'Plane drama' has become the centre of attention in recent months since Tiffany Gomas was harshly branded the 'crazy plane lady' following her outburst on an American Airlines flight. In July, the marketing executive became an internet sensation for claiming "that motherf**ker back there is not real," while pointing towards her seat. The footage went on to birth TikTok trends, merch and conspiracies. Gomas has since apologised for the incident and her "use of profanity," and shared plans to raise awareness on "mental health and standing up against cyberbullying" going forward. Her outburst was later followed by a British boxer who made headlines for trying to get off the plane mid-flight. Then, a third encounter saw influencer and former Bad Girls Club star Morgan Osman go viral for telling a fellow passenger, "Film me, I’m Instagram famous, you f**king bum." Well now, a safety representative for the Federal Aviation Administration has urged people to not record such incidents on flights, as it may create more harm than good. "If someone's got a cellphone in your face, it could make the situation worse," Trey Walters told Insider. "If a flight attendant, for example, is trying to attend to a passenger that's having an issue, having people reaching their hands out in front of that person's face, trying to record the situation definitely creates added risk." The former pilot went on to suggest that attempts to get footage could distract flight attendants from calming down situations. Walters also emphasised it is always "inappropriate" to film passengers with medical conditions, including the recent "biohazard issue" from a passenger who "had diarrhoea all the way through." Some X/Twitter users have said that while the story was initially funny, it could be seen as ridiculing someone for being ill. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A group of Gen-Zers have managed to fool over 100 fine diners by creating a highly exclusive steakhouse that doesn't actually exist. On Saturday evening 140 diners were invited to Mehran's Steakhouse, thinking they had finally managed to get a spot at the most exclusive restaurant in Manhattan. In reality, it was an elaborate prank pulled off by a 21-year-old, and over 60 of his friends. Mehran's Steakhouse was a joke created in 2021, when Mehran Jahali's 16 housemates decided to commemorate the biweekly steak dinners he'd cook them by marking their Upper East Side Home as Mehran's Steakhouse on Google Maps. His friends and roommates left glowing reviews, resulting intrigued strangers showing up at their door trying to get a table. Taking it one step further, Mehran made a website for their solidly booked, "revolutionary steak experience". By the end of 2022 Mehran's Steakhouse had accumulated a 2,600-person waitlist. Mehran eventually decided to make the steakhouse a reality, recruiting friends to be volunteer staff, choosing a public-bathhouse-turned-event-space for the night, getting a one-day liquor license, food handling permits, and a 212 number to invite select wait listers to a one night dining experience at the restaurant's 'Lower East Side location'. Whilst it was not immediately obvious that the restaurant was in fact one big joke, guests began to notice something was off as the night went on. From the sommelier being unable to open bottles of wine, to the venue being surrounded by photos of Mehran with celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK. As part of the elaborate act, two waiters paraded around a gallon of whole milk, telling diners it was "intended to represent the bovine life cycle", according to New York Post reporter Hannah Frishberg. There was also a staged crowd outside the restaurant screaming for Drake, as well as a fake proposal. When diners got wind that the restaurant was not what it seemed many were amused, although one couple threatened Mehran with legal action after founding out Merhan's Steakhouse was "fake." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

People think a “Scandivanivan sleep method” might hold the key to a successful marriage after trying it out. No matter how much you love someone, sleeping in a bed next to them has the ability to be rage-inducing if they have a tendency to steal most of the duvet for themselves. Now, a phenomenon popular in Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, is offering up a solution as couples sleep with two twin-sized duvets rather than one large one. The sleeping method is sweeping social media and has seen many hailing themselves as new fans of the system TikToker Erica Stolman Dowdy has gone viral on the platform, suggesting that it “could save marriages”. In the video, she explained she and her husband love visiting Copenhagen and she wanted to give their own home a Scandinavian-inspired makeover. This included getting two twin duvets, as Stolman Dowdy explained: “In Copenhagen, not once have I slept with one duvet. It is always two twins and we sleep so good. “No one’s fighting over blankets. Nobody’s too hot or too cold. It’s absolutely amazing.” @ericastolmandowdy the Scandinavian sleep method is an absolute game changer. 10/10 recommend ☁️ #scandinaviansleepmethod #danishdesign #danishinterior She continued: “This is just absolutely the comfiest way to sleep. I 10 out of 10 recommend it. It could save marriages.” In the comments, someone wrote: “Not me realizing I sleep with the Copenhagen method already and my husband and I LOVE it.” Someone else said: “Once you sleep with two comforters…you will NEVER go back to only one!!!” “Ohhh that’s such a great idea!” another person wrote. One TikToker wrote: “Legit started doing this last year and it is a GAME CHANGER. No more ‘empty space’ of cold air creeping in the middle of the bed.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An influencer was left in tears after her offer to pay for someone’s food shopping was rejected on camera. TikToker Amelia Goldsmith wanted to do a good deed and filmed herself in a supermarket approaching shoppers and offering to pay for their groceries to “cheer someone up”. But, things did not turn out as she had expected after she was shut down by multiple customers. Goldsmith was in a branch of Sainsbury’s when the incident occurred. In a TikTok video, she could be seen approaching a shopper with the offer. The man told her: “No, no, no. I really don't need it.” Another woman told her, “There's a lot more deserving people in the world but thank you,” adding, “I feel too guilty for taking it.” Instead, Goldsmith resorted to buying some dried pasta, rice and sauces and putting them in the store's food bank collection. Tearfully speaking to the camera, she said: “That was stressful, guys. That was really stressful.” @millyg_fit in hindsight i can see why people can react differently to this, but my intentions were purely to brighten up someones day? i’m still super happy with what I ended up doing and i’ll do more of it for sure #storytime #vlog #makesomeonesday #foodshop She continued: “I was expecting the first person to be, like, overjoyed and grateful and happy for me to pay for their shopping, but obviously that didn't go down well. “He was a little bit angry. I was a little bit taken aback and then - I'm gonna cry, to be honest - the second person, she just sort of looked at me like I was some absolute idiot weirdo.” She went on, explaining that it was a “challenge” for her to approach people because she finds social situations “really quite hard”. In the comments, other TikTokers suggested that next time she should try it in a different supermarket. Someone argued: “You need to go to a cheaper supermarket like Aldi or Lidl. People who shop in Sainsbury’s can afford it.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A man has gone viral on X/Twitter after detailing his harrowing journey from London to Edinburgh after his train was cancelled halfway into the trip. Stand-up comedian James Nokise revealed in a thread how his nightmare trip to Scotland went from bad to worse. He started, explaining that he initially got on the train in London at 4:40pm. Then, around three hours into the train journey, he received an email saying that the train had been cancelled – a confusing message as the train was still moving and there had been no announcement. Nokise wrote: “About 10mins later the train manager came on the speaker to say they ‘heard from passengers’ (!) that the train had been cancelled and was going to investigate because everything looked fine to them.” Passengers onboard were later informed that the “rumours were true” and the train would be terminating at the next station, which was Preston. Nokise explained that hundreds of passengers disembarked at Preston to catch a connecting train the Glasgow that left without them because it was already full. “It was around 8pm, and we were told to wait for the next train.. at 9:42,” he wrote, adding that it was also cancelled. He continued: “It turned out there were no more trains ‘North’ after that and, excitingly, no forthcoming information. “Some people stood staring at the screens. Some people queued to ask the one ticket booth worker the same question everyone else was. No one knew anything.” The hundreds of stranded passengers were then informed that alternative travel arrangements had been made. This, it was revealed, was in the form of taxis to Scotland, 3 and a half hours away. Nokise said, “all of us queued to be taken away 3-7 people at a time. And if that sounds slow and ridiculous, it was”. In his cab, Nokise was in a taxi with 3 other strangers when the taxi almost collided with another vehicle on the motorway. After several other “incidents” on the way, the cab passengers eventually made it to their intended destination after 3:00am – over five hours later than their scheduled arrival time and 11 hours after they boarded the train. The nightmare-ish journey had seen the X/Twitter thread go viral, with more than 25,000 likes. One teacher also revealed that a class of 12-year-old children were left effectively stranded in Preston as they were unable to send children unaccompanied in taxis. They tweeted: “Hi @AvantiWestCoast we’ve been stuck at Preston since around 630pm with 50 12 year olds. It’s now 10.08pm. “We've just been informed that there is no way of getting us home to Glasgow, as we can't send kids alone on taxis. A staff member has said we are effectively stuck here.” indy100 has contacted Avanti West Coast for comment. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

YouTube star Ethan Payne has split opinion online after he said he wants his girlfriend to take his surname if they get married. Payne and his co-star girlfriend, Faith Kelly, present the podcast “Growing Paynes”, after getting together since 2021 and having a child a year after. In a recent episode, Kelly said: “Ethan won't propose to me because I want to be Kelly-Payne.” Payne responded: “Faith doesn't want to take my name and that irks me.” Kelly explained that she does not want to “lose my association with my family,” while Payne again responded that she would just be taking a name. @dailypaynes Ethan being a red flag ? FULL CLIP ? Growing Paynes: Ep 11 #growingpaynes #faithkelly #marriage #fyp #ethanpayne #proposal #redflag Payne is part of the YouTube group The Sidemen, which also includes social media star KSI. He said he thinks Kelly taking his name is “how it should be done”. “You're bottling it, that's what it is,” he joked. But online commenters didn’t see it that way. One person wrote on TikTok: “Naaah, that’s a big red flag. Thought more of him.” Another said: “This is the brightest and biggest red flag I’ve ever seen like there should be no problem cus she’s taking his name as well so.” A further commenter added: “It’s her name…. She’s including his name in it??? I don’t understand his point here.” Some people said they understood where Payne was coming from. One person said: “Sounds like she wants one foot out the door already. You’re either all in or all out.” Another said: “Wants a traditional marriage with ut the tradition. You can’t make this sh*t up.” Deed Poll data from 2021 shows that women combining both their husband’s and their own surname was up by nearly one-third compared to 2020. Looks like, in wider society at least, the traditionalists are growing few and farther between. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman has explained how she discovered her husband's double-life all while scrolling on Facebook. Posting on Reddit, she explained that she has been married to her husband for ten years and that they have two children together. One day she was scrolling on a Facebook meme page and when reading comments "I saw a profile that had a photo of a woman with my husband," she said. Upon further investigation, she found out that her husband was married to the other woman, had another profile with a different name and even had a child with the other woman. So, she got in touch with the woman and found out she "did know that he was married." "They have been married for two years and their baby is approximately 14 months old," she explained. "Although they are not technically married, their marriage is not valid." "I hired a lawyer, I took all the evidence and I am in the divorce process, since when I complained he preferred her, he left the house to live with her. Besides, he refuses to give alimony, claiming that he has another child to support, and that if he has to give alimony to my children, he will seek the minimum payment even if he has to quit his job." Some people... Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

If there’s one thing the recent ban has revealed about American Bully XL owners, it is that they really, really love their dogs. Some might argue this is for good reason – the breed is known for being intelligent, sociable, and eager to please its owner. But along with the outpouring of love, swathes of memes and posters have emerged from XL Bully supporters which throw a more eyebrow-raising spotlight on the breed. Take the below from one Instagram user, who has placed a selection of Bullies in a knock-off Fast & Furious poster, complete with flames in the background, a motorbike and a souped-up car on either side. The same user also posted a similar mock-up earlier this month of a Bully next to a French Bulldog, with flames emanating from both sides of the unsuspecting canines. Elsewhere, a poster from June advertising a meetup between Bully owners from the UK and Brazil, with dogs placed in front of famous landmarks from the two countries including Big Ben and Christ The Redeemer. A list of names appears below the dogs in the image: DXD Violet, SBC Staxx, Pitmon Deadshot and Canilsagreal Unica. The caption on the Instagram post advertising the event reads: “These are going to be nothing but BEASTS!” A more recent post for an event which was due to take place on 24 September follows the action movie poster format, with Bully headshots placed alongside those of a Rottweiler, a Doberman and several other breeds. To its credit, the writing below reads: “No aggressive dogs, no dogs in heat, clean up after your dogs.” It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a ban on XL Bullies earlier this month following a spate of attacks across the country. The decision prompted hundreds of protestors to take to the streets in London and Birmingham. They carried placards with messages such as: “Don’t bully our bullies,” and chanted: “Save our bullies”. One person wore a T-shirt which said: “Muzzle Rishi Sunak don’t bully our breed”. While many XL Bully owners feel aggrieved at the ban, blaming bad owners rather than bad dogs, the statistics are stark. Six of the 10 fatal dog attacks recorded in the UK last year were attributed to XL Bullies, while at least three of seven fatal dog attacks this year have been linked to the breed. The posters do have a certain macho charm. But sadly, they don't do much to dispel the common conception that XL Bullies are a little, erm, scary. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The presentation of two “ancient alien bodies” to Mexico’s congress earlier this month was touted as a historic, world-changing moment. And yet, no sooner had ufologist Jaime Maussan hailed the mysterious pair as humankind’s most significant discovery to date than experts and netizens resoundingly debunked the claim. Maussan declared that the tiny mummified figures, with elongated heads and three fingers, were discovered buried between the Peruvian cities of Palpa and Nazca in 2017. He even published scientific analysis purporting to prove that the “corpses” were some 1,000 years old and not related to any known Earthly species. And yet, countless commentators have since exposed the whole thing as a long-discredited and possibly criminal hoax. Now, a resurfaced video that has been doing the rounds on social media suggests that the two bodies are, essentially, a couple of Frankenstein’s monsters, made up of a “hodgepodge of human and animal bones.” In the clip, which has been widely shared on Reddit, the commentator points to one of the “specimens” and notes that “instead of humeri (upper arm bones), she sports femurs, or thigh bones”. “Her legs are even more baffling,” he continues, using X-ray-style images to illustrate. “One of the thigh bones is actually a femur, only facing the wrong way round, while the other one is a tibia and they're completely mismatched with the hip bone. There's no joint there at all. “The poor humanoid wouldn't have made a single step.” He then highlights other asymmetries, saying “some of the bones are simply chopped off”, while the fingers are “a total mess”. “The first pseudo phalanges are facing in different directions on her left and right hands,” he explains, suggesting that the creators “just forgot to turn them the right way”. He then cites French palaeontologist Julian Benoit, who concluded that whoever “crafted” the humanoid mummies used skulls of small mammals for their heads, such as lamas or alpacas. “The whole facial part of the skull was broken off, leaving only the braincase,” he says. “The skull was then rotated, so its back part faces forward – the reptiloid’s face is actually the back of [the animal’s skull]”. Reddit - Dive into anything from Damnthatsinteresting The excerpt, which was apparently taken from a 2018 episode of French news show ‘66 Minutes’ has encouraged further derision of Maussan’s grand claims. One commentator wrote in response to the original revelations: “My first thought was ‘these look like ‘aliens’ so I highly doubt they’re aliens’ lol. [T]here ain’t no way we’re gonna find some that look like the ones we imagined and conjured up.” And yet, Maussan, 70, was unflinching in his declaration that his crusade to bring awareness to the “corpses” is “the most important thing that has happened to humanity.” "I believe that this phenomenon is the only one that gives us the opportunity to unite," he told reporters from his office in Mexico City. Meanwhile, Elsa Tomasto-Cagigao, a respected Peruvian bio-anthropologist, told Reuters she was frustrated that such claims are still being given publicity, citing similar alleged discoveries that were found to be frauds. "What we said before still stands, they are presenting the same rehash as always and if there are people that keep believing that, what can we do?" she said. "It is so crass and so simple that there is nothing more to add." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown has come under fire for her novel, Nineteen Steps, after working with a ghostwriter on the book. The novel was inspired by Brown’s grandmother’s experience of the 1943 Bethnal Green tube disaster, and was ghostwritten by Kathleen McGurl. Only Brown’s name is on the cover of the book, prompting social media users to criticise Brown after the book’s release. One X/Twitter user said: “You should be ashamed. “Ghostwritten celebrity novels have ruined children’s literature and now they’re doing the same thing to adult fiction.” When Nineteen Steps was published earlier this month, Brown posted a photo on Instagram of herself standing next to McGurl. The caption reads: “I couldn’t have done this without you!” Nonetheless, that has done little to silence her critics. One person wrote on Instagram: “So you can become an author and not actually write it yourself these days. What’s the point?” Another said: “You mean she wrote it for you and you’re taking the credit.” Others jumped to the 19-year-old’s aid, pointing out that scores of celebrities have faced criticism for using ghostwriters in the past. Media personality Zoella (real name Zoë Sugg) was slammed for doing the same thing with her memoir Girl Online in 2014. Katie Price and Naomi Campbell have also used ghostwriters for fiction books released under their name. And more recently, Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, was written by JR Moehringer. That book broke the record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time, with 1.43m copies sold on its first day. One commenter wrote on Instagram: “This author will be paid a s***tone more because Millie’s name is on it. “Ghostwriting is not new, and by sharing this post she is literally acknowledging the author, whose name will also be in the book. “The author will be very happy, and Millie supplied the whole story and all her family’s research. Everyone seriously needs to get off their high horse.” In a March blog post, McGurl said she was sent “a lot of research that had already been pulled together by Millie and her family, and plenty of ideas”. McGurl then interviewed Brown several times over Zoom before she wrote the first draft, she said. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Two hungry bears have raided a Krispy Kreme van and helped themselves to 20 packs of doughnuts. The delivery driver had arrived at a store when he momentarily left his van unattended to drop off some boxes. At that moment, a mummy bear and her cub hopped inside the van and started munching on the sweet treats. Store manager, Shelly Deano said the bears often frequent the area in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, US, in search of leftovers. Sally told local media: “You could hear them breaking open the packages. “We were trying to beat on the van, but they just kept eating all the doughnuts.” She added: “They ate 20 packages of the doughnut holes and I believe six packages of the three-pack chocolate doughnuts.” She said security staff managed to drive the bears away by blasting their sirens on Tuesday (19 Sept). The bears then ambled off into the nearby woods after spending around 20 minutes scoffing down the doughnuts. Krispy Kreme spokesperson Candice Sargeant said it was a learning experience for staff members. She said: “We'll definitely be learning to slide up our ramp, and close the doors, to ensure that bears don't get back in there again.” One local resident joked: “It's cute when they do it, but when I raided a doughnut truck, it was ‘illegal’ and ‘disturbing’...” Sue wrote: “Good for them. “I’m glad they got to enjoy them, but they must’ve had such a belly ache! We all love those things.” Nikki said: “Looks like they're storing up for the long winter ahead! It takes a lot of calories to hibernate for a few months.” Stan Hunt remarked: “Only in Alaska.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A couple on a 13-hour flight were refunded over £1,000 after being seated next to a farting dog. Gill and Warren Press were travelling from Paris to New Zealand with Singapore Airlines when an emotional support dog started snoring loudly during the first leg of their trip. "I heard this noise – a heavy snorting," Gill told Stuff. "I thought it was my husband’s phone, but we looked down and realised it was the dog breathing. I said, ‘I’m not having this sitting next to us the whole trip." They also claimed the dog wouldn't stop farting during the journey. It was then the couple alerted staff and asked to move, but there were no spaces available. "They couldn’t have the dog out in the aisle because they couldn’t get the trolleys through, so it had to come in further, which meant his head was under my husband’s feet," she continued. "My husband was in shorts and was getting the dog’s saliva goo on his leg." The pair were offered $116 in travel vouchers – which they were unhappy with. They pushed for a refund and have since been given approximately $1,410 which they plan on donating to a charity for guide dogs. A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said: "Singapore Airlines (SIA) apologises to Mr and Mrs Press for their experience on board their flight from Paris to Singapore. "SIA endeavours to notify customers who may be seated next to an assistance dog prior to boarding. In circumstances where customers seated next to an assistance dog request to be moved, we will assist to re-seat customers within the same cabin if space permits. "In this instance, we were unable to move Mr and Mrs Press within the same cabin as the Premium Economy Class cabin was full. Our crew offered to move Mr and Mrs Press to two empty seats in Economy Class, which they accepted after take-off." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.