+
Joy

Texas man takes down alligator using techniques he learned from Steve Irwin

A great story but seriously, do not try this at home.

steve irwin, man catches alligator

Steve Irwin, "Crocodile Hunter" cut-out

When a headline mentions anything about “wrestling gators,” you might expect it to be the shenanigans of a “Florida Man.” However, this gator story takes place further west in Missouri City, Texas … and it was indirectly brought to us by the late great “Crocodile Hunter” himself, Steve Irwin.

“What a morning,” Mike Trinh wrote on his Facebook post. Trinh had been preparing to take his youngest daughter to her first day in middle school when the girl ran to him yelling that an alligator was at the front door.

Thinking it a get-out-of-school ploy, Trinh didn’t take it seriously. That is, until he saw the creature himself.



Luckily, Trinh knew exactly what to do, thanks to a certain wildlife icon.




“All my years watching Steve Irwin, I figured I can deal with any wildlife as long as it ain’t a stingray,” Trinh wrote. He shared with ABC 13 that Irwin was one of his “heroes” and he'd been watching him since childhood.

Trinh might have used what he dubbed “Steve Irwin tactics” including covering the alligator's eyes and pinning its mouth closed, but he also added his own spin, using Brazilian jiujitsu.

“Once I got closer, I put my knee on it. In jiu-jitsu, it's called 'knee in belly.' I had a knee on it, spun to the back, sat on it, and then grabbed the mouth,” Trinh told ABC 13.

And as Trinh learned from Irwin, “Once you grab the mouth, that's it. It's done.”

How does Trinh’s technique compare with Irwin’s? Judging by this video below, not bad.

Here we see Irwin making sure the the crocodile’s eyes and mouth are incapacitated, and making sure to stay on top of it. Although that second part wasn’t so easy—two other full grown men had to come in and assist.

Of course, the obvious caveat in all of this is Irwin was a trained professional and had been catching crocs since the ripe old age of 9. The man had successfully rescued hundreds of them, according to the Irwin family’s official website.

Plus, the Crocodile Hunter had the utmost respect and reverence for the creatures he worked with. Even in the above video, he put his own life on the line in an attempt to rescue wildlife.

Bottom line: Maybe don’t try this at home. Even if you’re the biggest Irwin fan of all time.

Still, it did make for a cool story. And it seems to have been a success. Trinh applied everything he learned from Irwin and even gave his daughter a lesson too, as she had to “tie up the mouth.” Seems like the kind of hands-on teaching style Irwin would be proud of.

Like many of “The Crocodile Hunter”’s famed catches, this Texas alligator got a happy ending, as Trinh was finally able to load him in a truck and relocate him to a nearby pond.

Sometimes you never know when the things you learn will come in handy. But when they do, it just might be a surprise that’ll make you say “Crikey!”

thetruth.com
True

When McCall Mirabella was a freshman in high school, she began vaping nicotine. It seemed like everyone she knew was doing it— she felt like she saw more kids her age using e-cigarettes than drinking alcohol, and rationalized that it couldn’t be that bad for her.

Eventually, she decided to quit and shared her entire journey with the world, hoping to warn others about the dangers—and realities—of vaping. Mirabella often wished she had access to a program for people her age when she was struggling on her own quit effort. That’s why she is partnered with truth® to spread the word about This is Quitting, a free and anonymous text message quit vaping program that is helping more than 500,000 young people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

28-year-old buys cruise ship apartment because it's less than renting and he can see the world

An all-expenses-paid life for about $50,000 a year? Sounds like a deal.

A cruise ship floating on azure waters.

Living the rest of your life on a cruise ship seems like the dream of the ultra-rich. You wake up every morning and have an all-you-can-eat breakfast. Spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool or touring a fantastic city such as Rome or Dubrovnik.

At night, have a drink in the lounge watching a comedian or a jazz band, then hit the sack and do it all over again the next day. Seems too good to be true for the average person, right? Think again.

Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Wells of San Diego told CNBC that he can make it happen because it’s cheaper than living onshore in Southern California and he gets to see the world. “The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world,” Wells told CNBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Image via Pixabay.

Even if you're not a cat person, you might have missed out on this wonderful journey.

This article originally appeared on 06.01.18


Life can come at you really fast.

Sometimes you're just moseying along, smelling the flowers (or getting your usual morning coffee; I don't know your routine) — and then BAM! Your existence has entered a new and exciting stage you weren't at all prepared for.

Keep ReadingShow less

This article originally appeared on 01.24.19


Social media spats usually end in ugly words or blocking people—unless you're Patton Oswalt.

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has made a name for himself off screen as a blunt yet caring, compassionate human. His raw openness after his wife's unexpected passing and his willingness to engage in conversations about depression and dadhood after her death has touched people's hearts and opened people's minds.

And once again on Twitter, Oswalt has proven that he is unquestionably one of the most kind-hearted dudes in Hollywood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Gen Z is strangely averse to getting their driver's license. What the heck is going on?

Compared to earlier generations, today's teens are in no rush to drive and parents are scratching their heads.

Photo by Fabian Albert on Unsplash

Many teens and young adults are in no hurry to hop behind the wheel.

I and pretty much every Gen X teen I grew up with couldn't wait to learn to drive. Getting a driver's license was a huge milestone that meant freedom, independence, the ability to go to our friends' houses whenever we wanted to (so long as we had access to a car) and more—and we were totally psyched about it.

Today's teens are … different. While some are just as eager as we were to get behind the wheel, there's a whole bunch of young folks who have little to no interest in driving. As USA Today reported last year, "Data collected from the Federal Highway Administration and analyzed by Green Car Congress showed that in 2018 approximately 61% of 18-year-olds in the U.S. had a driver’s license, down from 80% percent in 1983. The number of 16-year-olds with licenses decreased from 46% to 25% in the same period."

My oldest kid was interested, but took her sweet time and didn't get her license until she was 18. My current 18-year-old still doesn't have her license and has zero desire to get it, despite having completed driver's ed. She just takes the bus and walks everywhere. Other parents in my immediate social circle have similarly disinterested-in-driving young adults, and I keep seeing parents posting about it on social media with a sense of bewilderment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parenting

Son tells mom that he's 'scared of her' and she responds with a great lesson in parenting

'I know this might be a little shocking but I do sometimes actually find you a little scary.'

Raisingself TikTok screenshots

Son tells mom that he's scared of her and the exchange is parenting goals.

Parenting is a hard gig regardless of whether you planned to have children or they were a happy surprise. As many parenting books as there are out there, none of them have the perfect equation to get it right and most parents do the best with what they learned, or unlearned, from their own parents.

Samantha, a parenting content creator on TikTok under the name Raising Self, has been working hard to overcome generational trauma and parent her children differently. Recently she was doing a live video to interact with her followers when one of her children made a stunning revelation: he was scared of her.

You could tell by her expression that his confession was a surprise, and though her son barely took his eyes off the video game he was playing, the two had a very meaningful dialogue. Instead of being upset or even happy that her child was fearful, she responded with curiosity.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Robert Irwin brought to tears after getting a birthday message from his late dad Steve

Robert recently turned 19 and carries on his father's legacy in every way.

The video brought Robert to tears, along with everyone else.

If Steve Irwin were here today to see the remarkable people that his two children grew up to be, he would be so proud. Both Bindi and Robert Irwin carry on their dad's legacy of wildlife conservation, along with Steve’s wife, Terri. And Robert, in particular, has inherited his father’s vivacious, endearing personality that is nothing short of contagious.

Steve might not be around anymore, but that didn’t stop him from providing his son with a wonderful message on his birthday.

Robert, who was only 3 years old when his father tragically passed away in 2006, celebrated his 19th birthday on Dec 1. As he and mom Terri stood onstage at the Australia Zoo—where Robert follows in his father’s footsteps as a Wildlife Warrior—a video began to play showing folks from around the world wishing him a happy birthday. Clearly, the young bloke is just as well loved as his father was.

Keep ReadingShow less