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Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 11

2023-03-19 06:21:01 author:dointy.com
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Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 11

Quordle maniacs — you, in other words — have to respect a nice, difficult Quordle. After all, you asked for four Quordles at the same time. You had to expect there might be days like this.

Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 11(图1)

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?

No.

Are any rare letters being used in today’s Quordle like Q or Z?

No.

What do today’s Quordle words start with?

M, R, U, and L.

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:

  1. MASON

  2. REIGN

  3. UNIFY

  4. LEASH

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    Credit: simon & schuster

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    7. Man Up Apparel(Opens in a new tab)

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    (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

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    11. Vegard(Opens in a new tab)

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    13. The Wizard Tailor(Opens in a new tab)

    @thewizardtailor(Opens in a new tab)

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    Unless the person you message has read receipts turned on, you likely won't be able to tell when, or if, they've had a chance to read your texts. If you picture someone being too busy to stop and look at their phones — as I'm sure my friend was doing with me — it's easy to rationalize delayed responses. But if a person you've messaged posts to social media before replying to you, their silence in DMs is often taken as a slap in the face.

    The common thought process here is that if someone has the time to casually be online, then they must have time to reply to your text. If they're on social media, they're clearly using technology, so why can't they take a few extra minutes to answer you?

    On the surface, this logic makes sense. But it's not always as simple as someone failing to carve out time. People might be posting to social media during a quick break from work, they could be using social media to distract themselves from daily dread, or they might quickly post something in the presence of other people and not have the time to devote to texting. There's also the chance that they just might have forgotten to reply.

    When my friend called me out for not answering her, I replied honestly. I explained that for me, posting on social media requires much less effort than engaging in a personal conversation. I told her I was taking the weekend to recharge my social batteries, and she was super understanding. We ended up having a really productive conversation about how texting isn't always as easy as it sounds.

    Sometimes self-care means not texting back right away

    Depending on the conversation topic and where you're at in life mentally/emotionally, chatting with people can be challenging.

    Reminding myself that texts like, "How are you?" can demand significantly more detailed responses than than texts like, "Have you watched Better Call Saul yet?" helps me understand and justify delayed responses. And acknowledging that mindlessly scrolling through Twitter or posting photos of food can be easier than talking about your life helped me accept that it's perfectly fine to use social media in between receiving and answering texts.

    How have I been? What a stacked question. Credit: screenshot / nicole gallucci

    Sometimes self-care means not texting back right away, and that became extraordinarily clear to me this year amid the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd protests.

    When my mind was racing to grapple with all the new coronavirus social distancing guidelines, medical research, and death tolls, I had trouble replying to texts in a timely manner. I did, however, find some semblance of calm on Instagram, and I continued sharing informative updates on Twitter.

    And after George Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes, I barely texted anyone for days. I took time to watch protests spread around the world; to read books and articles, and to watch films to further educate myself on the history of racism and police brutality. I made an effort to donate to organizations, sign petitions, and support black-owned businesses.

    Though I didn't feel ready to reply to non-urgent texts for a full week, I felt it was imperative that I continue to use my social media platforms to help raise awareness on the issues at hand and share invaluable resources.

    Exceptions to the rule

    If you're not in the right mindset to reply to text messages immediately, you shouldn't. Prioritizing your mental health is important. But you should also choose which texts to leave hanging on a case-by-case basis.

    Always keep a message's content and urgency in mind. If someone's asking a question that requires an immediate response, do your best to respond in a timely fashion. And if someone needs help, you obviously shouldn't ignore them.

    Wait a bit, but don't ghost people forever. Credit: vicky leta / mashable

    If you wait to text back, be sure to acknowledge and apologize for the delay when you do get around to it. You can even be upfront with people and let them know upon receiving their message that you need a day or two to get back to them — that way you can relax without the unanswered text lingering in the back of your mind. Be honest with people if you're too overwhelmed to chat, but please avoid using that viral text reply template.

    And remember, there's definitely a difference between waiting until you feel emotionally ready to text someone back and straight-up ghosting them. Don't ghost people, that's rude as hell.

    Be kind to yourself and others

    Ultimately, it's crucial to keep in mind that you never know exactly what someone is going through when they receive your text messages.

    Cut yourself, and others, some slack, and try not to read too much into text delays — even if you see people posting on social media before they've replied. (If the wait really bothers you, you can always confront them about it. And you might end up having an eye-opening talk like I did with my friend.)

    As someone who's avoided replying to family members and friends I absolutely adore because of sheer emotional exhaustion, I can tell you that delays aren't always ill-intentioned. Sometimes people are just overwhelmed.

  • Now you can identify plants and pooches right in Snapchat

    Now you can identify plants and pooches right in Snapchat

    Have you ever seen a dog so adorable or a plant so lush out in the wild that you had to know what it was right then and there?

    (图1)

    Snap announced new partnerships on Thursday with the apps Dog Scanner(Opens in a new tab) and PlantSnap(Opens in a new tab) that will allow Snapchat users to do just that. Snapchatters can identify dogs or plants they encounter in the real world by scanning them right in Snapchat.

    When you press and hold on the camera screen in Snapchat, lenses that are relevant to what the camera is pointing at are unlocked. For example, if I point and hold the camera on my dog right now, lenses that put sunglasses or heart eyes specifically formatted for the shape face of a dog appear.

    Now, if you point the camera at a particularly Good Boy you see, you can access a lens that tells you what breed the dog is, using the data and A.I. of Dog Scanner, which recognizes nearly 400 dog breeds (my dog would get 100 percent purebred mutt). And if you focus your lens on a tree, bush or bud that catches your eye, you'll be able to identify 90 percent of known plants and trees with the PlantSnap integration.

    Gotta snap that plant!!! Credit: snap

    Snap announced the new features at the Snap Partner Summit, which it held virtually Thursday.

    The ability to identify two of earth's best things — dogs and plants — through your smartphone, of course already exists; Dog Scanner and PlantSnap are standalone apps. But it's helpful that the capability comes within Snapchat itself if you're either someone who uses the app frequently already, or doesn't want to have to download a new app for each object you want your smartphone to help identify.

    Plus, more categories are coming soon. An upcoming integration with the food and cosmetics scanning app Yuka(Opens in a new tab) will let Snapchatters unlock nutrition facts when they point and hold the camera at a food item. Snap already lets you point and hold to identify a song through Shazam, solve math problems with Photomath, and identify (and shop for) products sold on Amazon.

    The dog and plant integrations are the sort of typically playful and fun feature that Snapchat is known for. However, the lens product also holds opportunity for further monetization for the company, as Snap CEO Evan Spiegel pointed out during a Q&A with reporters. For example, Snap unveiled a partnership with Louis Vuitton that allows users to point and hold on the monogram logo, which then takes users to content about their new collection. It's easy to see how — similar to the Amazon integration — this could lead to not just brand content and awareness, but shopping.

    Snap made some other announcements around lenses for both developers and users Thursday. It's making more lens development templates available, such as ways to interact with — wait for it — feet (this could enable experiences like virtually trying on shoes).

    On the user side, pointing and holding in a neighborhood will now unlock "local lenses," which lets users actually decorate buildings and other landmarks in AR. It's kind of like a shared street art experience, in which users build on each other's creations, that anyone in the physical space can access.

    Snapchat's innovation in AR has helped the company keep its creative edge, even as companies like Facebook continually try to copy it. The biggest trouble with Snapchat's AR products is keeping track of all the things the app can do in a sometimes difficult to navigate lens ecosystem. But with a new voice search feature and a souped up Activity Bar, also announced Thursday, Snap's working on that, too.

  • Fox News used doctored images to, uh, report on Seattle protests

    Fox News used doctored images to, uh, report on Seattle protests

    A protest against the police killing of George Floyd and police brutality in Seattle has been mostly characterized by drum circles, speakers(Opens in a new tab) and movie screenings. But if you only tuned into Fox News for coverage of these demonstrations, you might think it was full of burning buildings and armed guards.

    (图1)

    On Friday, Fox News published several digitally altered images of the demonstrations on its website, which the Seattle Times caught(Opens in a new tab). It's not clear who is responsible for tweaking the images.

    One photo, shown on Fox's homepage on Friday, placed a man with a rifle standing in front of a sign that reads "You are now entering Free Cap Hill." The street scene and the man who appears in it come from two different photos, taken more than a week apart.

    The sign in that photo refers to the newly-dubbed Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, a stretch of six blocks set up by protesters in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood to create "a police-free" independent zone, The Guardian reported(Opens in a new tab). It was established after the Seattle police abandoned a precinct in the neighborhood(Opens in a new tab) and converted the area into a festival-like space.

    The conservative outlet also published a photo of a person running past a fiery building and car to accompany stories on the Seattle protest. The headline read "CRAZY TOWN." The photo is actually from St. Paul, Minn. and was taken on May 30, according to the Seattle Times.

    After the Times reached out to Fox News about the photos, they were removed. But a Fox News spokeswoman also said the following, "We have replaced our photo illustration with the clearly delineated images of a gunman and a shattered storefront, both of which were taken this week in Seattle’s autonomous zone.”

    The Times pushed back on this statement writing in its article that "the gunman photo was taken June 10, while storefront images it was melded with were datelined May 30 by Getty Images."

    Though, as the Times reports, the demonstration has seen armed protesters it is nothing like the scene Fox attempted to purport with its misleading use of images.

    As a photojournalism ethics educator told the Times, "I think it’s disgraceful propaganda and terribly misrepresentative of documentary journalism in times like this, when truth-telling and accountability is so important,” said Kenny Irby. “There is no attribution. There is no acknowledgment of the montage, and it’s terribly misleading.”

    On Saturday, Fox News appended an editor's note to the stories featuring altered images expressing regret for "these errors."

    A FoxNews.com home page photo collage which originally accompanied this story included multiple scenes from Seattle’s “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” and of wreckage following recent riots. The collage did not clearly delineate between these images, and has since been replaced. In addition, a recent slideshow depicting scenes from Seattle mistakenly included a picture from St. Paul, Minnesota. Fox News regrets these errors.

    UPDATE: June 13, 2020, 4:06 p.m. EDT Added the editor's note that's been appended to stories on the Fox News website featuring the misleading images.

  • In honor of Trumps birthday, people tweet praise for Obama

    In honor of Trumps birthday, people tweet praise for Obama

    Donald Trump turned 74 on Sunday. So, naturally, people celebrated the occasion by tweeting about the person who perhaps gets under his skin the most: Barack Obama. (Sunday was also Flag Day, but we feel like that wasn't the impetus here.)

    (图1)

    The former president trended on the platform(Opens in a new tab) for much of the day, frequently under hashtags like #BarackObamaDay, #ObamaDayUSA, and #ObamaDayJune14th. Users tweeted corny praise for the former president alongside statements about Trump's incompetence. Some were oblique: "Smart intelligence leadership. I miss that every day," one person wrote. Others were more pointed: "Best president in my lifetime. Right @realdonaldtrump? You're the worst," wrote another(Opens in a new tab).

    Still others made references to Saturday's ramp fiasco, when Trump stepped gingerly down a ramp after his West Point graduation speech, got made fun of, then lied about it being slippery in a later tweet. One user, for example, tweeted a photo(Opens in a new tab) of Obama walking down a "slippery wet sidewalk."

    SEE ALSO: Michelle Obama to 2020 graduates: 'Finish the work the generations before you have started'

    While not explicitly related to Obama, #AllBirthdaysMatter — a troll-y reference to the dismissive slogan "All lives matter,"(Opens in a new tab) which is often employed in attempts to discredit the Black Lives Matter movement — also trended briefly above Trump's birthday. Of course, the K-pop fans participated.

    Like most Resistance Twitter(Opens in a new tab) trends, the tweets skewed largely corny, were very reductive, and suffered from an overuse of hashtags. But Trump also takes the bait on this kind of thing all the time, so perhaps it genuinely bothered him. In any event, we're sure the Krassenstein brothers(Opens in a new tab) would be proud.

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  • I used to wash my face with dish soap. Heres my attempt at a skincare routine.

    I used to wash my face with dish soap. Heres my attempt at a skincare routine.

    When I tell you I horrified my coworkers, I mean I horrified my coworkers.

    (图1)

    I am almost too ashamed to say why. Almost.

    But fuck it: On occasion, I used to wash my face with dish soap. This wasn’t a daily routine, mind you, but rather something I’d do if my face was feeling especially greasy or dirty.

    So yeah, friends, coworkers, my own fiancée — “Tim, that is not something you tell people” — were all disturbed that I’d scrub down my face with Dawn and Palmolive. But I didn’t mind. I was part of the Skincare Darkweb (™), and I did not need the internet’s overwrought, fancy routines involving serums, creams, masks, and other things I didn’t understand.

    A sample of my coworkers' utter disbelief in my skincare choices. Credit: Tim Marcin / Slack Screenshot / Mashable

    To be fair, beyond perpetually red cheeks, I’ve been lucky enough to have relatively clear skin my whole life. Even in my teenage years, I didn't have much acne. I never went to a dermatologist. So, my entire adult life, my skincare routine consisted of basically washing my face and body (and, in college, hair) with whatever body wash happened to be in the shower.

    I picked up the dish soap maneuver from an article by Amanda Mull in Mel Magazine(Opens in a new tab), which presented the idea as an utterly hinged thing a man did. Mull wrote that it was(Opens in a new tab) "for lack of a better description, fucking wild."

    "I just want to point out that they use over-the-counter dish soap to clean animals that get caught in oil spills!" said the man(Opens in a new tab) identified only as a 33-year-old named Barry. "If it’s good enough for them, it’s more than good enough for me."

    That made sense to me. So I did it. I'm not sorry.

    To be clear: I didn't think my dish soap routine was necessarily good or right, I just didn't care to do anything else. With time — and after internalizing the horror of people smarter than me — I decided maybe I was being shortsighted. Or at least I should try something else. It's probably not ideal to have absolutely no skincare routine. I didn't think I'd ever be a person to have an elaborate, 20-minute skincare ordeal, but it might be worth seeing if basic products and a simple routine was better than Dawn.

    So I hit up an expert. Well, I hit up an expert who knows experts, Mashable's own Chloe Bryan, who was well aware of, and disturbed by, my fucked up skincare habits. She was happy — nay relieved — to help, which led to me getting in touch with Dr. Jeremy Fenton(Opens in a new tab) at the Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York.

    Credit: Slack Screenshot / Mashable

    First: Dr. Fenton wasn't really horrified about my dish soap practice. He sounded more incredulous, like why the hell would one even think to do that.

    "Dish soap is designed to be extremely efficient at removing grease, which is oil," he explained. "It's not designed to be gentle on your skin. It's designed to be harsh on your pots and pans."

    In short: Stripping that much oil off your face runs the risk of making your face more sensitive to irritation. It could also alter the pH of you face, making your skin less acidic and less protective.

    Thankfully, Dr. Fenton broke down the basics of what I should do instead. I'd need a face wash, a moisturizer, zinc sunscreen, and a retinol. I'd wash my face twice a day, moisturize at least twice per day, use sunscreen every day, and use retinol every other day.

    For the face wash and moisturizer, Dr. Fenton told me I didn't need to go wild and spend big bucks. He recommended three major brands: Neutrogena, Cetaphil, and CeraVe. None of the products were super expensive and the face washes came in different styles for dry or oily skin.

    "I usually tell people: You don't need a fancy face wash. You just need something gentle to cleanse the skin twice a day," Dr. Fenton said. "And moisturizer is obviously important. Again, I usually tell people, if your goal is simply to moisturize your skin, you don't need to spend a lot of money."

    After a bit of perusing, I ordered Neutrogena face wash ($5.97)(Opens in a new tab) and Cetaphil moisturizer ($12.88)(Opens in a new tab) from Amazon. I wish I were joking but I was shocked — legit shocked — to learn there are face-specific moisturizers. I used to just slap on Vaseline aloe lotion(Opens in a new tab) whenever my face felt particularly dry. (By the way, I still contend that is a very good lotion.)

    My face wash. Credit: Amazon / screenshot
    My moisturizer. Credit: Amazon / Screenshot

    The place where you might have to spend a bit more cash, Dr. Fenton said, was buying retinol — a serum that(Opens in a new tab) should smooth and refine your skin's texture — and sunscreen, which are both helpful for anti-aging. And, yes, Rihanna is correct(Opens in a new tab). Dr. Fenton insisted I apply sunscreen every single day.

    "You just make it part of your normal routine, whether or not it's raining, cloudy, winter, if you're just going outside for a minute," Dr. Fenton said, adding even if you're just by a window you need sunscreen. He suggested an at least 30 SPF sunscreen that has zinc oxide as its only active ingredient.

    "Zinc oxide gives you broad spectrum coverage, it doesn't degrade in sunlight, and it's the least irritating," Dr. Fenton explained.

    This, too, was a complete lifestyle shift. I'm white, but relatively olive-skinned from my Italian descent, and pretty much only wore sunscreen if I planned to sit on the beach all day. Even then, I usually would go with SPF 15 because I still wanted to get tan. I was blown away that, apparently, I was being reckless. Whoops.

    After buying sunscreen, I got a retinol, which I used every other evening because it sort of dried out my skin. Dr. Fenton said it was a powerful anti-aging tool.

    "Retinols have been proven to not only, in the short term, improve the appearance of the skin by exfoliating, removing some pigment irregularities, [and make] fine lines and wrinkles look better — but over the long term, it has been shown to help promote collagen production and improve skin recovery from damage," he said.

    I settled on buying a SPF 50 Neutrogena sunscreen ($10.97)(Opens in a new tab) and a CeraVe retinol serum ($16.97)(Opens in a new tab). In total, I spent $46.79. Dr. Fenton also suggested maybe trying out an antioxidant serum but that shit was way too expensive(Opens in a new tab) for my tastes.

    I'm not sure how long my four items will last me, but I've been doing the routine for a month now and I'm not even close to finishing any of the products. I feel like that's not a bad deal.

    My sunscreen. Credit: Amazon / Screenshot

    My retinol. Credit: Amazon / SCreenshot

    I followed Dr. Fenton's advice pretty religiously for about a month, although a couple of times I got mixed up and forgot which day I was supposed to apply the retinol.

    Going into it, I felt like having a routine was going to require more work. Perhaps that's because I'd read so much(Opens in a new tab) about skincare online and knew there was this whole complicated subculture. But washing my face twice a day, putting on a few creams, it didn't seem like too much. I'd say, in total, it was like five minutes of effort per day.

    Still, sometimes I'd be annoyed. I'd slide into bed and think "shit, I forgot to wash my face." I'd have to slink out to the bathroom and wash my face, then moisturize.

    OK, so did it work? I don't know, maybe?

    I did not notice any shocking changes in my face. But then again, acne has never been a huge problem for me. I get the occasional zit, which happened about a week into my new routine. That cracked me up — of course, I stop dish soap and then BAM — but I think that was mostly a coincidence.

    Otherwise things looked normal, or maybe a little better. I perhaps got a bit red at times from the retinol, but also, my face has always had reddish bumps and rosy cheeks. Here are photos from the start and end of my experience. I'd say there were no drastic changes beyond my at-home buzzcut and a shave. If anything, I notice a little less blotchiness, but that could also be a product of lighting.

    Left: A dish soap user. Right: A person who uses products intended for the face. Credit: Tim Marcin / Mashable

    Now, I'm not saying using the right products does nothing. Body wash, dish soap, and aloe lotion is an idiotic skincare routine. I'm well aware. I'm just saying that one month in there isn't some whoa difference.

    And not for nothing, when I asked my fiancée if she noticed a difference, she said, "Yeah, maybe." I suspect that was a white lie to reinforce non-deranged behavior moving forward.

    Also, while the aesthetic differences weren't massive, my skin did feel a bit different. I noticed that it felt smoother, a bit cleaner, the right amount of oily. I was also more aware when it was dried out.

    I probably won't be as regimented with my skincare routine in the future. I will definitely keep using the face wash. Honestly, it just feels nice to use a gentle scrub. I suspect I'll use the moisturizer pretty regularly, apply sunscreen sometimes, and use retinol when I remember. But if I forget to wash my face and I'm already in bed, you can bet your ass I'm staying tucked-in from now on.

    And as for dish soap. Well, I guess I have to listen to the doctor on that one.

    "Save the dish soap for the dishes," Dr. Fenton said.

  • Todays best deals: A sub-$50 Gourmia air fryer, $250 off a Samsung Galaxy Book, the first real disco

    Todays best deals: A sub-$50 Gourmia air fryer, $250 off a Samsung Galaxy Book, the first real discount on the 2022 iPad Pro, and more

    Check out the best deals from everyone's favorite big box retailers on Nov. 10:

    (图1)

    • BEST HOME DEAL: Gourmia Digital Air Fryer with Guided Cooking (6-quart)(Opens in a new tab)$38 $99.99 (save $61.99)

    • BEST TECH DEAL: Samsung 13.3-inch Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha QLED Touch-Screen Laptop (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$499.99 $849.99 (save $350)


    Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon are fighting for your Benjamins this season. And, we must say, each store is doing a great job. Walmart's first Deals for Days(Opens in a new tab) drop on Monday brought us some of the lowest prices we've seen on kitchen appliances and floor care products (many of which are still live). Best Buy has been steadily handing out tech deals like they're candy since October. And Amazon keeps on mixing up a little bit of everything for a pot full of tasty savings.

    We can certainly expect the deals to keep rolling in for the rest of the holiday season, but here are the best ones you can shop on Nov. 10.

    Best home deal

    (Opens in a new tab)
    Credit: Gourmia
    Gourmia Digital Air Fryer with Guided Cooking (6-Quart) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)
    $38 at Walmart (save $61.99)
    (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

    Back on the shelves after selling out, Walmart's Black Friday deal on the Gourmia Digital Air Fryer is nearly too good to be true. Its six-quart capacity can feed a whole family, while its 12 preset one-touch cooking functions and guided cooking feature make whipping up meals a breeze. The basket-style fryer is regularly $100, but you can pick it up at Walmart for only $38 if you act fast. There's no telling how long the deal will stick around this time.

    More home deals

    • Cuisinart 12 -Piece Multi-Color Knife Set(Opens in a new tab)$12.99 $49.99 (save $37)

    • Keurig K-Express Essentials Single Serve Coffee Maker(Opens in a new tab)$35 $79.99 (save $44.99)

    • Gourmia Digital Air Fryer with Guided Cooking (6-quart)(Opens in a new tab)$38 $99.99 (save $61.99)

    • Bella Pro Series Digital Air Fryer with Divided Basket (8-quart)(Opens in a new tab)$49.99 $109.99 (save $60)

    • Instant Pot Duo (6-Quart)(Opens in a new tab)$50 $99.99 (save $49.99)

    • Hoover MAXLife PowerDrive Swivel XL Bagless Upright Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$59 $119 (save 60)

    • Shark Wand Vac Cord-Free Handheld Multi Surface Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$64 $99 (save $35)

    • Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$98 $199 (save $101)

    • Costway Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (7.5-Quart)(Opens in a new tab)$99.99 $178 (save $78.01)

    • Shark Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$144 $259 (save $115)

    • iRobot Roomba 676 Robot Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$177 $269 (save $92)

    • Shark EZ Robot Vacuum with Self-Empty Base(Opens in a new tab)$258 $449 (save $191)

    • Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Toaster Oven(Opens in a new tab)$279.95 $349.95 (save $70)

    • iRobot Roomba i1+ (1552) Wi-Fi Connected Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$288 $529.99 (save $241.99)

    • Dyson Pure Cool Purifying Fan TP01(Opens in a new tab)$299.99 $399.99 (save $100)

    • Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro(Opens in a new tab)$319.95 $499.95 (save $180)

    • Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra Upright Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$399.99 $499.99 (save $100)

    • iRobot Roomba J7+ Robot Vacuum(Opens in a new tab)$599 $799.99 (save $200.99)

    Best computer deal

    (Opens in a new tab)
    Credit: Samsung
    Samsung 13.3-inch Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha QLED Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)
    $499.99 at Best Buy (save $350)
    (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

    Designed to move with you, the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha Laptop is lightweight, slim, and flexible. The magic of its 2-in-1 touch-screen design allows you to go between laptop mode and tablet mode for on-the-go convenience. Meanwhile, its 17-hour battery life ensures all-day capability. It's regularly priced at $849.99 for the 8GB RAM, 256GB storage configuration, but with this daily deal at Best Buy, it's yours for only $499.99. That's $350 in savings.

    More computer, tablet, and monitor deals

    • HP 11.6-inch Chromebook (AMD A4, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC)(Opens in a new tab)$79 $98 (save $19)

    • Lenovo Tab M8 (3rd Gen) 8-inch Tablet (MediaTek Helio P22T, 3GB RAM, 32GB eMCP)(Opens in a new tab)$79 $119 (save $40)

    • Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.5-inch Tablet (WiFi, 32GB)(Opens in a new tab)$159 $229 (save $70)

    • LG 27-inch UltraGear FHD 165Hz Gaming Monitor(Opens in a new tab)$179 $229 (save $50)

    • LG 32-inch UltraGear QHD (2560x1440)165Hz HDR 10 Monitor with FreeSync(Opens in a new tab)$200 $399 (save $199)

    • HP OMEN 27-inch IPS LED QHD FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor(Opens in a new tab)$249.99 $399.99 (save $150)

    • ASUS VivoBook 15 OLED K513 (Core i5, 12GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$629.99 $799.99 (save $170)

    • ROG Strix G10 Gaming Desktop (Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$739.99 $1,129.99 (save $390)

    • 2022 Apple 11-inch iPad Pro WiFi (M2, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$749 $799 (save $50)

    • Acer Predator Helios 300 15.6-inch FHD 165Hz Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$999.99 $1,499.99 (save $500)

    • 2021 Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro WiFi + Cellular (M1, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)(Opens in a new tab)$1,099 $1,299 (save $200)

    Audio deals

    • Google Nest Mini (2nd Generation)(Opens in a new tab)$18 $49 (save $31)

    • JBL Flip 4 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker(Opens in a new tab)$59 $99 (save $40)

    • Samsung Galaxy Buds2 (Lavender)(Opens in a new tab)$85.49 $149.99 (save $64.50)

    • Samsung 170W 2.1ch Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer(Opens in a new tab)$99 $149 (save $50)

    Amazon device deals

    • Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Ring Chime Pro(Opens in a new tab) — $149.99 $219.99 (save $70)

    • Amazon Fire TV 43-inch 4-Series 4K UHD Smart TV(Opens in a new tab)$249.99 $369.99 (save $120)

    • Amazon Fire TV 75-inch Omni Series 4K UHD Smart TV(Opens in a new tab)$599.99 $1,099.99 (save $500)

    • Amazon eero Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi System(Opens in a new tab)$419 $699 (save $280)

    Streaming devices and subscription deals

    • One month of Paramount+(Opens in a new tab)free with code BRAVO $4.99 (save $4.99)

    • One year of Grubhub+(Opens in a new tab)free for Prime members $119.88 (save $119.88)

    • First month of Xbox Game Pass(Opens in a new tab)$1 $14.99 (save $13.99)

    • Four months of Audible Premium Plus(Opens in a new tab)$5.95/month $14.95/month (save $36)

    • Chromecast with Google TV (HD) Streaming Device(Opens in a new tab)$18 $29.99 (save $11.99)

    • Roku Streaming Stick 4K Streaming Device(Opens in a new tab)$24.98 $49 (save $24.02)

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  • California's Disneyland reopened Friday(Opens in a new tab) after being closed for 412 days (but who

    California's Disneyland reopened Friday(Opens in a new tab) after being closed for 412 days (but who's counting?) due to COVID. While Disney capped attendance at 25 percent, those lucky guests who were able to show up were emotional, to say the least.

    (图1)

    A visitor taking it all in on Main Street.Credit: Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

    As visitor Claudia Martinez told the Los Angeles Times, "This is a homecoming(Opens in a new tab) for us." It wasn't just the fans that became misty-eyed at this small step toward normalcy, however. Employees did, as well:

    A Disneyland host tears up moments before the park opens.Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    The pandemic hit the world hard, especially for millions of workers in the United States. Disney furloughed around 10,000 parks employees(Opens in a new tab) since March 2020, according to Variety, giving even more weight to Mickey opening up the park gates.

    The event was so monumental that Bob Iger, Chairman of the Board of the Walt Disney Company, attended to greet guests and employees:

    Other head honchoes showed up as well, such as Josh D'Amaro, Disney Parks Chairman. Visitor Giselle Awabdy couldn't contain her emotions as she met with D'Amaro:

    Can't stress this enough: Emotions ran high!

    While the fact that Disneyland is open is exciting in itself, it's also a sign that "nature is healing," so to speak. As of now, 100 million Americans(Opens in a new tab) are fully vaccinated. There's still a ways to go — and the coronavirus crisis is mounting elsewhere, like India(Opens in a new tab) — but unlike 2020, there are flickers of hope such as this.

    For non-Disney fans, it may seem silly to be this sentimental about a theme park. While there's definite excitement specific to Disney, the reopening also signals that we'll soon be able to enjoy all the other activities we missed out on the last year — like V-J Day inspired PDAs:

  • The TikTok community making people with vaginismus feel less alone

    The TikTok community making people with vaginismus feel less alone

    When it comes to the taboo stuff that isn’t always so easily talked about in real life, TikTok truly has a wealth of valuable information, helping to normalize the discussion of things like periods, sex, birth control, abortions, vaginismus, and more. 

    Haven’t heard of vaginismus? It’s a condition that causes an involuntary muscle contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, making insertion of anything into the vagina extremely painful and in some cases impossible. While it’s not talked about a lot, vaginismus is more common(Opens in a new tab) than you may think. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists(Opens in a new tab), nearly three out of four women experience pain during intercourse at some point in their lives. TikTok is bringing a sense of community to those living with the condition. 

    SEE ALSO: Orgasms trigger my endometriosis: The sex lives of people with endo

    People with vaginismus can experience symptoms such as pain with pelvic exams, pap smears, penetration, and inserting period products and birth control medications such as IUDs (intrauterine devices). Not only can this disorder take a physical toll, but it can also have an emotional toll, with sufferers feeling rejection, fear, and anxiety surrounding having vaginismus. Some avoid social interactions in which friends and peers talk about hooking up, dating, sexual experiences, periods, and more due to fear of not fitting in/being misunderstood. Meanwhile, unpleasant experiences with doctors and OB-GYNs have caused women to avoid seeking out treatment for vaginismus and pelvic floor pain. 

    Dr. Sonia Bahlani(Opens in a new tab), a pelvic pain specialist based in New York, says, "Vaginismus is way more common than we think, and it also doesn’t have to be related to trauma or some sort of traumatic event. People walk into my office and say that they were afraid to seek out care because they read or were told by doctors that vaginismus is only trauma-related." Bahlani believes there should be a bigger focus on pelvic floor pain and dysfunction in gynecological and residency programs, as the lack of information can do real harm. "Vaginismus and pelvic floor pain can breed a lot of anxiety or depression, especially when you’ve been diagnosed with something that no one else can see,” she says. “This can be something that is really difficult for patients to deal with."

    People living with vaginismus are using TikTok to fill in the gaps for others with this condition. Of course, TikTok should not be considered a substitute for seeking medical advice — and, if you are dealing with pelvic floor pain, you should seek a qualified professional for a diagnosis — but it can help people feel more informed and less alone in their journey. And it’s extremely easy to begin your research on the subject from the comfort of your home! Creators like @thepelvicdancefloor(Opens in a new tab), @azia_mery(Opens in a new tab), @the_vaginismus_diaries(Opens in a new tab), and @nosuchthingastmi(Opens in a new tab), bring in millions of views, likes, and shares for their(Opens in a new tab) videos about the condition. While offering useful videos, promoting inspiring discussions, and sharing their own struggles, these creators have also managed to create a community comprising those who’ve personally dealt with the disorder from OB-GYNs to pelvic floor therapists, and physician’s assistants.

    Just type in "painful sex," "pelvic floor therapy," or "vaginismus," and you’ll find a ton of videos at your fingertips. They shed light on how people were diagnosed, the type of pain they’ve dealt with, what it’s like to date and how to navigate sex with the condition, as well as treatment options — like pelvic floor therapy, dilator training, and talk therapy. Perhaps most importantly, all this conversation helps normalize a disorder that too many people have felt alone in facing, bringing awareness to a painful reality that’s been kept in the shadows for too long(Opens in a new tab)

    Here are a few of the TikTok creators who are educating people on vaginismus, and what you can learn from them.

    @DrJenniferLincoln (Opens in a new tab)

    Dr. Jennifer Lincoln is a board-certified OB-GYN based in Portland, Oregon, and author of Let’s Talk About Down There. She has over 2.8 million followers on TikTok, where she shares information about topics like birth control, abortion, vaginismus, news in healthcare, and more. Dr. Lincoln’s informative "What is Vaginismus" TikTok, a handy explainer of the disorder where she talks symptoms and treatments, has over 258k views. 


    "I believe the lack of comprehensive medically accurate sex education is the basis for why so few people know about vaginismus," Lincoln tells Mashable. "When you're never been taught about your anatomy or how your body works, you don't have the background or language to know when something might not be normal and is a problem that can be treated. I also think for some people who've unfortunately had bad experiences with sex or at the OBGYN office, they've thought things are just supposed to hurt, and sadly don't know they can seek care and not have to live with painful sex or painful exams caused by vaginismus," she adds. 

    (图1)

    "Vaginismus is so hard because it can affect so much more than just your pelvic floor," she adds. "It can put an enormous strain on relationships and harm your self-worth. If a partner isn't understanding, it can be truly detrimental and actually add to the anxiety of the situation and make it worse. When we've defined women in society as being most desirable when they are seen as sexual creatures, having something that makes sex difficult can really mess with a woman's perception of herself."

    Lincoln weighs in on the importance of her TikTok account and bringing awareness to vaginismus. "It’s important for me and others to bring awareness to this because women and people with vaginas deserve to feel good in the bedroom and get help when it's not happening. When we talk about things like vaginismus, we break down the shame that exists right now around sexual health," Lincoln tells Mashable

    @Octobersky08(Opens in a new tab)

    Skyler Stewart describes her TikTok, with over 23k followers and 3 million likes, as a "vaginismus awareness and education account." Stewart covers personal topics such as dating with vaginismus, treatment for it, and her personal journey with pelvic floor therapy. Stewart also covers the mental and emotional health side of vaginismus, sharing how trauma or mental health issues can be one of the root causes of vaginismus. She often posts videos responding to questions about vaginismus, along with advice on how to deal with assumptions from others about the pelvic floor disorder. 

    "Dating with vaginismus is one of the topics that resonates most with my followers. Being in a romantic situation is a very common way for people to discover this issue and on top of that, it’s the most 'in your face' downside of vaginismus — not being able to have penetrative sex. In our society where heteronormativity is so prevalent, most young people are conditioned to think that there’s only one single real way to be intimate," Stewart tells Mashable.

    @nosuchthingastmi(Opens in a new tab) 

    Dr. Sabrina Baxter is a pelvic floor therapist who shares her experiences dealing with vaginismus, specifically painful sex. Baxter covers everything from dilator training to stretches for your pelvic floor to lube and vaginal products that can ease the pain. She also provides the symptoms to look for if you think you might have vaginismus and talks about how to get help and therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction. Baxter even hosts paid online workshops(Opens in a new tab) in which people can learn about vaginismus, pelvic floor therapy, and pain-free sex. 

    @n1kki_christinapt(Opens in a new tab)

    Nicole Ramos works as a pelvic floor therapist who uses her TikTok account to talk about vaginismus, periods, pelvic pain, orgasms, and more. Ramos’ content on vaginismus is mainly about symptoms to look for, exercises for the pelvic floor muscles, and methods to help cure vaginismus, such as dilators and massaging the pelvic floor.

    @gyno_girls(Opens in a new tab)

    Taylore Passero is an OB-GYN who brings educates people on everything having to do with the vagina, including menstruation, birth control, endometriosis, PCOS, medical exams, and vaginismus. Passero’s content on vaginismus is more educational, discussing vaginal dilators, vaginismus symptoms, and treatment solutions.

    @leanna.apa(Opens in a new tab)

    From relatable POV TikToks on birth control to vaginismus to all things vaginal health, Leanna the PA has built an open and honest dialogue with her followers, many of whom have commented how they wish more doctors were like her. With a following of over 318k followers and over 11 million likes, Leanna’s content on vaginismus pertains to how she handles vaginismus in patients, including performing pap smears. Leanna explains how she starts off pap smear exams(Opens in a new tab) by using fingers and then working her way up to pediatric, small, and standard speculums depending on the patient’s comfort level.

    @azia_mery(Opens in a new tab) 

    For those struggling with vaginismus and vulvodynia, Azia Mery is here for all of your relatable content and resources. Her account covers everything from vaginal dilators to books and resources to use to learn about and treat vaginismus. She also has extremely helpful resources in her bio(Opens in a new tab) on painful sex, dealing with vaginismus and vulvodynia, and more. 

    The content creator also talks about how sex is more than just penetration and showcases different social media accounts to follow for information on vaginismus and vulvodynia. "I spent years being tossed between different doctors, receiving the wrong treatment, feeling disrespected and invalidated as if my emotions, pain, and trauma weren’t real and it was all in my head. Sharing my journey on TikTok has helped me navigate how I healed. The messages I get about how my platform helped people feel less alone is a positive. Now that people have been asking how I did it, it’s given me the opportunity to truly step back and see what I’ve done," Mery tells Mashable.

    With TikTok becoming a hub of information, it’s no wonder people are finding out about vaginismus, and even being encouraged to look out for symptoms and learn how to treat it. With more awareness being brought around sexual health and vaginismus, it’s important to note that if you are feeling any extreme pain during penetration, it’s best to see a gynecologist or pelvic floor specialist. Your pelvic floor health is important and so are you.

  • Become besties with the reigning king of college TikTok

    Become besties with the reigning king of college TikTok

    Welcome to Small Talk, a series where we catch up with the internet's favorite Extremely Online individuals offline.

    (图1)


    Ryan Manderbach wants to help students at big universities feel less alone.

    Seemingly overnight, the 20-year-old junior at Penn State became a TikTok sensation for his daily vlogs, which showcase life as a college student back on campus after two years of remote learning. Inspired by the success of #BamaRush TikTok, Manderbach uploaded his first college video diary to his account (@ryan_manderbach(Opens in a new tab)) on Aug. 13, 2021. He now has over 149,000 followers and more than 13 million likes across his videos. Manderbach frequently utilizes chaotic audio, such as a pop song mashed up with rapper CupcakKe, in his TikToks. He's also known for using the slo-mo effect and sticking his tongue out to create hilarious, relatable videos. He frequently features his two friends, Bestie Evan and Bestie Nick, along with students in the freshman dorm where he's an RA.

    Unlike a lot of the content found on college TikTok, Manderbach's videos don't romanticize or glorify the college experience. Instead, Manderbach offers a more realistic depiction of college life. His daily vlogs normalize the highs, the lows, and the absurdities of campus life. He talks about everything from depression to the struggle to make friends to dealing with the financial aid office, all in a wildly entertaining way. One recent TikTok(Opens in a new tab), reads, "all of the men in our college town are literal threats to humanity, but Bestie Ryan is the honorary date to every single formal with free drinks and hot girls, so he's running this town like Kris Jenner."

    I called Manderbach to chat about everything from his love of Stan Twitter to how he balances running his account with being a full-time student.

    Mashable: What's it been like coming back to campus?

    Ryan Manderbach: Oh my gosh, it's been crazy. I'm not gonna lie. I think going back to normal in-person [classes] really affected my mental health, which is really why I did the TikToks that I did. Because all of them are true. I mean, everything that I post is very real, and a documentation of my college experience. So, it's been unreal.

    You're an RA, right?

    Yes, I am. I'm an RA for Earle Hall, which is a freshman dorm.

    Did being an RA inspire you to make your TikToks?

    Honestly, not the RA part. Being a student at such a large university did. I felt like so many students could relate to my story. Basically, the success of Bama rush — which was just girls trying to rush sororities in the South — inspired me to start documenting my college experience. I was obsessed with Bama rush and watched those videos every day. I think I had around 4,000 followers at the time on TikTok, and then from there it just grew to what it is. 

    I graduated in May, so TikTok wasn’t popular when I was on campus. I've found it so interesting to see how college is portrayed on TikTok. 

    When my videos started gaining traction I decided I'm not going to let any sort of money or anything like that change how I do my videos and share my experiences, because it's a video diary of my college experience. I'm so thankful that so many people watch them.

    Do people recognize you on campus?

    Yes. Me and my friends, Bestie Evan and Bestie Nick, will go to Chipotle for dinner because we're too lazy to go to the dining hall. And then people will come up to us and be like, "Oh my gosh, I love your TikToks," and it’s so sweet. It just makes me grateful that there are so many other college kids who relate to my videos and are going through the same struggles.

    How much time do you spend making your TikToks?

    I would say that a typical post with the slo-mo edits probably takes 40 minutes to shoot, edit, and caption. I spend about seven hours a week making TikToks and I usually make seven to 14 posts a week. 

    Do you have a posting schedule?

    All of the besties take upwards of 16 to 19 credits, so we aren’t done with class until around 5:00 p.m. and then we have homework or exams to do, so we usually try to film around 7:00 p.m. and post around 8:00 p.m.

    Your videos all have really iconic edited sounds. How do you find those?

    That's so funny. Yes, so basically, I love Stan Twitter, which is where the audios come from. It's all these Stan accounts that make these hilarious remixes with their favorite artists. I think the audios make the topics I discuss — like mental health, anxiety, and depression — less intense. When I started getting a little bit of a following, my followers started tagging me in these types of audios [and] asking me to use them. 

    Is there a particular account that you get the audios from?

    Yes, so there is a TikTok account called (Opens in a new tab)@ranvision_2(Opens in a new tab). He is hilarious. He's a huge Taylor Swift stan account. He always posts her songs mashed up with CupcakKe, because CupcakKe is kind of a meme. That's the main account I follow and get audios from. 

    Are you a big Taylor Swift fan? Or do you just appreciate the culture?

    Oh, you already know. [I love] "Getaway Car," reputation, any album [of hers]. 

    Your videos got super popular seemingly overnight, were you surprised by that?

    Yeah, pretty much! I'd shot TikTok videos before that randomly got 10,000 likes because the algorithm had oddly worked in my favor and I just thought it was cool that anyone followed me. 

    Then I posted literally one video of me moving into the dorms and it went viral overnight. I was like, "Why would I stop posting my video diaries if people are loving them?" So I decided to just keep doing more. People started tagging their friends in them, and then people that go to Penn State were like, "Oh my gosh, he goes to Penn State." It turned into sort of a community, which is insane. People started DMing me, thanking me, and telling me that my videos helped them so much. It's so crazy what just a couple videos can do for someone on the other side of the screen. 

    I remember early on people got mad when they found out you weren't a freshman.

    I completely understand why they would think I was new to college, because I posted like Day 1, Day 2, etc. I never put my grade level in my caption because I am just living a normal life at school. I didn’t have a lot of followers or feel the need to share that. 

    People started commenting and making videos exposing that I wasn’t a freshman and I was like, "OK this is weird." I was getting DMs like, "I know your secret," and it just isn't that deep. From (Opens in a new tab)my Instagram(Opens in a new tab) you can tell I've been in college for two years! So it was interesting and made me realize how dark the internet can be. It can be the most satisfying place or the most rude place. It just depends how you use your platform. 

    Since Penn State only went back to campus this year, in a way you were restarting college.

    A lot of people don't realize that as well. I haven't been able to enjoy a full year of college, so this is really my first normal year of college. Everything I share in my videos is 100 percent true.

    We have to talk about the tongue thing you do in all your videos.

    I didn't invent it or anything like that and it's definitely not an original concept. I first saw it on Alt TikTok, or the side of TikTok where people talk about their problems. While they talk about their problems they do a little dance with their tongues out. I don't know how to make this make sense, but imagine your boyfriend broke up with you and you send a Snapchat to your friend of you crying, but you have your tongue out like, "lol this just happened?" The tongue can get you through any situation — even the hardest things. If I do that face I am automatically in a silly, goofy mood. I just did it in a couple videos and it became our thing. What's even funnier about the tongue is that if we don't do it in a video people will comment, "Where was the tongue?" Or people will comment [to rate] the tongues in the video, like, "Umm the tongues were a little aggressive."

    How did you decide to bring your friends into your videos?

    It wasn't anything calculated or planned, I can tell you that. Bestie Evan just came to see my room because he hadn't seen it before and I was like, "Hey do you want to get in this TikTok with me?" I wanted him to be included in my video diary. At the time, Evan wasn't on TikTok as much as me. He was more of an Instagram boy, so he didn't really understand the whole concept of [TikTok]. 

    When we started getting more traction we were like, "Nick you have to get in this, we want you to be a part of this." So we decided to do a bestie reveal as a spoof of gender reveals with babies. We thought the whole thing was hilarious and now when we brainstorm videos we always say, "We miss the bestie reveal era. It was so fun."

    Before your TikTok account became popular were you extremely online?

    100 percent. I love pop culture, which is another reason why I love Stan Twitter. I love following the Kardashians and seeing what they're up to, and keeping up with YouTubers. I've always been someone who loves to get on social media and keep up with what celebrities are doing. I think it’s so underrated, and something that older generations don't understand, but it's so entertaining.

    What advice do you have for college students?

    If I could tell college kids one thing it would be to be authentically yourself. Every single day you are going to have so many people that will try to change how you are, or you will want to change to fit into certain friend groups or organizations on campus. But if you're authentically yourself people will gravitate towards you. I respect someone so much when they're just themselves regardless of anything.

    Want more Small Talk? Enjoy:

    • Connor Franta, YouTube's resident LGBTQ advocate and poet, talks about sharing your story online

    • Travel down a Wikipedia rabbit hole with the mastermind behind DepthsOfWikipedia Instagram

    • All your burning questions about the oracle pug Noodle and Bones Day, answered

    • Let Aiden Arata, the meme queen of depression Instagram, take you through guided meditation

  • Meta has its own version of TikToks Discover List

    Meta has its own version of TikToks Discover List

    Last year, TikTok put together one big list of its influencers, championing the creators that have kept the platform going. Now, Meta has announced its inaugural Creators of Tomorrow class, a program aiming to showcase emerging talent across the company's platforms.

    (图1)

    The cohort of creators span across five categories whose work will be amplified by Meta. "Redefining Community" celebrates active, niche online groups and those supporting marginalized people, while "#NoFilter Empowerment" platforms creators that are "driving honest conversations" and exhibiting vulnerability online in order to fight stigma. "On the Rise" looks at creators turning their passions into careers, and "Creative Excellence" highlights creators that are "pioneers" of trends and culture. Finally, "Future Ready" focuses on creators in the Web3 space, be it the Metaverse, augmented and virtual reality, or blockchain.

    SEE ALSO: TikTok's most influential creators now feature on one big influential list

    This year's class consists of 25 creators with five under each category. Influencers include financial literacy coach Vivian Tu (@your.richbff(Opens in a new tab)), influencer Armiel Chandler (@armielchandler(Opens in a new tab)), musician Jayo (@jayo(Opens in a new tab)), makeup artist Paige Piskin (@paigepiskin(Opens in a new tab)), and actor and creator Joe Ando Hirsh (@joeandohirsh(Opens in a new tab)).

    The initiative fits into a larger push to support creators, without whom so many of these platforms would falter.

    Take a look at the full list below.

    Redefining Community

    Credit: Meta.
    • Aliza Kelly (@alizakelly(Opens in a new tab))

    • Nurse Blake (@NurseBlake(Opens in a new tab))

    • Elyse Fox (@(Opens in a new tab)elyse.fox(Opens in a new tab))

    • Vivian Tu (@your.richbff(Opens in a new tab))

    • Isaias Hernandez (@queerbrownvegan(Opens in a new tab))

    #NoFilter Empowerment

    Credit: Meta.
    • The Valentine Brothers (@valentinebrothers(Opens in a new tab))

    • Drew Afualo (@drewafualo(Opens in a new tab))

    • Armiel Chandler (@armielchandler(Opens in a new tab))

    • Mattie Westbrouck (@westbrouck(Opens in a new tab))

    • Sydney Bell (@sydneylbell(Opens in a new tab))

    On the Rise

    Credit: Meta.
    • Armani White (@armaniblanco(Opens in a new tab))

    • Gianluca Conte (@ItsQCP(Opens in a new tab))

    • Mikayla Geier (@mikaylageier(Opens in a new tab))

    • Jesus Nalgas (@jesus_nalgas(Opens in a new tab))

    • Joe Ando Hirsh (@joeandohirsh(Opens in a new tab))

    Creative Excellence

    Credit: Meta.
    • Adanna Duru (@adannaduru(Opens in a new tab))

    • Jayo (@jayo(Opens in a new tab))

    • Owen Han (@owen.han(Opens in a new tab))

    • Natalie Odell (@natalie.odell(Opens in a new tab))

    • Smac McCreanor (@smacmccreanor(Opens in a new tab))

    Future-Ready

    Credit: Meta.
    • Amber Vittoria (@Amber_vittoria(Opens in a new tab))

    • Don Allen (@donalleniii(Opens in a new tab))

    • Diana Sinclair (@dianasinclair(Opens in a new tab))

    • Paige Piskin (@paigepiskin(Opens in a new tab))

    • Elise Swopes (@swopes(Opens in a new tab))

  • Does anyone actually like Clubhouse?

    Does anyone actually like Clubhouse?

    A confession: I'm trying — I'm really trying — to grasp Clubhouse's appeal. I spend so much of my life thinking about, and being on, social media. I want to understand why some people are obsessed with the audio-only social app.

    (图1)

    But, for the most part, I find it so...unlikable. I've been actively using it for a couple weeks and every time I've logged on it's been like pulling teeth. Every room I've jumped into feels like an unholy mashup of self-promotion, seminar lecturing, and the mind-numbing prattle that typically fills the ballrooms of professional conferences.

    How many times can I hear someone say things like, "I think that's a really great point, to expand further on that concept..." I need to know: How and why do people enjoy that?

    OK, let me back up.

    Clubhouse, in case you didn't know, is an invite-only audio app that lets you browse and listen to various chatrooms. It basically feel like a panel discussion. Users can virtually raise their hand and add their two cents, or simply take in the discussion like a free-flowing podcast of sorts. The app is skyrocketing in popularity and reportedly valued(Opens in a new tab) at $1 billion.

    SEE ALSO: Here’s what you need to know about Clubhouse, the invite-only social app

    Clubhouse was, at first, super exclusive and really popular among celebs and Silicon Valley elite. You might've run into folks like Oprah, Drake, Kevin Hart, or Ashton Kutcher. Clubhouse remains invite-only but now includes regular jabronis like, let's say, a blogger/journalist with no real social(Opens in a new tab) cache.

    Clubhouse's appeal, in an ideal world, might be to something akin to access to a really interesting cocktail party with powerful people.

    But in my brief time on the app, I've found it to be rife with platitudes, #hustle gospel, and unsubtle self-promotion. And so many meaningless buzzwords. (Clubhouse really can sound like this(Opens in a new tab).)

    Part of Clubhouse's appeal is you can't share content or view it after the fact— conversations stay on-app — but I took (often-confused) notes during some of my listening sessions.

    For instance: I jumped into one chat, a morning show about having a millionaire mindset. I was cooking eggs, because I often pair podcasts with household chores. Perhaps Clubhouse could work in the same fashion, I thought.

    Then people started talking. One person seamlessly transition from marketing on Clubhouse to promoting the Keto diet. Another person simply asked a panelist to appear on their Instagram show (after a lengthy description of the merits of said show). And then somehow we ended up on the merits of being physically fit to be better at business?

    It felt less like a cocktail party and more like someone selling me a timeshare. I went back to cooking my breakfast, kind of confused.

    It felt less like a cocktail party and more like someone selling me a timeshare.

    Granted, I'm not exactly Business Guy. I'm a writer. But even if you were a business person, so much of what I heard was either a waste of time or absolute base-level advice. Nothing a quick Google search couldn't tell you. At most, you could have gleaned a nugget of info buried under a mountain of platitudes and self-promotion.

    Everyone talked like they were desperate to network, which isn't really how good networking functions. You don't make connections trading "great point" backslaps, you make them, you know, actually connecting over something meaningful.

    It's not that Clubhouse is bad. It's that I don't get how anyone liked what I was hearing. I was left confounded, wondering why this is a thing with so much hype.

    Do people really want to hear business-speak in their free time?

    Bopping around different chats in my short time on Clubhouse I've heard:

    • Someone rail against reporting a page, in any instance, because it'll hurt that person's brand.

    • A person telling someone their newly created fitness brand might benefit from influencer attention like it was a miracle idea.

    • A CEO basically repeat his elevator pitch for his company as an answer to every single question.

    I am not the first to say this but it felt like LinkedIn but delivered straight into my ears and impossible to ignore. At one point, a speaker slipped up and called the panel discussion a "call." You know, like an obligation, or the thing where you're selling to a client. Who wants extra work calls? Really, who?

    Often, it felt like the more powerful speakers were there to hype themselves up and feel good talking about all their success. Then there were heaps of other folks begging for a dash of affirmation from the successful folks.

    Now a big caveat: I'm new to Clubhouse. Paring through the morass of any social site can prove tough when you're new. Black creators, for instance, are making parts of the app more fun(Opens in a new tab) than the tech bro havens. There seem to be some chats based around having fun. And some hilarious folks troll by doing things like making fake rooms promising Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, which I find delightful.

    And, like any other online platform, there are spaces for horny people. There's a room where people moan for one another(Opens in a new tab). Vulture noted that there(Opens in a new tab) are some space dedicated to shooting the shit, which could be nice during the pandemic. This all goes to say that I could just be missing out on rooms I'd enjoy.

    But the app is also struggling to reel in rampant misogyny and racism(Opens in a new tab). I didn't happen to cross paths with any of that in my time on Clubhouse, but it's certainly(Opens in a new tab) there(Opens in a new tab).

    It also stands to reason that the app's culture will shift over time as more people are added. When the user base grows, things are bound to change in both good and bad ways. More users may mean more abuse, for instance, but creative folks could also add fun spaces to Clubhouse.

    Maybe someday I'll change my tune, but for now, I think my experiment with Clubhouse is finished. I already spend enough time on social media — the last thing I need is another meeting.

    Related Video: How to permanently delete your social media

  • Apple changes subscribe to follow on Podcasts because people think subscribing means paying

    Apple changes subscribe to follow on Podcasts because people think subscribing means paying

    Apple will soon no longer let users “subscribe” to podcasts. Instead, podcast fans will “follow” their favorite shows.

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    This change to Apple Podcasts will roll out with the release of iOS 14.5. However, the next iOS update beta, where users can currently see the change, is currently available.

    The switch from “subscribe” to “follow” in Apple Podcasts was first noticed by PodNews(Opens in a new tab), an outlet that reports on the podcasting industry.

    It may seem like semantics, but it’s actually a pretty important update. Edison Research, a market analysis firm, found that 47 percent of people who don’t listen to podcasts thought it cost money to “subscribe” to podcasts. In a recent newsletter(Opens in a new tab), senior vice president of Edison Research Tom Webster stressed that the reason for this is because of the word “subscribe.”

    That's a huge problem if nearly half of the people surveyed associate "subscribe" with paid subscriptions. How many people would have been listening to podcasts over the years if they knew it was free to do so?

    Apple has long been the leader in podcasting platforms with iTunes then its Apple Podcasts app. However, competition really started to heat up when music streaming giant Spotify entered the podcasting world. The company signed well-known podcasters, like Joe Rogan, to agreements that made their shows exclusive to Spotify.

    Interestingly, Spotify already uses the word “follow” to describe the feature that adds your favorite podcasts to your playlist. The company has also previously floated the idea of a paid podcast subscription offering, which would be separate from its Spotify Premium paid music subscription service.

    As PodNews points out, other major podcasting platforms such as Stitcher, Amazon Music, and Audible all use “follow” instead of “subscribe.”

    After Apple officially makes the switch to “follow,” it seems YouTube and Google Podcasts will remain as the final giants in the podcasting industry to keep the “subscribe” button. Will Google eventually make the changes on those platforms too?

    Although “subscribe” has become almost synonymous with YouTube (read this without hearing your favorite YouTube creators voice asking you subscribe to their channel), the company offers so many different paid subscriptions — YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, YouTube Music, paid memberships for specific YouTube channels — that it’s hard to imagine it hasn’t been confusing for at least some users.

    It's clear that Apple’s made the decision to switch to end the confusion on its platform.

  • 5 winning wildlife photos that are truly stunning

    5 winning wildlife photos that are truly stunning

    If there's one thing we've learned from the Wildlife Photography Awards, it's that you can never have too many wildlife photos to look at.

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    The Natural History Museum's annual contest is a constant source of stunning imagery, collecting together photos from across the world that showcase nature at its most beautiful and brutal.

    The main awards took place in August last year, but — as is tradition — a public vote has since taken place online to crown the people's champion. A whopping 50,000 images were entered into the awards in total, from which a shortlist of 25 were chosen for the public to vote on.

    From the winning image of Italy's Santa Croce Lake, taken by Cristiano Vendramin (which received almost 32,000 votes), to some highly commended images from the USA, Canada, The Netherlands, and China, here are the photos the public chose.

    Credit: Cristiano Vendramin

    Credit: Ashleigh McCord
    Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur
    SEE ALSO: Shocked monkey in a very awkward position wins comedy wildlife photo prize
    Credit: Jeroen Hoekendij
    Credit: Qiang Guo

    Want more where that came from? You can check out the 2020 images here.

  • The 13 best tweets of the week, including GameStop jokes, LMFAO, and Thanos

    The 13 best tweets of the week, including GameStop jokes, LMFAO, and Thanos

    Somehow another week has passed. Days, weeks, months, it's all the same isn't it? Pandemics are weird.

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    But here we are. It's Friday. We're going to celebrate that fact with some good tweets. Why? Who knows. But hopefully they'll make you laugh.

    So, here they are, our 13 favorite tweets of the week.

    1. But visually it is represented by a knife

    2. Yes, this is a screenshot of a dril tweet to joke about the whole GameStop stock thing. But you have to admit it works.

    3. Relatable, to be honest

    4. Boundary breaking artistry

    5. Shed Juul. Shed Juul! SHED JUUL!

    6. Easy mode

    7. A wonderful and wonderfully dumb moment. RIP to the legend Larry.

    8. A little GameStop Succession mashup

    9. I mean damn.... pretty easy fix here. Thanos really didn't have to do that whole...kill half of the universe thing, huh? Big mess-up by the big guy.

    10. Obligatory dril tweet

    11. And another

    12. This is a pretty accurate representation of how things are going online lately

    13. And finally, this