A French writer had a pet lobster…

A French writer had a pet lobster he would take for walks in Paris. He used a blue silk ribbon as a leash. He called them “peaceful, serious creatures” and that they didn’t “bark” or “gnaw upon one’s monadic privacy” like dogs did.

In 1942 the song “Deep in the Heart…

In 1942 the song “Deep in the Heart of Texas” was banned by BBC during working hours on the grounds that its infectious melody might cause wartime factory-hands to neglect their tools while they clapped in time with the song.

Instagram Deactivated a Model’s Account After She’d Raised Money for Australia by Selling Nudes

Well, that’s not cool…

Kaylen Ward, a 20-year-old influencer and online sex worker from Los Angeles, California, says she’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Australian bushfire relief…all by trading cash for naked pictures.

She’s calling herself a Naked Philanthropist now, and even if her methods offend some – including Instagram, apparently – I doubt the animals and people Down Under really care how the money got to them in their time of need.

Kaylen, like many people, felt devastated as she watched Australia burn. As a survivor of 2019’s Carr fire in California, which left more than 200,000 acres smoldering and 8 people dead, Ward has seen firsthand the ruin wildfires can cause.

As she wondered what she could do to help, lit on her idea, and tweeted it out – one nude photo in exchange for a verified $10 donation to a list of approved charities.

She told Buzzfeed she was expecting to raise “maybe $1000, but the tweet blew up.”

It was retweeted more than 40,000 times, and Kaylen’s inbox was so flooded she had to hire a team of 4 people to help her sort through all of the messages, verify donations, and reply with the promised naked photos.

Ward says that they’d raised around $500,000 when Instagram shut down her account, claiming she’d violated their guidelines against posting “sexually suggestive content.”

Even though not everyone understands her reasons – like IG, her family, or the guy she likes – Kaylen isn’t stopping anytime soon.

And she’s getting plenty of support from strangers online, too – and not just the ones forking over cash.

I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of with Kaylen Ward on this one – when the world needs our help, we give what we can. And if she wants to give pictures of her body to help the cause, and does it of her own free will, I say go on, girl.

Naked Philanthropist to the rescue, little koalas.

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Unscripted Movie Moments That Were so Good, They Left Them In

Let’s explore a little bit of Hollywood lore and learn about some pretty cool instances of when things ended up in movies that were not only not in the script, they weren’t close to part of the plan.

I just love happy accidents, don’t you?!?! Let’s take a look. And if you know of any others, please share them in the comments with us.

These responses are from folks in the Buzzfeed Community.

1. “Give me the keys Rose!” in Get Out.

Photo Credit: Blumhouse

“In an interview, Daniel Kaluuya revealed that there was actually a good amount of improvisation in Get Out, especially in the scene with the major plot twist: “I couldn’t do that scene the way it was scripted, really. That was something that we kind of made up. When he was asking Rose to give me the keys, all that stuff was made up in a day. It just felt natural because what was scripted didn’t feel right in the space it was in, and Jordan [Peele] allowed us to do that. He was open enough to see that.”

2. A little tear from The Joker.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

Director Todd Phillips said that he played the film’s score for Joaquin Phoenix because he “wanted the music to affect and infect the set in a way.” During the first take as the score was playing, Philipps revealed that “as Joaquin is struggling with Arthur’s smile, this little tear appears, and we just had the scene and we moved on.”

3. “Oscar shit” in Baby Driver.

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures

Apparently Edgar Wright doesn’t always allow for too much improvisation in his movies, but this line from Jamie Foxx was too good and too natural to be cut.

4. “Bitch, please in Spider-Man: Far from Home.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Samuel L. Jackson was specifically asked about this line in an interview, and he couldn’t 100% verify if it was in the script or not, but then Jake Gyllenhaal chimed in and said, “It was improvised. I’m here to attest that was improvised.”

5. Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?

Photo Credit: Universal

In Fast & Furious 6, The Rock ad-libbed an insult at one of the characters, making Ludacris literally spit out his drink from laughing too hard.

6. Timothée Chalamet improvised looking directly into the camera’s lens in Call Me By Your Name.

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

On the DVD commentary, Chalamet said the glance was his “little homage to Boyhood here at the end, stealing a two-second look into the lens.”

7. Tony Stark’s death scene in Avengers: Endgame.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Tom Holland revealed in an interview that only a couple people were on set to film Tony Stark’s death scene: Kevin Feige (Marvel’s president), the Russo brothers (the directors), Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., and himself.

The four cast members showed up to set and were given a loose outline of what was going to be shot: “They kind of told us what was going to happen – or what they wanted to happen – and then we just sort of improvised.” Holland said it was a “really, really interesting way to shoot such a pivotal scene in the movie.”

8. DiCaprio’s bloody hand in Django Unchained was because he actually cut himself.

Photo Credit: The Weinstein Company

Leo said that the cast and crew gave him a standing ovation after the scene was finished, and he kept acting in the scene because “it was more interesting to watch Quentin’s and Jamie’s reaction off-camera than to look at my hand.”

9. Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman’s dinner conversation in Logan.

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

Patrick Stewart revealed that he and Hugh Jackman improvised an eight-minute scene at the dinner table, per director James Mangold’s request: “When you get to that moment, why don’t you talk about your history a little bit more? Fill it out with something. Whatever feels appropriate to you.”

10. Joshua Gad improvised this line in Frozen.

Photo Credit: Disney

According to Gad, “Improv is definitely always part of the journey, and they were amazing collaborators in letting me just come up with something to say, some of which is in there. I remember saying as a joke, ‘I’ve been impaled,’ and I was shocked when I watched the movie and they animated this and kept this in the film.’”

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Enjoy These Cool Facts About Music of All Kinds

I’ve been a music lover since I was pretty young. My brother, who is nine years older than I am, got me into all the good stuff from a very young age: AC/DC, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, etc.

Since then, it’s been a love affair with finding cool, new (and old) music to sink my teeth into, and seeing live bands when I get the chance.

Let’s take a look at 10 really cool music facts to get our day started the right way!

1. Sudden savant syndrome.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

2. I wish there was video of this.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

3. A lot of time wasted.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

4. They were trailblazers in many ways.

Photo Credit: did you know

Source 1 Source 2

5. The cut up technique.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

6. The Lizard King.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

7. Two musical geniuses.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

8. Helping out the fans.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source

9. Don’t change a thing.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

10. A little history lesson.

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source

Pretty cool facts, huh?

Who are some of your favorite bands and musicians? Share them with us in the comments!

The post Enjoy These Cool Facts About Music of All Kinds appeared first on UberFacts.

These Financial Tips Can Help You Make the Best of Your Hard-Earned Cash

We all want to manage their finances, have good credit, and save up a bit of cash. And if for people who don’t have a financial advisor (i.e. almost everyone), Two Cents at Lifehacker is a popular site for financial advice. They compiled a list of some popular tips that could help you manage your money in 2020.

Check out these 8 ideas that might help you hack your finances.

8. When to Use a Savings Account

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When thinking about where to put your money, I often get questions about which high yield savings account is better. They're all so low it really doesn't move the needle.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Cash under the mattress obviously isn't a good way to go.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ And your primary residence is more of a forced savings account than a great investment. The math in this example doesn't even account for the COSTS of homeownership (maintenance, insurance, mortgage interest, etc). When you account for those, you get a negative return. Note this only refers to your "primary residence". If you buy investment real estate, a property where you're getting an income stream, it changes the math dramatically in your favor.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ But index funds are still king. Buying and holding index funds is the most efficient and effective way to build massive wealth.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ When I talk about index fund returns, I often hear "That's not realistic! What about inflation?!" And for sure, that's an important factor. A million bucks in 40 years from now won't be able to buy as much as it would today.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ But if you account for inflation, the math is even more ugly for everything but index funds. Assuming inflation of 3% per year, your $120,000 invested under your mattress would be worth only $68,316 today. Your savings account would barely have held it's value at $135,980. Your house would barely outpace inflation being worth $165,246. But your index fund investment, after accounting for 3% of inflation would still be worth $962,447. Almost a million bucks. And almost SIX TIMES MORE than the EXACT SAME amount of money invested in your primary residence.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ One last caveat: While an S&P 500 index fund is great, I personally think it's a better strategy to invest in a TARGET DATE INDEX FUND. That has the S&P 500 index fund inside of it and is better diversified⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ – Jeremy⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ #interestrates #savingsaccount #investing #growth #rate #investingtips #debtfreecommunity #stockmarket #indexfunds #inflation #savings #save #invest

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If you live paycheck to paycheck it’s hard to follow financial advice that applies to people with more stability. But once you get a little cushion going, keep only the minimum in your checking account. Move the rest into a savings account, and make sure it has high interest.

You’ll make money off what you keep in savings and feel less tempted to splurge when the time comes.

7. Pay Cash or Credit at the Gas Pump

It’s no secret that card skimmers still prey on debit card users at the gas pump. If you must use your debit card, go inside and pay from there.

6. Use Your Credit Card Points

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We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Things have been a little slow over here and will probably continue to be so while we enjoy this holiday break with family ❤ . Today I wanted to hop on and share the cards my mom and I signed up for in 2019! . Alex’s Credit Cards . ? Amex Marriott Bonvoy- This card is no longer available. When SPG and Marriott merged, this card got the axe. I signed up for it right before then and earned 75,000 points. . ? Southwest Premier Biz- My husband got this card back in May. He got 60,000 points. . ? Southwest Plus- My husband got this card in May as well when they offered a limited time bonus of 60,000 points. After meeting the minimum spend on both Southwest cards he got the Southwest Companion Pass ??. . ? Amex Marriott Bonvoy Biz- I signed up for this card in September while they offering a limited time bonus of 100,000 points. . ? Capital One Venture- My husband opened this card in November for a bonus of 50,000 points. . . . Pam’s Credit Cards . ? Delta Gold Card-My husband opened this one for 70,000 Skymiles. . ? Amex Green- My husband also opened this one for 35,000 Membership Reward Points. . ? Upgraded my Amex Bonvoy to the Bonvoy Brilliant Card- I upgraded my card after I got an email offering 100,000 points. . It’s been a slow year for me as I work to get under Chase 5/24. I’ve never had any of the Chase Ultimate Reward cards and am so close to being able to qualify for them ????. …. As you can see our husband’s cards count towards our points total. We travel hack in two player mode so we can get even more points! What cards have you opened this year?

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It’s tempting to “save” credit card rewards or points until the right moment, but they can actually lose value over time. Use them as soon as you’re able to because credit card companies sometimes drop or change partners, making it hard for you to get what you want later on.

5. Don’t Use a Credit Card with Venmo

Venmo can help you split bills with friends or roommates in a hassle-free way. That convenience is great, but make sure you don’t use a credit card with it because you’ll pay a 3% fee every time. If, for example, you’re splitting rent, 3% of hundreds of dollars every month is no chump change.

4. Use a Credit Card to Buy Flights

First off, credit cards offer more protection in case of fraudulent charges. Secondly, they offer additional insurance that can protect you in case of a delay or other travel mishap. Third, some cards have other specific benefits having to do with travel (although you should check with yours before you expect anything in particular).

3. Don’t Wait on Equifax

Millions of people were affected by Equifax’s 2017 data breach, but the company’s $31 million fund is not going to pay those whose information was compromised (SUCH A SCAM). That’s because $31 million divided by $125 (what they said they would pay out) is 248,000 people – and a lot more people than that are owed money. Most people will see significantly less, or no money at all.

2. Do NOT Spend Money That Accidentally Ends up in Your Bank Account

Banks make mistakes, including occasionally depositing money into the wrong bank account by accident. If that happens to you, resist the urge to splurge and let the bank know about the extra cash immediately. Spending the money will almost certainly cause legal problems for you, so do the right thing here.

1. Make Sure Your Credit Is Good Enough

Everyone wants to have an 850 credit score, but it’s practically impossible. A score of 740 or higher is good enough to unlock many benefits without the added stress. Here is one area where good enough is definitely where you should aim.

 

It may not be easy to adhere to every single tip here, but even implementing one or two of these is bound to help out.

Do you have any financial tips? Let us know!

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A Lighting Artist Explains His Job, and It Is Pretty Darn Cool

Animated films are a lot of fun, but most people don’t realize that it takes boatloads of creatives to really pull it off. One of those behind-the-scenes jobs in animation that you’ve probably never heard of before: lighting artist.

Like Dan O’Brien. He’s a lighting artist who has contributed to some really cute scenes. But how exactly?

O’Brien went on Twitter to explain what his job is because most people just don’t know what lighting artists do. He shared some illustrations before and after his involvement so we can see exactly what he contributes for ourselves. Check out his thread:

As you can see, the scene on the left looks half-finished, while the scene on the right looks three-dimensional and has a clear mood.

It’s easy to forget that O’Brien was working on a spy film when looking at the art on the left. On the right, we really feel the tension as police sirens pop.

Softer, moodier lighting also helps us see objects and facial expressions more clearly.

You can really see what adding the lighting effects does – without them, the scenes don’t look real at all. The light adds drama, context, and emotion that just isn’t there beforehand.

Of course, O’Brien wants us to know that it takes a team to truly make a good scene great.

Animated films feature contributions from all kinds of talented artists. That’s why they take so long to make – an animated movie can take many thousands of man-hours of work, distributed among an enormous team of different types of animators.

Now that we’ve learned a little about the people behind our favorite scenes we can better appreciate their work!

What surprised you the most about the before and after shots? The comments section is open and ready for your musings.

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Watch Out! Tree Snakes in Australia Can Actually Jump.

Australia is full of terrifying creatures that you would never want to run into on a pleasant walk through the woods. Spiders and crocodiles and dingos, oh my.

Well, now you can add jumping snakes to the list.

Yes, you read that correctly. Australian tree snakes belonging to the Dendrelaphis genus can JUMP from tree to tree, flying through the air like winged serpents from mythology…or something like that.

A Ph.D. candidate named Michelle Graham from Virginia Tech University saw some footage of jumping tree snakes in Australia and set out for Down Under to do some research. Graham set up a kind of obstacle course for the snakes up in the trees using PVC pipe and tree branches. She then observed the snakes slithering and jumping through the trees from branch to branch.

Next, Graham plans to study why the Australian snakes feel the need to propel themselves through the air. Two scientific papers that are set to come out in 2020 will hopefully shed some light on that subject.

One good thing about this species: they’re not venomous. Whew! Still, I would not, under any circumstances, want one of these snakes leaping from a tree and onto my head or my back…or even into my path, to be honest. Ugh!

Let’s go to the video, shall we? This video shows a Dendrelaphis pictus, in case you were wondering.

Yikes! No, thank you!

Do you have a fear of snakes? Or of any other animals?

Tell us about it in the comments!

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16 Things Kids Today Will Never Understand

There are a lot of great things about growing up in the world today. It’s easier to stay connected to friends and family far away, easier to network from the comfort of your home, easier for introverts to stay “social,” and easier to find your tribe – online if not in real life.

As someone who grew up in the 80s, though, I still think there’s something to be said to living life without modern technology, with television shows that are cheesy and pure, and for playing outside for hours without adults looking on anxiously.

And these 16 things? Kids today will probably never really understand, no matter how well you explain them.

16. We had that delayed gratification thing down pat.

15. I’ll never know why they didn’t make them pocket-sized.

14. Or what it was like to hang out at the mall.

13. This is 100% true.

12. And you’d fight over who got a seat.

11. So I still do this on occasion.

10. And honestly, it shows.

9. And when it timed out with like 2 minutes left omgggg.

8. Don’t look away at the wrong moment!

7. Please don’t be fuzzy, please don’t be fuzzy…

6. Sometimes I miss these types of choices.

5. Was it because they didn’t want to talk to you?! ARGH!

4. Raise your hand if you remember.

3. They will in public school.

2. Or, you know, using a landline.

1. That shizz could take days.

I’m not saying I want to go back, but…maybe for a week or two?

What’s your favorite memory from your GenX, early-Millennial childhood? Share it with us in the comments!

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