List of All Articles with Tag 'viral'

A CEO has explained why he fired his colleague whose advice meant he didn't get on a 9/11 plane. On 11 September 2001, Bill Ellmore was booked to fly on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco - one of the four flights hijacked by terrorists. But writing on Twitter, he explained how his co-worker told him to get another flight to save time - meaning he was spared from tragedy - only to get the sack. The CEO of Solomons Global Executive Services wrote: "I was booked on United Flight 93 on 9/11, 2001, flying nonstop from Newark NJ to San Francisco CA. Around midnight the night before, a coworker called me urging me to change my flight to fly into San Jose instead." He didn't want to change flights because he would have to give up his first class seat and the flight to San Jose left 20 minutes later with a stopover in Denver. However, his co-worker explained that the commute from San Francisco to Mountain View - where he was attending a meeting - would make him late for the meeting and traveling from San Jose would be much quicker. He continued: "When I got to the airport, I watched people boarding flight 93 and I was upset that I was not leaving earlier, in my 1st class seat on a direct flight," he said. "I didn’t notice or care about the people as they were boarding, only myself." He finally boarded his plane but as the flight was a few planes away from taking off, the pilot told passengers to look out the windows on the right side of the plane because it appeared the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane." They were grounded and Ellmore said the experience changed him. "I now take every opportunity to watch and if possible, get to know the people I’m boarding a plane with," he wrote. "I never hesitate to give up my seat for a later flight if requested. "I’ve had two children since 9/11 and went to multiple mission trips to war torn countries. Every day I wake up breathing is another gift from God." He finished his astonishing story with the words: "Never forget." So what happened to his co-worker? When asked about her, Ellmore responded: "Sad to say, I ultimately had to fire her for poor performance. It was difficult." He continued: "The reason I was originally booked on Flight 93 was due to her performance issues. These issues didn’t improve afterwards and I delayed letting her go until my boss insisted it happen." That's capitalism for you... Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman has revealed the lengths her mother went to to get her childhood bully off her back. Posting in the Petty Revenge subreddit, the woman opened up about a moment in her childhood when her mum came to her defence and got revenge on her daughter’s behalf by paying two other kids to 'beat up her bully'. In a since-deleted post, the woman explained that she was in the third grade and being bullied by a kid in the same class who also lived in her neighbourhood. One day when she was walking to her friend’s place, she a girl “fly across the room” and informed her mum, who called Child Protective Services (CPS). The kids, including her future bully, were taken away but soon returned to their parents. She wrote: “Well when he got back he somehow found out my mom called CPS so at the bus stop before school he sucker punched me, I was down on the ground. “Everyone saw it but didn’t say anything to anyone. Our teacher happened to be a close friend of my mom and her husband works with my dad so if I said something my parents would’ve found out instantly.” Though the OP didn’t inform their parents, someone else did. She revealed her mother went to the “worst area” of Detroit and paid two kids $20 each to beat up the boy who punched her daughter. Some Redditors in the comments couldn't help but be impressed with her mother’s protective instincts and joked that she was like some sort of mafia boss. “Damn she literally hired them for their first mercenary job,” someone commented. Another wrote: “Now this is a mob story I can get behind. Your moms is a bad ass. You also did the right thing trying to help that family.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A popular blogger and OnlyFans star has sparked a fierce debate online after praising her boyfriend for giving his “honest opinion” about her looks. The commentator, who goes by the name Aella, revealed her partner’s blunt assessment of her appearance in response to a tweet from another content creator. In her message, @ThePostsOffice wrote: "Being a girl’s boyfriend is all about committing to the bit that she is a 10/10 and the most beautiful woman you have ever seen." But Aella, a polyamorous former escort, admitted this hadn’t been her experience, replying: “One of my partners once was like 'you're not that pretty' during a tender moment. I rolled over in the fetal position and groaned for like an hour.” However, she continued: “He went and made me an I'm sorry card out of construction paper and markers and stickers.” Alongside her tweet were two pictures of the homemade apology letter, in which the man wrote: “I’m sorry I told you you’re not that pretty during a tender moment and that I made you doubt that I ever desired you. “Before forsaking my cultural wisdom, I should have considered how it would feel and been ready with [kisses].” Aella’s post racked up more than 17.2 million views and 7,100 retweets in a week, as fellow X/Twitter users shared their horror at the partner’s comment. “If any ‘partner’ of mine said that to me in bed I'd kick them out of the door immediately and never allow them to see me again,” one wrote. “Life is too short to tolerate a ‘lover’ who feels like you're anything less than the prettiest person they've ever seen.” “Omg he doesn't even say 'sorry for my cruel attempt at humour, you are the most attractive girl I've ever seen',” noted another. “He says 'sorry I forsook my cultural wisdom and told you the truth'... OUCH boy!” “Where is he getting the idea that this is the objective truth?” asked a third. Aella responded by defending her man (who she's still dating), writing: “To be fair he said it in response to me mourning that [people] are not incentivized to be honest about each other's physical appearances, he was trying to be helpful by giving me his honest opinion since I wanted [people] to be more honest.” She then added: “He's one of the kindest, most caring men I've dated! He was trying to be honest with me when he thought I really wanted that, he was genuinely trying to help me. I appreciate that and I find the entire event pretty endearing. “[In my opinion] people who don't say true things out of love because they're afraid of hurting me are more cowardly and I prefer not to date those people. I'm very much a ‘seek out the painful truth and sob’ kind of person both in general and in relationships.” She then shared a text message the boyfriend sent her in response to the public outcry over his behaviour, in which he wrote that he had “half a mind to [...] include a non-makeup’d photo of [her] and be like ‘look, she is fairly pretty and very attractive and gorgeous when she tries, but that’s different from being effortlessly pretty all the time as some girls in fact are.” He went on: “Lying injures everyone’s ability to trust truthtelling and the thing where lots of women are deeply insecure about their appearance in an inconsolable way is *built out of* all your lies.” However, he conceded: “I admit error both in misunderstanding what she was asking for and in offering it without triple-checking first and in offering it without a bunch of support and reassurance prepared in advance.” Yet, his defence did little to assuage people’s concerns and disapproval. In a lengthy rebuttal, one commentator pointed out: “Beauty is subjective. Everyone has wildly different tastes and things they find attractive. But he’s applying black-and-white thinking to your beauty and speaking from a place of ‘truth’ (during an intimate moment, no less) when in reality… It’s not *the* truth, because there isn’t one truth for beauty. It’s *his* truth.” “There are other men who’d be 100 per cent honest, sharing *their* truth, that they find you stunning.” The woman, called Elle Beecher, continued: “I take major issue when people excuse their careless comments under the guise of ‘truth,’ like they’re some omniscient narrator who can speak from an objective place. You’re ‘not that pretty’ to him. He can’t speak for anyone else. “My gut reaction is that there are so many men who’d happily fulfil your needs and find you stunning, and tell you that in full honesty… so why date a guy who doesn’t?” Concluding her monologue, Elle added: “I support you and your choices fully. But this story makes me sad. I understand that you want to be with someone truthful (as do I), but I wonder why that can’t be with someone who says you’re beautiful and means it.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The nation's beloved bear Winnie the Pooh and friends will return to screens, with yet another terrifying makeover on the way. Following the success of the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey horror film earlier this year comes a sequel, and this time the focus is on the bear's loveable friend, Tigger. The character did not feature in the first film due to the fact it wasn't part of the public domain at the time. But now, Tigger is set to enter the public domain in January 2024 – a month prior to Blood and Honey 2's release date. Producer Scott Jeffrey spoke about the grisly new take on the character, telling IGN: "Tigger is incredibly violent. He loves to torture his victims before killing them. Despite having a budget of $100,000 to produce the first film, it is said to have racked up a staggering $5.2 million at the box office. Jeffrey added that the sequel has "a substantially higher budget so Rhys is really able to create a shocking, explosive and gore-filled movie. I truly think people will really dig what we are creating." The publication exclusively revealed a first look at the terrifying character – and it's safe to say, it's a thing of nightmares. Speaking about the first film, Waterfield told indy100 that the production took around 10 days to create. The plot follows Pooh and Piglet, who become increasingly "hungry and feral" due to Christopher Robin "cutting them off due to his new girlfriend and University." "Eventually, they had to eat Eeyore to survive," Waterfield added. "Christopher returns and discovered his old feral friends are no longer what they seem. Pooh and Piglet continue their rampage and target a rural cabin, where a group of girls from university are staying." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

People online are stunned to learn a diner was charged 'a**hole tax' on his food bill – but it's not all what it seems. In a popular Reddit thread that racked up over 40,000 upvotes, the man claimed his "dinner receipt had a message" at the Oregan restaurant. A photo of the bill showed a seemingly innocent string of meals, followed by "You're an A**hole" with a $15 "fine". Fellow users were quick to share their shock, with many hospitality workers expressing their interest in implementing the so-called fine into their workplace. "I wish we could charge customers for being a**holes. We would make so much money. People are garbage," one wrote. Fortunately, the poster soon realised the mishap and clarified in the comments: "My wife and I went to a restaurant for her birthday and we both had cocktails. I completely forgot the name of the cocktail by the time the receipt came but its name was 'You’re an A**hole, Mr. Burton' lmao it definitely caught me by surprise". Reddit - Dive into anything from pics Attention soon turned to the "fried chicken tit" listed as one of the couple's orders. "'I'm intrigued by the fried chicken tit," one person wrote, while another reiterated: "I am more interested in seeing a picture of the Fried Chicken Tit." According to the diner, it's simply the name of Westgate Bourbon Bar and Tap House's "fried chicken sandwich." Their menu describes the meal as: "Breaded and fried DD chicken breast, havarti, lettuce, tomato, basil, mustard aioli, on a grilled ciabatta bun. yes. we said tit. ..from a chicken. go ahead. pretend you’re offended. I’m offended you’re offended." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An extraordinary recreation of what a baby can hear in the womb has got people "tearing up" across social media. The creator Dimitris Chronis Animus Mentis Productions shared the heartwarming simulation on YouTube, where it racked up thousands of views. It shows a baby in the mother's womb surrounded by amniotic fluid during the last trimester of pregnancy. The external sounds are muffled, but the creator noted that "babies become increasingly capable of hearing a range of musical tones, and studies confirm that babies react — in the womb — to the sounds they hear." He went on to suggest that if a song is replayed, the late-term foetus may recognise it as a newborn. "I came up with the idea to simulate the above situation using spatial sound. I managed to put an ambisonic recorder in an enclosed basket filled with water and recorded the sound of an African lullaby coming through an outside Bluetooth speaker," he wrote, before advising listeners to use headphones while playing. What can babies hear inside the womb| (ambisonic simulation) www.youtube.com The clip was soon inundated with comments from emotional listeners. "It is nice to know what my niece used to listen to, and I may say it is calming even for a grown-up to hear," one person wrote, while another added: "Amazing beyond time and space, beautiful light." A third commented on how catchy it was, writing: "Now I’m gonna have THIS in my head all night…" Meanwhile, one person wrote: "This is adorable I started tearing up." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman was left shocked after being told by airline staff that her athletic wear outfit was "too revealing". Flight passenger Maggi Thorne took a Southwest Airlines flight wearing a pair of Nike joggers and a crop top but was left “just in shock” by the reaction of a flight attendant. According to Thorne, who has seven times competed on American Ninja Warrior, a flight attendant approached her and told her that the clothing she was wearing was “inappropriate” and asked her to cover up. In a post on X/Twitter, Thorne claims she was “shamed” in front of all the other passengers by the attendant “saying my attire wasn’t appropriate”. Thorne continued: “Is this really happening in 2023? The passengers around me were stunned as she shamed me for all to hear.” The interaction took place on Thorne’s journey from Omaha, Nebraska to Nashville, Tennessee. Her trip included a layover in Orlando, Florida and it was onboard this flight that she said the incident occurred. Speaking to Insider, Thorne said: “She came over and asked me about my outfit and said that she thought it was too revealing and not appropriate for the airline.” She continued: “It was incredibly embarrassing." According to Southwest Airlines’ clothing policy, “wearing clothes that are lewd, obscene, or patently offensive” is not permitted on its flights. In response to Thorne’s tweet, a representative from Southwest Airlines got in touch with her to say that a complaint had been filed on her behalf. indy100 has contacted Southwest Airlines for comment. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Piers Morgan has been heavily mocked for his awkward pose with Luis Rubiales as the disgraced president of the Spanish FA resigned on his show. Rubiales drew strong criticism for kissing Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the celebration of the women’s team’s World Cup win last month. Despite the strong backlash, Rubiales claimed the kiss was consensual – a claim strongly refuted by Hermoso who filed a complaint with the national prosecutor’s office last week. During an appearance on Piers Morgan’s TalkTV chat show Uncensored, Rubiales finally relented to calls for his resignation, saying: “I cannot continue my work”. On X/Twitter, Morgan shared a photo of himself standing awkwardly next to the former Spanish footballer, and it has prompted some hilarious responses. Morgan wrote: “Luis Rubiales flew to London today for a 2-hour interview with me in which he announced his resignation. It’s a raw, powerful, emotional conversation about THAT kiss, and crotch grab, which have made him the world’s most infamous man.” “The way they’re standing makes them look like a Sky Sports graphic for a relegation-threatened teams strike partnership,” someone commented. Another asked: “Why does Piers look constipated?” Someone else said: “Y’know I have never been more inspired to fix my posture than after seeing this picture.” “I don't know how to fully explain this but Morgan appears to have perfected the ‘I've s**t myself’ stance,” one X/Twitter user wrote. During his interview on Morgan’s show, Rubilaes confirmed his resignation, saying: “My resignation? Yes, I’m going to, I cannot continue my work.” He added: “I love so much my daughters, and they love me so much, I’m very happy and proud of them. My father, my daughters, I spoke with them, they know it’s not a question about me. They say to me, ‘Luis, now you have to focus on your dignity and continue your life, because you will do damage to people you love.’ “When somebody is not thinking only about themself, because I had to in these few weeks, it’s not only a question of me. It can affect third parties, it’s very important, this situation now, it’s the thing I have to do.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Sidemen football match returned over the weekend and each one of the players involved gave their all – with some even putting their bodies on the line for the cause. In fact, MrBeast has revealed that he suffered a knock thanks to an over-exuberant tackle from iShowSpeed during the opening moments of the game. It came as YouTube supergroup The Sidemen secured their third successive win in their latest charity match on Saturday (September 9), with a final score of 8-5 against the YouTube All-Stars at the London Stadium. Sidemen FC were joined by the likes of MrBeast, real name Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, who revealed that he was suffering the day after the game from a blow to the knee. The first few minutes of the game saw iShowSpeed fly into a tackle with MrBeast, which saw him collide with the YouTuber’s knee. MrBeast was able to brush off the tackle with the 18-year-old, getting up and hobbling off the challenge before continuing. He was still suffering the next day, though. MrBeast posted a clip of the tackle on Twitter and wrote: “Not gonna lie it’s the next day and I went to stand up and my right knee was throbbing lol.” He wasn’t the only one suffering the next day, either. YouTube Allstars’ Jacksepticeye also said he was feeling the impact of the game - not because of any bad challenges, but just because of his age. “I can’t move my legs this morning,” the content creator tweeted, and after MrBeast responded “same”, he added: “At least you got tackled! I’m just old.” KSI was placed in goal to avoid an injury ahead of his match against Tommy Fury next month during the match, and unfortunately, it was Theo Baker - who had hip surgery last year - who was taken off in a stretcher after sustaining an injury in the first half-hour. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

YouTube prankster Max Fosh became an instant viral hit on Saturday when he used an Uno reversal card after receiving a booking during the Sidemen charity match. Fosh, who did score a very good goal in the sold out game at West Ham's London Stadium between Sidemen FC and the YouTube All-Stars, saw yellow on 78 minutes for a brash challenge on Simon 'Miniminter' Minter. After former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg showed Fosh the yellow card the prepared YouTuber turned the tables on the official and showed the official a green Uno reverse card, which effectively switched the decision. Does this mean that Clattenburg is the first referee to ever receive a yellow card? Regardless of whether the Uno card actually stood or not Fosh's well-timed moment soon went viral with many on X/Twitter applauding the joke. Fosh also posted the moment telling Clattenburg to "respect the meme." The match itself ended 8-5 to the Sidemen and drew 60,000 fans to the London Stadium and raised more than £2 million for charity. The stream of the match also smashed YouTube records. According to MrBeast, who played in the match, at one point had 2,700,000 concurrent viewers making it the most viewed live sporting event in YouTube history, as per Dexterto. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A man has come under fire for asking his girlfriend to shave her armpit for a family event. In a post to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole?" forum, the guy explained the situation that led to the disagreement between the couple. "She shaves everything else, although she'll happily go kind of long between shaves, but her armpits she probably shaves once every two or three months for a special occasion if she really feels like it," he said. "I don't have an issue with this most of the time, although I'm not really used to this and would probably prefer she shaves, she's really clean and never smells bad or anything." He then went on to describe how his request for her to shave her armpits didn't go down well. "She got really offended and said that was really harsh of me and now she doesn’t even want to come. I don't think I'm being unreasonable asking her to shave," he said. Since sharing the post, the comment section was inundated with people sharing their opinions on the matter. Many believed the guy was in the wrong for making this request to his girlfriend. One person said: "YTA (you're the a**hole). She likes it, as she told you... and what's important is what SHE THINKS about her body (and body hair). Did she ask your opinion on if she should shave? No? Then she doesn't want it, so keep it to yourself." "Do you have hairy armpits? Why does she have to shave hers? Because she's a woman and you're a man? If you're allowed to have hairy armpits, so is she," another person wrote. Someone else added: "Humans have body hair naturally. That's the baseline for "NORMAL". It's NORMAL for her to have hairy armpits, and she can make a choice to remove it. "If your family find normal body hair offensive or weird, that's their problem, and you should feel free to tell them that." "YTA. She is entitled to bodily autonomy, and should not feel coerced into hair removal," a fourth person commented. "Your request was offensive because you basically told her you are ashamed of her for not conforming to an artificial standard of beauty." Though there were a few people fighting in the guy's corner. "NAH - no harm in asking; just let it go if she declines. If you find it unattractive, let her know, then let her go. Or not," one person wrote. Another person added: "NAH. You asked and she said no. You say she does shave for "special occasions," so she apparently doesn't mind shaving them sometimes, so I think it's a reasonable ask on your part. And you said she shaves "everything else." So doesn't mind shaving in general." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Larry Sinclair, the convicted criminal who claimed to have had drug fuelled sex with Barack Obama in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, has been slammed by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. Blogger and businessman Portnoy, whose website has become one of the best read sports news sources in the US, said he met Sinclair at Carlson’s studio when he was filming his own interview with the fired Fox News host. He said: “I would trust Anna Delvey before I trusted anything Larry Sinclair said,” referring to the famous con artist on whose life the recent TV show Inventing Anna was based. “Top to bottom maybe the least trustworthy human I've ever laid eyes on. I’d say his story has 0.0% of being true and that’s generous.” Carlson’s interview with Sinclair aired on Wednesday, in which Sinclair repeated longstanding, unfounded claims that he used cocaine and had sex with the former President twice. Sinclair’s claims refer to supposed incidents in 1999, when the politician was working in the Illinois government and already had a public profile, just before his meteoric rise in the 2000s. The claims have never been verified, despite Sinclair repeating them since 2008, when Obama was running for his first term as president. They are compounded by the fact Sinclair has a long criminal record dating back to the 1980s. Convictions include counts of forgery, fraud and larceny. He has served time in prison in Arizona, Florida and Colorado. Despite all of this, Carlson has described Sinclair’s claims as “credible information that [Obama is] smoking crack and having sex with dudes”. Even Elon Musk, the X/Twitter owner whose platform has given Carlson a new lease of life since he was fired from Fox News earlier this year, seemed thrown by the bizarre interview. He tweeted: “Of course, the probability that [Sinclair’s] claims are true would have to rest on objective evidence, rather than claims made by someone with a dubious history.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.