Category: Viral

There are few things as frightening to a parent than losing your child in a crowded place like a shopping mall, zoo, or stadium. The moment you realize your child is missing, it’s impossible not to consider the terrifying idea they may have been kidnapped.

A woman in New Zealand recently lost her son in a Kmart but was able to locate him because of a potentially life-saving parenting hack she saw on TikTok a few months ago.

The woman was shopping at the retailer when she realized her two-year-old son Nathan was missing. She immediately told a friend to alert the staff to ensure he didn’t leave through the store’s front exit.

“Another friend searched the area he was last seen,” the mom wrote in a Facebook post.

The mother began looking for him by rummaging through clothes racks and running through the aisles.

It was the “scariest 10 minutes of my life” she later wrote.

But then she remembered a parenting hack she saw on TikTok by blogger Jess Martini. “If your child goes missing, screw the stares and start calling out their description,” the mother recalled.

“I’m missing a little boy, he’s wearing a yellow shirt and has brown hair. He’s two years old and his name is Nathan!” she called out to the rest of the store while reminding herself not to “break down” in tears.

“You need people to understand you loud and clear,” she said.

The mother’s calls immediately deputized everyone who heard them to begin looking for the child. It was like multiplying the search by a factor of 10. “I turned an aisle and heard ‘He’s here!'” she wrote. “I turned back the way I came and there he was. A man had walked past him after hearing me calling out.”

She immediately thanked the man, realizing that if she hadn’t called out he may have never known the child was missing. “Nate would have walked past him and he wouldn’t have blinked,” she said.

In November, parenting blogger Jess Martini posted a video sharing the best way for parents to locate a missing child. It’s great advice because the knee-jerk response is usually to just call out their name or silently run around looking.

@jesmartini PSA that I feel can save kids and I’ve used- if your child goes missing in public #momsoftiktok #PSA #nojudgement #fyp #4up #besafe #parentsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Jess martini

“To all parents out there, if your child goes missing, do not search in silence or just call out their name,’ Martini says in the video. “Shout out loud and clear. Say they’re missing, give a description and repeat, repeat, repeat!”

“Everyone will be on alert, and if someone is trying to take off with your kid, it will decrease the chances of them getting away,” she added.

The advice is a great reminder to make a mental note of what your child is wearing when you go out, so if they go missing, you can easily provide a description. It also proof that when a parent needs help, most people are more than willing to lend a hand.

This article originally appeared on 01.27.21

Actress Jennifer Garner surprised Allure writer Danielle Pergament in a recent profile on the “Party Down” star. In an in-depth interview entitled “Jennifer Garner: I’m Not Good at Being Fake,” she admits that she would like to go to divinity school.

“I would have really liked being a minister,” she told Allure. “My mom thinks I still will be.” That would be a big career change for the A-list actress whose life has been the subject of public scrutiny for the better part of the last 25 years.

But Garner has developed a reputation for being one of Hollywood’s “nice” celebrities, so becoming a minister might actually be a natural progression. Garner told the Allure writer that she often attends church with her three children, Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11, the eldest of whom teaches Sunday school.

Garner says religion was always part of her Charleston, West Virginia, upbringing. “I grew up in such a lovely church in the United Methodist Church, and the minister was like the den parent,” she said.

Garner gave a surprising reason she’d like to study religion—she likened it to acting.

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A post shared by Jennifer Garner (@jennifer.garner)

“What I like about the study of religion, it reminds me of the study of theater—it’s really a liberal arts education,” Garner said. “You have to understand history, geography, literature. It’s art, it’s everything. I don’t know anything about Hinduism, Islam, so many other religions, and I wish I did. That feels like a sign of respect.”

She believes that by having a better understanding of religions, we get a better understanding of people.

“I think the more you engage, the more you learn about different ways that people believe and worship, the more you can sit next to anyone and be a neighbor,” she said. “There’s such value in that to me.”

The actress’s admission about her love for religion feels part of a growing trend among Hollywood’s most popular actors. Mark Wahlberg was adamant about Catholicism’s power in his life during a February 22 (Ash Wednesday) interview on the Today show, where he appeared with a cross on his forehead.

u201cMark Wahlberg is joining us to talk about the Catholic prayer app u2018Hallow,u2019 discusses fasting, opens up about why itu2019s important for him to not deny his faith, shares why he doesnu2019t force Catholicism onto his children, and more.u201d

— TODAY (@TODAY)
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“I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith,” Wahlberg said. That’s an even bigger sin. You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But, I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”

Actor Chris Pratt made headlines recently while promoting his new film, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3” for his strident remarks about people who have a problem with his faith. Pratt has received a backlash on social media over rumors that he attended a church that has been condemned for its anti-LGBTQ views.

“That’s nothing new, you know?” Pratt told Page Six. “That’s the way it is—nothing new. Two thousand years ago, they hated him too,” he added, in reference to Jesus Christ.

“If I was of this world, they would love me just like that, but as it is, I’ve chosen out of this world. That’s John 15:18 through 20,” Pratt said.

Most states in the U.S. have oddly shaped boundaries, largely formed by meandering waterways and coastal irregularities. But two states stand out for their seemingly defiant rectangularness—Wyoming and Colorado.

These almost-twin states share a border, are almost exactly the same size (Colorado is just 1.06 times larger than Wyoming), boast basically the same shape and have the Rocky Mountains eating into a sizeable chunk of them. (Wyoming’s share of mountains is a bit larger than Colorado’s, but its topography isn’t nearly different enough than Colorado’s to account for how many fewer people it has.)

Wyoming’s population as of 2022 was estimated to be just over 580,000, while Colorado’s was estimated to be just over 5.8 million. Almost exactly a 10-fold difference between the two very similar states.

So…why?

Water resources? A logical guess, but nope. Both states contain the headwaters of multiple major rivers, and according to RealLifeLore, Wyoming actually has a slight edge over Colorado due to the way its freshwater is legally allocated.

What makes Wyoming the least populous U.S. state despite being the country’s 10th largest state by area has to do with the Gold Rush, agriculture, World War II, federal lands, the rise of the telecom industry, educational institutions, airplanes and more. It’s a historical Tale of Two States that illustrates how twins with different upbringings can share many similarities but also end up with two very different life stories.

Watch the folks at RealLifeLore explain the population discrepancy between Wyoming and Colorado:

The one correction some people in the comments of the video offered up was that referring to the “mild” climate in Wyoming seems a bit misleading. Several people mentioned that the winter weather in Wyoming is harsher than in Colorado, which may account for fewer people wanting to live there. (However, considering the fact that there are more densely populated places in the world with exceptionally punishing winters, weather doesn’t fully explain it, either.)

It’ll be interesting to see in another hundred years or so if these states’ population trends change, but for now, Wyoming remains the least populous and most naturally undisturbed state. So if you’re big on the outdoors and not so big on people, the Equality State (Side fun fact: Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote.) might just be the place for you. If you love the mountains but also people, Colorado may be more your speed.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour is officially underway after months of breathless speculation and bank account management by fans. That speculation reached a fever pitch today, the first day of the tour, as fans Solna, Sweden began sharing the first images from the tour, including merch and a speculative setlist from the show program.

And while some of those questions will necessarily remain unanswered, at least one has been. The question fans have been asking since the album’s release — “where are the visuals, sis?” — got a reply in the form of a teasing portion of her set. As a voice narrates, a massive screen echoes the message. “You’ve asked for the visuals,” read the narrator. “You’ve called for the queen. But a queen moves at her own pace.”

The running joke between Beyoncé and her fans began late last year, a few months after the release of Renaissance. The lack of a single music video for the new album — especially after the artist had released a video for nearly every song from her last handful of projects — was a sticking point for some fans, who couldn’t help expressing their thirst on social media. In turn, Beyoncé trolled those fans via the Parkwood Entertainment account, letting them know that she sees the memes… but she’s not in a hurry to put anything out just yet.

Judging from the monologue during her show, she was reserving the visual experience for her tour, where she’ll undoubtedly be serving up more than enough memories to last a lifetime.

There sure are a lot of streamers these days. Three of them are even owned by the same company: Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Sure, you can get them in a bundle, but it can be a bit of a hassle. What if you want to spend the evening watching The Bear, on Hulu, followed by the 1971 live-action Disney comedy Million Dollar Duck? You’d have to switch to a whole other streamer (Disney+, of course). If you’ve ever found yourself in this predicament, then we have good news for you.

As per Deadline, The Walt Disney Company is finally — finally! — merging Disney+ and Hulu into one single streamer. (Sorry, ESPN+, but you’ll remain on your own.) The change won’t happen any time soon. Company honcho Bob Iger says their new “one-app experience” (again, excluding ESPN+) will arrive later this year. There’s no word yet on what the streamer will be called, but let’s imagine it will be something like Husney or Dislu or maybe simply Max 2.

Iger broke the news at Disney’s second-quarter earnings call… when he also coincidentally announced that Disney+ lost some four million subscribers in the last few months. About 300,000 of those are from the U.S. and Canada. Hulu and ESPN+, meanwhile, gained 200,000 and 400,000 subscribers, respectively. Disney also saw its Parks, Experiences and Products, often the most profitable part of the company, climb 17 percent. So don’t shed a tear for Disney. They’re doing fine.

Or mostly fine: Disney recently enacted companywide layoffs, there’s a WGA strike that probably won’t be ending any time soon, and there’s Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has decided it was smart to go after the biggest company in his state. But at least they appear to be winning that one.

(Via Deadline)

When The Expendables star Dolph Lundgren reprised his Rocky IV role for 2018’s Creed II (which functioned like a Rocky IV sequel), the audience had no idea that he’d already been battling cancer for a few years. As Lundgren recently discussed with the host of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, however, he was told by one doctor that his cancer was terminal. That (fortunately erroneous) declaration happened around 2020 when surgeons discovered six new tumors on one of the actor’s kidneys.

Yes, six. That was when Dolph realized that his remission had come to an end, and at the time, his doctor told him that he only had a few years (at the most) left to live. Dolph didn’t agree, so he found a different doctor, who diagnosed him with a form of cancer that should be treated in a manner similar to lung cancer. And he began to make a miraculous recovery. As seen at the beginning of the Bensinger interview above, Dolph is initially seen in the hospital discussing those six surprise tumors, and he echoed his most infamous Rocky IV line, “If he dies, he dies” by changing it up to “[i]f it dies, it dies.”

Fortunately, those tumors did die, and Dolph is going strong. He’ll soon be seen in several movies, including Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Expendables 4.

Have you embraced the power of Timothée Chalamet yet? It’s been a busy few years for the lad, and if you haven’t caught on, now is your time. Many of us thought that the Call Me By Your Name star would have his fifteen minutes and then land on some Netflix teenage romcom saga like so many before him, but we quickly learned that this dude isn’t going anywhere, mostly because he has now been shot into the Kardashian orbit.

Chris Pratt, who recently compared himself to the likes of Jesus, isn’t immune to Chalamet’s charm. Or maybe he just really wants to secure that Wonka cameo as Hugh Grant’s Oompa assistant. Whatever the reason, Pratt decided to post a photo with the caption calling Timmy “America’s tastiest snack.” Oreo could not be reached for comment.

Has Chalamet responded? You bet not. Will he? No, because it would clash with his Instagram aesthetic. So what is the purpose of this here post? Probably to prove to the youths, who have not been kind to Pratt, that he’s cool too! But is he?

Through intense detection skills (eyes) we can tell that Timmy here is still wearing his mask, meaning he probably didn’t stick around to talk to Pratt for too long (his iced coffee was barely touched) and just snapped a quick pic. With a cupcake (??). Or maybe he didn’t want to be noticed. But that didn’t stop Pratt, who often doesn’t care what people think, much like Jesus.

On the other hand, maybe Chalamet was trying to get on Pratt’s good side in order to appear in the Super Mario franchise, probably as Lumalee. They have the same hairstyle! Who knows!

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Mark Zuckerberg has his share of critics. (Right now Elon Musk probably isn’t his biggest fan.) Joe Rogan isn’t one of them, at least when it comes to his foray into martial arts. Last time the Facebook/Meta top dog was on The Joe Rogan Experience, one thing they discussed was the former’s love of Jiu-Jitsu, the Japanese form of close combat. Cut to this past weekend and Zuck won his first such match. Color Rogan impressed!

On Wednesday’s show, Rogan was chatting with stand-ups Kim Congdon and Sara Weinshenk about Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, which he encouraged they take up. That got Rogan thinking about the Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce fan’s big win.

“Did you see Mark Zuckerberg won a gold medal in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition?” Rogan asked the two. He then uttered the magic words, “Mark Zuckerberg is a f*cking savage.”

He kept gushing: “This dude has been training Jiu-Jitsu. This is what he did. He wore a Covid mask and he fucking put a hat on and he hid. He used an alias.”

Rogan then thought about what it must have been like to have gotten beat up by someone once portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg:

“Imagine you’re right about to compete in like maybe your first competition. ‘Well just give it a try. I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen?’ Worst thing that could happen — you get strangled by a super-nerd in front of the whole world.”

Zuckerberg has been training in Jiu-Jitsu for the last few years. At last weekend’s competition, he nabbed both gold and silver medals, which he posted on both his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

So congrats to Mark Zuckerberg, not only for the win but also for impressing someone who thinks The Rock juices. You can watch Rogan’s clip in the video above.

(Via Mediaite)

After Tom Cruise was photographed next to Shakira during this past weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami, the internet went wild with rumors that the Mission: Impossible star is dating the recently single singer. And as footage of the two hanging out at the event bounced around TikTok, a source informed Page Six that romance is in the air.

“He is extremely interested in pursuing her,” the source said. “There is chemistry.”

The 46-year-old singer publicly broke things off with her soccer player boyfriend, Gerard Piqué, over allegations that he was having an affair. Now that she’s living in Miami, Shakira is reportedly open to dating the Top Gun: Maverick star:

“Shakira needs a soft pillow to fall on, and that could be Tom,” says our source — adding that Cruise has the benefit of being, “a nice-looking guy, and he is talented.”

The source also cracked, “And she isn’t taller than him.”

Page Six also reports that Cruise “was so taken by the pop diva that he allegedly sent her flowers.” However, it should be noted that, at the moment, a Cruise-Shakira pairing is nothing more than tabloid speculation based on two very famous people being at the same event at the same time. Formula 1 racing is trying to make a huge splash in America, so of course, the sport is rolling out the red carpet for celebrities.

So, are Cruise and Shakira definitely dating? No. Could this all just be artfully constructed public relations? Sure. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t not dating. For now. Maybe. Or not! Here’s hoping Shakira likes fighter jets!

(Via Page Six)

Apple TV+’s hit show Ted Lasso is notorious for its pop culture reference, from borrowing memes and viral news stories for storylines to the titular coach’s brainy rock-referencing inside jokes. But in the latest episode, streaming today, it’s sidekick Coach Beard who gets to take control of the pop culture discussion on the show — and he delivers a blazing hot take about classic rockers Joe Walsh and Jimmy Page that is sure to have the show’s fans ready to take the debate offscreen and online.

Minor spoilers for episode 9 are below.

When Ted has to forego a press conference for a parent-teacher conference, responsibility for dealing with a room full of journalists falls nominally to lovable grouch Roy Kent. However, in typical curmudgeonly fashion, Roy opts out, sending Beard in his place. This, predictably, has disastrous consequences, as team owner Rebecca learns upon walking into a press room in complete disarray. Rather than discussing the team’s strategy in their forthcoming match, Beard ends up loudly debating a controversial opinion with The Independent‘s new beat writer.

To sum it up: Beard is convinced that Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh is underrated in contrast to Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, who he calls overrated before indulging in some slightly more colorful language. Naturally, this causes quite the stir among the assembled Brits — as my colleague Brian Grubb put it in his recap, “Joe Walsh over Jimmy Page, in England, might get your home vandalized” — forcing Rebecca to try and salvage the situation. Unfortunately, her response to “best rock guitarist of all time” isn’t much better: “the guy from Cream” isn’t much of an answer, although Eric Clapton does have his supporters in the debate, even if his star has fallen in recent years.

The only downside to the whole fiasco is we don’t get every character’s take; I don’t know about you, but I could have sat through another 5-10 minutes of Ted, Trent, Higgins, Rebecca, and Roy sitting around and hashing out just who the greatest rock guitarist ever is, but alas: The football show had some football to show but at least we got a very funny bit out it.