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Family

A man said she was too old to be seen with him in public. Well, she's going real public now.

I actually don't care that this woman is a model. I mean, that's cool and all, but what is so great about Jacky is her story of finding peace and contentment with and within her body — and believing in her own life. It's a great story, but you've gotta be especially sure to catch the bit about getting "discovered" by American Apparel at 4:00 and her moment of revelation at 6:30.

Pop Culture

'Wheel of Fortune' fans left shocked after contestant wins $50,000 solving impossible puzzle

“How in the world did you solve that last one?” asked host Ryan Seacrest.

Wheel of Fortune/Youtube

That was quite impressive.

Listen, while we all love a hilarious Wheel of Fortune fail, watching an epic win can be just as entertaining. And that’s exactly what recently happened on The Wheel when a contestant named Traci Demus-Gamble made a winning puzzle solve so out-of-nowhere that it made host Ryan Seacrest jokingly check her for a hidden earpiece.

In a clip posted to the show’s YouTube account Friday, Jan. 17, Demus-Gamble waved to her husband who was standing on the sidelines before going up to the stage for her next challenge: guess a four-word “phrase.”

Demus-Gamble wasn’t off to a great start, as only two of her given letters (“T” and “E”) made it to the board. And the odds didn’t improve much after Demus-Gamble, admittedly “nervous,” gave the letters “M,” “C,” “D,” and “O” and only two of those letters showed up once on the board.

“Again, not too much more, but who knows, you’ve had a lot of good luck tonight,” Seacrest said. “Maybe it’ll strike you.”

Then, all in under ten seconds (more like in 1.5 seconds), Demus-Gamble correctly guessed, “They go way back” like it was nothing.

Watch the incredible moment below:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

As the audience cheered, Seacrest playfully circled Demus-Gamble, as though searching for an earpiece that must have fed her the winning guess. Down in the comments, people were equally floored.

“Now THAT was an amazing solve.”

“Wow! That was impressive!”

“I couldn't solve that one to save my life, but Demus-Gamble got it like it was nothing.”

“There's only one way to describe this to me: 😦”

At the end of the clip, Seacrest opened the envelope to reveal that Demus-Gamble’s puzzle solve won her $50,000, earning her a total win of $78,650. Certainly not chump change.

As for her winning strategy—Demus-Gamble assured no cheating was involved. “I just dug deep," she told Seacrest. We’ll say.

via Pexels

Apple watch notifications saved this Maine woman's life.

In 2022 Kim Durkee, then 67, of Solon, Maine, told Today that she purchased an Apple watch two years ago to count her steps and to get help if she fell. But she ended up getting a lot more than that out of her watch. In fact, it wound up saving her life.

In May 2022, Durkee got an alert from her watch in the middle of the night that said she appeared to have an abnormal heart rhythm and suggested atrial fibrillation. "The message basically said something to the effect of, 'You are in a resting state but we noticed AFib,'" Durkee told News Center Maine.

The Mayo Clinic describes atrial fibrillation as an “irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots in the heart.” It increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.

Durkee ignored the warning because she felt fine. “I didn’t have one single hint that there was something wrong in my body, not one,” Durkee told Today. But her Apple watch went on to wake her up three nights in a row from midnight to 4 a.m. So, she decided to go into the emergency room in early June.

Apple watches can be useful for monitoring one’s health but they shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for a regular checkup with a doctor. However, they are able to monitor the heart for irregularities and if they find an irregular rhythm five out of six times within 48 hours, users are sent an irregular rhythm notification.

As of 2025, however, a recent class action lawsuit filed against Apple has raised concerns about some Apple Watch wristbands, claiming they contain and expose wearers to harmful "forever chemicals" or PFAs. According to CNET, the lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court of Northern California about the Sport Band, Ocean Band, and Nike Sport Band containing harmful levels of PFAs and claims Apple was aware. Apple has denied these claims, however, and insists Apple Watches are safe to wear. In Durkee's case, it saved her life.

A 2020 study found that 34% of individuals who received a notification of arrhythmia were later found to have atrial fibrillation.

She told the doctor on duty that her Apple watch said she has AFib and he was a little skeptical. How could a watch replace the expertise of a heart specialist? “He looked at me, like, ‘Really, your watch told you you have AFib?’ Everybody in the hospital was amazed. I was like the talk of the hospital,” she said.

“He did some tests and he said, ‘Your watch is right, you’re in AFib,’” she added.

After an echocardiogram, the doctors also discovered that she had a myxoma tumor in her heart. These noncancerous tumors are rare, but they grow very rapidly. If the watch hadn’t notified her of her heart irregularity she could have been in real trouble.

On June 27, 2022, she underwent a five-hour open heart surgery and has since made a full recovery.

"I asked Dr. Osho in Boston who did the surgery and I also asked my doctor up here when I went for a check-up ... They both said the same thing, [that] I probably would've had a massive stroke, and they would've just said she died and they never would've known I had the myxoma," Durkee told News Center Maine.

"So, I'm very grateful to be alive. So, without that watch, I might not be having this conversation with you right now,” she told WCVB.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

Education

Unearthed BBC interview features two Victorian-era women discussing being teens in the 1800s

Frances 'Effy' Jones, one of the first women to be trained to use a typewriter and to take up cycling as a hobby, recalls life as a young working woman in London.

Two Victorian women discuss being teens in the 1800s.

There remains some mystery around what life was like in the 1800s, especially for teens. As time marches on, we're moving further and further away from the Victorian era and what life was like for the people living through it. Thankfully, though, relics have survived that are not just historical treasures, but connections our human family now since passed. In this rediscovered 1970s clip from the BBC, two elderly women reminisce about what it was like being teenagers during a time when the horse and buggy was still the fastest way to get around.

While cars were just around the corner from being the common mode of transportation toward the end of the 19th century, it's pretty wild to imagine what these women experienced. Frances "Effy" Jones explained how, at age 17, she was encouraged by her brother to check out this new machine in a storefront window. Turns out that machine was a typewriter and, after being trained on how to use it, Jones would sit in the store window typing while people outside gathered to watch. Before long, classes began popping up for women to learn how to use a typewriter, starting a new movement for women of that era.

The second woman, Berta Ruck, told the BBC that she would get into a bit of trouble at boarding school for drawing instead of completing school work. This talent took Ruck to art school in London where she rode buses around town, attempting to avoid mud getting on her long skirt. But Ruck explained that it never worked and she would spend hours brushing the mud from her skirt before wearing it out again. I'm sure you're thinking, buses? They weren't the buses we would see nowadays. These were double-decker horse-pulled carriages. It may be hard to imagine, but life was just as vibrant and bustling then as it is now. Check out the video below to learn more:


This article originally appeared three years ago.

A man and woman enjoying a nice night out.

Lindsay, a TikTok user named @CuteasCluck, recently found herself in a real conundrum while on a date at a restaurant. She was on her third date with a man she had previously met on Facetime and then went to dinner with. Now, while enjoying drinks after watching a sporting event, things were getting a little serious.

When Lindsay got up to go to the bathroom, she was approached by 2 women in their early 20s sitting directly behind her at the restaurant, who had got a good look at her date. “My hair was behind my back most of the time," Lindsay said. "So she like grabs my hair and is like, ‘oh my God. Your hair is so pretty, you’re so beautiful, I just had to stop you.'" While the woman was complimenting her, she handed her a crudely folded-up note. “‘I just wanted to give you this,’” the woman said.

WARNING: Video containsstrong language.

@cuteascluck

Overthinkers Anonymous member

Lindsay partially opened the note, and it read, “Just no!” A few words were scribbled beside it that she didn't have time to read before her date noticed. When she got to the bathroom, she read the remaining part of the note, which said, “You can do better.” When she returned to the table, her date asked her about the letter, and she brushed it off. But she couldn’t focus for the rest of the date because the note raised many questions.

Did he do something when I went off to the bathroom? Do they know him from around town? Could it be his age? She wondered to himself.

She asked her followers on TikTok for advice, and many made the same point: When a woman hands another woman a note at a bar, take it seriously. “We don’t pass notes unless we are warning you,” one of the top commenters wrote. “Any girl giving me a note secretly on a date, I’m gonna believe the girl. She felt compelled enough to get involved which means it’s something,” another added. “Gir,l it means no. It also means the details were probably going to heavily offend you,” another wrote.

In a follow-up video, Lindsay said that after dinner, she received a series of drunken texts from her date that sounded like a sales pitch, saying things like: "I think we're going to be together, facts are facts," and "Any girl that is going to miss out on me, she's going to miss out. She needs to jump on this right now," and called her "jaded." The next day, he apologized and noted that he didn't know the girl who passed the note but said, "She must somehow know my ex or something."

@cuteascluck

Replying to @~♡MimiJulee♡~ #greenscreen I asked him about the note😱😱

The commenters on the video thought the red flags were now piling up. “Sales pitchy drunk texts after date two are reason enough for you to run and not look back,” a commenter wrote. “Too many red flags this soon,” another added.

In the final video of the series — unless the women who handed the note come forward — Lindsay says that she ended things with the man she was dating after receiving the drunk texts. Coupled with the warning on the note, it was enough for her to believe the guy was bad news. Ultimately, although Linday may never know why the woman gave her the note, it served a very important purpose: her date’s reaction to it exposed him as being unhinged and agressive. It's terrific that Lindsay could realize this before things got too serious.

@cuteascluck

Friendly reminder to those who know I’m a rambler, 2x speed 💁🏻‍♀️🥰




Community

High school principal visits hospital so dying mom can see her son graduate

They stood proudly by her side one day before she passed away.

KOCO 5 News/Youtube

Caleb Woodrum graduates high school by his mom Stacey's hospital bed.

Caleb Woodrum's mom, Stacey, had one dying wish: to see her son graduate from high school. Ten years prior, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Woodrum, a senior at Blanchard High School in Blanchard, Oklahoma, was set to graduate months later in May 2023 when Stacey's health took a turn for the worst.

“The hospital actually contacted me and they said, ‘Listen, things are getting bad and the only thing that she wants is to see her youngest son graduate.’ So I told them, I said, ‘What do I need to do? Let’s get this going,'” Woodrum’s sister-in-law, Cara Harris, told KFOR News.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Within 24 hours, a ceremony was put together. Southwest Medical Center's intensive care unit agreed to hold a graduation ceremony for Woodrum and his mom. Hospital staff rallied around them, providing food, balloons, personalized signs and music for the ceremony. Blanchard High School Principal, Greg Jackson, handed Woodrum his diploma and ensured Woodrum had a cap and gown.

“A lot of people were supporting me. My school, the Southwest medical staff, but especially my family. That was a moment that really made me proud. I didn’t expect the hospital to go above and beyond, but it was truly amazing what they did, and especially my principal, Mr. Jackson,” Woodrum told KFOR.

Caleb Woodrum, StaceyCaleb Woodrum embraces his mom Stacey following his graduation ceremony.GoFundMe

During the short ceremony, Woodrum and his mom held hands as Mr. Jackson presented Woodrum with his diploma. Stacey applauds as his son accepted it, and they shared an emotional embrace together. Woodrum wiped away tears following the ceremony. Unfortunately, Caleb's mother died the very next day on March 29, 2023, on her 57th birthday.

"I have a really good relationship with her. I took care of her. She was on oxygen, so I had to fill her bottles regularly and stuff like that. Made sure when she needed to go to the doctors, she had a ride to the doctors and stuff like that," said Woodrum. "It was probably one of the greatest moments I’ve actually ever had. Like, she did want to see me graduate. She did want to see me go to college. Unfortunately, she won’t have the chance to do that. But she got to see me graduate high school, which I know is one of the biggest accomplishments for me and her."

The incredible video has experienced a resurgence in popularity, garnering heartfelt responses from new and old viewers. "Very sad and beautiful at the same time," Kaneda1985 commented. VivienneVelvet2 added, "Such a heartfelt gesture shows the true spirit of community and compassion." And donmreddit wrote, "The simple gesture is going to have some positive impact on that young man’s life. Not to mention everybody at the hospital, who observed it. Stellar." Another touched viewer, CapnRaye, responded, "This goes to show you that little things really matter. At most, this man had to take time out of his day to drive to the hospital / hospice / their home, where this kid's mom is. Was it probably effort on his part to do that? Yeah, sure, but it's very easy to do. This kid will remember this for the rest of his life."

A GoFundMe was started by Cara Harris to help with Woodrum's college tuition and expenses.