Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 20
2023-03-19 06:16:24author:dointy.com
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Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 20
Sunday Quordles are, all things considered, the most relaxing Quordles of all. For most of us, Sunday is when we're furthest from the workweek, and Sunday comes with a rich tradition of lounging around the house, reading the paper slowly and doing puzzles. An extra hard puzzle can be an added bonus, but it can also add frustration to an otherwise enjoyable day.
If Quordle is a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't just hints here, but the whole Quordle solution. Scroll to the bottom of this page, and there it is. But are you sure you need all four answers? Maybe you just need a strategy guide. Either way, scroll down, and you'll get what you need.
What is Quordle?
Quordle is a five-letter word guessing game similar to Wordle, except each guess applies letters to four words at the same time. You get nine guesses instead of six to correctly guess all four words. It looks like playing four Wordle games at the same time, and that is essentially what it is. But it's not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
Is Quordle harder than Wordle?
Yes, though not diabolically so.
Where did Quordle come from?
Amid the Wordle boom of late 2021 and early 2022, when everyone was learning to love free, in-browser, once-a-day word guessing games, creator Freddie Meyer says he took inspiration from one of the first big Wordle variations, Dordle — the one where you essentially play two Wordles at once. He took things up a notch, and released Quordle on January 30(Opens in a new tab). Meyer's creation was covered in The Guardian(Opens in a new tab) six days later, and now, according to Meyer, it attracts millions of daily users. Today, Meyer earns modest revenue(Opens in a new tab) from Patreon, where dedicated Quordle fans can donate to keep their favorite puzzle game running.
How is Quordle pronounced?
“Kwordle.” It should rhyme with “Wordle,” and definitely should not be pronounced exactly like "curdle.”
Is Quordle strategy different from Wordle?
Yes and no.
Your starting strategy should be the same as with Wordle. In fact, if you have a favorite Wordle opening word, there’s no reason to change that here. We suggest something rich in vowels, featuring common letters like C, R, and N. But you do you.
After your first guess, however, you’ll notice things getting out of control if you play Quordle exactly like Wordle.
What should I do in Quordle that I don’t do in Wordle?
Solving a Wordle puzzle can famously come down to a series of single letter-change variations. If you’ve narrowed it down to “-IGHT,” you could guess “MIGHT” “NIGHT” “LIGHT” and “SIGHT” and one of those will probably be the solution — though this is also a famous way to end up losing in Wordle, particularly if you play on “hard mode.” In Quordle, however, this sort of single-letter winnowing is a deadly trap, and it hints at the important strategic difference between Wordle and Quordle: In Quordle, you can't afford to waste guesses unless you're eliminating as many letters as possible at all times.
Guessing a completely random word that you already know isn't the solution, just to eliminate three or four possible letters you haven’t tried yet, is thought of as a desperate, latch-ditch move in Wordle. In Quordle, however, it's a normal part of the player's strategic toolset.
Is there a way to get the answer faster?
In my experience Quordle can be a slow game, sometimes dragging out longer than it would take to play Wordle four times. But a sort of blunt-force guessing approach can speed things up. The following strategy also works with Wordle if you only want the solution, and don’t care about having the fewest possible guesses:
Try starting with a series of words that puts all the vowels (including Y) on the board, along with some other common letters. We've had good luck with the three words: “NOTES,” “ACRID,” and “LUMPY.” YouTuber DougMansLand(Opens in a new tab) suggests four words: “CANOE,” “SKIRT,” “PLUMB,” and “FUDGY.”
Most of the alphabet is now eliminated, and you’ll only have the ability to make one or two wrong guesses if you use this strategy. But in most cases you’ll have all the information you need to guess the remaining words without any wrong guesses.
If strategy isn't helping, and you're still stumped, here are some hints:
Are there any double or triple letters in today’s Quordle words?
Two words have letters occurring twice.
Are any rare letters being used in today’s Quordle like Q or Z?
Z.
What do today’s Quordle words start with?
B, A, S, and S.
What are the answers for today’s Quordle?
Are you sure you want to know?
There’s still time to turn back.
OK, you asked for it. The answers are:
BALER
AMAZE
SPICY
SEGUE
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Mark Zuckerberg expressed concerns in Trump phone call, so that should fix everything
Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly suggested to President Donald Trump, in a roundabout fashion, that perhaps the poster-in-chief could tone it down a little. For him? Pretty please?
Axios reports(Opens in a new tab) that two sources familiar with a phone call Trump made to the Facebook CEO on Friday said that Zuckerberg did not make any specific requests of the president, but conveyed "concerns" about his "tone and rhetoric," expressed disagreement with recent sentiments, and told the president that his choice of words "put Facebook in a difficult position."
The latter is likely a reference to the fact that Facebook has faced increased pressure to moderate the president's statements on the platform, which regularly contain outright lies, misinformation, and inflammatory rhetoric.
Now, as protests against police brutality have erupted in major cities across the U.S., Trump's tone has stepped up accordingly. On Thursday night he posted a tweet containing the quote "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", and a Saturday tweetstorm included the suggestion that mayors and governors should crack down on protests using "the unlimited power of our Military(Opens in a new tab)".
Twitter finally took action on a few of Trump’s tweets. One was flagged for containing misleading information about mail-in ballots, the other was hidden from Trump’s timeline for glorifying violence.
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Twitter hid Trump's violent tweet. Why won't Facebook?
Zuckerberg told Fox News last week that private companies should not be an "arbiter of truth," even though amid a worldwide pandemic, Facebook has in fact taken actions to ensure inaccurate information about coronavirus and related public health issues are countered with facts. But Twitter's escalation, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's accompanying statements addressing Zuckerberg's comments, have put further pressure on Facebook and Zuckerberg to not let the president's false or incendiary posts stand unchecked.
Both social media giants are in the White House's crosshairs ahead of the November election, with Trump signing a somewhat toothless executive order on May 28 meant to intimidate them into letting him share whatever he wants.
Sex with someone you dont live with is now illegal in England
No sex with people outside your household.
That's a rule now enshrined in law in England as new legislation is brought in prohibiting indoor "gatherings" of two or more people from different households amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
It's been dubbed a lockdown "sex ban" by the media, but the new legislation(Opens in a new tab) makes no explicit mention of the word sex. But, is sex really banned? We took a look at the new rules.
Indoor "gatherings" are banned under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 bill(Opens in a new tab), which came into effect on June 1, 2020. The new rules define gatherings as "when two or more people are present together in the same place in order to engage in any form of social interaction with each other, or to undertake any other activity with each other." If you're single or if you live apart from your partner this new legislation will affect you.
The UK has been under lockdown since March 23 — so 10 weeks — and until now the government restrictions have stipulated that people are only allowed to leave their homes for a limited set of circumstances, including for work, health reasons, to buy food, or to get exercise. Those restrictions have been loosened over the past few weeks.
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So, does sexual intercourse fall under the categories "social interaction" or "any other activity"? It would appear so. Unless you live with your sexual partner, you will be breaking the law if you go to another person's house for sex. It's also prohibited by law to stay overnight away from home, unless it's for work, funerals, or avoiding harm. In short, it's illegal to visit friends, family, or sexual partners inside their homes or to spend any time indoors with someone you don't live with.
For the people abiding by lockdown restrictions for the past 10 weeks, it likely comes as no surprise that sex with people outside your household remains off limits. So, what difference does this legislation actually make? Until now, the person who entered another person's home would have been in breach of the lockdown rules. Under this new law, both people can now be prosecuted under the amendment. Previous restrictions made no mention of meeting up in private places, and instead the message to 'stay at home' was disseminated by the government. According to(Opens in a new tab) police guidance published by the College of Policing, the approach to restrictions has changed as of June 1. "Rather than requiring a reasonable excuse to leave the place where a person is living, there are specific things that members of the public cannot do," reads the guidance.
There are exceptions to the rules about gatherings and overnight stays. Both are permitted in the following circumstances:
between members of the same household
for people attending a funeral; for an elite athlete and their coach or parent
for work purposes or providing charitable services
to facilitate house moves
to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person
to provide emergency assistance
for providing registered early years childcare
to avoid injury, illness, or to escape a risk of harm
to facilitate access between parents and children
to fulfill legal obligations or participate in legal proceedings
for the purposes of education
I emailed the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and asked the following question: "Is it now illegal for a person to go to another person's house to have sex?" In my email I noted that the legislation did not make explicit mention of 'sex' but that people have interpreted the law as a sex ban.
In reply, a DHSC spokesperson said: "Changes to Coronavirus Regulations mean people can spend time outdoors, including private gardens and other outdoor spaces, in groups of up to six people from different households. However, everybody should act responsibly and continue to strictly observe social distancing rules."
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Horny and romantic books that will completely consume you
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"Individuals who participate in a prohibited gathering will be in breach of the regulations, and the police will use their common sense and discretion in all cases," the statement continued. The spokesperson added that DHSC had "set out" its plan "to return to life to as near normal as we can, for as many people as we can, as quickly and fairly as possible in order to safeguard livelihoods, but in a way that is safe and continues to protect our NHS."
For people looking for loopholes to this law, remember that sex outdoors is already punishable under pre-existing including indecent exposure and outraging public decency. Furthermore, under new guidelines, people meeting up in outdoor gatherings of up to six people are required to practice social distancing.
Police can't burst into your bedroom and fine you for having sex.
You might well be wondering about how the police can enforce something like this. Well, on Monday, 10 Downing Street confirmed(Opens in a new tab) that police can't burst into your bedroom and fine you for having sex. Not sure if any of us quite expected that course of events to be on the cards, but glad to hear No. 10 has ruled it out, nonetheless.
Police can arrest or fine those breaking the law, but they don't have the power to check inside your home. The default fine stands at £100 in England.
"The police will do as they have done since the beginning of the health regulations being in place. They will be exercising their common sense and engaging with the public and only issuing fixed penalty notices when they believe it’s a last resort," the prime minister's spokesperson told the Mirror. The spokesperson added that police in England don't have powers to enter people's homes under the regulations. "What they can do is enter homes where they suspect serious criminal activity is taking place under separate and existing laws," they added.
Looks like that sex hiatus will be going on a little longer then.
LAPD Zoom call: 8 moments you need to see from the angry, public roasting of police
The Los Angeles Police Commission hosted a Zoom call with citizens on Tuesday and people let. them. have. it. The citizens of LA are fed up and angry, and they aren't hiding it.
People called in for more than six hours and absolutely laid into the police(Opens in a new tab) and its leadership amid widespread protests against police brutality in LA and across the country. The protests, of course, were sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed, black man who died last week when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck.
A common theme from the callers was to demand the resignation(Opens in a new tab) of LA Police Chief Michel Moore, who said Floyd's "death is on [looters'] hands as much as it is those officers" — comments for which he later apologized, claiming he misspoke.
We collected a few of the most noteworthy moments from the wild and angry Zoom call, which was also plagued with a few technical difficulties.
1. Upgrade your Zoom account
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2. The tweet gives you the gist
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3. "Have you considered being good at your jobs?"
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4. "I'm looking at a lot of people who just got the shit kicked out of them the whole day."
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5. Maybe, possibly, potentially, Tony Hawk called in(Opens in a new tab)?
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UPDATE: June 3, 2020, 1:27 p.m. EDT Hawk confirmed on Twitter that it was not him on the call.
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6. This one has a Curb Your Enthusiasm ending added
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7. A call about the real looters
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8. "You are public servants. Not soldiers."
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Instagram, give the swipe-up feature to everyone so protesters can share resources
There's no denying Instagram Stories is a strong platform for protesters who want to spread a message.
Unfortunately, a lot of activists are missing an essential tool for connecting their followers to valuable resources: the swipe-up feature.
While it seems minor, it would allow accounts to link to important sites for fundraisers, organizations, and bail-out funds.
As they protest the killing of George Floyd and police brutality, protestors need all the help they can get boosting the visibility of these links. Unfortunately, as of right now, the feature is reserved for specific types of Instagram users: those who have more than 10,000 followers or are verified.
People want to set the feature free. And they're speaking out about it on Twitter.
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The ability to "swipe up" is mostly reserved as a marketing tool for brands, celebrities, and influencers who want to make some extra cash by linking to products or services.
Influencers and celebrities also use it to promote podcasts, YouTube videos, and newsletters. And, in some cases, sketchy giveaways.
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But under the current circumstances, the swipe-up feature could be a powerful tool for quickly sharing links to activist organizations, reading materials, news stories, and more — regardless of someone's follower count.
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Instead, those with under 10,000 followers are forced to use alternative methods, like taking the "link in bio" route by posting a link on their profile. However, to get to the link, you have to go through the extra steps of tapping on the user's handle.
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Not only is the process less intuitive, but it also interrupts the experience. It's more likely users will keep swiping through other Stories than stop, go to someone's profile page, and tap on a link.
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Instagram declined to comment on whether it plans to release the feature to everyone. But things don't look promising.
Of course, it's easy to see why Instagram is being cautious, since not all users will use the links with good intentions. Some could post links that lead to spam or malware.
But perhaps to start, Instagram can only allow links to certain organizations and fundraising sites. That way, they can rest assured followers will be swiping up to legitimate links.
In the meantime, you can sign a petition to catch Instagram's attention.
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It specifically calls on Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri (who remains quiet on the matter) to "give every user on Instagram an opportunity to amplify voices of the silenced by letting accounts of all follower numbers share swipe-up links to their Instagram stories."
Maybe if enough people sign the petition and blow up Mosseri's mentions, he'll actually listen.
Calls to delete popular astrology app Co—Star after controversial protest meme
Co—Star, the astrology app known for its outlandish push notifications, has come under fire for a post related to the police brutality protests on their popular Instagram account:
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For those not in the Insta-astrology account "scene," many accounts follow this type of format: One scenario or prompt, with 12 different responses to correspond with the 12 different Zodiac signs. (Here's another example(Opens in a new tab) from Co—Star's account.)
In the now-deleted post, Co—Star made the prompt "At the demo[nstration]," and assigned different roles to each sign. For example, Cancers would "Bring lots of water bottles (NOT milk) to rinse out people's eyes" while Libras are "demo buddies with five people they're 'talking to.'"
The caption of the post read(Opens in a new tab), "Here are some demo tips. You can find more in story."
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This memeification of the protests which have swept across the U.S. in the wake of the killing of George Floyd — a black man who died after three police officers pinned him down and one kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes — didn't sit well with the app's followers. Screenshots went viral, as did calls to delete the app(Opens in a new tab).
The post was deleted and replaced with an explanation by Co—Star:
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"We thought that putting these important tips in a meme format would be a palatable way to share the things we’ve learned about keeping each other safe in the street," the post reads. "The intent was not to minimize the protests, but to make them feel less scary; to encourage people to take action." They then shared other activists' posts on how to safely protest.
While some commenters applauded the app, others criticized Co—Star for not actually apologizing. "Giving off a bit non-apology vibe," said one commenter.
Hopefully if Co—Star learned anything from this, it's to not meme the fight to end inequality.
Mashable has reached out to Co—Star for comment and will update if received.
Reddit CEO honors Alexis Ohanians request to fill his seat with a black board member
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced Friday that he would resign from his board seat and urged the company to replace him with a candidate who is black. Shortly thereafter, in a thread on the site(Opens in a new tab), Reddit CEO Steve Huffman confirmed that the company will move forward with Ohanian's request.
"Alexis Ohanian (u/kn0thing(Opens in a new tab)), my Reddit cofounder, announced that he is resigning from our board and that he wishes for his seat to be filled with a black candidate, a request that the board and I will honor," Huffman, known on the site as spez(Opens in a new tab), wrote. "We thank Alexis for this meaningful gesture and all that he’s done for us over the years."
While it's unclear how quickly the company plans to fill this seat, Huffman went on to note that, even beyond this initiative, Reddit has more work to do.
"As Reddit has grown, alongside much good, it is facing its own challenges around hate and racism," Huffman wrote. "We have to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the role we have played."
Huffman said the company will focus on the parts of Reddit that "reflect an unflattering but real resemblance to the world in the hate that black users and communities see daily." Huffman added that the company would provide more clarity to users and moderators on where its administrators stand when it comes to racism, offering moderators a seat at the table to help shape corporate policies.
Huffman reflected on Reddit's history regarding its policies on racism, highlighting where the company has made progress and where it's fallen short. He specifically called out Reddit's failure to take action on The_Donald(Opens in a new tab), a pro-Trump subreddit that became a breeding ground for violent content.
This comes only a few days after Ellen Pao, the interim CEO of Reddit in 2014, criticized Huffman's open letter to employees, in which he made it clear the company doesn't tolerate "hate, racism, and violence," noting that its "values are clear."
"I am obligated to call you out: You should have shut down the_donald instead of amplifying it and its hate, racism, and violence," Pao said Monday on Twitter(Opens in a new tab), adding, "So much of what is happening now lies at your feet. You don't get to say BLM when reddit nurtures and monetizes white supremacy and hate all day long."
In his posted response today, Huffman copped to Pao's criticism and admitted that The_Donald was "a community that relished in exploiting and detracting from the best of Reddit and that is now nearly disintegrated." He also said the company should've "quarantined(Opens in a new tab) it sooner."
So, while it hasn't been banned or shutdown, the "quarantine" (Opens in a new tab)effectively prevents users from accidentally viewing its content. Users will only be able to enter the subreddit with a verified email address after opting-in.
Regardless, Huffman made it clear that this is a turning point for Reddit:
"We have a choice: return to the status quo or use this opportunity for change. We at Reddit are opting for the latter, and we will do our very best to be a part of the progress."
Additionally, Huffman left the thread open for Reddit users to ask him any questions on the matter. At the time of writing, it's amassed over 20,000 comments.
In the Q&A(Opens in a new tab), he maps out a few things Reddit's aiming to accomplish this year, including publicly sharing summaries of quarterly calls with moderators, expanding its number of councils, regularly cycling members so it can bring on more moderators, and creating a council on social justice issues (that will also host all-council calls on how the company's policies are evolving).
So, if you're active on Reddit, feel free to keep the conversation going.
I May Destroy You is a defining moment for on-screen portrayals of consent and sexual violence
Content warning: This review contains discussion of rape and sexual violence.
You won't be able to shake I May Destroy You from your thoughts. After watching, you'll close your laptop, or turn off your television, but I guarantee you this: it will stay with you. Created by Chewing Gum writer Michaela Coel, this new 12-part BBC One/HBO drama tackles the intersection of sexual assault, consent, and race in a radical way that is rarely, if ever, seen on screen.
Episode 1 begins with Arabella (Coel), a young millennial writer living in London, pulling an all-nighter in a last minute attempt to finish the book she's been writing. When she takes a break to meet up with friends (setting a one-hour alarm for herself), the night changes course. The following day, she has no recollection of how she got back to her desk, or how her phone screen got smashed, or why there's blood pouring from a gash on her forehead. Arabella is disorientated, confused, and grappling with a disturbing flashback of someone being raped. That someone, she later realises, was her.
These events unfold in a way that is infused with striking realism — and that is no accident. In Aug. 2018, while delivering the McTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival, Coel said she was raped when she was writing Season 2 of Chewing Gum. "I was working overnight in the [production] company's offices; I had an episode due at 7 a.m. I took a break and had a drink with a good friend who was nearby," said(Opens in a new tab) Coel. When she regained consciousness, she was typing Season 2. "I had a flashback. It turned out I’d been sexually assaulted by strangers. The first people I called after the police, before my own family, were the producers."
In the press materials sent by the BBC, Coel makes reference to the real-life roots of the story. "All in all, the hardest thing was not getting distracted in wonderment at the confounding reality of having turned a rather bleak reality into a TV show that created real jobs for hundreds of people," she said.
But, out of this bleak reality, Coel has created something that challenges on-screen depictions of sex, consent, and assault. Black women have been historically been erased from conversations about sexual violence. That omission is rooted in racism that can be traced back to the time of slavery, when rape was only considered something that happened to white women. As Vanessa Ntinu wrote(Opens in a new tab) in gal-dem, "Historically, black women are perceived as objects of sexual exploitation, dating back to days of slavery where the concept of rape was never applied to the black woman simply because she was assumed to have been a willing and promiscuous participant."
In those first few episodes of I May Destroy You, Coel explores an aspect of sexual violence that gets little attention: unacknowledged rape(Opens in a new tab). Psychologists use this term to describe sexual violence that fits a legal description of rape or assault, but is not labelled as such by the survivor. For the first two episodes, Arabella doesn't realise she's been assaulted. Even when talking to a police officer about that night, she urges caution in the police officer's interpretation of her disturbing flashback, the images she couldn't shake from her mind. Coel brings to life an element of assault survivors' experience — the difficulty of realising that you've been raped because the reality of rape is so different to how it's portrayed on screens and in the media(Opens in a new tab).
Later in the series, when Arabella's agents introduce her to another writer, Zain, to assist somehow in the writing of her book, the two end up having sex. What Arabella doesn't realise, though, is that Zain removes the condom midway through — a violation that is also known as "stealthing,"(Opens in a new tab) a form of sexual assault.
Arabella's story isn't the only remarkable part of this show. Her best male friend Kwame (Paapa Essiedu) has a storyline that explores black masculinity, internalised homophobia, and male experiences of rape. Meanwhile, Arabella's other best friend Terry (Weruche Opia) endures a racist microaggression during an audition for a supposedly empowering advert when a white casting director asks her to take off her wig so she can see her natural hair.
This show is coming to our screens at a pivotal moment in history — as protests continue across America and parts of the globe against racism and police brutality, following the police killing of George Floyd, who died after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The contents of I May Destroy You has the power to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about who rape happens to, and what sexual violence really looks like. That act of service could not be more necessary.
I May Destroy You debuts on HBO on Sunday, June 7, and on BBC One on Monday, June 8. Both episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from Monday.
Forrest Fenn claims someone found the treasure he hid in the Rocky Mountains 10 years ago
A multimillion-dollar treasure intentionally tucked away in an undisclosed, incredibly remote part of the Rocky Mountains has reportedly(Opens in a new tab) been found — and the story behind the loot is perhaps wilder than you can imagine.
Forrest Fenn, an eccentric 89-year-old author and artifacts dealer, claims he buried a treasure — estimated to be worth at least $1 million and up to $5 million — in a remote spot a decade ago. He said a cryptic 24-line poem in his memoir would lead searchers to the treasure.
In the last decade, a huge online and IRL community built up around finding the treasure. Some 350,000 people have tried to find it. As Money(Opens in a new tab) covered in detail last year(Opens in a new tab), certain "searchers" have dedicated their lives to the treasure hunt. Some people quit their jobs. At least four people died trying to find it. Others think the whole thing was a hoax, as in, the treasure doesn't exist.
Now, according to Fenn himself, the chase for the treasure is over. He confirmed to Money(Opens in a new tab) that it had been found in the past couple of days.
"It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago," Fenn wrote on his website(Opens in a new tab). "I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot. I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they will continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries. So the search is over."
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But, and this is a pretty big but, we've still yet to see the treasure. And we don't know the identity of the person who apparently found it.
“The guy who found it does not want his name mentioned. He’s from back East,” Fenn told the(Opens in a new tab) Santa Fe New Mexican(Opens in a new tab).
Fenn told the paper the person sent him a picture of the treasure to confirm the find, but Fenn declined to send a copy of that photo to the paper. So... a lot of questions remain.
And yet things are even more complicated. Barbara Andersen, a Chicago real estate attorney, told the New Mexican(Opens in a new tab) she is filing an injunction in federal District Court against the person who allegedly found the chest, saying they hacked her and stole her solution. She wants to stop the person from selling the loot and have the court hand the chest over to her.
“He stole my solve,” she told the paper. “He followed and cheated me to get the chest.”
During a pandemic, protest livestreams are more important than ever
Protests against police brutality continue around the country, but not everyone who wants can participate. Whether immunocompromised, living with someone in a high risk group for COVID-19, or simply too far away to attend a protest, people around the world have found their own way to engage: livestreams.
Leigh Wallace, an 18-year-old in Mississippi, goes through chemotherapy every other week to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The treatment hasn’t affected her immune system as much as it has other patients, Wallace said, but her parents are wary of allowing her around other people, even friends. While treatable, Hodgkin’s lymphoma limits the body’s ability to fight infection. The number of new coronavirus cases(Opens in a new tab) is increasing in many states, and the world is bracing itself for a "second wave," expected(Opens in a new tab) to hit this autumn.
But Wallace couldn’t just sit at home while her peers marched against police brutality. Her parents have a tight grip on her bank account, so she couldn’t donate to a bail fund or community organization. While she signed petitions pushing for prosecution for officers and advocating for defunding law enforcement, Wallace wanted to be more involved.
“News stations and YouTubers can take the footage and later edit them to fit their personal agenda.”
She began watching Instagram livestreams of the protests to stay informed. In a Twitter DM, she said that because she was viewing raw, unedited footage, she could get a clearer picture of what’s actually happening. Watching the protests live allows viewers to see police using disturbing force against peaceful protestors for themselves.
“I think the news and even some YouTube creators are incredibly biased,” Wallace said. “News stations and YouTubers can take the footage and later edit them to fit their personal agenda.”
Similarly, Celina Juarez, a 21-year-old restaurant employee in Los Angeles, felt that news outlets weren't focusing on what mattered. Juarez lives with her grandparents and didn't want to risk spreading the coronavirus to them, since the elderly are at high risk.
"I feel that the news is showing more of the looting and less of the police brutality against peaceful protest when, based on every livestream I've tuned into, it's really the opposite," Juarez said in a Twitter DM.
While the protests have been associated with looting and rioting, multiple videos(Opens in a new tab) show black protestors shutting down white agitators attempting to graffiti storefronts and steal merchandise. When the protests began in Minneapolis in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white police officer, Juarez and Wallace felt that news coverage focused on the looting rather than law enforcement escalating violence against peaceful protestors.
In addition to presenting a clearer picture of the the protests in support of Black Lives Matter, livestreams also provide crucial information for those who attend.
Elijah Daniel, a YouTuber with 568,000 subscribers and 446,000 Instagram followers(Opens in a new tab), attended numerous protests in Los Angeles last week. He's also been broadcasting the protests on Instagram Live, where tens of thousands of viewers watched police tear gas gatherings, shoot rubber bullets into crowds, and arrest peaceful protestors who were out after Los Angeles' controversial curfews.
I watched Daniel's protest livestream last week because I had several friends who were also marching in Hollywood. It seemed peaceful from wherever Daniel was marching, but the chants of "No justice, no peace" were broken up by panicked comments warning viewers that police were tear gassing protestors a few blocks ahead. Madison Beer, another influencer who's been actively attending protests and was marching ahead of Daniel, tweeted that cops were beginning to block in protestors well before curfew.
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As soon as I read the livestream comments, I called everyone I knew at the protests to warn them. One narrowly avoided the gas and rubber bullets, which law enforcement began deploying just minutes after he decided to take side streets out of Hollywood.
This weekend, I attended the massive candlelight vigil for George Floyd and other black victims of police brutality, which took place only blocks from where police had arrested(Opens in a new tab) thousands of peaceful protestors the week before. During the drive over, I watched the livestream broadcasted by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles to keep tabs on police presence. Watching the protests live is a matter of safety.
Watching protest livestreams is a matter of public safety.Credit: David McNew / Getty Images
"I know it's easy to watch a video on the internet, but to watch it in real time is on a whole other level."
Daniel's viewers are also using the livestream to open up conversations about police brutality and privilege with their families. Claire-Louise, a 21-year-old customer service agent in Belfast, Ireland, can't attend protests in Ireland because there aren't any close enough to be accessible. She's been showing Daniel's livestreams, as well as other screen recorded livestreams, to her family members who she claims are "a bit backwards in their mindset."
"I know it's easy to watch a video on the internet, but to watch it in real time is on a whole other level," Claire-Louise said in a Twitter DM. "I get happy when I see the peacefulness but I get angry and anxious when I see the brutality and just blatant racism."
Influencers and celebrities continue to fall out of public favor through this period of civil unrest. From posting well intentioned but ill informed black squares to their Instagram accounts to getting arrested for looting(Opens in a new tab), as Jake Paul did, celebrity culture is cracking. But those who use their platforms for activism, as Elijah Daniel and Halsey have, are inspiring a generation of viewers to join the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Even though I can't actually be there, it at least makes me feel like I am," Wallace said. "Seeing how many people are at the protests, plus thinking about how many people are watching livestreams, makes me think that in time something may actually happen."
OKCupid adds Black Lives Matter badge and profile questions about racial inequality
On Thursday, OKCupid announced that it's rolling out a #BlackLivesMatter(Opens in a new tab) badge in a dozen countries. Users can obtain the badge by answering yes to the question, "Do you want to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement by adding a badge to your profile?"
Since badges won't actually do anything to solve racism, OKCupid has also donated $50,000 to the ACLU, Black Girls Code, Fair Fight Action and the NAACP. The app will also donate a million dollars in advertising space to black civil rights organizations.
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How single people have been dealing with the 'sex ban' in England
In addition to the badge, OKCupid has added matching questions related to racial injustice and inequality. Users can answer whether they protest; whether it's okay to silently support racial equality; how they plan on addressing racial inequality (say by donating or protesting); and whether they find it important that their date supports racial equality.
OKCupid racial inequality questionCredit: okcupid
OKCupid how will you address racial inequality questionCredit: okcupid
In the past week, over 100,000 users have responded to the new questions. The majority said it's not okay to silently support equality, according to OKCupid's blog post. Seventy percent are protesting for racial equality.
This isn't the first time OKCupid has created badges and questions around social justice. They did so with supporting Planned Parenthood(Opens in a new tab) and marriage equality as well(Opens in a new tab). While the badge could be seen by some as virtual signaling, the questions do allow users to dig deeper into a potential match's commitment to racial equality — which is a step in the right direction.
Related Video: Want to donate to help the Black Lives Matter movement? Here's how.
Tinder users say situationship is a valid relationship status
2022 is, somehow, inching closer to its end, which means it's time for a flood of retrospectives. Spotify has Wrapped, and Tinder has Year in Swipe(Opens in a new tab). Along with the most-used emojis and interests shared on the dating app, Tinder also identified the dominant trends from the year. The top trend of 2022? "Situationships" are a valid relationship status now.
A situationship is when you're not quite dating someone, but you're not just sleeping with them either. If it sounds murky, that's because it is. Young singles are down for the vagueness, however, as long as it's clearly defined.
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In an in-app survey among Tinder users aged 18-24 in the UK, U.S., and Australia done last month, 1 in 10 respondents said they prefer situationships as "a way to develop a relationship with less pressure." The app saw a 49 percent jump in members adding "situationship" to their profiles from January to October this year.
"Young singles were still down to play the field this year," Tinder wrote in the release, "but they opted for a high-quality roster where everyone was on the same page."
Keep in mind that Year in Swipe doesn't account for all users, only "young" singles (aged 18-25). It makes sense that less experienced daters may want to dip their toes in a more casual relationship before verging into "serious relationship" territory. But it also may signal a waning desire for "friends with benefits" in favor of a relationship with an emotional connection, even if you're not exclusive or monogamous.
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Tinder has created a collection of healthy dating guides
Further, Tinder users seem to be growing aware of the dangers of dating: Red flag (🚩) and "gaslighting" (fog 🌫) emojis were trending, hinting at increase awareness of toxic relationships. In fact, 58 percent of surveyed daters said they were confident they could identify a green or red flag when dating.
For the full breakdown of 2022 trends on Tinder, check out the Year in Swipe(Opens in a new tab).
Tumblr is trying to teach new users how the site works
Tumblr has recently been vocal about going all-in on Gen Z(Opens in a new tab), but wooing a fresh new set of users to a 15-year-old platform has its hiccups.
Endemic Tumblr creators have reported recent drops in engagement they think are due to an influx of young users from TikTok. As a platform, Tumblr thrives on reblogging, but TikTok users have been taught to simply like — not share — highly relevant content fed to them by the app. And while Tumblr does suggest posts and blogs it thinks will be relevant to you, it does not yet work the same magic as TikTok's industry-leading algorithm.
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This is nothing new; learning to use Tumblr has always required more manual labor than almost any other social platform. Site features like tags and asks are steeped in more than a decade of user-driven repurposing that can make them confusing to newcomers.
On Friday, April 15, Tumblr employees addressed these concerns by promoting a recent series of posts on a tips blog they've christened "Hellsite High." The title is a play on users' affectionate nickname for the platform, and the site breaks Tumblr down with endearingly useful back-to-basics etiquette. Topics like "Shitposting for Newbs" and "Saying Hi — From Super Public To Super Private" walk readers through the most common community uses for Tumblr features (as opposed to, say, their intended use).
It probably won't entice the casual user, but it's a treasure trove of cheat codes for curious newcomers who are slightly more invested in making Tumblr a new home on the internet.
The only confusing part is the site's clunky throwback design. Nineties nostalgia is in, especially amongst Gen-Zers who are reclaiming it for themselves. But Hellsite High's earnest attempt at the concept is a strange, dull mix of fonts, colors, and low-res clip art that, ironically, make the most important information harder to read. It's an unusual misstep for Tumblr team, who usually deliver top-of-the-line visuals, even as they scramble to satisfy their community. They haven't learned to speak fluent Gen Z quite yet.
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According to Cyle Gage, a Senior Principal Backend Product Engineer at Tumblr, Hellsite High is just the beginning of a long line of accommodations the platform plans to provide. In a post to their personal blog, they noted(Opens in a new tab) that "a revamped Tour Guide for new users to nudge them towards liking and reblogging (to start)" is in the works. Further down the road, they'll be "rebuilding the whole onboarding flow to encourage following blogs and selecting meaningful tags to follow."
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Better laundry habits can lessen your textile footprint
We’ve all accidentally thrown a sweater into the wash and pulled it out of the dryer shrunken down to a size that’s more suitable for our pup, right? What many of us haven’t done is think about what happens to that shrunken sweater, or our holey jeans and tees, after we throw them away. The fact is, the more often we wash our clothes, and how we wash our clothes, all contribute to the growing problem of textile waste.(Opens in a new tab)
The Chilean desert is home to the second largest garment graveyard in the world, the Atacama landfill. Approximately 39,000 tons of textile waste are discarded at Atacama each year and a whopping 21 billion tons end up in landfills across the globe annually. Add in the challenges of the fast-fashion industry, which endlessly pumps out clothes that are meant to be worn 10 times before they’re tossed, and the darker side of our fashion habits becomes clear.
Credit: Electrolux
This is exactly why Electrolux is innovating new tech so that we can all take better care of our clothes and help keep them out of the landfill. In addition to Electrolux’s advanced Swedish-designed home appliances(Opens in a new tab), the brand is also helping to raise awareness about the importance of upgrading our routine laundry patterns. According to Vanessa Butani, VP of Group Sustainability at Electrolux, the most sustainable clothes are the ones we already own.
Credit: Electrolux
“We know from research that extending the life of our clothes by just nine months can reduce the carbon impact, the water impact, and the waste produced by 20 to 30 percent,” Butani said.
In addition to keeping fashion waste out of landfills, Butani is quick to point out that small changes to our laundry habits, like lowering wash temperatures and switching from powder to liquid detergent, could mean the equivalent of saving 110 pounds of carbon dioxide per appliance per year. Just imagine if these habits were adopted worldwide. Now stop imagining and learn how you can improve your outdated laundry routine the next time you throw in a load.
Credit: Electrolux
Turn down the heat
If you love your new hoodie, do it a favor and wash it in cool water instead of hot. It’ll get plenty clean and the cooler water will extend the life of all your clothes and keep them looking spankin’ new(Opens in a new tab). No shrinkage here, baby!
Take a load off
Over-washing is a top contributor to our clothes wearing out faster than they should(Opens in a new tab) — and it’s also a big energy and water suck. If your shirt smells funky, try airing it out in the bathroom overnight before washing it. The steam from your shower will help freshen it up.
Credit: Portra Images / Getty Images
Go with the flow
Many powder detergents are abrasive(Opens in a new tab) and some contain bleach, which makes your black tees fade way too fast. Use a gentle liquid detergent instead and show your clothes some love. Bonus points for using a phosphate-free liquid detergent that won’t pollute our rivers.
Upgrade your machines
If your washer and dryer are old, clunky beasts, chances are they’re not giving your clothes the gentle touch. Electrolux is committed to making clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact by 2030(Opens in a new tab) and their innovative laundry technologies prove it. Tech like SteamCare that uses 96 percent less water and ColourCare that optimizes cold-water washes can make a big difference in the life span of your duds.
Show off your vintage style
Credit: Electrolux
One way to not contribute to fashion waste is to wear vintage clothes — or upcycled clothes. Electrolux has teamed up with Swedish upcycle designers Rave Review to create a fashion collection with a mission — giving new life to discarded clothes retrieved from the Atacama landfill. The result is the new Break the Pattern collection and it proves just how cool upcycled clothing can be, check it out here(Opens in a new tab).
Come clean
Now that you know what a big difference a few simple changes in the laundry room can make, check out the other things Electrolux(Opens in a new tab) is doing to help us all be a little kinder to our clothes and the planet. After all, your favorite hoodie looks so much better on you than it does sitting in a landfill somewhere.
Visit electrolux.com/breakthepattern(Opens in a new tab) to learn more about helpful laundry habits.
Well, well, well, Thursday again? That day of the week when you start feeling lighter because the weekend is coming, but everything starts getting a little more difficult, because...the weekend is coming. And that's true for Quordle in addition to work.
So never fear! The answers are below. But first, maybe a few hints, and a little information about the puzzle, will help get your brain back to peak working condition.
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Quordle answer and hints for August 12
What is Quordle?
Quordle is a five-letter word guessing game similar to Wordle, except each guess applies letters to four words at the same time. You get nine guesses instead of six to correctly guess all four words. It looks like playing four Wordle games at the same time, and that is essentially what it is. But it's not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
Is Quordle harder than Wordle?
Yes, though not diabolically so.
Where did Quordle come from?
Amid the Wordle boom of late 2021 and early 2022, when everyone was learning to love free, in-browser, once-a-day word guessing games, creator Freddie Meyer says he took inspiration from one of the first big Wordle variations, Dordle — the one where you essentially play two Wordles at once. He took things up a notch, and released Quordle on January 30(Opens in a new tab). Meyer's creation was covered in The Guardian(Opens in a new tab) six days later, and now, according to Meyer, it attracts millions of daily users. Today, Meyer earns modest revenue(Opens in a new tab) from Patreon, where dedicated Quordle fans can donate to keep their favorite puzzle game running.
How is Quordle pronounced?
“Kwordle.” It should rhyme with “Wordle,” and definitely should not be pronounced exactly like "curdle.”
Is Quordle strategy different from Wordle?
Yes and no.
Your starting strategy should be the same as with Wordle. In fact, if you have a favorite Wordle opening word, there’s no reason to change that here. We suggest something rich in vowels, featuring common letters like C, R, and N. But you do you.
After your first guess, however, you’ll notice things getting out of control if you play Quordle exactly like Wordle.
What should I do in Quordle that I don’t do in Wordle?
Solving a Wordle puzzle can famously come down to a series of single letter-change variations. If you’ve narrowed it down to “-IGHT,” you could guess “MIGHT” “NIGHT” “LIGHT” and “SIGHT” and one of those will probably be the solution — though this is also a famous way to end up losing in Wordle, particularly if you play on “hard mode.” In Quordle, however, this sort of single-letter winnowing is a deadly trap, and it hints at the important strategic difference between Wordle and Quordle: In Quordle, you can't afford to waste guesses unless you're eliminating as many letters as possible at all times.
Guessing a completely random word that you already know isn't the solution, just to eliminate three or four possible letters you haven’t tried yet, is thought of as a desperate, latch-ditch move in Wordle. In Quordle, however, it's a normal part of the player's strategic toolset.
Is there a way to get the answer faster?
In my experience Quordle can be a slow game, sometimes dragging out longer than it would take to play Wordle four times. But a sort of blunt-force guessing approach can speed things up. The following strategy also works with Wordle if you only want the solution, and don’t care about having the fewest possible guesses:
Try starting with a series of words that puts all the vowels (including Y) on the board, along with some other common letters. I’ve had good luck with the three words: “NOTES,” “ACRID,” and “LUMPY.” YouTuber DougMansLand(Opens in a new tab) suggests four words: “CANOE,” “SKIRT,” “PLUMB,” and “FUDGY.”
Most of the alphabet is now eliminated, and you’ll only have the ability to make one or two wrong guesses if you use this strategy. But in most cases you’ll have all the information you need to guess the remaining words without any wrong guesses.
If you've already run out of strategy, though, and you're still stumped, here are some hints:
A semi-useful hint about August 11’s puzzle
Synonyms for all four words are in the following sentence (in no particular order).
In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, I gathered my courage, donned my regionally appropriatehat, and chatted with my most spiteful acquaintance over a few airy pastries.
Are there any double or triple letters in today’s Quordle words?
Letters occur twice in three of today's four words.
Are any rare letters being used in today’s Quordle like Q or Z?
4th graders made their own clickbait headlines and theyre way better than ours
It's a strange world online and Ingrid Conley-Abrams — a school library director in New York City — wanted to prep her students as best she could.
As a part of a lesson on media literacy and bias, Conley-Abrams created an optional assignment where kids made their own versions of clickbait. The results were delightful, brilliant, and, at times, slightly creepy.
Conley-Abrams tweeted out some of the schoolwork and it went very viral for obvious reasons.
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4th grade clikcbaitCredit: Ingrid Conley-Abrams
Conley-Abrams told me in a phone conversation that the same (frankly genius) child made both the dog and coffin clickbait articles. She said she particularly enjoyed the dog one.
school kid clickbaitCredit: Ingrid Conley-Abrams
"That one with the use of very on-brand clickbait punctuation, you know, inexplicable punctuation and too much of it," she said. "I thought that genius and I would love to click on that. I'd love to know about secret dog meetings."
Personally, I loved: "u think ur loved ones stay in here NO WAY." Haunting, beautiful, vaguely threatening. It's all those things.
Conley-Abrams also passed along a few other works from her fourth graders that didn't get posted to Twitter. They, too, are awesome.
Oh no.Credit: Ingrid conley-abrams
During the NBA Finals? Wow.Credit: Ingrid Conley-Abrams
OK, can anyone tell me what the turkey means? I'm so intrigued.Credit: Ingrid Conley-Abrams
The LeBron James one honestly just reads like actual sports clickbait. And I really need to know what's up with the turkey in the Snow White one. They're just so good.
"These little clickbait mockups they're so creative — someone online accused me of making these up myself — and the one with a coffin, there's just no way. I'm just not that creative," Conley-Abrams told me. "But even the ones that are creepy there's something really joyful about them. I think if I can have any elements of joy in my virtual classroom right now, [the kids] need and so do I. I very much, honestly, needed the laughs."
Conley-Abrams said she felt it was necessary to teach kids how to spot bad info online and that school libraries all over do the same.
"I mean, if adults my age are susceptible to clickbait that means that nine and 10 year olds are too," she said.
14 best tweets of the week, including frong, floor poisoning, and wings dinner
Even a short week feels like a long week, you know what I mean? Four days, five days — it's all the same.
Labor Day? Labor's for the birds, baby. It's the weekend and it's time to relax.
It's time to Live, Laugh, Love and embrace whatever other phrases the Cursive Words On Suburban Walls Industrial Complex is churning out these days. Bless This Mess(Opens in a new tab). Welcome To Our Home(Opens in a new tab). This Is Our Happy Place(Opens in a new tab). Eat(Opens in a new tab). Love(Opens in a new tab). Get Off My Lawn(Opens in a new tab).
Anyway, it's the weekend. And to kick it off, let's laugh at some good tweets from the past seven days. You deserve a chuckle.
Here they are, the 14 best tweets of the week.
1. We all should do it but I will go last
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2. Ram into me for all I care
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3. That's right
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4. Books can be liars sometimes(Opens in a new tab)
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5. The boys are incredibly Back
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6. A very fine Matrix + I Think You Should Leave mash-up
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7. I will be auditing this course
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8. Holy crap
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9. Obligatory dril tweet
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10. And another
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11. Shhh, we're manifesting
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12. Who could've foreseen Steve from Blues Clues having a news cycle?
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13. Fair question
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14. And finally, frong
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Dont worry kids, Dr. Fauci said he vaccinated Santa Claus
With anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic permeating this holiday season, children may be worried that Santa Claus — right in the target age range for those most susceptible to the virus — may catch it, or give it to others.
As the network over the summer with Stand Up to Racism, CNN collaborated with Sesame Street for The ABCs of COVID-19(Opens in a new tab), a town hall where children can ask questions about celebrating the holidays during the pandemic. One question, asked by 6-year-old Paxton from Illinois, was whether Santa will still be able to visit him or go to anyone else's house:
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In November, the U.S.'s leading virus expert Anthony Fauci assured children that Santa is immune from COVID(Opens in a new tab). Unfortunately, however, no one else is — but Fauci has that taken care of, he said in a CNN appearance on Saturday.
"I took a trip up there to the North Pole," he said, "I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself. I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go."
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He assured children even further, saying that Santa "can come down the chimney. He can leave the presents. He can leave, and you have nothing to worry about. Santa Claus is good to go."
In these times of uncertainty, at least we know that Santa is vaccinated and able to give children their presents this year.
Google Maps discovery will take you on a journey to a very nostalgic place on the internet
Sometimes there are places you know, even if you don't know them.
Like even if you've never been to the top of the Empire State Building — I haven't — you could probably see an image and recognize it. There have been so many scenes in movies and TV shows set there that you'd almost have to have some idea of what it looks like.
If you've been on the internet for a while, then this video(Opens in a new tab) on Twitter from @Ballymoran(Opens in a new tab) will take you somewhere very recognizable. It's a brilliant bit of Google Maps fun. Ominous music plays as you get closer, closer, closer. You're expecting something spooky or weird. The ultimate destination, well, just watch.
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You're damn right that was a rickroll in the year 2022. Why the hell not?
Old internet jokes aside, it is neat to see the real world location where the classic Rick Astley video for his 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" was shot. For years we've all been staring unwittingly at those brick arches. Now we know they're at 150 Freston Road in London.
SEE ALSO:
The curious nostalgia of Google Street View
That's the curious magic of Google Maps. The Google Earth and Street View lets you, in an instant, drop in on any place in the world. Unsuspecting, it's all there, frozen in time. It's a feat of ubiquity from the tech giant that we can now get rickrolled by a map.
Cambridge Dictionarys 2021 word of the year will come as no surprise to anyone
Cambridge Dictionary has announced its word of the year for 2021, and it probably won't come as much of a shock.
This year the word is "perseverance", defined by the dictionary as a "continued effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time." According to a press release sent to Mashable, the word has been looked up 243,000 times globally in 2021.
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Perseverance was chosen by the dictionary for a couple of reasons. On the one hand it follows on from their word of the year for 2020(Opens in a new tab), "quarantine", drawing attention to the continued global struggle brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention other looming threats like climate change, with has been thrown into even starker relief recently via a huge report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and speeches and commitments made during COP26.
SEE ALSO:
Collins Dictionary names 'lockdown' the word of the year, as if any of us needed a reminder
Meanwhile, the word is also the name of NASA's Perseverance rover, the little robot which landed on Mars back in February and is currently trundling around the red planet looking for signs of microbial life.
"Just as it takes perseverance to land a rover on Mars, it takes perseverance to face the challenges and disruption to our lives from COVID-19, climate disasters, political instability and conflict," said Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary publishing manager. "We appreciated that connection, and we think Cambridge Dictionary users do, too."
Well, we don't know about appreciated, but perseverance certainly seems fitting.
Essentials Week spotlights unexpected items that make our daily lives just a little bit better.
It brings me no joy to admit that LeBron James and I probably wouldn't have a ton to talk about at a party. But in the (very likely, if you ask me) event that we cross paths one day, I know we'll have one common passion to discuss: lumbar support.
You may have seen photos of James(Opens in a new tab) — on vacation, in a huddle, posing contemplatively by the shore — with a mysterious cylinder strapped to his lower back. That cylinder is the McKenzie Lumbar Roll(Opens in a new tab), a lumbar support pillow that has become one of my most prized possessions. After I slipped a disc in my lower back this spring, my physical therapist recommended that I start using one. I'd never tried an ergonomic pillow before, but it was a welcome experiment: I'd just been cleared to sit during the workday after several unpleasant weeks of standing up or lying on my stomach, and I was anxious to do so in a way that wouldn't make my pain worse.
While it felt a little unnatural to use at first (it's thick!), the pillow ended up being a godsend. I'd found relief in back extensions during physical therapy, and tucking the pillow behind my lower back gave me similar comfort: a robust, satisfying feeling of support, like a kind, cylindrical hand was easing my spine back into place. Even pre-injury, my desk chair at the office — which I'd liked — hadn't been able to deliver that kind of support.
Buckle up, baby.Credit: McKenzie
So I began to channel LeBron, strapping my lumbar roll to my torso like an uncool belt bag and walking around with it on, eager to feel the sweet relief of alignment as soon as I sat down. Sometimes, I even said phrases like "that's the stuff" as I scooted into the car or onto my chair at dinner — an earnest, dad-like habit that let me know the roll and I were in deep. Perhaps even in love.
Should you get one?
LeBron James and I both suffer from disc issues (another commonality!), so our conditions are perhaps more severe than the average office worker's. But if you sit at a desk or in a frog-like position on the couch all day, you might appreciate extra lumbar support, too.
Soft chairs, backless chairs, and even some office chairs sorely lack support, which makes maintaining healthy posture more difficult. That's where a lumbar support pillow can come in handy, explained Dr. Wesley Bronson, an orthopedic spine surgeon for New York's Mount Sinai Health System. "For most people, especially for those who suffer from low back pain, I do recommend a lumbar support pillow," he said in an email. "I know many spine specialists that keep one attached to the driver's seat in their car and their office chair."
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Make your WFH setup more comfy with an ergonomic office chair
The human spine normally has an "arched low back" known as lumbar lordosis, Dr. Bronson explained. (It's possible to have excessive lordosis, but the spine should still have some.) Sitting with poor posture — that is, hunched forward with a flexed spine — can "diminish" that arch, putting more stress on the lower back and potentially leading to pain. A lumbar roll, on the other hand, helps maintain the arch, making it easier to sit healthily. (Positioning the pillow correctly is key, though: This vaguely creepy video(Opens in a new tab) will show you how.)
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A few caveats
There are a lot of lumbar rolls out there, many of which are well-reviewed, but LeBron's and my lumbar roll is affiliated with the McKenzie method of physical therapy. My physical therapist favors this approach, and it was the right one for my particular condition, but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone — nor do you have to go all-in on McKenzie to enjoy a lumbar roll's benefits. (In fact, you should not begin any medical regimen without consulting a physician.) Using a roll also isn't for everyone, necessarily. If you already sit with your lumbar spine considerably extended, it may even end up doing harm, explained Dr. Theresa Marko, an orthopedic clinical specialist in physical therapy who practices in New York City.
"Sitting in too much extension(Opens in a new tab) compresses your vertebrae, possibly pinching the nerves and also might cause your muscles to shorten in this position," she said. "Then when you go to move, you have difficulty because they are tight from being in this constant shortened position." She also cautions against using a lumbar roll if you have issues with nerve root compression. (Dr. Marko is not against lumbar pillows in general, though, especially if you spend a lot of time in a chair that lacks support.)
These days, I supplement the pillow with other practices that make my back feel better: stretching, taking frequent breaks, doing lumbar exercises like press-ups, and working to keep my core strong so I can hold myself up effectively. The pillow shines mostly on long car rides — when I don't have the luxury of adjusting my posture frequently — and during periods of more acute pain.
However, I imagine that my post-COVID travel will have a distinctly LeBron vibe: I plan to strap my lumbar roll to my back for entire days, ready for whatever awful seating comes my way. Maybe we'll run into each other on a beach somewhere, point at each other's strapped-on back pillows and adequately S-shaped spines, and share a little laugh, nod at each other in recognition. I feel like that will probably happen.
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