When tax cuts came up during a televised community meeting in Australia, let's just say that things got a little ... toasty.
The controversy started during the May 9 taping of "Q&A," a popular panel discussion show on the country's public broadcasting network, when audience member Duncan Storrar asked an impassioned question about the country's latest tax cuts:
GIFs via AussieNews1/YouTube.
It's a valid concern. And Australian Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer, who was one of the panelists, offered a, erm, less-than-valid rebuttal.
O'Dwyer launched into a tried-and-true refrain about trickle-down economics — a theory that's been repeatedly debunked regardless of how much people really really want it to work. But it was the example she used to prove her point that really raised some eyebrows. Referring to a(n imaginary?) small-business owner with a $2 million budget, she said:
GIF via AussieNews1/YouTube.
Yup: SIX. THOUSAND. DOLLAR. TOASTER.
GIF from "The Brave Little Toaster."
Upon hearing this, most Australians thought, "Who the &$%# spends $6,000 on a bloody toaster?!"
All across the country, people were moved by Storrar's speech — and dumbfounded by O'Dwyer's blatant disconnect from the struggling poor and working-class citizens, who the government should actually be listening to.
GIF via Denny's/YouTube.
Our cousins Down Under rallied together and launched a tongue-in-cheek GoFundMe campaign to buy a $6,000 toaster for Duncan Storrar. Within two days, they raised more than 10 times that amount.
That's even more remarkable than the guy who raised $55,000 to make a potato salad. But while the impetus behind this campaign was similarly silly, it was also coming from a place of desperation and discontent with the ever-increasing rate of income inequality that's been spreading across the entire global economy.
Taxes are basically just a mandatory government-run crowdfunding campaign. And while you can argue about that supposed tyranny all you want, the fact that thousands of people willingly gave up their own hard-earned cash to help a man in need speaks volumes about the power of empathy and the far-reaching effects of community support.
GIF from Nicolette Groome/Tumblr.
The fact that governments across the world continue to eviscerate social benefit programs to give tax cuts to the wealthy is a disheartening affront to that same goodwill.
Governments should work for the people — which means all the people, not just the biggest breadwinners. So how come nearly 1 million Americans are losing food benefits while House Republicans are proposing an additional $98 billion in social program cuts? Why are 500,000 people in the U.K. losing their disability benefits, which many of them rely on to survive? Why are people like Australia's own prime minister hiding billions of dollars in potential taxable income in places like Panama and still getting tax cuts when the time comes around?
And how come when thousands of people opened their wallets and said, "This guy deserves a piece of toast! (Or, more accurately, to take his daughter to a movie once a year!)" the Australian government still ignored them?
Put mildly: That's not cool.
Guess which side of this toaster represents the working class? GIF via Photonic Induction/YouTube.
These phenomena obviously aren't limited to Australia. But a $6,000 toaster making front-page headlines is a pretty good indicator of just how absurd the problem really is.
Granted, there are some smaller businesses who would benefit from a six-foot-wide, double-racked toast-making behemoth like this.But what good is a $6,000 industrial toaster if the majority of your potential customers are too poor to afford a sandwich?
Maybe instead of concerning ourselves with fancy electronics, we should make sure everybody has their bread first. After all, you can't make toast without it. And if a couple thousand people were willing to chip in $60K in just two days to make one guy's life a little easier, imagine the difference it would make in the entire community if everyone did their part.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."