This man will never not return a shopping cart again.
If you were unaware that not returning one's grocery cart to the store or the stall was a major source of controversy, welcome to the internet. Entire articles have been written about the psychology of putting your cart away in the parking lot, there's a "Shopping Cart Theory" that treats your cart-returning habits as a test of moral character, and people definitely have feelings about it.
(Full disclosure: I abandoned my cart in the parking lot once. I was a new mom with a screaming baby in the car and the cart return felt like it was miles away and I was wickedly sleep-deprived. So sorry. Please don't flog me.)
People's intense opinions on grocery cart etiquette may be why this video on Reddit of a security guard pulling a fast one on a man who did not appear to have any other reasonable excuse for not walking a few extra steps to return his cart is so popular. It feels like a bit of righteous justice being served as the bafflingly clueless man keeps being duped over and over again.
from MadeMeSmile People in the comments found it hilarious, though great debates were waged over whether or not the whole thing was staged. Where did all those carts come from? Was there some sort of cart clown car we can't see? Why did the man never look around the other side of the car? Did he really never notice the security guard or the carts in his side-rear-window? It's hard to believe someone could be that oblivious—except if the QAnon era has taught us anything, it's that more people are far more gullible than we could have possibly imagined. So perhaps it is plausible. Whether or not it's staged, it's downright delightful with the woman's laughter and "this is my kind of petty" running commentary. "It's like the parking lot version of a Western standoff!" Ha! And when the "mall cop" puts out his arm to shake the man's hand, and then the man sheepishly helps him move all the carts to the cart return? Classic. One thing's for certain: Neither that man nor anyone who watches this video will ever not return a cart to the stall or the store again. Objectively, it actually is quite rude, knowing that someone else will eventually have to do it for you. (Again, sorry. I was just so very tired. I've made up for it, I promise.)
People in the comments found it hilarious, though great debates were waged over whether or not the whole thing was staged. Where did all those carts come from? Was there some sort of cart clown car we can't see? Why did the man never look around the other side of the car? Did he really never notice the security guard or the carts in his side-rear-window?
It's hard to believe someone could be that oblivious—except if the QAnon era has taught us anything, it's that more people are far more gullible than we could have possibly imagined. So perhaps it is plausible.
Whether or not it's staged, it's downright delightful with the woman's laughter and "this is my kind of petty" running commentary.
"It's like the parking lot version of a Western standoff!" Ha! And when the "mall cop" puts out his arm to shake the man's hand, and then the man sheepishly helps him move all the carts to the cart return? Classic.
One thing's for certain: Neither that man nor anyone who watches this video will ever not return a cart to the stall or the store again. Objectively, it actually is quite rude, knowing that someone else will eventually have to do it for you. (Again, sorry. I was just so very tired. I've made up for it, I promise.)
It only costs them a little more than $30,000 a year.
The Emperor of the Seas.
Imagine retiring early and spending the rest of your life on a cruise ship visiting exotic locations, meeting interesting people and eating delectable food. It sounds fantastic, but surely it’s a billionaire’s fantasy, right?
Not according to Angelyn Burk, 53, and her husband Richard. They’re living their best life hopping from ship to ship for around $44 a night each. The Burks have called cruise ships their home since May 2021 and have no plans to go back to their lives as landlubbers. Angelyn took her first cruise in 1992 and it changed her goals in life forever.
“Our original plan was to stay in different countries for a month at a time and eventually retire to cruise ships as we got older,” Angelyn told 7 News. But a few years back, Angelyn crunched the numbers and realized they could start much sooner than expected.
“We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense,” she said. They looked into deals they could find through loyalty memberships and then factored in the potential sale price of their home and realized their dream was totally affordable.
The rough math makes sense. If it costs the couple $88 per night to live on a cruise ship, that’s $32,120 a year. Currently, the average price of a home in Seattle, Washington—where the couple lived—is $958,027 which would come with a mortgage that costs around $50,000 a year.
Plus, on a cruise ship, the couple doesn’t have to pay for groceries.
The Burks are able to live their dream because they’ve spent a lifetime being responsible. “We have been frugal all our lives to save and invest in order to achieve our goal,” she says. “We are not into materialistic things but experiences.”
Angelyn says that cruising takes the stress out of travel. “It is leisurely travel without the complications of booking hotels, restaurants, and transportation while staying within our budget,” she told 7 News. The couple travels lightly with just two suitcases between them and if they need anything, they just buy it on the ship or in the next port.
One thing the carefree couple should be concerned about on their never-ending cruise is COVID-19. The coronavirus is easily spread in close quarters and a cruise ship that recently docked in Seattle had 100 people on board who tested positive for the virus. The CDC recommends that people get vaccinated before going on a cruise and that immunocompromised people should consult with their physicians before traveling.
Since leaving their jobs and the mainland behind, the Burks have been on a 50-day cruise around the Adriatic Sea, taking in the sights of Europe as well as a 51-day cruise from Seattle to Sydney, Australia.
The Burks really love cruising to Italy, Canada, Iceland and the Bahamas but their favorite is Singapore.
Looking to give it all up and go on a permanent vacation just like the Burks? Angelyn has some advice for those wanting to get started.
It takes a special type of person to become a nurse. The job requires a combination of energy, empathy, clear mind, oftentimes a strong stomach, and a cheerful attitude. And while people typically think of nursing in a clinical setting, some nurses are driven to work with the people that feel forgotten by society.
Michelle Santizo is a street medicine nurse working in Los Angeles, California. For her, the field of street medicine requires providing lifesaving health services in unpredictable and sometimes uncomfortable environments, but is where she is most passionate about her work.
Nurse Santizo credits her parents for teaching her resilience, a necessary trait when providing care in places like tents, under bridges, in alleys, vehicles, at libraries, on the side of the freeway or even at a bus stop.
“Every corner of Los Angeles needs our services,” said Nurse Santizo. “It can be in a pristine, abandoned, trashed, or graffiti-filled neighborhood.”
Michelle | Heroes Behind the Masks presented by CeraVe www.youtube.com
Santizo prepares for the workday by loading her backpack with supplies before heading to a section of downtown L.A. known as “skid row” to care for her clients, who are typically people experiencing homelessness and living on the fringes of society without regular access to healthcare. As the child of immigrant parents, she experienced firsthand a lack of healthcare and basic necessities. Her mother fled from El Salvador as a young woman, arriving in the United States alone and without shelter.
“My mother told me that the only people that acknowledged her while sleeping outside on a bench [were the people going in and out of] the church that was across the street,” said Nurse Santizo. She said her mother instilled in her that there are many reasons why people are homeless and that each individual has their own story. “[She] taught me to never judge someone’s struggle … my mother’s inspiring upbringing taught me if you have the time to help the broken or disadvantaged, then take a moment to acknowledge or help in some positive way.”
Michelle and her mother on a beachCourtesy of Michelle Santizo
Growing up, Nurse Santizo watched her parents struggle to earn a living wage to keep up with the family’s needs. “My father worked nearly seven days of the week and my mother worked as much as she could in jobs like babysitting, cleaning homes or caregiving. Feeding our family was my parent’s main concern…healthcare and all the other important aspects of life became secondary or non-existent. My parents could barely make enough income to buy fresh fruit or vegetables,” she said.
The Santizo familyCourtesy of Michelle Santizo
That upbringing is what drove her to pursue a career in medicine, with the goal of giving back to underserved communities. “[Access to] medicine should not be determined based on your socioeconomic status. It should be a right for someone to seek healthcare when it is needed and important, especially for children and adolescents who will be the future of our generation,” said Nurse Santizo. She credits her lack of access to healthcare as a child for empowering her to keep pushing for change.
When the opportunity to practice street nursing arose, Santizo knew instinctively that it was the right fit. Every workday she has meaningful interactions, but one experience in particular had a lasting impression on her. She encountered a middle-aged man who had lost his job during the pandemic and was forced to live on the streets. Nurse Santizo approached, and he asked if she wouldn’t mind examining his feet. As she gently inspected the condition of his skin, she explained that he needed a thorough cleaning and a special ointment and offered to wash his feet and patch them up.
“This kind man stared right into my eyes and nearly cried, as he shared ‘no one has ever cared for me like this ever since I’ve been forced to live on the streets, nor has anyone ever acknowledged my existence,’” recalled Nurse Santizo. “I remember squatting on the side of the street while cars were driving by … my only mission was to devote that moment in time to servicing a person who needed my attention and love. As you can tell, I love what I do, and I could scrub feet for days when servicing the most vulnerable populations.”
According to the most recent report, approximately 580,466 people were experiencing homelessness in America in January 2020. Most were individuals (70%) and the rest were people living in families with children. The full effect of the pandemic on the homeless populations across the country have yet to become clear, and hard data will not be fully known until late 2022 or early 2023.
“Bringing medicine to people who are not able to seek medical assistance due to their inabilities whether it be homelessness, chronic illness, or mental health has always been my true calling … to serve the broken, the sick, the vulnerable and the ones who really need a second chance at life,” said Nurse Santizo, a reminder that no one knows what another human is battling.
To recognize the healthcare professionals that are so often giving to others before themselves, CeraVe seeks to spotlight those that go beyond the call of duty for their patients and communities. The brand is honoring nurses such as Santizo in the second iteration of a docuseries titled Heroes Behind the Masks Chapter 2: A Walk In Our Shoes.
Follow along in the coming days for more stories of heroism, kindness and love.
Good music brings people together.
Art can be a powerful unifier. With just the right lyric, image or word, great art can soften those hard lines that divide us, helping us to remember the immense value of human connection and compassion.
It’s easy to see how “Pasoori” has gained its popularity. The visuals are rich and colorful and very eye-popping—the very essence of old-school Bollywood. Plus the song itself is quite the catchy, dynamic earworm with its blend of traditional music and driving, percussive reggaeton beat. That’s a lot of boxes to tick, stylistically speaking.
The song begins with the words “set fire to your worries.” It’s a verse that came to songwriter Ali Sethi after seeing a similar phrase painted across the back of a truck while driving through Punjab. That expression, coupled with the fear that entering India as a Pakistani artist might result in extremists burning down whatever studio he worked in, inspired him to channel the experience into his music, he told The New Yorker.
“I did what desi bards have done for ages. I might not have been able to travel to India, but I knew my music could,” he said.
Translated, “Pasoori” can mean “difficulty,” "conflict" or “difficult mess.” At first glance, the song appears to be a classic tale of star-crossed lovers, with lyrics like “If your love is poison, I will drink it in a flurry.” However, the way it expertly weaves Indian and Pakistani art styles together suggests a larger message. Can two countries see beyond their conflict to celebrate the natural harmonies of their cultures? Sethi seems to be ultimately posing this profound question, all while delivering a bona fide banger.
If “Passori”’s global success is any indicator, the answer appears to be yes. It’s garnered more than 100 million views on YouTube and is getting praise from both Pakistani and Indian stars. According to The New Yorker, “Pasoori” now “sits firmly” at No. 1 on the charts in India.
It already has a viral cover, for cryin’ out loud.
Congrats to all the creators of “Pasoori” for transcending boundaries and winning hearts. This is the magic of music.
A couple enjoying a glass of wine.
In the 1988 Disney classic “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the titular character is in an unlikely relationship with his voluptuous wife Jessica. Roger is a frantic, anxious rabbit with a penchant for mischief, while Jessica is a quintessential ’40s bombshell who stands about a foot and a half taller and isn’t “bad,” just “drawn that way.”
When private investigator Eddie Valiant asked Jessica what she sees in “that guy?” she replies, “He makes me laugh.”
This type of couple may seem like something we only see in the movies, but don’t underestimate the power of humor when it comes to attractiveness. A new study published in Evolutionary Psychology found that being humorous is the most effective way to flirt for both men and women.
“People think that humour, or being able to make another person laugh, is most effective for men who are looking for a long-term relationship. It’s least effective for women who are looking for a one-night stand. But laughing or giggling at the other person's jokes is an effective flirtation tactic for both sexes,” says Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Psychology.
“It is not only effective to be funny, but for women, it is very important that you show your potential partner that you think they are funny,” Rebecca Burch, a co-author from SUNY Oswego in New York, added.
Unfortunately, this study was only conducted on heterosexual couples.
For men, showing off their sense of humor was found to be the most effective way to flirt whether they were looking for a short-term or a long-term relationship. For women, being funny was the most effective tactic when looking for a long-term relationship. For people looking for a short-term fling, appearing available was the most effective tactic.
According to the study, humor is effective regardless of one's attractiveness. “Individual differences in age, religiosity, extroversion, personal attractiveness and preferences for short-term sexual relationships had little or no effect on how effective respondents considered the various flirting tactics to be,” says study co-author Prof. Mons Bendixen.
If you see someone you like but don’t think you’re good-looking enough for them, give it a shot. You may still have a chance if you can make ’em laugh.
The most effective tactics for those looking for a long-term relationship:
The study is proof that looks aren’t everything and shows that having a good sense of humor isn’t just about making someone laugh. A great sense of humor is evidence that someone is intelligent, wise, perceptive, confident, can see things from new perspectives and has good intuition. It also helps people quickly build bonds and share experiences, which is a great way to get close to someone in a fast and fun way.
So why wouldn’t Jessica be with Roger? The guy is hilarious.