Terry Crews is a sexual assault survivor. His brave testimony to Congress is a must-see.
Terry Crews’ courage and advocacy have made him an important ally in the #MeToo era. The “Brooklyn 99” star has been an outspoken advocate, opening up about his own experience with sexual assault. “My name is Terry Crews,” he said at the beginning of his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I am an actor,…
“My name is Terry Crews,” he said at the beginning of his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I am an actor, author, former athlete, advocate, and a survivor of a sexual assault.”
He was speaking before the committee in support of passing a Bill of Rights for assault survivors in all 50 states. Congress and the White House already passed their own Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016 that was signed into law by President Barack Obama, but advocates say more protections are still needed at the state level.
“I wanted these survivors to know that I believe them,” he said. “I supported them and that this happened to me too.”
It’s meaningful for people like Crews to speak out about toxic masculinity.
Rapper and fellow actor Curtis Jackson, aka “50 Cent,” publicly mocked Crews through his Instagram after Crews spoke to Congress, suggesting the former NFL star “strap up.”
Crews was having none of this, which he made clear in his testimony. “I was told over and over that this was not abuse. This was just a joke. This was just horseplay,” he said. “But I can say one man’s horseplay is another man’s humiliation.”
WATCH – @terrycrews full opening statement: "I am honored to use my platform and story to help create additional civil rights protections for survivors across the nation under the Sexual Assault #SurvivorsBillofRights."
Supporting sexual assault survivors is essential. Moments like this help to make that support an undisputed reality.
There’s no shortage of things people can learn about preventing sexual harassment and assault by listening more to the people who have experienced it. Having an open mind and open heart goes a long way toward moving past the culture of toxic masculinity and the problems it creates.
As Crews has said, when women speak out on the issue, men should listen, but men also play a critical role in educating and policing their own communities.
When a celebrity like Terry Crews speaks up, it matters. No one can challenge his stature as a “tough guy.” He can admit the problems inherent with the traditionally narrow definition of masculinity that society seems to uphold. He’s moved beyond it and hopes others will do the same.
In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin.
It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest.
The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn?
Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.
MEDEA Screening Audience in Tanzania. Captured by James Roh for Pura
Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world.
Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends.
Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.
A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission
Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education.
But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities.
The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere.
You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.
Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil
Julia with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country.
“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says.
But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.
Ayomidês with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine, works at UNICEF, helping train the next generation of adolescent leaders. And Julia has already set her sights on becoming a math teacher or a model.
“These are generations of Black women who did not have access to a school,” Naiara says. “These are generations of Black women robbed daily of their dreams. And we’re telling them that they could be the generation in their family to write a new story.”
Mama Habiba is reframing the conversation in Nigeria
Centre for Girls' Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
In Mama Habiba’s home country of Nigeria, the scents of starfruit, ylang ylang and pineapple, all incorporated into the Pura x Malala Collection’s “Nigeria: Hope for Tomorrow,” can be found throughout the vibrant markets. Like these native scents, Mama Habiba says that the Nigerian girls are also bright and passionate, but too often they are forced to leave school long before their potential fully blooms.
“Some of these schools are very far, and there is an issue of quality, too,” Mama Habiba says. “Most parents find out when their children are in school, the girls are not learning. So why allow them to continue?”
When girls drop out of secondary school, marriage is often the alternative. In Nigeria, one in three girls is married before the age of 18. When this happens, girls are unable to fulfill their potential, and their families and communities lose out on the social, health and economic benefits.
Completing secondary school delays marriage, and according to UNESCO, educated girls become women who raise healthier children, lift their families out of poverty and contribute to more peaceful, resilient communities.
Centre for Girls’ Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
To encourage young girls to stay in school, the Centre for Girls’ Education, a nonprofit in Nigeria founded by Mama Habiba and supported by Malala Fund and Pura, has pioneered an initiative that’s similar to the Ayomidê workshops in Brazil: safe spaces. Here, girls meet regularly to learn literacy, numeracy, and other issues like reproductive health. These safe spaces also provide an opportunity for the girls to role-play and learn to advocate for themselves, develop their self-image, and practice conversations with others about their values, education being one of them. In safe spaces, Mama Habiba says, girls start to understand “who she is, and that she is a girl who has value. She has the right to negotiate with her parents on what she really feels or wants.”
“When girls are educated, they can unlock so many opportunities,” Mama Habiba says. “It will help the economy of the country. It will boost so many opportunities for the country. If they are given the opportunity, I think the sky is not the limit. It is the starting point for every girl.”
From parades, film screenings to safe spaces and educational programs, girls and local leaders are working hard to strengthen the quality, safety and accessibility of education and overcome systemic challenges. They are encouraging courageous behavior and reminding us all that education is freedom.
Experience the Pura x Malala Fund Collection here, and connect with the stories of real girls leading change across the globe.
As we know, baby name trends are constantly changing. One generation’s Barbara is another generation’s Bethany. But it doesn’t make it any less odd when you suddenly realize that your very own name has suddenly made it into the “old and unhip” pile. And for many of us 80s babies…that time is now. In a…
As we know, baby name trends are constantly changing. One generation’s Barbara is another generation’s Bethany. But it doesn’t make it any less odd when you suddenly realize that your very own name has suddenly made it into the “old and unhip” pile. And for many of us 80s babies…that time is now.
In a now-viral TikTok post, baby name consultant Colleen Slagen went through the top 100 girl names from 1986 to find which ones “did not age well” and were no longer ranked top 1,000 today. Such a descent from popularity would mark them as what she calls “timestamp names.” Spoiler alert: what might be even more surprising than the names now considered old school are the names that are still going strong.
The fall of the house of ‘Heather’
The first name that Slagen says is “officially out” is Heather. That’s right, not even cult movie fame could help it keep its ranking.
Other extinct names include Erica, Courtney, Lindsay, Tara, Crystal, Shannon, Brandy and Dana. Tiffany, Brittany and Casey are also heading very much in that direction.
“My name is Brandy. The Gen Z hostess at Olive Garden told me that she’d never heard my name before and it was so unique,” one viewer wrote.
However, Andrea ranks “surprisingly high,” and Jessica, Ashley and Stephanie have survived…so far.
Gobsmacked, one person asked “How is Stephanie still in there? I don’t think I’ve met a Stephanie younger than myself at 34.”
But the biggest holdout still belongs to Jennifer. “She was a top 100 name all the way up until 2008. Round of applause for Jennifer,” Slagen says in the clip.
If your name has found its way into relic of a bygone era status, fret not. Slagen, whose name also ranks out of the top 1000, assures it just means “we are creatures of the 80s.” Of course, while we still have baby names that become incredibly common for extended periods of time (looking at you, little Liam and Olivia), the real contemporary trend is going for uniqueness. As an article in The Atlantic notes, for most of American history families tended to name their children after a previous family member, with the goal of blending in, rather than standing out. But now, things have changed.
Recently, Kelley Cole went viral on TikTok for a video in which she shared the names that Gen Z teens think are now officially for “old ladies,” which they read right out of a classroom from 1985. “I was told my name was an old lady’s name by the teenagers on the adolescent unit I was working on,” she begins her video. “I was surprised, so the subject came up of what names are old lady names versus young names.”
Laura Wattenberg, the founder of Namerology, told the outlet that “Parents are thinking about naming kids more like how companies think about naming products, which is a kind of competitive marketplace where you need to be able to get attention to succeed.”
But again, even with a keen eye on individualism, patterns pop up. “The same thing we see in fashion trend cycles, we see in names,” Jessie Paquette, another professional baby namer, told Vox. “We’re seeing Eleanor, Maude, Edith—cool-girl grandma names.”
So who knows…give it time (or maybe just a pop song) and one of these 80s names could make a comeback.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
An amazingretirement village is accepting guests in Shropshire, England—but instead of catering to elderly people, it’s designed for elderly cats.Shropshire Cat Rescue has been rescuing elderly cats set to be euthanized and providing them with top-notch elder care for over 21 years. Thanks to donations and sponsorship, the retirement village was built in 2009 to create comfortable homes within the rescue for senior and super senior kitties.
The owner and co-founder of the rescue, Marion Micklewright, was tired of seeing older cats get passed over for adoption and subsequently put to sleep simply because they were old. So she decided to do something about it. Shropshire was created in 1991 and moved to Micklewright and her husband Richard’s current home address in 1998. Today there are cats wandering the retirement village who are over 20 years old. One cat, lovingly named Cat, loves to hang out in the little “store” in the tiny cat town, while others lounge in cat condos.
Veterinarian Dr. Scott Miller, TV personality, resident vet onITV’sThis Morning, and owner of an elderly cat himself, visited the feline retirement community in March 2024 to film for his new YouTube Channel, Rescue Vet. He was deeply impressed with how much the retirement community had to offer the cats that call it home and dubbed it the “cutest cat retirement village” according to Shropshire Star in 2024.
Retirement Village model spreads to the U.S.
Shropshire Cat Rescue is a marvel, but it’s not the only retirement home out there for felines. A Florida couple opened a retirement home for elderly cats, too. Terry and Bruce Jenkins decided to open their home for elderly cats in their backyard, rescuing them from “hardship situations.” Affectionately called Cats Cradle, the Jenkins’ rescue doesn’t adopt the old kitties out; they let them live out their years happy and cared for cozy in their backyard (that Bruce unofficially calls “cat Disneyland”). “I found a real purpose in caring for these animals who, in many ways, were a reflection of where I was in life, too,” Terry told AARP in 2023.
What Makes Shropshire Cat Rescue Unique
Wonderfully, there are several retirement homes for cats in America, but Shropshire’s retirement village operates like a small town. It comes complete with a storefront, six “homely chalets,” and the “Moggies Mansion,” a sort of common area for all the cats to congregate.
As of 2024, Shropshire Cat Rescue houses about 19 elderly cats, but have opened the village to “younger but just as in need” cats. They offer adoptions, are open to and eagerly welcome volunteers, and even host local events.
How to Support the PURR Project and Senior Kitties
You can support Shropshire with donations to their PURR Project, a new center complete with it’s own retirement village, nursery, pet hospital, education center, and even staff and volunteer accommodations.
Check it out:
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
According to her daughter, Lucille Ball never considered herself a feminist, but there’s no question she blazed many a trail for women. A working mother in real life, she depicted issues facing housewives with her brilliant television comedy and became the first female studio head in Hollywood. She broke glass ceilings but wasn’t particularly outspoken about women’s rights. In fact, in a 1980 interview with People she said, “They can use my name for equal rights, but I don’t get out there and raise hell because I’ve been so liberated, I have nothing to squawk about.”
Ball empowered women by example—and by speaking her mind. Carol Burnett shared a story on PBS about how Ball was unhappy with a script for her new show, but women at that time didn’t raise concerns about such things. Men could express criticism and demand changes, but women simply didn’t. Ball did—and firmly—despite being non-confrontational by nature. Later she told Burnett, “Kid, that’s when they put the ‘s’ at the end of my name.”
Lucille Ball shuts down TV host
A video has been circulating on social media showing Ball’s no-nonsense way of speaking up when she felt the need to, and people are gushing over it.
Lucille Ball was a massive star, but perhaps best known for the show ‘I Love Lucy By CBS Television – Public Domain
In 1978, Ball participated in a Q & A session with UCLA theater arts students on the television program “America Alive!” The viral clip shows Ball repeatedly telling one of the hosts, David Sheehan, to take his hands off of female audience members when they were asking a question.
“Will you take your hands off, David?” she says as he introduces one young woman. “Take your hands off of her,” she says again as he places his hand on the shoulder of another. “David, would you take your hands away?” she says as he places his hands on another woman in a sparkly gold dress.
People laughed every time, but Ball didn’t so much as crack a smile during her clear, simple, repeated “hands off” admonitions.
For 1978 especially, her advocacy for the women in the audience was extraordinary. Sheehan wasn’t touching these women in a lewd or sexual manner, but he was touching them in a way that he wouldn’t have touched a man who was asking a question. Most people wouldn’t have thought much of it at the time, but Lucille Ball immediately noted it and didn’t let it stand.
Here are some of the best comments
“I love that she didn’t even laugh when the room was. She was not joking.”
“‘Take your hands off her, David,’ should be a sound AND a t-shirt.”
“He kept trying. She kept telling him. Love her.”
“Lucille Ball always reminds me of my grandma. She hated to be seen as delicate, and she hated men that would touch her even more. She would say, stone-faced, ‘Get your paws off.’”
“The audience laughed and she said ‘ain’t nothing funny.’ Love her”
.”This happened to me so much growing up and I noticed from very young the boys weren’t treated this way.”
“Even then she knew how the industry was. I LOVE IT AND LOOOOVE LUCY SO MUCH.”
A commenter on Reddit noted that Ball started her career as a chorus girl and dancer. “She knows every creepy man trick in the book”
The wider culture of handsy TV hosts
Television and game shows from the 70s and 80s are an incredible time capsule of the culture and norms of the era. Sheehan wasn’t the only one who tended to get a little handsy.
It was common for male hosts to kiss female contestants. Richard Dawson, host of The Family Feud, was famous for it. Even our beloved Bob Barker of The Price Is Right often had women suggestively reach into his jacket to fish out their $100 bill.
Richard Dawson kissing all the women in the family. YouTube
There’s a casual lecherous-ness that famous men seemed to get away with easily at the time. For anyone to publicly challenge them on their behavior was absolutely shocking.
Even if Sheehan was casually touching those women out of habit and not ill intent, it’s laudable that Ball made a point of making him aware of it. Unfortunately, women are still having to deal with men touching them without being invited to, but seeing Lucille Ball’s serious face while calling it out is a good reminder that women have been fighting this battle for a long time. Good for her for using her microphone and the respect afforded her to speak up for the young women in her audience.
Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” is a pop song that has stood the test of time. The hit was written by the band’s lead singer, Boy George, and topped the Billboard charts in 1982.
It continues to resonate with younger generations. During a 2018 blind audition on Season 7 of The Voice Australia, singer Sheldon Riley performed an evocative version of the song for judge Boy George himself.
Riley’s personal touches on the hit made a deep impact on Boy George.
Singing to Boy George
In the viral clip, Riley takes a few deep breaths before beginning to sing, accompanied only by a piano. “Give me time to realize my crime,” he croons, as judge Joe Jonas immediately recognizes the tune, along with Boy George.
“I know that song,” Boy George says.
With their ears perked, Riley continues to sing, and Boy George quickly presses the button to turn his chair. Riley immediately becomes emotional as the three remaining judges—Jonas, Delta Goodrem, and Kelly Rowland—also press their buttons.
“I love it!” Boy George continues, as Riley keeps singing a hauntingly sad version of his major pop hit. Riley bursts into tears at the end of his performance, and Boy George sings his praises.
“Great song!” he quips. “Obviously that song is so personal to me—it’s my own personal love story in a way. And it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone else singing it. You just added so much kind of sadness to it.”
Boy George quickly compliments Riley on his outfit—a purple top with large faux-fur sleeves and white ripped jeans—with Riley sharing that his look isn’t “normally accepted” by others.
Boy George says to him, “Honey, can I just say…never, ever look for acceptance. Take me as I am—that should be your motto.”
Later in the clip when Riley is choosing his coach, he tells Boy George, “I just want to say thank you so much. You let people like me wear what I want to wear, and put these lashes on that take thousands of years. You just inspire me so much…I’m going to go Team George!”
The history of “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”
In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Boy George said he wrote the song about his former partner, Kirk Brandon.
“I did play the victim. That was the role I took on: ‘Oh, why are you doing this to me?’ Back in the day, I spent so much time trying to change the people I was in love with–and not trying to change myself,” he said.
And he didn’t think it would be a hit.
“I thought the song was too personal to be a hit and I didn’t want it to be a single. I went to Virgin and stomped my feet and sat on the stairs saying: ‘You’re going to ruin our career before we’ve even started!’, he said. “Our audience needed something to dance to, and ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ was too slow, too personal, too long. Everything about it was wrong. So its success was a big education for me: I learned that being personal was the key to touching people.”
The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts in March 1983 and spent 25 weeks on the chart.
It’s 9 a.m. You arrive at your desk feeling fresh, but by noon, when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the bathroom, you barely recognize yourself. And by the end of the workday…yeesh.
That was the case for Noa Donlan, a flag-waving “corporate girly” who couldn’t help but notice the visible difference between how she looked when clocking in and even just hours later. So she decided to document it.
In a series of now-viral videos posted to TikTok and Instagram, we see her face transform from glowing and vibrant to puffy-eyed, with dry, gray-toned skin and hair weighed down by oil.
I leave the house feeling fine and by 12pm my skin is dry, my eyes look tired, and my hair is oily?? tell me I’m not the only one follow for realistic 9–5 POVs 💻✨ #creatorsearchinsights
There’s something in the OFFICE air💻 Follow if this is you by 1pm in the office🤍 someone mentioned this song in the comments and I can’t remember who it was so if this was you THANK YOU for the song idea 😉 #corporategirl#officelife#workhumor#9to5#corporategirly
Perhaps you could blame it on unforgiving bathroom lights, but Donlan has a different theory: office air.
And apparently, she isn’t the only one who thinks it might be to blame. Her video drew a ton of comments from people sharing similar experiences.
“I look like a sick Victorian child by lunch,” lamented one viewer.
Plus, there are millions of videos on TikTok from others documenting the same phenomenon, many of whom film themselves in the exact same location for before-and-after shots. The most common complaints are dry skin, a shiny forehead, oily hair, and cracked lips.
“Office air is the most fatal of them all,” another office worker said in a video with 1.2 million views.
“No matter how good I try to make myself look in the morning, I’m going to leave the office looking like I just ran a marathon and washed my face with grease,” they said.
Now, is this a Severance-level work conspiracy? Probably not. (The odds are low, but never zero.)
However, there are some potential explanations, one of which is the air in the office, which tends to be stripped of humidity thanks to the A/C blasting nonstop.
Plus, offices without openable windows mean the skin may get less oxygen throughout the day. This, combined with dehydration, “leaves skin looking dull and fatigued,” said skin expert Fiona Brackenbury in an interview with Refinery29.
There’s also something to be said about the effects that reduced circulation from being stationary, stress, and squinting at screens can have on our appearance, according to the Skin Elite blog.
Prevent “office air” from damaging skin
Thankfully, there are expert-approved ways to combat the effects of “office air,” particularly dryness.
Dr. Catherine Chang, a plastic surgeon, recommends using a small portable humidifier at your desk, as well as a good moisturizer or hyaluronic acid that you can reapply as needed.
If you work in an office 9-5, this is for you. “Office air” aka “work air” might be the reason your skin gets dry and make up patchy while at work. 👀 #skincare#skincaretips#beautytok#beautytips
She also suggests spraying hypochlorous acid, which can help with inflammation and free radical damage. She noted that it might not actually help with dryness, but can at least leave you feeling “refreshed.”
In addition, experts recommend serums containing niacinamide, vitamin E, and/or resveratrol, which help protect against environmental damage, support collagen production, and soothe the skin.
As for the stress portion? That’s a harder nut to crack, but it goes to show, once again, that stress management affects us in more ways than one. Short of packing it all up to live on a cruise ship, don’t forget that some form of relaxation—whether it’s taking a few deep breaths or going for a walk during your lunch break—is vital.
So, while “office air” might not be fully researched or proven, it serves as a reminder that our work environments shape how we feel—and even how we look—throughout the day. Hopefully, it only takes a few small adjustments to help you leave the office matching the person who walked in that morning, inside and out.
One of the main reasons humans and dogs have gotten along so well for centuries is that we just get each other. Dogs and humans can form incredibly close emotional bonds, and we also make great partners when working together, whether on a farm or in a K-9 unit. It’s no surprise that, according to Embark Veterinary, dogs and humans share an estimated 84% of our DNA and have over 17,000 similar genes.
Further, our species have evolved together. Dogs that were better able to communicate with humans—by understanding commands, making “puppy eyes,” and showing lower levels of aggression—were more likely to be bred, reinforcing those traits across the species.
A fantastic example of the bond between humans and dogs was recently shared by Emily Freireich, 24, on her 5-year-old dog Luna’s TikTok account. In the video, Freireich shows how Luna’s pupils dilate when she talks to her.
“Ignore my annoying baby talk, but I love seeing her eyes dilate when I talk to her. It makes me feel like she loves me so much,” she captioned the video. If you look closely, as Luna locks in with Freireich, her pupils (the black part of the eyes) grow larger.
“It makes me feel like she loves me and is listening to what I’m telling her,” Freireich told Newsweek. “She is the sweetest dog ever. She’s always happy to meet people and other dogs; she’s super cuddly and such a good girl.”
Why do dogs’ pupils dilate?
Dogs’ pupils get larger, or dilate, when they’re excited; that can mean they’re afraid or incredibly happy to see you. The pupils dilate to let in more light so they can see more clearly, whether that’s a threat or the person they love most in the world.
Dog owners should be aware, though: In some cases, pupil dilation may indicate that a dog is ill. If their pupils are dilated and they aren’t aroused for any reason, it may be time to make a vet appointment. But if you get home from work and they run to greet you and their pupils enlarge, it’s a sign they’re over the moon to see you.
“When it’s dark, they widen to let in more light and help you see better. Conversely, your pupils will decrease in size and constrict when faced with additional light. Both of these occurrences allow you to adapt your vision for your environment. … When you’re attracted to someone or see something that appeals to you, your body – or more specifically your sympathetic nervous system – activates. Your brain increases production of the hormones oxytocin and dopamine, both of which can cause your pupils to dilate so you can better see the object of your desire. … Remember, attraction is hardly the only reason your pupils might dilate. Fear can also stimulate your sympathetic nervous system and release hormones so your eyes can temporarily improve its vision.”
Freireich’s video is a wonderful reminder of how much we love our dogs and how much they love us back. We live about five times longer than they do, and we should never forget that they may be only a chapter in our lives, but to them, we are the whole book. So, we should give them all the love, attention, and affection they deserve.
In fact, he doesn’t just talk about it. Videos of him demonstrating how he uses an automatic foam sprayer, brushes, wash mitts, microfiber drying towels, and more have inspired thousands of people to follow in his footsteps. That says a lot. This is bathroom cleaning, after all.
In Part 1, Sebastian explains that once a month, he deep-cleans the bathroom, starting with dusting and vacuuming. First, he removes everything from the space. Then he uses a Swiffer duster and an industrial air scrubber to suck up all the dust he displaces (not a standard bathroom-cleaning tool, for sure). After dusting, he vacuums. Thoroughly.
Then comes the fun part: the automatic foam sprayer.
Sebastian mixes Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap, isopropyl alcohol (to disinfect), and water in the foam sprayer. Then he hoses down the entire shower, tub, toilet, sinks, and countertop with the foamy mixture, which is oh-so satisfying.
Then he starts scrubbing with car wash brushes. Also so satisfying.
Are you wondering how on Earth he’s possibly going to rinse all of that off? Fear not. He has a system.
That system includes a spray bottle (with a design that puts all others to shame) and a squeegee. Spraying the foam with water keeps it from drying out and makes it easy to squeegee away. Then he goes in with a big, honking car wash mitt to remove the rest.
The mitt might be the best part, though Sebastian gets particularly excited about the microfiber towel that comes next.
“The best towel ever made,” he says. “It is a microfiber towel made by The Rag Company for the automotive detailing industry. And it is quite literally the most absorbent towel I’ve ever used in my entire life.”
And he’s still not done. He cleans the remaining surfaces (window sills, tops of lights, top of the door frame, etc.) with castile soap. Then he goes in with sodium percarbonate (an eco-friendly oxygen bleach powder) to clean the sink bowls, toilet, tub, and grout.
Then he rinses it all off with his superabsorbent microfiber towel, and voilà! A sparkly clean bathroom.
People in the comments expressed how impressed and inspired they were by Sebastian’s cleaning regimen:
“Wow. People’s minds are going to be blown. I did not see the squeegee or the puffy glove coming. 👏👏❤️❤️”
“This inspired me to do a much-needed scrub of my own shower last night at 10:30pm, and for that I thank you.”
“It has never occurred to me to clean a bathroom like this but honestly it looks very thorough!!”
“This is SUCHHHHHHH a brilliant and effective way to clean a bathroom! My dad worked at a car wash for years and years and I feel like he would have loved this.”
“Ok, I know the products aren’t sponsored but they should be. I am ready to BUY. This is a masterclass in adulting.”
Dogs are considered invaluable police helpers for their tracking abilities. But performing CPR? That’s certainly not on anyone’s bingo card.
However, footage released on X by Madrid Municipal Police shows a dog named Poncho doing just that, or at least performing CPR in a training simulation.
In the clip, an officer pretends to faint, triggering Poncho to rush to the rescue. Wearing a harness fitted with a small blue light, Poncho quickly begins jumping on the officer’s chest with his forepaws, mimicking chest compressions. After every few jumps, he appears to check for a pulse or breath before continuing the drill.
By the end, the officer miraculously jumps up, and Poncho’s tail wags in gleeful triumph.
The Municipal Police of Madrid wrote that the “heroic” dog “did not hesitate for a moment to ‘save the life’ of the agent, practicing the #CPR in a masterful way.”
Adorable? Definitely. Effective? Eh, not so much.
As many were quick to point out in the comments, this “masterful” performance is certainly heartwarming, but it likely wouldn’t hold up in a real emergency.
While CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can be performed using chest compressions alone (as Poncho was demonstrating), even that requires a level of precision that man’s best friend might find challenging.
As Jonathan Epstein, senior director of science and government relations for the American Red Cross, told The Washington Post in 2018, that technique involves pushing down about two inches into the patient’s chest at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute until the patient regains consciousness or until someone else can take over to attempt traditional CPR or other revival methods.
That level of control is difficult even for humans who have not been properly trained, much less a creature without opposable thumbs.
Video goes viral
Still, it could be argued that Poncho revived millions of hearts after his video went viral, and he certainly received applause from his new fans.
“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen 🥺🥹”
“Lol 😂most ineffective compressions I’ve ever seen but ok cute.”
“Cutest, most ineffective bounces I’ve ever seen, but what a good way to go! lolol 😍”
Plus, dogs have proven themselves to be incredible creatures many times before, whether saving people from drowning or rescuing avalanche victims.
And for what it’s worth, the Madrid police department wasn’t trying to convince anyone that Poncho could perform CPR. They actually had much more wholesome intentions.
According to NBC News, the Municipal Police of Madrid hoped the video would inspire pet adoptions. The department also quoted American author Josh Billings in an X post, saying, “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.”
So while Poncho might not have pulled off a medical miracle, he is undoubtedly a hero in our eyes.
