A groom has divided the internet after posting about his experiences leading up to his wedding day, revealing that he told his wife he wanted his ex-boyfriend to be his best man. The anonymous man wrote on Reddit and explained the context behind a disagreement he’d caused with his wife-to-be. The 27-year-old said that he was bisexual and hadn’t told his partner that he used to be romantically involved with one of his close friends. He wrote that the paid had dated for "less than a month" before deciding they were better off as friends. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The post read: "Near the end of the year I'm going to be marrying the love of my life, we have been together for four years now. Since I popped the question we've been busy planning, and one of the first things we decided was our wedding party. We both already knew exactly who we were going to ask and we had no issues with each other's choices, at least at the beginning. "My fiancée recently found out that I used to date my best man and is furious I never told her he was my ex and that I had not only invited him but also wanted him in the wedding party.” He added: "The thing is, I never purposely hid the fact we use to date from her, I just genuinely forgot. We have been friends for years and we got on so well we decided to give it a try and it just wasn't meant to be. we were 'together' for less than a month and it wasn't really that different from how we were being friends except we had sex sometimes. "I have to actively be reminded of it as it's not something I think about, when I look at him I don't see an ex I see my best friend of over 10 years. He was my friend for years before we dated and years after. I don't think it classes him as an ex and I don't think it should mean he's excluded from my wedding. But my fiancée is adamant that it's disrespectful to her and that it's her wedding so she should get a say. "I don't want to exclude him but if I knew she would react like this I might have just invited him as a guest." The post attracted some criticism, with some accusing him of keeping the truth from his partner. "Hiding some facts about your past romantic relationship is the same as lying. Why did you not tell her about him?" one wrote. However, another said that “it was an honest mistake”, adding: “I think you need to have a talk with her about why she feels disrespected without trying to discount her feelings.” 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.

Everyone loves a new riddle or puzzle to figure out and now there is a new question that has left the internet baffled with varying answers to "What is the closest time to midnight?" In a question that perhaps takes many of us back to our school days, people can't agree on the correct answers from the four options given, These four options are: 11:55 am 12:06 am 11:50 am 12:03 amSign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletterThe most popular answer appears to be number four 12:03 am since this is just three minutes away from midnight, especially when you look at the different answer options.However, if we want to get technical, the wording of the question is all about “closest time to” not the “closest time until" so how time moves may not be a part of the answer. As a result, people have come up with other creative reasoning behind choosing another one of the options - with a few believing the answer could be which time is closest to the written word "midnight." (In that case, the answer would be number one since it is typed out closest to "midnight" on the paper). While some may have been caught out by choosing number one, as they wrongly believe 11:55 am is closest to midnight when actually this would have been true if it had been 11:55 pm - not am. Clearly, the debate has sparked serious reactions from people who are adamant about their answers. One person said: "The replies made me lose a bit more faith in humanity." "One of my favorite genre of Twitter post is 2nd grade worksheets," another person wrote. Someone else added: "You all need to go back to school if you say anything other than D." 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.

YouTuber The Hardest Geezer had been dealt a serious blow while running the entire length of Africa dealt a serious blow after being robbed at gunpoint. The Hardest Geezer, real name Russ Cook, is attempting to become the first person ever to complete the feat as part of “Project Africa”, with money being raised for charity. However, on the 64th day of his journey, he revealed he and his crew had been robbed at gunpoint by two “desperate” men. Cook wrote: “Nothing like a gun being pointed at your face to let you know you’re alive. Lively one today.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He added: “A couple lads popped open the side door and demanded everything we have. Desperate blokes with guns pointed. Infamously bad situation to find yourself on the end of. Proper spot of bother. Damage limitation.” Cook also listed the items that had been taken and confirmed that no-one had been hurt. “None of us got killed or injured. We didn’t let them march us out the van. But we did lose a lot of our gear. Couple cameras, 2 iphones, all of our cash, passports + few other bits.” This could end the trip... I'm Running the Entire Length of Africa #15 www.youtube.com So far, Cook has managed to raise £33k of his £100k target. He is raising money for The Running Charity and WaterAid. He’s been sharing his progress on his YouTube channel while also cheekily teasing a Netflix deal and sharing health updates. Some followers expressed concern recently after he posted a video of him peeing - and it's bright red. 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 tragedy of the ill-fated Titan sub has sparked a flood of interest in ocean adventures and misadventures but there’s a particular group of people who steer well-clear of such subjects. These are sufferers of the rare phobia submechanophpbia, which is the fear of man-made objects submerged partially or fully underwater. For those with the condition, snorkelling expeditions and trips to the local pool can be fraught with dread as the prospect of glimpsing so much as a ball beneath the surface can be enough to trigger waves of panic. Anyone unfamiliar with the phobia but who recognises such feelings of terror might want to check whether they’re submechanophobics themselves. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Handily, the TikTok account 'br1ghtfacts' has created a test to do just that, featuring images that might seem innocuous to many, but strike horror in the hearts of that unique group. It begins with a picture of a flooded mine shaft before moving on to an eye-popping underwater statue. From there, we’re greeted by a photo of a diver hovering by the propellor of an abandoned ship, then by a pretty convincing statue of a crocodile peeking through the surface. Finally, we’re confronted by what the video’s voiceover describes as “the stairway to hell”, showing a metal staircase leading into a body of frozen water. The slideshow has racked up more than 2.6 million views and 193,000 likes as commentators shared their alarm at the catalogue. Interestingly, the most fright-inducing was the second image: the googly-faced statue. “Number two was a JUMP SCARE,” one TikToker wrote. “I have submechanophobia but number 2 got me terrified,” admitted another. “The second one… my soul left my body for a second,” said a third. While a fourth said they “almost fainted at the statue”. @br1ghtfacts Phobia test - submechanophobia ? Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys and miscellaneous debris. #abcxyz #fypシ #creepy #phobia #fy For readers who manage to survive the challenge with your sanity in tact, br1ghtfacts offer other phobia tests that you might want to try out. There’s one for nyctophophia – an extreme fear of the dark; thalassophobia– the fear of deep water; and even fykiaphobia –the fear of seaweed. All we can say is, we’re glad to have our feet planted firmly on solid ground right now. 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.

American YouTuber MrBeast has opened up about how he was almost a passenger on the ill-fated Titan submarine after being invited onboard by OceanGate. The Titan submarine went missing on 18 June after it lost communication with the ship on top of the water during its descent to see the wreckage of the Titanic on the sea floor. On 22 June, the US Coast Guard announced it had found debris from the submarine and concluded it had suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, killing all five passengers onboard. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has revealed how he could have been one of them, explaining that he was offered the opportunity to go in it. In a tweet, MrBeast shared the invitation he received and wrote: “I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The invitation read: “I’m going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along.” It is unclear who the invitation came from, but onboard the submarine was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani multimillionaire Shahzada Dawood, his teenage son Suleman and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Despite the 25-year-old declining the invitation, few would have been surprised had the influencer taken it up since he has become well-known for completing daring challenges alongside his philanthropic work. In 2022, MrBeast and several of his friends travelled to Antarctica to attempt to survive 50 hours in the freezing temperature. 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.

Lance Armstrong has been accused of staggering hypocrisy after wading into a public debate about transgender representation in sport. The disgraced former cyclist, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in 2012 after being found guilty of multiple doping offences, boasted on Twitter that he was “uniquely placed” to speak about divisive subjects. Announcing the launch of a special series of his podcast ‘The Forward’, he tweeted: “Of all the controversial and polarizing subjects out there today, I'm not sure there are any as heated as the topic of Trans athletes in sport. “Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport yet not be labelled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions? Do we yet know the answers? And do we even want to know the answers? “I do. Hence these conversations… a special series of The Forward, beginning Monday, where I dive into this issue with an open mind in an attempt learn as much as possible from all sides of the debate.” He ended his thread: “I hope that for those who have been reluctant to have this conversation, this somehow feels safe. Be fearless.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter His announcement has not gone down well with fellow social media users, countless of whom have picked up on his eyebrow-raising choice of wording. Here’s what they had to say about his so-called curiosity about the “fairness” of trans sportspeople’s inclusion in competitive events: The furore comes just weeks after World Athletics (WA) announced a banon transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female category events, following similar codes to those of rugby and swimming. At the end of March, the organisation’s president, Lord Sebastian Coe, said that the decision was driven by the need to “protect the female category”. “We cannot in all consciousness leave our transgender regulations as they were,” he said. Elsewhere, Alun Williams, Professor of Sport and Exercise Genomics at Manchester Metropolitan University, agreed that athletics’ previous approach of allowing transgender women to compete in female events with reduced levels of testosterone did not equate to fairness. He told the PA news agency: “There are key biological differences that appear predominantly during male puberty due to elevated testosterone while growth is still going on. “Those differences seem to persist whatever happens for the rest of someone’s life, including if they then lower testosterone down to what is the typical female range. “The biological effects that are related to sport – like an increase in skeleton size, having larger muscles that are stronger, increase in the size of organs like the heart that help in all sorts of activity – those persist. “On that basis, the choice for the authorities like World Athletics is to make a decision – do they prioritise fairness or do they prioritise inclusion, but there’s no evidence at the moment that those two can be met at the same time.” However, critics of a blanket ban argue that not enough research has been done to draw such a conclusion. Liz Ward, director of programmes at Stonewall, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights and equality, said: “It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events. “Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban. “It is vital that decisions about trans participation are based on robust evidence, specific to the sport played and the athletes competing at that level of the sport. “We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level.” 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 countdown is on for Greta Gerwig’s hotly anticipated Barbie film set to drop next month. Buzz around the film continues to grow, with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice recently dropping the soundtrack, 'Barbie World'. Margot Robbie, who will be joined by Ryan Gosling as Ken, also showed fans a glimpse into the Mattel doll's Dreamhouse with Architectural Digest. But now, attention has been turned to a French promo poster, which reads: "Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c’est juste Ken." The phrase is intended to mean: "She can do everything. He’s just Ken." However, the seemingly innocent tagline also has an NSFW interpretation, as many social media users pointed out. In French, "Ken" is a slang term for the F-bomb, which means the sentence could also be read as: "She knows how to do everything. He just knows how to f***," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Many people online were left in hysterics, with some believing it to be intentional: "I'm almost certain that this was done on purpose for this exact reason - to generate marketing hype at how it was a 'mistake'." "This is the reason why diversity is so important, especially in Marketing teams," another said. "This translation was probably done by Gen X; Millennials and Gen Z were not involved." Meanwhile, a third fan wrote: "This movie is my EVERYTHING and it's not even out yet" – and they're right. The unreleased film has already caused a worldwide shortage of the colour pink. Production designer Sarah Greenwood spoke to Architectural Digest and revealed that the creation of the set led to a shortage of the fluorescent shade of Rosco paints. "The world ran out of pink," she said. 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.

Dave Grohl surprised fans with a third appearance at Glastonbury on Saturday (24 June), as he joined Guns N' Roses on stage for their closing track. The band performed a two-hour-plus set with tracks including 'Live And Let Die', 'Knocking On Heaven’s Door', 'Sweet Child O’ Mine and November Rain'. Festival-goers were delighted as guitarist Slash performed the opening riff to their 1987 hit song 'Welcome To The Jungle.' Switching up the lyrics, Axl Rose sang: "Do you know where you are? You’re in the jungle, Glastonbury!" The lead singer later invited Foo Fighters frontman Grohl onstage to help them close out the show with an explosive performance of 'Paradise City'. Grohl had appeared earlier on Saturday as a guest for The Pretenders, having previously performed a secret slot with Foo Fighters on Friday (23 June). Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It didn't take long for fans to turn to Twitter, with one writing: "Wow! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Guns N' Roses rocks the house with Dave Grohl for an electrifying performance of Paradise City!" "Ohh Dave Grohl and Guns ‘n’ Roses at #Glastonbury. Actually Dave Grohl at anything," another added. Meanwhile, a third poked fun at his multiple appearances, writing: "David Grohl sure gets around, doesn’t he? I’m fully expecting him to come up in the piano in Elton Johns set tonight." It comes after Grohl was spotted on the train to Glastonbury earlier in the day after posing with a member of staff for a photo. A GWR spokesman said: ""Even rock royalty knows that there is no better way to travel to Glastonbury than by train! You never know who is going to churn up on board our trains!" Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A man has been praised for playing squatters at their own game after they took over his mother’s house. Flash Shelton, a handyman from Nevada, California, explained in a YouTube video that his mum had put the property up for rent following the death of her husband. A woman subsequently got in touch to express her interest in becoming a tenant. Flash said the woman, who claimed to be a prison guard, told them she didn’t have any money or credit, but hoped to fill the vacancy in exchange for making repairs and looking after the place. Understandably, they rejected her application, but it turned out she was already on her way to the home with all her belongings. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “She ended up having a truck of furniture, and literally moved into the house,” Flash said, adding that she claimed her things had been delivered there “by accident”. He said he started to hear from realtors, who were trying to list the house, that the place was full of furniture. Separately, he was told by neighbours that they could see lights on in the property at night. In other words, the woman had truly made herself at home, without permission. Flash took up the issue with the local sheriff’s office but they told him there was “nothing [they] could do". “They said, ‘I’m sorry but we can’t enter the house, and it looks like they’re living there, so you need to go through the courts',” he recounted. The handyman was left with no other choice but to take the matter into his own hands. “All I needed to do at that point was do the same thing they did, and occupy the house,” he said. “If they can take a house, I can take a house.” Flash said that, since the house wasn’t in his name, his mother wrote up a lease agreement naming him as the property’s legal resident. He then loaded up his Jeep, took his gun (“just in case”), and made the 12-hour drive up to the house in northern California. The YouTuber explained that he arrived at the property at 4am but saw that there were cars in the driveway. Realising he “stood out like a sore thumb”, he parked a few houses down the street and slept in his car till morning. At around 9am, he returned and saw that the cars were gone. “Taking a chance that everybody’s out”, he then entered the home using his keys. After he spent some time looking around the house and feeling “shocked” at the amount of stuff that had been moved in, a woman and her granddaughter arrived. Filming their encounter, Flash informed them that they needed to move their belongings out immediately, warning them that if they didn't do so by midnight that same day, he'd report them to police for trespassing. The woman insisted she hadn't been living there – which Flash didn’t buy for a second – but, eventually, she agreed to vacate the property, which she did by 3am the following morning. He went on to explain how realtors told him he could make “tons of money” from turfing squatters out of people’s homes, but he insisted he had no intentions of giving up his day job. However, he admitted: “It was actually fun to do. I won’t lie about that." Fellow YouTubers praised his "respectful" approach, with one writing: "I can't believe how calm you were through this. I don't think I could have been so nice." Another commented: "They had money to buy nice furniture, rent a truck. They left in the morning like they had jobs. There were not homeless people. They should go to jail." A third complained: "The fact that the law gives these squatters rights is totally INSANE! Clearly, our lawmakers can put laws in place to deal with squatters, but instead, they choose to put all types of laws in place to protect squatters and other non-payers!" And a fourth added: "I give you all the credit. You stayed very calm, spoke to them like humans and got them out without incident." Still, in a follow-up video, Flash told viewers not to follow in his footsteps, stressing: “Not everyone should walk through that door not knowing what you’re gonna find. “It’s not always going to be peaceful like that.” How I removed squatters in less than a day. www.youtube.com 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

All five answers to the questions below have something in common. Can you figure it out?

A celebrity chef who banned vegans from his restaurants has been forced to implement a booking fee after being trolled online. It all started when John Mountain, owner of Fyre in Australia, announced the new policy on Facebook following a customer complaint. "Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding," he wrote. In a direct message, the customer reportedly wrote: "My only option was the vegetable dish… it was okay but not that filling… and I was shocked to see it was $32 (£17). "If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does. I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The chef didn't take the feedback lightly, telling 7News: "F**k vegans - I’m done with them." "I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me." Now, the chef claims he's been bombarded with fake bookings from vegans, prompting him to introduce a $30 (£16) booking fee. On his website, he wrote: "Due to the frequency of non-genuine vegan bookings, we have been forced to request a $30 per person booking fee. "This fee is wholly deductible from your bill after dining at Fyre." 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 twisted rumour spread across social media on Friday (23 June) that said Marvel actor Jeremy Renner had passed away from a "freak escalator accident." He has not. It is simply yet another celebrity death hoax. The image was originally shared on Twitter with a fake headline that read: "Jeremy Renner, actor, passes away at 52 from freak escalator accident." The fake article is credited to The Guardian's deputy culture editor Sian Cain but appears to be a doctored screenshot from an article written back in March, as the two used the same image of the star. The original article covered Renner's snowplough accident that occurred in January. The rumour seems to have started from user @weedhitter, whose original tweet has over 1 million views, according to Twitter. The hashtag #ripjeremyrenner soon began trending on Twitter as a result of the fake headline, which later featured a community note letting users know that the Hawkeye actor was still alive. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Whilst the hashtag was trending it seemed that most were in on the hoax, rather than spreading misinformation: However, some didn't appreciate the rumour: 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.