Going on holiday is all about spoiling yourself and enjoying luxuries you’d normally forgo. Whether that’s tucking into a slap-up buffet breakfast, or booking yourself in for a well-earned massage. And yet, one 4-star hotel in France not only offered guests the option to splash out on a spa treatment or bottle of wine for their room, but they also suggested a very unique kind of perk… A fart. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Yes, you read that correctly. A US-based travel agent made the eyebrow-raising discovery when she was booking a room on behalf of a client. Jaclyn D'Esposito was checking out on the hotel’s website when noticed that its add-ons included a rooftop aperitif, a 30-minute back rub, and a special indulgence labelled simply as “fart”. D’Esposito shared her bewilderment on TikTok, telling viewers that she thought she was “seeing things” when she spotted the offer. Addressing the camera, she said: “You know when you go to check out at a hotel and sometimes there's that page that pops up before you put your credit card in and it's like, ‘Enhance your stay with these other things’ – and it's always like, flowers, champagne, car service, massage, whatever… I truly, I truly thought that I was seeing something.” She then focused in on her computer screen and ran through the “totally normal” extras on display – “Bottle of wine, massage…” – before pausing at a picture of a dog accompanied by the title “fart”. “What is fart?” she asked, before noting that it was being offered “for free”. Clicking on the icon to find out more details, she discovered that “the rate is per day”. “What is happening?” she said before asking followers if she should “book [her] client a fart.” @heartfelttravel I couldn’t pull the tigger guys I’m sorry ? #travelisaprivilege #heartfelttravel #wheretostaysputhoffrance #southoffranceitinerary #southoffrancetravelguide D’Esposito’s video racked up more than 1.6 million views in four days, as commentators shared their glee at the mishap. “It’s a vacation, you should splurge,” one joked. “I like how you said “for FREE?!?” as if you were more shocked that the fart was free than that there was a fart in the first place,” remarked another. “Call and inquire about what’s included in the fart package. You will make that front desk person’s week!” said a third. Others attempted to explain the bizarre scenario by pointing out that “pet” is the French word for “fart”– which would explain the dog pic. And a number suggested that “fart” had been written on the webpage by one of its designers as a jokey placeholder for the pet section, but they then forgot to remove it. Oops. @heartfelttravel Reporting live from Fartfelt Travel ??? #heartfelttravel #travelisaprivilege The travel agent confirmed their theories in an update which, beaming, she began: “I cannot stop laughing at these comments, you made my week, and I'm here to answer all your questions.” She then admitted that she had decided not to book the fart for her client but said it was a decision she now regretted. Naming the hotel as Les Bords de Mer in Marseille, she stressed that they had now fixed their website and it “now says pet everywhere”. (A quick check by indy100 shows this is, indeed, the case:) D'Esposito ended her debrief: “For everyone who commented saying that fart is French slang for pet, you were correct. “To me though, it's still hysterical. Thanks for laughing with me.” 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.

First, a woman rants that her fellow passenger is “not real”, now, a man positively hurls himself at cabin crew to get off the plane – what the hell is going on with air travel? Last week, the internet became obsessed with an American Airlines flight, on which a woman claimed everyone on board would “die” if they remained in the presence of an alleged spectre. Just days later, a new video is doing the rounds showing a man having a similar meltdown, this time while travelling with Ryanair. The clip shows the passenger screaming furiously at the person in the seat next to him, before leaping up, charging down the aisle, and demanding that staff “open the door” to the aircraft. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter A caption to the video, which was posted to Twitter on 6 July, reads: “A British man was allegedly disturbed so badly by the passenger sitting next to him on a plane, that he tried to open the door of the plane and leave. “First a woman in US now this. What is going on?” In this case, it turns out the man was not having an existential crisis about his co-passenger. Instead, his fellow travellers suggested he may have been under the influence of alcohol and, possibly, drugs. He has been identified as a 27-year-old British boxer who was returning to the UK from Zadar, Croatia most likely after attending the Hideout electronic music festival. The man was later filmed being escorted off the plane and dragged across the airport’s tarmac, EX-YU Aviation NewsAviation News reports. Police in Zadar confirmed that a 27-year-old Brit had been arrested and that they had launched an investigation into the incident. Commenting on the drama, Ryanair said in a statement: "This flight from Zadar to London Stansted returned to the stand when an individual passenger became disruptive while preparing for takeoff. “The passenger was removed from the aircraft by local police before the flight continued safely to London Stansted.” Now, let’s be honest, however bizarre the American Airlines rant was (and conspiracy theorists are still having a field day with it), air travel isn’t exactly known for bringing out the best in people. Whilst, it’s true that most in-flight brawls and tantrums involve people who are widely accepted as “real”, they are rarely pretty but alarmingly common. Indeed, on Monday, it emerged that a United Airlines flight from Houston, Texas to Amsterdam had to be diverted to Chicago because a business class passenger threw a tantrum over their inflight meal. A Twitter user, called JonNYC, shared internal communications from the US airline stating that there was a “disruptive [passenger] on board”. JonNYC also tweeted that the passenger “was noted to be intoxicated as well, but meal choice seems to have been an enragement point.” In a statement to The Guardian, United Airlines confirmed that the culprit had been escorted off the plane. They said: “United flight 20 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Amsterdam diverted to O’Hare International Airport and landed safely following a passenger disturbance. Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane. The aircraft then continued to Amsterdam.” 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 wholesome clip of an elderly man's proposal to his childhood crush 60 years later has left people in floods of tears. Dr Thomas McMeekin, 78, orchestrated the airport proposal with help from his assistants at his practice. Several clips of the emotional event have surfaced on TikTok, with one comparing it to "Letters to Juliet in real life". One clip showed the doctor greeting Nancy Gambell, 79, at Tampa Airport, where he hands her a bouquet of red roses and a necklace with both of their birthstones on. He then kneels down on a pillow and makes a speech to his now-fiancee. "It's been sixty years since we first met. You have always been the one that I've had a crush on since your cheerleader days," he said, before asking her to marry him. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Strangers gathered to watch the special event, with many more online flooding the comments online. "They were meant to be, nor time, distance tore them apart. When two souls are meant to be they will find each other," one person wrote, while another added: "You know what’s really sweet about it. I bet they see each other as they were in High School. Remembering all the fun they had. Beautiful." @jobuns_ My heart!! Sweetest proposal ? He was so excited! #proposal #highschoolsweethearts #fyp #love #tampaflorida #tampainternationalairport McMeekin's assistants opened up to Insider, saying: "He kept talking about it every single day. All the staff were like, 'We have to go.'" "We had picked up a pillow so he could kneel down and propose, and we got some stuff to make a sign saying, 'She said yes' – because we knew she would," they continued. "He knew what he was going to say and he followed through with what he was going to do. Find me a man like that." 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 VTuber's performance at a mini-concert has gone viral on TikTok and turned into its own meme after reportedly charging $300 to punters who saw the gig. According to YouTube, the performance took place at the Cosplay Arts Festival in Thailand on July 1st. This was reportedly part of the Algorhythm Project performance, which is a collective of Virtual YouTubers (Vtubers) who all perform under the same banner. For those not in the know, a vtuber is basically a YouTuber who uses a virtual reality avatar instead of themselves as part of the entertainment on their streams, which often involve singing. The particular vtuber who has gone viral on TikTok in the last few days is called Dacapo who has 230,000 subscribers on YouTube alone. They performed as part of the Algorhythm Project video and while there were numerous other vtubers in the piece has focused in on Dacapo's performance which can be viewed below. 【#ARPxCAF Mini-Concert Replay】Shinunoga E-Wa 「Dacapo」 www.youtube.com The video consists of not much more than Dacapo singing the song 'Shinunoga E-Wa' as the avatar sways back and forth with their long fringe covering the character's eyes. Toward the end of the song, the hair does lift up and viewers do get to see the character's eyes which appears to prompt a huge reaction from the crowd. @edgebum #vtuber #vtubers #vtuberconcert #viral #fyp #funny Numerous TikTok's have since emerged of this performance with many claiming that people at the festival paid $300 to watch the show. @rashawn531 Woke up to this #vtuber #rashawn531 However, this is likely to be $300 in Thai Bhat which roughly exchanges to $8.50 (£6.60) in US money, so in reality they didn't spend too much money. Regardless the vtuber's video has since gone viral and become something of a meme on TikTok where people imitate the song. @jcmyep #foryou #fyp #foryoupage #vtuber#concert#vtuberconcert Dacapo is yet to respond to their new found online fame. 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 alleged TikTok challenge has claimed the lives of four people in just six months, according to US authorities who have issued a stark warning against the trend. The victims broke their necks and drowned after jumping or flipping off the back of speeding boats, Cpt. Jim Dennis, of Alabama’s Childersburg Rescue Squad announced. Dennis claimed they’d been participating in what’s been dubbed the “boat jumping” or “boat jump” challenge, which he said had posed a particular problem since the start of the year despite being an issue for some time. “[Over the] last six months we have had four drownings that were easily avoidable – they were doing a TikTok challenge,” Dennis told local news site WBMA. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “It’s where you get in a boat going at a high rate of speed, you jump off the side of the boat, don’t dive, you’re jumping off feet first and you just kinda lean into the water.” He added that the trend had been on first responders’ radars for “two years” but it’s popularity was “sporadic”. However, he stressed, it’s “something that needs to go away and stay away”. @tndtok First responders in Alabama are seeing a spike in drownings related to a TikTok boating challenge, where people jump off of a boat moving at high speeds. #boat #tiktokchallenge #alabama #firstresponders #jumpoffboat One of the tragic incidents occurred in February when a father reportedly dived into Alabama’s Coosa River as his wife and three children watched helplessly from their boat. “Unfortunately, she recorded his death,” Dennis said. The most recent tragedy occurred in May and involved a middle-aged man, according to WBMA. Indeed, Dennis stressed that the so-called trend was carried out by people of all ages, despite warnings over its dangers. In a separate interview with ABC7, the rescuer pointed out: “I think people, if they’re being filmed on camera, I think they’re more likely to do something stupid because they want to show off in front of their friends for social media.” However, he emphasised to anyone tempted to give it a go themselves: “Do not do it. It’s not worth your life.” One keen boater who condemned the trend explained how it would feel to hit the surface of a lake, river or sea from a fast-moving boat. Larry King told WBMA: “When you hit the water, it’s almost like hitting concrete at that speed. So, nothing good is going to come from hitting water at that speed.”Indy100 has contacted TikTok for comment on the alleged challenge. 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 relationship coach says women shouldn't date men who "can't afford their lifestyle", guys on a low salary "shouldn't be dating in the first place," and women are "investments". Karla Elia, 23, earns her living teaching women how to find the right man for the life they want - and believes "being treated right is the bare minimum". She suggests women shouldn't be treated equally to men - because women's time is "more precious". Karla claims many clients struggle to find their perfect man because they have the wrong mindset. She insists the right man to go for is one with a "provider mindset" - who will give their partner the best treatment. This includes paying for all their dates before they're in a formal relationship and buying them gifts and flowers. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Controversially, she said men who can't afford a woman "shouldn't be dating in the first place" - because they must add value to a woman's life to be worthy. She said there's no fixed salary a man needs to be earning before he should start dating - but it needs to be enough to afford his partner's expenses and needs as well as his own, whatever they may be. Karla, from San Diego, California, US, said: "In my experience, women are scared of speaking their standards. "They think there are no men like this out there - when actually there is a big pool of men with the provider mindset. "To find these men, you have to step into the energy of 'I am worthy, I am healing, and I am not making decisions from a place of insecurity.' "We shouldn’t be treated equal to men, we should be treated as women, and we’re special, we should be treated as precious. "A man needs to understand he has to be in a financial place to invest in a woman. We are investments. "I know I can afford my lifestyle and if someone can't afford and add value to that, I would say 'thank you, next'." Karla - who married her husband Dustyn Elia, 25, in May 2022, said the reason women don't find "high-quality men" is down to their mindset. She said Dustyn, who is currently transitioning careers after six years in a high-ranking role in the US Navy, had no problems financially supporting her due to also having investments in the stock market. Women need to adopt an "abundance" mindset rather than a "scarcity" one, Karla says. A "scarcity" mindset is a belief based on insecurity that there aren't many people out there that are right for you. An "abundance" mindset is dating, knowing your worth, and not making decisions out of fear of rejection. This is because Karla believes if you're on the hunt for someone to start a family with, women's time is "more precious". She said: "When a woman settles down and gets married, fertility is not forever. "A man can make his life start over with a new girl at any age. "As women, we don’t have that luxury. That means a woman's time is more valuable because she has more to lose." Karla clarified a 'provider' man is not the same as a 'traditional man' who would want his wife to be a homemaker rather than working. She says a provider is a man who "strives to be successful in every area of his life - and understands his woman will have her own goals". She said: "They both have the common goal of creating a family, being stable and growing with each other." Karla said women shouldn't be treated equally to men - and should be treated as "precious" because her time is "more precious". She said the man should always pay when he is dating a woman or calls her his girlfriend and should be able to financially support his partner through her ventures. She said: "In my marriage, I wasn't stressed about paying bills or doing housework, so I had emotional stability, creativity and self-awareness. "It allowed me to think about my goals and build my business up. "During that time, Dustyn did that because he wanted to see me happy and grow my business. "That's him getting a return on his investment - I invested in him, then he invested in me." Karla said she has been accused of sounding "materialistic" for advocating for women to find a man with the provider mindset. She said that's not the case - because a partner needs to add value to a person's life to be worth investing in. She said: "A woman adds value to a man immediately - when a man has a good woman next to him, it signals he has something to keep her and increases his attractiveness. "A woman can do everything by herself - so the way a man adds value to a woman's life is by giving her a sense of security. "Because of this, a man needs to understand he has to be in a financial place to invest in a woman. "Men who can't afford it should wait to date until they become more stable." How to identify a 'provider mindset' in a man: 1. Never expect you to pay on dates 2. Is willing to help pay for expenses, if you allow him 3. You can rely on him for anything - not just money 4. A man of his word and follows through with the plans he's made with you 5. He has no problem giving (e.g. time, effort, gifts) How to identify a non 'provider mindset' man: 1. Does not see the value in investing in his woman 2. Is not generous with his time and money 3. Expects his woman to pay on dates 4. If he does pay for an occasion, he expects something in return 5. Always goes for 'cheap' options 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.

One of Singapore's most famous hotels reportedly makes $43,000 a day from one of their popular cocktails. Raffles Hotel is the home to one of the world's most iconic drinks, the Singapore Sling, which has since gone on to become known as the national drink. According to AU News, the hotel sells around 1,000 Singapore Slings a day. Costing $43 a pop, that would mean the Raffles Long Bar racks up a staggering $43,000 a day. One viral TikTok by @girlsvsglobe shows Sabina ticking off trying the famous drink, made from gin, pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine. Raffles also give visitors monkey nuts with the tradition of smashing the shells on the floor. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @girlvsglobe Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel ? the Long Bar is where this cocktail was invented around 1915 - this is one of the most iconic food and drink spots in Singapore! have you tried a Singapore Sling? #singaporesling #singaporefoodie #singaporefood #cocktailtok The Singapore Sling was first created in 1915 by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, with ingredients that purposely gave the cocktail a rosy hue. Raffles soon became a place of gathering, with men meeting up over glasses of whisky and gin. During this time, women were not allowed to drink alcohol in public, and so, teas, soft drinks and fruit juices were provided. Ngiam soon saw the opportunity to create an alcoholic drink to deceptively look like juice – but that was secretly infused with alcohol. "The clever bartender made the beverage pink to give it a feminine flair which, together with the use of clear alcohol, led people to think it was a socially acceptable drink for women," Raffles explained. "With that, the Singapore Sling was born. Needless to say, it became an instant hit." 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.

Adult star Riley Reid candidly shared how she made $12,000 for one single porn shoot. When Reid appeared on the Impaulsive podcast a few years back, she opened up to hosts Logan Paul, Mike Majlak and George Janko about her lucrative career. The hosts asked her whether there's good money in the adult industry, to which she replied: "The most I’ve gotten from one day… I think $12,000 for one day on a shoot." She went on to disclaim that the majority of her earnings don't come from her recording sessions. Instead, she has multiple streams of income, including through online platforms. "Like, that’s just from one shoot but I monetise myself in a lot of different ways," she said. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes after the star also opened up about how her job ruined her relationship with her family and caused many issues in her personal life. In an emotional 2020 YouTube video, she said: "A lot of times when people ask me if they should do porn, I tell them no, I tell them that it makes life really hard, it makes dating really hard, it makes your family life really hard, it makes intimacy hard," "If you're putting yourself out there and the world is now judging you, you have to be OK with being shamed every day of your life." Reid went on to say that the abuse she went through halted her in starting a family of her own. "I don't even want to have children because I do porn, because I'm worried [about] the way that people will treat my child," she explained at the time. Reid later welcomed baby Emma with Pasha Petkuns in November 2022. 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.

Gen Z has entered the workforce in recent years, and with that, the generation has brought its own phrases, expressions and ways of working that differ from their older predecessors. While fed up with the different jargon needed to navigate the workplace, over half of younger employees (54 per cent) admit to changing the way they speak to fit in, according to research from LinkedIn and Duolingo. But Gen Z is putting their own stamp on professional tasks, such as signing off an email where young workers are using their creativity to end their emails - and a lot of them have gone viral on TikTok. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Babbel, the online language learning platform, has gathered some of the most unusual ways Gen Z employees have decided to sign off their emails, and there is plenty of creativity on show. See if you can sort the genuine Gen Z pleasantries from the red herrings. Question 1 - Spot the culinary Gen Z sign-off: “Hasta la pasta” “Bone apple teeth” “*Chef’s kiss*” Question 2 - Pick the ultimate Gen Z regards: “Blessed Regards” “Lukewarm regards” “Mean Regards” Question 3- Which beverage related phrase is the real Gen Z way to say farewell? “Stay Hydrated, Queens” “More espresso, less depresso” “Let’s go for coffee soon” Question 4 - It’s all about alliteration. Which has actually been used as a Gen Z sign-off? “Slay, serve, survive” “alright alright alright” “Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica” Question 5- How would your Gen Z colleague wish you a happy weekend? “Speak soon - enjoy your weekend.” “Slay, serve, survive” “Have a good one!” Question 6 - The social media generation isn’t always feeling social, which of these is the real misanthropic Gen Z sign-off? “Regards.” “Don’t cross me” “Sorry, I can’t talk right now but will get back to you ASAP!” (Scroll down to find the correct answers!) Esteban Touma, Language Expert at Babbel, has noted how the "rules of the game have changed" since Gen Z has arrived, making workspaces "informal and welcoming. "Your Gen Z colleagues have grown up in an era of instant messaging, social media, and texting, which have influenced their communication style," he said. "They naturally gravitate towards more casual sign-offs as a reflection of their overall digital communication habits and a shift in language across society as a whole. The formal etiquette of the workplace has taken a step back in recent years - with a recent study by Deloitte surveying 1,500 Gen Z workers finding that the younger generation expects “more personalisation in how they want to be treated by their employer”. Informal sign-offs and even out-of-office replies now allow for self-expression - “Another day, another slay”, “Please enjoy your break from me”. Here are the answers to the questions: Question 1 - Hasta la pasta was the correct answer and was mentioned as an example of a Gen Z email sign-off in a viral TikTok by the CEO of Fox & Robin, an activewear company which claims to “hire only Gen Z." Question 2 - Lukewarm regards was the right answer, as it has been quoted as being one of Gen Z's snarky sign-offs. Question 3 - "Stay hydrated queens" is a Gen Z sign-off - The phrase 'yas queen' originated in the ballrooms of NYC by the Black trans and queer community as a way to celebrate, Gen Z has incorporated this phrase into most of their language. Meanwhile, “More espresso less depresso” is Millennial, where they often joke about the need for coffee is a common millennial trait, though one derided by Gen Z counterparts. Let’s go for coffee soon” is literal and collegial, leaving no room for confusion - it could only be a Boomer. Question 4 - There are Gen Z sign-off answer is "alright, alright, alright," and "slay serve survive" could also be used by this age group. Question 5 - "Slay, serve, survive" is the correct answer and a humorous sign-off informed by meme culture. "Have a good one!" is Millennial - an informal tone without being jovial, and Speak soon - enjoy your weekend is a boomer sign-off, more factual and formally written, as you’d expect of the letter-writing generation. Question 6 - The correct Gen Z answer is "Don't cross me," since the new generation is finding a way to get straight to the point in the workplace while maintaining some humour. For Millennials, “Sorry, I can’t talk right now but will get back to you ASAP!” sums up this generation's politeness in online communication, so you can expect to see exclamation marks and effusive apologies. Finally, Boomers are simple, and to the point, the older generation is happy to cut through the pleasantries with just a "Regards" sign-off. 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.

Just as you thought social media platforms had all corners of the internet covered, along comes Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta. In what has been described as a rival to Twitter, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has already had over 10 million people signed up in the first few hours of launching. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter For some, it’s a matter of jumping in with both feet and navigating the waters from there. Others will sit back and take a little more cautious approach. Either way, learning how to navigate the social media jungle using these few simple tips will be invaluable... Take a social media detox It’s easy to use social media compulsively and excessively. You can become so accustomed to scrolling through posts, laughing at videos and liking images that it can take over. According to data found by audience insights platform GWI, 29 per cent of people across Britain use more than five social media apps, with 54 per cent of 16-24-year-olds doing the same. “There has been a substantial surge in social media consumption over the past decade. What initially began as occasional Facebook ‘check-ins’ has now evolved into spending six to eight hours per day on various social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and now, Threads,” said Marvin Winkelmann, the managing director of AFK Digital. That’s why he says moderation is key. “I strongly advocate for individuals to not only take periodic breaks from social media to rejuvenate their wellbeing but also to consider reducing their engagement before bedtime and during meals. By doing so, we can prioritise face-to-face interactions, which hold even greater significance than merely keeping up with the seemingly idealised virtual world.” Practise the right social media etiquette Winkelmann highlights that different platforms have different niches in terms of how people generally interact. “But a rule of thumb should always be to treat other users with respect.” It’s also why Chris Hackett, the founder of Face Digital, an SEO advisory firm, believes we all need to learn the right social media etiquette, which dictates how people should behave around others online. “Always be yourself,” he said. “Whether you’re using social media for personal or professional reasons, people connect with authenticity. This doesn’t mean you should be airing out your personal details, but you don’t have to hide behind an online persona. “Be careful with what you say. It may feel like a safe space, but using social media to vent or voice controversial opinions can come back to haunt you in the future. “And don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want an employer to see. Social media is, for the most part, public. Before you fire off that tweet, imagine a potential employer reading it and what they may think.” Be careful of negativity Hackett advised against getting into arguments on social media. “There are a lot of keyboard warriors around, and there is nothing to gain by arguing with them. If you don’t like something, scroll past it.” Plus, some of the negativity on social media could have an impact on your mental health – which is why it’s important to look after yourself. “Social media has become a constant figure in everyone’s lives, to the point where it can be detrimental to our mental health. The best way to deal with negativity is to take time away from toxic online environments,” said Hackett. Winkelmann added: “It is crucial to acknowledge that social media platforms tend to accentuate negativity due to the provocative nature of negative content. People love to disagree and share their opinions online. “As a result, the algorithms used by these platforms are designed to amplify such content. It is important for individuals to remain aware of this fact, bearing in mind that much of what is observed online is often an embellished representation of reality anyway.” 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 Welsh mum with 800 tattoos has candidly opened up about her struggles getting a job and believes it's down to her body ink. Melissa Sloan, 46, first started getting her tattoos at the age of 20 and quickly became addicted. She has since gone on to get three layers of ink on her face, tattooing over older sketches. Melissa previously had a job cleaning toilets but has since struggled to secure a new role. "I can’t get a job," Melissa told the Daily Star. "I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live, and they won’t have me because of my tattoos. "People have said I have never had a job in my life, but I have had one once, and it didn’t last long," Melissa continued, adding that: "If someone offered me a job tomorrow, I would go and work – I would take that offer." The mum-of-two went on to tell the Mirror that she'll continue getting inked until the age of 70 if she can. "Every bit of skin will be covered even if I’m turning blue, my face is already turning blue — I look like a Smurf," she told the publication. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter While Melissa may sound like a dream client for tattoo parlours, it turns out many have actually banned her, along with her child's school and local pub. "Tattoo shops shut the door on me – tattooists won't let me in," Melissa told the Daily Star. "When I had this done [my face], there's one about five miles up the road, and they won't do it. She continued: "They won't do it because I'm beyond help – because I've gone too far." 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.

From Donald Trump's 2016 election victory to the shocking twist at the end of Game of Thrones, it seems that The Simpsons has a knack for predicting the future - and now some believe it predicted the new social media app Threads. The cartoon series has been running for 35 years since it first took to screens in 1989 and has become a part of pop culture in the 750 episodes that have aired. During this time, The Simpsons have covered a wide selection of topics from politics to celebrities, and as a result, it has eerily managed to foretell news or events that have not happened yet. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Some recent examples include the unexpected connection between the Titanic sub and foreseeing the controversial Willow Project. Most recently, people believe the show predicted Meta's new social media platform, Threads, which is said to rival Twitter. The "evidence" that has been circulating around the internet is a photo of Homer Simpson with his ear circled as it appears to be drawn like an "@" sign, strikingly similar to the Threads logo, which is shown beside the image. "The Simpsons predicted threads?!??" Twitter user @bestinteracted asked. However, all is not what it seems since Homer's ears are drawn differently in the cartoon show, and so the image is not real, rather it has been edited to make it look like the Threads logo. Someone was quick to point this out in response. So, in conclusion - no, The Simpsons did not predict the Threads app. 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.