Category: World Culture

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LGBTQ Folks Share Their ‘Gayest’ Childhood Photos

We’re hearing a lot more coming out stories lately with happy endings – stories about parents loving and accepting their children for who they are no matter what, and wanting nothing more than for them to be happy in the life that they’re leading.

Which means we’re also getting some amazing pictures of these LGBTQ people in their childhood. These moments, captured forever on film, are likely why their parents weren’t all that shocked at the coming out – they’d literally had years to rehearse their responses.

The images were originally submitted to a blog called Born This Way that provides a community for LGBTQ people as they talk about what it was like growing up gay or queer.

#18. “Back when I wanted to be a ‘fixer’ and my wardrobe consisted mainly of cargo pants and dragon T-shirts. I’m currently sitting here in basketball shorts and a Spiderman T-shirt, so I really shouldn’t judge younger me’s fashion sense. I think exactly no one was surprised when I came out.”

Photo Credit: StarBurned

#17. “Think this about sums it up…”

Photo Credit: brandonm28

#16. “Walking and already fabulous.”

Photo Credit: Chris

#15. “1992: I used to build shelves with my dad, but only while wearing my Mickey construction shirt and with stamps on my arms to represent tattoos. Grew up to be very gay.”

Photo Credit: Britt

#14. “My Halloween costume when I was in fifth grade! I wanted to be a girl that year so bad. I was 10… and somehow my family didn’t catch on! Lol.”

Photo Credit: e4fd78b80d

#13. “I’m the sassy lion in the front.”

Photo Credit: akenigsberg

#12. “When I was a little boy, I was allowed to play with dolls. After I came out to my family I asked my mom why she let me and she simply said ‘You wanted them so bad and I wanted to make you happy.’ Clearly from my face you can tell I was happy.”

Photo Credit: jonathanm416a87015

#11. “Here’s my baby lesbian picture circa 1999. I was really hoping my parents would use this as a headshot, I still don’t know why they didn’t.”

Photo Credit: strobertson9

#10. “Me: I’m gay. / Parents: What? No you’re not.”

Photo Credit: justinbreton

#9. “I would vacuum the carpet while wearing this. And I called myself Jeanette. #DragQueenAspirations

Photo Credit: adamlewis

#8. “Me around 4 or 5, dancing to Whitney Houston’s ‘Queen of the Night.’ I still love that song.”

Photo Credit: smeredith89

#7. “What can I say? I have a flair for the dramatics.”

Photo Credit: ANDY

#6. “I brokebacked before Brokeback.”

Photo Credit: ivancommajoseph

#5. “I look so fucking stoked. Transguy who still now wears a leather jacket and killer glasses.”

Photo Credit: ollieow

#4. “I don’t quite remember why I did this, but I mean…I wasn’t mad, check out that smile.”

Photo Credit: marshallamplify

#3. “I’ve always wondered why my parents thought I was gay. Now I know why…”

Photo Credit: tylerl422d13561

#2. “Came across this picture a couple years ago and couldn’t quite believe it. I’ll let it speak for itself. #babybutch”

Photo Credit: maddief4413102cd

#1. “Very embarrassed I wasn’t wearing Andrew Christian briefs.”

Photo Credit: Jon-Michael Poff

h/t: Buzzfeed

Check these out before you go!

7 Strange Facts About What Intimacy Was Like in Revolutionary America

20 Foods from Your Childhood That You Will Never Taste Again

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A “Harry Potter” Beer Festival Might Be Coming to Your City

Have you been to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Florida? If so, then you know exactly how delicious butterbeer is in real life.

It’s like…cream soda but buttery and frothy and just an all-around delight. Get a load of this…

Adding alcohol seems like it would be the cherry on the butterbeer cake, and if you agree, you’re going to want to check out one of these Harry Potter inspired beer festivals when they wander close to your hometown.

Posted by Eventbrite for Organizers on Monday, May 20, 2019

The event is being organized by Rock Star Beer Festivals, and, according to the website, everyone who pays the toll will get access to samples of 20+ beers – including that adult butterbeer that is sure to knock your socks off.

Another option will be Snape’s Lair of Secret Cider Potions, which they claim is a cider, but I don’t know…Snape’s name is attached, so it could be polyjuice potion or something.

Make sure there aren’t any cats in the immediate area, is all I’m saying.

The venues will be “transformed into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter” for the event, with guests being transported to the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, and the Leaky Cauldron for the price of just $40 or $45 a ticket on Eventbrite.

You’ll also meet performers dressed as Hagrid and be able to dance the night away to the sweet sounds of the Sorceress Sisters and DJ Dumbledore, so it sounds like a magical event worthy of the Harry Potter name.

If you live in or near Fresno, CA (June 21), New Orleans (June 29), Philadelphia (July 13), or Boston (July 20), well…the rest of us are super jealous!

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Posted on

A “Harry Potter” Beer Festival Might Be Coming to Your City

Have you been to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Florida? If so, then you know exactly how delicious butterbeer is in real life.

It’s like…cream soda but buttery and frothy and just an all-around delight. Get a load of this…

Adding alcohol seems like it would be the cherry on the butterbeer cake, and if you agree, you’re going to want to check out one of these Harry Potter inspired beer festivals when they wander close to your hometown.

Posted by Eventbrite for Organizers on Monday, May 20, 2019

The event is being organized by Rock Star Beer Festivals, and, according to the website, everyone who pays the toll will get access to samples of 20+ beers – including that adult butterbeer that is sure to knock your socks off.

Another option will be Snape’s Lair of Secret Cider Potions, which they claim is a cider, but I don’t know…Snape’s name is attached, so it could be polyjuice potion or something.

Make sure there aren’t any cats in the immediate area, is all I’m saying.

The venues will be “transformed into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter” for the event, with guests being transported to the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, and the Leaky Cauldron for the price of just $40 or $45 a ticket on Eventbrite.

You’ll also meet performers dressed as Hagrid and be able to dance the night away to the sweet sounds of the Sorceress Sisters and DJ Dumbledore, so it sounds like a magical event worthy of the Harry Potter name.

If you live in or near Fresno, CA (June 21), New Orleans (June 29), Philadelphia (July 13), or Boston (July 20), well…the rest of us are super jealous!

The post A “Harry Potter” Beer Festival Might Be Coming to Your City appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Road Trip Expert Plotted Your Perfect Path Through Every National Park in the (Continental) US

Randy Olson is a road trip mastermind, and he’s back with the ultimate road trip through all 47 national parks located in the lower 48 United States. National parks are restricted from development for the preservation or conservation of important land and/or animals, and have been set aside in the States since President Ulysses S. Grant granted Yellowstone the status on March 1, 1872.

The map is an ideal route that leaves out the 12 national parks in Alaska, Hawaii, and other U.S. territories (cause including them it becomes less of a road trip). As with his other maps Olson created this one by plugging the destinations into the Gurobi TSP solver. TSP – the Traveling Salesman Problem – calculates the shortest route between cities while making a loop that has you ending up back where you started.

Image Credit: Randall Olson

He used it to create the ultimate road trip across America, the optimal strategy for finding Waldo (lol), and the ultimate Euro-trip that hits major European monuments.

For this one, Olson suggests setting aside at least 2 months to enjoy the 14,500 miles of driving and all of the sites along the way. Since the route goes in a circle, you can begin at any point you want and find your way back home.

If you’re a national parks enthusiast, you’re going to geek out from the Cascades all the way to the Dry Tortugas, and, for bonus material, the site also points out stops for hundreds of monuments, battlefields, and historic sites you’ll want to check out along the way.

Check out the “Optimal U.S. National Parks Centennial Road Trip” map if this sounds like something calling your name, and make sure to Instagram your trip – I want to see it!

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A Road Trip Expert Plotted Your Perfect Path Through Every National Park in the (Continental) US

Randy Olson is a road trip mastermind, and he’s back with the ultimate road trip through all 47 national parks located in the lower 48 United States. National parks are restricted from development for the preservation or conservation of important land and/or animals, and have been set aside in the States since President Ulysses S. Grant granted Yellowstone the status on March 1, 1872.

The map is an ideal route that leaves out the 12 national parks in Alaska, Hawaii, and other U.S. territories (cause including them it becomes less of a road trip). As with his other maps Olson created this one by plugging the destinations into the Gurobi TSP solver. TSP – the Traveling Salesman Problem – calculates the shortest route between cities while making a loop that has you ending up back where you started.

Image Credit: Randall Olson

He used it to create the ultimate road trip across America, the optimal strategy for finding Waldo (lol), and the ultimate Euro-trip that hits major European monuments.

For this one, Olson suggests setting aside at least 2 months to enjoy the 14,500 miles of driving and all of the sites along the way. Since the route goes in a circle, you can begin at any point you want and find your way back home.

If you’re a national parks enthusiast, you’re going to geek out from the Cascades all the way to the Dry Tortugas, and, for bonus material, the site also points out stops for hundreds of monuments, battlefields, and historic sites you’ll want to check out along the way.

Check out the “Optimal U.S. National Parks Centennial Road Trip” map if this sounds like something calling your name, and make sure to Instagram your trip – I want to see it!

The post A Road Trip Expert Plotted Your Perfect Path Through Every National Park in the (Continental) US appeared first on UberFacts.

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An Artist Painted This Bridge to Look like LEGO Bricks

As a kid, did you ever think using giant LEGO bricks to build houses and stuff would be cool? Well, people driving through the Wuppertal, Germany, are living the dream.

Sort of.

A few years ago, the city commissioned German street artist Martin Heuwold of MegX to turn one of its concrete (and thus dull) overpasses into a work of art. And what he did was a stroke of genius – he transformed the train overpass to look like it’s been made out of giant, colorful LEGO pieces.

The city did have to cordon off the overpass from traffic while MegX worked, but just imagine everyone’s surprise when after the barriers came down, and they could drive under a bridge of LEGOs!

To be clear, though the result looks like mega pieces of LEGO, but is actually entirely paint.

The idea came from his two daughters, who loved playing with LEGOs. He approached The LEGO Group for permission (copyright is so pesky), which, of course, they gave gladly. Then, for the next few weeks, he and his crew painted and shaded the 2,700 square-foot bridge to create the incredibly realistic display.

It’s called the Lego-Brücke, which means Lego Bridge. In 2012, the structure was awarded the Deutscher Fassadenpreis Advancement Prize.

To see all the images of the Lego Bridge, both completed and while in progress, visit the artist on his Instagram page. He has all sorts of wild and colorful projects there to check out.

Seems as if MegX is on a mission to take the dull and utilitarian and transform it into something mega-delightful.

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A Straight “Country Boy” from Oklahoma Decorated His Truck for Pride Month, and It’ll Put a Smile on Your Face

One of the great thing about Pride Month is that we get to hear about moving stories from unlikely people and places. A recent story is a wonderful example of this, and it comes to us from the state of Oklahoma.

Cody Barlow describes himself as a “country boy,” and he has friends and family in the LGBTQ community and doesn’t care who knows it.

Posted by Cody Barlow on Thursday, June 6, 2019

Barlow wanted to show his support for Pride Month, and he did it in a fabulous way – especially considering the fact that he lives in a small town in Oklahoma, which is maybe not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Gay Pride Month.

Take a look at how Barlow showed his support.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Cody Barlow

Barlow’s Facebook post with that great photo of his truck says:

“Found a way to show my support for pride month.

I simply bought rolls of brightly colored duct tape and ran them across my tailgate in the design of the pride flag, and added some mailbox letters.

This is important to me, not only because I have family and friends that are LGBTQ+, but also because countless people have dealt with hatred and judgement simply for who they are, and/or who they love, for far too long. Obviously doing this isn’t going to change the minds of those who are intolerant, but hopefully it can help drown out the hatred with love.

I live in a rural area in Oklahoma, surrounded by small towns in every direction, and I’m sure this is not a very welcome message around here, but this is going to be displayed on my truck for the entire month of June in support of pride month.

I don’t think it is necessary to say, but for all intents and purposes I am a straight man that grew up here in Oklahoma. I love taking my truck mudding, going fishing, swimming at the lake, floating the river, and several other “country” activities.

It doesn’t matter what negativity I receive for supporting this. I hope that this can help even the slightest bit to encourage and support at least one person that needs it.

I hope everyone finds their inner strength to finally live life loud and proud without regard for the negativity of ignorant people.

Happy pride month!”

People who’ve never met Barlow commented on his post and told him how much it meant to them.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Barlow said there have been some negative comments online, but “it’s worth all of the negativity if it helps even just one person.”

As of this writing, Barlow’s post has been shared over 80,000 times on Facebook. Great work, Cody! We need more people out there like this young man.

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Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Released the First Picture of Baby Archie

It’s the moment millions of people all around the world have been looking forward to with excitement. Nothing gets certain people more riled up than the personal lives of the British Royal Family, and this is a big moment for them.

On Mother’s Day, shortly after Archie was born, the couple released a cute photo of the little guy’s feet, but since then everyone’s been patiently waiting for more than a month to catch a glimpse of the baby’s face.

As a nice tribute in the Mother’s Day photo, Princess Diana’s favorite flowers, forget-me-nots, are seen in the background.

Archie was born over a month ago on May 6, 2019, and waiting for the official reveal has been excruciating for some folks.

Well, wait no more, because…here’s Archie!

At least, here’s most of his face. And, fittingly, the couple released the photo on Father’s Day, and it shows Archie cradled in Harry’s arms.

The baby’s full name is…wait for it…Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Sounds pretty royal to me. The little guy is seventh in the line of succession to the British throne.

You know that without a doubt we’ll get to see this child grow up in the spotlight. Royal Baby Fever!

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20 Times Canadians Completely Roasted America

Canadian folks really like stickin’ it to the USA, eh? But they’re also pretty on point, and they’re not at all soh-rry aboot it. Get it?

Nor should they be. Even Americans have to admit, these are pretty dern funny.

Enjoy these burns from our neighbors to the North.

 

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Photo Credit: Tumblr

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, prokopetz

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, thedailylaughs

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, invaderperidot

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Photo Credit: Tumblr

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, mendingsmiles

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, hetaliaddiction

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, focused-above

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Photo Credit: Twitter, anne_theriault

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, anewgayoflife

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, yoprinceass

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, youdbeagooddalek

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Photo Credit: Tumblr, loomn

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Ooooooh BURN!

Uhh…wait… I mean.. BRRRRRRRN!

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Scientists May Have Found a Link Between Eating Beef Jerky and Manic Behavior

It’s a sad, sad day for me and m fellow lovers of cured beef products.

NBC News has reported that processed meats that contain nitrates (like jerky, cold cuts, hot dogs, etc.) may provoke symptoms of mental illness – specifically, mania.

The claim comes after a study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that a significant number of participants began exhibiting symptoms of mania – like racing thoughts, intense euphoria, and irritability – shortly after eating some type of cured meat.

In fact, patients who had recently consumed products like salami, jerky, and dried meat sticks were more likely to have been or be hospitalized for mania than subjects in the control group.

Scientists narrowed the link down to the nitrates, which are preservatives added to many cured meats. People who were fed nitrate-free jerky acted less hyperactive than those who were given the nitrate-rich sticks.

That nitrates may not be exactly harmless to humans isn’t news – you can find numerous studies that contain warnings and show multiple risks associated with consuming them regularly. They don’t just make you hyper, either. They can lead to the formation of cancers and promote inflammation in the gut, though most scientists will admit that more research needs to be done in order to pin down exactly how and why consuming them has such negative outcomes for many people.

In the meantime, if you have a history of cancer in your family, a history of poor mental health, or have existing psychiatric or gut disorders, you might do well to avoid nitrates – and all process meats containing them – until the research is in.

I can tell you I plan to (continue) doing so, though saying no to hotdogs at the ballgame is gonna be tough.

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