Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Last Thursday, Alex Hall was set to post a new cooking tutorial on The Bottoms Digest, a bottom-friendly recipe TikTok account he runs with his husband Mike Floeck. Instead, he was met with hundreds of messages from concerned followers and friends. Food delivery app Postmates had just released their bottom-friendly menu campaign for Pride Month — and people were quick to notice the similarities. 

“I opened the video and was completely shocked,” Hall told Mashable. 

The app partnered with anal surgeon Dr. Evan Goldstein to provide delivery suggestions for dishes for people who plan on receiving anal sex. Postmates announced the campaign, called “Eat With Pride,” with a video featuring animated eggplants as tops and peaches as bottoms. The company claimed this to be the first-ever bottom-friendly menu.

“They say that they were the first to create a bottom-friendly menu, when we were actually the first — over a year ago — to do so,” said Hall. He and Floeck have been posting recipes on The Bottoms Digest since last June, and are among a group of popular creators of Bottoming TikTok.

Hall stated that in addition to using the same phrase “bottom-friendly,” Postmates used similar colors, cadence, and copy as his introduction video to Bottoms Digest, which he published over a year ago. 

Even the slogan in Bottoms Digest’s video, “Peachy clean recipes for a peachy clean time,” is slightly similar to Postmates’s Instagram caption, “You shouldn’t miss a good meal for a good time.”

“Yet again, a corporation is hijacking content and ideas and original work from a queer person,” Hall said, “especially during Pride to profit off of it just for 30 days.” He referenced Target seemingly copying a queer creator’s design in 2018 and printing it on a T-shirt.

Besides the similarities, Hall took issue with Postmates’ broader campaign messaging. The Bottoms Digest, which has over 130,000 TikTok followers, seeks to remind their audience that the recipes aren’t about preventing messes in the bedroom — they’re about comfort and consent. Postmates’ “Eat With Pride” campaign, however, is purely focused on preventing mess when having anal sex. 

Further, the ad centers gay men — both narrator Rob Anderson and Postmates partner Dr. Evan Goldstein are white gay men, specifically — when Bottoms Digest teaches that anyone can bottom. 

“The video was just riddled with cliches and stigmas” of the LGBTQ community, Hall said. The campaign’s eggplant tops are adorned with harnesses, for example. Drag queens are portrayed as cupcakes. 

Finally, there’s the issue of some actual options Postmates offers for this campaign. Though the company’s ad notes foods a bottom should avoid 24 hours before sex (insoluble fiber-loaded things like whole grains, potatoes, cauliflower, and legumes) and encourages choosing foods full of soluble fiber and protein like sushi, both pizza and coffee are on the app’s bottom-friendly menu, Hall noticed: 

Pizza and coffee aren’t exactly “bottom-friendly” — they’re commonly associated with making people gassy or giving them “the shits,” as a critic of the menu pointed out on TikTok. Hall himself expressed this concern in a call with Postmates the day after the campaign dropped. The company apparently told Hall the pizza had been vetted and was dairy-free (provided by Prince Street Pizza, a chain in New York and Los Angeles), but Hall replied that tomato sauce, garlic, and onion could be problematic for some people’s digestion. The Postmates ad even displays pizza as an example of a food with insoluble fiber to avoid right before bottoming.

“Someone’s gonna order this damn pizza that they think is bottom-friendly. They’re gonna have a guy come over and they’re gonna feel awful,” Hall said, “and it’s just going to be a shame-ridden experience.”

As for coffee (available through Alfred Coffee according to screenshots), Postmates allegedly told Hall that matcha is available, to which Hall replied that oat milk gives some people gas.

In a statement to Mashable, a Postmates spokesperson said, “Our team has been in touch with The Bottom’s Digest. We appreciate their work, and we hear their feedback loud and clear, in regards to our shared goal of addressing a more inclusive sex education.”

“As a company focused on delivery to your doorstep, we don’t claim to be chefs or medical professionals,” the spokesperson continued. “That’s why we leaned on a health expert to launch the Eat with Pride Bottom-Friendly delivery menu—and we’re happy to keep learning as part of an important, and often omitted, conversation on good meals and good times.” The Postmates spokesperson went on to add that the company will continue to support the LGBTQ community after Pride month.

The Bottoms Digest develops recipes and has a test group try them out and offer feedback. The group includes trans people who take hormones and people with IBS. This goes into the account’s broader messaging, said Hall: Not only can anyone bottom, but anyone can also benefit from their recipes if they don’t.

While many followers called out Postmates, others asked Hall why he didn’t trademark the brand. He didn’t on purpose — not only would that not stop a corporation from stealing, he said, but it’s more so because Bottoms Digest is for everyone. 

“I use my privilege to remind people that my channel is for everyone,” he said. “I think it’s extremely privileged for me to try to go trademark ‘bottom-friendly.'”

Hall and Floeck have been in contact with Postmates in the days since the campaign release, but say it’s been an anxiety-ridden experience. “Are we [small queer businesses] just gonna continue to experience this every single June?” Hall asked. He said it’s unfair to small queer businesses.

Corporations lifting ideas from small creators in order to cash in on one month a year is just the latest example of capitalist pinkwashing. This Pride, let’s focus on the businesses that are queer all year.

It is Wednesday, my dudes, and while there’s a new Wordle every single day, only one day of the week shares an initial with our fave word puzzle, and that just feels special, doesn’t it? Though working it out all by yourself is the most satisfying option, if you get stuck and start to get nervous about your streak, we’ve got some tips and hints to nudge you towards the solution.

You can skip to the very end of this article for the answer to the June 15 Wordle, #361 — or if you’re not down for spoilers just yet, scroll down for a few tips, gentle hints, and strategies to help you every day.

Wordle was created by former Reddit engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his puzzle-loving partner, but soon went mega-viral. Thousands of people around the globe now play this game each day, and fans have even created alternatives to Wordle inspired by the original format. This includes music identification game Heardle, Hollywood nerd faves Actorle and Framed, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

In fact, the word puzzle game has proved so popular that the New York Times eventually bought it, and TikTok creators livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you’re after? You’ll find the Wordle answer for June 14 here.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

We have some ideas to help you pick the perfect first move (or as close to perfect as you can get without just magically guessing the exact right word). Such tips include choosing a word with at least two different vowels in it, plus a few common consonants such as S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

While you could once play the entire archive of past puzzles, the archive was taken down at the request of the New York Times, according to the site.

Is Wordle getting harder?

If you’ve been finding Wordle too easy, there is a Hard Mode you can enable to give yourself more of a challenge. But unless you activate this mode, we can assure you that Wordle isn’t getting harder. 

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

The whole point of Wordle is that everyone’s solving the same puzzle, with the same answer, no matter where you are in the world. However, occasionally the puzzle game will accept two different correct solutions on the same day, in apparent defiance of Wordle law.

This aberration is due to changes the New York Times began making after it acquired Wordle earlier this year. To make sure you’re always getting the same puzzle as everyone else, refresh your browser before you play — don’t worry, the site will keep your streak.

A subtle hint for the June 15 Wordle answer:

Number one, top tier, chef kiss.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

The letter P!

What’s the answer to Wordle on June 15?

Enough teasing!

We’ll tell you the answer now.

Ready?

Today’s Wordle answer is…

PRIMO.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Amanda Yeo and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Trying to game Wordle isn’t my bag, I’ll admit.

My ideal daily Wordle session starts with me plucking a legible five-letter combination out from my stream of consciousness and seeing where that random guess takes me.

The game becomes a sort of linguistic Magic Eye at that point: If I loosen my focus and look past the initial guess to imagine all the words that might be formed from any yellow- or green-marked letter, I’ll eventually find the answer. Or not! And that’s OK, I’m fine with a loss.

Some people like to win under any circumstances, though, and I get it. It feels great to maintain that daily streak, especially as it jumps into the double digits and beyond.

Sure, you could always cheat and look up the answer, but there’s no sense of accomplishment in that. Gaming Wordle is the only agreeable middle-ground there, and the best place to find that comfort zone is starting word strategy.

So let’s get into it. The internet has lots of thoughts.

Looking for the Wordle answer today? Here are some Wordle hints and the answer for June 15.

How should we think about Wordle starting word strategies?

Let’s think about this holistically first. You’ve got 26 letters in the alphabet. Of those, five (plus the letter “Y” at times) are vowels, the basic building block for most words.

So at a very basic level, any five-letter combination that helps you rule out more vowels early is going to trim down the galaxy of possible answers.

Quadruple the Wordle: Embrace chaos with the four-at-once Quordle

With that basic reality in mind, we can immediately pick out a few ideal starting words There are others, but ADIEU, AUDIO, and OUIJA all cover four vowels. You won’t know if any yellow or green letters appear twice, say if the answer is “sweet” or “radar,” but you can at least out some critical letters right at the start.

Credit: Brandon Bell / Staff via Getty Images

That’s good enough for most people. Starting with vowel-heavy words will give you an edge with Wordle‘s puzzle-solving every time. But it’s also not that simple, since not every letter is created equally. Yes, vowels appear in basically every word, but some are more or less common. The same goes for consonants.

There’s also the Wordle dictionary. There are more than 10,000 words the game will recognize as allowable guesses, but there’s a much smaller list of words — only a few thousand — that qualify as possible solutions. The NYT even trimmed down that solution list after it acquired Wordle. So while you could use a more obscure word like AUREI (the plural form of aureus, an ancient Roman gold coin, for those who are curious!) as a guess, it’s not going to be the day’s answer.

If going vowel-heavy isn’t enough and you want to cover some of the more common consonants as well, RAISE is an ideal starting word since it covers the three most common vowels and the two most common consonants as they appear in dictionaries.

14 Wordle clones: Because one Wordle a day just isn’t enough

What is the best Wordle starting word, really?

For those who don’t want to risk feeling like they’re cheating Wordle, you might want to stop reading here. You can use the strategies and ways of thinking above to give yourself an edge in every day’s new puzzle, and that’s plenty for most players.

For those who want to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, however, there’s an excellent video from Grant Sanderson, a mathematician and computer scientist who goes by 3Blue1Brown on YouTube. Sanderson applied his knowledge of “information theory” to Wordle, and he coded some testing programs that measure things like letter frequency to determine the best of the best starting words.

It’s a dense 30 minutes of explanation that’s heavy on the math talk, but Sanderson’s friendly demeanor and willingness to take the time necessary to break down complex ideas for viewers makes it a fascinating watch.

In this initial video from Sanderson (you didn’t think it was going to be as easy as one video, did you?), the ultimate takeaway leaves us with CRANE as the best Wordle starting word. But it’s not that simple. Because Sanderson’s breakdown focuses on letter frequency, CRANE is just the first stage of information gathering. It’s only the “best” if you use what you know about the right and wrong letters in that first word to inform a perfect second guess.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Is your head swimming yet? Do you wish you’d just tapped out after the first section?? That’s where I’m at! But wait, we’re not even done yet.

A week after the above video post, Sanderson dropped another one, titled “Oh, wait, actually the best Wordle opener is not ‘crane’….” It turns out, there was a slight bug in his original test program. He says right up front that the bug “affects a very small percentage of cases,” so it doesn’t undermine the substantive lessons from the first video.

Without getting into the heavy math, the bug relates specifically to solutions that have multiples of the same letter, and how Wordle handles that.

Sanderson felt the need to put out a second video because, while “very little of substance actually changes” from the original video, the final conclusion relating to optimal starting word is affected. The same caveat from before applies here as well: An optimal starting word is only as good as how the guess that follows uses the information gleaned from the first one.

With that context in mind, Sanderson’s amended ideal starting word is SALET (which is an alternate spelling for “sallet,” a type of helmet worn during the Middle Ages #themoreyouknow), though TRACE and CRATE work nearly as well. Especially since both of those latter options are potential Wordle solutions.

• The week’s Wordle answers, ranked by how cool they’d sound if Patrick Stewart said them

• This unhinged DIY might be the most ‘Wordle’ you can play in a day

• The ‘Wordle’ group chat is the easiest way to stay in touch

• ‘Heardle’ is ‘Wordle’ but make it music

Honestly, one of the most important takeaways from all these dives down math-y rabbit holes is the notion I mentioned above: Your first guess is only strong in the context of the guesses that follow. That’s the whole game of Wordle in the end: A single guess provides you with information that you then need to use to narrow down the list of subsequent guesses.

But! (Yeah, we’re not done here.) There’s another school of thought on how to approach solving Wordle. Instead of playing the game as intended and using each previous guess to inform the next one, you instead stick to the letter frequency game and try to rule out the most common letters, consonants and vowels both, up front, irrespective of any clues you pick up.

This approach effectively “wastes” your starting stretch of guesses on locked-in choices that are meant to narrow down the number of possible letters you have to work with. Just know that if you play Wordle in “hard mode,” this strategy won’t work, since each successive guess needs to include any letters that are confirmed to be in the solution by the previous guess.

Is there a best Wordle starting word that doesn’t go so hard on all the math?

As the top commenter on Sanderson’s original video legendarily notes: “Interesting video, real good stuff. Gonna keep using PENIS but this was really cool and informative!”

For those who want to skip the long and winding road into math-land, YouTuber Bentellect has a short, sweet breakdown of his starting strategy.

So RATIO first, then MENDS, then LUCKY. That’s it. With those three choices, you’ll have slimmed down the list of possible letters to the point that figuring out the solution with your final guesses becomes significantly easier. It’s not a surefire winning strategy for every day’s puzzle. I’m not sure there is one, and even if there is, knowing it would essentially break the game.

Mashable’s own Wordle expert Caitlin Welsh prefers a different three-word starter combination: SCALY, GUIDE, and THORN. The premise is the same though: Caitlin, like Bentellect, is narrowing down the list of possible letters that could appear in the solution by casting the widest net possible, alphabetically speaking, with her first three guesses.

So there you have it. There’s no single perfect starting guess for Wordle. There’s a whole spectrum of them, along with a long list of caveats that basically boil down to: How much do you want to break the game? I said it at the start and I’ll say it again: Stream of consciousness is the way to go. Use Wordle like I do, as a meditative brain-bender to loosen up those thinking muscles at the start of your day.

For those who want to win at any cost, though, hopefully this extended rundown of what works best will get you closer to climbing that daily streak into the triple digits.

As someone who’s passionate about reducing waste, one area I’ve found myself lacking is in my use of tampons. But reducing waste isn’t the only reason to make the switch to tampon alternatives: A reusable period product like menstrual cups, menstrual discs, reusable pads, and period underwear can also save you a ton of money in the long run. A single reusable disc or cup, for instance, only costs $30 to $40 to start and can last up to 10 years, which ends up way cheaper than buying new tampons and pads each month.

Discs, cups, underwear, and pads
Credit: Anne Loreto Cruz

Since the pandemic has me working from home, I figured it was the perfect time to try more than a dozen menstrual products without having to worry about bleeding through my pants during a 40-minute commute on the subway. Here’s what I found out.

Menstrual cups, $20-40

One of the most common alternatives to tampons and pads are menstrual cups, which collect blood from inside the vaginal canal for up to 12 hours at a time. I’d been wanting to switch over to a more reusable product like a cup for a while, but I’d felt too overwhelmed by the wide variety of options of styles, sizes, and shapes to make a choice.

Here’s what I learned in writing this story: The general shape of a cup is typically the same between different brands, but some are longer than others to account for higher or lower cervixes. (You can easily measure your cervix height with a finger if you’re not sure.) Another factor to consider is diameter. Many brands suggest slim or small options for someone like me (under 30, hasn’t carried a full-term pregnancy), but those are just suggestions. There are quizzes you can take to see what products potentially match well with your body and lifestyle, but each person’s vagina is different, so you may need to experiment to find the best fit.

Kim Rosas, menstrual product expert and founder of Period Nirvana, a site that helps people better understand and shop for menstrual products, noted that even a perfectly sized cup will take a few cycles to work out the kinks. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t seal perfectly or feel comfortable right away.

All kinds of cups
Credit: Anne Loreto Cruz

“Knowing what cup is going to work for you definitely cuts down on some of the mishaps that could potentially happen,” she said. “But certainly even with an amazing cup, the perfect cup for you, it still takes some time.”

I ordered three cups likely to work for my body type: the Flex cup, an ergonomically shaped Kind cup, and the Saalt Soft cup, which Rosas said has a good chance at fitting an “average” vagina (Disclosure: As a former team member of Put a Cup In It, a menstrual product blog, Rosas collaborated with Saalt to develop their Soft cup in 2019.)

Credit: courtesy flex

The Kind cup was an initial favorite. It was easy to insert and felt more comfortable than using a tampon. Since it has an asymmetrical design, I was slightly worried that if I twisted it during insertion it wouldn’t sit as well, but I didn’t experience any leaks or discomfort while wearing it, and other than that, using the Kind cup was a breeze. Another cool feature is its extra long stem, which helps you find the cup with your fingers for removal and can be trimmed for comfort.

As with most cups, the stem is merely used to find the base of the cup when it’s time to take it out after 12 hours or when full. While the design of a cup’s stem is reminiscent of a tampon, you definitely shouldn’t pull it out the same way. Always release the cup’s suction before pulling it out; you do this by pinching the cup’s base to break the seal.

The best way to clean a cup in between uses is to dump its contents in the toilet, then rinse it clean in a sink before reinserting it, but you can wipe it down with toilet paper or disposable wipes if you don’t have access to a sink. Removing and dumping the contents of a cup is definitely a bit more hands-on than pulling out a tampon, but once you get the hang of pulling a cup out, most of the blood stays in the cup rather than getting all over your hands.

Credit: Flex

A note of warning: Menstrual cups might not be the best option if you use an intrauterine device, said June Gupta, a Maryland-based women’s health nurse practitioner and the director of Medical Standards at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “The suction from removing the cup can cause your IUD to move out of place, making it less effective at preventing pregnancy,” Gupta explained in an email.

Since I have an IUD myself, I proceeded with utmost caution while trying out the other cup options. The Flex cup had a cool pull tab design that unseals the cup so you don’t have to pinch the cup’s base, but overall I’d still be too spooked about the risks to my IUD to use these regularly. And while I really wanted to like the Saalt Soft cup, I found it too difficult to remove compared to the other two cups I tried.

Menstrual discs, $13-40

Another tampon alternative that Rosas recommends are reusable menstrual discs. Discs are tucked between the vaginal fornix and the pubic bone instead of sitting in the vaginal canal like cups. To insert, you squeeze the disc to form a narrow shape and insert it into your vagina like you would a tampon, then lightly push the front edge of the disc up behind your pubic bone to set it in place.

One selling point for discs is that you can have penetrative sex while wearing them. Rosas also said that since discs don’t sit in the vaginal canal, they fit more universally and require less guesswork than cups. “Cups can sometimes slide down or be forced out, because they’re held with muscle tone,” Rosas said. “But discs are far less finicky in that department.”

Since they don’t require a seal or suction within the vaginal walls to stay in place, they’re also a possible alternative to cups for people with IUDs.

I first tried Ziggy, a reusable menstrual disc by the brand Intimina, as well as disposable discs from Flex and Softdisc. Inserting the Ziggy felt so easy compared to wrestling with menstrual cups that it felt too easy.

Credit: Ziggy by Intimina

The Ziggy felt more comfortable to me than the disposable discs I tried, since its rim is made with super soft silicone rather than firm plastic. I also tried another reusable disc, Nixit, and found it easy to insert and comfortable to wear.

However, all of the discs involved a bit of hassle to remove. To take out a disc, you need to catch the rim of the disc with a finger, then pull it down to untuck it from behind the pubic bone. Since the area where blood collects is a shallow dish that doesn’t really hold its shape, it acts somewhat like a piece of paper underneath a glass of water: Once removed, blood kinda gets everywhere no matter what. Rosas recommended taking discs out in the shower until you get the hang of it, then you can try removing them over the toilet and somewhat aim the mess into the toilet (I have not gotten there yet).

With disposable discs, you simply throw them away after a single use. With reusable discs, you can rinse them clean just like you would a menstrual cup, then sanitize them by boiling for five minutes at the end of your cycle.

Credit: Softdisc

Being able to have mess-free period sex was also a neat feature, although it’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s “mess-free” for the person not wearing the disc, as there’s plenty of mess once the disc has to come out. I barely felt the discs during sex, though my partner reported that certain positions were less comfortable for him while I was wearing it. I didn’t love the disposable discs (the rim was more firm and noticeable once inserted, and the crinkly plastic was off-putting) or the waste they create, but since discs can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time, they still create less waste than tampons.

Reusable pads, $10-22

If internal menstrual products aren’t appealing to you, reusable pads are a great option to reduce waste with a minimal learning curve. They function essentially the same as disposable pads, except they use snaps instead of adhesive to stay in place.

I tried a pack of reusable pads from Simfamily, which comes with six pads and a carrying case. For folks more used to pads, these were nearly the same, except that the lack of adhesive causes the pad to shift and need adjustment throughout the day. You can wear these for up to eight hours, but how frequently you change them out will depend on how heavy your flow is, just like with a disposable pad.

I also tried reusable pads from Aisle, which has been making reusable period products since the early ‘90s. The pads from Aisle felt much less bulky than the ones from Simfamily, and they didn’t tend to slide around as much either.

Credit: Aisle

To clean these after each use, you can rinse or pre-soak the pads, then toss them into the washer.

As someone more accustomed to internal period products like tampons, the pads weren’t my favorite. Between the two brands I tried, the Simfamily pads left me feeling slightly sweaty and uncomfortable after long periods of sitting at my desk, but they’re still a good choice for someone looking to get into reusable pads on a budget. If you’re willing to invest for more comfort (and cute muted styles), the Aisle pads were my favorite in this category.

I also tried interlabial pads, small petals of cloth you tuck into your labia rather than insert into the vagina, but they were definitely the most uncomfortable option I tried. Rosas agreed, describing the feeling of the petals as like “a constant wedgie.” Without a dedicated laundering bag, these were also a pain to wash, and got lost in the nooks and crannies of my dryer.

Period underwear, $15-50

Rosas said period underwear can serve as an excellent backup for cups or discs so you can get the hang of things without worrying about leaks. They’re also great for full-time use for lighter days or for those looking for a sustainable option who don’t want to use internal menstrual products. There’s no set interval at which you have to swap out your period underwear, but after a few hours bacteria begins forming and they’ll start to smell pretty gross, so it’s a good idea to change them out regularly.

When you change out period underwear will also depend on the underwear’s absorbency and your flow. My period is pretty light, so I never fully saturated any pairs with blood, but someone with a heavier flow will want to either reach for higher absorbency pairs or plan to change them out regularly to prevent leaks.

Credit: Aisle

Some of the different brands I tried felt like wearing an awkward built-in pad; others felt remarkably similar to my regular underwear. Overall, I found period underwear to be a great option for when I’m staying home, but I could see changing pairs in the middle of the day being an issue if I were working in an office.

My favorite pairs were the Knix dream short, which felt super comfy and cute while also promising great overnight absorption, and the Innersy 3-pack of underwear, which would be good for lighter days and was the most affordable period underwear I tried. Aisle’s boxer briefs were also super comfy to wear and can be a great option trans or nonbinary people who menstruate.

To best clean period underwear, most companies recommend pre-soaking or rinsing with cold water before tossing into the wash. It’s not a ton of work, but I do think my roommate would be somewhat surprised to see my blood tinged underwear drip-drying in the tub.

And … sea sponges?

Of all of the products I asked Rosas about, there was only one she hadn’t tried: menstrual sea sponges. (Disclosure: I didn’t try them, either.)

“I am going to fully admit that I’m not brave enough to try that product,” she said. “And I’ve put a lot of sketchy looking things in there to try in the name of testing products.”

Rosas said that the unregulated nature of products like sea sponges and homemade tampons gives her pause. When I looked into menstrual sponges for myself, I found that the FDA also classifies menstrual sponges as “significant risk devices,” which can pose serious potential risks to the health and welfare of the user. In comparison, products like menstrual cups and discs are made with medical-grade materials, and must be cleared for sale in the U.S. by the FDA.

June Gupta agreed with Rosas’ concern for untested period products, saying that not all tampon alternatives are good ones. As with anything else you might put in your body, it’s always a good idea to do your own research or consult with your doctor before making major changes to your period routine.

“Crocheted or cloth tampons are untested, unregulated, and can potentially cause dangerous problems including toxic shock syndrome, which is what happens when there is an overgrowth of staph bacteria in the vagina causing your body to go into shock,” Gupta said. And no one wants that.

This story was published in 2021 and updated in June 2022.

UPDATE: Jun. 14, 2022, 3:30 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to include the latest sale prices and availability on sex toys.

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Vibrator deals

Why we like it

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Clitoral stimulator and suction toy deals

Why we like it

Read more from Mashable about the Satisfyer Pro 2.

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• We-Vibe Tango and Satisfyer Pro 2 bundle — $96.99 $148.99 (save $52)

• Lelo Sona Cruise 2 — $109.99 $139 (save $29.01)

• Womanizer Premium 2 — $158.18 $199 (save $40.82 with code SELF)

Dildo deals

Why we like it

When it comes down to it, everyone will have their own preferences when it comes to dildos (or any sex toys, for that matter), but here’s why this one is worth a second look. The silicone material gives the dildo some flex, so you can find those just-right angles (which can feel even better thanks to its approachable size). The circular base doubles as a suction cup too, making this dildo easy to hold, fit into a harness, or stick on to the non-porous surface of your choosing.

More dildo deals:

• Adam & Eve Cool Curve Jelly Dildo — $13.72 $24.95 (save $11.23 with code AESAVE45)

• Lovehoney Sensual Glass Double-Ended G-Spot Dildo — $18.49 $36.99 (save $18.50)

• Adam & Eve Twisted Love Glass Dildo — $21.97 $39.95 (save $17.98 with code AESAVE45)

• Colours 5-inch Silicone Realistic Dildo — $21.97 $39.95 (save $17.98 with code AESAVE45)

• Blush Impressions N5 Vibrating Dildo with Suction Cup — $39.99 $69.99 (save $30)

• Kingcock Strap-on Harness with 8-inch Dildo — $49.47 $89.95 (save $40.48 with code AESAVE45)

• Tracey Cox Supersex Strapless Strap-On vibrator — $49.99 $99.99 (save $50)

• Tracey Cox Supersex Strap-on Pegging Kit — $54.99 $109.99 (save $55)

• Njoy Pure Wand — $96 $120 (save $24 with code BABE20)

Deals on sex toys for penises

Why we like it

When it comes to sex toys specifically for people with penises, Fleshlight might just be the most recognizable name out there, and for good reason — they’re masters at the masturbation sleeve. Fleshlight’s sleeves have made our favorites list before, and this bundle comes with a compact version of one of the brand’s most popular sleeves, the Stamina Training Unit, as well as lube and cleaner.

More deals on sex toys for penises:

• Tracey Cox EDGE Good Head Mini Stroker — $10.19 $16.99 (save $6.80)

• Ass-Gasm Penis Ring Plug — $12.62 $22.95 (save $10.33 with code AESAVE45)

• Super Head Honcho Masturbator — $16.47 $29.95 (save $13.48 with code AESAVE45)

• Satisfyer Men Vibration Masturbator — $49.95 $84.99 (save $35.04)

• Tenga Flip Hole — $63.99 $79.99 (save $16)

• Tenga Flip Zero — $79.99 $99.99 (save $20)

• Buy 2 Fleshlight sleeves, get one free — $99.90 $149.85 (save $49.95)

• Lelo F1s V2 Pleasure Console — $201.52 $229 (save $27.48)

• MysteryVibe Tenuto 2 — $212 $249 (save $37)

Anal toy deals

Why we like it

From a glance alone, this Bump pick looks like a pretty good plug — it’s not too big, not too small, has a nice tapered edge and a wide end for keeping things where you want them, and is silicone-smooth so it slides right in without friction. Once you realize it has 10 different vibration modes and can be submerged safely in water, well, you may just feel like you’ve won the butt plug lotto.

More anal toy deals:

• Lovehoney Pleasure Probe vibrating prostate massager — $14.99 $24.99 (save $10)

• Kink Trainer Kit — $27.47 $49.95 (save $22.48 with code AESAVE45)

• Bump Rechargeable Anal Vibe — $27.47 $49.95 (save $22.48 with code AESAVE45)

• Satisfyer Lolli Plug — $27.99 $39.99 (save $12)

• Sono No. 78 Anal Stimulator — $27.99 $59.99 (save $32)

• Flexcite 10 Function Vibrating Prostate Massager — $34.99 $49.90 (save $15)

• Aneros Progasm Ice prostate massager — $47.99 $59.99 (save $12)

• Aneros Helix Syn Trident prostate massager — $55.99 $69.99 (save $14)

• Njoy Pure Plug (small) — $55.99 $69.99 (save $14 with code BABE20)

• B-vibe Texture Plug — $79.99 $90 (save $10.01)

Even more sex toy deals:

• Black Furry Hand Cuffs — $4.95 $19.99 (save $15.04 with code SPRING)

• Sex! Card Game — $7.96 $12.99 (save $5.03 with code SPRING)

• Temptasia Harness Strap-on Briefs — $16.99 $29.99 (save $13)

• Uberlube — $19.99 $24.99 (save $5)

• Liberator Bon Bon Sex Toy Mount — $85.80 $110 (save $24.20)

• Liberator Sex Position Wedge — $93.49 $105 (save $11.51)

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Do you want to watch 456 players compete in twisted children’s games in order to win money? Then, you could watch South Korean mega-hit Squid Game and enjoy its scorching commentary on capitalism and classism. Or you could watch Netflix entirely miss the point of its biggest series, and tune in for the upcoming reality competition spinoff: Squid Game: The Challenge.

The streaming service announced that it would be turning its most-watched series of all time into a reality TV competition. 456 players (the biggest reality competition cast ever) will compete in Squid Game-inspired challenges for a $4.56 million prize (the largest lump sum cash prize ever), thereby making this the largest reality competition ever.

However, none of those reality-competition records can cover up how ridiculous this concept is. Imagine watching the Squid Game heroes risking their lives to claw their way out of poverty, then going, “Hey, you know those murderous dystopian death traps that were a cautionary tale and something we should never, ever replicate? What if we went and replicated them in order to make more money?”

Netflix is quick to stress that the stakes for Squid Game: The Challenge are not life-and-death, like on Squid Game. In a press release, the streaming studio states, “The stakes are high, but in this game, the worst fate is going home empty-handed.”

It’s unclear what role Squid Game creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, has in Squid Game: The Challenge. Netflix VP of unscripted and documentary series, Brandon Riegg told THR, “We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment.”

Meanwhile, Netflix has recently undergone rounds of major layoffs, gutting its animation studio and promotional blog Tudum. The announcement that Netflix is now throwing cash at content like this, instead of supporting employees or the many scripted shows they shut down, is a horrendous look — especially when you remember that Squid Game pits people in debt against each other for the enjoyment of rich elites.

Come on, Netflix, read the room!

It’s not like we’re starved for Squid Game content. The show has already been renewed for a second season. YouTuber Mr. Beast has already made Squid Game in real life, and Saturday Night Live gave it a country jam last year. But content is content, baby, and it’s time to squeeze every last penny out of the piggy bank that is Squid Game.

If you have the privilege of owning a coveted outdoor space like a backyard or patio, you’d be remiss not to have one the most essential pieces of summertime equipment at your disposal: A grill.

Grilling is one of the great pastimes of outdoor cooking, and one you don’t want to miss out on. Think about all the delicious meals you can whip up, all while basking in the fresh air and spending some time with your family and friends.

It’s time to get with the program and get yourself a grill — a charcoal grill, specifically (we’ll tell you why they’re so great in just a bit). And thankfully, we’re here to help you pick out the perfect one for your outdoor space. You’re welcome.

What to consider

Charcoal grills come in many different forms, which means that you have plenty of options when picking one out for your home — which, let’s be honest, can do more harm than good at times. With more choices, comes more stressing over choosing the wrong one.

Try to stay grounded while you shop, remember one thing: Just because it’s the most expensive, doesn’t mean it’s the best grill for you. It’s all about matching your personal needs and space, and that super pricey grill with all the fun gadgets attached to it might not make you as happy as the budget grill that gets the job done just as well.

What to consider when shopping for your new charcoal grill

1. Size: Not just the amount of physical space it takes up (which is still important), but also take note of the amount of total cooking space. How much food do you normally cook at once? Are you regularly feeding a whole family? The more food, the more surface area you’ll want.

2. Shape: Seriously, the shape of your charcoal grill matters. Normally, charcoal grills come in a more rounded shape, which helps center the coals and direct heat to a concentrated point on the grate. But that’s the classic way of doing it — lots of charcoal grills now come in shapes and sizes that more closely mirror their gas-powered counterparts, allowing for more surface area and heat points. There’s also a bit of familiarity with these types of grills for those who are used to using a gas version. Both are good, but are used differently, so consider your cooking skills as well.

3. Versatility and extra features: This can range anywhere from temperature regulation vents, to side shelves, to warming racks, to built-in rotisseries, to equipment storage, and more. It’ll all come down to what you see as necessary, and what you see as superfluous.

Get those three priorities in check, and you’ve already done most of the work when it comes to finding your forever grill.

Credit: Weber

Charcoal grills vs. gas grills

The debate over which grill you should buy — either gas or charcoal — is never-ending, and one that has no definitive answer.

The “answer” to that question will depend on where your priorities lie — convenience or flavor? Gas grills are all about the former (as well as helpful features that many charcoal grills just don’t have). You can light them immediately, and they’re normally ready to cook on within minutes. With a charcoal grill, it’s a different story. These generally take 20 to 30 minutes to start up, which can be frustrating if patience isn’t your strong suit.

If you’re willing to wait, you’ll be rewarded. Many pro grillers say that cooking with a charcoal grill helps you retain a smoky flavor, resulting in a better tasting final result. Gas grills usually end up vaporizing a lot of that flavor, even though it gets the job done more quickly.

Gas grills are naturally more versatile and easier to operate, but that’s not to say that charcoal grills don’t have their helpful perks as well. Gas grills allow you to more meticulously control the temperature of your cooking surface with numbered knobs, while charcoal grills employ an adjustable vent that requires a little bit of finesse. You’ll end up paying more for a gas grill, and buying charcoal is a whole lot easier than refilling your propane tank in terms of availability.

You can’t really go wrong, though. Consider your cooking style, budget, and taste preference, then make an informed decision. Don’t stress over it — it’s just food after all — and both will give you the opportunity to be outside and get grilling.

So, what’s the best charcoal grill?

We’re happy to help answer that for you — below are our top picks for the very best charcoal grills you can order online.

SAVE 27%: The 32GB Apple TV 4K (from 2021) is on sale for $129.99, meaning you’ll save $50 on its regular price of $179.

Apple TVs are a great way to convert any TV to a streaming machine, and the newest iteration takes this to the next level.

There’s support for Dolby Atmos, which produces object-based surround sound for full immersion in the viewing experience, 4K frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision, and a Siri Remote with a touch-enabled clickpad (and, obviously, voice control). Most importantly, the new Apple TV 4K’s A12 Bionic chip improves on audio, video, and graphics performance for a more seamless, high-def display. This is especially helpful for games and apps.

The viewing experience isn’t just limited to TV, either — try Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and Apple Music to make the most of your TV, use AirPlay to set up a carousel of pictures you want to display (great as conversation starters when guests come over), or link your smart home accessories to view and control them on the big screen.

Plus, the Apple TV 4K can host two pairs of AirPods, so if you’re trying to be considerate during finals season and not watch Stranger Things at max volume, you can still binge with a friend through a set of ‘Pods each.

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Extreme deluges are growing more and more common.

Yellowstone National Park superintendent Cam Sholly said on Monday that record flooding has necessitated the closure of all inbound traffic into the iconic park for at least a couple days. Extreme rains triggered rock and mudslides, which destroyed large swathes of a crucial road leading to the park’s North Entrance. Yellowstone’s helicopter manager captured footage of the raging Gardner River and the washed-out road from a park helicopter, which you can see in the footage the park tweeted below.

The park called the rains and flooding “unprecedented.”

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This heavy rain originated over the Pacific Ocean as a potent atmospheric river, which is a formidable band of moisture (sometimes dubbed a “river in the sky”) that streams over the Pacific Ocean and into the Western U.S. By the time it reached the Yellowstone region, the dynamic weather system’s severe thunderstorms doused the land. Crucially, the rain, and consequent flooding, from atmospheric rivers is growing worse as the climate continuously warms.

That’s because a warmer atmosphere naturally holds more water. This boosts the odds of potent storms — like thunderstorms, mid-latitude cyclones, atmospheric rivers, or hurricanes — deluging places with heavier downpours.

“Once you have more moisture in the air, you have a larger bucket you can empty,” Andreas Prein, a scientist who researches weather extremes at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told Mashable last year. This can result in pummeling downpours. “You can release more water in a shorter amount of time — there’s very little doubt about that,” Prein said.

Surging rivers are often a consequence of these potent rains. On June 13, the Yellowstone River smashed its record peak height, rising by over six feet in just 24 hours. The historic floods even washed a family’s home into the river.

Meanwhile, the raging Gardner River (seen above) destroyed the road into the community of Gardiner, a popular stop for park visitors. The town is now suddenly cut off from food deliveries and essential services.

SAVE 36%: Apple’s most affordable AirPods alternative, the Beats Flex wireless earbuds, just got even more affordable. Snag a pair for only $44.99 at Walmart as of June 14 — that’s $25 off their MSRP.

Beats by Dre, which is under the Apple umbrella, is known for its style, cutting-edge technology, and impressive audio quality. All of that generally comes at a cost. The Beats Flex, however, are an actually affordable AirPods alternative — and they just got even cheaper.

The Beats Flex are powered by Apple’s W1 headphone chip, which helps to integrate them into your world of Apple products. Audio-wise, the Beats Flex offer a “bass-forward sound signature with plenty of sculpting in the highs,” according to a review from PCMag (which is owned by Mashable’s publisher, Ziff Davis).

What makes the Beats Flex stand out is their pleasingly simple design. For those not sold on the true wireless earbud form (and poor battery life), the neckband style of the Beats Flex is a welcome alternative. They’re even equipped with a magnetic connection, so you can keep them secure around your neck when you’re not listening.

The 12-hour battery life allows you to listen all day long without needing a power boost. While it’s not quite as good as over-ear headphones, it’s definitely competitive in the earbud realm. If you manage to jam out for 12 hours straight, you can even get 1.5 hours of extra fuel with a 10-minute Fast Fuel charge.

They’re no Beats Fit Pro, but if you’re looking for simplicity, flexibility, and affordability, you can’t go wrong with 36% off the Flex buds.

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