Well, dating has certainly been a wild ol' ride in 2022. But, what's in store for our love lives in 2023?
Over the past year, our relationship priorities have shifted, with people favouring increased vulnerability and mindfulness, as well as giving sober (curious) dating a whirl. As we delve into cuffing season, a new trend called Winter Coating has emerged, whereby people reach out to former partners and exes in a bid to rekindle an extinguished flame so they'll have someone to keep them warm over winter. The cost of living crisis is also having a major impact on dating habits, with many opting for "cash candid dating" — increased transparency over their finances (and money worries) in the early stages of dating. And, environmentally conscious singles are opting for "green dating" and eliminating any potential matches who aren't aligned with their views on climate change.
Dating app Bumble has released its annual predictions for what we can expect in the new year. Spoiler alert: emotional needs are high on people's list of priorities.
As Naomi Walkland, Bumble’s vice president for Europe, said in a statement, "2022 was a formative year with the return of travel, the drastic increase in our social lives and commitments, and a number of turbulent global events." She added that many people were left feeling exhausted and overwhelmed in response to these changes. "In response to this, we’ve seen that people on Bumble are now prioritising identifying and clearly articulating their boundaries. These boundaries can be emotional, like being upfront about what they want or recognising red and green flags, physical, like ensuring they don’t overcommit themselves, or financial, encouraging candid conversations about previously taboo topics."
SEE ALSO:
4 of the top dating trends for 2022, so far
New year, new me(n)
In a survey of 14,300 Bumble users around the world, 74 percent of men say they've looked inward and analysed their own behaviour more than ever and have a clearer understanding of toxic masculinity. The term toxic masculinity refers to a set of beliefs and behaviours including hiding your emotions or distress, using violence or "tough-guy" behaviour as a way of showing power, and exhibiting an appearance of "hardness". 52 percent of people on Bumble are actively trying to challenge the gender stereotype that men shouldn't show emotions out of fear of seeming "weak". Over a third (38 percent) of people now talk about emotions more openly with male friends and half of men think that dismantling gender roles in relationships and dating will benefit them.
Guardrailing
Setting boundaries is essential in relationships of all kinds — whether you've just started dating, you're at work, or in pretty much any other situation involving interactions with other human beings.
63 percent of daters say they're clearer about emotional needs and boundaries, and 59 percent are more thoughtful and intentional about how they put themselves out there, with 53 percent aiming to not overcommit to socialising.
Love-life balance
A lot of people have been redefining what work and professionalism means to them in 2022. It makes sense, therefore, that people are also taking a closer look at the values they seek in romantic partners.
Looking good on paper and prioritising professional success isn't top of everyone's list these days. When it comes to what people are looking for in a partner, 54 percent of people surveyed care more about their work/life balance than their career status. One in 10 people will no longer date someone who has a very demanding job and 52 percent of people are actively trying to make more space for rest in their life.
SEE ALSO:
Inside the movement redefining and resisting professionalism
Open casting
One in three daters are now more open to considering dating beyond their "type". In the UK in particular, 52 percent of daters are expanding their horizons beyond what they'd typically go for. And one in four people are putting less pressure on meeting other people's expectations of who they should date.
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Ethical sex-ploration
Let's talk about sex, baby. 43 percent of daters are navigating sex and intimacy in a more exploratory and open way, while 53 percent believe it's paramount to express sexual wants and needs early on in a relationship. Over the past year, 20 percent of daters have explored their sexuality more and one in eight people are considering ethical non-monogamy.
These figures don't mean we're having more sex, however. in the UK, 42 percent of daters surveyed are currently not having sex and they're fine with that, and globally 34 percent said the same.
SEE ALSO:
We're having less sex. What does that mean for public health?
Wanderlove
33 percent of people on Bumble are now more open to having relationships with people not in their current city. With more jobs allowing for flexible work arrangements and even "digital nomad" arrangements, 14 percent of daters have explored the prospect of becoming a digital nomad and dating people from far flung destinations.
Dating renaissance
Many of us know someone who had a pandemic breakup. Per Bumble's data, 39 percent of people on the dating app ended a marriage or serious relationship within the past two years. These individuals are not entering a second chapter — a renaissance, if you will — and some of whom (36 percent) are using dating apps for the very first time. Welcome, friends!
If 2022 was anything to go by, we're in for more changes in 2023 — hopefully positive ones, like those listed above.
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A guide to getting off to your own sexual fantasies and imagination
They say the mind is the biggest, most powerful sex organ in the body. But, uh, don't try visualizing that mental image too vividly or literally, unless you're into that sorta thing?
Instead, imagine your favorite fictional crush pressing you up against a wall, or think back to the hottest sex you ever had in your life. Now stop imagining, because this magical place where all your desires are possible and acceptable exists. And literally anyone can tap into it.
While sexual fantasies are by definition not "real," their effects on your sex life (especially when explored during masturbation) are — shall we say — palpably physical.
"Engaging your imagination rather than relying on visual porn for example helps to build, enhance and strengthen your erotic mind," said Dr. Britney Blair, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of the sexual wellness Lover(Opens in a new tab) app. "You can bring that imagination to life when you want to prime the pump on your desire or push yourself over the edge to climax while solo or with a partner."
"It's incredibly liberating, recognizing our own power to design the scenes and situations that turn us on."
To be clear, there's nothing wrong with porn or other forms of erotica. But there's something especially powerful in orgasming to smut that couldn't be more personally tailored to what you like.
"In our minds we're not confined to our studio apartments or our current sexual partners. There are no rules or judgments. Not even the laws of physics apply," said Gina Gutierrez, co-founder of the popular audio erotica app Dipsea(Opens in a new tab). "It’s incredibly liberating, recognizing our own power to design the scenes and situations that turn us on and to scrap the ones that don’t work for us."
Don't take our word for it, though. There's science to show exactly how real the effects of a healthy erotic imagination are.
In a landmark 2016 study(Opens in a new tab), Dr. Nan Wise — neuroscientist, sex therapist, and author of Understanding the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose-Filled Life(Opens in a new tab) — mapped the brain's response when subjects merely imagined pleasurable stimulation on their genitals. Just by thinking about it, the pleasure centers in their brains "lit up like a Christmas tree," Wise said.
"The mind is really the recipient of all the body's sensations. So there's this empirical evidence of a huge connection between the mind and pleasure," she said.
While everyone can benefit from using their imagination as a sexual aid, it's an especially potent practice for women and others who society has conditioned to feel ashamed about their sexuality.
"We have to do more work to lay down the connections, the neural pathways, between the genitals and the brain's sensory reward regions," said Wise. "Using your imagination to masturbate not only gives us the information about what stimulation we need, but also actually strengthens the connections between our genitals and the brain."
SEE ALSO:
Why some people masturbate about people they hate
Beyond that, getting off to our own sexual fantasies tackles another negative effect that patriarchy can have on women's sexuality.
"We're socialized to think of ourselves as the objects of other people's desires, like we need to borrow someone else's idea of pleasure" said Wise. That's why learning how to be the subject of our own desires, to embody the pleasure we conjure up in our own mind, can be so empowering.
Everyone with a brain, genitals, and desire is already equipped to masturbate to their own sexual fantasies. And while the practice does come more naturally to some, it only takes little guidance and patience to unlock the endless possibilities tucked inside your erotic mind.
Set the right environment
Set that phone to night mode, but make it sexy.Credit: bob al-greene / mashable
A major key in setting your mind up for erotic success is to ensure your environment allows your brain to feel fully relaxed, safe, and free from distraction.
Pick a time and place where you'll have full privacy without needing to worry about any interruption, whether from roommates or notifications. For most people, that place will naturally be the bedroom. But put some effort into also making it a true fortress of sensual solitude, like by locking the door, setting your phone to airplane mode, putting on an eye mask, or maybe even using some essential oils and putting on your favorite sexy playlist.
Blair even recommends purposefully scheduling these more exploratory kind of session and making them habitual. So maybe it can be something you add to your nightly ritual before bed: Brush your teeth, do the skincare routine, put on some pajamas, then let your mind wander as you touch yourself.
Create a safe space in your mind
Of course, priming yourself with the right mindset is vital to unlocking your brain's full fantasy potential.
One of the biggest hurdles to exploring our erotic imaginations is actually the engrained social shame many of us have picked up (even subconsciously) through sexism, homophobia, social stigmas, religion, etc.
"It’s important to know if that is coming up for you, you’re not alone. But there is no such thing as a wrong or right fantasy." said Blair.
SEE ALSO:
Am I the only one who's horny for podcasts?
Treat your imagination as a judgement-free zone. To be fair, clearing or redirecting your mind away from feelings of shame is easier said than done. But certain exercises can help (which we'll get into more in the mind-body connection section below).
Blair suggests that, while exploring sexual fantasies in your mind, try to distinguish between when you're having a reaction versus a judgment to a certain scenario. Judgments often come from values imposed on you by something or someone else, while visceral reactions can be an indication that your mind wants to explore it further — especially if it's something your never thought you'd be into.
It's easy to get scared off by an intense response to a fantasy, and write that off as being too weird or outside the norm for your taste. But if you give yourself a second to assess where that response is coming from, you might actually find that the intensity comes from a part of you that you've never tried tapping into before.
"Everything is okay in the world of fantasy. No fantasy is a crime."
Or maybe not, and that's fine too. The point is, if you feel safe doing it, just try leaning into parts of your erotic mind that feel challenging and see where it goes.
"Everything is okay in the world of fantasy. No fantasy is a crime," said Blair. "Whatever turns you on in your mind is totally healthy. Your fantasy doesn’t say anything about you except that you are lucky to have a rich imagination that you can use to have an exciting and enduring erotic life."
That's another major benefit of sexual fantasies versus traditional porn, too. You don't have to worry about any ethical concerns, because your imagination can't hurt you or anyone else. You're in total control.
"You imagination is a completely safe space," said Dipsea's Gutierrez. "We can play out fantasies that are risky or illicit that we would never actually want to happen in real life. In our minds we’re free to experiment without consequences."
Familiarize yourself with (but don't feel limited by) common sexual fantasies
While the whole point is to tap into the unique potential of your own mind, a good jumping off point is to explore whether the most common sexual fantasies(Opens in a new tab) spark your interest. Researchers have labeled them into different categories, though there's a world of possibilities within those labels as well.
Dr. Blair described these categories as multi-partner sex like group sex or threesomes; power, control, or rough sex; novelty, adventure, and variety; taboo and forbidden sex; partner sharing and non-monogamous relationships; passion and romance; and erotic flexibilitylikehomoeroticism or gender-bending.
Jess O'Reilly is a sex educator, author of The New Sex Bible(Opens in a new tab), and Astroglide's resident sexologist. She explained that through each of these fantasy categories you can help identify the specific core erotic feelings that get you into a heightened state of arousal.
"Oftentimes, they relate to fantasy, escapism or subverting otherwise 'negative' emotions. You might find that sex is really hot when you feel powerful, submissive, challenged, mindful, or playful," she said. "You may also find yourself aroused by feelings that you don’t naturally associate with pleasure, like jealousy, inadequacy, fear, and even humiliation can be exciting."
What our brains often gravitate to most is pure novelty. What gets you off in a fantasy can actually be the total opposite of your real-life sexual orientation or even completely removed from you, as an abstract scenario happening to someone else entirely.
Let your spank bank be a place where your freak flag flies.Credit: vicky leta / mashable
So don't be weirded out if you learn that you're as horny for that fish-god monster from The Shape of Water as the Academy Awards were in 2018. Or maybe you're one of the many women who enjoys a rape fantasy — which, as Dr. Wise points out, in a fantasy context is the opposite of a real-life rape since, "you're choosing to have the fantasy and who's overpowering you. You're in complete control."
One other general rule of thumb Wise found is that while men tend toward more visually-oriented fantasies centered around preferred body parts, women tend to focus on overall scenarios. However, it's impossible to distill the endless possibilities of human sexuality into neat categories. Which is why you also shouldn't get discouraged or ashamed if none of these common fantasies do it for you.
"Our capacity for imagination is limitless," said Wise. Don't feel pressure to confine yours to a specific label.
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Start building your erotic imagination through fiction, porn, memories... anything!
The truth is that, while other obstacles might make it hard initially to give yourself permission to explore sexual fantasies, using your imagination is a very natural and innate part of being human. Who doesn't fantasizing about getting up from their desk in the middle of a hard work day and quitting, or spend time daydreaming about how they'd furnish their dream apartment?
"We make Pinterest boards and save Instagram photos, collect and catalog all these things that we like. I recommend starting to do that for your sex life," said Gutierrez. "Become more mindful observing what attracts you to someone. The moments where you feel sexiest. What you want to say out loud during sex but hesitate to. Then the next time you want to use your fantasy for pleasure, you know exactly where to draw from."
Everything in your life can become part of your horny mood board.
Everything in your life can become part of your horny mood board.
We all have that one fictional character or public figure — whether from books, tv, movies, video games, or even politics and the internet — that just does it for us. Begin there, expanding into a specific sexy scene that got you going or whatever comes to mind when you think of that person. Heck, maybe you're like me and realize that a silky, authoritative voice is actually your kink, leading a bunch of non-erotic popular podcasts to become your go-to spank bank material.
Audio erotica can be a great place to start if you don't want to take the training wheels off yet to explore sexual fantasies of your own making. Unlike visual porn, audio erotica still exercises the muscles of your erotic imagination, asking you to fill in the details and paint the full picture. While we always recommend Dipsea, there's also plenty of free ways to try audio erotica like r/gonewildaudio(Opens in a new tab) and Girl on the Net(Opens in a new tab).
Once you're ready to bring yourself more to the forefront of the fantasy, begin with a memory of the hottest, most visceral sex you've ever had. Really ground yourself back in that moment by recalling your senses: What position were you in? What did the person's lust feel like? Were you sweating? How exactly did they touch you?
Touch yourself while pulling from all the erotic mental material you've curated, and don't be afraid to really get your whole body involved in mimicking the sensations you're creating through your mind. Maybe that means masturbating while you're on all fours, or matching the tempo of the fantasy, or even dry-humping a pillow. Don't put any pressure on yourself to orgasm throughout any of this, though, and instead just zero in on embodying the experience of your imagination.
"It's about giving yourself full permission to explore all our internal pleasure places, and how we experience them in both our minds and bodies at the same time," said Wise.
It's like writing fanfiction, but in real-timeCredit: vicky leta / mashable
Try these exercises to strengthen your mind-body connection
Through her research and other studies in the field, Wise has ultimately found that, "This distinction we make between the mind and body is really a very arbitrary one."
One of the best ways to embrace this in a way that engages your erotic fantasy life in is through something called mindful sex.
This increasingly popular branch of sex therapy describes a bunch of different practices and exercises that add a layer of sexuality to mindfulness, to help you stay present in your body while experiencing pleasure, train your mind to focus on whatever arouses you, and engage in a non-judgmental curious sexual mindset. Try out basic exercises like pleasure mapping (which Dipsea has a guide for), mindful masturbation (which you can read about here), and sensate focus (which you can read about here).
Wise also suggests a very simple exercise for getting your imagination more connected with your genitals on a neurological level: Just start by tapping or pleasurably touching your genitals, then stop, then think back on the sensations you felt while touching them. Try to recall and summon them back in your body: What did it feel like in your body when the stimulation was building, then dissipating?
At first, it might not feel like much at all and the pleasure may be pretty mild compared to what you're used to while using more immediate erotic visual aids like porn.
“But you’ll slowly start to develop a better connection to that pleasure sensation channel in your brain,” she said.
Use your imagination during partnered sex
While sexual fantasies are a great way to enhance self-love, learning how to engage with them during partnered sex can also do wonders to get people over the edge and into orgasm.
At this point though, you might be wondering: Is it even OK to fantasize about other situations — or maybe even other people — while having sex with a partner?
“It doesn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you'd come home to eat.”
“Yes, it’s an unequivocal yes! Because thinking about stuff is not the same as doing it,” said Wise. As the famous saying goes, “It doesn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you'd come home to eat.”
It’s totally normal for your mind to desire novelty, especially if you're not in a new relationship anymore. In fact, Wise found that one of the best ways to ensure a couples’ longevity is precisely this kind of openness and understanding that people need to fuel their erotic imagination with new stuff.
“If we can get over these kind of hang ups, get past this fear of our partners having a fantasy about somebody else while they’re with us, and instead use it as an opportunity talk about: What would you like? What haven't we tried? What are you afraid to tell me? Because that's hot. That's really hot,” said Wise.
Or maybe instead of thinking about someone else, you'd simply rather use your imagination during partnered sex to transport you both to a setting or scenario that heightens your arousal even more.
In the end, what you do with your erotic imagination is up to you. You can share it if you'd like — or keep it all to yourself. That’s what’s so great about sexual fantasies you cut from your own cloth: They’re all yours, and no one else's.
Childish Gambino warned us in 2018. This is America, right?
It's been a brutal week for anyone who doesn't live with their eyes closed. The proof is right there on Twitter and other social platforms. It used to be that we relied on police bodycams to hold officers accountable for their actions. But in this difficult moment, citizen journalism is carrying that bucket instead.
Something snapped in the United States as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck until he died on May 25. Floyd was black and Chauvin is white. It was a sadly familiar scene of what looks to rational observers like a clear case of police brutality.
But this time, we hit a breaking point. The gruesome reality of Chauvin's actions as captured on camera is certainly part of it. He held his position on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes, until after the restrained man died. The camera captures it all in vivid, horrifying detail. Add to that the ongoing pandemic, and historic levels of unemployment. People's nerves are frayed and the callous inhumanity of Floyd's death was a last straw.
So cities exploded over the weekend with widespread protests and grim scenes of violence. Even as much of the country outside of major cities continues to hunker down behind stay-at-home orders, social media has brought all of us to the front lines through citizen journalism and shared news reports.
These ongoing protests are about stopping racial violence and police brutality, and they're hundreds of years in the making. I think the images and videos, and the actions of the people portrayed therein, tell the whole story. Thank you to all of the protesters and members of the press who are out there doing your part to make sure the realities of this moment won't soon be forgotten.
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It hasn't all been as completely terrible as the above visuals suggest. Protesters are out in force and many of them are skipping the violence in favor of working to send a message, lift up the people in their community, and generally just keep the peace. Many others are just doing the best they can to peacefully work through the days, weeks, months, decades of pent-up anger they've been carrying.
They've even been joined in a few cases by police officers and departments that have managed to maintain a level of trust with their local communities.
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SEE ALSO:
How to demand justice for George Floyd and support Minneapolis protesters
I don't know what else to say. Take care of yourselves, folks. And please, keep on documenting this moment in any way that you can.
Police scanner app catapults to the top of the App Store
Protesters just made a police scanner the most popular paid iOS app in the country.
On Monday, 5-0 Radio Police Scanner(Opens in a new tab), which costs $5, was the number one paid app in the App Store. A pared-down version with ads was the number two paid app, surpassing TikTok and second only to the suddenly popular Zynn app. Vice first reported(Opens in a new tab) on the app's rise.
Protesters clashed with police in Minneapolis, Louisville, Los Angeles, Philadelphia(Opens in a new tab), and other U.S. cities over the weekend. They are demanding an end to police brutality after George Floyd was killed by a police officer.
A look at the top paid apps.Credit: screenshot / mashable
Also popular as a free app.Credit: Screenshot / mashable
Scanner apps let protesters listen to live police radio feeds. App analytics firm Apptopia found the top five police scanner apps, such as 5-0 Police Scanner(Opens in a new tab) and Police Scanner(Opens in a new tab), were downloaded 213,000 times over the weekend. That's a 125 percent increase from the weekend before — a record for police scanner apps. 5-0 Police Scanner was downloaded 40,000 times between Friday and Sunday in the United States.
Other related apps saw download surges as well, like the encrypted messaging app Signal. It was downloaded 37,000 times this weekend, a record for the app. Same for community alert app Citizen, which was downloaded 49,000 times during the same period, according to Apptopia(Opens in a new tab).
Elizabeth Warren and her very good dog Bailey joined the Washington D.C. protests
Less than half an hour before the official curfew started in Washington D.C., thousands of protesters were still walking peacefully in the streets of the capital. Among them were Sen. Elizabeth Warren, her husband Bruce Mann, and their dog Bailey.
Dressed in sensible beige shorts, sneakers, and a basic blue face mask, the last female candidate to suspend her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination was quickly spotted by her fellow protesters as she joined the throng in Lafayette Square. Many were clearly thrilled to see her, cheering as she told reporters President Donald Trump had been "wrong" to deploy the National Guard in the city.
"He is imposing violence on our people," she told one reporter(Opens in a new tab). "People are here to protest peacefully.
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Warren also called for Attorney General Bill Barr to resign after reports that he had ordered the violent removal of protesters near the White House, and tweeted her support for her colleague Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's bill to criminalise the use of chokeholds by police. Gillibrand was also in the presidential race until last August.
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Widespread protests have emerged in cities across the U.S. in a furious response to the death of George Floyd — who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes — as well as other recent police killings, including Louisville woman Breonna Taylor and Florida man Tony McDade. These names are only the latest to be added to a shamefully long list of black Americans killed by police.f
Trump's response to the protests, in particular the order to disperse peaceful demonstrators near the White House using tear gas and rubber bullets for a Trump photo op, has drawn criticism from members of both parties(Opens in a new tab).
Other politicians who have appeared at protests include Reps. Ayanna Pressley(Opens in a new tab), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(Opens in a new tab), and Joyce Beatty, who was pepper sprayed by police at the Columbus, Ohio event(Opens in a new tab), as well as Sen. Kamala Harris (Opens in a new tab)
Every police department should have to hear our rage via Zoom call
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Police Commission held a Zoom call with citizens — of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, as well as some former residents — and watched with blank faces as citizens berated them mercilessly for eight hours.
The call came not only after several nights of protests in Los Angeles, but also after LAPD chief Michael Moore blamed the death of George Floyd(Opens in a new tab) on the city's protestors and looters. (Moore walked back on the comments(Opens in a new tab) after backlash.)
But that's just the tip of the iceberg: LAPD has a long history of violence against black people — next year will be 30 years since LA officers beat Rodney King(Opens in a new tab).
After many people were initially left out of the call(Opens in a new tab) because it capped at 500 people — and after the boomers on the commission figured out how to work Zoom — the commission said their statements.
Then, the real show started. The public unleashed their fury on the LAPD for hours on end. They demanded Moore's resignation or firing, as well as to defund the LAPD and support the people's budget(Opens in a new tab). Some spewed incredible insults(Opens in a new tab), while others broke down in tears. Several impassioned callers, like this one, went viral:
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After watching this call, I'm convinced that every police department needs to have a Zoom call like this one.
While the LAPD is notorious for its racism, so are many other departments across the country — including the Minneapolis police(Opens in a new tab), who are responsible for the killing of George Floyd. He died after three police officers pinned him down, one kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
Police departments across the nation should be subjected to people's rage. In many cities, they're beating up peaceful protestors who they are sworn to protect, all while we — the taxpayers — pay their salaries. Police commissions are supposed to be working for us, the civilians, and we should be able to scream and cry and drag our cops just like the residents of LA did yesterday. (And then I think we should defund the police(Opens in a new tab), but that's a different story.)
Public meetings with police departments aren't new. As some activists mentioned on the call, they've been raising the same concerns about the police for years. But now thanks to technology not afforded previous generations, these meetings can be online (and the current pandemic pretty much mandates that, anyway). Virtual meetings can not only be more accessible to people who can't make them in-person, but allows these meetings to go viral and be seen by thousands, both in the department's jurisdiction and beyond.
The total impact of the LAPD call has yet to be seen. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti didn't make any promises about changing the budget(Opens in a new tab), and as of publication the LAPD chief has not resigned.
But that doesn't mean this call didn't have an impact. Hundreds of people were able to express anger that has possibly been pent up for years. People around the country — like me, in New York — stayed tuned for hours and are now inspired to tell our police departments our similar demands (and probably insults). Like protesting, donating money, and calling our reps, being able to rip into our respective police departments can be just another action to elicit change, and it's a cathartic one at that.
Police commissions and departments have a duty to their citizens to let their voices be heard. We are all owed a more modern-day public forum. Americans everywhere should be able to call out their police chief's racist eyebrows.
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Mashable has reached out to LAPD for comment and will update if received.
Even Piers Morgan thinks Rudy Giuliani sounds completely barking mad
Listen, let's not give Piers Morgan — a British TV presenter who's dabbled in racist tropes(Opens in a new tab) and transphobia(Opens in a new tab) — a gold star. But even he has realized Rudy Giuliani seems a little off.
Giuliani, the former NYC mayor and current personal lawyer for President Donald Trump, appeared on Thursday on ITV's Good Morning Britain, which Morgan co-hosts. The appearance, which took place in the middle of the night in the U.S., turned into a shouting match between two old white guys about who was more discredited.
The fight began when Morgan criticized Trump's tweet about "when the looting starts the shooting starts" in regards to the protests surrounding the police killing of George Floyd. But the argument soon devolved into a barrage of personal attacks.
"You sound completely barking mad, do you know that?" Morgan said.
Giuliani fired back, "No, I don't. You sound like a big liar."
But Morgan kept going after the former mayor, firing off wonderfully British insults.
"You've lost the plot. And it's sad to see," the host said.
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Taking a page from his boss's playbook, Giuliani stumbled through a few insults about Morgan's failed CNN show and its poor ratings. At some point, Giuliani either tells Morgan he "sucked up" or "fucked up" — it's tough to tell because Giuliani's words are a bit slurred — but either way Morgan apologizes for the language before twisting the knife further into his guest.
"When I used to interview you, you were an intelligent, reasonable man and you've gone completely mad," he said. "And you sound deranged. You're abusive. And it's really sad to see what's happened to you."
A viral clip from the interview goes on in a similar fashion for a few more minutes. It does represent a shift from Morgan — a former winner on Celebrity Apprentice who had a largely friendly (if bonkers)(Opens in a new tab) interview with Trump this time last year.
But definitely watch the entire clip from Thursday, if only to see co-host Susanna Reid deliver an absolutely perfect, "OK," to end the wild segment.
Fox News host says John Lennon — who was killed in New York — wouldnt be safe in the city right now
Days after an NYPD car floored it into a group of protesters(Opens in a new tab) — just one of many instances of police violence in the city(Opens in a new tab) — New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded with...John Lennon lyrics.
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"I don't mean to make light of this but I'm reminded of the song 'Imagine' by John Lennon," said de Blasio, according to journalist Jack Mirkinson. He went on to say that defunding the police, a rallying cry of the George Floyd protests, was "not the way forward."
De Blasio was subsequently roasted by social media(Opens in a new tab) and traditional(Opens in a new tab) media(Opens in a new tab) outlets(Opens in a new tab), and then Fox News got ahold of the quote. On Fox & Friends Thursday morning,Brian Kilmeade thought he was delivering a brilliant zinger about the mayor:
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"John Lennon wouldn't be safe in this city right now," said Kilmeade. "He'd be hiding in his apartment."
For those who are unaware (like Kilmeade, apparently), John Lennon was murdered in New York(Opens in a new tab) in 1980. His killer, Mark David Chapman, shot him four times outside his luxury Manhattan apartment. He's still in prison and his eleventh parole hearing is scheduled for this August(Opens in a new tab).
Maybe Kilmeade should do some fact-checking. Imagine that?
Singer performs Bunker Boy, a catchy tune about Trumps time in the bunker
There's a new song inspired by Donald Trump's recent and somewhat confusing trip to the White House bunker, and honestly? It's catchy as hell.
On Monday, days after it was reported that Secret Service rushed the president to the White House bunker(Opens in a new tab) amidst D.C. protests, singer Courtney Jaye (@TropicalJaye(Opens in a new tab)) penned and performed the tune, titled, "Bunker Boy."
Jaye shared a video of herself performing the song to social media, and on top of her gorgeous guitar playing and sweet-sounding vocals, the lyrics are truly something.
"Bunker Boy, don't lie. You got scared and hid in the basement in the middle of the night," Jaye sings. "You're not so tough, no. It's a sorry sight. So take your bible, shove it up your ass, and turn on the fucking lights."
Jaye ends the song with the lyrics, "Bunker Boy, Bunker Boy, November's coming and we hope you're terrified, Bunker boy," before taking a big exhale and letting out an exhausted eye roll. A real mood.
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SEE ALSO:
Stephen Colbert slams Trump's hypocritical Bible photo op
For those who haven't been closely following Trump's bunker saga, let's recap.
On Friday night, hundreds of people gathered outside the White House gates to protest racism, police brutality, and the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25, after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
Reports stated that when protests escalated Friday night, Secret Service ushered Trump — along with Melania and their son Barron — to the underground presidential bunker, where they allegedly remained for nearly an hour(Opens in a new tab).
After Trump received some backlash for retreating to the bunker amidst a national state of unrest, he said that he didn't go to the bunker to get away from the protests, rather he was merely inspecting the bunker.
"I was there for a tiny, short little period of time," Trump told Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio. He then stated his bunker visit was "more for an inspection," and that he'd been been to the bunker previously. He said he's gone "two and a half times," whatever that means.
Trump's bunker comments sounded a bit absurd to many people, including Jaye, which is why she decided to use the gift of song to hilariously call the president out on his suspicious story.
Jaye tweeted her video and made sure to tag Trump's Twitter handle — and the song has been quite a hit since. At the time of writing this piece, Jaye's tweet had more than 60,000 likes, and celebrities like Sophia Bush have even praised the blunt and catchy tune.
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Jaye is no stranger to writing songs about President Trump. On June 1, she also shared another potential hit, called "fuck this fucking president," which has been viewed 174,000 times.
In it, Jaye shares her true feelings about the president, and urges people to get out and vote for the November election.
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I only wish Jaye had been cranking out these political hits back in 2018, when former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was hiding in (or among) bushes. I bet "Bushes Boy" would have been a real banger.
Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, resigns to make room for a black board member
The co-founder of Reddit just put the rest of the tech world on notice.
Alexis Ohanian announced Friday(Opens in a new tab) that he was resigning his Reddit board seat, and "urged" the rest of the board to fill his spot with a new black board member. He will also be donating all future gains on his Reddit stock to "serve the black community," and is immediately giving $1 million to Colin Kaepernick's racial justice charity.
Yes, take that in. Ohanian just set the bar for using power and privilege for racial equity by transferring not only resources, but also power to people of color.
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The tech world has been looking for ways to support racial equality amid Black Lives Matter protests across the world. The leaders in efforts to promote diversity in tech say that one of the best ways tech leaders in particular can help is by investing in black businesses and venture funds, hiring black employees, and putting black people in positions of power within the tech world.
"Tech companies should be hiring [people of color] at all levels, from the board room to the boiler room," Rodney Sampson, a leader in tech diversity and founder of the accelerator OHUB(Opens in a new tab), said. "If you’re a venture-backed tech company, you should be looking to put someone black on your board of advisors."
Ohanian called his move "long overdue." He explained that he had made his decision so that he could answer his black daughter (Ohanian's wife is Serena Williams) when she asked: "What did you do?"
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Williams expressed support for her husband in a tweet that may have made this reporter choke up.
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In the background of Ohanian's actions are the stark realities of Reddit, which Ohanian said he founded "to help people find community and a sense of belonging." Anyone who has spent even a passing moment on Reddit knows that it can be a quagmire of divisive vitriol. Amid the protests, some Reddit communities protested what they see as Reddit's failure to take stronger action against hate speech on the platform by making their communities private. Ellen Pao, a former VC, and one-time interim CEO of Reddit who now runs a tech diversity organization, called out Reddit's hypocrisy on Twitter:
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There is, of course, no guarantee that Reddit leadership will take Ohanian up on his request to fill his seat with a black board member. But this is an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the tech and business world. Currently, around 11 percent of Fortune 100 board members are African American, according to a recent study(Opens in a new tab) by the Alliance for Board Diversity.
Mashable has reached out to Reddit to learn whether it intends to follow through with Ohanian's call to action, and Reddit said it would be responding "later today."
Trump lies about elderly protester injured by police, hits another new Twitter low
Every time you think Donald Trump has hit a new moral low, he manages to outdo himself.
On Tuesday morning, Twitter users saw yet another exceptionally distressing and unpresidential display from Trump. The president tweeted outlandish lies about Martin Gugino, the injured protester who was shoved to the ground by Buffalo police officers last week. Even for someone prone to spreading false conspiracy theories, this was a shocking thing to say.
After video of the Buffalo police officers pushing the 75-year-old man to the ground went viral, public outrage led to the suspension of two officers directly involved and the resignation of the 57 other officers(Opens in a new tab) from Buffalo New York's emergency response team. Those officers who resigned from the team remain on the force.
As Gugino — whose head could be seen smacking the pavement in the video and then was bleeding from his ears — remains in serious but stable condition, Trump suggested to nearly 82 million Twitter followers that the 75-year-old man was "an ANTIFA provocateur" who was trying to tamper with police equipment and exaggerated the severity of his fall.
"Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump tweeted.
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SEE ALSO:
Protesters turned Donald Trump's #BabyGate fence into something beautiful
The tweet not only publicly targets a citizen, but also attempts to destroy his reputation as a peaceful activist(Opens in a new tab). And though Trump continually flings insults and spreads misinformation on Twitter, many people were genuinely taken aback by the harmful nature of this conspiracy theory.
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Trump seems to have gotten this conspiracy theory in his head from One America News, the conservative, far-right news network that previously claimed Dr. Fauci had ties to the Deep State, George Soros, Bill Gates, and the Clintons(Opens in a new tab).
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Trump has proven time and again that he's not above lying to rile up his base and change the conversation. So it's imperative now more than ever that you research whatever he says before you even consider believing it.
Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for September 20
It's Tuesday, which means nothing for Quordle, and that's fine. In fact, it's fitting: Today's Quordle isn't exceptionally hard, but it's also not exceptionally easy. So if you need a hint, that's normal.
In fact, 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:
A semi-useful hint about today’s puzzle
Synonyms for all four words are in the following very strange sentence (in no particular order).
That bodybuilder can fake the qualities of a smaller person all he wants, but he's got ambitious aims if he thinks he can squeeze into the tiny space of that changing room without scraping his sternum.
Are there any double or triple letters in today’s Quordle words?
No.
Are any rare letters being used in today’s Quordle like Q or Z?
Sour Starbursts and French Pokémon: The 8 best tweets of the week
Though it seems like it was just New Year's Eve, we're now almost entirely through the month of January. That's pretty wild, right? Time, what a menace. Before you know it, it'll be summertime and, my friend, it won't be a moment too soon.
But for now, we've still got to wrap up the end of January and, you know, slog through the final weeks of winter and then get through spring and all that.
That in mind, it's been a good week for tweets to round out the month. While you wait for February, why not enjoy some good posts? We rounded up eight of our favorite tweets for you to enjoy this week, just like we always do. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.
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1.This is perhaps the best nickname I've ever heard.
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2. I need sour Starbursts right now. This is a fantastic idea.
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3. This one might mean nothing to you, but guess what? It means a lot to me.
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4. An obligatory dril tweet.
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5. And yet another dril tweet.
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6. I never imagined a French Pokémon before, but now I love the idea.
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7. Yes, this sounds like such a lovely vibe. No more considering, just being mindless.
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8. And finally, this is something that would stick with a person, for sure.
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You don't need us to tell you that 2020 was horny as heck. We spent months inside without human contact. Even when we ventured out, sex required immense caution and kissing might as well have been illegal. And because humanity has always been depraved, all these things just made us hornier.
TV did not help.
Without our usual outlets of dating, hookups, or even handshakes, every minor instance of physical touch on TV became unimaginably erotic. Obviously none of these shows were created with awareness of the world they'd be dropped into, but it really dialed up the stakes as we watched breathlessly from our couches.
Was TV exceptionally horny this year, or were we? Instead of an answer, let's make a list. Here are the 13 horniest TV moments of 2020.
1. The gaze, Normal People
Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) nearly killed us on "Normal People."Credit: enda bowe / Hulu
Spring TV's most egregious personal attack had to be Hulu's Normal People, based on the novel by Sally Rooney about two people who circle each other sexually and romantically for the better part of a decade. Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) start hooking up in their school days, and from the very first episode the actors exhibit remarkable chemistry. Where other shows thrive at hot and heavy, Normal People's sex scenes were truly intimate, using soft cinematography and spare sound to drive us entirely crazy.
The best part of this was that they actually explored different kinds of physical intimacy, and dealt with the awkwardness of miscommunicating both in bed and outside of it. In one episode, Connell slides his hand beneath the covers to pleasure Marianne, and then watches in quiet awe as she responds to his touch. In a scene where only one person is sexually stimulated, the other still clearly experiences a rush of adrenaline and emotion as he sees their connection laid bare on her face. -Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Hulu(Opens in a new tab)
2. Barista training, Love, Victor
Love, Victor’s underrated teen romance had plenty of age appropriate steaminess between any number of its characters and it reached peak horny in a scene so indicative of the show’s understanding of hormonal imaginations they used it as the sneak peek for what to expect in Season 1. This scene, of course, is the Barista Tutorial. In it, Victor’s love interest Benji teaches him how to make a cappuccino, a lesson Victor’s closeted brain transforms into a slow-mo, R&B scored sequence of pure desire. “’See how tight that is?” Benji asks as he presses ground coffee into the espresso maker. Victor can barely respond. He’s so focused on Benji’s damp lips and flexing biceps that it takes hot steamed milk exploding over them both (eyyy) to break the spell. -Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Hulu(Opens in a new tab)
3. Cake, Insecure
We know exactly what you two are giggling about.Credit: hbo
Insecure Season 4 is primarily about Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly's (Yvonne Orji) deteriorating friendship, but Molly and Andrew's (Alexander Hodge) relationship is still at the forefront. They struggle with miscommunication, time management, and some truly cringey racial ignorance from his brother — but before all that, in a flashback episode, these two are flying high.
Episode 2 catches up with Molly and Andrew before their unraveling, when they still made time for date night and couldn't stop undressing each other with their eyes. As they get ready to leave a restaurant, Andrew turns the flirt on and brings up "that cake I'm gonna have later." Cut to Molly biting her bedsheets (not that it keeps her quiet) and an ass slap I still can hear echoing through space and time. -P.K.
Where to watch: HBO(Opens in a new tab)
4. Absolutely all of the kinky shit in Too Hot To Handle
Francesca and Harry of 'Too Hot To Handle' doing a uh... "bonding" exercise.Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
I’ll admit, most of Netflix’s dating reality show Too Hot To Handle — which tasked a whole bunch of sexy bimbos with not doing the nasty, lest they have some of the group’s shared prize money docked — was more cringe-worthy than horny. (Turns out, a televised experiment in celibacy feels very 2000s reality, and not in a fun Survivor way.)
That said, I must also admit: the kinky stuff with the light-up watches, revenge shower makeouts, and always watching AI assistant Lana? P hot. The true height of trashy TV in 2020, Too Hot To Handle dares to ask its audience to withstand a truly exhausting melodrama in the hopes of seeing its contrived premise end in a boink. And end in a boink it does, reader. End in a boink it does. -Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Netflix(Opens in a new tab)
5. A peach, The Great
According to Peter (Nicholas Hoult), Leo (Sebastian D'Souza, above) is well-endowed and sterile, an ideal lover.Credit: screenshot / hulu
Everyone on The Great was doing the nasty when not killing, getting drunk, or plotting a coup, but that wasn't initially true for our Empress Catherine (Elle Fanning) until the arrival of Leo (Sebastian De Souza), a gift from her husband ("It is thoughtful of me, I agree"). Catherine hates the idea initially, but finds herself charmed by Leo's kindness and intellect — qualities Peter (Nicholas Hoult) praised highly, along with certain other...assets.
Leo becomes Catherine's lover, friend, confidante, and eventually the actual recipient of her love — but it all started with a peach. In an overt attempt to win her over, he offers up this peach. "When you eat it, you should put it into your mouth, bite it once, tip your head back, and let the juice run into your throat," he says. It's a completely benign exchange, especially when you consider all they'll go on to do, but that's what captures Catherine's interest. Leo seduces her with sweetness both literal and figurative and their love begins at that very moment. -P.K.
Where to watch: Hulu(Opens in a new tab)
6. The possibility of Camille, Emily in Paris
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Emily in Paris is a very silly show about very silly people, none sillier than the small army of French men who trip over themselves for our unfathomably mediocre protagonist (Lily Collins). Yet no matter how many times Mindy (Ashley Park) emphasizes to Emily that French men only want sex (kind of stereotypical, Min, don't you think?), all of these men want to literally date and love her. The one time someone just wants to fuck, she's wildly insulted even though she enjoyed the sex.
No, Emily in Paris makes this list because there is nothing more sexually charged in the show that Emily's initial meeting with Camille (Camille Razat), a current pulsing throughout the show's entirety right up until Camille nervously builds up to asking Emily "a question" one day. The question? Not whether they want to run away to Versailles together or have that inevitable threesome with Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), so it doesn't matter what it was. What matters is that this could still happen — but knowing Emily's basic ass, we won't hold our breath. -P.K.
Where to watch: Netflix(Opens in a new tab)
7. Oscar dreams, Hollywood
And the award for Horniest Scene in "Hollywood" goes to...Credit: screenshot / netflix
Oh, Hollywood. With all the golden age boning going on in this show it’s hard to pick just one moment to encapsulate its dedication to the art of horndoggery. Nearly every character spends their days dreaming about having power of the star variety or otherwise, while their nights are spent crawling all over each other like a pack of meticulously-coiffed alley cats. Perhaps the scene that best captures both of these desires is the moment when Jack (David Corenswet) continues his sex work side gig with client Avis (Patti Lupone) after learning her husband is a titan of the film industry and gives her the business while staring longingly at the array of Academy Awards displayed over her head. Their dual desires for sex and acclaim are clear as day, and the show refuses to judge either of them for it. -A.N.
Where to watch: Netflix(Opens in a new tab)
8. Ruby breaks free, Lovecraft Country
Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) finds herself in a truly unique sexual situation.Credit: hbo
Preface this with the disclaimer that not all things horny are necessarily good, smart, or beneficial to the culture. Lovecraft Country had a lot of weird stuff going on in its inaugural season, including sex stuff, but the outright horniest (and most disturbing) moment was the metaphor-and-blood–drenched coupling of William/Christina (Chriswilliam?) and Ruby in Episode 8. Ruby’s unfortunate allegiance to Christina is couched in her desire for access to the privilege her body-swap potion bestows, and that desire emerges in the fury and anguish present when Ruby intentionally transforms from her white alter ego to her own self mid-orgasm. Ruby literally explodes from her false form, drenching William in the viscera of the potion’s violent aftereffects and can hardly catch her breath beneath him as they bind themselves together in lust and misguided... everything. -A.N.
Where to watch: HBO Max(Opens in a new tab)
9. Cabin makeout, The Flight Attendant
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Before she wakes up next to his corpse, Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) has an exhilarating night with Alex (Michael Huisman), better known to her fellow flight attendants as 3C. But before the stunning gold dress, the infinity pool, and the hotel suite, and all that blood... there was the first class cabin where it all started — where a little eye-fucking in the aisle led them to make out in a bathroom at 30,000 feet. Damn, R.I.P. Alex. -P.K.
Where to watch: HBO Max(Opens in a new tab)
10. The master bedroom, Bly Manor
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Dani (Victoria Pedretti) and Jamie (Amelia Eve) may have been the grand, sweeping love story of Bly Manor, but they were not its horniest residents, dead or alive. That honor goes to Rebecca Jessup (Tahirah Sharif) and Peter Quint (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), the governess and driver who were drawn to each other before Dani arrived at Bly and whose affair led to tragedy. Mrs. Grose (T'Nia Miller) hints at the relationship's toxic elements, but the show mostly depicts a sexy fantasy cut short by the lady in the lake, like everything else.
At the peak of their passion, Rebecca and Peter have amazing physical chemistry. They kiss with the urgency of two people who know they're about to be hunted by a murderous ghost who doesn't know her own name, and they steal away to make out and make love at every opportunity. The best by far is in the otherwise very creepy master bedroom in the forbidden wing, where they are undoubtedly being watched by generations of racist ghosts. Beneath its coverings, the room boasts the kind of obvious wealth that both Rebecca and Peter deeply desire. She takes off her blouse and dons an extravagant fur, and things are just heating up when Mrs. Grose arrives to shut it down. -P.K.
Where to watch: Netflix(Opens in a new tab)
11. The fantasy of Paxton, Never Have I Ever
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Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher's Never Have I Ever wore its horniness on its sleeve from the very first trailer(Opens in a new tab). There's nothing revolutionary about sexually frustrated teenagers, but Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) made waves as the first openly horny South Asian teen on mainstream television — not to mention that she was foulmouthed, grieving, and a bit of a dick.
Devi views her crush Paxton (Darren Barnet) through what we might call a porno lens; he first appears on the show while exiting a pool in slow-motion,(Opens in a new tab) and later in the pilot Devi asks him to have sex with her, no strings attached. The next episode opens with Devi vividly dreaming of Paxton showing up at her house and declaring "I'm here to have sex with you." He rips off his t-shirt in one criminally smooth motion, then proceeds to whisper sweet nothings to her like "Your body looks so good in that oversize t-shirt" and "Is that dandruff shampoo?" as he longingly sniffs her scrunchy. He calls her as beautiful as Priyanka Chopra with the incisive intellect of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Sorry, I retract that "porno lens" thing. This is porn. -P.K.
Where to watch: Netflix(Opens in a new tab)
12. The constant sexual tension on Run
Excuse me? Put this look away, there are children on the train!Credit: hbo
Even if the show fizzled out by season's end, Run made an absolute meal of the sexual tension between Ruby (Merritt Weaver) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson). We have no idea what their deal is in episode 1 (and their deal ends up being fairly straightforward), but we know that they will simply not survive if they can't bang soon, and neither will we. When they first meet up, Ruby is so overcome by a minor interaction, by the light roleplay of pretending not to know each other, that she quickly excuses herself to masturbate in a train bathroom. Message received! -P.K.
Where to watch: HBO(Opens in a new tab)
13. John's first party, Brave New World
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Peacock's supremely horny original was canceled after one season, but you can still watch it online. Characters in the show's futuristic society don't believe in emotions or monogamy; they have sex at random and are actually admonished for forming attachment to any one partner.
In episode 5, Bernard (Harry Lloyd) takes John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich) to a lavish party, where he is at once summoned by the host Helm (Hannah John-Kamen), who by her own proclamation wants to fuck. But since the "savages" require more emotional connection ("It's a deficiency," Bernard says sympathetically), John tells Helm a story so they can flirt for a while. As he piques her interest and desire, the party downstairs transitions — as they all do — into an orgy, with great circles of guests pulsating and sighing together in various states of undress while Helm and John climax. This might be the scene that inspired this whole list — a mighty legacy indeed. -P.K.
Where to watch: Peacock(Opens in a new tab)
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A fish with thick lips and teeth has the internet disturbed
Listen: We're all a little bored and going a little stir-crazy, what with much of the world locked down amid a global pandemic.
So yes, people did get really fascinated with a fish that had nice lips.
Specifically, people really enjoyed this lipped and toothed fish posted by the Twitter user Raff_Nasir earlier in July.
"Her lips are hotter than mine," the tweet reads in Indonesian.
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The post with the odd fish — identified by Vice(Opens in a new tab) as a triggerfish — went viral, racking up more than 14,000 likes. While yes, the a triggerfish can have human-like teeth(Opens in a new tab), they aren't typically this, well, nice.
The New York Post(Opens in a new tab) even went as far as to say it... aroused... social media. The internet, of course, responded by meme-ing the hell out of the be-lipped fish and making lots of jokes. Here are a few:
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Well.... alright then. There is your fish with teeth news for the day.
Mashable's seriesTech in 2025explores how the challenges of today will dramatically change the near future.
Annika Kapur used to go to the gym five or six days a week.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Stuck at home, she started using Tempo Studio. The nearly $2,000 fitness machine features a 42-inch display, room for 16 weight plates, and a 3D sensor that gives users feedback on their form.
"For the first month, I felt like, 'Wow, I never need to go to the gym again,'" Kapur said.
Not into lifting weights? Former gym rats can buy smart rowers, boxing gloves, mirrors, kettlebells, and even vertical climbing machines(Opens in a new tab). And, of course, there is Peloton, which just released a new exercise bike and treadmill and saw sales increase by 172 percent(Opens in a new tab) over the last fiscal quarter.
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Meanwhile, gyms and other fitness studios are struggling. Since the pandemic began, both 24 Hour Fitness(Opens in a new tab) and Gold's Gym(Opens in a new tab) filed for bankruptcy protections, and YogaWorks(Opens in a new tab) permanently closed its New York City locations. And those are large chains, which are typically better prepared to ride out a pandemic than a small, independent studio.
Some people are scared to go to the gym — and for good reason. Wiping down fitness equipment with disinfectant isn't enough to protect people.
"I would be more worried about how long microscopic respiratory particles linger in the air," said Henry F. Raymond, associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
Raymond suggests looking for a gym that takes health precautions. That could include crowd limits and spacing machines at least 6 feet apart.
Still, some people won't be comfortable working out indoors until a vaccine becomes available. And that provides an opportunity for tech companies.
The future of working out
In past decades, consumers may have bought treadmills and exercise bikes only to watch them become places to hang laundry. Why should this new generation of devices be any different?
First of all, users can regularly download and stream new content. They can analyze their performance over time. And they can get recommendations from AI and human trainers.
"That makes it a lot more appealing and engaging for end users," said Jonathan Collins, smart home research director at tech market advisory firm ABI Research. "It's something they will use, rather a piece of equipment that just sits in the corner."
Kapur, a mother of two in San Anselmo, California, loved Tempo's interactive challenges and leaderboards, which let her compare her accomplishments with others users.
"When I first bought the machine, I was using it for probably an hour and a half a day," she said. "I would happily stand in front of it for ages and try like three or four classes."
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New classes and workouts keep users engaged, and their subscription money flowing. After dropping around $2,000, Tempo owners are expected to spend an additional $39 a month for a membership, which gives them access to live and on-demand classes and the company's AI trainer. Peloton's all-access membership also costs $39 a month. Mirror charges the same amount.
Those monthly fees add up — but they're comparable to gym membership fees, which, in large cities, can exceed $100 a month.
There are cheaper options out there. Apple's new Fitness+, for instance, costs $9.99 a month, and "only" requires an Apple Watch Series 3 or above. And plenty of fitness apps require no equipment at all.
If COVID-19 doesn't relent (and there are plenty of reasons to believe it'll stick around for a while), it's easy to see how smart fitness equipment sales might grow.
And there plenty of ways the technology might develop. Collins suggested that future fitness equipment might be better integrated with other smart home devices. Imagine an exercise bike communicating with Nest and lowering the temperature when someone is in the middle of an intense workout. Or a smart mirror adjusting a smart speaker to blare the perfect tunes for a virtual HIIT class.
Obviously, people who live in small city apartments (hello!) don't have the room to build an entire smart home gym. But in the suburbs, they can be set up in a garage or spare bedroom.
That doesn't mean gyms and yoga studios are doomed. Human beings are social creatures. For many people, going to CrossFit is as much about making friends as it is getting jacked. And here's the problem with virtual trainers: You can pause them and walk away.
"After a while, I realized like, I think I need somebody staring at me, because I'm cheating now," Kapur said. She'd pause the workout and look at her phone. Or maybe not squat as deeply as she would if classmates or a real-life instructor was watching. So her plan now is to return to the gym, but keep the Tempo Studio and use it about three times per week.
The market for smart stationary bikes, treadmills, and other devices looks bright. But even the most advanced algorithm can't match the motivational power of a judgmental friend.
As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, you might start seeing more sunflower emojis 🌻 online — a subtle nod of solidarity with Ukraine, the country's national flower.
In a remarkable video from last week that is making the rounds online, a Ukrainian woman approached a heavily-armed Russian soldier and offered him sunflower seeds to put in his pocket. She hoped they would bloom when he died.
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"Who are you?" the woman asked. The soldier told her to go away, according to a translation from BBC News(Opens in a new tab).
She asked if he was Russian, and he said yes. "So what the fuck are you doing here?" she asked. The soldier asked her to leave, again, saying their "discussion will lead to nothing."
"You are occupants, you are fascists!" the woman said. "What the fuck are you doing on our land with all these guns? Take these seeds and put them in your pockets, so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here."
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Russia's war on social media isn't going well, either
He responded by repeating that the discussion isn't going anywhere, and said he doesn't want to "escalate this situation."
"What situation?" she asked. "Guys, guys. Put the sunflower seeds in your pockets please. You will lie down here with the seeds. You came to my land? Do you understand? You are occupiers. You are enemies."
The Russian soldier said he understood.
"And from this moment, you are cursed," the woman said. "I’m telling you."
He once again said he didn't want to "escalate" the situation.
"How can it be further escalated?" she asked. "You fucking came here uninvited. Pieces of shit."
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Twitter users are adding the sunflower(Opens in a new tab) emoji to the end of their names(Opens in a new tab), but the use of the emoji as a sign of solidarity doesn't stop on that platform. On one Reddit post(Opens in a new tab) about a report that Russia’s Chechen general Magomed Tushayev was apparently killed in Ukraine, one of the top comments reads: "May his corpse become the fertilizer for dozens of sunflowers." Users responded with the sunflower emoji.
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The sunflower is Ukraine's national flower, and it's fairly common for national symbols like flowers, animals, and flags to become a signal of solidarity(Opens in a new tab) and strength online during difficult times for nations. Research from The Conversation(Opens in a new tab) shows that after the November 2015 Paris attacks, the most common support emoji were flags from countries like the UK 🇬🇧 and the U.S. 🇺🇸, alongside the French flag 🇫🇷. But other emoji were used to talk about what was going on, like the red circle 🔴 or the red phone ☎️ to indicate danger and information. During Hurricane Irma, according to The Conversation, the red heart ❤️ and the blue heart 💙 were used to express solidarity, along with animal emojis like 🐈, 🐕 and 🐷 to express concern for the pets lost during the crisis.
So it comes as no surprise that the crisis in Ukraine would result in a social media emoji sign of support on its own.
Now, if you see the sunflower emoji online it may mean something more than just a flower.
Unfounded conspiracy theory accuses Wayfair of bonkers, Pizzagate-level trafficking ring
It wasn't totally odd, at face value, that furniture site Wayfair was trending on Twitter on Friday. Maybe the retailer was having a giant sale?
Unfortunately, Wayfair elbowed its way into the trending column with tens of thousands of tweets because of a much stranger situation.
It boils down to this: Conspiracy theorists were purporting that the site — or third-party sellers on the site — were secretly part of a child trafficking ring. This theory appears to have started, as many do, on Reddit's r/conspiracy subreddit.
Before we proceed, there is no hard evidence to support that this far-fetched theory is even remotely true. Also, child trafficking is a horrific crime and conspiracy theories like this one turn a dangerous issue into a joke, distracting from the real reasons(Opens in a new tab) child trafficking flourishes.
It all started when a user posted a screenshot of high-priced cabinets listed on Wayfair's site on Thursday, noting that the names of some of the cabinets were the same as the names of missing children. (We're not adding too much detail on the children's names in this post out of respect for families with missing kids.)
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Reached for comment, Wayfair said it removed the cabinets from their site to stamp out the rumors.
"There is, of course, no truth to these claims," a representative wrote to Mashable in a statement. "The products in question are industrial grade cabinets that are accurately priced. Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price point, we have temporarily removed the products from site to rename them and to provide a more in-depth description and photos that accurately depict the product to clarify the price point."
Again, it is very, very unlikely Wayfair or any of its sellers are at the center of a child trafficking ring. Rather, this is just another chapter in the internet's long-running history of inventing scary, far-fetched conspiracies that frequently involve child trafficking.
"Pizzagate/QAnon people have Wayfair trending today," tweeted NBC News' Ben Collins. "They falsely claim price glitches on storage boxes prove that the company is trafficking children. This took off because of a post on Reddit's r/conspiracy subreddit yesterday, which is a clearinghouse for anonymous paranoia."
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A cursory Twitter search for Wayfair and key QAnon words — like "storm"(Opens in a new tab) — reveal that, yes, QAnon folks are driving a lot of the conversation about the theory. If you don't know about QAnon, the basic gist is that it's a pro-Trump conspiracy movement that believes the president is going to publicly expose a massive pedophile ring.
Still, it wasn't long before the conspiracies spread from Reddit to Twitter to TikTok and so on. People online scoured through other listings, finding exorbitantly expensive pillows and shower curtains. Once again, they tried to connect these listings to missing kids.
Reached for comment about these other products, a Wayfair representative told Mashable: "I can confirm that is a glitch and something we're working to address."
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As Vox reported last year(Opens in a new tab), Wayfair functions as a middleman of sorts selling items from its roughly 11,000 suppliers but not actually manufacturing the items. Many products get sorted into "house brands," which function as a way of organizing the massive selection, but the same product can end up on multiple pages, from different sellers, at different prices, due to dynamic pricing determined by an algorithm.
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While this conspiracy theory is unfounded, Wayfair is no stranger to internet controversy. Many people online(Opens in a new tab) don't trust Wayfair. About this time last year, employees staged a walkout to protest the company selling some $200,000 in beds(Opens in a new tab) and furniture to a detention center in Texas housing migrant children, which only added to the conspiracies.
As with most conspiracies, the Wayfair theory morphed with time on Friday, growing all sorts of tentacles. People began theorizing — again without a morsel of evidence — that somehow ICE was working with Wayfair to sell kids in sex trafficking rings.
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Meanwhile, the Redditor who sparked this whole thing with the original post — identified only by their username PrincessPeach1987 — told (Opens in a new tab)Newsweek(Opens in a new tab) they weren't really making an accusation against Wayfair, but rather seeing "if anyone else had more details."
People spreading the theory on Reddit and Twitter have urged folks to search product codes on a Russian search engine, claiming it turns up inappropriate pictures of kids — but any random number reportedly turns up(Opens in a new tab) these kinds of results.
Again, the internet has churned out a wild, potentially hurtful conspiracy theory that caught fire with scant evidence. Just another day online. People find a coincidence, or something odd, then twist and dig for more coincidences, and before you know it, people are jumping to wild conclusions. And sure, most coincidences or oddities have benign explanations — but that's never stopped internet sleuths looking for something more.
I've got to be honest, I didn't think we would make it. Around Wednesday I simply resigned myself to the fact that I was in some sort of time loop situation. The week would never end and I would stumble through some timeless empty space. But here we are. Friday. How about that?
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Anyway, we collected some good tweets to celebrate the end of this week. The hope is that you can get some laughs. So please enjoy, the 13 best tweets of the week.
1. Wow, this is really dead on.
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2. I feel so, so seen by this.
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3. This is a perfect idea. No notes at all.
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4. Oh GREAT, what's next?!
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5. Oh heck yeah, I am into this kind of crypto.
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6. This is a perfect date, sounds like a great time.
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7. What...what is happening here?
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8. The phrase "Uncle's Choice" is beautiful to me.
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9. An obligatory dril tweet.
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10. Also no.
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11. Yep, someone sure does. This fella has been getting away with it for far too long.
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12. Absolutely love a biiiiiiiiiig stretch. Makes my day, every day.
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13. And finally, this.
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Tinder and Peacock partner up to help you find a boo this October
Cuffing season is officially here — and for some daters, that might be a scarier prospect than Halloween. Thankfully, dating app Tinder and streaming service Peacock are partnering up to help people find a "boo" this month.
Tinder and Peacock are partnering up for Halloween.Credit: Tinder and Peacock
From now until October 31, Tinder users can access an exclusive Peacock discount in the app. Users will also receive TV and movie pairings depending on what kind of date night you're looking for.
If you're "looking for a boo," Tinder and Peacock recommend recent scary movies They/Them, The Black Phone, and Insidious. Should you be "down to fright," recommendations include movies Halloween Ends, the Saw franchise, or the Chucky series. And if you're more the type to "laugh yourself to death," you can curl up with classic comedies like The Office, Parks and Recreation, or Brooklyn 99.
Meeting new people is scary enough — now you won't have to worry about sorting out date night.
Ever wondered what you'd look like in comic book-form?
Well, wonder no more. The latest TikTok filter that's doing the rounds, called AI Manga, will turn an image of you – or another photo on your phone – into something that looks like it's been plucked straight from a graphic novel.
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What is the TikTok AI Manga filter?
You've probably already seen it popping up in your feed, but it's pretty much exactly what you're imagining — a tool that takes an image and quickly generates a cartoon version of that image in the style of Japanese Manga comics.
Millions of videos have been created using the effect, which has seen people not only transforming themselves, but also using the app to go "ghost hunting" around their homes(Opens in a new tab).
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How do you use the AI Manga filter?
It's quick and easy to make your own AI Manga images on TikTok. Here are the steps:
Open up TikTok on your phone, then hit the Create button.
In the bottom-left corner, tap Effects
Type "AI Anime" in the search bar, then tap on the Effect titled "AI Manga"
Credit: TikTok
Once you've selected the Effect, you can either upload a photo to TikTok or just tap the screen and voila! A loading wheel will appear, and a few seconds later the image will be transformed.
If you want to know more about using filters on TikTok, here's our how-to guide.
