Who Owns the Moon?

Can you believe that no one has set foot on the moon since the United States last landed way back in 1972? It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Now, several countries like Japan, India, and China are all planning to send up crewed moon missions in the near future, and the question of who has a claim to the moon is cropping up all over again – this time, for space lawyers.

Really.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In a recent post for Real Clear Science, an attorney and professor of space law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law, Frans von der Dunk, looks at the question of moon ownership in light of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The treaty solidified the moon as a “global commons,” which basically means it can belong to no single nation.

Any secrets, resources, and other untapped potential should be used for the betterment of global society, and the U.S. even shared its soil and rock samples with Russia during the Cold War.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Von der Dunk does say that even though no one can own the land on the moon, the treaty is less clear about cultivated resources from the moon and asteroids – if one country mines assets, can they own them, or must they be distributed?

Which is why, I suppose, there is space law and space lawyers floating (heh) about these days, and why they’re probably going to be more in demand than ever as various nations plan to explore the moon face-to-face once again. Some believe that mining on the moon or on asteroids will be a lot like commercial fishing – you have to be licensed, and there will be guidelines, but you keep what you catch – while others, particularly in Russia, believe the previous treaty requires communal benefits on anything extracted from space.

Photo Credit: Touchstone Pictures

So, the answer is that no one owns the moon, but the stuff in and on the moon? Well, that’s complicated, Cold War-era treaty or no.

Nothing much is clear, really, so perhaps space remains the last great frontier – for explorers and lawyers. What a time to be alive.

h/t: Mental_Floss

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15 Wedding Planners Share Horror Stories from Their Job

You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to be a wedding planner. Dealing with angry brides when everything doesn’t go exactly according to plan? No, thank you.

These 15 wedding planners have some eye-popping tales of their worst work day ever.

#15. Check on the priest.

“Not a wedding planner but was directly involved.

A few years ago my sister got married. The wedding was in a small town up north and the church was old and small but beautiful. Of course she asked my brother and I to usher the wedding.

Wedding day comes, everything is great, everyone is seated in the church. We close the outside doors to prepare for my sister to walk in.

The wedding planners are standing outside with us doing a final check. Everything appears to be okay.

Except no one knows where the priest is. He is no where in any part of this small church. My sister comes out and calls the priest, who as it turns out, thought the wedding was actually an hour later than it really was. So he started speeding towards the church, in the mean time, the harpist that was playing keeps playing and everyone inside is getting a bit antsy.

Then we realize that while we were figuring this whole thing out, no one bothered to clue in my soon to be brother in law, who was just standing alone at the altar.

After this event the planners added “Check that the priest is there” to the list”

#14. In protest.

“Catering for a wedding, bride’s mother brought in shrimp and ate that, she was allergic to it and had to have an ambulance take her to the hospital.

Turns out, the mother didn’t want a white Australian for a son-in-law and tried to kill herself in protest.”

#13. A long list.

“Photographer here. I was just getting into the wedding photography game, and was taking any client that would let me shoot them, often on a shoestring budget with very late notice. Only had one client that ended up being so bad that I thought i was getting pranked.

Some of the highlights included:

bride and groom showed to the church up an hour and a half late with McDonalds
bride got ready in a room that was under construction – had to avoid 2/3rds of the room when taking photos as they were torn apart.
groom got ready in a room that had signs leftover from a church production that said things like “I was addicted to crack” and “I sold my body” etc.
Ceremony happened in a room that was so small you could hear the brides 3 month old baby crying in the next room over
Ceremony was in a church with two very short isles instead of one big isle, they decided to last minute have people walk down each seperate isle, i couldnt be in two places at once – missed a lot of essential shots there
They turned the lights on and off at different parts of the ceremony in an attempt to highlight the bride, but the person flipping the switches had awful timing, and the isles were so short i couldnt adjust my camera perfectly – created a TON of work in post
person playing piano & singing couldnt sing or play the piano well at all.
reception was 45 minutes away – keep in mind they were an hour and a half late, so now photos that shouldve been at sunset are now done at night
The reception was at a nice townhome with a pool. Dancefloor was in the living room. Wall on the west was playing the game. Mirror on the east wall was reflecting the game. North wall was open and led to the pool where a tv was playing the news, south wall was non-existent and led into the kitchen where everyone was eating.
I asked if they’d turn the TV off – they said they wanted to keep it on so people could watch. At this point i had given up and just delivered pictures with donald trumps face, or reflections of a cripsy chicken sandwich commercial playing on the tv.”

#12. Like an anxious moth.

“I’m a simple woman. I see wedding thread, I upvote.

As an aside, I did see a wedding coordinator talk down a full grown groomzilla from screaming so loudly at my manager in a gourmet chocolate shop that she almost called the cops. Just full on red faced “DO YOU KNOW WHAT A WEDDING IS? WE’VE HAD IT PLANNED FOR MONTHS TO HAVE HAND MADE GODDAMN ARTISINAL CHOCOLATES FOR ALL OUR GUESTS. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE WERE PLANNING TO SPEND? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN TOO SHORT OF A TURNAROUND? YOU BITCH I CAN SEE YOUR STAFF SITTING ON THEIR HANDS, YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU’RE TOO BUSY? ITS A GHOSTTOWN HERE AND ITS. BECAUSE. YOU. ARE. SHIT!”

The wedding planner was fluttering around him like an anxious moth while my stone faced manager had to explain to this full grown man that just because he wrote it down in a binder months ago it didn’t mean he’d placed the order. And that it’s way too late to order 400 individual chocolates for a wedding a week out.”

#11. Dinner and a show.

“I felt so sorry for the wedding coordinator for my niece’s wedding. It’s always a bit of a white trash show with that part of the family, but they went all out for the wedding.

Mother of the bride was noticeably drunk (like leaning over to one side drunk) and noisy during the ceremony. The stepmother of the bride was in a snit. The father of the bride was being his typical spineless self. The bride, groom, and wedding party were all chain smoking and drinking natural light beer before, during, and after the ceremony, and most of them were a lovely shade of orange from the fake tans. The officiant showed up in a t-shirt and sweatpants. There wasn’t enough food for the guests, not even enough for everyone to get a bite of something. Arguments broke out all over, between all members of the bride’s family. If there had actually been dinner, it would have been a great “dinner and a show” thing.”

#10. Mommy dearest.

“I had a couple and her mother come to see me by appointment to plan wedding music for their forthcoming church ceremony.

Each time I’d demonstrate a potential processional on the organ, the bride and groom liked it, but the bride’s mother objected and asked to hear something different (when asked what her idea of “something different” might be, she had no ideas).

The situation got more and more tense as the groom and bride’s mother argued. Finally, the mother said, “Listen – I’m paying for this wedding, and you’ll do it MY way, and that’s the end of it!”

In an effort to bring harmony, I said to the mother, “It’s the couple’s wedding, not yours or mine. Let them make the choices they like, and I’ll provide music at no charge, so the question of who’s paying for it is no longer a factor.”

That solved the problem instantly. But the groom left glaring at his future mother-in-law, probably wondering what he was getting into for the long term. (To my surprise, the best man came to see me at the organ on the day of the ceremony, and gave me an envelope containing double the normal amount.)”

#9. Be a bro.

“Officiant here, Sat with a couple to talk about their ceremony. They asked for the barest of bare bones, 5 min or less package. Welp, ok I guess.

Show up, knowing the ceremony was casual and poolside in their backyard. Didn’t realize it was in swimsuits. Ok, cool, sure. Hottest day in Phoenix ever, so we all appreciated the shortest ceremony ever.

Get a call Monday from a family member that bride and groom broke up, he had been cheating. Right as I dropped the license in the mail.

So, if you’re ever cheating on someone and don’t plan on staying married after the air comes out of the floaties, just ask your officiant to be a bro and not mail the thing, that way you’re only out $75 and not the cost of an actual divorce.”

#8. All the flowers in the world.

“Not a wedding planner, but this a funny/tragic story.

My mother’s friend is a florist, and she makes the flower arrangements for a lot of weddings.

Anyway, for this wedding, the bride wanted flowers on the chairs (not very smart because they would eventually get crushed, and/or ruin someone’s clothes), and each chair with flowers costs about 75€, and there are about 300-400 guests.

Plus, there are all the other flowers arrangements for the tables, and around the venue, so the bride’s mother spent about 20k€ on flowers, alone. I can’t even imagine how much the whole thing cost.

Anyway, the wedding day went by uneventful, until the bride and groom were at their honeymoon. The bride received a call from her ex-boyfriend, they made up, and she left her husband, and went to live with her ex.

Apparently, the mother had a nervous breakdown.”

#7. Strong drink required.

“Wedding Coordinator here – The couple that never paid their final balance for the reception.

I’m a “day of event” coordinator (so I’m not part of the arrangements, only handle the details to make sure everything goes smoothly. This was one of the rare times it didn’t.

Once the ceremony started, I headed over to the reception hall to oversee the setup, only to find out that the couple paid the deposit, but never paid the balance-about half of the total cost (IIR about $30k). The catering hall was refusing to hold the reception until they got their money in cash (no personal checks allowed). It was a Sunday before a bank holiday and while most commercial banks would have been fine, their local bank was not open until that Tuesday.

Slightly panicking, I called the main coordinator who was still at the church with the couple to try to figure this out. The older brother tried to help by trying to get money from relatives, but they were obviously short of the sum needed. We were at the point where guests were starting to arrive. After going back and forth, the catering manager said they would hold the cocktail hour since the deposit covered that.

When the couple arrived, the groom, the brother, and my lead coordinator met with the manager and they basically offered their money box, along with whatever payment they were able to round up to hold as ransom until they made the payment. The reception went on as planned, and once everything was set, I broke my work rule and had a strong drink.”

#6. We played for hours.

“Not a wedding planner, but a member of a string quartet booked to play the wedding & reception afterwards.

The person who was going to officiate was a rabbi who was also a professor of the bride and groom. He never showed up for the wedding. So our quartet was asked to keep playing while the couple desperately tried to find a last-minute justice of the peace to perform the ceremony.

We played for hours, and were invited to eat the food offered to the guests. In the end, the couple found someone to perform the ceremony. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for them to see their professor the next day.”

#5. Precious Moments.

“Obligatory not a planner, but my mom made wedding cakes for almost 20 years in the 1990’s-2000’s.

Several of her horror stories involved Precious Moments figurines, of all things. They’re the ones that look like creepy babies/angelic children.

For some ungodly reason, Precious Moments cake toppers were all the rage for awhile. Unfortunately, they are made of ceramic, and can be a bit heavy to place on top of stacked pastry.

One time, Mom was mid-cake-setup when the mother of the bride (MOB) handed her a 5 lb. Precious Moments wedding car, and told her it was their cake topper. Besides being heavy, it was also larger than the top tier of the cake. My mom flat-out told her, “No way. That thing is way too heavy, it will crush of top the cake.”

MOB didn’t want to take, “no,” for an answer, and kept insisting that the wedding would be ruined if they didn’t have this cake topper. Mom refused, and explained several more times that the cake could not support the car. She placed the car next to the cake, and got a pretty spray of flowers from the florist to put on top, instead.

An hour later, she got a frantic call from the reception hall, because the cake fell, “all by itself.”

Turns out, MOB waited until Mom left, placed the car topper on top of the cake, and left for the ceremony. The reception manager found the cake all over the floor shortly after.

A similar scenario occurred with a motorcycle- themed Precious Moments figurine several months later. Mom banned all Precious Moments after that.”

#4. Oh, the 80s.

“i was at a wedding reception where the maid of honor (sister of the bride) had a fight with her boyfriend and threw herself onto the hood of his car as he tried to drive away with her poor father trying to pull her off. In a purple satin, puffy-sleeve 1987 atrocity. Mass quantities of alcohol was involved.”

#3. Not-so-happy ending.

“This happened at a wedding reception that took place where I used to work:

Bride and groom were fighting when they arrived for the reception, groom starts chugging back wine and passed out before he could make a speech and had to be carried out by his groomsmen.”

#2. All I wanted was a beach wedding.

“I planned my own wedding, I’m not sure how popular wedding planners are in the UK… I had to have a church wedding despite being non religious due to my (now) husband’s very Christian family. At the time he was also hanging on to being one and I figured that if it was important to them and I had no real default then that was fine.

In the UK if you aren’t getting married where your family is linked to a church you have to (usually) be part of the community for a year. So we went most Sundays and I sat through it, did the pre marriage councilling, picked the hymns (one’s from school) etc. I organised literally everything with my husband, we even made most of the wedding stuff by hand.

The week before the wedding he receives an email from his very religious uncle. It has a freeware word document attached to it which is a 3 page essay on how I am, amoungst other things, souless, going to hell, from the cup of demons, a sin etc. We told his family and almost no one stood up for me.

Needless to say I was pretty upset after jumping through so many hoops to be respectful of their beliefs. My husband replied to his uncle’s email and then called him to inform him he was uninvited. I sent him a wonderful email explaining exactly what I thought of him. We gave his picture to the wedding party lads in case he turned up. They were under strict orders to make a scene. Luckily he didn’t but it’s caused a massive crack in his family. No one even reprimanded the guy.

So that’s how my husband be ame almost completely isolated from his family, including a loss of faith. All I wanted was a beach wedding!

(Edit: ohgodwalloftext and speeling)”

#1. We see a lot of shit.

“I’m a professional violinist who works with wedding planners, and I’ve seen some things.

Once I got an email from a bride asking me if I’d play at a wedding, for free, in bleak midwinter, in a pavilion waaaay down the path of a hiking trail. Uh, no ma’am.

My first college gig was a wedding that was supposed to be in a beautiful sunny garden, but being in the Deep South, guess what? There were actually tornadoes that day instead. The families decided to go on with the wedding… so they had the wedding under the reception tent instead and moved the actual reception indoors (weird thinking, huh). Things were actually going ok until near the end of the ceremony, when weather sirens went off. We didn’t get hit by a tornado, but the rain and wind that eventually came in made it so that it was even hitting us under the tent. We obviously couldn’t couldn’t play for the recessional and had to run a short distance inside to pack the instruments up rather than risk staying outside and getting the instruments soaked. The wedding was completed outside ASAP and everyone made a beeline for indoors as fast as possible once it was over! The bride was laughing thankfully but everyone was wet and worried about tornadoes and it was just such a crazy day.

Also another Deep South wedding I played for: two avid football fans left their own reception early to watch their team’s football game that was on that day. (I knew the girl personally. She divorced him a year later, he ended up being an egotistical, abusive, cheating ass.)

I also played in a quartet at this gorgeous mountainside wedding and we got there quite early to set up. A fight broke out between who I later realized was the bride and groom, they busted out of the clubhouse behind us literally kicking and screaming at each other. They appeared ok during the wedding amazingly, but I would be surprised if that marriage lasted.

And last but definitely not least was the day my sister and I played a wedding when my grandfather died in the hospital. My family had been called to the hospital as I was getting ready to leave for the venue, and got the news he passed when I finished. I knew he was dying the whole time, though. Playing an entire wedding and reception through the death of a loved one is something I never, ever want to do again. I had to keep my sobs in so hard I got the hiccups.

Treat your wedding musicians well, most of us deal with and see a lot of shit.

Edited for two words.”

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12 People Open up about the Moment They Realized They Were an Alcoholic

For some people, it takes a major wake up call for them to realize that their drinking has turned into alcoholism, and for these 12 people, that was certainly true:

#12. Until that moment.

“Doc asked how many drinks I have a night and I wasn’t sure how to answer. So, he asked “how many ounces” I consumed. I asked how many ounces are in a 750. He just paused and put down his pad and said, “a lot, you drink that every night?” He then ordered special blood tests and told me if I keep it up, I’ll kill myself. It happened so slowly. A martini a night, then 2 martinis, then some shots to get the baseline and a few martinis, then I just got into the habit of buying a 750 on the way home and polishing it off before I went to bed. He told me to stop for a day and I got heart palpitations and started shaking until I caved and went a bought a pint of vodka. Despite everything, it didn’t even occur to me until that moment that I was horribly addicted to alcohol.”

#11. Nobody seems to notice.

“I’m there.

I’m admitting this for the first time, but damn I have a problem.

I buy bottles of vodka and hide them around the house so my wife can’t find them, but I can easily access them with an excuse to go to the garage, or the basement.

I look for reasons to leave the house when I run out of booze, regardless of the time of day (9:00 AM is the earliest opening liquor store near me).

I can’t really enjoy beer anymore, it takes way too much to get me to a point where I feel anything. I buy high ABV beer if it’s a social occasion where cocktails aren’t the norm.

My large recycling bin’s bottom layer is probably 1/4 empty vodka bottles by the end of the week. I bury them down there so nobody sees them.

Doing things like mowing the lawn or watching a movie aren’t interesting without a few shots’ worth.

The scary part is that nobody seems to notice. I’m sure there are signs, but they are not frequent enough to raise a red flag.”

#10. The closest thing to a friend.

“Good afternoon, Joe, how are ya?”

“Oh not bad at all! Hey, I got to see my grandkids last weekend!”

“That’s great. Are they doing well?”

“Never better. Listen…this is hard to say, but…you know you drink too much, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“OK. Just…I don’t know…I’m not going to tell you what to do.”

“Well, I appreciate it, thanks.”

This conversation took place in front of a Beer Store. Joe is homeless. I’ve given him change so many times that he remembers me and at the time we were probably the closest thing to a friend either of us had.

TL;DR: When a homeless person questions the amount you drink, so should you.”

#9. A few cuts and bruises.

“Not particularly exciting just woke up after a massive bender with a few cuts and bruises and it dawned on me that I might have serious problem.”

#8. Re-evaluate everything.

“Got off work on a Friday, bought a 24 of beer, woke up Saturday with no beer, decided to re-evaluate everything. Now 8 months sober.”

#7. Waiting for the liquor store to open.

“I was waiting out a liquor store when they opened up at 9am.

(I was binging to counter act some stimulants. I cut them out and my desire to drink went with it. But I realized it was an issue that day).”

#6. When I started lying.

“Not an alcoholic, but probably when I started lying about not being an alcoholic.”

#5. “I don’t remember any of it.”

“It’s not that exciting. Two months ago I went out with a co-worker. We left the strip club and walked back to my place. My girlfriend and I were living together at that point and i didn’t want to disturb her so we decided to continue to drink in my parked car. At some point I blacked out and woke up in the morning laying on the floor next to my/our bed.

Turns out I ended up driving, black out drunk, all the way across town to a 7-11, to drop my co-worker off and than all the way back. About 10 km. The one moment of clarity I have from that evening is sitting in my running car, just outside of the 7-11, texting my angry gf. I went home and shouted at her. Don’t remember any of it.

She packed up her things once I passed out on the floor. When I woke up she drove off.”

#4. The shame.

“Not me but my dad. He said he had become ashamed of who he had become and didnt want to be like his dad. The last week before he quit and started AA, some days he was so hungover to take me to school so I just skipped, and his boss called him telling him to get his shit together. He’s been clean about a year now and the change in everybody’s lives is so fucking great. I’m really proud of him.”

#3. No ‘a-ha’ moment.

“Lots of people posting answers on this thread and finishing with “but I still drink”. Okay then. Well, as a guy with 6 years of sobriety who doesn’t drink alcohol anymore, I can try and shed some light on the question:

In my experience, there wasn’t ONE specific event that led me to see the light. Alcoholism is a gradual disease, and those “ah-ha” moments didn’t really appear. Events just piled up – it was always “just one bad night” or “a couple rough weeks”. I gave myself lots of excuses: I told myself that lots of people lived this way, or that I was just taking a career break to party, or that I DESERVED to have fun, etc, etc. I was in denial over what was gradually happening to my life. Over the period of a few years I’d quit my job and pretty much just stopped working, lost my long-time girlfriend who I loved, lost many friends and the few remaining people close to me were scared that I’d end up dead. I’d become persona non grata at events. My health was failing (withdrawal seizures are a bitch), I couldn’t start my day or end my day without hard liquor. I was broke, and I started considering some pretty scary alternatives for getting a hold of some cash. I was dying a slow death and every day I was a worse version of the kid I’d once been.

After being confronted with the possibility of rehab, I begrudgingly agreed – things couldn’t get worse, after all. I took home some good tools after 22 days in rehab, but I needed to remember to use those tools because things could get out of hand quickly. As a young man I had high hopes for myself. What happened to those dreams and when did I put them away? Can I start over and try again? What the hell should I do? I didn’t know, but I did know this was my chance to at least start TRYING to at least achieve a few of those goals.

After getting my sober legs under me, life didn’t magically turn around. I still had bills to pay, still was unemployed, and nobody threw me a parade for getting clean. I started gradually getting things together, just like things gradually fell apart. Eventually I made some major changes – I think that’s key in any recovery. Straight up sold my stuff, moved abroad, and changed my life 180 degrees. Today I live in the mountains of Central America. I learned to speak a second language, live sober, exercise and do my best to help others. I’ve still got tons of flaws and I’ve got a long way to go. But the journey is just beginning. Life is fun again, being alive is a gift, and no matter how bad my day is, I can always fall back on the fact that if I didn’t drink today, I will go to bed a winner.”

#2. Misery.

“Bought a handle of brandy (1.5 liters and I’m not a brandy man, I was budget buying my liquor and a fifth of Bushmills was $8 at the local liquor store while the handle was $15) after I’d had an unstable few days. My best friend had told me he was going to rehab for his own problems with addiction, and I lost my shit after subconsciously realizing that I was as far gone as him if not further. A few days later, I get the aforementioned handle and kill half of it in a few hours, pass out on my couch for another few hours, and then wake up and resume drinking while trying to 1. fight my friends, 2. tell my family and best friend that I hate them on the phone, 3. denigrate an ambulance driver after one of my friends thought I was going to get alcohol poisoning and called 911, 4. jump of my 2nd story balcony to see what would happen. I woke up the next day, my folks were flying in to town after a very terrifying set of phone calls from me and from my friend explaining the situation, and when they knocked on my door, I opened it ready with an excuse before something snapped in me and I blurted out “I’m an alcoholic” instead. I had been miserable for a long time up til this point, and the liquor only made me more miserable. I kept drinking to avoid the shakes and withdrawal, and I didn’t know any other way to live. That moment where I came clean to my folks was where I decided something needed to change. I was 24 then, and I went to rehab the next day. I’ve been clean since, and I celebrated my 1 year mark earlier this month.”

#1. What a friend said.

“My face started to swell.

I was at the grocery store reading labels with getting drunk in mind. I bought beers that I don’t like the taste of. Proceeded to get drunk that night.

I went to a party and a friend said I look like a drunk.

I quit. Cold turkey. I was turning into my father. And I am not turning into my father.

This was two months ago. I’ve lost 20 pounds since and feel great. My clarity of mind during interrogations the day is a noticeable difference.

I was never a black out drunk. Only thrown up 3 times in 25 years. But I was a 6 pack a day drunk, usually stretched from 5 to midnight. I enjoyed it. But I’m 40 now, and I’ve gotta keep my health and my children’s welfare I mind.”

The post 12 People Open up about the Moment They Realized They Were an Alcoholic appeared first on UberFacts.

14 Cringeworthy Horror Stories from Amusement Park Employees

Amusement parks are fun until you think about them a little too hard. “Wait a sec, the kid strapping me into this death machine is how old?”

If that bothers you, you might not want to read the confessions of park employees below. Also, if you have a weak stomach, same warning.

#14. Chlorine gas.

“A few years ago a smallish theme park in my state made some kind of mistake when chlorinating the wave pools and made a bunch of chlorine gas and 26 people had to be taken to the hospital.”

#13. Fresh in my mind.

“Many moons ago I was a assistant director of training security at a park known for its cartoon mice. While doing the walk around the park with a group of new hires I got a call about a possible indecent exposure incident at Fantasyland. Knowing that was the most popular place for children in the park (so much more than Toontown) I rushed the new hires through the backstage area to cut travel time. While we were backstage behind the Small World ride one of my trainees pointed out someone dropping their pants and leaning against the building. Before we had a chance to close the distance between us and the guy a blast of brownish yellow liquid exploded outwards in a fan pattern. I stopped the group, got on the radio and informed them of the bio incident then slowly made my way to the guy. When I was about ten feet from him he looked up, smiled, then blasted the wall again. Without a word he pulled up his pants and started to walk away. His pants were soaked with liquid shit and piss. Before he was able to leave the area, Anaheim police apprehended him. After questioning him they called for an ambulance. upon talking with the police sergeant, found out he was a well known homeless man in neighboring city of Orange, usually picked up for swinging his dick at traffic. The kicker though was, he wasn’t the subject of the initial call. When we finally got to Fantasyland we found out that someone was complaining about a woman breast feeding. Three and a half years of working there and that is one of the events that still feels fresh in my mind.”

#12. A few children were traumatized.

“Used to work at an amusement park that had a section featuring actors dressed as characters from a certain family friendly show.

The actors for this area were almost exclusively teenagers and were notorious for fucking all around the dressing room/bathroom/backstage areas.

This all culminated in two of the actors being fired for getting in a fight during a show, because a certain cookie loving monster made a sex tape with a certain Spanish speaking monster who was dating a certain television loving monster.

Not really scary for me, but i think a few children were traumatized seeing a costume character’s head ripped off during a show.

Edit: punctuation”

#11. Dueling Dragons.

“I worked on the Dueling Dragons at Universal Orlando when in college. For those who don’t know, the Dueling Dragons were two separate coasters that “dueled” and had several near misses with each other. They were pretty unique at the time and were super fun.

As you can imagine, Universal told people to empty their pockets before they rode so that their phones and shit wouldn’t fly out and smack somebody on the other coaster at 60mph. Of course, may times people would ignore this because they’re lazy and stupid.

I was working one day when the ride shut down completely. Change had flown out of someone’s pocket and hit a guy in the eye, leaving him blind in that eye. The tragic part… the guy was already blind in his other eye. Now the guy is 100% blind.

They didn’t duel anymore after that, and the ride was left permanently much lamer. I still feel for the poor blind guy… but the irony is comedic in a dark sort of way.

Edit: Since a lot of people are asking, this happened in 2011.”

#10. An awful smell.

“I operated a few different roller coasters during my fun-filled summers at this amusement park, but most of my horror stories come from one ride in particular. The train was one of the ones that you had to step into, with a lap bar restraint.

On one particular day, it was over 100* F and the ride had been running as usual for most of the morning. As we were loading the train, a guest came up to me to say that there was an awful smell coming from the front car, and my stomach immediately dropped. Usually with these types of complaints, we’d find that the previous rider had one too many slushees before riding and had lost their lunch. Gross, but we were used to cleaning that kind of stuff.

I started approaching the front car and immediately called for my coworker to direct everyone out of the train and back into the line, and to call our supervisor to close the ride. Instead of a normal puke situation, I found a greenish-brown liquid spread all throughout the front car, from the seat down to the floor. Whoever was the last person to ride the ride had shat all over themselves and hadn’t bothered to tell anyone about it.

Cleaning human feces is one thing – it’s absolutely disgusting but it can be done. But trying to clean up human diarrhea in 100+ degree weather, off of the floor of a car where you had to kneel down and stick your head into the car to reach the very front, is a situation that I never would have imagined even in my worst nightmares. The ride was down for the rest of the day, and it took over an hour to clean everything out of the car before we could start really sanitizing it.”

#9. Creepy.

“I was working security at a theme park when I was 18. One evening one of the roller coasters that was stopped in the station got rear ended by another. There were some injuries, nothing severe thankfully. I did however end up staying up all night, after the park had closed, sitting on the coaster to ensure no lookie loos or news media tried to get access to the cars. It was dark. Creepy, I was 18 in a closed, deserted amusement park….”

#8. Had to go to court to testify.

“Worked at a water park. Witnessed a man at the wave pool that would pull down his trousers and rub his junk up against little kids that were isolated from their parents. It was absolutely horrific and disgusting to witness. Of course I had to report it to security and thankfully they had a camera at the front of the pool (allowed for more evidence than just he said/she said testimony). Had to go to court to testify. They actually admitted to it at the end of it all, which I don’t know if that sickens me even more.

Needless to say I’m glad I did the right thing and reported it because anyone could have easily just missed it or even ignored it.

EDIT: I have the article of the event, not entirely sure if posting it is ethical since it gives the water parks name and the guys name.”

#7. Pretty awkward.

“Nothing scary ever really happened at the rides I worked but the worst thing was telling people they were too large to ride. It was always pretty awkward and some people just didn’t understand you could not ride the ride if you couldn’t buckle the seatbelt.”

#6. An eternity.

“I once had to height check a girl who was both mentally and physically disabled. This is just as they’re about to get on the ride too as someone else previously didn’t bother to check her height to begin with. So I politely ask her and her carer to come and check her height after lots of “no, no, no, no”‘s, and as luck would have it, she wasn’t tall enough, of course.

She didn’t take it well and started screaming saying she’s going to ride no matter what, and after leaving to let the carer tell her to get out – she finally left her seat after about 10 minutes (which is an eternity in rollercoaster time) I see her walking off. I mean, yeah it sucks but I’m just doing my job, I’m just relieved that she’s finally going, but then as she’s walking through the exit, she turns around and screams “I HOPE YOU DIE”. So that was nice. It was hilarious but still soul crushing at the same time. Also it was my birthday. I quit not long after.”

#5. The police took him away

“I was a caricature artist for Six Flags, and one day a dad and his son came up and wanted a drawing of the two of them.

Now the way caricature pricing worked was we would charge per person in the drawing. The father and son wanted a simple black and white headshot of the two of them, and a black and white headshot was $10, so for the two of them it would be $20, before tax. I very clearly explained this to them, asking several times “Are you ok with the ending price?” , and they excitedly accepted.

Fast forward to me ringing them up at the register, and I tell them the total: 24 something. The father’s happy and friendly demeanor quickly dissipates, and he begins arguing with me about pricing. I calmly explain the situation with pricing and apologize if I wasn’t clear enough, and gently remind him that he understood and agreed otherwise I wouldn’t have done the drawing. Big mistake. He gets angrier and starts yelling at me, cursing me out for lying and overcharging them “to put a few more coins in my pocket”. He accuses me of preying on parents and their children, thinking I can take advantage of them because “they’re stupid fuckers.” He tries to take the drawing without paying, and when I hold it back and tell him he can’t, he throws a $10 bill at me and snarls that that’s all he’s going to pay, that I’m worthless and my drawing isn’t even good and doesn’t deserve any more than that. I’m really upset at this point, and hand him the drawing wishing him a good day. “FUCK YOU” he yells in response. The whole time his son is standing there, looking embarrassed and terrified.

The dad proceeds to pace back and forth in front of my stand, alternating between coming back to the counter and yelling at me and chasing customers away, screaming at them about how I’m “stealing money” and how the stand is “a huge fuckin’ rip off.”

Thankfully his charade lasted all of 20 minutes and police finally got him out of there. Left me pretty shaken though, I had to take my break early and cried over my lunch.”

#4. Pretty good at the zoom jets.

“So Six Flags has a lot of really dumb rules for their employees which causes there to be a crazy high turnover rate. That, on top of the fact that on this particular day it happened to be the hottest day of the summer in New England meant that after having only worked there for two and a half weeks I was the most senior person in my department of Kidzopolis.

This means I have to run the whole operations schedule for my department and tell everybody where to go and what to do all day, keep in mind I don’t even know half of these people’s names. On top of that nobody knows how to operate the freaking zoom jets.

So my Supervisor grabs me first thing in the morning and tells me he’s going to teach me how to operate this ride. Things are going alright when about half way through this training my supervisor passes out, because it’s like 110 degrees.

So now I’m supposed to be leading this department full of people I do not know, while operating a ride I do not know how to operate, and if I have any questions then I have no one to ask because my supervisor is unconscious somewhere.

Meanwhile I’m getting calls and someone’s like “hey so Sally passed out in the Splish Splash Zone” and I’m just like who the fuck is Sally. Julie is calling me and telling me she’s feeling dehydrated and needs to go on break and I’m like listen I’ve got Julio trying to operate the Krazy Kups and the Wacky Wagons at the same time what makes you think we have enough staff to let you go on break?

Fast forward to the end of the day, I’ve had three people faint because of the heat, I still don’t know most of my coworkers names but I did get yelled at in Spanish over the phone a lot, and because I felt bad that nobody got enough time on break I told everyone they could go home and I’d sweep up the department on my own.

I got pretty good at the zoom jets though.”

#3. Lifeguarding adventures.

“Lifeguarding at this lazy river tube pool, basically just tell kids to get back in their tubes all day. These two guys like 30 years old are arguing in polish or something floating all around the lazy river. They are on lap two or three of arguing and really going at it. One of them pulls a knife out of his trunks and stabs the other guys tube. He walked around to the end with his popped tube while guy with the knife proceeds to just hop all the different fences to get outside the park and is not seen again.”

#2. Accidents happen?

“One of my supervisors got fired for shooting up in the supplies closet then taking a golfcart and accidentally running over a child. He was rehired after he went to Rehab and then tried to sell drugs to the staff every day.”

#1. A nightmare.

“Was working the first shift opening the park and doing dry runs with a roller coaster. Well…when it came back there was obvious impact on the front car. One of the groundskeepers had headphones in listening to music working through his shift. He died instantly. The following week was a nightmare and I still don’t think to this day they have found all of him.”

The post 14 Cringeworthy Horror Stories from Amusement Park Employees appeared first on UberFacts.

15+ Tweets From Parents Who Are Ready for Summer Vacation to End

Parents are so optimistic at the beginning of summer. They make plans to go to the pool, the zoo, make crafts in the yard…the list goes on. But by the time the trips have been taken, your grocery bill has tripled, and you’ve spent more time playing referee than catching up on your summer reading list, well…many parents are counting the hours until the first day of school.

Like these 17 people, who weren’t afraid to shout it to the world.

#17. Keepin’ it real.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#16. She probably has a point.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#15. What a novel idea!

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#14. To the minute.

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#13. We’re all looking for ideas.

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#12. It’s a short scale.

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#11. What, no snacks?

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#10. Hahahahaha you’re cute.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#9. Spoiler alert: it never gets easier.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#8. Those days are loonnnnngggg.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#7. I hope you have locks.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#6. You can’t keep those things in the house.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#5. I mean you’re making him a good husband?

Photo Credit: Twitter

#4. For some time.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#3. I’m sure it’s fine.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#2. Eh, they’ll eat when they’re hungry.

Photo Credit: Twitter

#1. Only the top 5, though.

Photo Credit: Twitter

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Married People Tell How Different Their Spouses Are Compared to Their Exes

A person’s exes say a lot about them. Often, they’ve done at least a little bit to shape them into the person they are today.

AskReddit users went on the record and explained how their spouses are different from their past partners.

1. True love

“I never got sick of being around her. 16 years and I haven’t yet. I can remember dating other women and just wishing I could be anywhere else.”

2. It was so easy

“I didn’t have to try coming up with things to talk about. I didn’t pretend like I was really cool, I wasn’t shy about my honest opinion, I was able to be fully myself with this person, and it was so easy.

I also felt no social energy being drained from hanging out with him, and still don’t. Both of us just knew. Still better than ever 8 years later.”

3. All the little details

“My father passed away very unexpectedly and we had been dating for only 6 months at the time. He flew across country to be with me and my family (whom he hadn’t met yet), bought meals for us, mowed the lawn, replaced my sister’s worn down tires, did laundry, picked up family members from the airport.

All the little details that needed attention were the things he took care of so me and my family could greive. I couldn’t imagine anyone else I had dated before doing something like that.”

4. Awwwwww

“When your biggest relationship worry is that the snoring has always pushed others away, but she said on the first night, “Your snoring is like a comfort blanket to me. I slept like a baby knowing you were there with me.”

5. The whole nine

“I had a pretty bad accident, was hospitalized for over a month and we didn’t know if I was going to live, or ever walk again. He stayed when sh*t really hit the fan. He bathed me, dressed me, wiped my butt. The whole nine.”

6. No games

“She wasn’t playing games. She didn’t insult or attack me just because she was angry. When she does get upset with me, she is able to communicate with me and doesn’t just passive-aggressively assume I should know what’s wrong.”

7. Didn’t want to kill him…

“I knew he was the one when we went away for the weekend together for the first time and I realized I actually enjoyed being with him and didn’t want to kill him by the end of the weekend… “

8. No let downs

“I can always assume that she means the best in everything she says or does. It’s been over 10 years and she hasn’t let me down yet.”

9. At ease

“I could be completely myself, felt completely at ease and at home with him and wasn’t at all worried about what to talk about and what I needed to do to keep him interested in me. I felt like I was in an equal, healthy, respectful and loving partnership and knew he would always be super loyal, committed and there for me.”

10. He’s the one

“Honestly? I didn’t get sick of him.

I know that sounds random, but in all of my previous relationships, there came a point where they became grating, or things I’d previously found normal became insufferable over time, or I’d realize that things I’d overlooked early on really shouldn’t have been overlooked (e.g. my one ex who happened to have a love of drinking beer while driving his truck).

When I started dating my hubs, I was pretty sure I’d eventually tire of some aspect of him, or begin to find a flaw or three that would grow and become unbearable over time. But I never did. He has flaws, but they’re just… part of him, you know?”

11. Almost right away

“This is such a great question that I always wondered as a single person. “How would I know if this person was the one?” I guess I can answer that now. I know it’s probably different for everyone. My SIL and BIL dated for two years as a trial run and then said if they were together for two years they’d get married. Seems kinda strange to many, but 20+ years later it seems to work well for them. For me and my now husband, we just knew almost right away. I can’t describe the feeling well—I knew he was different the first date.

I had a real connection with him on the “I find him attractive but honestly I just love talking to him” level. I just knew if we were to actually be in a relationship we would get married. A couple weeks in we were in love and I knew this was it. And it was. It’s a mixed bag of influences; the attraction of course, the way he was so solid in everything—his kindness in every way, the way he made me laugh, his intelligence, our deep talks, everything about him just fit into me. I could tell his feelings and words and actions were genuine, this wasn’t a game, and this was real for him like it was for me. Ah, I love that man. I’m gonna go tell him again.”

12. Sounds like a keeper

“He was never mean to me. He never said things to hurt my self-esteem, when he was feeling low or we were in a fight. I felt emotionally safe with him. And, he is incredibly smart. I always did (and still do) love talking to him. He says things that change my mind, make me think, puts things in a new light. That was probably the thing that made me want to marry him, I knew I’d never be bored.”

13. That’s a big one

“The biggest difference in my SO was his consistency. Texted and called consistently. Showed up for plans. He’s reliable and he was always all in. To him, we were always a team and he refused to walk away from that.”

14. Depressingly rare

“It became clear early on that he thought of me as a complete person with my own independent path and not a girlfriend-shaped presence in his life who only existed to fit into it on his terms. He supported me without first thinking about what it meant for him, and took me for what I was without making it about him. We started dating at 21, and that was depressingly rare in other guys I had dated up until that point.”

15. Mix tape

“He made me a mix tape. I listened to nothing else for weeks. Twenty years later I still perceive the opening to Operation Mindcrime as a love song. :D”

The post Married People Tell How Different Their Spouses Are Compared to Their Exes appeared first on UberFacts.

20 Before and After Photos That Show Stunning Transformations

Weight loss is hard, and those who can shed major pounds deserve a lot of credit and recognition.

These 20 folks were kind enough to share their before and after photos, and they look great.

And remember, if they can do it, you can do it!

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h/t: Bored Panda

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This Infographic Shows Signs That You Should Not Accept a Job Offer

There’s no sugarcoating it: looking for a job is a soul-crushing experience that will have almost everyone at their wit’s end.

But if you’ve been on the job hunt for a long time, that doesn’t mean that you should take the first one that’s offered to you.

That’s why it’s crucial to always pay attention to the signs when you interview for a job and visit an office. This infographic lays it out perfectly. Even though you might be desperate sometimes, every once in a while you have to RUN THE OTHER WAY.

Photo Credit: Approved Index

h/t: Mental Floss

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15 Quotes from Mister Rogers That Will Remind You There’s Still Good in the World

If there’s anything we can all agree on in these extremely divided times, it’s that we need more people like Fred Rogers in the world.

And to commemorate the new documentary about Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, here are 15 quotes from the man himself.

1.

“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has – or ever will have – something inside that is unique to all time.”

2.

“There is no normal life that is free of pain. It’s the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.”

3.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself for the times you’ve said ‘yes,’ when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to somebody else.”

4.

“It’s not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff. That’s what makes growing humanity the most potentially glorious enterprise on earth.”

5.

“It takes strength to acknowledge our anger, and sometimes more strength yet to curb the aggressive urges anger may bring and to channel them into nonviolent outlets.”

6.

“When I was very young, most of my childhood heroes wore capes, flew through the air, or picked up buildings with one arm. They were spectacular and got a lot of attention. But as I grew, my heroes changed, so that now I can honestly say that anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me.”

7.

“There’s no ‘should’ or ‘should not’ when it comes to having feelings. They’re part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control.”

8.

“The really important ‘great’ things are never center stage of life’s dramas; they’re always ‘in the wings.’ That’s why it’s so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and the superficial.”

9.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

10.

“Please think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their childcare, their health care, their education – listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first.”

11.

“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”

12.

“It’s our insides that make us who we are, that allow us to dream and wonder and feel for others. That’s what’s essential. That’s what will always make the biggest difference in our world.”

13.

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now – and to go on caring even through times that may bring us pain.”

14.

“There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”

15.

“I hope that you’ll remember/ Even when you’re feeling blue/ That it’s you I like/ It’s you yourself/ It’s you, it’s you I like.”

Check out the trailer for the film below.

h/t: Mashable

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Documentary Claims That Meghan Markle Is Related to America’s First Serial Killer

Meghan Markle has been in the news non-stop lately because of her recent marriage to Prince Harry, but it’s another story about the new member of the Royal Family that is causing some people to scratch their heads.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

A BBC documentary entitled Meet the Markles claims that Markle is distantly related to the man known as America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Jeff Mudgett, Holmes’ great-great-grandson, discovered that he and Markle are eighth cousins. Holmes is believed to have killed dozens of people in Chicago in a “murder castle” he had specially constructed with secret rooms and chambers.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Mudgett makes the claim based on Holmes’ diaries that he inherited. He said about the connection to Markle: “We did a study with the FBI and CIA and Scotland Yard regarding handwriting analysis. It turns out [H. H. Holmes] was Jack the Ripper. This means Meghan is related to Jack the Ripper. I don’t think the Queen knows. I am not proud he is my ancestor. Meghan won’t be either.”

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Holmes was executed in Philadelphia in 1896. I have a feeling we probably won’t be hearing from Markle about this story.

h/t: Mental Floss

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