Apparently lettuce has a use other than being eaten in salads and sandwiches, according to a new TikTok trend. Apparently some people swear that lettuce water can help you fall asleep. TikToker, Shalpa Hoque tried the hack out for herself and documented her process. You can watch her video in full here. “So apparently drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy, sis don’t sleep so imma try it out,” she wrote in the clip. Shalpa then ripped up some of the leafy greens and stuffed them into her mug before pouring in some boiling hot water. She mixed her lettuce water with peppermint tea because she was “scared it was going to taste like sh*t.” After leaving it to soak in the water for 10 minutes, she then takes the lettuce out and takes a sip, “it takes like nothing,” Shalpa says. Later she provides an update on how she’s feeling after the drink. “Update, I do feel slight drowsy, not hella sleepy like knockout, but I do feel sleepy.” Cut to some time later, and in another update the drink seems to have affected Shalpa more. “Another update, lettuce has crack because your sis is gone,” she said in bed with her eyes closed. TikTok users seemed to be intrigued by this so-called sleep hack, as the video now has 7.2m views, and over 1.4m likes. However, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine and the director of the Sleep Center of Excellence at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Insider that there is no research to prove that lettuce water helps us fall asleep. However, this has been found to be the case for rats where lettuce has helped them doze off. In a 2017 study, researchers looked at whether low and high doses of red romaine lettuce extract helped mice stay asleep longer. Results show that it worked for the rats, but it’s unclear whether TikTokers were using this particular lettuce to improve their sleep. St-Onge also questioned how effective stewing the lettuce in boiling water would be - even if it was the red romaine TikTokers were using. “How much of those lettuce extracts are you getting from water? I’m not sure,” she said. But those on the app insist they’ve been able to fall asleep quicker from it - so what’s the possible reason for this? This may be caused by the placebo effect, according to St-Onge. It’s when you convince yourself and your body that a treatment is working - even if that is not the case. “If you expect something to work, then you probably feel more sleepy,” St-Onge added. While consuming and getting wrapped up in these bizarre trends, it’s easy to forget the simple steps we can take to improve our sleep that are scientifically proven to work on humans. From reducing our screen time, to reducing light, to mindfulness and physical exercise - soggy lettuce doesn’t seem quite as appealing somehow.

Apparently lettuce has a use other than being eaten in salads and sandwiches, according to a new TikTok trend. Apparently, some people swear that lettuce water can help you fall asleep. TikToker, Shalpa Hoque tried the hack out for herself and documented her process. “So apparently drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy, sis don’t sleep so imma try it out,” she wrote in the clip. Shalpa then ripped up some of the leafy greens and stuffed them into her mug before pouring in some boiling hot water. She mixed her lettuce water with peppermint tea because she was “scared it was going to taste like sh*t.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter After leaving it to soak in the water for 10 minutes, she then takes the lettuce out and takes a sip, “it takes like nothing,” Shalpa says. Later she provides an update on how she’s feeling after the drink. “Update, I do feel slight drowsy, not hella sleepy like knockout, but I do feel sleepy.” Cut to some time later, and in another update the drink seems to have affected Shalpa more. @shapla_11 if you can’t sleep, try this #lettucewater #insomnia #lifehacks #fyp “Another update, lettuce has crack because your sis is gone,” she said in bed with her eyes closed. TikTok users seemed to be intrigued by this so-called sleep hack, as the video now has 7.2m views, and over 1.4m likes. However, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine and the director of the Sleep Center of Excellence at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Insider that there is no research to prove that lettuce water helps us fall asleep. However, this has been found to be the case for rats where lettuce has helped them doze off. In a 2017 study, researchers looked at whether low and high doses of red romaine lettuce extract helped mice stay asleep longer. Results show that it worked for the rats, but it’s unclear whether TikTokers were using this particular lettuce to improve their sleep. St-Onge also questioned how effective stewing the lettuce in boiling water would be - even if it was the red romaine TikTokers were using. “How much of those lettuce extracts are you getting from water? I’m not sure,” she said. But those on the app insist they’ve been able to fall asleep quicker from it - so what’s the possible reason for this? This may be caused by the placebo effect, according to St-Onge. It’s when you convince yourself and your body that a treatment is working - even if that is not the case. “If you expect something to work, then you probably feel more sleepy,” St-Onge added. While consuming and getting wrapped up in these bizarre trends, it’s easy to forget the simple steps we can take to improve our sleep that are scientifically proven to work on humans. From reducing our screen time to reducing light, to mindfulness and physical exercise - soggy lettuce doesn’t seem quite as appealing somehow. 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.

Trisha Paytas says she feels “super disrespected” after it was revealed that Colleen Ballinger sent unsolicited nudes of Paytas to her fans. Paytas is the latest person to speak up amidst the ongoing allegations against the YouTuber also known as Miranda Sings. Ballinger has been embroiled in a wave of allegations in the past few weeks after previous fans have spoken up about their inappropriate relationship with Ballinger whilst they were minors. It was claimed that Ballinger made fun of YouTuber Trisha Paytas’ body to her fans and also sent minors nude photos of Paytas. On Monday Paytas uploaded a 21-minute YouTube video titled ‘colleen’ discussing her relationship with the fellow YouTuber. The pair had recently started a podcast together as two mums with young children titled Oversharing. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Paytas starts the video by saying: “These most recent things that are coming out, everyone knows that I have a very very very firm stance on talking to anyone underage, platonic or not, I’ve always been very very firm with this that I think it’s appropriate.” “When all this came out I was shocked, you know the group chats and stuff I was kind of shocked, and it’s such a difficult thing because Colleen is someone that I quickly, literally in the past month that we did this podcast, like I really really cared about and really related to.” Paytas, who has long been a controversial figure and often embroiled in scandals herself shared that prior to Ballinger’s now infamous apology video “we were staying in touch because again I know what it feels like to have the whole internet come down on you. Even if the whole internet is right.” “I don’t want anyone, guilty or not, to ever feel like they don’t have someone to talk to.” Speaking of the allegations made in regards to Ballinger sending Paytas’ nudes to her fans, some who were minors, Paytas said she was “waiting to see what would come out” because of the “serious” and “illegal” aspects of the allegations. “It’s a topic I don’t take lightly and I can’t take lightly,” she adds. colleen youtu.be Paytas is widely known as a sex worker as well as for her YouTube videos. Talking about the sharing of her nudes she said: “I do not condone, at all, sending unsolicited nudes to anyone of anybody, sex worker or not. I think using someone’s nudes as a way to hurt them, make fun of them, make light of them, be mean, is the lowest form of human, the lowest form of intelligence. I think that’s so inhumane, so disgusting for anyone.” Prior to Paytas’ video, Johnny Silvestri, a previous fan of Ballinger who had messaged and met Ballinger on multiple occasions, shared censored photos of Paytas that had been sent to him by Ballinger. “Last night the text messages were shown and it’s very clearly from Colleen to a fan, it has over half a million views on Twitter. I’m not embarrassed by [them], I’m embarrassed for her.” “And these weren’t a long time ago, this is someone well into their 30s who just gave birth sending nudes, and I, a month prior, I was in her house meeting her child, meeting her newborn, and doing a mukbang with her,” says Paytas, clearly hurt. “In these texts there’s also friends of hers, they showed the viewing parties that were talked about, to make fun of me, they did viewing parties of my adult content to make fun of me.” Paytas also revealed that before the text messages were posted online, she had privately asked Colleen if the accusations were true and that Ballinger “assured me that she had never sent photos of me, that this one fan who was underage at the time would send photos to her.” “She said everything is taken out of context, these are lies.” Paytas concludes the video by saying “I just had to make this video to say I don’t stand behind Colleen whatsoever. Her video was not an apology and it took away from the severity of her actions of talking to minors, bringing minors on stage at her show, these peoples are speaking up and they’re uncomfortable for a reason. Acknowledge it, change it, do better.” 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 doctor has urged people to stop peeing in the shower as it could cause a slight problem in the future. Urogynaecologist Dr Teresa Irwin turned to her 91,000 TikTok followers to offer her expertise, where she claims that peeing while showering can trick your brain into thinking you need the toilet every time you hear running water. "You don't want to do it all the time because what happens is every time you hear the sound of water, your bladder is going to want to pee - because it's used to hearing the sound of the water in the shower," she told her viewers. "So whenever you're washing your hands, washing the dishes, your bladder is going to be salivating, so to speak, because it wants to go and pee." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @dr.teresa.irwin I said what I said! Unless you're struggling with total bladder emptying you need to hear this #bladdertips #pft #obgyn It comes after another doctor reiterated Dr Teresa's claims on social media. Dr Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a Boston-based pelvic floor therapist, said: "If you pee while the water is running, then you're creating an association in your brain between the sound of running water and having to pee." She also went on to say that those born with female anatomy were not created "to pee standing up." Professor Ajay Rane, Townsville Hospital's Director of Urogynaecology and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at James Cook University said they had conducted research into the "most appropriate posture" for women sitting on the toilet. "The appropriate posture is to sit on the toilet with your feet flat on the ground," Prof. Rane said at the US 2004 Urogynaecology Society Meeting on 'The Perfect Pee' back in 2004. He also said that feet flat on the ground "promote relaxation of your thigh muscles and your pelvic muscles." Rane further added that elbows should be on the knees as people "lean forward as if you are reading a newspaper on the floor" which helps to empty "both your bowel and bladder." 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 revealed how her marriage came to an abrupt end after her husband demanded a divorce the morning after their wedding. The woman from Sydney, named only as Rachel, said her groom was furious because she “didn’t give him what he wanted” on the night of their nuptials. Dialling into Australia’s Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield radio show, Rachel told her hosts: “I was married for not even 24 hours before my husband wanted a divorce, and we separated two weeks later.” She explained: “The night of the wedding, we went out, and when we got back to the hotel room, unfortunately, I didn’t give him what he wanted.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Probed on what she meant by “what he wanted”, Rachel clarified that her partner had wanted sex. But, she said: “We were tired. I didn’t want to, and the next day he wanted a divorce.” She also pointed out that they had been together for some time, so it wasn’t as though they’d been building up to the big moment (not that that would make any difference to how unacceptable his response was). Chatfield, a former reality TV star, instantly shared her disgust at the man’s behaviour, while noting that “a lot of people don’t have sex on their wedding night because they’re so tired”. “I’m sorry, Rachel, what an awful, disgusting man,” the presenter said, adding: “Men are revolting.” @hotnightswithabbie Who has the energy to be petty at 12’000 feet? #flights #travel #flight #fyp A clip of their interview racked up more than 80,000 views and 5,000 likes on TikTok in a week, as commentators reinforced Chatfield’s assessment. “Men like him deserve to stay single forever,” said one. “Absolutely dodged a bullet,” wrote another. However, others suggested Rachel and her husband’s relationship was “doomed” to fail because of their “mismatched libidos”. “He avoided a marriage of sexual frustration based on mismatched libido. Biggest cause of marriage angst and infidelity. Good call,” one concluded. Suffice it to say, that wasn’t a popular assessment. On a lighter note, fellow TikTokers shared their own memories of their wedding nights, celebrating the lack of action. “My husband cried about how much he loved me then fell asleep while I removed 83 bobby pins from my hair,” one reminisced. “My husband was too tired after unbuttoning the 300,000,000 buttons on the back of my dress to get me out of it,” recalled another, adding jokily: “Romantic really.” 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.

French people have been rioting for the last five nights after police shot and killed a teenager in Paris. Sadly, many people on social media have found a way to frame the events in a racist light, blaming migrants for the unrest or celebrating police brutality against ethnic minorities. The shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M, who had Algerian and Moroccan parents, has reignited long standing grievances among poor and ethnically mixed communities in France about racism and violence among the country’s police forces. It has also sparked wider anger in France’s poorest neighbourhoods over politicians' perceived lack of will or ability to tackle stark inequalities which have become deeply embedded in society, and which are often drawn along ethnic and class-based lines. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Clearly, it is a complex situation, and the rioting has led to burning public buildings, thousands of arrests and hundreds of injuries to both civilians and police. However, some people on social media have proven unable – or unwilling – to see the nuance. As more police were deployed in recent nights, some have shared videos of officers violently accosting protestors, who in many cases are people of colour. Some videos show police knocking people off motorbikes, dragging people to the floor and beating them up. Many show officers pointing guns at unarmed civilians. These posts have often been accompanied with celebratory comments, or worse, derogatory racist terms in reference to protestors. Others have suggested that the French government has fallen, which is fake news. Some have posted images of buildings on fire, explosions or damage to public infrastructure. The one thing many of these posts have in common is that they blame migrants, or pro-immigration policies in the European Union. As hatred spread across social media, Nahel was buried on Saturday. Friends and family attended a private funeral at Nanterre, near where the child was killed. A crowd gathered outside the local mosque and followed the coffin the the ceremony chanting: “Justice for Nahel.” A 38-year-old police officer has been put under investigation – the French equivalent of being charged – for voluntary homicide. Nahel’s death was the third fatal shooting by police during traffic stops in the country this year, and the 21st since 2020. Most of the victims have been of black or north African origin, according to Reuters. Many people on Twitter have called out the racist commenters for what they are. Roshan Salih, editor of British Muslim news site 5Pillars, said: “France is a racist and Islamophobic nation. The current riots are an inevitable expression of anger and frustration by the oppressed.” Syrian-British journalist Richard Medhurst said: “You have racists in France saying: ‘They are burning cars because they are African’. Same thing in the US during George Floyd protests. How come they care more about property than someone’s life? It’s simple: if you don’t want unrest, stop killing people.” Muslim social media influencer Fatima Barkatulla, meanwhile, responded to a tweet by Elon Musk – ever the paragon of measured, empathetic social commentary – where the Twitter chief executive said burning libraries, as has happened in Marseille, was “sacrilege”. She said: “Killing our sons is a greater sacrilege. France has been a heavy handed, brutal country in colonial times towards its Muslim/North African colonies. And continues to be oppressive towards them as citizens today.” 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 engagement party became very rocky very quickly after a woman exposed the bride's OnlyFans account. In a now deleted Reddit post, the woman explained she was invited to her sister-in-law's engagement party and told the (now ex) groom that he was "very open minded" to marry his fiancee given she used to use OnlyFans. From there, the proverbial hit the fan. She explained: "Well, apparently her fiancé didn't know about her OnlyFans account, so you can imagine all the drama that created between them." She went on to explain how her sister-in-law ended up running out of the party in tears, leaving guests with their jaws on the floor. "My husband tried going after her, but his twin brother stopped him and told him that this whole situation is his fault for bringing that troublemaker (referring to me) to the party," she added. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "I told him it's not a surprise that he's up for covering up someone's past considering what's in his and that made both him and their mother go off at me and my husband." They ended up leaving the party and her husband was pretty annoyed at her. The engagement then got called off but she thinks the bride should have just been more honest. Chaos. 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.

They would have called him Jonah in a past life… When lobster diver Michael Packard found himself being swallowed up by a humpback whale he was convinced his time had come. But just as he was having what he assumed to be his final thoughts, the whale decided against it and spat him out. Packard was able to swim to safety after the incident, which was in June 2021. Since then, he has given a series of interviews about the death-defying episode. “[I was] trapped for about 30-40 seconds. Yes, I was almost convinced I was going to die that day,” he said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “All of a sudden, I felt this huge shove and the next thing I knew it was completely black,” he said in a separate interview with the Cape Cod Times. “I could sense I was moving, and I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles in his mouth,” Packard was 56 at the time, and initially thought he was inside a great white shark. However, he couldn’t feel any teeth and he hadn’t suffered any obvious wounds, and it dawned on him that the situation was far more biblical than that. “I was completely inside; it was completely black,” Packard said. “I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here. I’m done, I’m dead.’ All I could think of was my boys — they’re 12 and 15 years old.” Experts think the incident was likely a freak accident, and that the humpback whales are not aggressive towards humans. (That puts them in a different category to orcas, which have spent the first half of 2023 exacting their revenge on humankind.) Jooke Robbins, director of Humpback Whale Studies at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, said: “Based on what was described, this would have to be a mistake and an accident on the part of the humpback.” When a humpback opens its mouth to feed, it billows out like a parachute, blocking the animal’s forward vision, which is why so many become entangled in fishing gear in their mouth and jaws, said Robbins. It isn’t even Packard’s first brush with death. The diver also managed to survive a plane crash in Costa Rica in 2001 in miraculous circumstances. The crash, which killed three people, saw Packard sustain “severe facial injuries and multiple broken long bones in his arms and legs”, according to a Cape Cod Times dispatch in 2001. A doctor who treated the survivors told the Associated Press: "They would not have survived another night at that site." As for the whale escape? Packard didn’t sustain any serious injuries, telling Reddit he was left with “soft tissue damage, nothing serious”. A close shave indeed. 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 Swifties are a formidable bunch – just ask Matty Healy – and a recent fan interview has proven the point yet again, it seems. The Taylor Swift fan skived off work on the night of the pop star’s gig in Cincinnati this weekend, hoping nobody would recognise her when she was meant to be home “sick”. Inspired by Swift’s song “Anti-Hero”, the fan kept her identity secret by dressing up as one of the music video’s ghosts. Standing in a queue of thousands ahead of the grand opening of the Taylor Swift merchandise truck, which was selling $75 hoodies and $40 tank tops, the brave Swiftie even got in front of a camera, giving an interview to local news channel WKRC-TV Local 12. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “There are two Swifties here who shall remain anonymous, who called in sick to work,” said the interviewer. “They travelled here from Louisville, so they’ve gotten quite a drive here. They’ve been here since about 2.45 in the morning.” Turning to the two people with blankets over their heads, and one wearing sunglasses over the top, the reporter asked: “Can you tell me what Taylor Swift means to you – she must mean a lot to you, because you’re here and you’ve called in sick.” One of the fans replied: “That is very true. I almost called my daughter’s middle name Taylor, so…” The fan said she wanted to buy a hoodie from the merch truck, and that she had tickets to see the pop star this weekend. She added that she was taking an 11-year-old little girl to the gig with her. “It’s her first time. I went to the show in Nashville, so it’s more for her.” Fortunately for the fans, the reporter was supportive of their disguise. “Your secret’s safe with me! I think it’s safe with everyone else here too.” The ghosts in “Anti-Hero” are a visual representation of the first verse of the song. “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser,” she sings. “Midnights become my afternoons. When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room.” See their cameo in the music video here. The two real-life “Anti-Hero” ghosts quickly went viral after the exchange, with social media users finding the exchange hilarious. One person said: “Keep it weird, Louisville.” Another said: “I just know she gon f**k around and wear that same gray quarter zip to work one day and tell on herself.” Let’s just hope they never get found out. 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 you've logged on to Twitter in the last year or so, you've probably seen the phrase "Space Karen" trending. Every now and then the phrase will trend, especially when Elon Musk does something people do not like. "Space Karen" is the insulting nickname people use to refer to Musk, 51. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter When Musk gave remaining Twitter employees an ultimatum to work harder or leave, activists projected the name "Space Karen" onto Twitter HQ. People used it against Musk again after he suspended several journalists' accounts who had been covering him from Twitter last year. Musk accused them of "doxxing" his private information. People have called out Musk for preaching that he wanted to make Twitter free-speech-oriented while censoring journalists who have covered him and his companies. The name "Karen" has become synonymous with middle-aged, white women who are exemplifying entitled behavior. Many felt Musk was suspending accounts on personal bias. Musk was bestowed his nickname in November 2020, after he tweeted questioning the validity of Covid-19 rapid tests. During the pandemic, those who questioned Covid-19, vaccines, or refused to comply with restrictions were often called Karen. "What's bogus is that Space Karen didn't read up on the test before complaining to his millions of followers," Dr Emily Bell wrote. Space Karen has become Twitter's method of calling out Musk for being entitled or exhibiting exclusive behaviors. Like when Musk made fun of people who declare their pronouns. And now people are using the nickname again, after Twitter applied a temporary limit to the number of tweets users can read in a day, with Musk saying the temporary limits were to address "extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation". So there you have it. Don't mess with the internet or the internet will come up with an unflattering nickname for you. 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.

Attracting over 18 million tourists a year, Amsterdam has become the hot spot for travellers across the globe. Filled with tree-lined streets, picturesque canals and some of the finest culinary creations and art, the Dutch city has something for everyone – despite the stereotypes of being strictly sex and weed. Now, we can't speak about Dam without addressing the elephant in the room: Marijuana. You could be a foodie; an art enthusiast; a world traveller, or simply passing through the city on a connecting flight – but you'll inevitably be given the side eye from friends, family and peers asking: Oh, you smoke? Yes, pot and sex work are legal. But they certainly aren't the be-all, end-all. In fact, tourists who have had the pleasure of visiting Amsterdam recently would have noticed the absence of smoke in the air, which is down to a newly enforced rule last month. After years of complaints from residents, the city started its crackdown with a "stay away" campaign that initially saw a ban on weekend alcohol sales and earlier closing times for brothels and bars. People around the city now face a €100 (£87) fine if they smoke cannabis in public in the red light district, with an aim to "reduce crowding and nuisance in the area." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Nestled in the Museum Quarter of the city resides Jan Luyken, a townhouse surrounded by depths of culture and an elegant shopping street. Think, the Bond Street of Amsterdam. There's no wonder art lovers immediately fall for the place, with its eclectic decor woven through the newly-renovated hotel. The impressive attention to detail in every corner gives off rich colours and fringed lampshades, complete with reading areas and a help-yourself bar. There are also plenty of open spaces across the ground floor to wind down in, including the library and the dining room, which are designed to make guests feel comfortable and at ease. A true home away from home – especially for a solo traveller. Travellers can also enjoy the sun in the private garden, located next to an aesthetically pleasing gym that makes working out feel that little bit easier. With a hotel so impressive, it can sometimes be tempting to stay in and around it – but with 48 hours in the city, I went off to discover whether there was more to Amsterdam than the stereotypes. Museums Amsterdam does many things well, museums being one of them. The city is jam-packed with cultural experiences, from fine art to photography and history. Two days certainly won't get you through the array of galleries across the city, but there are two in particular that should not be missed. Moco Museum: Founded in 2016, the independent museum boasts a variety of modern, contemporary, and street art. Here, you will find pieces from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Icy & Sot, JR, KAWS, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Yayoi Kusama, THE KID, Andy Warhol, Studio Irma, among many more. The Museum of Prostitution: While Amsterdam's sex industry remains open, there's still an air of mystery surrounding it. At the world's first prostitution museum, you will learn about the Red Lights Secrets through an interactive experience. Without giving too much away, the museum delves into the history of sex work in the city, what a typical room looks like and positive testimonials. It also does not shy away from the darker truths of the industry, such as trafficking and unsolved murder cases. Parks Vondelpark: Considered one of the city's most famous parks, this charming area makes the perfect destination to wind down from walking around the city after a long day. During the summer months, there's a host of activities, bandstands – and it even has its own Picasso sculpture hidden along the path. Food Dinner in the Pulitzer Garden: For the foodies, this al-fresco dining experience is a must. Inspired by modern-Dutch cuisine, it offers a wide range of impressive culinary creations and beautifully crafted cocktails. This gem is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an idyllic view of the tranquil gardens. Still, for some, smoking in Dam remains a bucket list goal – and there's certainly no judgement here. The Dutch are some of the friendliest people and are happy to help – especially when an inexperienced tourist steps into a coffee shop. It simply comes down to asking. Coffee shops are filled with different strengths, and you can often purchase pre-rolled joints to avoid awkwardly trying to figure it out for the first time. For more information about Jan Luyken, click 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.

A photo of a freeway sign in the US has gone viral because of its rather unsavoury connection: cannibalism. Police posted a picture on Facebook of the Donner Lake exit on Interstate 80 in California on Wednesday. But the lake is named after a group of Midwestern pioneers who were forced to spend the winter of 1846–47 in the Sierra Nevada mountain range: the Donner Party. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The story goes that the survivors only made it through by eating the others in their party – although a recent study by archeologists suggested that there was no physical evidence of cannibalism. The road sign, meanwhile, has a knife and fork beneath it to signify dining options like restaurants and cafes – but some people interpreted it differently. One person on Facebook said: “I heard there is a party going on up there.” Placerville California Highway Patrol’s social media page replied: “Slowly dwindling, but yes.” Another person said: “For a fine dining experience, visit beautiful Donner Lake,” to which a commenter replied, “bring the family.” One person joked that the food around the lake “was finger-licking good,” while another said that “the ribs and shoulder are amazing [there] but I wasn’t a fan of the liver and onions.” California Department of Transportation public information officer Steve Nelson said that there are 38 restaurants past the exit, “so the sign is appropriate to notify motorists, but [we] also understand the irony and that it may be considered insensitive.” That’s a lot to chew on. 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.