video shows how an orangutan mom learned to nurse from a breastfeeding zookeeper

Zoe had been orphaned at a young age and hadn't developed her maternal instincts.

Metro Richmond Zoo/Youtube

Just two new moms helping each other.

Whitlee Turner, a zookeeper for the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia, was given a unique task—teach an orangutan to breastfeed.

Turner’s pupil, Zoe, had been orphaned at a young age, and without guidance presumably hadn’t learned any maternal instincts. Zoe’s first baby had to be hand-raised after she was unable to nurse, so when baby #2 came around, the zoo was determined to reach a different outcome.

That’s why they called on Turner, who had coincidentally also become a new mom. Thinking Zoe could be taught by example—a strategy that’s proven successful in the past—Turner was asked to bring her newborn son, Caleb, in to give a demonstration.

Turner agreed wholeheartedly.

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video
Pop Culture

People are loving Drew Barrymore's live reaction to her first perimenopause hot flash

“I don’t know that I have ever heard a celebrity talk about a hot flash in the moment. Thank you for being so real."

The Drew Barrymore Show/Youtube

Drew Barrymore getting a quick assist from Jennifer Aniston

It feels safe to say that many, if not most people hail Drew Barrymore as the “Queen of Candid.” She can seemingly talk to absolutely anyone about anything in a way that’s consistently warm and authentic.

That even goes for when she experiences her first hot flash in front of a live television audience, apparently.

While speaking with guests Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler on her talk show, Barrymore abruptly appears flustered, fanning herself and removing her jacket.

Without missing a beat, she says, “I am so hot, I think I'm having my first perimenopause hot flashes.”
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drew barrymore
Identity

New Yorkers rallied around nervous autistic man left alone in the subway until he got home safely

He was waiting for a cousin who never showed up.

via Susan Sermoneta/Flickr

A subway station at 59th street in New York City.

New Yorkers may seem like a brash, uncaring bunch to the uninitiated. But when you get to know the people and the city, you’ll probably realize that they are “kind, but not nice,” as opposed to how many describe people on the West Coast as “nice, but not kind.”

A great example of New Yorkers looking out for one another happened on Reddit’s AskNYC subforum earlier this month. AskNYC is where New Yorkers consult one another on various topics, such as where to get cheap rent, subway shortcuts, and places to volunteer.

It all started when a Redditor named Andy, 21, who is autistic, reached out for help in a post titled, “Please help, where do I wait.” On the forum he goes by the name GalacticBambi. Andy is a native New Yorker who moved away at a young age. His father passed away two years ago, so he came back to the Big Apple to see his cousin and learn more about his father.

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kindness of strangers
Joy

Basketball referee has an emotional reunion with the player who saved his life on the court

Not many people survive a "widow maker," but thanks to the player's quick actions, this ref lived to call another game.

YouTube

Basketball referee reunites with player who saved his life.

There are some things people are never quite prepared to experience, and a heart attack is high on that list. Semi-pro basketball referee John Sculli found himself on the receiving end of an unexpected heart attack, right in the middle of reffing a game.

Sculli was keenly watching the game between Toledo Glass City and the Jamestown Jackals when he went from following the players down the court to sprawled out on the ground. He was quickly surrounded by other referees, but his fall got the attention of Myles Copeland, who recognized Sculli was unresponsive and immediately began CPR.

"I had never witnessed someone just collapse, but I knew what had to be done," Copeland told CBS.

Turns out Copeland wasn't just a basketball player, he was also a firefighter, and his quick actions saved Sculli's life. Doctors told the referee and his fiancé, Donna, that he had a "widow maker" heart attack, which is often fatal. So when the two men got a chance to reconnect with Donna in tow, emotions ran high and CBS caught it on video.

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referee heart attack
Family

Mom has the perfect hack for pesky stomach bugs that can make cleaning beds a non-issue

She calls it the "puke bed" and it's genius.

Lovedthishatedthat|TikTok

No more cleaning mattresses. Mom has a hack for stomach bugs.

Whether you have kids or plan to have kids in the future, you should know that you're going to clean up someone else's bodily fluids and waste. It's just a fact of caring for small children. In fact, you can almost guarantee that you're going to clean up vomit that exits a tiny person's body with more force than you knew possible. Is it fun? No. Does it help that kids are cute and just want cuddles when they're not feeling well? Absolutely.

There are all kinds of tips and tricks to make your little ones feel better during cootie season, which can sometimes feel year-round. Some people swear by homeopathic preventions and remedies while others stock up on vitamin C. But outside of Pedialyte popsicles and keeping a bucket nearby hoping for the best, there's not really a trick to surviving the dreaded stomach bug.

Except, maybe there is. A mom who runs the TikTok account @lovedthishatedthat may have just cracked the code to surviving those long nights when your kid has a stomach bug: an inflatable bed.

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mom hacks
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