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'Wicked' author reveals how one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's story

Gregory Maguire says he "fell down to the ground" laughing when the idea hit him.

scenes from the wizard of oz

Public domain

Gregory Maguire was inspired by a line in the original 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz."

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book or listened to a piece of music and wondered, "How did they come up with that idea?" The creative process is so enigmatic even artists themselves don't always know where their ideas come from, so It's a treat when we get to hear the genesis of a brilliant idea straight from the horse's mouth. If you've watched "Wicked" and wondered where the idea for the friendship between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and Glinda (the Good Witch) came from, the author of the book has shared the precise moment it came to him.

The hit movie "Wicked" is based on the 20-year-old hit stage musical, which is based on the novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" written by Gregory Maguire. While the musical is a simplified version of the 1995 book, the basic storyline—the origins of the two witches from "The Wizard of Oz"—lies at the heart of both. In an interview with BBC, Maguire explained how Elphaba and Glinda's friendship popped into his head.

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Maguire was visiting Beatrix Potter's farm in Cumbria, England, and thinking about "The Wizard of Oz," which he had loved as a child and thought could be an interesting basis for a story about evil.

"I thought 'alright, what do we know about 'The Wizard of Oz' from our memories,'" he said. "We have the house falling on the witch. What do we know about that witch? All we know about that witch is that she has feet. So I began to think about Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West…

"There is one scene in the 1939 film where Billie Burke comes down looking all pink and fluffy, and Margaret Hamilton is all crawed and crabbed and she says something like, 'I might have known you'd be behind this, Glinda!' This was my memory, and I thought, now why is she using Glinda's first name? They have known each other. Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Maybe they went to college together. And I fell down onto the ground in the Lake District laughing at the thought that they had gone to college together."

In "Wicked," Glinda and the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, meet as students at Shiz University, a school of wizardry. They get placed as roommates, loathe each other at first, but eventually become best friends. The story grows a lot more complicated from there (and the novel goes darker than the stage play), but it's the character development of the two witches and their relationship with one another that force us to examine our ideas about good and evil.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Maguire also shared with the Denver Center for Performing Arts what had inspired him to use the "Wizard of Oz" characters in the first place.

"I was living in London in the early 1990’s during the start of the Gulf War. I was interested to see how my own blood temperature chilled at reading a headline in the usually cautious British newspaper, the Times of London: 'Sadaam Hussein: The New Hitler?' I caught myself ready to have a fully formed political opinion about the Gulf War and the necessity of action against Sadaam Hussein on the basis of how that headline made me feel. The use of the word Hitler – what a word! What it evokes! When a few months later several young schoolboys kidnapped and killed a toddler, the British press paid much attention to the nature of the crime. I became interested in the nature of evil, and whether one really could be born bad. I considered briefly writing a novel about Hitler but discarded the notion due to my general discomfort with the reality of those times. But when I realized that nobody had ever written about the second most evil character in our collective American subconscious, the Wicked Witch of the West, I thought I had experienced a small moment of inspiration. Everybody in America knows who the Wicked Witch of the West is, but nobody really knows anything about her. There is more to her than meets the eye."

Authors and artists—and their ideas—help hold a mirror up to humanity for us to see and reflect on who we are, and "Wicked" is one of those stories that makes us take a hard look at what we're seeing in that mirror. Thanks, Gregory Maguire, for launching us on a collective journey that not only entertains but has the potential to change how we see one another.

This story originally appeared last year.

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JPMorgan offered return-to-office perks that are remarkably similar to the show 'Severance'

The only thing missing was a "music dance experience."

Apple TV

Adam Scott and Tramell Tillman in Severance

While remote work has been a mainstay since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more companies are attempting to mandate that employees return to the office, on a full or part-time basis, including one now-infamous effort from JPMorgan Chase. The company announced that as of March 2025, all employees were required to return to the office five days per week. Their CEO even ditched the policy that allowed employees to work-from-home two days per week.

To mark the occasion, welcome everyone back ( and perhaps twist the knife a bit deeper?) the United State's largest bank unveiled a plan for a massive $3 billion, 2.5 millions square foot tower on New York's famous Park Avenue—which would house 14,000 workers and feature state of the art architecture and technology—in addition to loading up its new corporate headquarters with perks to help employees transition back to office life.

Some of these "perks" were truly great and truly enticing. Others were... questionable, to say the least.

Grace Tallon on LinkedIn even noticed that some of the benefits of working in the JPMorgan Office seemed like they were yanked right out of one of the most popular current TV shows on the planet: Severance.

If you don't know it, Severance is a psychological thriller on Apple TV that doubles as a dark and biting satire of corporate office culture and capitalism. Employees at a mysterious company called Lumon are "severed" — meaning their brains, memories, and personalities are literally split in half. While at work, they are a different person and retain no memories when they leave the office every night. In return for their sacrifice and for hitting key milestones, the employees receive ludicrous rewards like short dance parties with their boss, melon parties with carved watermelons, and handfuls of balloons. Employees are also expected to marvel at bizarre pieces of art that line the hall, featuring stoic images of Lumon's revered (and more than a bit creepy) founders.

Conversely, JPMorgan's new tower boasted 19-restaurants with at-your-desk delivery, an Irish pub, and on-site physical therapy and yoga. But that's not all!

Tallon notes, however, that JPMorgan also tried to entice employees with things like "personalized climate" in rooms and offices, a "signature scent" that wafts through the halls and somehow reinforced the brand, and, get this, even a "corporate art collection" that celebrates the company's history and values. Be more on the nose next time, will you JPMorgan? That's to say nothing of design elements that support worker's circadian rhythms and coffee machines that learn your favorites over time.

"Let’s stop pretending this is about connecting and doing better work," she writes.

Read Tallon's full post below on the striking similarities:

Commenters agreed that the perks came off more than a little tone deaf.

While some folks defended the corporation for doing their best to make employees feel cared for and taken care of, others didn't quite see it that way, especially when they compared it to the perks of WFH life.

"The climate in my own home office is just right. Along with my own coffee, artwork, lighting (window wide open), and other perks and it cost me zero dollars to drive there and I don't have to wear shoes! Way out of touch," wrote Alix Z.

"Those perks sound more like a high-tech museum experience than actual employee benefits. Instead of a 'signature scent,' how about giving employees real reasons to feel good about coming to work?" said Diana Alayon.

severance, linkedin, jp morgan, return to office, work, work from home, jobs, workplace, wfh jobs Some at-home perk simply can't be beat. Photo credit: Canva

"Working at home perks: My own candle collection, curated to suit my preferences, Coffee and tea on tap, from our favourite brands, Comfortable cushions and blankets to help regulate my temperature at my desk, A variety of lighting options, ranging from warm white lamps to 'the big light', Freedom to work anywhere I want, such as my office desk, sofa, kitchen table or a coffee shop near by, Personalised art with photos of family and pictures we enjoy, Working space decorated to my own specifications, Plenty of spaces nearby for fresh air and dog walks" wrote Eloise Todd in a mic-drop comment.

There are of course benefits to working together in-person with your colleagues. And sure, if you're required to be there, nothing offsets discomfort quite like delicious lunches and free yoga classes. But to take away even the option of occasionally working from home and duct-taping over it with an algorithm that tracks coffee orders and temperature preferences, and filling the halls with strange paintings that move when employees walk by? It kind of loses the thread, and it's exactly the kind of thinking that the creators of Severance are so good at skewering.

severance, linkedin, jp morgan, retseverance, linkedin, jp morgan, return to office, work, work from home, jobs, workplace, wfh jobsurn to office, work, work from home, jobs, workplace, wfh jobs Mark (Adam Scott) at the infamous dance party scene in Severance. media0.giphy.com

According to Forbes, there are 6 distinct reason companies might push for a return to the office. One, corporate heads believe employees get more "immersed in the company’s values." Two, they think it's easier to monitor whether or not an employee is actually working. Three, to justify the cot of that expensive office space. Four, to foster "spontaneous collaboration." Five, to give new employees a chance to observe and interact with more seasoned worker. and six, to restore a sense of belonging within the company.

But of course, none of these things have anything to do with what people really want: Autonomy. That, in addition to fair pay, some level of flexibility, and good benefits. Perks are nice — even the kind of weird ones — but they can only go so far. It remains to be seen if companies that dictate back-to-the-office edicts are willing to follow through on the things that really matter. Please note how waffle parties did not make that list.

This article originally appeared in February

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People swear by the unusual 'Solid Snake' conversation trend to conquer social anxiety

It's actually an easy Japanese active listening trick.

Canva Photos & Konami

People have found a really great active listening technique in a super strange place.

There is an art to being a good listener. Physically using your ears to hear what someone is saying, and your brain to process it, is only part of the battle. You also have to show the person you're talking to that you're listening and that you care. Asking questions is a great way to keep the conversation flowing and let your talking partner know you're engaged. But what if you're socially anxious, shy, or just can't think of anything to say? It's harder than it seems, especially when meeting new people!

The solution is easy. Just take a page out of Solid Snake's book. Who's Solid Snake? Just a former Green Beret, special ops solider, spy, assassin, and the protagonist of the popular Metal Gear Solid video games. You might wonder what the heck Solid Snake, aka David, knows about active listening. It turns out, quite a lot.

The "Solid Snake conversation method" is taking the world by storm. It's part trend, part meme, and 100% effective.

conversation tips, social anxiety, small talk, socializing, etiquette, politeness, introvert, video games Solid Snake is here to help your social anxiety! Giphy

You don't need to know anything about video games to understand where the method comes from. Suffice it to say, Metal Gear Solid is a plot-heavy game series, full of cut-scenes that feature lots of dialogue and exposition.

It's become a bit of a joke in the gaming world that Snake, a man of few words, tends to fall back on one particular conversational technique over and over: He repeats, or echoes, bits of what the other characters say. It adds emphasis to important points, creates good conversational pacing, and allows the plot and dialogue to continue on smoothly.

Here's a (made up) example:

"Snake, we've got to get the blueprints!"

"The blueprints?"

"Yes, the bad guys are constructing a devastating bomb!"

"A bomb?"

"Indeed! You'll find the prototype in that bunker over there."

"A bunker?"

You get the idea. You can watch it in action here.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Why does this random video game character speak in this strange cadence? And why are people stealing it to use in real life?

You might think this dialogue is just a clunky tool for exposition or the result of bad writing, but you'd be wrong!

The Metal Gear Solid games are written and developed in Japan by a team led by legendary developer Hideo Kojima. Though translated into English and created in part for an American audience, the games feature a lot of bits and pieces of Japanese culture.

Frequent repetition and conversational echoes are extremely commonplace in Japanese. It's part of a polite active listening technique called "Aizuchi," which refers to frequent interjections to show interest, engagement, reassurance, and politeness.

Aizuchi includes interjecting with words or phrases (or their equivalents) like "I get it," "Yeah," "Really?" or even repeating back parts of the original speaker's words, a la Solid Snake.

According to Niko Smith at FluentU, "Perhaps you already use some of these interjections in conversation. While your friend is [telling you a story]... you might nod a few times or throw in a surprised 'No way!' or 'What happened next?' [Aizuchi] works in a similar way, but it’s more relentless. As the listener in a conversation, you might find yourself doing just as much talking as the speaker."

Smith adds that in America, young people are often taught specifically not to interrupt or speak while someone else is talking. In Japan, doing so frequently—in the right way—is a sign of respect and interest.

Better yet, Aizuchi doesn't require the listener to be particularly brilliant in conversation, charismatic, or creative. Even socially awkward people, or anyone who clams up in social situations, can muster a few polite interjections!

This technique exists outside of Japanese culture, too. In fact, it's a well-known wat to keep conversations flowing effortlessly, give you time to think about what you're going to say, and make your conversation partner feel heard and appreciated.

It's no surprise that people familiar with the game have been trying the technique in real life for years. In 2023, a viral 4chan post helped popularize the idea, and more recently a (now deleted) post on X went super viral referencing how effective the "Solid Snake conversation method" is for meeting new people.

— (@)

The technique is hitting home with young people, especially gamers and the chronically-online, which makes for a really productive and much-needed discussion.

Gen Z has grown up with social media taking the place of many in-person interactions, screens everywhere, and of course, the COVID years. All of these factors affect the way they communicate with each other, especially in real life:

Maddy Mussen writes for The Standard, "Gen Z slang is all about shutting people out. It’s an inside joke, the more unintelligible the better. It’s in keeping with its etymology. When your whole modus operandi is being exclusionary, it doesn’t make for a lot of meaningful conversation."

It would be an unfair blanket generalization to say young people only speak in brainrot and have no idea how to operate in the real world. But Gen Z is racked with social anxiety to a far greater degree than previous generations. They need all the tools and practice they can get when it comes to operating in the real world and speaking to people they don't know well.

If they, or anyone else, can take a useful tip from their favorite video game character, there's nothing wrong with that at all.

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conversation tips

Math professor shares thermo-dynamic hack to cool your sweltering car in seconds

You don't even have to use your A/C.

via Canva/Photos

A woman in a hot car.

Cars can become unbearably hot in the summer. Even at a seemingly mild 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside can soar to a scorching 109°F within 20 minutes. According to the CDC, in just 40 minutes it can escalate to a blistering 118°F. After an hour, it can peak at a searing 123°F. And that’s just the air temperature; a dark dashboard or seat can reach a staggering 200°F.

"These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, child seat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation (red) which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle," the CDC explained in their report. It can take five to 10 minutes for your car to cool down on a hot day by turning on the air conditioning, which probably means you burn your buttocks and thighs on the hot seat. That’s why Hannah Fry shared an amazing hack on TikTok, demonstrating how to cool your car down in seconds using the laws of thermodynamics.

Fry is Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. She is a mathematician, a best-selling author, an award-winning science host, and the host of numerous popular podcasts and television shows.

@fryrsquared
That age-old dilemma of choosing between having a non-sweltering car or baffling a passerby because you look like a fool who doesn't know how to use a door

Fry suggests that instead of turning on the air conditioning, which she claims is “not worth it” because of the time it takes, open one of the windows on the opposite side of the door. Then, rapidly open and close the driver’s side door, so it moves back and forth like a fan.

“The reason why it works is that when you open and close the door, especially if you do it quickly, the door, as it's moving outwards, it sweeps out all of the air that's in its way, creating this sort of area of low pressure that you get here,” Fry said. “And then that sets up something called bulk flow, which is where all of the hot, sweaty, horrible air inside the car is drawn outwards.”

hot car, hot steering wheel, hot man, sweat, summer, A man sweating in his car.via Canva/Photos

Fry’s super practical approach to a problem everyone deals with blew many people’s minds in the comments. “If I ever catch someone in real life doing this, I’m gonna know they’ve watched this exact video,” a commenter wrote. “I will give it a go, but while opening and closing the door, scream, ‘Be gone, heat demons! BE GONE!’” another added. “Going to remember this the next time my partner farts in the car,” someone joked.

The fact that the inside air temperature in a car and the outside temperature are often drastically different, especially in the summer, serves as a crucial reminder to dog owners everywhere to never leave their pet unattended in a parked car. "Most dog owners know that you can’t leave a pet in a hot car," the American Kennel Club writes. "Temperatures can rise to dangerous levels in just minutes, putting your dog at risk of heatstroke. But what if you open a window a little bit? Does that make it safe to leave your dog in the car? The answer is simple. You should never leave a dog alone in the car, even with the windows cracked. In some states, it’s even illegal."

The following video by The Dodo explains why leaving a dog in a hot car can be deadly, even when it doesn’t feel that hot outside.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

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Cheeky list of 'reasons not to eat your food if you're a cat' has feline lovers cackling

Reason #2: the vibe was off.

Photo credit: Canva

Cat have their reasons for doing what they do…even if they perplex us.

Cats have their fair share of quirks, from midnight zoomies to baking invisible biscuits to those weird alien chirps. But the one eccentricity that seems to go against their very nature as descendants of apex predators is their finickiness around food.

As any cat mom or dad will tell you, these critters take picky eating to Olympian levels, rivaling that of any toddler. To really put that into perspective, below is a delightful TikTok (shared by @thecutestcatseveryes) outlining the very logical “reasons” why on any given day, a cat might suddenly refuse to eat…despite yowling out of desperate hunger mere minutes before.

The “reasons not to eat your food if you're a cat," include:

Bowl was placed down too loudly.
The vibe was off.
Don't like chicken, as of today.
Felt like I was being rushed.
I'm a cat.

Even the kitty featured in the video seemed to approve this message.

@thecutestcatseveryes Reasons not to eat your food if you're a cat 😸 #funnycat #catlovers #cattok #catsoftiktok #kittensoftiktok ♬ Funny video "Carmen Prelude" Arranging weakness(836530) - yo suzuki(akisai)

In the comments, other cat parents shared their purrfectly reasonable reasons to refuse noms noms, such as:

“Bowl was faced the wrong way.”

“Same flavor twice in a row.”

“I eat at 4:30pm, not 4:31pm.”

“I can see the center of the bowl is empty therefore there is no food, edges don’t count.”

“I want the other can, not the open one in the fridge. New can every feeding."

“I’d rather eat what my brother is eating, which is exactly the same as what I’ve got but I want his specifically.”

Listen, we can joke all we want, but it turns out that cats likely come by these picky eating habits naturally—and don’t do it simply to make our lives harder. As PetMD explains, wild cats subsisted on frequent meals of whatever smaller mammals they were lucky enough to catch while hunting, usually during dawn and dusk. Domestic kitties still might have this instinct, which manifests in a predilection to eat a variety of small meals, which feel fresh as to mimic a fresh catch, throughout the day.

cats, cat food, best cat food, cat refusing to eat, funny cat videos, pets, picky cats, cat treats Look at this wee little tiger munching on his meal. Photo credit: Canva

The site added that kitties could have learned to prefer a certain type of food thanks to their mother, or might have eaten a particular food during a moment of stress or illness, and thus maintain a negative association with it.

There are, however, certain things humans can do to make food more appetizing, PetMD explains. To mimic fresh prey, the site suggests warming up food to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (same as a normal body temperature) and moisten dry food with a bit of water. Some cats might even respond better to food that has the specific shape and look of fresh prey.

cats, cat food, best cat food, cat refusing to eat, funny cat videos, pets, picky cats, cat treats And if there's a loud noise during dinnertime, forget about it. Photo credit: Canva

Of course, even if we follow all these steps to a T, we still might get some finickiness from time to time for reasons unbeknownst to us (though “vibes being off” is a good catchall excuse). Still, it won’t keep us from loving our furry little weirdos any more.

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Pittsburgh airport staff heroically recover diamond that fell from woman's ring at baggage claim

She was sure the conveyor belt had eternally claimed her 33-year-old engagement diamond.

Photo credit: Canva

Pittsburgh airport staff heroically finds woman's lost diamond

An engagement ring isn't the start of a journey with a partner—it's a promise to continue the journey you've already started. That's why engagement rings hold so much sentimental value to the person who receives it. The ring is something they cherish forever in most cases, which is exactly why when April Schmitt realized she lost the diamond out of her engagement ring she flew into a panic.

She knew the stone was lost somewhere near or in the baggage claim area at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Schmitt has been married to her husband for more than 30 years, so she knows her engagement ring like the back of her hand (literally). The diamond was sitting in its pronged setting when she landed at the airport and made her way to the baggage claim area, but she noticed it was gone shortly after her husband picked her up from the airport.

Once she realized her stone was missing from her ring, she became panicked. She said in a statement, “I panicked and my heart sank. I truly didn’t think I was ever going to see it again.”

lost diamond; diamond; Pittsburgh airport staff; airport lost diamond; found diamond; good news; humanity Travelers wait at the baggage claim carousel.Photo credit: Canva

The couple, who live in Sewickley, just a quick 30 minute or less drive down the road, immediately made their way back to the airport to find the missing diamond. Some diamonds may appear large when they're placed on a band but unless they turn into a strobe light, they're nearly impossible to see in an open, bustling space. Schmitt knew finding the diamond was a long shot but there was no way she was going to let the stone disappear without trying her best to locate it.

When the couple returned to the airport, Schmitt informed the staff about her missing diamond and was met with immense kindness. In this instance, it would've been easy to brush off looking for a clear stone in such a large space but that's not what happened. Instead, the staff member she alerted contacted airport maintenance. Suddenly, they had an entire team of people looking for the diamond.

lost diamond; diamond; Pittsburgh airport staff; airport lost diamond; found diamond; good news; humanity Elegant diamond rings sparkling in warm light.Photo credit: Canva

The maintenance crew came with flashlights and searched over, under, and in between the baggage carousel for the diamond. They searched so long that the Schmitts had actually given up and returned home assuming that the sentimental stone was lost forever. But the crew they left behind was determined. Tom Riordan, a stationary engineer, assured the upset woman that the next shift would continue to look for the diamond between flights until it was located, and they did just that.

It was Sean Dempsey, a fellow stationary engineer, who eventually located the missing stone. He told ABC News, "I just was crawling with a flashlight, and we had paint sticks to scrape all the dirt away,” he said. “The diamond caught a little bit of light and I found it.”

Schmitt was thrilled to get the call that her missing diamond had been found. “There were so many ways this story could have ended, but these guys were committed to helping me. I travel a lot, and I go to a lot of airports. To have this experience here and to be treated like an important person—those staffers were so concerned about my happiness and doing the right thing for me. I was not just a random passenger. They went out of their way to take care of me.”

The staff at Pittsburgh International Airport was happy they could be of assistance. Elise Gomez, manager of customer experience at PIT tells Blue Sky News, We’ve really invested in our passenger experience and do everything we can to ensure seamless travel. We know travel can be stressful, which is why we have a variety of programs from our PIT Paws teams to amenities like Presley’s Place for travelers with sensory sensitivities. And of course, at the end of the day, it’s about people. Our team is dedicated to assisting passengers whether that’s helping them find the right gate or finding a lost diamond.”

lost diamond; diamond; Pittsburgh airport staff; airport lost diamond; found diamond; good news; humanity Vibrant cityscape with a classic red funicular and riverfront views.Photo credit: Canva

This isn't the first time the PIT crew has helped locate a missing diamond. In 2023 Kristen Tunno lost her grandmother's diamond ring while at the airport. April Laukaitis, a customer care agent located the family heirloom lodged between the tiles of one of the bathroom floors.

Airports aren't known for their hospitality so it's always nice to hear when airport staff go above and beyond to be compassionate to travelers.

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