This Country Is Now Taxing Social Media Use and People Are Very Angry

Imagine having to pay a daily tax to use social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Well, that’s exactly what is happening now in the country of Uganda because it’s the law.

Photo Credit: Global Voices

In May 2018, the government of Uganda passed the new tax law that forces citizens to pay roughly the equivalent of 5 cents U.S. to use social media.

Photo Credit: Twitter

People were shocked that the law was real and expressed their displeasure on, you guessed it, Twitter.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Twitter

Many in Uganda believe the tax is meant to control young people and to stop the spread of ideas through social media. And Ugandans are worried about how it will affect the economy.

Photo Credit: Twitter

But the people are fighting back.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Amnesty International’s director for East Africa said, “It is not the place of the Ugandan authorities to determine what discussions taking place on social media platforms are useful. Rather, it is their responsibility to uphold and nurture unfettered enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression, both online and offline. Social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp have opened up cheaper avenues of communication and information sharing in Uganda. By making people pay for using these platforms, this tax will render these avenues of communication inaccessible for low-income earners, robbing many people of their right to freedom of expression, with a chilling effect on other human rights.”

“This is a clear attempt to silence dissent, in the guise of raising government revenues.”

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July 23, 2018

What’s the Difference Between England, Britain, and the U.K.?

This is a question I hear people talking about all the time. If you don’t live there, it can be confusing…What’s the difference between England, Britain, and the U.K.?

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Let’s start with the countries. The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All of these are separate countries that fall under the U.K. umbrella and have some autonomy. A lot of people (at least ones I’ve talked to) make the mistake of thinking the Republic of Ireland is part of the U.K., but it is its own sovereign country.

Photo Credit: InfoPlease

Great Britain is actually the largest island in the British Isles (which also includes the island of Ireland and 186 other inhabited islands).

Photo Credit: Project Britain

The term “British” can cause some confusion for people. It can refer to the U.K. as a whole, the island of Great Britain, or to the current and former British colonies, such as Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

So as you can see, as long as you do a little research, you won’t sound like a dummy next time you have to speak to someone from that part of the world!

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July 23, 2018

Activists Get Around Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws in a Very Clever Way

With the World Cup in Russia this summer, people from all over the world flocked there to support their countries and travel. And that means people from all backgrounds. One thing about Russia: it’s illegal to fly the rainbow pride flag there. But some very clever activists found a way to fly the pride flag all over Moscow.

Photo Credit: The Hidden Flag

The protestors wore soccer jerseys from different countries and posed to recreate the pride flag.

Photo Credit: The Hidden Flag

People on Twitter loved the work done by the group.

Photo Credit: Twitter

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July 20, 2018

These 8 Popular Genetic Traits Prove We All Have More in Common Than You Thought

When you take a long, hard look at humanity, there’s no denying that at our most basic, genetic level we’re all inbred. Maybe not to the point where our kids turn blue, but still – we have way more things in common than than not.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In fact, if you are a human being, you more than likely have every single one of these super common, dominant genes.

If you are not a human being, please know that we come in peace.

#8. Your Eyes Are Brown

55% of the world has brown eyes, which means more people are brown-eyed than all of the other colors combined. Take that!

Photo Credit: NBC

#7. You’re Right-Handed

70-90% of people have a dominant right hand (it used to be more when people forced children to be right-handed, despite preference!).

Photo Credit: Pixabay

#6. Look At Those Broad Eyebrows

Don’t feel bad if you have to pluck to get thin, arched brows – thick and bushy is the dominant trait, but the unibrow is not.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

#5. You Have Dark Hair

More than 50% of people in the United States sport natural dark locks, but there are cultures around the world where that percentage is 98% or higher.

Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures

#4. Your Left Thumb Automatically Crosses Over Your Right

Well over half of the world’s population display this random genetic predisposition.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

#3. Your Eyelashes Are So Long

The cosmetics companies would have you believe that you need that mascara and the falsies, but in reality, long lashes are a dominant trait enjoyed by the majority of the population.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

#2. You’ve Got A Round Face

In a world of squares or rounds, you’re most likely the latter.

Photo Credit: MGM

#1. Your Earlobe Hangs Free

No definitive study exists, but estimates are that this dominant gene exists in about 2/3 of the world’s population.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Did you just touch your earlobe? I bet you did…

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July 20, 2018

You Probably Didn’t Know These 7 Facts About ¡Mexico!

If you’ve ever visited Mexico, then you know how much wonderful culture you can find there. And if you haven’t, then you might be interested to learn a little more about the country.

Check out these cool facts about our neighbor to the south!

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July 20, 2018

Employee Misses Work While Her Son Was on Life Support and Boss Tries to Fire Her

A story went viral recently and for good reason. In fact, the story grew so quickly because it’s completely insane. After a woman named Crystal Reynolds Fisher shared her encounter with her boss at a gas station in Michigan, people were shocked at how heartless her manager was. You can file this story under: Heartless Humans.

Here’s what happened: Fisher’s son is on life support, and she informed her boss she wouldn’t be coming into work – like any person would in that circumstance. Take a look at the text exchange.

Photo Credit: Facebook

And then, with an inordinate amount of audacity, her boss said she would be at work if her own child was on life support.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Pretty unbelievable. After the story went viral, PS Food Mart, the gas station where Fisher works, came out with a statement about the situation.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Ms. Fisher still has a job and the manager was shown the door (for good reason). It’s nice to see the bigwigs at the company stepped in and did the right thing.

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July 20, 2018

Seattle Becomes the First U.S. City to Ban Plastic Straws

I have a feeling a lot of other cities (and possibly countries) are going to get on board this train sooner or later. And in the end, it will be better for all of us. Seattle, Washington became the first American city to altogether ban plastic straws on July 1, 2018.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Seattle banned plastic utensils as well on July 1. The plastic straw ban can result in a $250 fine to restaurants. The disastrous effects of plastic straws on our environment have been well documented as of late, and this can only be seen as a step in the right direction.

Photo Credit: Upslash,@jontyson

Customers will still be able to request compostable plastic or paper straws, but both of those items still pose environmental problems. Let’s see how many other U.S. cities follow suit.

Photo Credit: iStock

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July 19, 2018

Monkeys in Panama Have Just Entered the Stone Age

Researchers have observed a small group of white-faced capuchin monkeys off the coast of Panama using stone tools to break nuts and shellfish. That’s right: a group of capuchin monkeys have entered the Stone Age.

Photo Credit: YouTube

These are the fourth group of primates to use stone tools after humans. It was reported all the way back in 2004 that monkeys on the island were using stone tools. In 2017, researchers placed cameras on Jicarón Island to try to capture the act on camera, which they eventually did.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Researchers saw the group of male monkeys using tools to break coconuts, snails, and crabs. For some reason, the same behavior has not spread to other groups of monkeys or other islands off Panama’s coast. The researchers think that the monkeys’ behavior may be by chance and isn’t necessarily the expected trajectory. The other three primate groups that have already entered the Stone Age are a group of capuchins in South America, macaques in Thailand, and chimpanzees in West Africa.

Watch the video below to see the monkeys in action.

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July 19, 2018

Here’s Why Americans Call It ‘Soccer’ When Everyone Else Calls It ‘Football’

For a few weeks every four years, the World Cup seems to completely take over the world. Whether or not you keep up with it, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that Americans say ‘soccer’ and almost everyone else on the planet uses the term ‘football.’ So what gives? Well, it’s time for a history lesson.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Premier League

What we in the U.S. call soccer has been played in England since the Middle Ages. It started out as a game for the common folks, but in the early 1800s young men at the country’s most privileged schools started partaking in the sport. The rules of ‘football’ were standardized by the Football Association in 1863.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Different sports began to splinter off from traditional English football, including rugby, and it became known widely as association football. The nickname for the sport was now assoccer, which, after a while, was shortened to soccer. Meanwhile, also in the late 1860s, American football was established at the college level, but in other parts of the world it was known as gridiron football or American football. Confused yet?

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Over in England, they dropped the “association” that preceded “football” and just made it football. So there were now two completely different sports on opposite sides of the Atlantic called football. To deal with the confusion, people in the U.S. started calling English football by its old nickname, soccer. And those are the terms we still use today.

Today, the term soccer is used in the countries that have their own versions of football: America, Canada, and Australia. Now get back to watching the World Cup!