A former managing director opened up about a secret interview test that allowed him to understand whether the applicant was suitable for the job. In a resurfaced appearance on The Ventures podcast, Trent Innes, a former MD for Xero Australia Trent, said he would take the interviewee to a kitchen and offer them a drink. They would then take their drinks back to the meeting room where he would conduct the interview. He explained: "One of the things I’m always looking for at the end of the interview is, does the person doing the interview want to take that empty cup back to the kitchen?" The reason behind the subtle test comes down to attitude, according to Trent. "You can develop skills, you can gain knowledge and experience but it really does come down to attitude, and the attitude that we talk a lot about is the concept of 'wash your own coffee cup.'" Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He believes there's more to the test than meets the eye, as it demonstrates that the candidate "would actually really drive a culture of ownership," for completing one of the "lowest level" tasks. "If you come into the office one day inside Xero, you’ll see the kitchens are almost always clean and sparkling and it’s very much off that concept of wash your coffee cup, but that sort of led into the interview space," he continued. Trent aimed to hire people who had "a real, strong ownership and a growth mindset." "It’s really just making sure they’re actually going to fit into the culture inside Xero, and really take on everything that they should be doing," he added. 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 video which appears to show a humanoid figure emerging from roaring wildfires has sparked a flood of theories on social media. The clip, apparently taken as blazes tore through Greece last month, shows the mysterious silhouette walking and stumbling among the flames. It was shared to TikTok by content creator The Paranormal Chic, who introduced it by saying: “Witnesses recorded what looks to be like a person walking through the fire, but they have stated that it was humanoid, but it was not a human.” She added: “As it was walking through the fires, it was not being burned.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The video racked up more than 58,700 views in just two days as commentators offered their own interpretations of the mystery. @the_paranormal_chic Humanoid Being Recorded During Greece’s Fires #longervideos #theparanormalchic #alien #aliens #humanoid #being #other #paranormal #supernatural #cryptid #fire #greece #greecefires #cryptidtiktok #unexplained #caughtoncamera #fyp Some suggested the whole thing was fake, and that whoever made it had used “CGI” or a “greenscreen”. Others likened it to scenes from popular movies, with one asking: “Isn’t this from ‘V for Vendetta’?”, and another joking: “That’s the guy from ‘Fantastic Four’. The fire guy.” Meanwhile, paranormal lovers shared more offbeat conclusions, with one suggesting: “He is between dimensions and only visible because of vibration of the flames.” However, others agreed that it was all just an optical illusion. “The fire is behind him and I’m going to guess it’s a lot farther than it appears,” one posited. “He's at least 100 meters away from the fire, and most certain isn't walking through [it],” wrote another. And a third shared a more technical explanation, writing: “[It’s a] perspective illusion created by the focal size of the camera lens.” Still, jokes and whacky theories aside, the damage and havoc wreaked by the wildfires are most certainly, and devastatingly, real. Greece battled 10 major blazes last month, including fires outside Athens and on the island of Rhodes, during three successive heat waves. At the end of July, two people were found dead following fires in the central mainland — an older woman burnt to death in a caravan and a shepherd who had gone to save his flock. Meanwhile, evacuations were ordered on the islands of Corfu, Evia and Rhodes, where thousands of tourists were moved to safety in dramatic scenes. Authorities said the charred remains of a missing farmer were found in southern Evia — a discovery made following the death of two Greek firefighting pilots, in a crash during a low-altitude water drop. More than 500 square kilometres (nearly 200 square miles) of land have been burned so far this year, more than double the annual total in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System – a European Union agency that tracks wildfire damage using satellite data. If only this was the stuff of science fiction rather than the stark, painful reality of climate change. 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 women were left fearful for their lives thanks to the “quirks and charms” of their Airbnb. The pair, named Tierra Burris and Scarlet Wolf, booked a two-week stay at a house in Portland, Oregon, which initially seemed “gorgeous”, with its hardwood floors and airconditioning in every room. However, they soon noticed that it had some far less desirable features, and some that were downright alarming. The friends gave TikTok users a whistlestop tour of the unusual old property, explaining that alarm bells first rang when they found a secret key. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Tierra explained that they’d been told they couldn’t use the front door to access the home and, instead, needed to use a back door that led into a bedroom. This seemed a little odd but fine to them – until they discovered “a tiny little hole” which contained another key to their door. Who it was for, they didn’t know. She then told viewers that they’d discovered a number of “strange tunnels [...] and ways through this home,” as well as an apparent “peephole”. “This one specifically has a big open space large enough for a human,” she explained. “Besides the cabinet that goes into the bedroom, wherein [...] there’s a peephole.” After noting that several doors upstairs “don’t properly close”, while some of the bedroom doors clearly “used [to have| locks”, but only on the outside, she showed that there were numerous other “warm dark holes that lead to other rooms”. They then went down to the basement which, strangely, only had two working lights. “This door leads to God knows where,” Tierra said before pointing out a “man-sized tunnel.” “Mind you, we are in Portland, Oregon right now where there's an active serial killer on the loose,” she then laughed. "Wow, isn't that crazy?” The TikToker then explained that she and Scarlet had confronted the landlady about the “sus” features, and she had told them: “It’s a recently renovated old Portland home – we wanted to keep its charm and quirks.” Tierra ended the video by stressing that they had paid $3,500 (around £2,750) for their stay. Addressing Airbnb she pleaded: “Give us our money back please.” @tierrasaurusrex Quirks and Charm @C @airbnb #scaryairbnb The video racked up more than 4.8 million views and 700,000 likes in just over a month, as viewers shared their horror at the situation and requested updates. Tierra duly obliged, and in the first follow-up she confirmed that they were still in the property but were now armed with knives as a “safety measure”. She then confirmed that she’d been “talking with Airbnb” who had “asked for evidence of everything”. Tierra said she’d told a rep for the homestay company “in the nicest way possible” that she wanted to leave and wanted a refund. “We feel very unsafe, especially with the key,” she explained. “We don't know who has access to this house, and we don't know anything about the rooms that we're not going to go into for our safety. “We're simply just two women travelling alone and we want to feel safe.” @tierrasaurusrex Replying to @Scarlet Wolf #greenscreen In a second follow-up, she addressed users’ suggestions that the “crawl spaces in the walls” of the house were a normal feature of old homes. “I've gotten a lot of comments[...] about storage spaces and old homes, and I really appreciate it. Honestly, that's really reassuring to hear,” she said. However, she added: “I just personally would feel a little more comfortable in a home without little tunnels and spaces that led everywhere in a home that I don't own or know about.” She continued: “On top of that, there's just a few too many things that seem a little off. And I guess you could try to explain all of them away in one way or another, but there are quite a few things that are wrong. “At the same time, I'm getting a little red flag in my head that might be called anxiety, maybe, but at the same time, I don't own this home, I don't know this home, I don't know the people who own this home, I don't know who could have had access to that key. “I'm not going to check what's in those little tunnels and I'd rather not know, and honestly, we're not going to be staying here another night.” @tierrasaurusrex Replying to @Erin? we slept with knives Fellow TikTokers were quick to defend Tierra over her response, with one writing: “Validate women when we say we are uncomfortable!” Fortunately, the story doesn’t have a horror movie ending. Instead, Tierra and Scarlet made it out of the house alive and with a full refund. 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 claiming to have been involved in the viral Alabama riverboat brawl has spoken out but people are sceptical about his identity. Footage of the brawl that took place at the Montgomery Riverfront Park in Alabama has swept social media sparking a whole host of memes. The incident is believed to have started when a disagreement between a male, believed to be a riverboat dock worker, and two other men escalated. An all-out brawl, involving multiple people, ensued and involved people using fold-up chairs as weapons and multiple people ending up in the water. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It had to be broken up by police and four arrest warrants are currently in place. The town’s mayor made a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter). Mayor Steven L. Reed wrote: “Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants have been signed and justice will be served. “This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred.” Now, a man claiming to have been involved in the fight has taken to TikTok to “speak out”, with the clip being viewed more than 10 million times. In the video shared on the TikTok account @nov10scorpio a man could be seen with two black eyes and tissue stuffed up both of his nostrils. Speaking to the camera, he said: “Well, turns out that 65-year-old man can really f**king throw ‘em.” @nov10scorpio SPEAKS OUT !! #montgomery #alabama #riverboatbrawl #river #chair #boat #brawl #riverboatfight #dmpd But, eagle-eyed TikTokers have disputed his involvement in the infamous Montgomery brawl, arguing that there were no older people involved. One person commented: “That ain’t him fr?!? Y’all playin lol.” Another said: “[There’s] no way this is actually him.” “I’m not even sure this is the same guy. I feel like I’ve seen this before, I think it might be an older video,” one person theorised. Someone else wrote: “I don’t think this is really one of them but it’s hilarious.” 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.

As Barbie passes $1 billion at the box office, people are taking the opportunity to remind Ben Shapiro of his prediction after he went to see the movie on the opening weekend. The conservative commentator made a 40-minute video criticising the box-office hit calling it “woke” and a “flaming garbage heap of a film”. At the beginning of the video, Shapiro makes a prediction on the movie’s success, saying: “My prediction: [Barbie] is just absolutely going to fall off a cliff after [week one]. The repeat business on this movie is going to be nonexistent.” Oh how wrong could he be? So, of course, everyone is taking this opportunity to use Ben’s own words against him. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter After MSNBC contributed and podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen responded to the news of Barbie making $1 billion at the box office with a clip of Shapiro’s prediction, people couldn’t resist laughing. Users to the opportunity to comment on how poorly Shapiro’s take aged: Some even mentioned Shapiro’s stint at becoming a screenwriter when he was younger, saying that this is why he failed to be successful: Shapiro himself responded to the comments about his prediction, writing: “I radically overestimated the taste of the American public. Guilty.” But few accepted that explanation. Cent Uygur, host of The Young Turks, a progressive news commentary show, told Shapiro “you overestimated how big your tiny, right-wing faction is.” Greta Gerwig is the first solo female director to make $1 billion at the global box office. 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.

There is a clip on TikTok making the rounds of Anne Hathaway sharing a 6.9 joke - however, the video is fake. Due to artificial intelligence, the video appears realistic as it eerily portrays the voice of the Princess Diaries actor. In the clip, Hathaway is a guest on The Daily Show and is chatting to then-host Jon Stewart, where she seems to ask him a joke: "What is 6.9?" Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter To which Hathaway then drops the punchline: " “A good thing ruined by a period," which prompted laughter from Stewart who had his head in his hands while the actor also covers her mouth as she chuckled. The video has gone viral with people sharing their thoughts on the fake interaction, one person said: "She caught him so off guard," while another added: "Anne Hathaway is a national treasure." @your.comedy.cave What is 6.9? #annehathaway #joke #comedycentral #funnyclip #yourcomedycave But some were also quick to point out that the clip was not real as they wrote: "This isn't real. It's all A.I." So how was this fake clip created? An actual clip of Hathaway's 2015 appearance on The Daily Show was dubbed over using a fake voice that had an uncanny likeness to the actor. The technology was even able to change how Hathaway moved her mouth in the clip to make it look more realistic - manipulating a clip of a person in this way to make it look like they said something they did not is known as a deep fake. In the real interview, Hathaway and Stewart had a giggle about Hathaway's new film at the time called Song One. Watch Anne Hathaway Laugh Uncontrollably with Jon Stewart www.youtube.com She outlines the plot of the film: “And then her little brother who’s 19 calls her up and says ‘I’m dropping out of college’ to become a musician.” “And she doesn’t react very well and they haven’t spoken for six months and then he gets hit by a car and is in a coma," Stewart was unable to contain his laughter and it also caused Hathaway to laugh too before she cracked an additional joke: "That is my Facebook update." 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.

There has been a significant increase in searches for Barbie and Ken baby names since Greta Gerwig's record-breaking film hit the big screen. The Barbie hysteria continues to thrive and survive another day since the Warner Bros drop on 21 July. We've had food collaborations, Airbnb partnerships, Barbiecore fashion taking over social feeds across the globe – and now, we are expecting a spike in newborns being called Barbie and Ken. Babynames.com, a site dedicated to providing much-needed inspo for mums-to-be, witnessed a staggering 300 per cent in searches for Margot Robbie's character, Barbie. They told TMZ that searches for Ken also skyrocketed with a 200 per cent increase. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Barbie | Main Trailer www.youtube.com Barbie broke records worldwide and is now considered the highest-grossest film by a female director. Since its opening weekend, the film is said to have racked up $1 billion in ticket sales, breaking new records and jumping ahead of Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman in 2017 ($821.8 million). Only 53 films have ever surpassed the $1b mark. Ahead of the Barbie release, Robbie already had an inkling it would make a billion dollars. The Australian actress, who also doubled up as a producer on the film, told Collider that during an initial pitching meeting, she reinforced how hugely successful films such as Jurassic Park always paired "a big idea with a visionary director." "I was like, 'And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig,'" she told the outlet. "And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!" 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 parody song-turned-viral sensation ‘Planet of the Bass’ by the comedian Kyle Gordon is finally being released in full and fans are excited. Gordon’s track went viral after a 50-second snippet of the song in a TikTok caught people’s attention thanks to its catchy and hilarious Eurodance influence. The parody track took its inspiration from the 90s style of pop music by acts such as La Bouche and Aqua and has been viewed over 7.2 million times on TikTok. Now, fans of the TikTok video will be pleased to know they are being treated to a full-length version of the song, due to be released on Tuesday 15 August. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The comedian made the announcement in an X post, writing: “Full song make a release next week - Aug 15!” Alongside the tweet, Gordon also shared a new video for the track that features a different female vocalist from the original viral video, replacing the person playing Ms. Biljana Electronica with the TikToker Sabrina Brier. Ahead of the release of the full track, people were obsessed with Gordon’s commitment to the Eurodance bit. One fan wrote: “A different person in every video like he truly understands the essence of Eurodance I’m tearing up.” Another said” “He’s actually doing the bit of having a different girl in each video he posts just like the 90s Eurodance videos he's parodying, this rules.” Someone else argued: “Original girl is still best but this is a wise choice.” A pre-save link for the song on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Deezer and Amazon is available here. 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 identity of the woman behind the ‘not real’ plane rant that delayed a flight for hours has been officially revealed. The bizarre incident unfolded on 2 July when a female passenger onboard an American Airlines flight was filmed freaking out over another passenger that was seated close to her. In the subsequent viral video, the woman, who had left her seat and walked towards the front of the plane, turned back and pointed to the passenger, shouting, “that mother f**ker back there is not real”. An investigation among people online began as they tried to confirm the identity of the woman, with two names flying around. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, it has been revealed that one of the names was correct, as the woman has been identified as Tiffany Gomas, a marketing executive from Texas. It is believed the incident started when Gomas had an argument with relatives she was travelling with over accusations they stole her AirPods headphones. According to The New York Post, which viewed documents linked to the incident, the 38-year-old refused to leave the plane despite suggesting in her rant that she wanted to get off. “The female then started claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination,” the 2 July complaint read. “Due to the statements the flight attendants felt the aircraft needed to be rescreened. [The airline manager] explained that the passenger was denied boarding and they wanted her escorted to the public side.” All of the passengers on the plane were forced to get off the aircraft and be rescreened through security. The plane also underwent another screen. Gomas attempted to reboard the plane but was issued with a “verbal criminal trespass notice” and was escorted away to the public side of the airport. Despite this, she tried multiple times to come back through security to reach the boarding area. Police eventually located Gomas waiting for an Uber outside the terminal. She refused to sign a criminal trespass notice, refused to show police her ID and was never formally arrested. 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.

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Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau shared a photo of himself and his son Xavier attending a showing of Barbie to social media, and men are absolutely rattled. Thousands of users responded to the tweet with a range of insults, with some suggesting that it makes Trudeau unfit to be a world leader, all because he went to see one the highest-grossing films of the year. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter One user called him a "man-child" while Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative organisation Turning Point USA, decided to mention Trudeau's recent announcement about his split from his wife: Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative organisation Turning Point USA, decided to mention Trudeau's recent announcement about his split from his wife: Scrolling through reactions to the post it wasn't hard to find lots of fragile men struggle to comprehend a man wearing pink: Andrew Tate took a slightly more satanic tone with his reaction: Some even believed Trudeau was gay and that his 15-year-old son was actually his boyfriend: Many criticised the replies, calling the men fragile and homophobic: 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.

Footage of a wild brawl in Montgomery, Alabama, has gone viral across social media, prompting X users (formerly known as Twitter) to do what they do best: Memeify it. The incident occurred on August 5 near Montgomery Riverfront Park and was captured by several witnesses before being broken up by Alabama police. What appeared to be an argument between a man, believed to be a riverboat employee, and two other men soon escalated. Many more people jumped in to seemingly defend the man. In one piece of footage, one woman claimed: "These white people jumped this black security guard at the Riverfront. The staff got off the boat and it turned into WWE Smackdown. I’m so proud of Montgomery." Another person shared a different angle of the brawl, writing: "I HATE when people jump people a majority of the time, & even more so when you want to fight or jump someone for doing their job. I applaud EVERYONE that helped that man out." People were thrown into the water and folded chairs were smashed over people's heads – which led to the 'inventor' of the folding chair being the centre of memes across the net. In 1911, Nathaniel Alexander patented a design of the chair for schools, churches and "in small towns when somebody tries you," one person jokingly quipped. As the jokes rolled in, many users highlighted that the image "of Alexander" was in fact Lewis H Latimer, who invented many things including the light bulb filament. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The Montgomery Police Department have since revealed in a statement that several people have been detained with charges pending. Officials "acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job," Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said in a statement. "Warrants have been signed and justice will be served." Reed continued: "This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violent actions will be held accountable by our criminal justice system." 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.