Category Archives: Blog

Tech finally made the world a better place.

Slack, the messaging platform used by organizations ranging from the MTA to SoftBank, quietly released a new feature in late June that’s set to forever change the remote-work game: scheduled messages. Because whether or not Slack intended it, scheduled messages are perfect for tricking your boss into thinking you’re working. (Or for the less devious among us, just not bugging your co-workers after hours.)

As the name suggests, the feature lets you compose and schedule a message to be posted in a Slack channel of your choosing at a later date. Most importantly for our purposes, once sent the message looks exactly the same as any other message — giving no indication that it was scheduled in advance.

The possibilities are wondrous.

Picture it: It’s a beautiful summer afternoon, the sun is blazing, and you’re at the beach soaking in those rays. But thanks to scheduled messages, as far as your boss can tell you’re hard at work dropping pitch ideas into the #Brainstorm channel.

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Combine that with a handy little trick which keeps your Slack status bubble green, and you’re a nonstop working machine in the eyes of your corporate overlords.

We’re clearly not the only ones who can’t wait to, ahem, use this feature to its fullest potential.

“Everyone’s saying slack scheduled messages promote work life balance by sending messages during working hours but I’m going to use them to send messages in the middle of the night so it looks like I’m always working,” wrote Nick Morgan, whose Twitter profile identifies him as a backend engineer at Twitter.

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“Nah you got to use them to make it look like you’re working while taking a nap,” replied another self-identified Twitter employee Justin Anderson.

Others, perhaps hesitant to put themselves on blast, merely hinted at some vague mischievousness in their future.

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Because let’s be real: While some may welcome the scheduled messages feature as the bland productively tool it’s surely intended to be, we all know what many Slack users will do with it.

SEE ALSO: How to keep your Slack status active while *ahem* ‘working’ from home

See you at the beach.

There are so many news stories this year that seem likely to give us gray hairs, you’d be forgiven for missing one that gives us hope that we can restore those gray hairs back to their regular color — no dye required.

In the first published study to find evidence of “natural re-pigmentation,” researchers at Columbia University set out to create a computer model of how hair graying happens with age and in response to stressful events. First they identified 323 proteins that tell us whether a hair was gray, white, or colored at any point in its history. Then they snipped colored and gray hairs from 14 participants who listed and rated the stressfulness of their life over the past year. We know that there’s a connection between graying and high stress; you only have to look at the hair of ex-presidents who don’t dye it to see that in action.

What we didn’t suspect is that the reverse may also be true; that de-stressing events can bring the color back to those exhausted fibers. That’s what the study found when it matched the protein history of the hairs (which grow at a pretty reliable one centimeter per month) with the history of their owners: some normal-colored hairs had actually been gray in the past year, but went back to normal when life stress was low.

“I was not surprised by any of the stressors that correspond with graying; I was surprised to see how strong of an impact a vacation had on the reversal of graying,” says Ayelet Rosenberg, lead author on the study. “One participant went on just a 2-week trip, and amazingly enough, five of their hairs regained color afterwards.”

Before the battered tourism industry celebrates this news, however, there’s a lot still to nail down about the science of hair graying. More studies are needed to find out if this re-coloring effect ever happens over the age of 40 (it didn’t for the few over-40s in the Columbia study). Still, if we can replicate these results soon — and the pandemic has given us one heck of a stressful event to map on hair around the world — the implications are huge.

Why? Because we’re told constantly that too much stress is a killer, and we should combat it with mindfulness, exercise, sleep, and the rest of the familiar list. But the danger feels distant because it’s internal. Nobody wakes up in the morning and sees their calcified arteries staring back in the mirror. When it comes to new gray hairs, though, many of us seem to zero in like Terminators.

And just this one time, human vanity might save us — because in our future world of preventative medicine, new gray hairs are actually worth telling your doctor about.

“Hair is unique, because it is a visible change that also indicates changes happening on a cellular level,” Rosenberg says. “The ideal outcome would be for doctors to one day be able to use hair pigment as a diagnostic tool, using our method. If somebody did have a sudden onset of gray hairs, it would be worth looking at their stress levels that correspond to that point in their life.

“When you see it with your own eyes, I think people are more likely to care, and possibly make a change.”

The stem cell solution

So what is actually going on at a cellular level when our hair regains color? Simple: Stem cells swinging into action. The raw material of the growing human body that can make any kind of cell required, stem cells are increasingly used in a wide range of medical therapies. We’re in a golden age of stem cell research; just in the past few weeks we learned about how they could eradicate HIV, make brain tumors stop growing, and can be injected to successfully treat heart and lung disease in mice.

But hair is a relatively new area of focus for stem cell research, partly because we had no idea they were powerful enough to re-color our grays. Melanocytes are the type of stem cell that live in our hair follicles. Some studies suggest there is a limited reservoir of melanocytes up there; when they’re done, so is your hair color. But this is hardly settled science.

“The depletion of stem cells would imply that the graying is permanent, but this has only been shown in mice,” Rosenberg says. Melanocytes may also be replenished by mystery visitors, she adds: “Some transient stem cells may come in, which could possibly be responsible for the re-pigmentation that we are seeing here.” Say it with me now: More study needed.

So fear not, fortysomething millennials on the cusp of a graying decade. Science may soon find that extreme commitment to destressing can reverse hair color loss at any age — something that would be a lot easier to prove if those Buddhist monks that experimenters love to study (whose brains appear to be kept significantly younger by meditation) would just stop shaving their heads.

Or we may develop new stem cell therapies to restore our melanocytes in later life. Such a therapy may be open to abuse if younger grayhairs use it to mask the stress indicators they should be telling their doctors about in the first place. But either way, our new awareness of our hair’s ability to recolor itself may be a blow to the $23 billion global hair color industry (which was projected to grow to $36 billion by 2027 until this news came along).

In the meantime, the Columbia study stands among many that are blaring the same message loud and clear: We are too stressed out, and it is neither optimal for employers nor employees. Another eye-opening piece of research from earlier this year found that a five-hour workday was optimal for productivity; anything longer than that, and you start to burn people out in the long run. There are trade-offs, of course; CEOs who made the switch noted a decline in the cohesion of workplace culture. But the stress caused by longer days may matter more, particularly if that workplace culture starts seeing hair color decline as a sign of burning out.

One day soon, then, perhaps your manager will inspect your head for signs of stress. More than five new gray hairs, and it’s off on mandatory vacation you go. Give our regards to your melanocytes.

Seeking a story that’s stranger than fiction but just as fascinating? Then you’ll relish Hulu’s rich collection of documentaries, suitable for every inclination. Whether you’re seeking to uncover hidden histories, shocking true crime tales, deep dives into nature, political journeys, or personal stories that are absolutely outrageous, we’ve got you covered.

Here are the best docs on Hulu streaming now.

1. The Painter and the Thief

This highly acclaimed 2020 documentary has a true-crime hook but a poignant twist, unveiling the bizarre heist that begat an unlikely friendship. It was a sunny day in Oslo, when the titular thief, Karl-Bertil Nordland, strolled into an art gallery and plucked a large painting from the wall before vanishing out the back door. He was caught, but the painting was not recovered. Seeking closure, Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova wanted to get to know the man who stole her work. Swiftly, this tattooed tough guy goes from a curiosity to her muse to something far more complicated. Documentarian Benjamin Ree gets up close and personal with both painter and thief, exploring the intricacies that make up people, art, and the heady mix of emotions that forge relationships, treasured and toxic.

How to watch: The Painter and The Thief is streaming on Hulu.

2. Blackfish

For millions of Americans, Shamu the killer whale was whimsical symbol of the great wonders of the oceans. Before an arena full of giddy human families, he’d swim in a cement tank, perform tricks, and seemingly smile for applause. But behind the scenes, the orcas in captivity were treated horridly. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s unflinching documentary explores the depths of these abuses by diving into the tragedy of Tilikum, an orca infamous for killing his handler. Through interviews with experts and former SeaWorld employees, Cowperthwaite exposes the seedy underbelly of whale captivity and how it might drive anyone (or any whale) out of their mind. With shocking footage and defiant empathy, Blackfish speaks for the maligned giant who cannot defend himself. The result is a 2013 documentary that is riveting, haunting, and profoundly informative.

How to watch: Blackfish is streaming on Hulu.

3. Minding the Gap

One of the most esteemed documentaries of 2018 began as ramshackle video recordings of a boy and his friends skateboarding in Rockford, Illinois. Through pulling tricks, epic falls, and sharing in both, these kids forged an unbreakable bond. All grown up, Bing Liu made his blistering directorial debut by training his camera once more on his childhood friends. Not only does Minding The Gap probe how skating gave them an escape from their abusive fathers, it also reveals how the trauma they endured from such volatile and toxic masculinity has shaped them for better or worse. Far from saccharine or navel-gazing, Liu’s documentary looks unblinkingly at poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, and the battle to be a better man.

How to watch: Minding the Gap is streaming on Hulu.

4. Three Identical Strangers

It’s like something out of The Twilight Zone. Imagine you’re walking down the sidewalk and all of a sudden, you come face to face with your exact double. Not a doppelgänger, but a twin you never knew you had. Then, a third comes out of the woodwork. You learn you are one of a set of triplets, adopted out to three different families, who had no idea such a savage separation had occurred. In 1980 New York, three young men faced this mind-blowing reality. Just like that, they were national news and local celebrities, even scoring a cameo in Madonna’s movie Desperately Seeking Susan. However, beyond the joy of reunion came an avalanche of life-changing revelations. Documentarian Tim Wardle speaks to the brothers, their families, and journalists to examine the complex story behind the flashy headlines.

How to watch: Three Identical Strangers is streaming on Hulu.

5. The Queen of Versailles

If you’re seeking something with a salacious slathering of schadenfreude, you’ll relish this daffy 2012 documentary about a billionaire couple going bust. He was a timeshare magnate; she was a pageant queen with high-society ambitions. Together, David and Jackie Siegel not only built a family of eight children (and a pack of lap dogs) but also began construction on “the biggest house in America,” a garish Orlando mansion modeled after the Palace of Versailles. Then, the Great Recession of 2008 threatened to pitch them from riches to rags. Through interviews with the couple, their kids, and their overwhelmed house staff, documentarian Lauren Greenfield creates a jaw-dropping journey that follows the Siegels from private planes to Walmart shopping sprees, and through their castle, bedecked with glamor, delusions, and dog shit.

How to watch: The Queen of Versailles is streaming on Hulu.

6. MLK/FBI

Many Americans might remember Martin Luther King, Jr. as the peaceful leader of the civil rights movement. Yet there was much more to this monumental Black icon than his “I Have a Dream” speech. Advocating for racial equality as well as major economic reform, he was an inspiration to millions. But to J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, King was a threat. This heralded 2020 film explores the surveillance and harassment King endured from the FBI, who threatened to expose his private flaws to a judgmental public. Sam Pollard, the Academy Award-nominated documentarian behind 4 Little Girls, conducts interviews with historians and advocates, revisits archival footage, and delves into a wealth of recently declassified FBI documents to create a fuller portrait of King and his historic battle against white supremacy in America.

How to watch: MLK/FBI is streaming on Hulu.

7. Hail Satan?

In the wake of 1980s Satanic Panic, many Americans developed a distorted view of what Satanists truly are. Irreverent documentarian Penny Lane aims to enlighten by training her keen eye on the modern Satanic Temple in this challenging 2019 film, which follows the group’s political battles. Far from the violent villains painted by Christian propaganda, these Satanists are misfits, freethinkers, philosophers, provocateurs, and activists who are purposely provoking to push back against a government that is blurring the line between church and state. While the stakes are high, Lane’s approach is playful, reflecting the devil-may-care attitude of her fascinating — and often damn funny — interview subjects. Whether revealing rituals, capturing protests, or conducting interviews, Lane charts this tricky terrain with a dry wit that makes this exploration even more entertaining than it is daring and informative.

How to watch: Hail Satan? is streaming on Hulu.

8. The Final Member

The setup of this critically heralded doc might sound like a dirty joke. Yet, documentarians Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math erect a surprisingly stimulating tale about a history-making moment for the Icelandic Phallological Museum. It begins as a hobby doc, revealing museum founder Sigurður Hjartarson’s collection of mammalian penises. Over 40 years, he’s gathered penises from guinea pigs, bulls, and whales (oh my!). All he was missing was a human member. Finding volunteers proves the least of his troubles when two eccentric men vie for the honor. This race to the display case is littered with wild turns as well as surprisingly vulnerable moments about mortality, masculinity, and legacy. But be warned this funny yet heartfelt doc is not for the squeamish: Full frontal nudity, fermented flesh, and dismembered — uh — members are featured throughout.

How to watch: The Final Member begins streaming on Hulu July 15.

9. Notturno

Celebrated by critics in 2020, Notturno rejects traditional talking head interviews, guiding voiceover, or any such means of cozy context. Instead, Academy Award-nominated director Gianfranco Rosi introduces a title card that tersely explains how the Middle East has been plagued by foreign intervention, tyranny, and war. Then, he introduces a wealth of footage, shot over three years around the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and Lebanon. There are scenes of soldiers on patrol, women in mourning, children in therapy discussing an ISIS attack, and a fisherman going about his toil while explosions burn in the distance. But that’s not all. His patient camera catches moments between lovers in swoon and a happy theatre troupe in play rehearsals. These scenes — and many, many more — meditatively carve out narratives that demand attention. Rosi is our silent yet insightful tour guide, revealing a richness of the Middle East too often obscured by headline-chasing news reports.

How to watch: Notturno is streaming on Hulu.

10. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Hip-hop star Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson makes his directorial debut with a 2021 documentary that’ll make you want to get up and dance. Weaving together footage forgotten for 50 years, he ushers audiences back to the summer of 1969, where for six weekends the Harlem Cultural Festival burst with song and elation. Dedicated to celebrating Black pride, unity, and music, this incredible event drew major crowds and major acts, including Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Sly and the Family Stone. Critics have cheered the immersive cinematography of the never-before-seen footage, which pulls you onstage and into the mix. But Questlove does more than invite us to the party. Interviewing those who were there, he unfurls the hidden history of the festival and sings of the power of the people.

How to watch: Summer of Soul is streaming on Hulu.

11. American Animals

Documentarian Bart Layton first wowed film critics with The Imposter, which revealed a twisted tale of a French con man who posed as a missing American kid. His fascinating follow-up blurs the lines between documentary and docudrama to unravel the disturbing of case of the Transylvania University library heist. The stranger-than-fiction details involve an obsession with the movie Reservoir Dogs, a plot to fence a rare art book, and old man disguises. Yet Layton takes things to a mind-bending new level. Not only does he cast famous performers like Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan to play the young thieves, but also he weaves their real counterparts into sequences with them. Plopped into a movie set, the convicted crooks reflect and quibble over differing details with their movie-doppelgängers, as they barrel through to a disastrous plan. The result is a film that invites audiences to experience the rush of a heist flick, then the agony of its subjects, who got in over their heads and lived to regret it.

How to watch: American Animals is streaming on Hulu.

It’s not Twitter, it’s you.

The social media company announced on Friday plans to more thoroughly explain why certain users don’t meet its requirements for verification. It seems Twitter wants them to know why, in painfully specific detail, they failed in their quest for the elusive blue check.

“We’ve heard your feedback that we can be more clear on why an application didn’t get approved,” wrote the company. “Decision emails will now give more context on why requests don’t meet our criteria.”

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“[We] know that generic rejection emails were confusing and frustrating for folks,” added Twitter product manager B Byrne, “so getting more specific information into the emails about verification decisions has been a top priority for our team.”

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Friday’s announcement follows Twitter’s recent move to open the verification process up to the public. The program had been paused since 2017 and only recently started back up this past May, although Twitter quietly continued verifying people during that time anyway.

Notably, not everyone has the option to apply for verification. As applications are, at least ostensibly, reviewed by real humans, Twitter has staggered the rollout to allow its team time to actually look them over.

Twitter addressed this fact as well on Friday, writing that everyone should have the option to apply soon. The company also noted that it intends to make the application itself more explicit.

SEE ALSO: You can now apply to get verified on Twitter. Here’s how.

“To help you and clarify the info we accept for your [application] category, we’ll be adding more guidelines within the application,” Twitter explained. “Patience isn’t part of the criteria, but we appreciate yours.”

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We’re sure Twitter’s promise of clarity and transparency will make all future verification request rejections go down smoother.

Related Video: How to not get your social media hacked

Naomi Osaka knows she shouldn’t have been shamed into publicly explaining her reasons for taking a mental health break, and neither should others.

On Thursday, the four-time Grand Slam winner delved deeper into her decision to prioritize her mental health over her tennis career in a personal essay in Time magazine and also underlined an important aspect of her own experience: People in power didn’t believe she needed a break from tennis, forcing her to defend her decisions by divulging more about her condition than she would have preferred.

“In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my [mental health] symptoms — frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones,” Osaka wrote. “I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again.”

Mental health experts agree: Osaka was treated poorly, by tennis officials and by fans, and she shouldn’t have had to put her private health information on display to be afforded the space she needed at the time.

“I have no doubt that it took a lot for her to say, ‘I’m going to take these consequences and value my emotional well-being over tens of thousands of dollars,” says Dr. Rheeda Walker, a clinical psychologist, speaker, and professor of psychology at the University of Houston who focuses on Black mental health.

Before Osaka was published in Time, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) swiftly delivered its response to her May announcement on Twitter that she wouldn’t talk to the press during the French Open back then by fining her $15,000. It also, along with the leaders of three other Grand Slam tournaments, threatened to expel Osaka from future tournaments.The 23-year-old later withdrew entirely from French Open.

Osaka isn’t the only public figure who’s been vocal about their declining mental health in 2021. After stepping back from their royal duties, both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spoke with Oprah Winfrey in March about the lack of support they received from the institution surrounding the British Royal family when they opened up about mental health needs. Osaka notes in her essay that Markle reached out to encourage her after she prioritized her mental health. More recently, Britney Spears broke her near silence on her 13-year-long conservatorship, disclosing that she feels traumatized, depressed, angry, and loses sleep because of the restrictions placed on her life.

When well-known people like Osaka draw a line in the sand around their mental health boundaries, it can give us the courage to do the same, says Lynn Bufka, the American Psychological Association‘s senior director of practice transformation and quality, who is an expert on stress.

But prioritizing mental health isn’t just in the domain of famous people. The pandemic has given us all an opportunity to reflect deeply on our mental health needs as our work lives collide with our personal ones.

While some people are encouraging when a colleague or family member takes a mental health break, others aren’t as understanding.

Here’s how to follow Osaka’s advice so you can uplift people who make the brave decision to take a break rather than shaming them.

1. Send supportive messages

Encouragement can go a long way — especially for someone who’s gathered the courage to tell people they’re putting their mental health first.

If you’re at a loss for words, you can say something like, “I know this was probably really hard and I’m glad you’re taking this time for yourself,” says Walker.

Like Osaka, your colleague or friend may choose to share their news on social media. Even if you’re not close, affirmation of their decision can help them, not only now, but hopefully encourage them to not wait next time they need a break, says Walker.

2. Acknowledge their strengths and humanity

It can be hard to disentangle our identities from our jobs. Sometimes, they bleed together and we fall into the trap of thinking our self-worth is determined by our productivity.

In addition to commenting on someone’s social media post about their mental health break with an encouraging note, you can also write what you appreciate about that person outside their work, says Bufka. This can help them realize they’re not just their job.

Another way to help someone realize their personal value is to frame their work around their impact, says Walker.

“For a lot of folks their work becomes their identity, ‘I’m a teacher or I’m a nurse,'” says Walker. Instead, a nurse might think of their job’s influence, like helping someone cope with a debilitating condition.

“I do think when people start to think about their identity as more so their impact then they’re less tied to the job and they get more fulfillment because they’re thinking ‘what is it I’m able to achieve or accomplish through this work,'” says Walker.

3. Don’t jump to conclusions

In her Time essay, Osaka asked the press and the tournament officials to abstain from another invasive examination of her mental health.

In that same vein, if you don’t want to shame someone’s leave from work, avoid making assumptions.

“Operate on what you know to be true because the person’s told you or your manager has said but don’t assume anything else is going on,” says Bufka.

Additionally, Walker says to put yourself in someone else’s shoes because it may help slow down or stop you from responding quickly with shaming language.

“If someone says they’re taking a mental health break, then the first thought [should be] ‘wow, I must not begin to know everything that is going on for that person,'” says Walker.

3. Check in

If you feel comfortable or are close with the person, check in with them during their break. It can be as simple as asking if you can text or call them regularly to make sure they’re OK, says Bufka. It might be too much for the person to respond with a message every time. Rather, they can acknowledge your text by “liking” it.

If you live nearby, ask if your friend wants to set up a consistent hangout session, like a walk.

Something that can be so critical for someone struggling with anxiety or depression is regular social contact with people who care about them, says Bufka.

While checking in with someone may seem easy, Walker thinks as a society we don’t do enough of it.

“I think on some level there’s this sense of ‘they’ll be fine.’ We just assume people will figure it out and a lot of times they do,” says Walker. “But everyone needs support from time to time.”

Seems like a second ago it was the Fourth of July holiday weekend and, wow, would you look at that? It’s Friday again.

Goodness. Time. Can’t slow that sucker, huh?

But around here we celebrate Fridays with our favorite tweets. Why? Because it’s nice to laugh a little before the weekend and it’s also just sort of what we do now.

OK, so enjoy, the 21 best tweets of the week.

1. First things first, the world’s biggest Flo Rida fan

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2. A Fourth of July reminder

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3. “…the man with the widest last spread in America. Dude’s back was shaped like a Dorito.”

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4. Just looking into my future as a Content Creator

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5. Don’t want to be caught with no supply of Babu Friks

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6. My Life

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7. Dang. Deep.

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8. This tweet is doing violence against all of us

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9. Football. Smack barm. Pey wet. Things of that nature.

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10. A frugal king

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11. …It really…really did predict it

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12. The ultimate American experience

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13. *ASMR* Using My Frog Telephone To Call My Divorced Wife

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14. Gorgeous art for your pleasure

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15. Obligatory dril tweet

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16. OK, burns aside, this sounds like a lovely day

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17. No offense, but I would turn the senator’s knees to jello with my crossover

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18. Gorgeous

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19. Pspspsps

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20. One of life’s great mysteries

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21. And finally, this

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Don’t trust anything on the internet — until Mashable tries it first. Welcome to the Hype Test, where we review viral trends and tell you what’s really worth millions of likes.

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Viral doesn’t always mean good.

I have nothing against viral TikTok food trends — I wrote a whole article about some of them kicking ass — but I tried the viral pasta chip recipe and it left me unenthused. Oh and it left me feeling full. Really freaking full.

If you don’t know what the viral TikTok pasta chip is, well, it is what it sounds like. It first went viral with @BostonFoodGram, who boiled pasta, seasoned it with garlic powder, onion powder and parmesan, then popped it into the airfyer. Afterward, they dipped the pasta chip in marinara sauce. You can watch the original viral TikTok here.

The treat promised crunch and a novel, cutesy snack. Since the original took off, lots of other variations have cropped up as well.

I endeavored to give the recipe a whirl. I decided I should try the classic style and another of my own design. I settled on making a spicy rotini pasta chip that I could dip in ranch, since I really love hot wings.

Here were my supplies, minus a few spices I added later. (And yes I bought Emeril marinara as my dipping sauce because, sure, why not kick it up a notch, baby. Fun fact: I ran into him on the streets of New Orleans right after my best friend got married. Nice guy.)

First things first, I boiled the pasta in heavily salted water because I am not a jabroni who cooks pasta in unsalted water. Here is picture evidence of that process.

From there, I seasoned half of my cooked pasta with more salt, a garlicky seasoning, and grated parmesan. The other half of my pasta I seasoned with salt, a spicy blend, some of the garlicky seasoning, and lots of cayenne to really imitate hot wings. I also added a bit of oil to both batches because that’s what the original recipe did.

Here’s what that looked like before mixing the seasonings in:

I decided to air fry the classic flavor first. I was a bit skeptical because while I love my air fryer — almost entirely for roasting veggies — I think basically using a convection oven to further cook already cooked pasta just wouldn’t be great. After about seven minutes I air fried the spicy batch. To be honest, the snacks looked good. They visually seemed as tasty, if not better, than what I’d seen on TikTok. Here’s the original flavor.

Here’s the spicy flavor.

And here’s a sweet, sweet close-up pic for detail.

The thing is, despite how good these pasta chips look, they were pretty disappointing. Yes, the chips crunched. But it wasn’t a crisp crunch like a good chip. It’s a dry crunch, which then reveals a toothsome, overcooked noodle interior.

I wouldn’t say it was bad. But I wouldn’t say it was good, either. The noodle has been cooked to hell. So while the crunch makes for a nice TikTok, you’re then left working your way through a chip that’s simply too thick. I felt vaguely like a dog with a bone. You’ll definitely want a dipping sauce if you make them.

I enjoyed the spicy ones better and I think it’s because I cooked them a bit longer, salted to the max, and, well, because I like spicy food. The longer cooking time really ramped up the crunch and the extra seasoning helped add as much flavor as possible to the noodle.

I didn’t eat all the pasta chips I made. Not even close. I made like half the bag of noodles and ate about half of that. After all…I was hungry and this was my planned lunch. And I tell you what. I felt awful like an hour later. Because it’s freaking pasta! It’s not really a snack. I had accidentally carbo-loaded like Michael Scott about to run a 5k. A chip is airy and crisp. Pasta chips made me feel like I needed a nap.

So the final verdict: I don’t see the point in making these pasta chips. I could see them being fun as like a novelty snack for a party but also…why waste your time? It’d honestly take the same amount of time to make homemade chips and salsa. (Shallow fry quartered corn tortillas, then season with salt. Blend up roasted tomato, quick-charred jalapeño, onion, cilantro, a little garlic, and season. Bam.)

If you want to make the pasta chips, knock yourself out. But I think life is too short to make meh snacks.

Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, and David Harbour from Black Widow helped us create a hilarious superhero story using random words that they came up with.

Antoni Gaudí, renowned for his lifelong devotion to La Sagrada Família, is one of the most important modern architects. Now, the very first house Gaudí designed, Casa Vicens in Barcelona, is opening its doors as an Airbnb for one night only in the fall of 2021.

Consumers can expect an electric Dodge muscle car by 2024, as well as an electric Ram pickup truck. And Jeep will release a fully electric SUV by 2025.

That’s according to Stellantis, which owns 14 brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram. The company announced at a livestreamed investor event on Thursday that it’s spending more than $35 billion on electrification efforts through 2025.

Dodge “will not sell electric cars, Dodge will sell American e-muscle cars,” Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said during the event. “It’s the natural evolution of the modern muscle car.”

By 2030, Stellantis wants for 40 percent of U.S. car sales to be of hybrid or fully electric vehicles.

Touted as the first e-muscle car, the electric Dodge was teased through a dark fog.

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Jeep also revealed the first images of its plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee 4xe, along with the news of a fully electric SUV with self-driving features and vehicle-to-vehicle charging.

Ram’s battery-powered 1500 pickup was also announced, along with plans for more electrified Ram vehicles through 2030.

Stellantis said it will build its EVs on four battery platforms that will have 300 miles to as much as 500 miles of range on a single charge.

The company will reveal more details on the electric Dodge and other new EVs later. But for now it feels like every day is EV Day.