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Good-bye plastic: Lego announces a huge change in the future of its toys.

Get ready to say good-bye to the Legos of yesteryear.

Legos. A classic children's toy.

The literal building blocks of imagination can bring many hours of joy.

Just take a look at that imagination! Photo by mureut/Flickr.

Hours of joy that are quickly forgotten when you step on them and want to die from the pain.

One thing I don't miss after giving away my Legos. GIF from Jerry Purpdrank/Vine.

To say that Legos are popular would be an understatement.

People love them! In 2012, over 45 billion Lego pieces were made, and enough were sold that year to circle the world 18 times.

That's A LOT of plastic.

Literally 6,000 tons of plastic each year. And we all know how bad plastic is for the environment.

Just a drop in the bucket. Photo by Curtis McHale/Flickr.

That's why the Lego Group just made a huge announcement about the future of Lego building blocks.

They're going to invest 1 BILLION Danish Krone (which is about $150 million USD) in a program that'll make the Lego blocks we know and love even better!

They're going to spend the money to hire 100 amazing, smart people to figure out materials that aren't harmful to the environment that can be used to make Legos instead.

An example of smart people. Image by U.S. Army RDECOM/Flickr.

They're establishing the Lego Sustainable Materials Center, which is the latest move by Lego to reduce its carbon footprint.

Currently, Legos are made out of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, which is a long way of saying "really strong plastic."

Knowing how much the colorful little blocks can hurt the Earth, Lego's been trying to do things that are better for the environment, like using less paper in their packaging and investing in an offshore wind farm.

In the announcement about the recent commitment, Lego Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (who is the grandson of Lego founder, Ole Kirk Kristiansen — how cool is that?) said:

"The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit. It is certainly in line with the mission of the LEGO Group and in line with the motto of my grandfather and founder of the LEGO Group, Ole Kirk Kristiansen: 'Only the best is good enough.'"

Thank you, Lego, for working hard to help us continue to bring our imaginations to life — without destroying the environment.

Take a look at their announcement in its entirety.

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Subaru
Subaru
Joy

5 things that made us smile this week

People supporting thousands of local charities? Yes, please.

True


Good news—you know we love it. And we know you love it, too. Which is why we’ve searched the internet high and low for things guaranteed to brighten up your work week, such as:

This former cheerleader busting a movie

You're only as old as you feel—at least, that’s what Michigan woman Ilagene Doehring seems to think. Now 97, Doerhing was reminiscing about her time as a high school cheerleader 80 years ago at Merrill High School—a squad she helped create after noticing her school didn’t have one of their own. Caretakers at her nursing home reached out on social media to see if someone had an old uniform Doehring could wear one last time—and the current cheer coach at Merrill High School, Jena Glazer, went above and beyond. Glazier and the entire cheer team showed up to her assisted living facility to deliver the uniform and perform a cheer with the current team.

This company's way to support hometown charities

The annual Subaru Share the Love® Event is a chance to help local communities in a big way. Subaru and its retailers will donate at least $300 to local charities for every new Subaru purchased or leased through January 2nd, 2025—and by the end of 2024 (their 17th year of hosting this event), they’ll have donated nearly $320 million to charities across the nation. We love seeing local communities getting the support they deserve!

This mom’s “magic answer” to her kid’s Tooth Fairy and Santa questions

Most parents dread the moment when their kids start asking about mythical creatures like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus—but it turns out you can preserve the magic of childhood while also being honest with your kids. TikTok creator KC Davis, who is also a licensed therapist, showed this perfectly when she shared about the time her 4-year-old asked if the tooth fairy was real. She asked them “Do you want the magic answer, or the grownup answer?” Utter perfection. (Her daughter chose the magic answer, by the way.)

This guy who drove 11 hours to be with his grandma

@jodiegarner12 @TheModernGolfer drove 11.5 hours to surprise his queen as it was her late husband’s birthday today. Never forgotten and will always look after his grandmother ❤️🌹#loyalty #family @Rosalie Gessey ♬ These Memories - Hollow Coves

Holidays can be painful when you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one. Which is why on the anniversary of his late grandfather’s birthday, professional golfer Jordie Garner drove eleven hours to spend time with his grandmother so she wouldn’t have to be alone. This adorable video shows Jordie showing up to surprise his grandmother, with flowers and a present in hand. Now that’s true love.

This mom's sweet "I love you" surprise

@goodnewscorrespondent

Daughter is surprised when her mom, who is non-verbal with Alzheimers, replies I LOVE YOU! ❤️ As a daughter of a mom with ALZ, this had me in tears. 😭💞 Cherish these moments. @momolarks800

♬ original sound - Good News Correspondent

Tiktok user @momolarks80 caught an unexpected (and heartwarming) message when she filmed herself and her mother saying hello. Living with Alzheimer’s and mostly nonverbal, her mother surprised her with a rare “I love you”—to which the daughter responds by planting a kiss on her cheek. Talk about wholesome.

For more reasons to smile, check out all the ways Subaru is sharing the love this holiday season, here.

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Education

The one sign that someone is highly intelligent, according to literary genius Leo Tolstoy

He was a master of understanding the human condition.

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File:L.N.Tolstoy Prokudin-Gorsky.jpg - Wikipedia

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist known for epic works such as"War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina.” His life experiences—from witnessing war to spiritual quests—profoundly influenced his writings and gave him profound insights into the human soul. His understanding of emotions, motivations and moral dilemmas has made his work stand the test of time, and it still resonates with people today.

Juan de Medeiros, a TikTokker who shares his thoughts on philosophy, recently shared how Tolstoy knew if someone was highly intelligent, and his observation says something extraordinary about humanity.

“The more intelligent a person is, the more he discovers kindness in others,” Tolstoy once wrote. “For nothing enriches the world more than kindness. It makes mysterious things clear, difficult things easy, and dull things cheerful.”

@julianphilosophy

Intelligent people are kind #intelligent #intelligence #kindness #smart #tolstoy #men #women

De Medeiros boiled down Tolstoy’s thoughts into a simple statement: “Intelligent people are unafraid to be kind.” He then took things a step further by noting that Tolstoy believed in the power of emotional intelligence. "To have emotional intelligence is to see the good in other people, that is what Tolstoy meant, that to be intelligent is to be kind," he added.

It seems that, according to de Medeiros, Tolstoy understood that intelligent people are kind and perceptive of the kindness in others. The intelligent person is conscious of the kindness within themselves and in the world around them.

Through the words of Tolstoy, de Medeiros makes a point that is often overlooked when people talk about intelligence. Truly smart people are as in touch with their hearts as they are with their minds.


This article originally appeared last year.

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Family

Swim instructor calms a teary toddler with his 'mermaid mantra' and now the adults are crying

Hearing a little girl say, "I'm big, I'm brave, I'm boobooball," shoots straight to the heart. There's no controlling it.

Photo by Raj Rana on Unsplash

Confidence is key.

Learning to swim can be a very scary experience for kids. They’re being asked to quite literally dive into the unknown, after all, and the pool is not without its inherent dangers. It’s perfectly understandable that the fear can be overwhelming.

Luckily, the “mermaid mantra” can help.

Tyler Reed, owner of Triton Aquatic Training in Tampa, Florida, recently went viral after teaching the "mermaid mantra" to a young student who was clearly having a hard time.

It goes like this: “I’m big. I’m brave. I’m beautiful.”

In a video shared on Triton's TikTok, Reed encourages the little girl to repeat the mantra and, through sobs, we hear the most adorable little voice in the whole world repeat, “I’m beeg. I’m bave. I’m boobooball.”

Seriously, that boobooball is pure and utter sweetness.

Watch:
@tritonaquatictraining Yes… swim lessons can sometimes be scary but when we say our motivational mermaid mantras out loud, we can do anything! 🧜‍♀️🫶 #M#Motivation #m#mobileswimlessonss#swimlessonsp#privateswimlessonss#swiminstructors#southtampat#tampaswimlessonstampasmallbusiness #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #survivalswimlessons #survivalswim #fyp #cuteaf #childpsychology #parenting #childeducation #children ♬ original sound - Triton Aquatic Training

Reed’s video quickly went viral, with folks quick to commend the little one on her bravery.

"It's so scary as a little person to learn these kinds of things but I'm sure she's doing great," one person wrote.

Others were instantly emotional. "I'm boobooful is literally where I lost it. Someone get me the tissue," wrote another.

Clearly Reed’s approach works, because in a subsequent video he and the same student are back in the water, with her swimming and loving every minute of it. Now she recites the mermaid mantra as a song of victory!

Boobooball is still just as cute though.

@tritonaquatictraining MERMAID UPDATE! Look at this big girl swimming and loving it after just a few weeks! Crazy to think that just a few weeks ago we were in tears and scared! But we kept practicing our motivational mermaid mantra of “I’m Big, I’m Brave, I’m Beautiful!” and look how far we’ve come! I am one proud swim instructor! Thank you all so much for the love & support! 🥰🧜‍♀️🔱🧜‍♂️ #swimlessons #privateswimlessons #learntoswim #swimminglessons #survivalswim #survivalswimlessons #childcare #childpsychology #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #cutevideo #proudteacher #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #foryoupage #fypシ #viral #trending #fypシ゚viral #fypage ♬ original sound - Triton Aquatic Training

For Reed, the mantra is about instilling power and autonomy back into his students.

"I think a lot of people look at 2-year-olds and babies as children that are incapable of being able to swim or save themselves and I'm trying to kind of erase that psyche from them, that they can they really can do this,” he told Good Morning America.

Not teaching kids to trust themselves, he added, leads to an over-reliance on swim floaties, which develop a “false sense of their ability to swim.” That’s why he believes engaging in swim lessons at an early age is so important.

This kind of wisdom is pretty universal when it comes to raising confident kids. Teaching young ones how to empower themselves through a variety of situations, rather than constantly trying to shield them from discomfort, develops skills that can last a lifetime. But this can still be done in a loving, gentle way, as Reed so beautifully demonstrated. Sometimes it's simply allowing kids to experiment and make mistakes. Other times, it might be affirmations that connect kids to their inner sea creatures.

Reed said it best: “When we say our motivational mermaid mantras out loud, we can do anything!”


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Humor

A guy created pictures of every president as a 'cool guy with a mullet' and they deliver

All 46 got a Dog the Bounty Hunter makeover.

via Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia Commons

Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Joe Biden and Barack Obama all having a laugh.

Like it or not, we’ve recently entered the age of artificial intelligence, and although that may be scary for some, one guy in Florida thinks it’s a great way to make people laugh. Cam Harless, the host of The Mad Ones podcast, used AI to create portraits of every U.S. president looking “cool” with a mullet hairstyle, and the results are hilarious.

The mullet is a notorious hairdo known as the "business in the front, party in the back" look. It's believed that the term "mullet" was coined by the rap-punk-funk group Beastie Boys in 1994.

While cool is in the eye of the beholder, Harless seems to believe it means looking like a cross between Dog the Bounty Hunter and Kenny Powers from “Eastbound and Down.”

Harless made the photos using Midjourney, an app that creates images from textual descriptions. "I love making AI art," Harless told Newsweek. "Often I think of a prompt, create the image and choose the one that makes me laugh the most to present on Twitter and have people try and guess my prompt."

"The idea of Biden with a mullet made me laugh, so I tried to make one with him and Trump together and that led to the whole list of presidents,” he continued.

Harless made AI photos of all 46 presidents with mullets and shared them on Twitter, and the response has been tremendous. His first photo of Joe Biden with a mullet has nearly 75,000 likes and counting.

Here’s our list of the 14 best presidents with mullets. Check out Harless' thread here if you want to see all 46.

Joe Biden with an incredible blonde mane and a tailored suit. This guy takes no malarkey.

Donald Trump looking like a guy who has 35 different pairs of stonewashed jeans in his closet at Mar-a-Lago.

Barack Obama looking like he played an informant on "Starsky and Hutch" in 1976.

George H.W. Bush looking like he plays bass in Elvis's backing band at the International Hotel in Vegas in '73.

Gerald Ford looking like the last guy on Earth that you want to owe money.

"C'mon down and get a great deal at Dick Nixon's Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, right off the I-95 in Daytona Beach."

"Who you calling Teddy? That's Theodore Roosevelt to you."

Grover Cleveland is giving off some serious steampunk vibes here.

Pray you never key Chester A. Arthur's Trans Am. If you know what's best for you.

Honest Abe? More like Honest Babe. Am I right?

Franklin Pierce looking like your favorite New Romantic singer from 1982. Eat your heart out, Adam Ant.

"Daniel Day Lewis stole my look in 'Last of the Mohicans.'" — John Tyler

Many have tried the tri-level mullet but few pulled it off as beautifully as James Madison.

Washington's mullet was like a white, fluffy cloud of freedom.

Find more cool, mulletted U.S. presidents here.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Culture

Pamela Anderson surprises fans with her high-brow film taste

"I don’t think people kind of expect me to be such a…cinephile"

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Pamela Anderson 1994 | The post Pamela Anderson 1994 appeare… | Flickr

It’s a good time to be Pamela Anderson. The former Baywatch star recently earned a Golden Globe nomination—the first of a 35-year career—for her starring role in the Gia Coppola drama The Last Showgirl. And now she’s boosted her hipster street cred by visiting the Criterion Closet, showcasing some of her favorite films—and surprising a number of fans with her "cinephile" taste.

A little background for the uninitiated: The Criterion Collection is a home-video distribution company whose tasteful box sets and restorations have become synonymous with the high-brow. With interview web series Criterion Closet Picks, they invite famous actors and filmmakers into, yes, an actual closet filled floor to ceiling with their own releases. The guests pick titles off the shelves, diving into their influences.

Anderson was thrilled to be there—so much that she decided to throw out her curated list and simply "go crazy."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"I’m here in the Criterion Closet, which is a dream come true," she told the camera, before picking out films that would impress any college cinema professor. These include a handful of French staples: the 1969 psychological thriller La Piscine, directed by Jacques Deray; the 1960 drama La Vérité, helmed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and starring Brigitte Bardot; and Jean Luc-Godard’s 1960 crime-drama Breathless.

The latter even inspired a fashion choice. "[The] reason I cut my hair into a pixie cut was Jean Seberg," she said, name-checking one of the film’s stars. "Thought it would grow out in a few months. It took me a good couple years to get my hair back after I decided to do that." Also of note on her list: David Lynch’s surreal 1986 neo-noir mystery Blue Velvet and David Lean’s 1955 romantic comedy Summertime, which she noted she’d "love to remake."

The interview gave Anderson the chance to outline the depth of her movie knowledge. "I’m so thrilled to be here and so happy to be invited here because I don’t think people kind of expect me to be such a…cinephile," she said. "Can I say that? I don’t know if I’m that, but I’m definitely a movie lover." (She is definitely allowed to say that.)

Anderson joins a prestigious Criterion interview club that includes Kevin Smith, Francis Ford Coppola, Janelle Monáe, Bill Hader, Barry Jenkins, Ari Aster, Charlie Day, Willem Dafoe, and even musicians like St. Vincent and Ben Gibbard. You could spend a whole day exploring the Closet wing of their site—and if you do, make sure you check out Anderson’s full list.

The fan response to Anderson’s interview was fascinating. "Pamela Anderson…in large glasses…talking about Hepburn and Schneider….i need a fainting couch," one user wrote. "Pamela Anderson turning out to be a massive cinephile who drops the Koker Trilogy in her @Criterion Closet video just made my entire year," added another. Perhaps the most direct: "Pamela Anderson knows more about cinema than you ever will."

In a December interview with Variety, Anderson talked about how starring in The Last Showgirl helped refine her chops—and fulfill a personal "dream."

"I was always very curious about the craft of acting, but I didn’t have to apply myself when I was running around in a bathing suit on Baywatch," she said. "I was curious about it—I would be sitting on the floor of Samuel French, reading Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill plays. I didn’t know how to get from there to there, but I just had this dream. I always kept it a secret that I could be more than I was doing."

pamela anderson
Innovation

Absolutely do not change your voicemail greeting if you're lost without service

A rescue team explains why the viral tip is bad advice.

Photo by Spencer Backman on Unsplash

A viral post about changing your voicemail greeting when stranded is debunked by rescuers.

Multiple news stories of people being stranded in the wilderness have circulated recently, from the tragic story of a family that died of heat exhaustion and dehydration in the California mountains to the odd story of a lost hiker who refused to answer phone calls from rescuers for 24 hours because they didn't recognize the phone number. And along with those stories has come a wave of viral posts sharing some wise-sounding advice for if you're ever stuck somewhere without cell service and a low battery.

The problem is, the advice isn't wise after all.

The viral post suggests changing your outgoing voicemail message to include your location. One version reads:

"If ever lost while hiking, stranded with a broken-down vehicle or other emergency situation, if your cell phone battery is low here is a tip that can very well save your life. Change your outgoing voicemail on your phone to a message that gives your approximate location, the time, the date, your situation; lost, out of gas, car broken down, injured, etc... plus any special instructions such as; 'You are staying with the car', 'You are walking towards a town' If your cell phone dies, stops working or loses signal your voicemail will still be working. Anyone calling your phone will hear your emergency instructions. They will know you need help and know where to find you or where to send help."

Sounds smart, but a Colorado rescue team has explained why it's not:


The Alpine Rescue Team posted its response to the viral post on Facebook, writing:

"1. Without a signal (connection to the cell system) YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR VOICEMAIL. The voicemail system resides with your cell provider. To change your outgoing message, you have to CALL into your voicemail and then navigate the menus, record a new greeting, confirm the new greeting, etc. YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH NO SIGNAL.

2. If your battery is low do not waste its power by calling your voice mail—or a friend or relative. Call 9-1-1 for help.

3. If you have no signal, text for help to 9-1-1. Many, if not most, 9-1-1 centers can receive a text.

4. Text takes much less power, is far more likely to get through, will automatically retry many times if you have spotty service, leaves record others can see and can give you an indication that it got thru. BTW, because of the automatic retries, you can compose and hit send on a text and then get your phone as high as possible to improve the chances of getting the message out.

5. Stay put. Okay, if you're lost or broken down and you've called for help (assuming you have signal and battery) please stay in one location—UNLESS YOU MUST MOVE FOR SAFETY REASONS. Changing your location makes our job more difficult. Trying to reach someone whose GPS location we have (within a circle, of course) is faster for us than trying to nail down a moving target. STAY PUT.

6. Maximize battery life. In order to make the battery last longer, turn off everything you do not need. Close all apps. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth. Don't use your cell phone as a GPS/map device and especially do not use the compass if your phone has one -- the compass feature in some phones is a serious battery drain. Pull out your map and compass and/or use a dedicated GPS unit. You may be instructed, by text, to turn your phone off and text back at a specific time. Also, keep your phone just a little warm with some body heat or a handwarmer."

Many people probably think of their voicemail greeting as a recording saved on their phone, but it's not. A fact-check by USA Today, which consulted the top three carriers (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile), confirmed that cell service or a data connection is needed to change an outgoing voicemail message. You can do it over wi-fi, but that's not helpful if you're stranded on a mountain somewhere. You could change your voicemail greeting before you leave, letting people know where you're going to be adventuring if you feel comfortable with that, but once you're stuck without cell service, there's no changing it.

As always, look for what the actual experts say before passing along a viral social media post, even if the advice it contains sounds smart.


This article originally appeared four years ago.

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