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The mayor of a major American city came out of the closet with a moving public letter.

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg delivered a bombshell announcement in a very classy way.


Pete Buttigieg, America's Mayor.(via Wikipedia)

If you've never heard of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, remember the name (even if you can't pronounce it). He's a rising star of American politics, and he just entered the national spotlight in a big way.

At 33, Buttigieg is one of the youngest mayors in the country. He was actually elected when he was just 29, becoming the youngest mayor of any city with a population greater than 100,000. A Rhodes scholar, he attended both Harvard and Oxford, and is an officer of the U.S. Navy Reserve. He actually took a leave from his duties as mayor to serve a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan in 2014. The Washington Post called him "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of." But now you've heard of him.

Today, Mayor Buttigieg published a letter in The South Bend Tribune in which he came out of the closet as a homosexual. Three years into his mayoral term, he was finally convinced to come out by the Supreme Court's impending decision about same-sex marriage, and by recent political developments closer to home. The overt discrimination of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that Indiana passed earlier this year, as well as his own experiences growing up gay in South Bend, convinced him that he could do more good as an openly gay man than he could by keeping his personal life private, as he has until now. Here's the full text of the mayor's letter, originally published in today's Tribune:

Any day now, the Supreme Court will issue a decision on same-sex marriage that will directly affect millions of Americans. It comes at a time of growing public acceptance and support for equal rights. But no matter what the Court does, issues of equality are hardly settled across the country. Today it remains legal in most parts of Indiana (though not South Bend) to fire someone simply for being gay, and bullying still contributes to tragically high suicide rates among LGBT teens.
Still, our country is headed in a clear overall direction, and swiftly. Today 57 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage; just 15 years ago, the reverse was true.
Experiences with friends or family members coming out have helped millions of Americans to see past stereotypes and better understand what being gay is — and is not. Being gay isn't something you choose, but you do face choices about whether and how to discuss it. For most of our history, most Americans had no idea how many people they knew and cared about were gay.
My high school in South Bend had nearly a thousand students. Statistically, that means that several dozen were gay or lesbian. Yet when I graduated in 2000, I had yet to encounter a single openly LGBT student there. That's far less likely to be the case now, as more students come to feel that their families and community will support and care for them no matter what. This is a tremendously positive development: young people who feel support and acceptance will be less likely to harm themselves, and more likely to step into adulthood with mature self-knowledge.
I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it's just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.
Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I'm not used to viewing this as anyone else's business.
But it's clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her. And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn't know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we're all in this together as a community.
Whenever I've come out to friends and family, they've made clear that they view this as just a part of who I am. Their response makes it possible to feel judged not by sexual orientation but by the things that we ought to care about most, like the content of our character and the value of our contributions.
Being gay has had no bearing on my job performance in business, in the military, or in my current role as mayor. It makes me no better or worse at handling a spreadsheet, a rifle, a committee meeting, or a hiring decision. It doesn't change how residents can best judge my effectiveness in serving our city: by the progress of our neighborhoods, our economy, and our city services.
We're moving closer to a world in which acceptance is the norm. This kind of social change, considered old news in some parts of the country, is still often divisive around here. But it doesn't have to be. We're all finding our way forward, and things will go better if we can manage to do it together. In the wake of the disastrous “Religious Freedom Restoration Act" episode here in Indiana earlier this year, we have an opportunity to demonstrate how a traditional, religious state like ours can move forward. If different sides steer clear of name-calling and fear-mongering, we can navigate these issues based on what is best about Indiana: values like respect, decency, and support for families — all families.
Like most people, I would like to get married one day and eventually raise a family. I hope that when my children are old enough to understand politics, they will be puzzled that someone like me revealing he is gay was ever considered to be newsworthy. By then, all the relevant laws and court decisions will be seen as steps along the path to equality. But the true compass that will have guided us there will be the basic regard and concern that we have for one another as fellow human beings — based not on categories of politics, orientation, background, status or creed, but on our shared knowledge that the greatest thing any of us has to offer is love.

Let's hope that Mayor Buttigieg's touching letter will inspire young people in Indiana and around the world to live their lives without fear. And let's hope it inspires other political figures to come out of the closet. They're definitely out there, and they'd be giving a great gift to a lot of scared kids if they went public.


Rare disease gives house cat "alien" eyes.

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Matilda suffers from a rare disease that has given her eyes an otherworldly look.







A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Nicknamed "The Alien Cat," Matilda is a lovely rescue with strikingly huge, dark eyes. However, the adorable visitor from Planet Litterbox used to look more like an Earth cat.







A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Matilda was saved as a kitten from an animal hoarder. Soon after moving into a new home, Matilda's adoptive parents noticed their little kitten would squint a lot, seemingly in pain. Then Matilda's right eye started to look different from the left.








A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Matilda's eye then began to swell and the lens in her right eye began to luxate, or become dislocated inside of Matilda's eye. Numerous vet visits were inconclusive, but owners of Matilda's littermates were noticing the same symptoms. Matilda's owners got her checked, but by that time, her right eye's lens had luxated.







A video posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Matilda's owners opted for non-surgical treatment of her swelling, painful eyes but after weighing lots of not-great options. Matilda's disease makes it hard to heal and results for surgery were predicted to be mixed. An owner of one of the affected kittens told Matilda's owners that she regretted the surgical option she had taken to treat her kitten.



A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Since then, Matilda's left eye followed the right. She now has limited vision and the pain and swelling are managed by medication. At first, Matilda became withdrawn and sad, but with treatment and love, she's come back around. She still needs lots of treatment and care to further manage her condition.







A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

Matilda's owners have set up a GoFundMe campaign to sock away money for Matilda's eventual eye surgery, but a quarter of the proceeds will go to a charity that "protects the rights of animals and helps fund necessary veterinary procedures for those who can't afford them."







A photo posted by Matilda (@aliencatmatilda) on

How to make your crappy life sound great on a resume.

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Your life: It kind of sucks, right?

I mean, sure, there are good parts — but when it's time to put your experience, skills, and personality on a resume, you suddenly realize that the only thing that makes you a better job applicant than a potato is that you have a Twitter account. And then you realize that there's a potato on Twitter too, and it has more followers than you ever will.

If you need help spinning your poop-can life into something that actually appeals to employers, take a look at the suggestions below, categorized by the different crappy sections of your depressing existence.

Crappy Computer Skills


"By losing all of my data, my computer taught me to live in the now." (via Thinkstock)

I can't stop trolling Reddit.
Resume version: Online community engagement specialist.

I saw a spreadsheet once. It was of my budget, and it made me cry. A lot.
Resume version: Excel expert.

I don't know how to use a Mac because I have never been able to afford a Mac.
Resume version: PC specialist.

I can't stop leaving angry comments on teenagers' game play-through videos on YouTube because deep down I'm afraid that I'll never be as good at anything as they are at League of Legends.
Resume version: Have my finger on the pulse of youth culture.

Crappy Job Experience


"I learned a lot about myself at that job, like how willing I am to cry publicly."
(via Thinkstock)

Tax company sign spinner/lady liberty.
Resume version: Patriotic marketing expert.

Gas station attendant.
Resume version: Fossil fuel dispensing expert.

TGI Friday's waitstaff, but I was fired because I accidentally called the Tuscan Spinach Dip “Tuscan Vagina Dip" in front of a family of four and then tried to cover it by saying “It's OK because Tuscans have the best vaginas."
Resume version: On-my-feet problem solving expert (with restaurant skills).

Crappy Love Life


"My love life has given me insights about other people; primarily, how much they don't like me." (via Thinkstock)

Nobody wants to go on more than one date with me.
Resume version: I provide a memorable first impression.

I'm pretty sure that if I make more money, my ex, Jaime, will take me back for real this time. And she must take me back, so I must make more money.
Resume version: I will do whatever it takes to succeed.

I've started having a reoccurring dream where I'm on Tinder, and the only profile it shows me is my own, and I can't stop swiping left. Then I wake up in a cold sweat knowing, deep in my marrow, that nobody loves me — not even me.
Resume version: Not afraid to admit my shortcomings.

Crappy Home and Vehicle


"My car offered me an opportunity to stop and think for a bit." (via Thinkstock)

My apartment's shower broke, so I gave myself a sponge-bath over the sink.
Resume version: Creative problem solver.

I have to get someone to give my 1998 Corolla a jump every time I want to drive anywhere.
Resume version: Great at building a team of people to help me achieve my goals.

I think my next-apartment-over neighbor might have died because it always smells really bad, but my building manager won't check it out, so when I'm home, I just have to sit with the death stench.
Resume version: I don't mind putting in long hours at the office.

Overall Crappy Life


"If you hire me, my utter despair will make other employees feel better about themselves." (via Thinkstock)

I tried to use the Couch to 5K app, but never got past the "couch" part.
Resume version: Not afraid to give up on things when they aren't working right.

Someone stole my identity and used my credit card to buy 1,000 "premium dongs," and it took 18 hours of customer service calls get them to remove the charge and stop referring to me as "The Dong King."
Resume version: Strong phone experience.

I once fell asleep with a bag of potato chips on my chest and woke up to find a mouse inside. Almost all the chips were gone, so I think he had been there for awhile. My only thought was: "There is no one to blame here but me."
Resume version: I've learned to expect the unexpected, and I'm not afraid to admit when I'm at fault.

Most days, I can barely muster the will to crawl out of my bed, let alone dress myself and participate in the shit-go-round that we insist on calling "life."
Resume version: Just please fucking hire me.

Article 5

Kim Kardashian wrote a letter to her future self to be opened in ten years.

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She has high hopes for science and Instagram.

“Dear Kim, When you read this, you'll be ten years older in the year 2025. I hope this is where you are."

So she's either hoping to still be alive, or she is writing a warning to a future in which time travel has been invented, and she is caught in alternate looping realities. This is indeed a dark fate for future Kim.

"When it comes to how you'll feel about your body, remember to be kind to yourself and enjoy how you look now because you're not getting any younger."

Kim is talking about the theoretical effects of time travel. Surfing the fabric of spacetime can have devastating impacts on complexion and neurological function.

"I trust that you will still be the queen of contouring."

It's pretty easy to ensure the continued success of your career and subsequent product line endorsements when you can travel back in time to manipulate supply and demand.

"May science invent a mysterious and delicious green juice to keep you tan forever."

This is Kim's most unsubtle hint about what the future holds: there is a green juice that keeps you tan forever.

“If you haven't broken the hundred billion mark on Instagram followers I'll be very disappointed in you."

Clearly Kim is manipulating the future, because no app or social network will be popular ten years in the future. Luckily Instagram is in her favor. Let's just hope Kim doesn't meddle with world affairs or the fate of all humanity.

Two beach bros don't know how to throw a frisbee even a little bit.

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More like "Ultimate FLOPS-bee."

We all get the feeling that we look foolish sometimes. But now, for every piece of gym equipment you think you operated correctly, for every forgotten name at office parties, and for every shirt tucked into underwear, there is this video of supreme foolishness.

These two buds are broing-out on a beautiful Bosnian beach with a game of catch. Unfortunately, there wasn't a beach ball, but there was a frisbee.

I can certainly understand not having the ability to throw a frisbee. I know it is possible to live a full lifetime and never seeing a frisbee being thrown properly. However, how to do continue tossing a platter like a ball and never once try throwing it flat-ways?

I'll have to travel to Bosnia to find out. I'm sure I can get paid to cover the Bosnian beach frisbee beat for the remainder of the summer.

Woman with Asperger's shares powerful video of dog comforting her during a "meltdown."

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24-year-old Danielle Jacobs posted this video to share what it's really like to have Asperger's syndrome.

The video above can be difficult to watch — Danielle Jacobs' self-described "meltdown" includes elements of self-harm. But, despite knowing that the video's content is challenging, Jacobs wanted to share it so that everyone can know what having Asperger's (a high-functioning form of autism) is like. One of the effects of the syndrome is that it can cause people to become overstimulated and "crash." Here's what Jacobs posted as the video description:

This is what having aspergers is like. Please no negative comments this really happened and it's not easy to open myself and share what it's like on a daily basis. This is what's considered a meltdown. Yes Samson is alerting. I trained him to alert to depressive episodes and self harm not both but he alerted. It appears the response is late but it's actually supposed to be as I'm coming out of the meltdown as I tend to have a panic attack after.

Jacobs was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2013, and she got her Rottweiler, Samson, shortly after to help cope. Jacobs told BuzzFeed News,

I immediately began training him for service work for Asperger's syndrome, PTSD, TBI, and anxiety disorder. He alerts to meltdowns, anger, depressive episodes, flashbacks and nightmares, stimming, provides balance and counterbalance, and alerts to panic attacks.

I don't have Asperger's, but I have dealt with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. In my personal experience, the one thing that often feels scarier than experiencing those things is showing them to other people — sharing your most vulnerable, emotional moments with others. But the more we do share those vulnerable moments, the more we can all understand and empathize with each other. That's why I really, really respect Jacobs for sharing this moment.

Photo review.


Today's most impressive human is this woman who limbos under a car.

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How low can you go? If you're Shemika Charles, the answer is "so low that I can fit under a goddamn car."

"Limbo Queen" Shemika Charles beat the Guinness World Record for lowest female limbo back in 2010, dropping to a mere 8.5 inches off the ground. That's the same length as the side of a piece of printer paper. The short side. Now, in this new video, she's done two things that seem impossible — show that a "limbo career" can be a real thing and limbo her way under a car.

Because I assume that watching this video will make everyone do the same thing I did and see how low you can limbo, here is some medical advice on how to handle back pain.

A little girl had to wear an eyepatch to fix a lazy eye. Her dad turned it into awesomeness.

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Man, now I wish I was born with a cataract.


Teething Mutant Ninja Turtle. (via u/Gfgubb)

For many young children, having to wear an eyepatch to prevent or correct a "lazy" eye is a surefire way to feel isolated and different, But for Layla, this adorable little zergling and daughter of redditor Gfgrubb, being born with a small cataract in her right eye was a chance for her dad to make her feel and look cool in new ways every day.


Ok, I'll be honest, this one terrifies me. In a cool way. (via u/Gfgubb)

The eyepatch is worn over her "strong" eye for a few hours a day, forcing her brain to rely upon and strengthen the "weak" one. It also means Gfgrubb is forced (out of love and being a good dad) to hone his drawing skills finding a new illustrations for the patch every single day.


"Hewwo, my name is nostalgia. I have no idea what it means yet." (via u/Gfgubb)

So, in a true case of lemons being turned into lemonades, what was once an opportunity for embarrassment has turned into what I can only assume is a parade of strangers stopping to comment on how incredibly cool Layla is.


Dad or dad not, there is no try. (via u/Gfgubb)

Here's the full album Gfgrubb posted yesterday:

And the album he posted a few months ago when the process started.

And here's their Instagram page.

Happy Father's Day, everyone.

Friendship

I asked a bunch of guys on Tinder if they wanted to meet my parents.

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I'm still as single as an individually wrapped slice of rubbery cheese-product, and I'm still trying to find love on Tinder.

It's summer! Sure, we're all spending most of it indoors, watching whatever Netflix tells us we must watch in order to function in society, but if you wanted to go outside, you totally could.

Summer is a great time to re-download Tinder (after deleting it in a fit of rage) and start swiping right on every profile. Life is short, why not give everyone a chance? We're all on this earth together until the rising oceans de-evolve us into legless fish-people.

After just a couple of minutes of continuous right-swiping, I had a plethora of matches. I asked all of them if they'd like to go out to dinner with my parents. Here's how the conversations went:

Frank transformed from a creep into a philosopher very quickly.

Jovan's wardrobe became an issue for date night.

Thomas doesn't scare easily.

Madhi got out real fast.

Smooth one Bob, way to evade the question.


Alex is just making up bonkers excuses.

John is concerned with our believability as a couple.

Last but not least, I invited a married couple on a dinner date with my parents.

Someone thought of a brilliant solution to nursing homes being depressing.

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The Intergenerational Learning Center is a preschool that runs out of a senior care center.

The trailer above is for a documentary called Present Perfect, which follows this experiment in education. 5 days a week these preschoolers are brought together with senior citizens at Provident Mount St. Vincent. Together they tell stories, play games, make art and clown around.


Not just on Halloween.(screenshot via Present Perfect)

The filmmaker, Evan Briggs, is an adjunct professor at the nearby Seattle University. She told ABC News about the project and the incredible transformative power of bringing the very old and the very young together:

"[The residents did] a complete transformation in the presence of the children. Moments before the kids came in, sometimes the people seemed half alive, sometimes asleep. It was a depressing scene. As soon as the kids walked in for art or music or making sandwiches for the homeless or whatever the project that day was, the residents came alive."

Briggs has funded the project out of her own pocket and is now trying to finish it with a Kickstarter. She writes there that the project is a way to show how much the elderly still have to offer. The number of people over the age of 65 is about to dramatically increase in America with the Baby Boomer Generation and the way our society deals with the elderly needs a serious overhaul. She writes:

Shooting this film and embedding myself in the nursing home environment also allowed me to see with new eyes just how generationally segregated we've become as a society. And getting to know so many of the amazing residents of the Mount really highlighted the tremendous loss this is for us all... It's a great example of how we integrate the elderly into society.

Also, super cute.

Ruby Rose completely transforms herself in 5-minute film about gender roles.

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Ruby Rose wrote, produced, and starred in a short film called "Break Free."

The former model and current Orange Is The New Black actress says the film is about gender roles and "what it is like to have an identity that deviates from the status quo." In the film, Rose starts out with long blond hair, body makeup covering her tattoos, pink lipstick, and a tight dress. To the song "It Pulls Me Under" by Butterfly Boucher, she cuts her hair short, washes off all her makeup, binds her breasts, and changes into pants and a blazer. By the end, she looks and feels like herself. After this video was created last year, Rose told AU News:

I am very gender fluid and feel more like I wake up every day sort of gender neutral.

The video is going around again now that Rose is getting a lot of attention for her role on the new season of Orange Is the New Black. And the amazing thing is, I'm pretty sure this means that now all viral videos will have progressive messages about gender identity. Sorry, baby goats. You had your time.

Check out this tough and tiny team of softball playing "Elsas."

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Betsy Wagner-Gregory is a photographer and softball mom, so she put together an awesome team photo and it's going viral.


Help, this made me care about Frozen again!(via Betsy Wagner-Gregory)

Well, this is the cutest. I don't even particularly like kids, Disney, softball, or princesses, but this combo is just working for me. Their tough little faces and adorable braids!!! Apparently, they were a terrible softball team, but who cares? They're five.


Yup, disgustingly cute from every angle.(via Betsy Wagner-Gregory)

The team initially wanted to straight-up call themselves the "Sparkling Elsas" but cooler heads prevailed. The name "Freeze" conveys the strength of these little athletes and a singing princess who controls the weather with her feelings.

I love to see girls play sports. It's a great way to learn confidence, strengthen your body, understand teamwork, and how it's possible to be both feminine and tough as nails. Or drop the feminine thing. Personally, I wouldn't want to run in a skirt.


Casual ice day.(via BuzzFeed)

Luckily, they do have regular uniforms.


So cold it burns! (via BuzzFeed)

Good luck next season, girls! Topping this team photo, I mean.


This guy says KFC sold him a deep-fried rat, but not everyone is buying it.

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Devorise Dixon's disturbing picture went viral on Facebook this week.

OK, that's gross. I grew up hearing urban legends about people finding chicken tumors in their meals and genetically engineered giant spider-chickens, so this photo seems to confirm my greatest fears. On the other hand, those stories turned out to be fake. Now what am I supposed to believe?


Devorise Dixon, rat purchaser.(via Facebook)

Devorise Dixon says that this deep-fried rat showed up in a meal sold to him by a KFC location in Wilmington, California. He described the experience on Facebook:

"As I bit into it I noticed that it was very hard and rubbery which made me look at it. As I looked down at it I noticed that it was in a shape of a rat with a tail. It sent deep chills throughout my whole body. I've been feeling weird ever since. It's time for a lawyer, be safe don't eat fast food."

Not everyone is sold on his story, however. Imgur user smilingturtle posted an exposé which included this smoking gun:


Notice anything peculiar? Not including your nausea.(via Imgur)

If that really was a rat, Dixon would have bitten off its head right there. But that bite seems to show an inside made of white chicken meat, instead of rat skull and brains and teeth. Also, the "rat" has no legs. Smilingturtle believes this is simply a chicken tender with a tail-shaped piece of skin attached to it.

KFC, of course, is also working hard to debunk this story, especially as it continues to blow up on the Internet. In a post on its official Facebook page, the company wrote:


This story is as twisted and tangled as a rat king's tail.(via Facebook)

Dixon says a KFC manager initially offered him a free meal as compensation, but KFC is also claiming there's no evidence of that. And Dixon posted an image of himself freezing the fried rat (for further study, not further eating), but hasn't showed it to anyone. We'll be watching this story for any further developments, and we'll be sure to bring them to you. In the meantime, just remember to look at your food before you put it in your mouth. You can never be too careful.

Don't forget this story from 2000:


Valedictorian finishes speech, breaks into choreographed dance.

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Another commencement, another flash mob.

The seniors at Portsmouth High School in New Hampshire broke out into a synchronized dance routine during their graduation ceremony, because I guess that's what you have to do to get your diploma nowadays.

This particular routine does have a good hook, emerging out of valedictorian Colin Yost's speech. Yost closed by saying, "All you have to do is shake it off," before kicking off the Taylor Swift dance. Apparently, he planned the whole thing, organized his 230 classmates, and emailed a secret instructional video so they could learn the moves. This kid is going to kill freshman year of college.

At my own high school graduation, unlike every single one recently, there was no dancing. I was a student government member so I sat on the stage, directly in front of the orchestra. They played music right behind my head, and I had to sit completely still without moving at all while everyone stared at me. How times have changed!

Zookeeper recreates iconic "Jurassic World" scene with dopey walruses.

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Wait until you see these walruses horking alongside a speeding motorbike.

One thing zookeepers and dinokeepers have in common: a love of vests. (via Tumblr)

The latest craze among zookeepers this summer is recreating Chris Pratt's raptor control with the animals they look after. Tumblr user feminerds explains:

My bestie is a zoo keeper, and she told me that because of Jurassic World it has become a craze in the keeper community (!) to re-enact Chris Pratt. You guys, this is the best.

Agreed. This is the only such example of Prattkeeping, but it you are a member of the "keeper community," please share with the world your exceptional ability to command three animals with eye contact and jazz hands.

Article 35

Uh oh, California's got crabs.

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Red tuna crabs are washing up in the thousands on San Diego's coastline.

Can you even imagine the smell?(via CNN)

The sands between Ocean Beach and La Jolla, CA, are covered in writhing red bodies. Crab bodies, that is, not horribly sunburned people. Those bodies have been there pretty consistently, but the crabs are back for the first time since 2002, when El Niño swept them to shore.


Weird how they already look cooked.(via CNN)

It's weird for these crabs to be on this shore, because the red tuna crab–or pleuroncodes planipes–is usually found much further south. Scientists are speculating that they've been brought to the San Diego area by warm water intrusions. That's when warm water is like, "Here's all my garbage!"


"You come here often?"(via CNN)

Authorities are warning people not to eat these sun-ripened ocean bugs, as they feed on phytoplankton, which sometimes contains toxins. But they look so delicious!


Wanna fight this guy for one?(via The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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