Author: Matt Gilligan

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This is How You Can Change Your Facebook Settings to Keep Your Photos from Facial Recognition AI

Whether it is a picture with your pals at the bar or a selfie at the gym, chances are you have probably uploaded a photo or two to Facebook (or Instagram, which Facebook owns). While it surely feels good to get likes and comments from friends, the flip side is that everything you put out on the Internet can be stolen, hacked or altered.

Today’s technology makes it even easier for people and companies to take advantage of your private data. In fact, a New York Times report recently revealed that a company called Clearview AI used three billion images gathered from millions of websites to create a facial-recognition app with a massive searchable database of faces.

And they’re licensing the software to the police.

Though companies like Clearview unfortunately exist (really, what they’re doing should be illegal), you can take several measures to ensure your photos remain private (or at least more private). Once you’re on Facebook, navigate to Settings > Privacy and look for the option that asks if you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile.

Once you turn that off, Clearview (and other data-munching intruders) won’t be able to take hold of your photos (although that will only apply to new photos, they’ve already got your old ones from before you changed the setting).

Other safety tips that can help protect your content include limiting the visibility of future posts to only friends. You can also make sure only your friends can search for your profile using personal contact information such as an e-mail address or phone number.

Changing your “Timeline and Tagging” settings can also do wonders in keeping your data hidden. And if you have friends who tend to post embarrassing photos without consulting you first, you can turn on the review option. This puts the power of posting back in your hands.

Of course, most people maintain at least a few social media accounts. That means you should also take the time to check the security settings on your Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube accounts.

Start out by making a comprehensive list of all the social networks in which you share content. Once you have exhausted your brain scrolling through the pages of apps in your phone, take the time to do a security debriefing of sorts. Perhaps it would be best to make your SnapChat private, so cyberstalkers or your parents don’t see what you’re up to on a Saturday night at 2 a.m.

Just a thought.

The post This is How You Can Change Your Facebook Settings to Keep Your Photos from Facial Recognition AI appeared first on UberFacts.

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Dogs Like to Poop in Alignment with Earth’s Magnetic Field

You know the drill if you have a dog – even if it’s so hot you’re dripping sweat and can literally feel your skin burning, and even if it’s so cold you can barely hold a leash with your frozen fingers, they’re absolutely not going to do their business until they find the perfect spot.

Then, they’re going to turn around several times, squat, perhaps adjust, and finally take that long-awaited dump.

Hallelujah!

What I have to tell you today isn’t going to make your dog-walking experience any more pleasant, but hey, it is going to teach you something about your best friend. Sometimes, that’s the best you can hope for when the situation contains poo, right?

It turns out your dog isn’t searching for an arbitrary “best” spot go do their business – they’re actually doing their best to line their behind up with Earth’s magnetic field.

Not only that, but a study, published in Frontiers in Zoology, also found that they prefer a north-south axis for their dumping grounds.

The researchers found that dogs are sensitive to small variations in the Earth’s magnetic field, and after studying 70 dogs (37 different breeds) over the course of 2 years, they learned that under “calm magnetic field conditions,” dogs preferred to “excrete with the body being aligned along the north-south axis.”

They avoided east-west altogether, actually. Also, the dogs in the study were entirely unconfined and unleashed, leaving them free to do their business exactly where they pleased.

What the study did not learn was why canines prefer to poop in a certain direction.

“It is still enigmatic why the dogs do align at all, whether they do it “consciously” (i.e., whether the magnetic field is sensorial perceived (the dogs “see”, “hear” or “smell” the compass direction or perceive it as a haptic stimulus)) or whether its reception is controlled on the vegetative level (they “feel better/more comfortable or worse/less comfortable” in a certain direction).”

Either way, it’s certainly interesting and the scientists involved hope their findings will open “new horizons” for further research in organisms’ use of magnetic fields for direction.

So now you have something to share with your friend at the dog park the next time you’re both waiting around, freezing to death waiting for your pups to line up.

You’re welcome.

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These Things Were Probably Designed by a Genius

There are impressive inventions, and then there are products that are so brilliantly simple and totally useful that you turn green with envy, unable to believe that you didn’t think of it first (and you aren’t the one now making bank).

Inventing things is harder than you think, though, and there’s a good chance the minds behind these 15 things are truly unique.

15. Tablets to clean your water bottle or travel mug.

Image Credit: Amazon

Reaching the bottom of those things and getting all of the gunk scrubbed out is a pain – but these biodegradable, chlorine-free tablets do all of the work for you.

14. Touch-up razors for on the go.

Image Credit: Amazon

Easily swipe away peach fuzz or stray hairs on your chin or eyebrows, and with built-in guards, no worries about cuts, either!

13. A cream that will tame your flyaway baby hairs.

Image Credit: Amazon

Those annoying hairs that ruin your perfectly sleek updo will be gone for good – victory!

12. Charcoal air fresheners for your shoes or bag.

Image Credit: Amazon

They’ll banish lingering smells wherever you leave them by absorbing excess moisture and preventing mold, mildew, and bacteria buildup. Best part? They can last for up to two years!

11. A setting spray to give your makeup a professional finish.

Image Credit: Amazon

The lightweight spray sets your makeup and makes everything look perfectly matte, no matter how humid and sweat-inducing your day.

10. A must-have snow removal tool.

Image Credit: Amazon

It’s long handle lets you remove snow from your roof, the top of your car, or tall bushes without using a ladder – or getting a face full of snow.

9. Cuticle oil that targets weak nails to restore strength.

Image Credit: Amazon

It’s made from jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, and vitamin E and will also soften your cuticles.

8. Tablets to clean your dishwasher, not your dishes.

Image Credit: Amazon

Lime and icky smells can build up in your machine and reduce their cleaning capabilities – that’s where these babies come in.

7. Ice trays that will let you make ice that fits neatly into your water bottle.

Image Credit: Amazon

These stackable trays make stick-like cubes that fit easily into your insulated bottle, and the silicone material makes for easy ice removal.

6. This jewelry cleaning brush.

Image Credit: Amazon

Hallelujah, because having to take your jewels into the store to get them to shine is annoying.

5. Clips that go on your car vents so you never have to eat ketchup-less fries again.

Image Credit: Amazon

The clips work with horizontal or vertical vent slats and hold packets from all major fast food chains. Need.

4. This portable LED sensor light.

Image Credit: Amazon

You’re bound to feel more secure with this magnetic, waterproof light detecting motion up to 13 feet away.

3. This ice-scraper that’s totally extra.

Image Credit: Amazon

The SnoShark removes snow and ice without scratching the glass, and can extend to 39-inches long while still folding down to a compact storage size.

2. An insulation kit to bulk up your windows.

Image Credit: Amazon

The crystal clear film is easy to install and keeps cold air out and warm air in. Boom.

1. A thermal windshield cover.

Image Credit: Amazon

If you park outside in the winter, this is the product you’ve been waiting for – the side panels tuck inside your front doors, so it can’t be stolen, it keeps your windshield (and your side mirrors!) free of ice and snow, and securely attaches.

 

I definitely wish I’d thought of these things, but I know in my heart I never would have, no matter how much time I had.

Have you ever invented something? Have you ever had an idea “stolen” by someone who got there first? Tell us about it in the comments!

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Here are Some Funny Tweets About Those Pesky New Year’s Resolutions

Don’t feel bad there buddy, okay? We all make New Year’s Resolutions…and then we blow it.

I know that every year I make great, big plans about how I’m gonna change my life…and it never really happens.

Oh well, I guess we’re all human.

Stop beating yourself up and enjoy these tweets!

1. Ain’t gonna happen.

Photo Credit: Twitter

2. That’s kinda dark.

Photo Credit: Twitter

3. Good luck with that.

Photo Credit: Twitter

4. I think you can do it.

Photo Credit: Twitter

5. A good point.

Photo Credit: Twitter

6. Doesn’t seem like it’s working…

Photo Credit: Twitter

7. Check back with us and we’ll let you know.

Photo Credit: Twitter

8. Think you can do it?

Photo Credit: Twitter

9. Just let it go.

Photo Credit: Twitter

10. Lofty goals.

Photo Credit: Twitter

11. I’m following her lead.

Photo Credit: Twitter

We’re still in January, and I’ll say that I haven’t exactly been on top of my resolutions so far…

How about you? Have you been good about your resolutions in 2020?

Tell us how you’ve been doing in the comments!

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Funny Jokes About the Olive Garden

Chain restaurants get made fun of all the time, but you know what? I like the Olive Garden. And I’m going on the record here and now to tell the world.

Butttttt it’s also to make fun of the OG – and other chain restaurants, too – because they are kind of ridiculous.

Let’s have a whole lot of free salad and breadsticks and get to the jokes!

1. Please never stop.

2. Hey! Low blow.

3. Not a big fan.

4. Wait…am I in Italy?

5. Now an Italian citizen.

6. I’d like to see this happen.

7. Fight the power.

8. Very deep thoughts.

9. A hot first date.

10. We must feed the baby.

11. So that’s where it goes…

12. I didn’t say “when”.

13. Start taking care of yourself.

14. You will live forever, sir.

15. This is a serious issue.

Now I’m full…of laughter!

What are your thoughts on the Olive Garden and other chain restaurants?

Tell us all about it in the comments, please!

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Wow! Astronomers Watched a Star Skip the Supernova Stage and Go Straight to Black Hole.

When people say “go out with a bang”, they usually don’t mean literally. But when it comes to dying stars, typically astronomers expect them to go out with enormous bangs: supernovae. However, recently a group of Ohio University scientists observed a star that didn’t have quite the same life path in mind.

Instead of exploding and then collapsing in on itself, the star turned directly into a black hole. That shocked the group of scientists who had been studying the star, named N6946-BH1 to be exact, which was located in the Fireworks Galaxy, 22 million light-years away. At first they didn’t think it was possible, yet in 2015, after six years of watching the star weaken, scientists concluded that the star had bizarrely skipped the supernova stage.

They chalked it up as a “massive fail.” That’s a technical term, referring to the star’s mass.

“The typical view is that a star can form a black hole only after it goes supernova,” said Ohio State astronomy professor and study researcher Christopher Kochanek. “If a star can fall short of a supernova and still make a black hole, that would help explain why we don’t see supernovae from the most massive stars.”

Photo Credit: Pexels

This atypical event still requires more analysis, but scientist Scott Adams estimates that massive fails occur in about 10 to 30 percent of massive stars. Ultimately, this discovery could lead to more answers about how super-massive black holes come to exist, since supernovae tend to blow away a lot of a star’s mass.

Without a supernova, more of a star’s mass would stick around to collapse in on itself and become a vortex that bends time and space and eats light for supper.

The post Wow! Astronomers Watched a Star Skip the Supernova Stage and Go Straight to Black Hole. appeared first on UberFacts.

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Learn About the Most (In)Famous Failed Scientific Experiment in History

Scientists usually assume that if they ever get famous it will be for doing something right – but in the case of the Michelson-Morley experiment, those involved are forever going to be remembered for conducting the worst (best?) failed experiment in history.

Then again, if you end up changing literally everything in your field, was your experiment really a failure at all?

Here’s what happened.

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#WePost @4biddenknowledge ⚛? ・・・ The #DoubleSlitExperiment is an experiment in #QuantumPhysics in which the effects were shown by #ThomasYoung way back in 1803, but since has been proven even more strange by many others. It's power truly reveals a mind-altering view of the world and how we affect it. To explain this experiment, we first must truly grasp the difference between a  #particle and a #wave. A particle is what we perceive as #matter of some sort – something with mass. A wave is a disturbance in some type of substance – like ripples through water. Ok, that's easy enough. Now, what if I told you that a subatomic particle isn't a particle until a consciousness observes it. What is it then? Its a wave. Huh? For some unknown reason that haunts scientists, everything we perceive as having mass is just a wave of information (or possibilities) until we observe it in some way. I'm not talking in the philosophical way like if a tree falls in the woods and no one's there to hear it, does it make a sound. The Double Slit Experiment seems to answer that question as you'll see. Until we observe the soon to be particle, its a wave that's actually doing every possibility it could do at the same time. Huh?!?! It doesn't make any sense, yet this is one experiment that appears to somewhat prove this. The Double Slit Experiment shows us that we create reality just by observing it. WHOA, create reality?! Yes we do. Your consciousness collapses wave functions into digitized bits of matter that we then perceive as reality. You are not creating reality, but you are creating your own #RealityTunnel and most people aren't aware of it. #4biddenknowledge reporting live from #TheMatrix. Clip above of from the famous documentary named: #WhatTheBleepDoWeKnow #YouCreateYourOwnReality ??⚛?

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At the beginning of the 19th century, scientists weren’t sure whether light was a wave or a particle. In 1801, Thomas Young (thought he) settled the debate with his double-slit experiment, in which he shined a light through two slits cut into a notecard aimed at a wall. Since he produced a pattern of dark and light bars as opposed to just two slit-shaped patterns, he concluded that light could not be a simple particle.

That said, no one could figure out what medium the wave was traveling through – the substance that made up the universe. Some physicists called it “ether” – matter that could be found everywhere but that wouldn’t interact with its physical counterpart at all.

In 1887, physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley set out to prove that “ether” only existed to carry light waves.

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In the late nineteenth century when Jules Verne was a success with his novel From the earth to the moon they appeared two geniuses that would change the way we see the universe with one of the most brilliant physics experiments the Michelson-Morley experiment revealing one of the most paradoxical mysteries of light, at the end Albert Einstein raise his famous theory based on the results of this experiment taking almost all the credit and collapsed 200 years of domination by Newton, establishing the boundary between classical physics and modern physics . That's why I consider one of the turning points in the history of science of humanity.#michelsonandmorley #physics #universe #astronomy #geniuses #xix #light #math #brilliantminds

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Let’s start here – with ether “wind.”

Just like when you’re driving a car and stick your hand out the window, the “ether” should be flowing over the planet’s surface at rate similar to the speed of Earth traveling through space.

Michelson and Morley built a device called an interferometer, which uses what amounts to a one-way mirror to split a beam of light, reflecting half of it at a 90-degree angle down one tunnel and allowing the other half to pass through down another tunnel.

Then, both light beams are reflected against mirrors again, placed at the end of each tunnel, and at the end, the beams are measured by a detector.

Fun fact: advanced versions of their devices were used to detect gravitational waves for the first time back in 2015.

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Researchers are preparing to scrutinize nature at tiny scales by stretching supercooled atoms into room-length waves as they drop them down a 100-meter vacuum tube. By exploiting the atoms' wavelike properties, the experiment will look for ripples in the bizarre quantum realm: potential fingerprints of missing dark matter and, in future iterations, new frequencies of gravitational waves. Collaborators from eight institutions have come together to turn an Illinois mine shaft into the world's largest atom interferometer—the Matter-wave Atomic Gradiometer Interferometric Sensor, or MAGIS-100. Read more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-instrument-will-stretch-atoms-into-giant-waves/ #VacuumVolume #MAGIS #MAGIS100 #vacuumchamber #vacuumtube #vacuumtech #vacuumscience #vacuumtechnology #interferometer #atomic #atomicresearch #supercooledatoms #atoms #quantumrealm #quantumphysics #quantummechanics #submicroscopic #strontium #darkmatter #gravitationalwaves

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If Michelson and Morley were correct about ether, then they would have traveled at slightly different rates, striking the detector at slightly different times. In reality, though, they arrived together.

With the benefit of hindsight, we know that the experiment failed because there is no ether – and that light is both a wave and a particle that always travels at the same speed no matter the direction.

In their failure, Michelson and Morley laid the groundwork for basically all of the 20th century’s most influential scientific thinkers. Their failure to detect ether presented a new and exciting problem for physicists and other scientists to tackle – and solve – in the years to come.

So the next time something doesn’t work out the way you thought, take heart – this is solid proof that we can always learn at least as much from our failures as our successes.

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Check Out the World’s Surprising Variety of Weird and Wonderful Apples

Most of us have eaten the typical apples, such as Granny Smith. If we’re lucky, we may have also had a few other types of apples as well –Honeycrisp has had a major moment the past few years – but most of us have probably not tried as many kinds as writer William Mullan.

That’s because Mullen is researching as many types of apples as he can get his hands on, and getting photographs of them.

He spoke with Atlas Obscura about his fascination with apples, which began when he was a teenager growing up in the UK and grew into a full-blow obsession when he was forced into a dietary change for health reasons. Now he satisfies his sweet-tooth on apples.

So what’s the big deal? We checked out Mullan’s Instagram, and he’s really onto something.

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Thornberry! Tiny cotton candy bubble gum sweetheart created by Northern California heartbreaker hottie fruit breeder Albert Etter. Etter was particularly taken with the rose-pink European apple called “Surprise”, creating more 30 seedlings on his orchard back in the 1920s, in what is now called Ettersberg in Humboldt County, California. “Surprise” was mostly dismissed by fruit growers; it tended to be sour and was considered a novelty. But Etter saw potential, eventually selling his Pink Pearl to the California Nursery Company in the 1940s. Etter passed away 10 years later, in 1950, leaving his experimental orchard largely abandoned. In the 1970s, the Fishman family began evaluating the surviving apple trees, both on the site itself and on nearby orchards, eventually locating fifteen of Etter’s “Surprise” seedlings, including Thornberry, which they discovered in another abandoned orchard about a mile outside of the town called Whitethorn (which is about 10 miles south of Ettersburg). – Thornberry exhibits traits typical of the Etter “Surprise” seedlings. Most pronounced among those is a distinct “berry” aromatic flavor, which can likely be linked to the anthocyanin compound that makes the flesh pink. It’s almost like a dwarf-sized Pink Pearl, sharing the same translucent skin, bubble-gum pink flesh, and a spry, lively tartness of that aforementioned favorite. That said, I found this Thornberry, kindly sent to me by Chad Frick of @vulture_hill, to be much sweeter than Pearl. It reminds me of all my childhood candy shop fantasies condensed into one little apple. Like those memories, my first and only sample of it has been canonized in my brain.

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In addition to taking beautiful photographs of apples from all over the world, Mullan delves deeply into the apples’ histories, discussing how they’re grown, bred, and what they taste like. His descriptions of apples are gorgeously detailed, and he’s sold books and prints of his images.

Mullan also went into detail about how and why only certain apples make it to consumers’ hands at grocery stores. Big agriculture and market demands are the main reasons.

Some apples truly have their own personalities.

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Rubaiyat! Pinot noir speckled juice rock with splashy strawberry watermelon flesh. Rubaiyat (also known as CV. Etter 8-11) is another ultra-rare Albert Etter (maker of Pink Pearl) red flesh breed that has been trademarked by Greenmantle Nursery, who took over his property. It’s one of many red flesh cultivars Etter made while he was alive, including the previously featured Grenadine and Pink Pearl. It’s aroma and flavor reminds of Ribena, for all you UK folk out there; for all those who haven’t experienced Ribena, think juice box berry (although Ribena comes in plastic). You’re not likely to come across Rubaiyat at a market (Greenmantle forbids growers from selling it), but if you’re lucky, you might meet a friendly orchardist who has it. It’s a shame, because Rubaiyat is delicious and has seemingly good keeping qualities. Side note: Young Albert Etter was hot. Google him. A beautiful man who made beautiful fruit. I got this Rubaiyat courtesy of the nice folks at @redbrydcider ?

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Other apples are works of art that stand on their own.

Farmers have avoided certain types of apples because they are more likely to pick up diseases, they come from trees that naturally produce fewer apples, or they have fragile skin.

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Hi! Can you see this trio of fantastic galactic Black Oxford apples? Are you excited for Pomme SZN? Word is that some posts aren’t showing up on the feed. If you would like to see more #PommeCon, plz comment below and the algorithm will love me. A lot of nice folks have DM’ed me for prints and I will be releasing those on IG in the late summer, so if you want to be notified, like, tap, comment, etc etc etc ??❤?. – On these Maleficent orbs… Black Oxford apples are little soft tannin bombs wrapped in a haunting chic purple-black plum coat. They yield sweet corn and vanilla with time. The Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle of Apples (post tragic-transformation scene). They’re also known as July Apples because word is they can be kept till July! A Maine native and a favorite of mine. I got very lucky with these very black ones from @scottfarmvt last szn; usually they’re more purple.

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Mullan’s interest has garnered him a steady following. Thanks to his research and photographic work, we get to be exposed to beautiful varieties of apples from all over the world. Click here to check out more of his photographs.

What do you think of Mullan’s work and efforts to introduce the world to more apples? Feel free to comment below so we can read your opinion!

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Pictures of Newly-Adopted Pets Should Put a Smile on Your Face

It’s hard to think of anything more rewarding than the look of relief and satisfaction on an animal’s face after it is adopted.

And these adorable animals are no exception.

Let’s take a look at these heartwarming photos.

1. Hi, Pumpkin!

Adopted a rescue cat today. Meet Pumpkin from cats

2. Welcome home!

Me: "We don’t have room for any more dogs" Sister: *sends this pic from the shelter* Me: "Ok maybe one more dog" Everyone say hi to Gemma from aww

3. Falling in love.

We adopted an 11-year old cat from a Chicago shelter. He and my 13-yo daughter fell in love. This is them after she got back from a week at camp. from aww

4. He looks relieved.

This is my rescue dog at the vet right after being freed from the puppy mill from aww

5. You might’ve been wrong…

First time cat owner. I used to think I was a dog person, but I think I may have been wrong. from cats

6. Live long and prosper.

Adopted this handsome good boy yesterday! Reddit, meet Spock! from aww

7. No more of that.

After months of living in the streets and being bullied by other cats, I rescued Masha. She is now a happy indoors cat. from cats

8. Love the name.

Neighbors abandoned him when they moved, he’s now my best friend. Say hi to Mister Meow. from cats

9. Destroy all the basketballs you want.

Surrendered for adoption 5 times because of too much energy, I present Kadie: Destroyer of Basketballs. from aww

10. New year. New best friend.

Our new years eve was spent getting this cutie. 2020, meet Baker! from cats

Are those photos wholesome, or what?

I know they put a big smile on this guy’s face.

Do you have any pics of your adopted furry friends? Share them with us in the comments! We’d love to meet them!

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Funny, Random Memes That Should Make You LOL

Memes are usually humorous, but they don’t all make you actually laugh out loud. Most of the time you might smile, nod, snort, giggle, or chuckle – but some really do make you lol, if just for a hot second.

We’re hoping these 12 memes are working hard enough to earn the real deal!

12. It’s the only logical explanation.

11. Her feet get cold, okay?

10. I’m just bleeding from my ears it’s fine.

9. I have obviously been listening to the violin wrong my entire life.

8. Time to file a missing persons report.

7. I mean sure, in theory…

6. That face doesn’t even pretend to care.

5. It is kind of inspiring.

4. I plead the fifth.

3. It’s one of very few perks.

2. Welp, time to start that new life you planned.

1. Bonus points if you order in a baritone.

I definitely laughed at a few of these!

Which was your favorite? Did you laugh out loud?

Share which one did it for you in the comments!

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