Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Nothing gold can stay. 

A bunch of humorless and fun-hating jerks are trying to ruin the famous Hillsborough, Calif., Flintstones-style house by getting it declared a public nuisance. So reports the East Bay Times, which notes that it’s the latest additions to the home that have Hillsborough planning and building officials peeved.

And what might those additions be? Why, freaking dinosaurs, of course. 

More about Homes, Flintstones, Culture, and Other

Having tasted the viral birth highs of 2017, it was only a matter of time before April the giraffe came back to YouTube for another sweet hit of the good stuff. 

That’s right, everyone’s favorite cam star is back at it again. According to the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, April gave birth to a healthy male calf at 12:43 p.m. ET on March 16. 

A Facebook post announcing the birth neglected to mention that we are all born into suffering. 

“Approximately 11:00 am, Jordan entered the barn to check April, who laid with her back end just out of camera view on both camera angles,” reads the post. “Upon Jordan’s entry to the barn, April stood up and revealed that she had in fact been in labor and the calf’s hooves and first 8-10” of leg were emerging!” Read more…

More about Youtube, April The Giraffe, Culture, and Animals

Eighty-four percent of the time, it works every time. 

A study involving more than 400,000 participants and their Apple Watches indicated that the smart device may provide some form of early warning for those experiencing the heart rate irregularity known as atrial fibrillation. So reports Reuters, which notes that the research was funded by Apple. 

The study, done in collaboration with Stanford Medicine, required people to wear an Apple Watch and made use of the watch’s irregular rhythm notification feature. It found that around 84 percent of the people notified of an irregular heart rate by the watch were actually confirmed “to be in atrial fibrillation at the time of the notification.” Read more…

More about Apple, Apple Watch, Tech, Consumer Tech, and Big Tech Companies

The entertainment industry is really going all out to sex up Ted Bundy, between Netflix’s documentary series on the serial killer and the upcoming Zac Efron-starring Bundy film, and Stephen Colbert has had enough of it. 

Responding to viewer tweets that discussed Bundy’s hotness, Colbert deadpanned, he was smokin’ because they gave him the electric chair for murdering people.” And the host even shared a Netflix tweet that shared the same sentiment. 

But then Colbert kicked it up a notch with a trailer for his new true crime series, Dialogue with a Demon: The Dick Nighttime Murders. Experts regale the camera with talk of serial killer Richard “Dick” Nighttime’s abs, biceps, and his beautiful blue eyes. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Tv, Stephen Colbert, Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Ted Bundy

The more getting rejected changes, the more getting rejected stays the same. 

Tinder announced in a March 15 blog post that it had stopped showing users potential matches based on the frequency with which people swiped left or right on their respective accounts. Now, using lots of words to explain very little, the company says it just does something even more nebulous and undefined — but you’d better believe that people running for the hills from your terrible profile still affects which potential matches you’re shown. 

More about Tinder, Dating Apps, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

As we struggle our way through the cold mud towards spring amidst a barrage of awful news, it’s good to know that we can still find respite in the most reliable of places: adorable zoo animals.

This latest example comes in the debut of a new polar bear cub at Berlin’s Tierpark Zoo. The three-month old cub is the offspring of mother Tonja and was born on December 1, 2018, but she just made her public debut on Friday.

AND JUST LOOK AT HER!

More about Polar Bears, Polar Bear Cub, Berlin Zoo, Culture, and Animals

One Australian teen gave the world a much-needed moment of catharsis on Saturday, egging Australian senator Fraser Anning over his reaction to the horrific Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooting and taking a punch in the face for his efforts. 

Video of the incident, showing the teen sliding up behind Anning while he spoke to reporters, immediately went viral. The teen splats an egg on the back of Anning’s head, filming the whole thing with his phone, which prompted Anning to spin around and throw a punch at the kid. 

More about Egg, New Zealand, Anning Fraser, Culture, and Web Culture

If a new report is correct, you could soon have the option of playing a smattering of mobile games on Snapchat in between all of those goofy snaps you take of your dog barking at its own shadow. 

The news comes from Cheddar, which reports that Snapchat will announce the platform, codenamed “Project Cognac,” at its partner summit on April 4 in Los Angeles. Cheddar also reports having seen an invitation for the event (I assume mine was lost in the mail) that features the slogan, “Less talk. More play.” 

Snapchat hasn’t publicly commented on the report; Mashable has reached out for further details as well.  Read more…

More about Snapchat, Tencent, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

March Mindfulness is our new series that examines the explosive growth in mindfulness and meditation technology — culminating in Mashable’s groundbreaking competitive meditation bracket contest. Because March shouldn’t be all madness.

When you’re stressed — consumed by thoughts about your next career move, that embarrassing thing you said a few weeks ago, or anything else that makes your chest tight — it’s helpful to bring yourself back into the present by taking a few deep, steady breaths. 

Obviously, that’s not always easy, but there are plenty of captivating GIFs that can help you visualize your way to mindfulness. These 10 will shift your focus away from your thoughts and toward your breathing. Take a look, breathe in, breath out, and wind down.  Read more…

More about Gifs, Calming, Soothing, Mindfulness, and March Mindfulness

Another day, another internet giant belatedly deciding to apply its own policies in the face of a tragedy. 

Following the tragic Christchurch terrorist attack in New Zealand that left 49 people dead and scores more injured, and the subsequent sharing online of a livestream from the killer, Reddit has banned two subreddits that it now says glorified or celebrated violence. 

The first, r/watchpeopledie, was pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a place where people shared and commented on grisly videos of real deaths. The second, r/gore, was less specific in its death requirements but also contained violent video and images.  Read more…

More about Reddit, Tech, and Big Tech Companies