Category: Science

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8+ Random Facts You Won’t Believe Are 100% True

We could all use a few more random facts in our lives, right? They spice up conversations and teach us something new about the world we live in.

Check out these 10 amazing facts about all kinds of topics.

1. Trolling for a good cause

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2. Did they get here first?

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3. That’s a lot of smog

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4. Same-sex parents

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5. You’re being lied to

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6. Don’t trust the BMI

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7. How is this possible?!?

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8. I’m still holding out hope

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9. Time to bust a rhyme

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10. Only one space

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Here’s How Zoos and Aquariums Prepare Themselves for Hurricanes

Hurricane Florence, as you have probably seen on the news, is landing on the southeastern coast of the United States. So, what does this mean for businesses like zoos and aquariums who must ensure that their animals are taken care of?

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which encompasses over 230 animal care facilities in the US and abroad, requires all members to practice an annual disaster preparedness drill in order to ensure they are ready for any sort of natural disaster that might head their way. That said, the logistics of figuring out how to shelter animals in place – for practice or for real – can be daunting and fraught with potential roadblocks (if not outright disasters).

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Plans begin with staff removing loose debris and signs that could blow around, checking generators and gas tanks, and prepping cleaning and feeding supplies that are able to be stockpiled in advance. They also choose members of the staff to be part of a “ride-out crew,” which are people who will stay with the animals through the disaster or storm.

For Hurricane Harvey, just 15 staff members remained at the Houston Zoo. CEO Lee Ehmke told NPR that they “were sleeping here at the zoo, on cots or on the floor. We prepared food so everyone was fed. There was a lot of radio and internet communication to make sure the right diets were given to the animals.”

While every zoo is different, one thing they have in common is that they have primary, secondary, and tertiary plans – backups for their backups. There are a lot of lives at stake and, human or not, they matter. When Hurricane Katrina knocked out even emergency generators, much of the aquatic population at New Orleans’ Audubon Aquarium perished.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

When marine life is involved, staying put is almost always the best option, and ahead of Hurricane Irma, no one at Zoo Miami suggested trying to relocate the animals. In fact, communications director Ron Magill told NPR that the stress of evacuating alone can be enough to kill an animal, depending on their constitution.

Most of the night enclosures built for the big carnivores are strong enough to withstand anything a hurricane can toss their way, but birds and smaller mammals are relocated to kennels or indoors to weather the storm – a practice Zoo Miami instituted after losing nearly 100 birds during Hurricane Andrew.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The zoos who are a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums are a family and look out for each other, with several bringing supplies and aid to the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey. They also set up a relief fund to raise money for affected employees and their families.

So rest assured that the North and South Carolina zoos and aquariums likely to be affected by Hurricane Florence have been preparing for the coming storm and feel as if they’re ready to weather the storm – with their animal charges – as responsibly as possible.

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We Can’t Stop Laughing at These 15+ Relatable Tweets About Marriage

The early days of marriage are absolute bliss. You can pass an entire afternoon just staring into their eyes.

Well…eventually that wears off and you settle in a routine where your life revolves around annoying the hell out of each other.

These people shared their true feelings about marriage on Twitter and they are on point.

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Dive into These 10 Facts About Private Parts

Even if you don’t want to ask out loud, everyone wants to know a little more about their private parts.

So read on and enjoy these facts.

1. A powerful word

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2. Do you have one?

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3. Disposable

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4. Boner time!

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5. A competition

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6. Genetics

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7. Be careful

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8. Not weird

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9. We’ve got it all wrong

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10. Ol’ Jumbo

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Pet Rats Will Make Kids Happier Than Cats or Dogs

Have you ever thought about getting a pet rat? It might sound kind of strange at first, but the science behind these little rodents might change your mind.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Most of us get creeped out when we think about the little rodents that run through our alleys and eat our trash. But a study shows that kids are actually happier with pet rats than they are with dogs or cats. Rats are cheap, smart, and easy to take care of. The study was conducted over the course of 8 years in 113 countries with over 16,000 people. Kids between the ages of 10-17 preferred rats over other pets.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

As people age, their preference for rats decreases and they start to fancy dogs and cats. And, for the record, the pets people care for the LEAST are geese and scorpions. So, maybe think twice if you’re in the market for one of those…

Photo Credit: Pixabay

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12+ Animal Lovers Share Their Most Interesting Animal Facts

People who are super into animals often know all kinds of crazy and little-known facts about their beloved creatures. For this one, these animal lovers go into detail on the weirdest and most obscure things they’ve learned – and we’re all the better for it.

#15. Seals.

“Seals will get seasick if you put them on a boat.”

#14. Dragonflies.

“Dragonflies have the best successful kill rate of any creature on earth.”

#13. Cheetahs.

“Cheetahs are so closely related to each other that you can freely transplant organs between all members of their species without needing immunosuppression.”

#12. Sloth hands.

“Sloth hands work opposite to ours. They have to exert energy to open their “fist” and relax to close it. This is how they can hang from trees while they’re sleeping and not fall off.”

#11. Opossums.

“Opossums were originally found in the eastern and central parts of the United States until the 1930s when they were intentionally transported to the Western portion to be used as food during the Great Depression.”

#10. The American bison.

“The American bison is the only animal in which both lungs share a common cavity. In every other animal the lungs are separated. What this meant is that when shot by an arrow, both lungs would collapse and the buffalo would suffocate quickly. (For other animals, being shot in the chest would only collapse one lung, and they would at least have a chance) That’s why such a large animal could be taken down with relatively small weapons.”

#9. Okapi.

“People thought the okapi was a hoax until it was photographed. In parts of Sumatra it is believed that the orangutan can speak and refuses to do so because they don’t want to work.”

#8. Ants.

“Ants breed and domesticate aphids around their colonies, so they can drink their milky secretions. Aphids are ant cows. So ladybugs, then, would be like ant chupacabras.

Edit: Thanks to everyone for both appreciating this ant fact, and for educating me with more ant facts.”

#7. Scorpionfly.

“There’s an insect called the scorpiofly that impresses mates by bringing them prey to eat. The bigger the meal, the better.

Only, some scorpionflies aren’t that great at catching food. So some of these males will imitate females, and wait for other males to bring them their gifts. Then they take the gift, fly away, and give it to an actual female.

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/31/archives/male-fly-benefits-through-female-imitation-female-invited-to-dine.html”

#6. The color red.

“There aren’t a lot of bees in Australia, so for pollenation plants relied on birds. Birds see the colour red better, which in turn increased the flora reproduction rate – this is why a lot of plants are red in Australia.”

#5. Snails.

“A snail has over 2000 teeth.”

#4. I like fish.

“Fish have been seen using tools – deliberately hitting a clam with a rock to get it to open so they can eat it. Some fish (eels and groupers) form hunting partnerships where they communicate across the species barrier with specific signals to put their individual strengths to work (the eels chase prey out of crevices to where the groupers are waiting in open water). They also get fooled by illusions in the same way we do, meaning that their brains are processing and interpreting their environment in a similar way to us.

That’s technically three facts but I like fish.”

#3. Polar bears.

“Polar bears are so efficient at storing Vitamin A, consuming polar bear liver can cause death….one polar bear liver contains enough Vitamin A to kill 52 adult humans.”

#2. The Greenland shark.

“The Greenland shark reaches sexual maturity at 150 years old and lives 300-500 years. Always fascinates me that theres something that can live that long.”

#1. Ostrich.

“On ostrich farms, some farmers have a hard time with breeding because the ostrich is more attracted to humans than other ostriches.

That’s right, somewhere out there an ostrich wants to fuck you.

http://scicurious.scientopia.org/2012/01/13/friday-weird-science-is-that-ostrich-flirting-with-me/”

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Never Before Seen Amazon Tribe Captured by Drone

Recently, one of the world’s very rare un-contacted tribes was seen for the first time by a drone as it flew over Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

It almost seems impossible, but anthropologists estimate that as recently as 2013 there are hundreds of tribes in the world that haven’t come into any contact with modern society. That’s getting more and more rare with modern technology.

CBS reports that the clip was filmed last year but recently uploaded to YouTube by the National Indian Foundation in Brazil. It shows a person walking through a forest clearing in the Javari River Valley in the northwest of the country, near the border with Peru. They also released images of an ax, a thatched hut, and canoes found in the area.

According to Survival International, the Javari Valley is home to seven contacted tribes and seven un-contacted groups. The agency also recently released footage of a man who is believed to be the last of his people, the others have fallen victim to landowners and loggers. They think he has lived alone in the jungle for 22 years.

That’s desperately sad if you ask me.

Photo Credit: FUNAI.gov

The drone was sent out by that same government agency in an attempt to better protect indigenous peoples. The footage has been used to stop illegal hunters and farmers from encroaching on land reserved for the indigenous tribes. The New York Times points out that the government is doing their best to protect against deforestation and violence against indigenous communities, though they are not always as successful as indigenous rights proponents would like.

Photo Credit: FUNAI.gov

“Vigilance and surveillance should be intensified in the region to curb the actions of violators and ensure the full possession of the territory by the indigenous people,” says Vitor Gois of the National Indian Foundation in a translated statement.

I hope we can all agree on that.

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15 Patients Expose the Most Unprofessional Thing a Doctor Ever Said to Them

Unfortunately, people have had some pretty bad experiences with doctors, but it always blows my mind that people who go into medicine can act like total a**holes.

I guess I’m not alone. These AskReddit users shared the most unprofessional things that medical professionals ever said to them.

1. That’s nice

“I went for a dentist appointment and sat in the reclining chair. Dentist mentioned I have big size teeth. Female dental assistant quietly said ‘she also has big thighs’ …dentist shhh her. I was a timid teenager so I didn’t say anything.”

2. Hamming it up

“In second grade (age 7) I fell off the monkey bars at school and landed on my wrist. I could feel that something was seriously wrong, but the school nurse shrugged it off and sent me to class. I was forced to use the wrist (my writing hand) for the rest of the day. When my mom came to pick me up, the nurse told her I had been “hamming it up” all afternoon. Fortunately my parents have half a brain and saw that it was obviously broken. I had a cast for three months, and that nurse didn’t look me in the eye for the rest of my elementary school career.

Oh, and apparently the break was barely a centimeter from the growth plate. I came within a centimeter of having a seven-year-old’s hand for the rest of my life. Would have been a fun bar story, at least. (Edit: this probably would not have happened, but as a worst-case scenario, maybe.)”

3. Atta girl

“Doctor couldn’t get the speculum in. After a lot of pushing it finally, painfully slams inside me. The doctor was excited by his achievement and goes “Atta girl! That’s my champ!” The nurse looked at him in horror. I busted out laughing. He realizes almost immediately that was very weird and turns completely red and goes “I’m so sorry! I coach little league!””

4. Not pregnant

“In college I had to go to the ER because I kept throwing up a lot. A nurse came in and asked me some questions: when did it start, etc. Then she asks if my back hurt and I said it did a bit.

She grunted “ah ha!” like she knew exactly what was wrong. I was like “what is it?” She explained I was pregnant. I told her that actually wasn’t the case.

She said, “you can’t really KNOW that.”

Um, yes, I can. Because I actually know how babies are made.

(I eventually demanded they run a pregnancy test. Yeah, I wasn’t pregnant.)”

5. Non-sexual

“My first pelvic exam for a yeast infection. Doctor refuses to do the pelvic because I had told her I was not and had never been sexually active. FINALLY convince her and she takes a look, comes up yelling about how I lied to her. My hymen was torn, ergo, I’d had sex.

And that’s the story of how I told a medical professional that hymens can tear thanks to many non-sexual situations.”

6. Just a flesh wound

“About 4 years ago I fell with a bottle in my hand and cut through all the tendens and nerves from my pinky to the middle finger. The cut was about 6cm long. Anyway I went to the doctor the next day, and after waiting for 2 hours in the lobby I went in to see him. He took 3 minutes to examine my hand before telling me to go home and rinse with water an antiseptic. I remember feeling elated by his calm demeanour and I thought the wound wasn’t too serious. I went home and did as he said.

A couple of days later I travelled back home to Switzerland (plane trip was very painful). I took the bandage off when I got home and showed my mum. She went completely ballistic since the wound had gone septic and my fingers were turning blue. I also had no movement or feeling in my pinky and its neighbour. She rushed me to the ER immediately where I received 23 stitches in my hand. The severed nerves had to be extended and tied together. The doctor told me I was extremely close to requiring an amputation of all three fingers.

I later complained to the hospital in Denmark about the doctor but I probably should have sued. He failed to tell me the severity of my wound (cut tendens and nerves) so I think that qualifies as being extremely unprofessional. To this day when I clench my fist, my pinky just points straight.”

7. This is insane

“Not to me, but someone I know went to an oncologist because they thought she might have cancer.

“I have good news, your test results are back and you do not have cancer. Congratulations.”

A week later she gets a call to schedule her first round of chemo. She says there must be some mistake, the doctor said I was cancer free. Lady on the phone gets real uncomfortable and says I have an order here from that doctor that you are to begin chemotherapy, so you better call his office to straighten this out. And perhaps contact a lawyer. She does and it turns out that all her charts showed she had cancer. The doctor knew it but simply lied about it because he didn’t like to deliver bad news. After investigating they discover several other patients who went through exactly the same ordeal. Her chemo and lawsuit are both pending.”

8. Not depressed

“I had a ‘Dr’ order the nurses to give me Elavil after I had specifically refused it. She was convinced that my symptoms were caused by ‘depression’ and ‘wanting to get it off work’ – yes, she actually said that to me. She prescribed Elavil saying that it helps with pain and “also it will help with your depression and you’ll see, everything will look brighter.” I refused, saying I wasn’t depressed, other than my frustration getting a diagnosis. I tried again to convince her that my pain and inability to hold anything down was not a mental/emotional issue.

About a week later I collapsed, ended up in the hospital and she told the nurses to give me Elavil via IV and not tell me. I almost immediately started having extreme tremors and what they called psuedo-parkinsonism. One of the nurses slipped up (or actually stepped up) and told me it was caused by the Elavil. I was furious as I had said I did not want to take it.

Later on after going home and several more weeks of constant vomiting, I ended up hypokalemic and completely paralyzed.

I was taken by ambulance to another hospital (not in my HMO) and it took them less than a week to find that I had a grapefruit sized tumor 80% infiltrated from my uterus into my abdominal wall. They sampled it and my lymph nodes and found I cancer with lymph involvement on both sides.

I underwent a hysterectomy/ oopherectomy (and my pain magically disappeared!) as well as radiation treatment.

To this day though, I have the twitching and tremors as a souvenir.

As a bonus she told me she had been convinced it wasn’t cancer because “cancer doesn’t hurt.” When I saw her again after the surgery I said something along the line of ‘Well I guess cancer does hurt after all!’ Her response was “Well it’s not the cancer that hurts, it’s the nerves it was compressing.”

I told her “In that case, step over here by the door and I’ll slam your hand in it. The door slamming won’t hurt, just the nerves the door compresses will!”

Sorry for the rant, it still makes me mad!”

9. She rolled her eyes?

“Two weeks ago, my IUD displaced, resulting in a trip to the ER. The attending nurse asked who the guy was with me (who had left to scope out the vending machine for some snacks) , and I replied that he was my boyfriend of nearly six years. Her response was ‘you’re 31, not married, and don’t have any kids? Who gave you an IUD?’ and rolled her eyes.

This was at a well-respected hospital in PA. The nurse was younger than I was.”

10. Not a good response

“In high school my mom set me up with a therapist because she thought all teenagers should have someone to talk to about teenage angsty shit. In the first meeting he asked about me and why I was there, and I said I was pretty normal. He scoffed and said “No you’re not, normal people don’t get sent to therapy.”

I never went back.”

11. Time to retire

“I had a diagnostic surgery last year after almost a decade of unbearable menstrual pain, which my doctors and I suspected was endometriosis. All of my symptoms matched. I had an ultrasound and a 5-6 cm ovarian cyst was found so the surgery was also to remove that. Once my obgyn/surgeon knew I had a cyst she wrote off the possibility of endometriosis, even though my symptoms started when I was 13 (I was 24 at the time).

After surgery I was told I didn’t have endometriosis and a cyst was removed from my left ovary. I was exhausted, out of it, and devastated to think my pain was something even harder to diagnose, but I thought the cyst was supposed to have been on the right ovary. I didn’t get a chance to speak to my surgeon until a month later because she was on vacation.

When my follow up finally happened, she confirmed no endometriosis right off the bat. Alright, but I thought my cyst was on the right ovary, not the left. She started explaining that it’s sometimes hard to tell which ovary is which while she goes through notes. “OH the cyst on the ultrasound was MUCH larger than the one we removed, the other one must have burst… also you do have endometriosis.” Then she told me that was the end of the appointment and left the room.

She retired shortly after and I have a much better doctor now, thank god.”

12. Too thin

“Changed doctors after 4 months of bring sick, nauseous every time I ate, stomach cramps, fullness… whole bunch of symptoms. Lost 15kg in the first 6 weeks, was now down at 45kg.

She looks at me and instantly goes off about how I cannot feel good if I am that thin.

I try to explain that that is my problem, I dont want to be thin, I have terrible pain and nausea when I eat!

But she us having none of it, ignores all I say and goes “I have seen a lot if anorexic girls I know what it looks like, stop putting your finger in your throat!” She got up and as I wanted to leave, then gives me a slap in the butt saying “just start to eat again!”

2 years later – today -, I have been diagnosed with 4 compression syndromes, MALS being among them and will have surgery for them in 5 days.

Kiss my boney *ss b*tch.”

13. Mean dentist

“When I was 12 my dentist told my parents—within earshot of me—that I had the worst overbite he’d ever seen. My father was in graduate school and couldn’t afford to get me braces. Over 20 years later, I’ve never forgotten it, and it’s the reason I rarely smile in photos.”

14. Mental health

“My first councillor that I went to see for my depression/anxiety when I was 12/13 was super cold and unsympathetic. She made me talk about things like my sexual orientation and suicidal thoughts in front of my parents even though I specifically requested that I wouldn’t have to. She she was very disbelieving of everything I said, pulled the “other people have it worse card” and was just generally very unhelpful.

I left her office in tears after every session. Obviously it wasn’t the most terrible thing that could have happened, but it really f*cked me up and when my parents tried to get me to go to a different therapist I had a panic attack so bad I landed myself in the ER. I was only 12 at the time, and that was my first experience with any mental health “professional”. I have no idea how she became a counselor, she was super cold and unkind.”

15. Good luck

“When I was first trying to get off heroin, I went to go see a doctor. I told him that I was a heroin addict and that I had just quit, he asked me how long I had been clean and I told him two weeks. *sshole literally laughed in my face, smirked, and said “Well, good luck”. I’ve been clean 15 years now, so the joke’s on him.”

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The Differences Between Dating Men and Women, According to 12+ Bisexuals

Bisexual people have dated members of both sexes. This gives them a unique insight into men, women, and relationships that most of us don’t have.

In this AskReddit thread, people who are bisexual reveal these differences.

1. Public perception

“How it’s received by the general public. When I’m out one on one with a man, it’s second nature to assume he is my significant other in situations such as having a dinner date or a weekend away at a hotel. That’s not the case when I’m with a woman. In particular, my current girlfriend looks somewhat similar to me. We’re both petite blondes. When we are out together, the first assumption is that we’re sisters or best friends. We have to make a point to explain that we’re together. It doesn’t bother me, as most people genuinely just don’t know and assume what’s second nature to them. It’s just an observation.”

2. Truth!

“Men can get ready in a matter of minutes.”

3. No privacy

“It’s a little weird on a date with a woman that you use the same bathroom. You don’t get that moment to yourself and there’s no privacy.”

4. Feelin’ good

“I keep seeing a reoccurring theme here. Girls think sex with girls is better, and guys think sex with guys is better. Possibly because you have the same anatomy and know what feels good?”

5. Differences

“In arguments alone: Women are explosive, but more pleasant in the day-to-day. Men tend to backslide into a quiet agony that never gets resolved.”

6. Communication

“More individual difference than gender difference.

But if there is one it’s communication style. Men take a lot longer to open up. And I’d say most men are less thoughtful about many things (like keeping track of important things happening in your life and giving support through them) although my personal experience there with the only man I’ve seriously dated has been stellar.”

7. Dominance

“There’s actually a noticeable difference on how I approach the relationship. When I’m with men I like being taken care of, but I like being more dominant in with women, I’ll do all the things I’d want a man to do for me.”

8. Bros

“The biggest difference for me, as a guy, is that there is a different level of friendship with a guy than a girl. With my current bf, it’s like I’m hanging out with my best bro, at the same time as spending time with the person I love. We do everything together and I never really want time away.

My last ex, a girl, was great to spend time with, but there was a level of understanding and friendship that wasn’t there purely because she was a girl. She could never understand certain things that a guy just gets. That shared understanding of experience that guys have. I’m sure girls have the same thing with other girls.

That was longer than I expected, but that’s the biggest difference I have.”

9. More truth

“One of them is WAY more comfortable buying tampons than the other.”

10. Understanding

“I’ve only dated gay guys and straight girls. For me the biggest difference has been that girls have in general been a lot more understanding of my sexuality and the guys have been a lot more biphobic/dismissive about it.”

11. A positive outlook…

“Women will ruin you emotionally, but men will disappoint you profoundly.”

12. S E X

“Sex. Was constantly being pursued to have sex while dating a man. Now sex is rarely had. If at all.”

13. Break ups

“with women, i always get emotional,..in a complete mess after breaking up. but men, i got over them..before the break up.

women–i think about them often when not together.

men–we were always doing activities together.”

14. It’s all about personality

“Honestly for me, I tend to be attracted to a similar type of personality regardless of gender, and that includes a lack of interest in conforming to gender roles, so in terms of internal relationship dynamics there hasn’t been an easy-to-parse difference my ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends along gender lines.”

15. Crazy talk

“Everyone’s giving normal scenarios, so I wanna bring up worst case. The ‘crazy guy’ is genuinely f****** insane, while the ‘crazy girl’ is a funny kind of insane. Like, craziest guy was a guy who gave me a necklace that he put his blood on to protect me from the secret powers of his alternate personality, and still tries to low key stalk me on social media, while the craziest girl is probably a tie between the super religious girl who cried when I ate meat and the ultra communist who told me she loved me within like an hour.:

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