Protect Your Privacy
No, your phone isn’t ‘listening’ to you — but it’s probably tracking you
08.03.20
Mozilla
True
Firefox
When I found out I was pregnant in October 2018, I had planned to keep the news a secret from family for a little while — but my phone seemed to have other ideas.
Within just a few hours of finding out the news, I was being bombarded with ads for baby gear, baby clothes and diapers on Facebook, Instagram and pretty much any other site I visited — be it my phone or on my computer.
Good thing my family wasn't looking over my shoulder while I was on my phone or my secret would have been ruined.
I'm certainly not alone in feeling like online ads can read your mind.
When I started asking around, it seemed like everyone had their own similar story: Brian Kelleher told me that when he and his wife met, they started getting ads for wedding rings and bridal shops within just a few weeks. Tech blogger Snezhina Piskov told me that she started getting ads for pocket projectors after discussing them in Messenger with her colleagues. Meanwhile Lauren Foley, a writer, told me she started getting ads for Happy Socks after seeing one of their shops when she got off the bus one day.
When online advertising seems to know us this well, it begs the question: are our phones listening to us?
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxNTYwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTEwMjk4Nn0.BQh4lujFOvTYhhCSEMFBazanbWOfSK5BT0KMLJzskG0/img.jpg?width=980" id="b06ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dbe3c33fee14b00955e2847973dc5b35" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Mozilla</small></p><p>"There is a common myth that companies like Facebook are using the microphone on your device to passively listen to all your conversations," says Marshall Erwin, Senior Director of Trust and Security at Mozilla and cybersecurity expert who worked for Congress during the Snowden disclosures in 2013. "This isn't the case."<br></p><p>However, your phone — just like your computer — is collecting your personal data.</p><p>It's collecting this data with <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/what-is-a-web-tracker/" target="_blank">cookies and other web trackers</a> embedded in the sites you visit, with the data you provide freely when you create social media profiles, use apps or buy things online, with your location data, and with your device ID. </p><p>"Your phone is the most complete surveillance device invented by mankind," says <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/bruce-schneier" target="_blank">Bruce Schneier</a>, adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and renowned security technologist. "It knows where you live, it knows where you work, it knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep. It knows who you sleep with. It knows you better than your spouse."</p><p>"Surveillance is the business model of the internet," he adds.</p><p>For example, Schneier tells me, "the fact that we are talking is recorded somewhere and we actually don't know which of our cell phone companies is selling that data. We don't know which apps on our phone are grabbing that data and using it."</p><p>Pretty much everything we do on our computers or our phones — which, remember, are mini-computers we carry around all day — produces personal data. </p><p>Our data is often then bought, sold, and correlated against other data to create a profile of who we are. That profile is in turn targeted in a variety of ways.</p><p>For example, internet advertisers, Erwin explains, can use it "to anticipate and target ads related to what you are thinking and talking about, without actually having to listen to your conversations."</p><p>For example, a shoe manufacturer could use your data to target you simply because you're in your 30s and you seem interested in sports. But they might also target you because you googled running trails or you recently visited a running hobbyist website. Meanwhile, a politician might use it to target you because you are white and live in a battle-ground state.</p><p>It's easy to use (or misuse) your data.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxNTYwNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTk3MDk0OX0.wVn-NIzX12g7jlbsoxT-4v539d25YHHhVM2uCcmZ7sA/img.jpg?width=980" id="4c9b6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c12b89d3ccd6ac2a88fe15f943a2367" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Mozilla</small></p><p>"Data is what powers a lot of misinformation because it is easier to influence people with malicious messages if those messages are highly targeted towards susceptible groups or populations," explains Erwin.<br></p><p>He continues, "Our data can be misused in discriminatory advertising, where job or housing ads are targeted to only certain racial groups, in violation of people's basic rights."</p><p>Personal data can also be targeted by malicious actors, especially when the apps on our phone aren't secure. For example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/technology/tiktok-security-flaws.html" target="_blank">the app TikTok had vulnerabilities</a> that allowed hackers to manipulate and retrieve user personal information. </p><h2>So what can you do to protect yourself?</h2><p>Well, the bad news is that there's no way to fully protect your data.</p><p>"Your data isn't under your control," says Schneier, "Your email is held by Google, your photos are held by someone else, your files are on some company's hard drive and your financial purchases are held by credit card companies. Your data is not yours anymore."</p><p>"That's the baseline," he continues. "There's largely nothing you can do about it."</p><p>But you can take steps to limit the collection of your data.</p><h3>1. Turn on your privacy controls.</h3><p>"A lot of tech companies provide ways for people to enhance their privacy and to decrease the amount of data collected about them," explains Erwin. "These privacy settings are often off by default, however, and need users to turn them on."</p><h3>2. Use a browser that turns those privacy protections by default.</h3><p>Mozilla protects users' data by turning on privacy features by <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/06/04/when-it-comes-to-privacy-default-settings-matter/" target="_blank">default in the Firefox browser</a>.</p><p>"For example, our Enhanced Tracking Protection feature prevents third parties from tracking you and building a profile of your activity from the websites you visit," says Erwin. "And our DNS over HTTPS (DoH) feature protects that same data from people spying in the middle of the network, encrypting DNS traffic and ensuring it is only disclosed to parties with strong privacy practices."</p><h3>3. Use private browsing.</h3><p>Private browsing — or incognito mode — allow you to browse the web without saving your browsing history. How? They automatically clear cookies and your cache, making it a little harder to track you and target you with ads. </p><p>If you use Firefox, you can also use enhanced tracking protection, which blocks a number of trackers before they're even placed on your device in the first place. </p><h3>4. Avoid public WiFi.</h3><p>Public wifi networks are less secure and it's easier for your data to be hacked.</p><h3>5. Use a VPN.</h3><p>The Mozilla VPN is available on Windows and Android devices and it will help keep you safe online by protecting your data, IP address and location. It also encrypts your activity and communications. </p><h3>6. Adjust your phone settings</h3><p>Watch this video for tips on how to do that:</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cc04d300d0a52d104d9e7ec0b48aefa0"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7NzHRiOZ3EQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Data Detox: Smartphones | Firefox</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NzHRiOZ3EQ" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p>
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Tattooing, like any other skill, requires practice. The problem is, how do you practice permanently putting a nipple on someone else's body?
This genius tattoo artist found a solution. "Shannon McCauley gives out free tattoos to the people who volunteer their bodies to help her practice tattooing nipples.
McCauley is a tattoo artist at Steadfast Tattoo in Rochester, NY. She went absolutely viral after tweeting a photo of a leg with a nipple with the caption, "Tattooed my first nipple on skin. I'll be covering this tattoo for free once it's healed. I'm learning this so I can tattoo in surgeon's offices and help breast cancer survivors that had mastectomies."
Tattooed my first nipple on skin. I’ll be covering this tattoo for free once it’s healed. I’m learning this so I ca… https://t.co/RuEUOm8p3T— HELLBENT (@HELLBENT)1596421183.0
She later said she'll also use this skill for people in the trans community. Simply amazing. You can visit Shannon's instagram to see even more photos of nipples tattooed on legs.
Tattooing is very common for people that have gone through mastectomies because surgeons can only do so much in terms of pigmentation. Tattoos on the hand have a practically infinite range of shade and color. Artists like Shannon are necessary in helping people through the recovery process.
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- Here's the meaning behind the viral 'Lucky Few' tattoo. - Upworthy ›
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Related Articles Around the Web
Protect Your Privacy
No, your phone isn’t ‘listening’ to you — but it’s probably tracking you
08.03.20
Mozilla
True
Firefox
When I found out I was pregnant in October 2018, I had planned to keep the news a secret from family for a little while — but my phone seemed to have other ideas.
Within just a few hours of finding out the news, I was being bombarded with ads for baby gear, baby clothes and diapers on Facebook, Instagram and pretty much any other site I visited — be it my phone or on my computer.
Good thing my family wasn't looking over my shoulder while I was on my phone or my secret would have been ruined.
I'm certainly not alone in feeling like online ads can read your mind.
When I started asking around, it seemed like everyone had their own similar story: Brian Kelleher told me that when he and his wife met, they started getting ads for wedding rings and bridal shops within just a few weeks. Tech blogger Snezhina Piskov told me that she started getting ads for pocket projectors after discussing them in Messenger with her colleagues. Meanwhile Lauren Foley, a writer, told me she started getting ads for Happy Socks after seeing one of their shops when she got off the bus one day.
When online advertising seems to know us this well, it begs the question: are our phones listening to us?
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxNTYwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTEwMjk4Nn0.BQh4lujFOvTYhhCSEMFBazanbWOfSK5BT0KMLJzskG0/img.jpg?width=980" id="b06ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dbe3c33fee14b00955e2847973dc5b35" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Mozilla</small></p><p>"There is a common myth that companies like Facebook are using the microphone on your device to passively listen to all your conversations," says Marshall Erwin, Senior Director of Trust and Security at Mozilla and cybersecurity expert who worked for Congress during the Snowden disclosures in 2013. "This isn't the case."<br></p><p>However, your phone — just like your computer — is collecting your personal data.</p><p>It's collecting this data with <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/what-is-a-web-tracker/" target="_blank">cookies and other web trackers</a> embedded in the sites you visit, with the data you provide freely when you create social media profiles, use apps or buy things online, with your location data, and with your device ID. </p><p>"Your phone is the most complete surveillance device invented by mankind," says <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/bruce-schneier" target="_blank">Bruce Schneier</a>, adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and renowned security technologist. "It knows where you live, it knows where you work, it knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep. It knows who you sleep with. It knows you better than your spouse."</p><p>"Surveillance is the business model of the internet," he adds.</p><p>For example, Schneier tells me, "the fact that we are talking is recorded somewhere and we actually don't know which of our cell phone companies is selling that data. We don't know which apps on our phone are grabbing that data and using it."</p><p>Pretty much everything we do on our computers or our phones — which, remember, are mini-computers we carry around all day — produces personal data. </p><p>Our data is often then bought, sold, and correlated against other data to create a profile of who we are. That profile is in turn targeted in a variety of ways.</p><p>For example, internet advertisers, Erwin explains, can use it "to anticipate and target ads related to what you are thinking and talking about, without actually having to listen to your conversations."</p><p>For example, a shoe manufacturer could use your data to target you simply because you're in your 30s and you seem interested in sports. But they might also target you because you googled running trails or you recently visited a running hobbyist website. Meanwhile, a politician might use it to target you because you are white and live in a battle-ground state.</p><p>It's easy to use (or misuse) your data.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxNTYwNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTk3MDk0OX0.wVn-NIzX12g7jlbsoxT-4v539d25YHHhVM2uCcmZ7sA/img.jpg?width=980" id="4c9b6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c12b89d3ccd6ac2a88fe15f943a2367" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Mozilla</small></p><p>"Data is what powers a lot of misinformation because it is easier to influence people with malicious messages if those messages are highly targeted towards susceptible groups or populations," explains Erwin.<br></p><p>He continues, "Our data can be misused in discriminatory advertising, where job or housing ads are targeted to only certain racial groups, in violation of people's basic rights."</p><p>Personal data can also be targeted by malicious actors, especially when the apps on our phone aren't secure. For example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/technology/tiktok-security-flaws.html" target="_blank">the app TikTok had vulnerabilities</a> that allowed hackers to manipulate and retrieve user personal information. </p><h2>So what can you do to protect yourself?</h2><p>Well, the bad news is that there's no way to fully protect your data.</p><p>"Your data isn't under your control," says Schneier, "Your email is held by Google, your photos are held by someone else, your files are on some company's hard drive and your financial purchases are held by credit card companies. Your data is not yours anymore."</p><p>"That's the baseline," he continues. "There's largely nothing you can do about it."</p><p>But you can take steps to limit the collection of your data.</p><h3>1. Turn on your privacy controls.</h3><p>"A lot of tech companies provide ways for people to enhance their privacy and to decrease the amount of data collected about them," explains Erwin. "These privacy settings are often off by default, however, and need users to turn them on."</p><h3>2. Use a browser that turns those privacy protections by default.</h3><p>Mozilla protects users' data by turning on privacy features by <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/06/04/when-it-comes-to-privacy-default-settings-matter/" target="_blank">default in the Firefox browser</a>.</p><p>"For example, our Enhanced Tracking Protection feature prevents third parties from tracking you and building a profile of your activity from the websites you visit," says Erwin. "And our DNS over HTTPS (DoH) feature protects that same data from people spying in the middle of the network, encrypting DNS traffic and ensuring it is only disclosed to parties with strong privacy practices."</p><h3>3. Use private browsing.</h3><p>Private browsing — or incognito mode — allow you to browse the web without saving your browsing history. How? They automatically clear cookies and your cache, making it a little harder to track you and target you with ads. </p><p>If you use Firefox, you can also use enhanced tracking protection, which blocks a number of trackers before they're even placed on your device in the first place. </p><h3>4. Avoid public WiFi.</h3><p>Public wifi networks are less secure and it's easier for your data to be hacked.</p><h3>5. Use a VPN.</h3><p>The Mozilla VPN is available on Windows and Android devices and it will help keep you safe online by protecting your data, IP address and location. It also encrypts your activity and communications. </p><h3>6. Adjust your phone settings</h3><p>Watch this video for tips on how to do that:</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cc04d300d0a52d104d9e7ec0b48aefa0"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7NzHRiOZ3EQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Data Detox: Smartphones | Firefox</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NzHRiOZ3EQ" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p>
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popular
My father trafficked me throughout my entire childhood. It looked nothing like people think.
07.31.20
I saw this poster today and I was going to just let it go, but then I kept feeling tugged to say something.
While this poster is great to bring attention to the issue of child trafficking, it is a "shocking" picture of a young girl tied up. It has that dark gritty feeling. I picture her in a basement tied to a dripping pipe.
While that sounds awful, it's important to know that trafficking children in the US is not all of that. I can't say it never is—I don't know. What I do know is most young trafficked children aren't sitting in a basement tied up. They have families, and someone—usually in their family—is trafficking them.
<p>I'm pretty open about my story. My father trafficked me from the ages of about 5 or 6 until I was a teenager. Knowing this, I can say, I was never once tied up in a dark place such as this picture. It's important for people to educate themselves on what trafficking can really look like.<br></p><p>Many, many times I walked into an amusement parks dressing room—Hershey, Dorney, etc.—with my father, told to wait in the stall, and a few minutes later another man came in acting like he was looking for his daughter. And that easily, a "drop" was made. Out I would walk holding his hand, nothing anyone would think twice about. Usually I'd be given something like an ice cream cone, etc. </p><p>And like me, these children are often not treated "badly." I mean, yes, they're treated awfully and violated beyond words. I mean they're are not hit, tied up, or beat up. Most of the time, they're treated with fake kindness (which really fucks up children's trust later on in life). But they're often praised, given treats, and made to feel like what is happening is a good (and normal or because they're special).</p><p>How many vacations we went on where I was left for a minute at the pool, until a man came and I left with him for a while. Airports where I was passed over to another man in a crowd, looking like any girl going from her dad or uncle to her dad or uncle. Again, a public drop and nothing suspicious.</p><p>Most children trafficked in the US are so conditioned they don't know anything else. It's their normal. I think back as an adult and think, "Why didn't I scream out for help? Make a scene?" But I had to forgive my inner child. There was no reason I knew to scream out for help. I wasn't in danger; this was just my normal life.</p><p>I say all of this to simply say, it's really important we bring attention to child trafficking in the US. VERY important. And posters like this can get the conversation going, but we also need to educate people that it doesn't all look like this. I lived in Robesonia, a tiny nothing town. My father was a little league coach. My mother knew and helped some with these happenings; and she was just a stay-at-home, small town mom. These things happen everywhere and can look very normal.</p><p>Best thing we can do is talk to children. We don't need to be graphic; but teachers, schools, need to talk to children about things like this in a child-safe way. Assume these children aren't being taken to doctors. Teachers can make a huge difference. Talk to children. Go with your gut. Schools need to not be scared to act on what they feel. Conrad Wesier had a social worker in the elementary school who pulled me out of class on more than one occasion after teachers noticed "things" and it went nowhere. Social services were never notified. And they should have been. Period.</p><p>And what you can do is watch. Pay attention. Be mindful. If you're waiting in line at a park, notice who goes in and out with what child. If you see something; speak up. If you're wrong, fine you ruined someone's day, apologize. If you're right, you saved someone's life.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ufi/reaction/profile/browser/?ft_ent_identifier=ZmVlZGJhY2s6MTAxNTgyMzUxOTMyNTE5NzA%3D&av=754553191" target="_blank"><em></em></a></p><p><em>This post originally appeared on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MelanieCholishsBook/posts/102675324870555" target="_blank">Melanie Cholish's Facebook page</a>. It has been edited lightly for publication. </em></p>
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via Good Humor and the Library of Congress
Earlier this summer, Upworthy shared a story about the ugly racist past of the seemingly innocuous song played by a lot of ice cream trucks.
"Turkey in the Straw," is known to modern-day school children as, "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" But the melody was also used for the popular, and incredibly racist, 1900s minstrel songs, "Old Zip Coon" and "Ni**er Love a Watermelon."
Zip Coon was a stock minstrel show character who was used as a vehicle to mock free Black men. He was an arrogant, ostentatious man who wore flashy clothes and attempted to speak like affluent white members of society, usually to his own disparagement.
<p>"Old Zip Coon"</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3afa0ea63e149f8b4134fd435c5e7fb6"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fDbfJDTiuJw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">OLD ZIP COON - 1834 - Performed by Tom Roush</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDbfJDTiuJw&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p>In the early 1900s, cards with racist depictions of Black people eating watermelons while making wide-eyed looks, were popular and inspired another racist song that used the melody: "Ni**er Love a Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!"<br></p><p><em>Ni**er love a watermelon ha ha, ha ha!</em></p><p><em>Ni**er love a watermelon ha ha, ha ha!</em></p><p><em>For here, they're made with a half a pound of co'l</em></p><p><em>There's nothing like a watermelon for a hungry coon</em></p><p>"Ni**er Love a Watermelon"</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="95a0957d3c33ac46abf41a114ca31d34"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3C7tVafNRVc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Truth About The Ice Cream Truck Jingle | Ni**er Love A Watermelon</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=150&v=3C7tVafNRVc&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><p>Minstrel music was popular in ice cream parlors at the turn of the century, so when Americans began moving to the suburbs after World War II, the music was played from ice cream trucks to recreate the feeling of the parlor.<br></p><p>Good Humor started the first ice cream truck in the '20s and had one of the largest fleets until it went retail-only. In 1978 it sold off its iconic trucks to independent contractors, some of which are still operating to this day.</p><p>Good Humor is still synonymous with the ice cream man, so the company decided to use its influence to help the ice cream truck industry replace "Turkey in the Straw" with a song that "brings joy to every community."</p><p>So it teamed up with RZA, the legendary producer, rapper, composer, and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA has also scored a number of films, most notably "Kill Bill: Volume 1" (2003) and "Kill Bill: Volume 2" (2004).</p><p>The new jingle will be available to ice cream trucks in the U.S. starting in August through music boxes from Nichols Electronics, the sole manufacturer of electronic music boxes for ice cream trucks in the United States.</p><p>In the wake of a renewed discussion over the jingle's history, the company's owner, Mark Nichols, told Good Humor it would remove "Turkey in the Straw" from its music boxes.</p><p>Here's the new jingle.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="261c2d093b842b8705d0acf73ea5cf7f"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/broo2NZmiDE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Good Humor x RZA: A New Ice Cream Truck Jingle for a New Era</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
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</p><p>Upworthy got the chance to talk with RZA about his new jingle, ice cream, and how we should deal with troublesome art and artists from the past.<br></p><p><strong>Upworthy: </strong>How did this collaboration with Good Humor come about?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> Since the ice cream truck jingle has a problematic history, Good Humor reached out to me to bring in a new jingle and a new vibe for a new era.</p><p><strong>UP: </strong>What was your inspiration for the new song?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> First and foremost, I was thinking about ice cream and joy. I wrote it in a major key so when a child and a parent hear it they both feel a sense of joy. I made sure the song was rooted in joy. And so my basic foundation was like, if I can get a joyous vibe in the melody then half of my job would be done. I just kept playing around until something felt joyous to me. I tested it on my wife and my son and they said, "It feels good."</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> It's like you ran a test on your kid asking, "Will this get you running out of the door?"</p><p><strong>RZA: </strong>Exactly. Everybody loves ice cream. When the ice cream truck comes to the neighborhood kids stop doing what they're doing, yo. I don't care if it's jump rope, hula-hooping, playing skully, hopscotch, whatever, you would stop, yo. </p><p>You'd abandon what you're doing to chase this truck down. And don't let the guy start moving before you get there, that means you gotta run 'til he stops at the next building.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="267" src="https://giphy.com/embed/EvmFsZM7XanHW" width="480"></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/money-get-cream-EvmFsZM7XanHW"></a></p></div><p><strong>UP:</strong> What immediately came to my mind after hearing about the project was the song, 'Ice Cream' by Raekown that you produced. Although, that song has a real minor-key feel.<br></p><p><strong>RZA: </strong>I also have the song, "C.R.E.A.M," both of those have melodic piano, but this song had to have a really positive intention. But it's still gotta have some Wu-ism to it. So if you listen to it you'll hear that it is a major-key melody but I still go to the minor chord. </p><p>It is similar to a song with a chord progression of [Wu-Tang's] "Can it Be All So Simple?" I wanted to be sure that it had a taste of that Wu-ism in it, but not going dark at all.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Story Behind the New Ice Cream Truck Jingle from Good Humor x RZA</small>
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</p><p><strong>UP: </strong>Was there any thought given to the sound system that's on the ice cream truck?<br></p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> We were privileged to have Nichols Electronics speakers sent to the studio so my mix engineer had a chance to demo it through the speaker so we know how it's gonna sound when these ice cream trucks get it in their hands. What's so funny is the song still has a little bit of bump that the normal jingle couldn't have. </p><p><strong>UP:</strong> Did you give any consideration to the fact that the ice cream man is going to have to hear this song for eight hours a day while he's driving around?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> I think the way this track was composed it's going to take a long time for him to get bored with it. You listen to my music, don't you notice something like years later?</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> With every context you hear something different.</p><p>RZA: Yeah, so I consciously stuck a few things in there. There's some sound effects and strings underneath that you can't really hear at first listen. But after a while, he'll have fun exploring the track. I think the loop point is fun. It's like a conversation that doesn't end.</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> I know you're a vegan, but as a kid, when the ice cream man came up the street, what did you line up for?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> For me, strawberry shortcake. You got to imagine a kid who's economically depressed growing up. But I would go to the grocery store and pack bags and you could make yourself a dollar during the summer break. And if that ice cream truck comes, I knew where my dollar was going, yo. I would eat the outside layer first and then eat the ice cream. My buddy Ghost, [rapper Ghostface Killah] he was a toasted almond guy.</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> Which member of the Wu-Tang has the biggest sweet tooth?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> I still would give it to Ghost. He still has his sweet tooth.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">via Good Humor</small></p><p><strong>UP:</strong> These days people are reconsidering culture with problematic histories, such as "Turkey in the Straw." As an artist, how do you think society should come to grips with art or artists with questionable pasts?<br></p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> I think that if we have a chance to right a wrong, we should. That's a blessing in life to be able to right your wrongs. As an artist myself, I don't think art should be censored, but you've got to be able to evolve. </p><p>Think of the guy who had to draw the solar system when we knew about three planets. He only drew from his life experience. Now years later, do we correct him? Yes. </p><p>I can look at myself and listen back to my old albums and you can hear the aggression. Later, you hear some of my composed pieces and you hear that I've been to other parts of the world, you hear that I understand other people's experiences. </p><p>Art has to evolve. If we made mistakes as artists in the past — and art always comes from the heart — then our hearts should be strong enough to accept our mistakes and focus on making things better for the generation we live in now.</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> It seems like these days there are a lot of people that won't let people evolve. People get called out for something they did 20 years ago when they aren't the same person anymore.</p><p><strong>RZA: </strong>You gotta let people evolve. The guy who first came out of the cave, if he would've stayed in we all would've stayed in. But he was smart enough to come out so you have to come out too, man.</p><p><strong>UP:</strong> The reimagining of the ice cream truck song comes as part of a greater social justice movement. One of the things you're known for is being a strategic thinker. You launched a successful five-year-plan for The Wu, practiced martial arts, love chess, have written a lot on philosophy, and referenced the "Art of War" in your work.</p><p>What are your thoughts on how Americans are handling the current social justice movement and what strategies would you suggest?</p><p><strong>RZA:</strong> I think it's healthy. I think it's a step in the right direction. The more we step in the right direction the further we get away from the wrong direction.</p><p> I grew up in school when we had to do a pledge of allegiance to the flag. I'm one of those kids who stood up, put his hand over his heart and did it every morning. And it says, "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." That's the pledge that we all took and we should all live up to that pledge. </p><p>To me, the strategy of finding ways to speak out for each other when one of us is being mistreated, I think it's very healthy. I look forward to the day when that pledge is upheld by all of us and enjoyed by all of us. </p><p><em>This interview was edited for time and clarity.</em></p>
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