List of All Articles with Tag 'viral'

In schools, trends come and go like clockwork, whether they be related to a toy like fidget spinners or pranks they have seen on the internet. One teacher has opened up about a new and “annoying quirk” that has young people calling themselves “coin boys” and constantly flipping quarters. The anonymous teacher took to Reddit to complain about freshmen they teach participating in the “coin boys” trend. The hilarious post explained: “The newest thing here is a flock of self-proclaimed ‘coin boys’ who carry a quarter on hand at all times and constantly flip it. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “They have their entire personality revolve around coins, coin flips, and chance. When we went around doing an ice-breaker, 4 or 5 of the kids said some variation of ‘I live by the coin and die by the coin’ as their fact.” In the post, the teacher said one of the “coin boys” said he was going to flip a coin that would decide if he was going to do the assigned piece of work or not. The teacher explained: “When I assigned the first assignment of the school year, one of the coin boys was bold enough to say ‘heads I do it, tails I don’t.’ “I told him if he flipped the coin he would be getting a call home on the first week of HS. He flipped it anyway and it came up heads (thank god for that at least). “But then the other coin boy in that class flipped his coin and it came up tails. He said the coin has spoken and he’s not doing it. I say very well, enjoy your 0 and your call home— what a great way to start off the school year and your high school career.” Their post proceeded to go viral across social media, with many finding the post absolutely hilarious and pledging to “stand with the coin boys”. The teacher said they had looked up the trend online but hadn’t seen anything else about it, theorising that it must be a local group of friends who made it up. But, thanks to the viral post, it may have the opposite effect. 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 110-year-old English language question formerly used in Cambridge English exams is absolutely baffling people over a century later. Exams at school and university are typically not things people look back on with fond memories, but it’s something we do in order to progress academically. For those who sat the very long Cambridge exam wishing to become an English language teacher back in 1913, they may well have been haunted by a question that continues to confuse people in the year 2023. In celebration of 110 years of the Cambridge English exam, the question has been released, but can you solve it? The question comes from the June 1913 Certificate of Proficiency in English exam, which was sat by three people and cost £3 at the time. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It was a gruelling 12-hour long exam and included sections on dictation, translation, and phonetic transcription. Today, more than 6 million people each year take the C2 Proficiency test, as it is now known. Francesca Woodward, Managing Director for English at Cambridge, said in a statement: “From just three candidates, we now open doors for millions of people every year to learn and teach English. "The historical papers from our archives paint a fascinating picture of how much has changed when it comes to learning English with Cambridge.” The question asks the candidates to “correct or justify” four of six different statements and to explain their reasoning. The first statement said: “I hope you are determined to seriously improve.” The second read: “Comparing Shakespeare with Aeschylus, the former is by no means inferior to the latter.” The third says: “I admit I was willing to have made peace with you.” The fourth reads: “The statement was incorrect, as any one familiar with the spot, and who was acquainted with the facts, will admit.” The fifth said: “It has the largest circulation of any paper in England.” And the sixth said: “The lyrical gifts of Shakespeare are woven into the actual language of the characters.” Cambridge highlights that what was deemed the correct English over 100 years ago may be different from now. Here are the answers: 1) This is a split infinitive and should be avoided in formal writing. The correct wordage would be, “seriously to improve”. 2) This statement is incorrect because it is a hanging participle and unintentionally modifies the wrong noun in a sentence. Alternatives that would be correct include, “Shakespeare is by no means inferior to Aeschylus” or “Shakespeare is just as good as Aeschylus”. 3) This statement uses the wrong tense and should read, “to make peace”. 4) Again, this uses the incorrect tense. The words “will admit” should instead be “would admit”. 5) and 6) are correct but candidates would have to explain why no changes are necessary. 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 tiny kitten that captured hearts after being found with a disability affecting all his legs has sadly died after contracting an illness. Tater Tot was found when he was just a day old with all four of his legs malformed. His rescue journey was documented online where people fell in love with the sweet kitten and his permanently angry expression. Now, his many fans have been left heartbroken following the news of his death. Tater Tot’s fosterer, Ash Houghton, made the sad announcement in a special Facebook group with his more than 43,000 fans, called Tater Tot and His Spudbuds. Houghton wrote: “Today, our tiny spud, passed away suddenly in my hands. His energy had been slowly decreasing over the last week or so, and we were hoping it was an illness that antibiotics could treat. “He also started showing signs of pneumonia a few days ago, and I had started pneumonia protocol with meds and a nebulizer.” He died on Wednesday 2 August in Houghton’s hands and she thanked people for their unconditional love shown towards her special needs kitten. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter She continued: “This tiny little potato has had such a profound impact on my heart, and I am so unbelievably happy I got to share him with the entire world. “What started as me sharing some photos of the goofy new foster I had turned into an entire community focused on kindness, humor and compassion. “I am astounded at the reach Tater Tot’s story had, and I cannot express to you just how incredible it has been to see how he has impacted the world.” Heartbroken fans took to Twitter to share in their grief. Houghton ended the announcement encouraging people to donate to their local animal shelters in honour of Tater Tot. 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.

IShowSpeed fans have gathered outside the Japanese hospital the YouTuber is being treated in to show their support amid his ongoing health struggles. The 18-year-old is currently receiving treatment in Tokyo after sharing footage of himself receiving treatment in hospital with a "deadly headache." The influencer, real name Darren Watkins Jr, was noticeably distressed with one eye closed and the other severely swollen after suffering a severe sinus infection. He told fans: "Right now, I have one of the worst experiences I am having right now. I can't even open up my eyes. I have this thing called a cluster headache. A deadly headache disease. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't do anything right now. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "It hurts so bad, chat. It hurts so bad. I can't do anything. It hurts. Everything I do, like, something pounding my head every time and I'm so angry.” Now, footage has been shared which shows that the YouTuber is receiving plenty of support from his fans outside the hospital. Crowds of people were filmed chanting his name and singing his ‘World Cup’ song. IShowSpeed previously told fans: "My eye's puffing up. It feels like a stab. It feels like somebody is stabbing my eye with a knife. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And, I have a headache right in this area (the streamer puts his hand on top of his right eye and the temple). It's literally exactly like this. He ended the one-minute video on an ominous note: "I wanted to give y'all boys (an) update because I don't know what's going to happen to me. You know what I'm saying? I want y'all boys to always be right there with me, until I die. It's... I don't know, man. But, when I get back home, I'm going to probably chill from traveling for a bit because... a lot is going on. Bye." 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 viral clip of a giant iceberg drifting close to the shores of Newfoundland has left viewers shocked. Footage taken from land showed an absolutely colossal iceberg just off the coast of the Canadian island on the country’s east coast. The clip was first posted on TikTok by @emoinuoinam who revealed the video was taken in Conche, Newfoundland and said the iceberg was “getting closer to the community”. According to National Geographic, the icebergs that drift east towards to coast of Newfoundland are typically bits of Greenland's glaciers that have broken off. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The stretch of water that goes along the east coast of the Newfoundland and Labrador province is known as “Iceberg Alley”. Compared to the previous three years, the size of these icebergs is on the rise. On TikTok, the original clip has been viewed 6 million times and has also been shared across social media platforms. @emoinuoinam Its getting closer to the community! One person wrote: “Omg, it looks beautiful but can be dangerous.” Someone else said: “Oh my goodness that is amazing.” Another shocked viewer asked: “Like what do you do in this situation?” “I am from Newfoundland and that’s a nice break and they always come down like that sometimes smaller sometimes huge,” a local person explained. On Twitter, where the clip was reposted, it has been watched almost 11 million times, stunning plenty more viewers. “I’ll bet the people in that house got a shock when they opened their curtains,” someone guessed. Another said: “Wow, that's stunning. Looks like the backdrop for a great scary movie too.” 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.

Scientists are stumped after learning that Antarctica is missing a gigantic amount of sea ice that measures up to four times the size of Texas. It's currently the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, a time when sea ice is expected to expand. However, Antarctica has witnessed a drastic decrease. Sea ice is said to be controlled by a balance between the atmosphere and oceans each year. Dr Steve Rintoul, CSIRO Fellow and Research Team Leader, explained [via the Sydney Morning Herald]: "The factors that influence sea ice include winds from north to south are stronger than usual which pushes sea ice towards Antarctica and restricts how far sea ice spreads. "The warmer water means there is less sea ice, and even things like melting the surface melt can alter sea ice forming." Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) shows that the ice was more than 2.6 million square kilometres below the 1981 to 2010 average. While it's natural for levels of sea ice to change, Dr Rintoul noted that this is the lowest amount recorded in the last 40 years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Despite factors such as the atmosphere playing its part, the exact reason behind the decline is baffling scientists. "It is stunning," Dr Rintoul said. "The fact is we don’t know why [we’ve got record low sea ice]. "No one predicted this, we don’t understand why this season is as low as it is." Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine told Axios that it's too early to determine how responsible climate change is to this year's sea ice decline. He went on to note that when declines started in 2016, researchers couldn't say whether it was part of a larger trend. "Now, we can say with a bit more certainty that this is not anomalous behaviour — it's a change of state," he told the outlet. 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.

Island Boys, who went viral in 2021 for their catchy TikTok song, have said their make-out session is "really not disgusting" and not "that big of a deal" because they're twins. It comes after the pair shared a disturbing clip of them kissing last month to mark the arrival of their OnlyFans account. The pair, Kodiyakredd (Franky Venegas) and Flyysoulja (Alex Venegas), have now appeared on Adam22's podcast where they discussed the backlash. Adam asked whether the pair were disgusted by the idea, before sharing that the thought of kissing his friend is really unappealing to him. "We're twin brothers, we came out of the womb together, we grew up together. It's not really disgusting if it's twins," Kodiyakredd responded. "Your friend, you don't really know him like that." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They continued: "We kind of just made out or whatever, we kissed and then we just like look the other way for a few minutes and couldn't like, look at each other, but it wasn't that big of a deal – just a kiss." The clip was inundated with comments from Instagram users, with one writing: "Florida does not claim or associate with this in any shape way or form…" "Instagram needs a dislike button asap," another added, while a third commented: "Clout is one hell of a drug is all ima say…" Meanwhile, one person penned: "This is what happens when attention and clout becomes more important than anything else to people, they’ll literally do anything to try and maintain the spotlight. If they hadn’t done that Adam wouldn’t even be interviewing them right now." He went on to say "We're still heterosexual," despite Flyysoulja "coming out" during a TikTok Live. According to Dexerto, the viral star turned to TikTok Live where he said: "I’m a top, I’m never a bottom, I’m a top you understand what I’m saying?" "I’m like that, for real. You gotta support me because you feel me: I like men and it is what it is. I’m a top, but I’m a top at the end of the day that’s just what’s going on." "You guys support me, because you feel me," he continued. "I like men. It is what it is. I’m a top. I’m a top at the end of the day. That’s what’s going 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.

The release of Barbie and Oppenheimer films on the same day sparked a "Barbenheimer" meme frenzy - but this has caused upset in Japan as people have responded by posting 9/11 memes. Social media has been flooded with the clashing pink aesthetic of Barbie and the dark aesthetic of Oppenheimer, along with edits that combine the two films which has also resulted in a load of new merchandise and brand collaborations. A US account for the Barbie movie even responded to a graphic of both Cillian Murphy carrying Margot Robbie through a burning city with the caption: “It’s going to be a summer to remember.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, some have expressed how this trend is insensitive to Japan as the memes created are based on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs that took place 77 years ago during World War II, killing an estimated 129,000 to 226,000 people. The Japanese people have since responded to Barbenheimer with their own hashtag #NoBarbenheimer and have now created edits of their own using photos from 9/11 and adding the Barbie aesthetic. "The atomic bomb should not be used as a meme and turned into a comedy," one person said. "Do you know how many people were brutally murdered by the atomic bomb? Will "Barbie" advertise the Holocaust as well? Shame on you." Another person wrote: "It is too gross and absolutely horrifying to find those people making fun of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki AND the official Barbie Movie account approves them. This is totally inhumane!" Warner Bros Japan also noted their disappointment at Barbenheimer tweets. “We find it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans," it wrote. "We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologise to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.” This led Warner Bros US to issue an apology for engaging with the memes. “Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology,” they wrote on their official account. 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 microphone that Cardi B hurled at a fan in Vegas has now been put up for sale on eBay. For the blissfully unaware who missed the viral footage circulating over the weekend, the 'Bodak Yellow' rapper was filmed retaliating to an excited fan while performing at Drai's Beach Club in Las Vegas. Cardi, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, was drenched in water when the fan splashed her with her drink. In response, the rapper furiously hurled her microphone at the attendee before they were escorted out by security. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, the mic is being auctioned off by the audio production company – and all for a good cause. Scott Fisher, the owner of The Wave in Sin City, told TMZ the mic was easy to track down after the rapper threw it. The starting bid on the eBay listing was $500 with the original RRP being $1,000. It currently has 39 bids at the time of writing, and has reached a staggering $30,000. Scott intends on splitting the money across two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and a local Vegas charity called Friendship Circle Las Vegas. It's unclear whether the fan's actions were intentional or not – but a new angle shared on TikTok shows the woman being apologetic. One concertgoer managed to get a closer look at the incident, which prompted an influx of comments from fellow TikTokers. @typicalelliott Mistery solved. This is the most detailed video of what happened to Cardi B that made her threw the microphone at a fan during a concert in las vegas #cardib #microphone #news #ice #drink #fyp #ny #dominicana #drais #rap "She looks genuinely apologetic," one person wrote. "What’s messed up is… what if she really didn’t mean to? Like what if she wasn’t thinking and just waved her hand forgetting the cup [was] lidless?" asked chimed in under the TikTok. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A video of a police officer in Boston getting hurt while hurtling down a slide at an incredible speed has been viewed by millions after going viral on social media. It's unknown exactly when the video was filmed but it does take place at Boston's City Hall Plaza which reopened last year with a fancy new playground and the tall, long and windy slide becoming an instant attraction. That being sad this attraction should be exclusively reserved for children as several examples, including a now-viral one of a police officer, show that it is not suitable for adults. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the seven-second video, which Boston.com reported had been watched 13 million times on TikTok before being deleted, shows an officer being banged around in the metal before emerging at what seems like 100mph face down and scraping his arm across the concrete ground, yelling "oh f**k" in the process. The video has since reemerged on Twitter after NHL commentator Ryan Whitney said he was NHL commentator said that he was "begged to take it down," only for someone else to share it in the replies. As mentioned other people have had their troubles on the slide including city councillor Erin Murphy. A spokesperson for the Boston Police Department, said that the officer in the question was on duty at the time and that while he did hurt himself, used his own medial insurance to get treated and didn't miss any work as a consequence. It's not known if any other police officers were on the seen at the time. 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.

His brother might be his business partner, but Jake Paul has never been a fan of KSI and it looks like things aren’t changing any time soon. There’s been a long-running feud between the pair for years now, but where did it all start? Essentially, the pair’s resentment of each other stems from the early days of YouTube boxing, when KSI and Jake’s brother Logan Paul emerged as the two biggest figures on the scene. KSI first took on Logan in 2018 which resulted in a draw. Then, he fought Logan again in 2019 and won by split decision. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter During that time, the pair were 'frenemies' of sorts and built up anticipation by clashing regularly in a war of words. Since then, they’ve largely buried the hatchet to launch their hugely successful Prime energy drink together. But for Jake, it’s not been so easy to move on and let bygones be bygones – and he still wants to avenge his brother’s loss. Speaking about his feud with KSI on the BS podcast, Jake said: "Logan grabbed me and he was drunk in this sprinter van and I could tell how badly he was emotionally hurting from the loss to KSI. "I was seeing him and he was like drinking from the bottle, whilst I was sitting there sober. He was talking with his friends about the loss and I saw how badly it hurt him. In that same sprinter van ride, he grabbed me by the neck and said 'you have to beat KSI for our family'.” Another point of contention surrounds one of KSI’s previous fights. When considering how KSI will get on against Tommy Fury in their fight in October, Logan told Donagh Corby: “I think Tommy knocks him out in like less than five rounds.” He added: “I mean [KSI] is doing these gimmick WWE fights up until now. Tommy is his first real test, but who knows, he might throw an elbow on Tommy, too.” The comment about the elbow is a reference to KSI’s bout with Joe Fournier which was classified as a “no contest” after the fight after the winning knockout from KSI was ruled to be an illegal elbow strike. In fact, KSI and Logan themselves have been talking up the chances of a fight taking place between them for years now. They’ve been taking potshots at each other on social media. Before the fight between KSI and Fury was signed, he previously took a shot at him and Jake by writing: "What you waiting for @tommytntfury? Sign the damn contract and let me show you the difference between me and that fraud who only wins against retired MMA pensioners." The “MMA pensioners” comment was a reference to his win over former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, who was 47 when he fought Paul in 2022. Not one to back down easily, Jake replied: "This clown…tried to fight [Dillon Danis] who has never boxed and put a rehydration clause on him. Fought a 40 year old who hadn’t fought for 3 years and put a rehydration clause on him before elbowing him. Now trying to squeeze Tommy. I elevated Tommy, my son is now worth a lot more than the $1.5M offers you making. Tommy, February we run it back." Hitting out again, KSI responded by claiming Jake’s popularity had fallen dramatically. "We ain’t offering 1.5 million It’s crazy how much your hype has died since you lost. No one cares anymore,” he wrote. KSI has also made it clearly that he just doesn’t like Jake as a person at all, too. As he explained to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour in May this year, KSI said: “I don’t know, we’ve kind of just hated each other for so many years. I think there are several reasons, but because I don’t really dwell on it until it’s time, so I don’t really know. “I think it’s ego. It’s one of the ones where he thinks he’s better than me, I think he’s trash… We just don’t see eye to eye. I just think he’s a d***head. I just don’t think he’s a good person. I know he’s got friends, I know he’s got a lot of people that like him, but there’s a lot of people that hate him, and I’m one of them. I just don’t like him. I just don’t like everything about him. And I feel like he also tries to s*** on everything that I have done, or that I have worked hard for. When I look at him I go, ‘Compared to what you’ve done, to me, you are not on my level, but I’m still going to show you.’ Someone who is devoting all their time into boxing, I can still come from all my music tours, all my YouTube videos, all my Sidemen videos, whatever, my Prime, etc., I can come into your realm and still knock you out.” Will we ever get to see a fight between the pair? The way they've been talking about each other over the years, we'd never rule it 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.

Barbenheimer is the cinematic event of the year, but not everybody is happy about the discourse surrounding both Barbie and Oppenheimer. In fact, there’s been a backlash on social media in Japan following the release of promotional material for both films, and it’s led to the #NoBarbenheimer hashtag trending. Things came to a head when a US account for the Barbie movie responded to a graphic of both Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy in their respective movies with the caption: “It’s going to be a summer to remember.” The tweet now appears to have been deleted. This month marks 78 years since atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan remains the only country to have suffered the use of nuclear weapons during wartime. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Oppenheimer isn’t banned in Japan but it has yet to receive a release date, and the social media backlash has caused the Japanese arm of Warner Bros. to respond to the criticism [via South China Morning Post]. Warner Bros. Japan LLC posted a statement on the official Japanese account for Barbie saying it was “highly regrettable” that the film took part in the “Barbenheimer” discourse in an inappropriate manner. The company also stated it was not connected to the meme and added that it was seeking “an appropriate response” from its US parent company. It comes as the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer generated a flurry of interest in the man behind the atomic bomb, Julius Robert Oppenheimer. The film tells the story of the physicist and his role in the Manhattan Project, which was the codename given to the development of the A-bomb. The first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. It killed tens of thousands of people. A second bomb fell days later on the city of Nagasaki. Historians believe more than 200,000 people died as a result of the events, with millions more severely affected. 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.