List of All Articles with Tag 'viral'

Two more tourists have been caught apparently defacing the Colosseum in Rome, following a similar incident in June.

Hardest Geezer has shared an update while running the entire length of Africa, revealing that he’s facing a long delay after being robbed at gunpoint. The YouTuber, real name Russ Cook, is attempting to become the first person ever to complete the feat as part of “Project Africa” for charity. However, Cook and his team are facing “frustrating circumstances” while the group has to wait to get new visas. On the 64th day of his journey, he revealed he and his crew had been robbed at gunpoint by two “desperate” men. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Cook wrote at the time: “Nothing like a gun being pointed at your face to let you know you’re alive. Lively one today.” He added: “A couple lads popped open the side door and demanded everything we have. Desperate blokes with guns pointed. Infamously bad situation to find yourself on the end of. Proper spot of bother. Damage limitation.” Why I was forced to LEAVE Angola www.youtube.com Cook also said: “None of us got killed or injured. We didn’t let them march us out the van. But we did lose a lot of our gear. Couple cameras, 2 iphones, all of our cash, passports + few other bits.” Losing the passports and documentation means that they’ll now face a significant delay while they wait for new documentation. Cook revealed that the group has been forced to drive back to Windhoek in Namibia which is 1,281 miles in the wrong direction in order to get their new visas. “Most importantly, they took my passport, which had a visa for Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo in it,” he said about the passport [via BBC News]. “Logistics in Africa is especially difficult. We were in Luanda for six days trying to get the new visa, sweet talking every man and his dog. But ultimately, we left with our pants pulled firmly down.” He also said: “We can’t go anywhere until we have the visas.” 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.

Apparently lettuce has a use other than being eaten in salads and sandwiches, according to a new TikTok trend. Apparently some people swear that lettuce water can help you fall asleep. TikToker, Shalpa Hoque tried the hack out for herself and documented her process. You can watch her video in full here. “So apparently drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy, sis don’t sleep so imma try it out,” she wrote in the clip. Shalpa then ripped up some of the leafy greens and stuffed them into her mug before pouring in some boiling hot water. She mixed her lettuce water with peppermint tea because she was “scared it was going to taste like sh*t.” After leaving it to soak in the water for 10 minutes, she then takes the lettuce out and takes a sip, “it takes like nothing,” Shalpa says. Later she provides an update on how she’s feeling after the drink. “Update, I do feel slight drowsy, not hella sleepy like knockout, but I do feel sleepy.” Cut to some time later, and in another update the drink seems to have affected Shalpa more. “Another update, lettuce has crack because your sis is gone,” she said in bed with her eyes closed. TikTok users seemed to be intrigued by this so-called sleep hack, as the video now has 7.2m views, and over 1.4m likes. However, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine and the director of the Sleep Center of Excellence at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Insider that there is no research to prove that lettuce water helps us fall asleep. However, this has been found to be the case for rats where lettuce has helped them doze off. In a 2017 study, researchers looked at whether low and high doses of red romaine lettuce extract helped mice stay asleep longer. Results show that it worked for the rats, but it’s unclear whether TikTokers were using this particular lettuce to improve their sleep. St-Onge also questioned how effective stewing the lettuce in boiling water would be - even if it was the red romaine TikTokers were using. “How much of those lettuce extracts are you getting from water? I’m not sure,” she said. But those on the app insist they’ve been able to fall asleep quicker from it - so what’s the possible reason for this? This may be caused by the placebo effect, according to St-Onge. It’s when you convince yourself and your body that a treatment is working - even if that is not the case. “If you expect something to work, then you probably feel more sleepy,” St-Onge added. While consuming and getting wrapped up in these bizarre trends, it’s easy to forget the simple steps we can take to improve our sleep that are scientifically proven to work on humans. From reducing our screen time, to reducing light, to mindfulness and physical exercise - soggy lettuce doesn’t seem quite as appealing somehow.

A new milkshake inspired by McDonald’s mascot Grimace has taken the internet by storm after inspiring a new TikTok trend. The limited-edition milkshake is part of the new Grimace Birthday meal that was rolled out in the US this month to mark the 52nd anniversary of the character’s introduction. Who is Grimace and what is in his viral milkshake? Grimace is a purple character first revealed by McDonald’s on 12 June 1972 when he appeared in an advert where he was known as “Evil Grimace” after running off with milkshakes. In 2012, Roy T. Bergold Jr., the company’s previous vice president of advertising, described Grimace as “a soft, plush, two-armed blob of a sweetheart”. McDonald's explained: “Grimace is from Grimace Island and comes from a huge family (including his Grandma Winky, aunts Millie and Tillie and his Uncle O’Grimacey!).” Since he stopped appearing in adverts in 2003, the grinning purple blob began fading into obscurity, aside from the odd Thanksgiving parade appearance or Twitter mention. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, his character has remerged in a major way, helping to spark a trend thanks to the birthday meal which features a purple-coloured milkshake. The Grimace milkshake is a purple limited edition berry-flavoured drink, “inspired by Grimace’s iconic colour and sweetness”, according to McDonald’s. It contains berry flavouring, vanilla soft serve and whipped cream. It is available with the Grimace Birthday Meal, available in the US, where customers can choose either a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets with fries. The limited-edition shake is available only “while supplies last”. 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.

Stir-fried stones are the newest and most bizarre food trend going viral, especially as the stones themselves are inedible. Every now and then, a new food fad goes viral on the internet, with everything from the mysterious Pink Sauce to the TikTok famous baked feta pasta capturing people’s imaginations. Now, it is the turn of Chinese street vendors to have their moment, as a dish named soudui (“suck and throw”) has taken off online. What are stir-fried stones? The dish is a stir fry made of inedible pebbles, vegetables and spices that coat the pebbles with delicious flavour. Ingredients added to the stones on a griddle include chilli oil, garlic, rosemary and pepper. It is consumed by sucking the stones to get the flavour off, then discarding them. It costs around $2 per serving. Despite taking off with huge popularity now, the dish is thought to be centuries old having originated in the central Hubei province. It started when fishermen ran out of food and used the pebbles for sustenance instead. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @jeenjajaa วันนี้คุณลุงมากินให้ดูด้วยย หายสงสัยแล้วว่าต้องกินยังไง555555??✨ Cr.抖音号：_COOL0818 #fyp #douyin #แปลจีน #ผัดหิน #ของแปลก #抖音 #กินหิน #อาหารแปลก #จีนจ๋าจ๋า After going viral online, hawkers and street vendors have been jumping on the trend which has also been given a boost by Mukbang content creators, who film themselves eating. 石头也能当菜吃？自制湖北“爆炒鹅卵石”，原来这才是最硬的菜 www.youtube.com According to local news, Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu are awash with videos of street hawkers making the dish and people sampling it. But, opinion about the dish appears varied, with many focused on the obvious point that the stones can be reused. One translated TikTok comment read: “After eating, wash and continue to fry.” Another joked: “How do you see which ones are cooked or not?” “Can be recycled,” another said. 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 celebrity chef who banned vegans from his restaurants has been forced to implement a booking fee after being trolled online. It all started when John Mountain, owner of Fyre in Australia, announced the new policy on Facebook following a customer complaint. "Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding," he wrote. In a direct message, the customer reportedly wrote: "My only option was the vegetable dish… it was okay but not that filling… and I was shocked to see it was $32 (£17). "If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does. I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The chef didn't take the feedback lightly, telling 7News: "F**k vegans - I’m done with them." "I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me." Now, the chef claims he's been bombarded with fake bookings from vegans, prompting him to introduce a $30 (£16) booking fee. On his website, he wrote: "Due to the frequency of non-genuine vegan bookings, we have been forced to request a $30 per person booking fee. "This fee is wholly deductible from your bill after dining at Fyre." 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 jet-setter has been hailed a "genius" after sharing a hack to avoid paying extra baggage fees. In a viral TikTok circulating across the platform, Julie Waters (@dance.likenooneswatching) sported a fishing vest as part of her airport outfit filled with extra items to see whether she could successfully board the flight. The savvy traveller claimed to have packed a week's worth of clothes in the vest while flying with Spirit Airlines. "No one batted an eye, but a friend did make a comment that someone could have thought you were some kind of crazy Unabomber-type person so that would be the biggest downside," she told the Wall Street Journal. "What I really want to try is the pillowcase one, where instead of a pillow it’s full of clothes." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @dance.likenooneswatching Will this packing hack work? Extra bag fees??? No thanks! ? #travelhacks #airplanetiktok #airplanehack #traveltips #savemoney #fishingvest #airportoutfit #airportfit #losangeles #lax #spiritairlines #frugal #travel #packing #flight #packinghacks This fishing vest is a great packing hack! Don’t pay extra baggage fees for your flight. This fishing vest held a week’s worth of clothes. I got it from Dick’s Sporting Goods. ??? Go get your’s! Follow me for more great life hacks! ?? The concept was also explored by fellow TikToker, @cheapholidayexpert, who also took to the platform with her packing hack. She managed to pack everything from a bikini, a deck of cards to a portable speaker, a laptop and deodorant. “After stuffing my pants in a neck pillow and using a duty-free bag, it was only time before I reached the heady heights of leisurewear,” Cheap Holiday Expert jokes in the video’s caption. The clip racked up almost two million views and hundreds more comments. @cheapholidayexpert Packing hack #3 - A FISHING VEST ? After stuffing my pants in a neck pillow and using a duty free bag, it was only time before I reached the heady heights of leisurewear ? Not only is it super stylish (?) but it has about twelve million pockets for stuffing your bits in. Honestly - this one is daft but also… COMPLETELY LEGIT???!! It’s a winner for me ? WOULD YOU GIVE THIS A GO? And let me know if there’s any hacks you want me to test out for you - I AM WILLING TO GIVE ANYTHING A GO ? Just call it #inv#investigativejournalism♀️ ? Don’t forget to save this hack or tag someone you think will like this!! #t#travelhacktravelhacks #pac#packinghacke#cheaptraveld#budgettravels#easyjeta#ryanairzzair "This and cargo pants?? life changing," one fellow TikToker commented, while another added: "I spent so long looking for a travel jacket with tonnes of pockets I don’t know why I never thought of this!" A third person asked what happens when she went through security, to which she replied: "You always take your jacket off at security! And they’re not checking allowance, just liquids and illegal items." 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 claimed she is the victim of “hot phobia” and says men are scared to approach her because she is too attractive. Sabine Roll-Cohen, 40, from North London has claimed that she is ignored at the school gates when collecting her son because other parents can’t handle her beauty. The personal shopper and model said she wears outfits such as crop tops and short shorts to collect her son, resulting in other parents giving her the cold shoulder and victimising her. Roll-Cohen told The Sun: “I like to wear small shorts, or a low dress, or a tiny crop top, I like to feel sexy.” She continued: “Every woman should look after themselves. I don’t go out much anymore, so the school run is my reason to get dressed, so why not wear a nice outfit? “The other mums don’t talk to me when I look nice, they just turn their noses up. But when I am dressed in my jogging bottoms, they decide to speak to me, it’s strange.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But, she said, it’s not just the school gates where she’s found herself snubbed by other parents and claimed that it also happened at a child’s birthday party when she arrived wearing a crop top and skinny jeans. Roll-Cohen does not believe she dresses inappropriately and claims she is simply the victim of “hot phobia”. She argued: “I was at this party with my six-year-old son, but I only knew one other mum there.” Roll-Cohen went on: “I was wearing a little floral crop top and some skinny jeans which showed off my perky bum and I thought I looked great. “But every single mum at the party, apart from my friend, ignored me. I asked my friend why no one was talking to me and she said ‘Maybe you wear the wrong outfits.’ “I think they must be jealous as I do have a good body. I’m size eight, 5ft 7, I don’t go to the gym and I don’t have to watch what I eat. “A lot of these ladies are bigger and less sexy after having children and I think it annoys them that I look so good. If jealousy is an illness, I hope they all get better soon.” But, Roll-Cohen said that one person who appreciates her beauty is her husband of six years, Beto. She said: “He thinks I’m gorgeous and like to look nice for him. He wouldn’t change me for the world, so I’m not going to worry what anyone else thinks of me.” 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 27-year-old internet star has died after drinking 'Chinese firewater' on a live stream. Zhong Yuan Huang Ge was allegedly seen chugging a bottle of the local spirit known as baijiu, which alcohol content ranges between 35 to 60 per cent. Huang's Douyin account – the Chinese version of TikTok – has reportedly since been deleted. His wife confirmed the devastating news, according to The Straits Times, explaining that he had been "desperately" trying to make money to pay off debt. She said he had "to repay hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt that he owed before his marriage". Huang's death marks the second in a month as a result of drinking challenges, after a fellow influencer experienced a similar fate. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The man, identified as Wang Moufeng, was found dead on 17 May after reportedly drinking four bottles of the alcohol for his fans. "When his family found him, he was already gone," a friend identified as Zhao informed Shangyou News. "He didn’t even get a chance for emergency treatment." In a bizarre turn of events, the pair were actually friends with Huang attending Moufeng's funeral weeks prior to his own death. "I don’t know how much he had consumed before I tuned in. But in the latter part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting on a fourth," Zhao told The Straits Times. He added: "The PK games ended at around 1 a.m. and by 1 p.m., (when his family found him) he was gone." 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 nightclub in Australia is reportedly being investigated after hosting a wild influencer party with reptiles and baby crocodiles. Two Wrongs in Melbourne relaunched over the weekend with an invite-only bash, welcoming the likes of model Morgan Waterhouse and influencer Britt Reukers. Photos from the night were reportedly shared to the club's official Instagram page on Saturday night (27 May) but were seemingly removed. Images showed internet stars posing with snakes and kissing baby crocs. The RSPCA has since spoken on the matter, saying that the setting would have been "highly distressing" to the animals. "The environment the animals were in is highly likely to have been distressing to the animals and will likely have caused an excessive disturbance for them, particularly for reptiles who are sensitive to vibrations and loud music," they said, as per AU News. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The Instagram account 'Aussie Influencer Opinions', which has since gone private on the platform, reportedly screenshotted and shared the controversial posts online. They were soon inundated with comments from outraged followers. "Use of animals as a promotional tool in an incredibly frightening environment for them is disgusting and cruel," one follower wrote, while another added: "Passing around animals in a bar is just cruel. Great rebrand." Meanwhile, a third commented: "Taking a domesticated animal, like a cat or a dog, to a club would be extremely cruel – but to be taking wildlife, reptiles at that, is insane." "Literally disgusting! People and companies will do anything for publicity these days," another added. Indy100 reached out to Two Wrongs nightclub for comment. 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 anonymous person has been absolutely berated by their neighbour after they admitted to having their cat neutered without asking. The admission came in a Reddit post on the site’s Am I The A**hole community, where the person explained what they had done and how it led to their neighbour going “ballistic” at them. In the post, the person explained that they run a trap–neuter–return scheme among local strays and were recently called to an area with a lot of strays. They explained: “They were everywhere and I mostly ended up handing it over to professionals. “I did, however, manage to grab three very sweet cats. Two were terrified, skinny, a little beaten up, but overall friendly. The third one was a little gent.” The person explained that the third male cat had a collar, was tubby and well-groomed, indicating it had an owner. Explaining that they had a choice between locating the cat’s owners and dropping him off, or taking him to get neutered, the poster revealed they did the latter. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They wrote: “Ultimately I took him with me and got him neutered. No chip so I called the number on his tag and informed them where their cat was and gave them time slots to pick him up or have him dropped off. “The owners went ballistic. They were cursing me out and came to collect their cat not twenty minutes later. Called me a kidnapper, blamed me for their child having nightmares (scared over their cat going missing).” While the person attempted to defend themselves, arguing they “have a duty to care for stray cats”, they didn’t garner a lot of sympathy in the post’s comments. One Redditor argued: “You did kidnap their cat and made a (superbly arrogant) decision to have him neutered without the owner's permission. “You can judge them all you want for letting their cat outside, but the first thing to have done was to call the cat's people and asked ‘Hey, I found your cat. Did you know he was outside?’ That's the basic due diligence, right there.” However, another Redditor also argued that while the original poster was in the wrong, the owners were also being irresponsible for letting their unneutered male cat out of the house. They wrote: “Everyone sucks here. The owners for letting an intact pet outside unsupervised to breed, and you for having a surgical medical procedure done to an animal (that you KNEW had owners) without the owner’s consent. “Regardless of the morality of allowing pets to contribute to the stray population (for which the owner is an a**hole), making medical decisions for someone else's pet makes you a massive a**hole.” 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 restaurant reviewer has received her own damning assessment after she penned a brutal critique of what was clearly a lovely restaurant. The unnamed commentator awarded the establishment a one-star rating, which she accompanied with a lengthy explanation of why she’d been so unimpressed. She began her Yelp review by condemning the “cheap management and customer service” before, surprisingly, dedicating an entire paragraph to how fantastic it all was. “I heard the food was very good so I went to try. Me and the [boyfriend] got the calamari, spaghetti alle vongole, and gnocchi. All were very delicious,” she wrote. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “I was actually so impressed that when the manager came to ask us how everything tasted I told her it was some of the best Italian food I’ve had, and I told her I’m going to post about it on Instagram where I have over 11 thousand followers and a lot of them are in the area. She seemed very happy about it.” Then, in a surprise turn of events, she continued: “I was wrong. “I thought that she would be grateful for the free advertising but when the check came there was literally no discount at all. “I thought at least one of the entrees (American for main course) would be taken off but they didn’t even take off the calamari or even the drinks!” Wrapping up her rant, she concluded: “I won’t go back there because of this. Which is a shame because the food was very good. “The manager needs to understand how to treat customers.” Her post has been met with horror, incredulity and more than 4,700 comments on Reddit since it was shared on the forum r/mildlyinfuriating earlier this week. “It’s literally the purpose of a restaurant,” one user pointed out. “They make good food. You eat it. You pay for it. Restaurant gets money. Serves the next table. Everyone is happy and moves on with their day.” “The sense of entitlement for having 11k followers on some random account is unreal,” wrote another. “I like the places that charge double to influencers,” remarked a third. “It’s not ‘free advertising’ if you’re expecting compensation in the form of free food,” noted a fourth. Meanwhile, scores of others agreed that her review had, in the end, worked in the restaurant’s favour. “I'm more likely to read a 1 star review at a place that has mostly good reviews [...] I want to know if there's a specific reason I shouldn't eat there,” one wrote. “This is effectively a 5 star review that more people are going to read than most other 5 star reviews.” Elsewhere, sceptics suggested that the whole thing was an ingenious publicity stunt. “This has got to be guerrilla marketing because the first thing I thought was ‘great food and they don't kowtow to influencers?? I want to go to there!’,” one said. And another added: “Kinda disappointed that we don't get to see the name of the restaurant. It's probably nowhere near me, but it might be nice to have a dining recommendation in case I ever travel near it.” 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.