Read About Kids Who Told Their Parents Creepy Tales of Their Past Lives

Kids do a lot of creepy stuff, and most of it I think can be put down to them still trying to figure out to be a human that doesn’t freak out other humans.

Most of the time they’re sweet and cool and funny, but if you’ve got some of your own, there’s no denying they can be a bunch of little weirdos, too, right?

One of the creepiest things kids do is talk about “before” they were born, or have random “memories” or vocabulary that comes out of nowhere – and these 13 parents must have been calling the exorcist after their kids shared these particular tales.

13. So eerie!

I don’t know how old I was but when I was young (<6) I was in the car with my parents and I said something like “oh I used to live there” while pointing at a house we were driving past.

Turns out it was my great great grandmothers house.

12. That’s a weird power dynamic.

Well, I’m not a parent but I once told my mother, “I used to be your dad”, when I was a toddler.

And if that’s not weird enough he died about 9 months before I was born.

11. Not a skeptic anymore.

My family and I were driving through the Kent countryside and my brother (about 3 at the time) announced: “Mummy, that was the field I died in once. I bayonet went through my tummy.” I was 8 and remember wondering what a bayonet was EXACTLY at the same time my parents looked at each other and asked him HOW he knew what bayonet was?

He said he didn’t know and then became almost embarrassed and shy because of our collective reactions. There was no way he would have known about war or weapons as this was the early 90s and we didn’t watch TV much at all.

I’m a complete skeptic but this creeps me out to this day.

10. This is just amazing.

Not a mum but I was a nanny for many years.

This is going to be long and I apologize in advance.

One of my little ones, 2 yrs old & incredibly smart child, way ahead developmentally in almost every way. He used to like to tell me things while we got him ready for bed. It was almost always these weird storied which would always start with “When I was an old lady…” and they were always very specific little “day in the life of” type things which I quickly realized went beyond the life experience & typical vocabulary of a 2 yr old.

Over a few months he kept adding very consistently to this story. He would also sometimes play as this old lady, with a cloth over his head and walking slowly as if his back pained him. Grocery shopping or playing with his sisters dolls as if they were his grandchildren was his favourite when he did this.

He added some specific details like:

How many children she had, (4 daughters and a son)and how many grandchildren.

Her husband had died in his 50’s (same age as one of his uncles) from a lung disease.

One of her daughters had died in their 30’s in a car accident leaving 2 children who she took in with the help of another daughter.

She had a bad back and pain in her feet. One of her daughters would rub her feet to help with the pain.

All but one of her children was married, the unmarried daughter lived with her and she worried she would never marry.

She remembered dying. She had been crossing a street and hit by a car, she described how people stood around her, where it hurt, how someone eventually lifted her into a car (no ambulances) and took her to hospital where she died.

I was not his only nanny, and he was consistent with these stories. Us nannies would get together and swap stories and I would write them down because I had been fascinated with phenomena like past lives before this and wanted to see where it all went.

He also described the house & neighborhood they lived in. This is especially interesting as this kid came from a SUPER wealthy family and had never even seen the kind of housing or poverty he was describing. He also talked about living by the seaside.

Months into this unfolding, we visited a seaside city on the other side of the country. One day a family member there was having a birthday party so we piled in the van to drive over, and our driver got lost (this is pre google maps & smartphone times). We ended up driving through this extremely poor neighborhood and suddenly my little boy started shouting and screaming and insisted we turn down a couple of specific streets.

He started pointing out the window and telling us things he was recognizing “from when I was an old lady”. It matched to what he’d previously described in general and we were all so interested we let him direct us where to go as we were already going to be late for the party anyway.

He accurately described what we would see round the next turn several times but got extremely confused and upset when he got to where “her” house was because it was now a store. The driver leaned out the window and asked a nearby old person what had been there before the store and was told “houses”.

We never went back there or were able to get any additional verification. Totally understandably his parents were concerned about this story telling and how vivid and strange it was, so after this dramatic incident we made an active effort to redirect him to other stories and play types.

As he approached three he started telling less & less of these stories, and they got less & less specific. By about 3 1/2 he couldn’t even remember telling us stories about being an old lady. He thought we were joking with him.

To this day, over 25 yrs later, I can’t explain it really.

9. That’s quite a story.

When my daughter was 3, she saw a large ship while we were on vacation at the beach and said “That’s like the one my parents before you died on.” I said, “You had other parents before us?” She calmly went on to explain that I shouldn’t worry, they were her parents a long time before my husband and I were, but the ship they were on broke apart and they are still at the bottom of the ocean.

She then said when her “before” parents died, she and her sister “Brinella” had to be separated because no one could take them both. She said her sister went to live in Australia, but she stayed in Ireland. We live in the U.S.

8. Goosebumps indeed.

Not me but a friends little sister. The whole family was out for dinner at a restaurant in a skiing village which they recently bought a cottage near. My friends little sister as soon as they walked in said “I know this place. My mother and I used to paint here.” To which her mother replied “We’ve never been here before, what do you mean?” she replied with “No. My mother from before. We used to paint here all the time.”

The family was obviously a little freaked out but didn’t think much of it as she was pretty young and they figured just messing around. Later on though, when talking to the waitress, the little girl again adamantly mentioned how she used to paint there and the waitress revealed that it in fact was an art studio for many years in the 1900s but had been converted sometime in the early 2000s into a restaurant.

Needless to say the entire table, waitress included, got goosebumps and were at a loss for words.

7. They’re so sure of themselves!

One of my preschool students: What do you want to do when you’re a kid again?

Me: Well grown ups don’t become kids again. We grow up and stay grown ups.

Her: Well I remember when I was a grown up and I drove a car! And now I’m a kid again!

6. Poor thing.

My daughter talks about her “grandson” all the time. I thought it was just an imaginary friend, but then a couple nights ago she came out of her room at bed time absolutely sobbing and said “I’m sad because I miss my grandson. He lives in my old house in my old neighborhood”.

She has never lived anywhere other than this apartment

5. That will heal your heart.

my grandma has a story from when my dad was 2-3 years old. he told her once that he was almost born before but was too sick and died and had to come back later

turns out my grandma had at least 1 miscarriage before he was born that was likely due to birth defects caused by a medication she had been taking at the time

4. You’ve gotta believe that…

When he was 3 my husband decided to treat our son to a flight over our city in a Cessna. When it was time to get on the plane, our boy climbed into the pilot’s seat and was extremely upset when he was told he had to move. He began crying and saying he was sorry. He didn’t mean to crash that plane last time and he said he’d be good this time.

My husband managed to calm him by pointing out that his legs were too short for his feet to reach the pedals. Once he got settled in the back seat, he started fussing about not being able to use the radio, so the pilot got him a headset, just didn’t plug it in all the way. Our son then started trying to raise the tower so he could to his radio check and get clearance. At that point the pilot needed to take a break. He went for a smoke while my husband talked to our son, who told him that he crashed the last plane he flew and a lot of people died.

When the pilot got back, they were able to do the flight with no further issues. About a year later, we went to an aeronautics museum when an old Mosquito was being restored. Our son told the curator that he used to fly one of those, so he offered us a tour of the plane. When we got in, our son pointed out several things that were ‘wrong’ with the plane, which turned out to be correct – things like the joy stick being the wrong sort etc.

The curator told us the plane had previously been modernized and was now being restored to original condition. He also confirmed that the items our son had pointed out were in fact slated to be replaced. Our kid is grown mow and doesn’t remember ever being a pilot before and has absolute zero interest in planes, but he does remember just ‘knowing’ things about airplanes and piloting them.

3. That’s pretty interesting.

Anyone interested in this sort of thing should look up the ww2 US general George S. Patton.

He allegedly attributes many of his victories throughout Europe to a familiarity with the battlefields, having fought on them countless times in past lives. I’m pretty sure there’s a book about it.

2. I can see why.

not me, but some of my grandma’s siblings died in a house fire around the 60’s-70’s. My moms sister (around 15-25 at the time) was just talking with one of her cousin who was about 5 like 30 years ago, and the 5 year old was REALLY scared of fire, and acted a lot like one of my grandma’s sisters, tony.

then one day when my aunt reached over to light a candle the 5 year old cousin said “isnt it funny how last time we were sisters but now we’re cousins?” it freaked my aunt right out, apparently

1. He made a good decision, then.

Mine said that he had a dream he was in heaven (or some other place before he was born) with lots of men in suits who had lined up every woman on the planet, and the suits told him to pick who would be his mum.

The part that creeped me out is I remember my mum telling me I had a dream exactly like that as a child.

My kids haven’t done this yet and I kind of feel like I’m missing out. Is that wrong?

If your child has weirded you out talking about what came before they were born, share the story with us in the comments!

The post Read About Kids Who Told Their Parents Creepy Tales of Their Past Lives appeared first on UberFacts.

Weird Things That Landlords Didn’t Expect to Find

When I moved out of my last apartment, I tried to leave it spic and span to make sure I got my deposit back.

Turns out, not every tenant cares so much about getting the cleaning deposit back. Here are some unexpected things that landlords found–whether their tenants had moved out yet or not.

1. Some people just like fish

I think the real question here is why are you borrowing his toilet paper?

Image credit: Whisper

2. Illegal drugs are illegal

But at least they offered you some, right?

Image credit: Whisper

3. It’s hard to get rid of smells

It just seeps into everything doesn’t it?

Image credit: Whisper

4. A little help never hurt anyone

Something about the ellipses tells me he was glad she wasn’t home.

Image credit: Whisper

5. Slowly shut the door and back away

I hope he had a his own giant bottle of lube.

Image credit: Whisper

6. At least they painted the place

What I really want to know is, what kind of exotic animals though?

Image credit: Whisper

7. Wish she’d only painted it, don’t you?

There could always be something worse. Like actual bodies in the walls.

Image credit: Whisper

8. Or dogs–in the basement

I just can’t.

Image credit: Whisper

9. Just how many cats are too many cats?

At least they weren’t in the basement or the walls.

Image credit: Whisper

10. Is that what they call ‘anal retentive’?

Maybe he was just trying to make a good fertilizer.

Image credit: Whisper

11. And you thought the furnace room guy was bad

I just… are you sure? Just why?

Image credit: Whisper

12. And you thought the oven poo was problematic

Maybe rock, paper, scissors which one is worse?

Image credit: Whisper

13. Apparently it’s not that uncommon

I mean. I guess you get used to it eventually? Or you cry a lot.

Image credit: Whisper

I was pretty shocked to read about some of these.

What about you? Let us know in the comments.

The post Weird Things That Landlords Didn’t Expect to Find appeared first on UberFacts.

People Discuss the Weird Things They’ve Found After Music Festivals and Other Events

I’m not really one for big music festivals these days, but when I was a teenager I loved going to the Warped Tour every summer.

All the biggest punk bands playing on a few stages in the miserable heat for ten hours? Count me in!

And the people watching was just great, as you can probably imagine.

But I often wondered about the people who had to clean up the place after all the fans left for the day…

Some of these responses give me a good idea of what they saw.

AskReddit users talked about the unusual things they’ve found at festivals and events. Let’s get weird!

1. All the good stuff.

“I used to walk around the raves and look on the ground with a flashlight, found a multitude of great things.

In one night I would find a baggies ecstacy pills, cocaine + assorted drugs, 30+ lighters, hundreds of dollars in cash, jewelry and so many articles of clothing.

That was the average each weekend.”

2. Carny life.

“Worked as a carny a few seasons.

The zipper operator would straight up guard his ride’s area to loot it in the morning after it’s use. Many cell phones, wallets, cash and tons of change.

He knew how to operate it so well that he could spin certain tubs (full of riders) excessively if they looked drunk or like they might be unwilling donors. He made more in ground scores than he made operating and moving the ride.”

3. Raiding party.

“Having had all our sh*t stolen (including train tickets home) when I went one year, I was stranded at the campsite with my mates after everyone had left.

After 2 hours we managed to find bus tickets home, an LV bag, 200 cans of beer (and two buggies to carry them on), around twenty power banks, an iPhone, loads of tents full of excrement, about ten unknown pills.

A couple of bongs, loads of pairs of crutches, about an ounce of weed… Came across a YURT style tent worth about £1k and disassembled that to take home too.

W came across other groups of people raiding the abandoned tents and all congregated and piled every single inflatable mattress we could find in a giant pile and jumped onto it from up a tree.”

4. You probably need this.

“I’m an event manager for corporate conferences and trade shows.

Best thing I’ve seen left behind was from a large well known medical company. They left an unopened / brand new defibrillator that you’d see in an emergency room. When I called and told them they had left it behind they said to keep it.

So naturally I googled the item – retail cost $5K.”

5. I wonder who it is…

“I can’t disclose much due to the NDA I signed but I cleaned for an annual Christmas party thrown by a multi billionaire type guy a couple years in a row.

I’ve found little baggies of pills and powders, jewelry of all kinds and n*pple pasties and panties in all sizes. I’ve seen a half naked drunk chick try diving into a pool and splitting her head open and ODs of all kinds.

Man I miss cleaning for those parties. I got to attend the wild parties AND get paid for it!”

6. Gross.

“A pig’s head.

Crew had roasted a whole pig during set up and someone off their head decided to take the left over head for a walk around site Monday morning of the festival.

It was actually a bit messed up, saw a few freaked out people afterwards and had to convince them it wasn’t real so they would calm down. It was dumped in a hedge somewhere until crew found it and disposed of it properly.”

7. OH MY GOD.

“Talladega, circa 2005.

Dead body under a mountain of beer cans.”

8. I’ll take that!

“I was cleaning after a festival once and a guy next to me found a gallon ziplock bag half filled with weed.

Once he look at it further he realized there was an iPhone and a roll of money in the bag as well.

Needless to say, he was happy.”

9. How does this work?

“I have no idea how people are getting it on in the middle of the dance floor, but my god I have become desensitized to used condoms at this point.

Some genres are worse than others, but I just want to know how?

Like you are literally surrounded by people, you have security watching the crowd like a hawk, and some how you manage to get it on. What?”

10. Biker rallies.

“Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: Millions of bikers converge into one small town every August here in South Dakota.

There’s a huge venue/campground called the Buffalo Chip.

Keys and blowup dolls are some of the most common things left behind.”

11. Yeehaw!

“I worked Talladega clean up.

For those that don’t know, it’s a NASCAR track in Alabama. The most savage rednecks go here to be absolutely crazy. S*x, drugs, and TONS of alcohol. Well I’ve found condoms, full bottles of liquor, bunch of weed, syringes, a drone, a pistol buried in mud, and a destroyed cell phone.

That was one time. And I was one of about 50 workers.”

12. Wild.

“Best time to go is Saturday and Sunday night. Just take a walk in high traffic areas with your head down. You’ll find lots of drugs and cash.

The craziest thing I’ve ever came across though was just a huge coincidence. I was at a festival about 750km from my home town. It was Sunday midnight and I was just dancing through the darkness on half an Oz of mushrooms I noticed a flash of white out of the corner of my eye near the forests edge. Turns out it was someone’s provincial ID card.

Not just anyone’s. It belonged to a girl from my hometown I haven’t seen in years. Given her lifestyle its not strange she lost her ID while f*cked up at a festival.

It was just a crazy coincidence that the only ID I’ve ever found in years of festival going, far from home, at a festival with 9000 people, happened to be someone I knew pretty well.”

How about you?

Have you ever found something weird at a festival or an event?

If so, share your stories with us in the comments. Thanks a lot!

The post People Discuss the Weird Things They’ve Found After Music Festivals and Other Events appeared first on UberFacts.

Medical Folks, What’s the Worst Misconception a Patient Had About the Human Body? People Responded.

I feel like when a lot of people are having health issues, they go one of two ways: they either self-diagnose from Web M.D. and they think they’re dying, or they totally ignore it and only go see a doctor at the last minute when a lot of damage is already done.

That’s why you go see a professional in these situations, people!

Medical workers on AskReddit talked about BIG misconceptions that people have had about their bodies. Let’s take a look.

1. Wrong!

“Nurse here.

We work with patients with kidney issues. Our biggest misconception…

The product “No Salt” is totally safe to eat…..WRONG!

No Salt is a potassium based product to mimic salt texture for food…but now puts you into a whole new issue with having high potassium from frequent use, leading to cramping, arrhythmias, and even death.”

2. Magical honey fortress.

“Patient with seafood allergy presents to ER with swollen lips, hives, itchy throat.

Provider takes a history asking if the patient could’ve been exposed to seafood or cross contamination. Have they eaten new food or at a new establishment? The whole nine. While being treated, patient adamantly denies this. They keep trying to figure out what the allergen could’ve been because it’s a pretty strong reaction.

Eventually the patient gets frustrated and admits they ate shrimp pasta but it CAN’T be from that because he took two tablespoons of honey first and “it coats things in there.” As in, shrimp can somehow not penetrate the magical honey fortress.”

3. Are you sure about that?

“I’ve had male patients in my audiology clinic tell me they have fallopian tube issues.

Perhaps I shouldn’t assume they mean eustachian tube issues, but I do.”

4. Trippy.

““How are you feeling today?”

“Not great, I have a cough that starts from an emotion in my throat and chest. That emotion disturbs me.”

It was a bacterial pneumonia. His roommate is a neighborhood “spiritual guru”.”

5. Where’s the face?!?!

“Baby came out face down .

The father freaked out his child was born without a face.

We had a good laugh after.”

6. Not exactly…

“Had a mother ask if it was true that the soft spot of her baby’s head was “like a whale blow hole” that he could breathe out of.

Apparently her own mother had told her that.”

7. Oh, boy…

“Well, I had one girl that really thought if she had s*x in the shower she could not get pregnant because all the sperm must fall out and go down the drain.

Her boyfriend had been convinced as well…

They did, indeed, end up pregnant. There had been A LOT of standup shower s*x.”

8. Ugh!

“I caught a patient drinking his own urine once.

He thought it would help heal him, somehow.

I have never looked at a water pitcher the same way and I always check to make sure it’s water.”

9. It’s normal, sir.

“I had the father of a baby absolutely beside himself because his newborn baby had no teeth.”

10. Please don’t do that.

“”What do you mean, I can’t eat an entire fruit cake? Isn’t fruit supposed to be healty?”

From a diabetic type 2 with a blood sugar level of 450 mg/dl.”

11. Missed that class, I guess.

“I had to explain to a pregnant woman once that the baby is coming out of her v*gina.

She was almost six months pregnant and was horrified, I think she thought all babies were just C- sectioned out.”

12. What are you talking about?

“I had a patient who needed a tooth extracted.

Young teenage girl, obviously very sheltered. She was telling me how bad it hurts and I asked her what she takes for pain.

“I apply a little clove oil to it when it keeps me up at night.” I asked if that works and she goes “Um… not really.”

When I told patient and mom to control post-operative pain with ibuprofen and acetaminophen, they looked at me like I had grown a second head.”

13. It goes away, right?

“There seems to be a common misconception that diabetes only needs to be treated temporarily and then it will go away, in the absence of lifestyle changes. I have seen this a lot in primary care.

“Do you have diabetes”

“No, I used to and finished my medication”

Check labs and surprise surprise, extra uncontrolled diabetes.”

Have you ever heard someone talk about really bad misconceptions about the human body?

If so, please tell us your stories in the comments.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The post Medical Folks, What’s the Worst Misconception a Patient Had About the Human Body? People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

Off-the-Wall Reasons People Were Fired from Their Jobs

Going to work every day can be soul-sucking

But we all have to pay the rent, so losing your job is typically worse.

And then there are jobs like these, where getting fired almost seems like a blessing in disguise.

Here are 11 absolutely out-there reasons that people were given for being let go.

1. Trying to do the right thing

I mean. I feel like this is one thing that should be protected by law.

Image credit: Whisper

2. Not being a team player

Look, if you’re not going to participate in team building activities…

Image credit: Whisper

3. How dare you do the job I hired you to do

That will teach you to go the extra mile.

Image credit: Whisper

4. You’re meant to be a robot

Grief should not compute.

Image credit: Whisper

5. Honesty is not the best policy

This is what we call oversharing. Then again, maybe a good way to find new participants.

Image credit: Whisper

6. Don’t worry, be happy

Especially don’t worry about losing your job, because if you do, you’ll lose your job.

Image credit:Whisper

7. Don’t look, don’t speak, don’t think

This one is just crazy unless you asked them WHERE they were sunburned…

Image credit: Whisper

8. Be the mannequin you want to see in the world

Don’t gain weight, lose weight, cut your hair, dye your hair. Stay exactly the same.

Image credit:Whisper

9. Be yourself

Unless your boss doesn’t like who you are. Then be someone else.

Image credit: Whisper

10. Above all, be on time

Zero tolerance. No exceptions. Not even for comas. Ouch.

Image credit: Whisper

11. Do your best!

As long as your best isn’t better than your boss’s best.

Image credit: Whisper

So many of these are just too much for me to even comprehend.

You have to wonder how a lot of them are legal.

What do you think? Do you have any crazy stories about getting fired? Tell us in the comments.

The post Off-the-Wall Reasons People Were Fired from Their Jobs appeared first on UberFacts.

Off-the-Wall Reasons People Were Fired from Their Jobs

Going to work every day can be soul-sucking

But we all have to pay the rent, so losing your job is typically worse.

And then there are jobs like these, where getting fired almost seems like a blessing in disguise.

Here are 11 absolutely out-there reasons that people were given for being let go.

1. Trying to do the right thing

I mean. I feel like this is one thing that should be protected by law.

Image credit: Whisper

2. Not being a team player

Look, if you’re not going to participate in team building activities…

Image credit: Whisper

3. How dare you do the job I hired you to do

That will teach you to go the extra mile.

Image credit: Whisper

4. You’re meant to be a robot

Grief should not compute.

Image credit: Whisper

5. Honesty is not the best policy

This is what we call oversharing. Then again, maybe a good way to find new participants.

Image credit: Whisper

6. Don’t worry, be happy

Especially don’t worry about losing your job, because if you do, you’ll lose your job.

Image credit:Whisper

7. Don’t look, don’t speak, don’t think

This one is just crazy unless you asked them WHERE they were sunburned…

Image credit: Whisper

8. Be the mannequin you want to see in the world

Don’t gain weight, lose weight, cut your hair, dye your hair. Stay exactly the same.

Image credit:Whisper

9. Be yourself

Unless your boss doesn’t like who you are. Then be someone else.

Image credit: Whisper

10. Above all, be on time

Zero tolerance. No exceptions. Not even for comas. Ouch.

Image credit: Whisper

11. Do your best!

As long as your best isn’t better than your boss’s best.

Image credit: Whisper

So many of these are just too much for me to even comprehend.

You have to wonder how a lot of them are legal.

What do you think? Do you have any crazy stories about getting fired? Tell us in the comments.

The post Off-the-Wall Reasons People Were Fired from Their Jobs appeared first on UberFacts.

This is How Lava Lamps Are Protecting You from Hackers

Everyone worries about data encryption and cybersecurity. I’m certainly no stranger to the concept.

I think my credit card has now been skimmed 3 times in 2 years, but 2020 was 5 years long, so I may have lost count.

That’s where cybersecurity companies like San Francisco based Cloudflare come in, bringing a very unique perspective to data encryption.

As Atlas Obscura reports:

Cloudflare covers about 10 percent of international web traffic, including the websites for Uber, OKCupid, or FitBit.

I’m betting most readers have used at least 2 out of 3 of these sites at some point.

So it’s fascinating to learn that Cloudflare has a pretty unique method for generating random encryption code to protect those sites: a wall of lava lamps.

Posted by Cloudflare on Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Yes, you read that right.

The wall features over 100 lava lamps, spanning a variety of colors, and its random patterns deter hackers from accessing data.

It feels like the most hipster thing ever, but we all know the feeling of zoning out in front of a randomly swirling blob of light and color, right?

Well it turns out:

As the lava lamps bubble and swirl, a video camera on the ceiling monitors their unpredictable changes and connects the footage to a computer, which converts the randomness into a virtually unhackable code.

Posted by Cloudflare on Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Who knew that kind of magic was even possible?

Someone smarter than me, that’s who.

Cloudflare might have taken it to a whole new level, but they didn’t actually invent the “LavaRand” concept, which was patented for a few years by another company in the ’90s.

As Cloudflare explains on their blog:

In cryptography, the term random means unpredictable. That is, a process for generating random bits is secure if an attacker is unable to predict the next bit with greater than 50% accuracy (in other words, no better than random chance).

True randomness, they explain, only exists in the natural, physical world. Most encryption companies rely on pseudorandomness, or the generation of random data.

Pseudorandomness is generated through the use of a deterministic algorithm that takes as input some other random value called a seed and produces a larger amount of random output (these algorithms are called cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generators, or CSPRNGs)

The lava lamp system, it seems, may be a little bit of both, which is kind of mind boggling all on its own.

They’ve withstood the test of academic analysis, years of being used in production, attacks by resourced adversaries, and so on.

Be sure to check out this video from Tom Scott about the lamps:

And if you ever find yourself in the Bay Area, you can go see the futuristic cybersecurity in action for yourself.

Since any kind of external disturbance affects the lamps, increasing the randomness of their patterns, the company has no problem with visitors coming to gawk.

Simply enter the lobby of Cloudflare’s San Francisco headquarters and ask to see the lava lamp display.

I definitely want to check that out.

Did this story blow your mind as much as it did mine? Let us know in the comments!

The post This is How Lava Lamps Are Protecting You from Hackers appeared first on UberFacts.

This is How Lava Lamps Are Protecting You from Hackers

Everyone worries about data encryption and cybersecurity. I’m certainly no stranger to the concept.

I think my credit card has now been skimmed 3 times in 2 years, but 2020 was 5 years long, so I may have lost count.

That’s where cybersecurity companies like San Francisco based Cloudflare come in, bringing a very unique perspective to data encryption.

As Atlas Obscura reports:

Cloudflare covers about 10 percent of international web traffic, including the websites for Uber, OKCupid, or FitBit.

I’m betting most readers have used at least 2 out of 3 of these sites at some point.

So it’s fascinating to learn that Cloudflare has a pretty unique method for generating random encryption code to protect those sites: a wall of lava lamps.

Posted by Cloudflare on Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Yes, you read that right.

The wall features over 100 lava lamps, spanning a variety of colors, and its random patterns deter hackers from accessing data.

It feels like the most hipster thing ever, but we all know the feeling of zoning out in front of a randomly swirling blob of light and color, right?

Well it turns out:

As the lava lamps bubble and swirl, a video camera on the ceiling monitors their unpredictable changes and connects the footage to a computer, which converts the randomness into a virtually unhackable code.

Posted by Cloudflare on Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Who knew that kind of magic was even possible?

Someone smarter than me, that’s who.

Cloudflare might have taken it to a whole new level, but they didn’t actually invent the “LavaRand” concept, which was patented for a few years by another company in the ’90s.

As Cloudflare explains on their blog:

In cryptography, the term random means unpredictable. That is, a process for generating random bits is secure if an attacker is unable to predict the next bit with greater than 50% accuracy (in other words, no better than random chance).

True randomness, they explain, only exists in the natural, physical world. Most encryption companies rely on pseudorandomness, or the generation of random data.

Pseudorandomness is generated through the use of a deterministic algorithm that takes as input some other random value called a seed and produces a larger amount of random output (these algorithms are called cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generators, or CSPRNGs)

The lava lamp system, it seems, may be a little bit of both, which is kind of mind boggling all on its own.

They’ve withstood the test of academic analysis, years of being used in production, attacks by resourced adversaries, and so on.

Be sure to check out this video from Tom Scott about the lamps:

And if you ever find yourself in the Bay Area, you can go see the futuristic cybersecurity in action for yourself.

Since any kind of external disturbance affects the lamps, increasing the randomness of their patterns, the company has no problem with visitors coming to gawk.

Simply enter the lobby of Cloudflare’s San Francisco headquarters and ask to see the lava lamp display.

I definitely want to check that out.

Did this story blow your mind as much as it did mine? Let us know in the comments!

The post This is How Lava Lamps Are Protecting You from Hackers appeared first on UberFacts.

13 Ridiculous Reasons People Lost Their Jobs

Losing your job sucks. It can mess with your head and your self confidence.

Getting fired brings so any new worries, at a time when you don’t have the headspace to deal with them.

But it’s even worse, when you’ve already got a lot going on.

1. How long is too long though?

Are we talking days? Hours?

A good boss might have suggested a nice fiber supplement.

Image credit: Whisper

2. I’m sensing a theme

Why are employers so obsessed with potty breaks?

What do they think you’re doing in there?

Image caption: Whisper

3. They were afraid she’d spend all day crying in the bathroom?

This one is so heartless I don’t even know what to say.

Image caption: Whisper

4. Don’t they know there’s a movie about this?

They were afraid she’d stay after hours to make amazing new flavors of pie.

Image credit: Whisper

5. What a headache

Whether or not it’s wrongful termination, you gotta hope karma gets them in the end.

Image credit: Whisper

6. I guess that’s one way to avoid a lawsuit?

Or to get out of paying short term disability?

Image credit: Whisper

7. It’s called the Emergency Room for a reason, guys

It’s nice to actually see one where the good guy wins.

Image credit: Whisper

8. I guess their boss wasn’t a family man

Anti-family, even. Just wow.

Image credit: Whisper

9. There’s a special place in hell for this employer

I mean, what exactly is a “good excuse” if not this?

Image credit: Whisper

10. Pretty sure working there would give me a panic attack

That guy can join the other one in The Bad Place.

Image credit: Whisper

11. Do they think it’s a gourmet celery restaurant?

No, really, do they?

Image credit: Whisper

12. If they didn’t immediately get their job back then this one wins them all

I mean, you can get a doctor’s note for that right?

Image credit: Whisper

13. I feel like there’s got to be a better way to say it

Somehow I’m in awe of both the worker and the boss.

Image credit: Whisper

I don’t think I’ve ever heard such awful reasons–beyond the workers’ control–for being let go from a job.

What about you? Share your story in the comments.

The post 13 Ridiculous Reasons People Lost Their Jobs appeared first on UberFacts.

13 Ridiculous Reasons People Lost Their Jobs

Losing your job sucks. It can mess with your head and your self confidence.

Getting fired brings so any new worries, at a time when you don’t have the headspace to deal with them.

But it’s even worse, when you’ve already got a lot going on.

1. How long is too long though?

Are we talking days? Hours?

A good boss might have suggested a nice fiber supplement.

Image credit: Whisper

2. I’m sensing a theme

Why are employers so obsessed with potty breaks?

What do they think you’re doing in there?

Image caption: Whisper

3. They were afraid she’d spend all day crying in the bathroom?

This one is so heartless I don’t even know what to say.

Image caption: Whisper

4. Don’t they know there’s a movie about this?

They were afraid she’d stay after hours to make amazing new flavors of pie.

Image credit: Whisper

5. What a headache

Whether or not it’s wrongful termination, you gotta hope karma gets them in the end.

Image credit: Whisper

6. I guess that’s one way to avoid a lawsuit?

Or to get out of paying short term disability?

Image credit: Whisper

7. It’s called the Emergency Room for a reason, guys

It’s nice to actually see one where the good guy wins.

Image credit: Whisper

8. I guess their boss wasn’t a family man

Anti-family, even. Just wow.

Image credit: Whisper

9. There’s a special place in hell for this employer

I mean, what exactly is a “good excuse” if not this?

Image credit: Whisper

10. Pretty sure working there would give me a panic attack

That guy can join the other one in The Bad Place.

Image credit: Whisper

11. Do they think it’s a gourmet celery restaurant?

No, really, do they?

Image credit: Whisper

12. If they didn’t immediately get their job back then this one wins them all

I mean, you can get a doctor’s note for that right?

Image credit: Whisper

13. I feel like there’s got to be a better way to say it

Somehow I’m in awe of both the worker and the boss.

Image credit: Whisper

I don’t think I’ve ever heard such awful reasons–beyond the workers’ control–for being let go from a job.

What about you? Share your story in the comments.

The post 13 Ridiculous Reasons People Lost Their Jobs appeared first on UberFacts.