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Why the U.S. women's gymnastics team is truly America at its finest.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

America is in the midst of some tough conversations. Strong opinions and uncomfortable truths about race, politics, and social justice can make it seem like we're more divided than ever.

There's an unlikely place where we can look forward with hope, however:

The 2016 U.S. women's gymnastics team.

There are big reasons we should celebrate the diverse group of female gymnasts representing the U.S. at the Olympics in Rio this year.

Photo by Jason Lavengood/U.S.A. Gymnastics.

Sure, on the surface, gymnastics doesn't have much to do with those bigger, important conversations currently unfolding across Facebook and dining room tables.

But there's probably never been a better time for an Olympic squad to remind us that yes — we should all be on the same team, regardless of our background or skin color.

The five gymnasts representing the USA in the Olympics are fabulous, badass, and incredibly talented:

1. Chances are you've heard of the awesomeness that is Gabby Douglas.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

"I do want to be sharper," Douglas explained. That may be a tough goal to reach, seeing as she dominated the sport in 2012, becoming the first black gymnast to win an individual Olympic gold.

"When I look at my performances, I’m like, ‘Oo, you’re lagging behind, Gabs.’ The one thing I tell myself is to not get lazy. Nothing is handed to you; you always have to fight for yourself."

2. Laurie Hernandez, the first U.S.-born Latina to join the team since 1984, is a standout at just 16 years old.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

"Wow — that's all I can really say," Hernandez said of joining a team with such stellar athletes. Her passionate routines landed her the nickname "human emoji."

"I didn’t realize how much mentally and physically older I got in the past four years, so looking back at this little girl watching the Olympics on her phone, I would never think I’d be here right now."

3. Simone Biles is a 19-year-old Texan who many consider to be among the greatest gymnasts of all time.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

"I’m excited about being with the girls all the time because we all know what it’s like to go through this," said Biles, who has snagged a history-making 14 world championship medals (and is just all-around awesome). "We have each other to lean on, and I think that’s the best thing that could have happened."

4. Look out for Madison Kocian, who will be killin' it on the uneven bars.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

"It’s just something so special that I will never forget her announcing my name," Kocian said of learning she was going to the Olympics. She won the uneven bars world title in 2015.

5. The team's veteran athlete, Aly Raisman, is a Jewish 22-year-old who's used to bringing home the gold, silver, and bronze.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

"I think it just hasn’t really sunk in yet," Raisman said of landing a spot on the team again this year after competing in 2012 — an Olympics she finished as the team's most decorated gymnast.

One of the best things about the Olympics is that it brings our country together. That's something we need this year, especially.

So far, it's been a year filled with sweeping front-page headlines as well as complexities and tough questions about race relations.

Is there widespread systemic racism in law enforcement? Are we mischaracterizing our brave men and women in blue?

A Dallas vigil for the officers who were killed following an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest. Photo by G. Morty Ortega/Getty Images.

America, we've got some soul-searching to do. And one inspirational Olympic team certainly won't make these questions any easier to answer.

These five women, however, serve as a symbolic reminder of why our country is so great — and why it's vital we keep fighting for a better, more equal tomorrow.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids. It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons, confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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Why the U.S. women's gymnastics team is truly America at its finest.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

There are big reasons we should celebrate the diverse group of female gymnasts representing the U.S. at the Olympics in Rio this year.

1. Chances are you've heard of the awesomeness that is Gabby Douglas.

2. Laurie Hernandez, the first U.S.-born Latina to join the team since 1984, is a standout at just 16 years old.

3. Simone Biles is a 19-year-old Texan who many consider to be among the greatest gymnasts of all time.

4. Look out for Madison Kocian, who will be killin' it on the uneven bars.

5. The team's veteran athlete, Aly Raisman, is a Jewish 22-year-old who's used to bringing home the gold, silver, and bronze.

One of the best things about the Olympics is that it brings our country together. That's something we need this year, especially.

These five women, however, serve as a symbolic reminder of why our country is so great — and why it's vital we keep fighting for a better, more equal tomorrow.

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

Meet Samira Omar.

All the misogyny and racism you may not have noticed are now gone.

Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

But here's something you may not have known about these classics: They've been slowly changing over the years.

1. First up: The cover got a makeover. It might seem subtle at first glance, but look closely.

2. Men can be flight attendants and women can be pilots. And, you know, they don't have to be hot.

3. Christmas isn't the only holiday people celebrate.

4. Mommy Bears are no longer expected to have breakfast prepared for Daddy Bears...

5. Because guess what?! Dads can cook, too! (Even Dad Bunnies.)

6. Helping professions aren't just for men.

7. Regular people need rescuing, too.

8. "I" is for "ice cream" — and not stereotypical depictions of Native Americans.

Anyone else up for modernizing other classic kids' books so we can feel good about sharing them with our kids?

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel