His father nearly killed him. His incredible escape inspired a lifesaving organization.

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When Kevin Steen left for work on an October morning in 2013, he received a flurry of urgent texts from his friend Mohammad.

The two had become fast friends two years earlier while Kevin was studying Arabic abroad in Jordan, so it wasn’t unusual for the two to text each other on Kevin’s bus ride to work.

But on this particular morning, it was different.

Mohammad’s life was in danger: he had been outed as gay to his family, brutally beaten by his father, and was fleeing for his life.

In Jordan, being outed as gay could be a death sentence, particularly within conservative families. That morning, Mohammad’s mother had sent him a warning text, risking her own life to tell him that his father had a loaded gun and was determined to find and kill him.

[rebelmouse-image 19476474 dam="1" original_size="6000x3491" caption="Photo by Warren Wong / Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Warren Wong / Unsplash.

That’s why Mohammad needed to find someplace safe to hide — and he needed to do so quickly.

Kevin immediately tried to help but despite an exhaustive search, he couldn’t track down any organizations that could offer immediate aid to Mohammad. So, with no time to spare, he took matters into his own hands and wired money to Mohammad to rent a room.

Mohammad had to keep moving though because his father continued to stalk him relentlessly. There were a number of close calls — including a terrifying day in which his father found one of the addresses where Mohammad was staying, and started shooting at the window while Mohammad hid under the bed.

But these close calls didn’t deter him. While his father was persistent, Mohammad was even more so. He insisted on finishing his college education even in light of his father’s intimidation, disguising himself in a burka to enter his campus undetected.

[rebelmouse-image 19476475 dam="1" original_size="4259x3194" caption="Photo by Majid Korang beheshti / Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Majid Korang beheshti / Unsplash.

At each step of the way, Kevin was there, fundraising behind the scenes from the other side of the world to ensure that his friend had everything that he needed to survive, including shelter, food, and tuition money. And as graduation approached, they worked together to obtain a visa to safely relocate Mohammad to the United States.

Kevin was grateful for the chance to support his friend, but he knew that Mohammad’s struggles were not unique.

While there are some efforts on the ground to support LGBTQ+ people in Jordan, the Middle East and North Africa, most don’t get the resources and support they need.

[rebelmouse-image 19476476 dam="1" original_size="5365x3577" caption="Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos / Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos / Unsplash.

This is due in part to the fact that in these regions, setting up and formally registering an organization that supports LGBTQ+ people is risky — sometimes even illegal. But if they can’t formally register, fundraising and outreach is difficult to coordinate. So when people, like Mohammad, are in crisis, there are often no existing programs able to offer the immediate support they need.

That’s why Kevin created Rainbow Street in 2014, an international organization that uses grassroots fundraising in the United States to support LGBTQ+ activists on the ground in the Middle East and North Africa.

He named the organizations after a street in Jordan, the country where he first met Mohammad.

Spotted: MENA queers at SF Pride!!
A post shared by Rainbow Street (@rainbowstreetus) on Jun 24, 2018 at 6:09pm PDT

The organization not only helps refugees like Mohammad through direct assistance — providing housing, healthcare, and basic needs for those waiting to relocate — but it also helps connect LGBTQ+ people in the region with local support networks and resources. While Mohammad needed to relocate, not everyone in the region does, so Rainbow Street provides support based on each individual’s needs.

Activists in Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia lead the work on the ground, determining where their aid is needed most, while Kevin and his US-based volunteers provide the material support that allows them to coordinate these efforts.

#SolidaritySunday! a throwback to our fundraiser with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence last winter.
A post shared by Rainbow Street (@rainbowstreetus) on Apr 15, 2018 at 11:26am PDT

Nearly five years ago, Kevin couldn’t have known that his efforts to keep Mohammad safe were just the beginning of something much bigger than them both.

Mohammad and Kevin both live in the San Francisco Bay Area now, and they remain close friends to this day.

Their shared experience not only strengthened their friendship, but also became the foundation for Rainbow Street’s extraordinary work helping other LGBTQ+ people in the Middle East and North Africa.

And for Kevin especially, it was a deeply personal reminder of the power that one person can have to make a difference.

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.

From Your Site Articles

joy

Pop Culture

Bizarre optical illusion has people either seeing a car door or the beach

What do you see?

Photos combined from Pixabay.

Car door and the beach.

Ancient sage Obi-Wan Kenobi once remarked, "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them." Well, he's right. Kinda.

Our eyes bring in information and it's our brain's job to decipher the image and determine what we're seeing. But our brains aren't always correct. In fact, sometimes they can be so wrong we wonder if we are accurately interpreting reality at all.

After all, our brains can only label things if it knows that they are. If you lived on a deserted island your whole life and a cow showed up on the beach, you'd have no idea what to label it.

The latest baffling image that's making people across the Internet doubt their senses is a picture tweeted out by X (formerly Twitter) user nayem. "If you can see a beach, ocean sky, rocks and stars then you are an artist," the comment reads.

But some people who see it also think it looks like a car door. What do you see?

Beach or a rusty door?

via nxyxm / Twitter

If your brain told you the picture is of a lovely evening laying on the beach then you're definitely an optimist. But, according to the person who posted it, the photo is of the bottom of a rusted out car door. Not very romantic, is it?

The tweet has since gone viral, earning over 5,000 likes.

via nxym /Twitter

Here's what Twitter users thought about the illusion.

Yum.

via X/Twitter.

This guy must be hungry.

A clever call back.

via Twitter.

This guy is having flashbacks to 2015.

Knowing the difference through skills.

via Twitter.

Your perception determines your reality.

Drawing skills.

via Twitter.

This guy explains it perfectly.

Boat on the beach.

via Twitter.

This guy has a great imagination.

So, what's going on?

This photo is just another optical illusion, and it can help us learn a lot about our brains. As mentioned, our eyes and other senses gather information and send it to our brains. From there, our brains create our perception of the world, but it doesn't always reflect reality. According to the American Museum of Natural History, this means is that when the brain is presented with incomplete information, it "fills in the gaps" to create an image or understanding where there wasn't one before. Even more interesting, since no two brains are totally alike, people tend to see optical illusions differently. Research suggests that cultural factors, experiences, and how we process visual information all account for why two people may look at the same illusion and have totally different takeaways.

Neat!

This article originally appeared four years ago.

From Your Site Articles

comedy

Joy

Service dog sees his favorite character on a Disney cruise and utterly loses his cool

Pure. Joy.

Photo credit: Canva

Service dogs deserve vacations, too.

Service dogs are professionals who are trained to be attentive, helpful and extremely well-behaved for their owners who rely on them for everyday living. They aren't easily distracted and have solid control over their impulses because their job performance is vital to humans who need them. No one wants a service dog going rogue.

But underneath all of that self-control and professionalism, service dogs are still dogs, as an adorable reunion on a Disney cruise ship makes delightfully clear.

Ashton McGrady is a content creator who shares her adventures with her Golden Retriever service dog, Forest, who has an affinity for Disney characters. In one video, she shows Forest choosing his own stuffy at a Disney gift shop, even putting the money on the counter to pay for it himself. But another video of Forest being reunited with his favorite character, Pluto, has people the world over feeling his joy vicariously.

Watch:

@radiantlygolden
proof that distance won’t keep the very best of friends apart ❤️🚢✨ we love you pluto!!! #servicedog #servicedogteam #disneytiktok #disneycruiseline #disneycruise #hostedbydisney

Ashton calls Forest her "best pal and lifesaver," and it's clear from her videos that they make a great team. People loved seeing the good doggo get to let loose and enjoy a romp with Pluto and how the cast member interacted with him as well.

"Those dogs are such good pups and work so hard to keep their owners safe, it’s nice to see them play for a bit ❤️"

"This is the most golden retriever golden I’ve ever seen 🥰🥰🥰"

"i just know the actor under the costume was having the best day ever."

"DID PLUTO WAG HIS OWN TAIL??? This is the best thing I’ve seen all day"

"It's like the Disney hug rule applies to dogs...but it's play with them until they are done."

The "Disney hug rule" referenced here is an apparently unofficial "rule" that DIsney cast members when dressed in character don't end a child's hug until the child let's go—basically letting the child hug the character as long as they want to. It's not an actual rule, but it's a thoughtful practice some cast members use to make sure their young guests don't leave a character meet disappointed.

For Forest, the equivalent is playing until he (or his owner—he's on the job, after all) decides he's done.

This isn't the first time Forest has had a touching reunion with Pluto. Ashton shared another video with a similar interaction—it's clear that Pluto truly is Forest's bestie.

@radiantlygolden
I just want to go back to this moment 🥹 if you’re friends with pluto and you see this, you made our entire day ♥️ #waltdisneyworld #wdw50 #epcotfestivalofthearts #festivalofthearts #epcot #charactermeetandgreet #disneytiktok #distok #servicedog #servicedogteam #servicedogsatdisney

Ashton also uses social media to educate people about service dogs, as there are a lot of misunderstandings out there about what service animals are, how they work, and where they are allowed to be.

Though service dogs and their owners will often naturally form a bond, a service dog is not a pet; it's a working animal that assists a person with disabilities or health conditions. In fact, service animals are considered medical equipment, in the same category as a wheelchair or an oxygen tank, and they are allowed to go anywhere the person they are serving would normally be allowed to go—even if other animals are not allowed. As the Americans with Disabilities Act website states: "Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go."

Service dogs are sometimes confused with emotional support animals, but they are not the same thing. Service animals are trained to do specific tasks related to mitigating a person's disability, which could range from recognizing when their owner is needing medical attention to reminding them to take a medication to guiding them around an obstacle or across a street.

@radiantlygolden
If a business is not pet-friendly, they may only ask these TWO questions! note: “emotional support” is NOT considered a valid answer to question 2. thank you @Disney Parks for this great example of how it should be done. #servicedog #servicedoglife #servicedogteam #disabilitytiktok #disneyparks

There are some guidelines and laws that govern how the general public as well as private businesses should interact with service animals. First, no one should pet a service animal unless their handler specifically invites them to. Second, there are only two questions a business owner or their staff members are allowed to ask a person with a service dog: 1) Is the dog a service animal who is required because of a disability? And 2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? They are not allowed to ask for documentation, ask what disability the person has or ask that the dog demonstrate what they can do.

For people who need them, service animals like Forest are a vital part of living a full life. They are also working professionals who deserve a break now and then, so it's fun to see this good doggo having the time of his life with his buddy, Pluto.

You can follow Ashton on TikTok and YouTube.

From Your Site Articles

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Health

It's the side of extreme weight loss rarely seen, but that's why it's needed

Courage and body positivity. This is me.

Image from YouTube video.

An emotional and strong Matt Diaz.

Matt Diaz worked extremely hard to lose 270 pounds over six years.

But his proudest moment came in March 2015 when he decided to film himself with his shirt off to prove an important point about body positivity and self-love.

Matt had lap-band surgery in 2009 at age 16.

Through the course of his weight-loss journey, Matt became passionate about promoting body positivity for people of all shapes and sizes.

before and after weight loss photos of young man

Here's Matt at 16 years old and 497 pounds versus recently after his surgery — at 22 years old and 220 pounds.