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Heroes

What does a scientist look like? Look no further than these badass women.

While women in STEM careers are traditionally underrepresented, it doesn't mean they're not there, kicking ass and capturing data all around the world.

Enter Science-a-thon, a one-day celebration of women in science to raise money for the Earth Science Women's Network, a nonprofit helping women in the field.

On July 13, 2017 (and a few folks on the 14th), female scientists took to Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #DayOfScience to share photos and stories of their day, from routine observations to groundbreaking research.


The result is a rare look at what it's like to be a professional woman in science. It goes a little something like this.

1. It's never too early to get up and get to work. Science waits for no woman.

2. Some start the day with coffee. Others jump-start their mornings with natural uranium. To each her own.

3. Whether you're hard at work in the lab...

4. ...feeling the wind in your hair in the field...

5. ...or knocking out reports at your desk...

6. ...there's always something new to do and discover!

And confirming how awesome your discovery is is half the fun.

7. But that doesn't mean women in science are always off by themselves. After all, science is a team sport.

8. When it comes to saving the world, you can never have too much help.

9. Women in science also spend time teaching and presenting their findings.

10. Their lectures and mentorships mean we'll have #DayOfScience (and groundbreaking research) for years to come.

11. Being this badass doesn't happen overnight. It takes years of training, education, and hard work.

12. Especially when you're up against people who don't understand how valuable your work really is.

Coughcough, scienceisreal, coughcough.

13. No matter what challenges stand in their way, women in science will continue to research, study, analyze, and record.

After all, it's what they do. And they're really freaking good at it.

14. At the end of the day, even these science superheroes get a break from saving the world.

15. After all the work they do, they certainly deserve it.

Miss out on Day of Science? No worries, there are still plenty of ways to get involved.

Visit a science museum. Tell your legislator that science and research are important to you. Learn more about the research happening at your local college or university. Donate to the Earth Science Women's Network, or other organizations that support women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math. Remind the children in your life that women in science do legendary stuff every single day. And check out the hashtag #DayOfScience to see it for yourself.

A size 21 Nike shoe made for Tacko Fall.

A local reporter at Hometown Life shared a unique and heartfelt story on March 16 about a mother struggling to find shoes that fit her 14-year-old son. The story resonated with parents everywhere; now, her son is getting the help he desperately needs. It's a wonderful example of people helping a family that thought they had nowhere to turn.

When Eric Kilburn Jr. was born, his mother, Rebecca’s OBGYN, told her that he had the “biggest feet I’ve ever seen in my life. Do not go out and buy baby shoes because they’re not gonna fit,’” Rebecca told Today.com. Fourteen years later, it’s almost impossible to find shoes that fit the 6’10” freshman—he needs a size 23.

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"What Do You Know About The Female Body?" from Jimmy Kimmel

When Jimmy Kimmel takes to the street, you know you’re in for a good laugh at just how little we actually know about, well, seemingly anything. That goes for anatomy too. In this case, female anatomy.

In a segment called “What Do You Know About The Female Body?” men try—and hilariously fail—to answer even the most basic questions, like “does a female have one uterus, or two?” much to the amazement of some of their female partners.

Here are some of the very best bits of nonwisdom:

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Photo by Igor Ferreira on Unsplash

Florida principal fired after showing statue of "David."

If you ask most teachers why they went into education, they'll share that it had nothing to do with the money and everything to do with their passion for teaching. Even with rapid changes in curriculum and policies, teachers who remain in the classroom are lovers of education and are doing their best to help kids learn.

Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Florida's Tallahassee Classical School, was one of those teachers who simply enjoyed teaching. As the principal, Carrasquilla was required to teach two classes. During her sixth grade lesson about Renaissance art, which is also a requirement of the school, Carrasquilla showed a picture of Michelangelo's "David" statue.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, three parents complained about their children being shown the picture. Two of those parents were mostly upset that there wasn't sufficient notice given before the photo of the sculpture was shown. The third parent reportedly complained that the statue of the Biblical figure was pornographic.

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via Pexels

A teacher lists his class rules.

The world would be a much better place if humans weren’t so … human. We all fall short of perfection. Common sense is, sadly, not too common. And there’s one guy out there who always manages to screw things up when things start getting good.

Call it Murphy’s law. Call it the great “reason we can’t have nice things.” Call it entropy. It feels like a whole lot of pain could be avoided if we all had just a little bit more sense.

But what if there was one rule that we all agreed to follow to make everyone’s life better? What would this magical rule be?

A Reddit user who goes by the name P4insplatter came to this realization and asked the AskReddit subforum, “What simple rule would fix the world if everyone actually followed it?” They received dozens of simple rules that if everyone got behind would make the world drastically better.

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@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
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Pop Culture

Heads up! That call from a panicky relative may be a scammer voice clone.

The FTC is warning people to look out for the latest scam trend.

via Pexels

A man makes a phone call from prison.

One of the oldest frauds in the book is the “your loved one is in trouble” scam. Scammers call posing as a grandchild or loved one in distress who claims they’ve been kidnapped or are in jail. The scammer may also impersonate a nurse, police officer, lawyer or other authority figure representing the loved one.

The scammer claims that the loved one needs money wired to the fraudster immediately to bring them to safety.

The scam is effective because the victim is under pressure to get them money quickly, so they don’t have time to consider the fact that it may be a scam. All the while, they imagine the torment the loved one is going through. The urgency of the scam makes it much more likely that the victim will hand over the money.

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