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Former WhatsApp exec reveals he secretly changed the paella emoji to match his grandma's recipe

"Her paella will live (digitally) forever.”

Twitter/X (@alfongi)

The internet's new obsession? A technology Easter egg.

Here's a question that probably never crossed your mind: While you text away and send that paella emoji 🥘, whose grandmother's recipe are you actually sharing?

If you're like most people, you've likely sent hundreds—if not thousands—of emojis without thinking twice about who designed them or what stories might be hidden behind those tiny digital images. But what if I told you that one former tech executive has been keeping a glorious secret for years—and his recent confession is breaking the Internet in the best possible way?

When I was at WhatsApp, I changed the ingredients in the paella 🥘 emoji to match my grandma's recipe.

She’s no longer with us, but her paella will live (digitally) forever. https://t.co/z2tBREJ3U0
— Alfonso (@alfongj) July 8, 2025

How an Easter egg became the internet's new tech obsession

Alfonso Gómez-Jordana never set out to become the main character online.

But after participating in the viral Twitter/X trend, “Share a piece of lore about yourself,” the co-founder of Crossmint (an all-in-one platform that helps developers integrate stablecoins, wallets, and more into their businesses) found himself as the star of everyone's feel-good story of the week. The University of California at Berkeley graduate is a certified technology wizard, with impressive stints at Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Google. At Google, he created the “I'm not a robot” reCAPTCHA security measure—a button virtually everyone online has clicked countless times. (On his founder profile, he playfully apologizes for this invention.) At Facebook, he worked directly under Mark Zuckerberg, developing a “technologically complex feature for the Facebook Android app” from scratch. And if that weren't impressive enough, he was also a national math Olympiad, taking home the top gold prize.

Having made tech decisions that affected billions of users worldwide, Gómez-Jordana was accustomed to operating at the highest level. But as the third-ever product manager at WhatsApp, the international messaging juggernaut, he likely never imagined that a single Tweet would touch so many hearts.

“When I was at WhatsApp, I changed the ingredients in the paella emoji to match my grandma’s recipe,” Alfonso revealed in a post that has since gone viral across multiple platforms. “She’s no longer with us, but her paella will live on (digitally) forever.”

paella, app, grandma, recipe, emoji “No wonder the WhatsApp paella tastes better than your average paella,” someone joked. Twitter/X (@alfongi)

On Twitter/X, Gómez-Jordana's original post has accumulated 11,000 retweets and over 272,000 likes, along with an outpouring of heartfelt responses.

“I love paella!” commented one user. “I think it's really sweet of you to remember her legacy in this way.”

“WAIT, STOP, THIS IS PRECIOUS,” cheered another.

Many declared Alfonso the winner of the viral “lore trend,” with one person writing, “Ok, this is some top lore.” Another replied, “Of all the versions of this trend, this one is my favorite.”

“No wonder the WhatsApp paella tastes better than your average paella,” someone else joked.

And just like that, with a click of a button—something Gómez-Jordana had done countless times throughout his career—a simple confession about a secret tech Easter egg became something more powerful: a touching story about a grandson honoring his grandmother, and the unexpected ways our digital lives can preserve the memory of those who shaped us.

Makeover time!

Before Alonso’s intervention, the paella emoji on WhatsApp was… slightly pitiful. Much like its 2016 Apple equivalent (an emoji so grossly inaccurate, that it sparked a social campaign), the platform’s digital paella icon was quite plain: nothing but a shallow, two-handed pan featuring a blur of orange, peas, and a bone-in chicken leg, plus a few shrimp scattered throughout.

Fortunately, Gómez-Jordana came to the rescue. In 2019, he had the opportunity to update the WhatsApp emoji and secretly modeled the new design after his grandmother's recipe—a variant of the traditional Valencian rice dish. Suddenly, individual grains of rice became visible, burnt-orange gems loaded with warm, aromatic saffron. Green beans entered the pixelated picture, joined by a slice of lemon and a second drumstick.

spain, valencian, alicante, europe, street The beautiful streets of Alicante, Spain. Photo by Joseph Corl on Unsplash

Crafted in the style of Alicante, a picturesque port city in Spain, the paella Alfonso's grandmother made (and its corresponding emoji) featured a distinctive ingredient: red bell pepper. This charming update not only enhanced the emoji's appearance but also reached Android and PC users worldwide. Now, whenever someone sends that paella emoji, they're unknowingly sharing a piece of Alfonso's family legacy.

Oh, but the story gets even better (and more delicious)

In his viral post, Alfonso didn't just reveal the inspiration behind WhatsApp's paella emoji redesign. In a gesture of true generosity, he also shared his grandmother's complete traditional paella recipe with the world.

paella, app, grandma, recipe, emoji Alfonso shares his grandma's recipe. Twitter/X (@alfongi)

From Alfonso Gómez-Jordana’s Twitter/X:

Valencia paella (Alfonso’s grandma)

Serving size: 5 people

Ingredients:

1 ñora pepper, with seeds and stem removed
Olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped (clean but not dried)
Chicken
Thyme
10-12 green beans, chopped into 3–4 pieces each
1 tomato
2 peeled garlic cloves
A handful of salt
2 1/2 cups of rice
Saffron or food coloring
1 lemon

via GIPHY

Steps:

Level the paella pan.
Add oil to just cover all the bottom and a little more. Add two pinches of salt.
When the oil is hot, flash-fry the ñora [pepper] for 5 seconds.
Then cook the red pepper with a pinch of salt. First, on one side (5-7 minutes), then the other (3 minutes), and set aside on a plate.
Do the same with the green beans (2 minutes per side).
Now add the chicken. Salt it well. Cook for about 5 minutes (while turning), until it’s no longer raw on the outside (but not fully cooked).
Add about 2 tablespoons of grated tomato (or 1 whole grated tomato) to the chicken and sauté until the tomato is half-dry (5-7 minutes).
In a blender: Add water, a handful of salt, a couple bits of ñora, the 2 garlic cloves, and the cooked ñora. Blend everything.
Add the blended mixture to the chicken, plus more water, until the chicken is just covered. Let it reduce while stirring the chicken so it cooks. Also, add back all the vegetables except the pepper. Let it simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until most of the water evaporates but not all (don’t let it burn).
Add 1/2 cup of rice per person, and 1 cup of water per person. Once all the water is added, add the red pepper and the saffron or food coloring. Cook on high heat for 5–7 minutes, then lower the heat for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and taste for salt.
When almost no broth remains, taste the rice. If it’s done, turn off the heat, remove from heat, and cover with paper towels for 7 minutes.
Uncover, stir, so the bottom comes to the top, and it’s ready to serve.

The garnish on top: a college roommate’s memory that will make you smile

As if Alfonso’s story wasn’t endearing enough, an unexpected voice chimed in online. It was Tomás Vega, Alfonso’s former college roommate, who jumped into the conversation with a memory that perfectly captures Alfonso’s love of his grandmother’s paella recipe.

“When I lived with Alfonso, he made paella every week, and we jokingly registered the house as 'Paella Patio,’” he reminisced on Twitter/X. “I used to wake up on Sundays to strangers knocking on the door asking if paella was happening.”

When I lived with Alfonso, he made paella every week and we jokingly registered the house as “Paella Patio”

I used to wake up on Sundays to strangers knocking on the door asking if paella was happening pic.twitter.com/hv3ilTIVLf
— Tomás Vega (@tomasmas) July 8, 2025

He shared a screenshot of the famed “Paella Patio” on Google Maps: a five-star “Spanish restaurant” with a whopping 53 reviews. “Alfonso and his team made my friends and I feel like personal guests in a backyard-like setting,” reads the top review. Someone alert the Michelin guide!

The beautiful family legacy lives on

Today, Alfonso's grandmother's culinary legacy extends far beyond the family kitchen, reaching millions through a tiny, meticulously designed digital icon—a wonderful tribute she never could have imagined. Unlike typical corporate changes driven by data, user research, and business metrics, this emoji update came from the heart. Who would have thought such a small digital symbol could evoke such emotion? 🥘

paella, app, grandma, recipe, emoji Alfonso poses with his grandma's famous paella. Twitter/X (@alfongi)

This story reminds us that behind every app, feature, and emoji is a real person making decisions. While these choices are often guided by analytics and numbers, they can also be shaped by love, memory, and the desire to make our digital world more genuine and personal.

Next time you use the paella emoji, remember you're not just sending a food icon—you're sharing a piece of family history. Though Alfonso's grandmother is gone, her paella, and everything it represents, truly lives on digitally forever.

From Your Site Articles

internet

Motherhood

Exhausted mom quietly quits household chores and this is what happened after just 3 days

Things got post-apocalyptic in a hurry.

Miss Potkin/Twitter

Mom lives the dream: quietly quitting household chores to see if her family notices

It takes a heck of a lot to keep a household moving. Dishes, laundry, groceries, general cleaning and tidying, outdoor maintenance, scheduling, doctor's appointments, and on and on and on. In most American households, mom handles most of it; the majority of the physical labor and almost all of the invisible, mental work.

If it sounds like a lot, that's because it is. Though men and fathers are sharing the load more than ever, the division of labor remains pretty bad. And it's not just stay-at-home moms that are managing everything; it's working women, too! It's too much for any one person to handle.

Practically every mom I know occasionally daydreams about quitting-doing-all-the-things. Sometimes the impulse is born of exhaustion. Sometimes it's the relentless daily tedium of cleaning, cooking, reminding, over and over and over without end. And sometimes it's the desire for someone else to notice that these things actually need to be done and someone has to actually do it.

moms, motherhood, parenting, household, family, chores, mental load, division of labor, household inequity, sexism All moms can relate to this feeling. Giphy

Even moms who share chores with spouses and kids often find themselves carrying the mental load of figuring out what needs to be done, monitoring whether it's getting done, and organizing who's doing what, and reminding/nagging/harassing her family members until it gets done. Sometimes moms just want to let all of that go and see what happens.

One mom, who goes by Miss Potkin on Twitter/X, recently decided she had enough. She decided, just like that, that she was going to quit without saying a word.

Channeling the fed-upness of mothers everywhere, she just up and stopped doing household chores to see what would happen. Two days later, she began sharing the saga in a Twitter thread that's as entertaining as it is satisfying.

Needless to say, without Lily managing things, the state of the home unraveled extremely quickly.

— (@)

Letting go and letting your family sit in their own filth until they can't take it anymore takes patience and discipline. There's a reason moms generally do-all-the-things regardless of how cooperative the family is. We don't want to live in a mess any more than anyone else does. But Lily Potkin stuck to her guns.

For a minute, things were looking promising with the garbage being taken out. However, the dishes still remained mysteriously undone. As did the laundry.

It only got worse from there. Honestly, reading through the thread is like watching the beginning of a zombie flick where the "normal world" because an apocalyptic wasteland in a matter of minutes

— (@)

"There is a pan on the cooker with a single sausage in it," she wrote in one update. "It's been there for two days. I can't look at it because it's turned the colour of the man that washes up in Cast Away."

Later, she did reveal said sausage for the camera (from a distance). It was horrifying, to say the least.

Oh, and this point, the downstairs bathroom was out of toilet paper. A harrowing prospect for all members of the house.

— (@)

Those who might feel judgy at this point likely live with people who are naturally neat, or just can't fathom themselves how someone could let a sausage sit for two days.

But take it from a mom who let go of policing her kids' bedrooms to see how long it would take them to decide to clean on their own—some human beings are willing to overlook all manner of mess and filth before it becomes too much.

And sometimes they have to learn firsthand the amount of extra work such obliviousness leads to.

In one update from Potkin, she shows her partner trying to clean old hardened cereal off a bowl. It's quite a struggle. Imagine how much easier it would have been to clean it right away!

— (@)

Hilariously, even though the dishwasher finally did get loaded, that's basically all that happened. Miss Potkin shared a video tour of the kitchen with the extraneous things that didn't get done or got half-done.

It speaks to the invisible load, the mental labor. Other members of the household may be willing to lend a hand here and there, but only when they're told exactly what to do. Even just the constant To-Do Listing is exhausting for moms.

— (@)

Of course, the negative Nancies showed up to voice their judgmental opinions about her experiment, her home, her family, her choice of husband, and everything else because moms literally can't catch a break.

It's a silly, fun exercise to make a point that millions of moms can relate to. If it doesn't apply to you, move along, Nance.

Potkin took it all in stride. Though she was out to prove a point, the goal was not to villify her husband and the rest of her family, but rather to shed light on the unfair cultural expectations and systems that lead to this inequality.

— (@)

"We do not 'live like this,'" she wrote. "This is a lesson in wanting to be heard and respected and not having to repeat yourself when things slip. We're navigating the day-to-day in extraordinary times and for me, the past two days have been funnier than anything else. I think we're all entitled to run our own experiments, be amused, push a situation to its limit if we so choose. No one needs to be lectured by those that have failed to see the silly joy in what's happening here."

And the experiment slowly started paying off as someone replaced the toilet paper.

— (@)

But the dishwasher, though loaded, remains firmly in the Off position. For reasons that are beyond comprehension.

— (@)

"We keep our homes tidy because love," Miss Potkin wrote. "We cook food and set tables and fill the air with scents of roses and fresh laundry because love. Love is patient but love is also fucking tired because she works 14 hour days."

"I know we are ALL tired," she added, "but I am most tired. Me. I AM ALL THE TIRED."

All the moms are all the tired.

— (@)

Miraculously, it only took three days of being completely hands-off for her family to take note and clean the house.

— (@)

Lesson learned. Mission accomplished. Let's hope it sticks.

Potkin's thread was reposted over 42,000 times, which means the experiment got in front of a lot of eyeballs. Doubtless that some of them must have belonged to partners who are guilty of not quite pulling their fair share. Maybe the eye-opening and entertaining thread was enough to make a difference in households beyond just Potkin's.

— (@)

Moms are not always the ones who pick up most of the slack in a household, but they usually are.

Estimates say that, on average, women spend about twice as many hours per week on chores around the house. That's probably being generous to the average man. But even still, the inequity is clear as day. Moms are doing far too much work. That work hinders their sleep, raises the stress levels, and impacts their ability to earn and advance in their careers.

moms, motherhood, parenting, household, family, chores, mental load, division of labor, household inequity, sexism What a typical American home may look like after three days without a mom. Photo by Bruno Guerrero on Unsplash

And when that work is taken for granted, it especially sucks.

When everyone in the house pays more attention and takes the initiative to tidy, neaten, clean, replace, launder, put away, etc., moms are less stressed and tired and everyone benefits. If it take up and quitting for a while to help the family see it, so be it.

This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

From Your Site Articles

moms

Innovation

Welcome to the world of hyper-realistic silicone masks

The amazing disguises in "Mission Impossible" aren't as unrealistic as you think.

Canva Photos

Masks have gotten so good, 1 in 5 people can't even identify one.

In the Mission Impossible movies, you can never quite trust anything you see. That's because the films make liberal use of futuristic and wild fictional mask technology. At least, I thought it was fictional.

With a simple scan or photo of someone's face and a machine that fits in a briefcase, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team can 3D print a mask that's 100% indistinguishable from the real thing. Add in a little extra technology that helps the spies mimic others' voices and you've got the perfect disguise. Cruise can walk amongst the bad guys without fear, and his costars get the fun challenge of playing Tom Cruise playing themselves! It makes for incredible entertainment.

I've always loved the movies and understood that part of the viewing experience is learning to suspend my disbelief. The gadgets, stunts, and disguises are a lot of fun, but pretty out there.

And then I saw this video, and it opened the door to the new, and more than a little frightening, world of hyper-realistic silicone masks.

In the clip shared by Science Girl on X, a man tries on a lifelike mask in real time, sliding it over his head, and in just a moment and with one small wiggle of the nose, he's completely transformed. I thought for sure the whole thing had to be AI-assisted, but no. The clip originated from a mask manufacturer called FL Silicone Mask. They've got tons of demonstrations all over their Instagram page.

The final result of this mask in particular is a little unnerving, a little uncanny valley. There's something off with the way it looks but it's really hard to say what. The details are incredible, the eye-sockets seamless. The mouth can even move open and closed.

In passing, without looking for it, you'd probably never have any idea that this person was wearing a mask. Just see for yourself. It's no wonder the post clocked over 27 million views on social media.

— (@)

Realistic masks like this one have actually been researched. Studies have shown that about one in five people can be fooled by someone in a realistic silicone mask.

A research study out of the Universities of York and Kyoto asked volunteers to look at photographs of people wearing a realistic mask, and photos of people not wearing a mask. They had to guess which was which, and an astonishing 20% of the selections turned out to be wrong. Considering this was a controlled environment where participants were actively looking to see if someone was wearing a disguise, it's even scarier to Imagine how easy it would be to get fooled in real life when you aren't on your guard.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The technology for hyper-realistic masks has grown by leaps in bounds in recent years. The fit and detail work on them is astonishing, so much so that it's becoming cause for concern.

While Tom Cruise uses his disguises to save the world, not everyone is so altruistic. Police forces all over the world are facing more and more challenges with criminals using creative camouflage.

The "Geezer Bandit" once terrorized San Diego banks for years, robbing them while disguised as an old man. He or she was never caught.

Realistic silicone masks are expensive, usually costing several thousand dollars, and good ones are hard to find. Mesh masks that can be worn under a hoodie are a lot more cost-effective and incredible at fooling security cameras from a distance. Worse yet, masks can be made in the likeness of almost any person, making identity theft a serious concern.

from Damnthatsinteresting

There might be a bright side to this bizarre technological advancement, though.

For years now, wigs have been helping people with various forms and causes of hair loss find their confidence again. It's a chance to blend in with the public and not feel othered by stares or field any questions. It allows people to just exist the same way anyone else does.

Masks haven't been able to do the same thing because, well, they've always looked like masks. But you have to wonder if the technology has finally reached a tipping point where they too could become a source of confidence and normalcy for people with facial deformities or disfigurations.

When mangled soldiers were returning from WWI by the hundreds, a British sculptor named Francis Derwent Wood opened up a shop that specialized in creating masks that would hide their scars. According to Forces News, "Wood's painted metal mask work was an attempt to give back to veterans the sense of self-worth and pride they once had in their appearance and help them 'fit in' back on civvy street."

— (@)

Maybe these stunningly-accurate silicone creations could do that for a new generation of people who could use a little help feeling like themselves again. No one should ever feel like they have to wear a mask or hide their face. But if you're going to wear one, it might as well be the best quality you can find!

From Your Site Articles

camouflage

Humor

Snooping mom who thought she caught teen babysitter smoking a cigar was hilariously wrong

"Keep your habits private from the kids!"

via Sarah Holderr/ Twitter

Sarah Holder looking at her phone.

Anyone with a Nextdoor account knows that some neighbors are terribly nosy. There are also a lot of folks who love to complain … about everything. These looky-loos can also be especially suspicious of what the local teenagers are doing.

Sarah Holder, a teenager from Overland Park, Kansas, babysits for her neighbor, Amy. One day, Amy texts Sarah saying that her husband, Randy, caught her smoking while driving her car. First, Randy should have minded his own business. Secondly, if he has a problem with her smoking, he could have talked to her about it personally. There's no need to narc on her to his wife.

Amy's big problem was that there were a lot of children on the street, and she didn't want Sarah to set a bad example for them.

smoking, teenagers, nieghbors, babysitters, driving, text messages, A text sent to Sarah Holder.via Sarah Holderr/ Twitter

]In the text, she refers to a "a cigar of some sort," which seems like she was accusing Sarah of smoking a blunt—a cigar with marijuana rolled into it. This makes sense because it's rare to see a teenage girl smoking a cigar, especially these days when teenagers are a lot more fond of vaping than smoking cigarettes.

Even though Amy was accusing her of an illegal act, Sarah responded with good humor, admitting that, in fact, she was only eating a taquito, which from a distance, could look like a cigar. "Hey, it was just a taquito, no bad habits here," she responded to Amy with a happy face emoji.

taquitos, sarah holder, x, cigars, funny texts, kansas, habits Sarah Holder showing a half-eaten taquito.via Sarah Holderr/ Twitter

"I feel bad because in my opinion [my neighbor] is crazy nice and I get where she's coming from," Sarah told BuzzFeed News. "She hasn't responded, I'm assuming out of embarrassment."

Sarah told the Daily Mail that she was quick to defend herself because she didn't want people to think that she was a smoker. "'I didn't want all my neighbors and friends to think I was setting a bad example. I do not smoke," said. "'My family does know and my mother was excited about my 'fame.' My neighbor has not replied and I have not seen them since."

Sarah posted the interaction on a since-deleted Twitter post, which completely blew up, earning over 280,000 likes. And, of course, the folks on Twitter had a lot to say about Amy and her nosy hubby. A lot of people in the comments thought that Amy and Randy need to butt out of other people's business.

I think I hate Amy and randy
— vargz (@austinvargo) February 12, 2017

sounds like amy and randy need to mind their business
— kim, there’s people dying (@josiem__) February 12, 2017

please tell me her response was something along the lines of her apologizing for being ignorant 😂
— Christina 👑 (@brunettebeautxo) February 12, 2017

You deserve a life time supply of taquitos for this tbh!
— Oktoberfest Survivor (@A_A_Ron_Rodgers) February 12, 2017

you're much nicer than I am. I would have ROASTED Amy and Randy's nosey asses.
— Andrew Rogers (@andrewrogers3) February 12, 2017

All in all, the story is a great reminder to all of us to be careful about making assumptions about people, especially when we see them from a distance. Sometimes, what seems like a nefarious act—a teen smoking a cigar—is really just the neighborhood babysitter enjoying a delicious snack.

This article originally appeared six years ago.

From Your Site Articles

teens

Humor

Jimmy Fallon asked if viewers had ever been caught red-handed. Here are 11 epic responses.

Oh, some of these are cringeworthy.

Danielle Marie Carolan/Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Fallon asked his fans to share stories of being caught in the act.

There is nothing worse than being caught in the act when you're up to no good. You can't lie about it, you can't take it back, all you can do is pray for forgiveness. Some people unfortunately have to learn that lesson the hard way, which makes for some pretty epic life stories, hopefully without too much lasting damage or embarrassment along the way.

While laughing at another's misfortune isn't cool, when someone brings it upon themselves and shares their misdeeds in a spirit of solidarity, it's fair game. So when "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon asked his viewers on X if they had ever been caught red-handed, asking them to tag stories with #IGotCaught, people's responses were too embarrassing, cringeworthy, and hilarious not to share.

Here are 11 of the funniest and/or most embarrassing Tweets of people being caught red-handed:

— (@)

The teacher who ditched class only to run into one of his students doing the exact same thing.

"Called in sick to work one day. Saw one of my students at the beach. We nodded as we both realized we were skipping my class."

— (@)

How do you explain this one?

"I googled a guy before meeting him. Later I pulled out my phone to show him a picture of my dog and he saw the picture of him."

And sexting your husband when your mother-in-law's in the chat? Mortifying.

"Sent a sext to my husband…forgot his mom was in a group chat."

— (@)

When your crush catches you looking him up…

"#IGotCaught looking up a guy's info on a college computer. Heard his voice behind me telling me how to correctly spell his last name."

— (@)

Life lesson: If you're going to try calling out sick from work, don't get caught on television at a rock concert.

"I called off sick to go to a music festival. The next day my boss said, 'Next time don't stand in the front row.' I was on TV."

— (@)

Ah, the innocence of youth caught being not so innocent.

"I snuck out at age 15 to go to a drinking party. The doorbell rang, I answered the door, there stood my mom."

I snuck out at age 15 to go to a drinking party. The door bell rang, I answered the door, there stood my mom #IGOTCAUGHT
— Complex Simply (@ComplexSimply4u) February 15, 2017

If you're going to fall asleep at work, at least make it entertaining for the boss.

"#igotcaught when my boss caught me dozing off at my desk. I raised my head slowly and said, 'Amen.'"

#igotcaught when my boss caught me dozing off at my desk,I raised my head slowly&said "Amen".
— Seabow (@CristySeabow) February 15, 2017

Oh, this is one that will stick for a long time. Ouch.

"On a first date and sent a text to what I thought was my buddy saying 'this date is awful SOS'…sent it to her."

on a first date and sent a text to what I thought was my buddy saying "this date is awful SOS"...sent it to her #igotcaught
— Luke Taylor (@statboyslim) February 15, 2017

At least this one was a compliment:

"I was telling my friend about a guy that had a cute butt. The guy heard me and said Thanks."

I was telling my friend about a guy that had a cute butt. The guy heard me and said Thanks. #IGotCaught @FallonTonight
— Kerri Gray (@kerrikgray) February 15, 2017

When you think your parents are noobs:

"Parents found out my bro threw a house party after finding the wifi password pinned up everywhere. His excuse, 'I forgot it…a lot.'"

— (@)

Or, when your dad is already one step ahead of you…

"Once I tried to sneak out my window and it was dark so I put my hand on something for balance…it was my Dad."

Once I tried to sneak out my window and it was dark so I put my hand on something for balance...it was my Dad. #IGotCaught
— lizzy (@LizzyCarey2) February 15, 2017

Thanks for all the vicarious, second-hand embarrassment, Jimmy Fallon. Yeesh.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

From Your Site Articles

humor

Parenting

A dad's hilarious 'time-travel' letter to school asks them to explain field trip fiasco

Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum?

Images via Twitter

Stephen Callaghan and his letter

In 2017, Stephen Callaghan's daughter Ruby came home from school. When he asked her how her day was, her answer made him raise an eyebrow. Ruby, who was in the sixth grade at her school in Australia, told her dad that the boys would soon be taken on a field trip to Bunnings (a hardware chain in the area) to learn about construction.

The girls, on the other hand? While the boys were out learning, they would be sent to the library to have their hair and makeup done. Ruby's reply made Callaghan do a double take. What year was it, again? Callaghan decided to write a letter to the school sharing his disappointment — but his wasn't your typical "outraged parent" letter.

"Dear Principal," he began. "I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter is a Year 6 student."

"When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017," Callaghan continued. "But when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968."

dads, parenting, kids, Australia, sexism, gender, women Representative image of an angry dadImage via Canva

The letter goes on to suggest that perhaps the school is harboring secret time-travel technology or perhaps has fallen victim to a rift in the "space-time continuum," keeping his daughter in an era where women were relegated to domestic life by default.

"I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines," he concluded.

Dear Principal

I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter Ruby is a Year 6 student.

When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968.

I know this to be the case as Ruby informed me that the "girls" in Year 6 would be attending the school library to get their hair and make-up done on Monday afternoon while the "boys" are going to Bunnings.

Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum? Perhaps there is a faulty Flux Capacitor hidden away in the girls toilet block.

I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines.

Yours respectfully
Stephen Callaghan

sexism, dads, daughters, parenting, school, sexism, time travel Stephen Callaghan and his letterImages via Twitter

When Callaghan posted the letter to Twitter (since deleted), it quickly went viral and inspired hundreds of supportive responses.

Though most people who saw his response to the school's egregiously outdated activities applauded him, not everyone was on board.

One commenter wrote, "Sometimes it is just ok for girls to do girl things."

But Callaghan was ready for that. "Never said it wasn't," he replied. "But you've missed the point. Why 'girl things' or 'boy things'... Why not just 'things anyone can do?'"

He later commented that he didn't think the school's plan was malicious, but noted the incident was a powerful example of "everyday sexism" at work.

Callaghan says the school hasn't responded to his letter. (Yes, he really sent it.) At least, not directly to him.

Some media outlets have reported that the school claims students are free to opt in and out of the different activities. But, as Callaghan says, gendering activities like this in the first place sends the completely wrong message.

In response to the outpouring of support, Callaghan again took to Twitter.

"At 12 years of age my daughter is starting to notice there are plenty of people prepared to tell her what she can and can't do based solely on the fact she is female," he wrote.

"She would like this to change. So would I."

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

From Your Site Articles

parenting

Humor

A female writer asked what's a 'universal thing men like' and got 19 hilarious answers

“I just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life."

via Unsplash

What do these men love?

Writer and illustrator Aubrey Hirsch jokingly asked her followers on Twitter what’s a “universal thing that most men like?” because she was writing a comic and “just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life." The tweet inspired an avalanche of funny responses.

Hirsch is the author of “Why We Never Talk About Sugar,” a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Child, American Short Fiction and Time.

The interesting thing about the responses is that they weren’t the typical stereotypes about men. She didn’t get a ton of people talking about sex, sports or toxic masculinity. Instead, there were a lot of folks that mentioned very specific male behaviors as if they were talking about a bizarre species they discovered in the wild.

There were two things that got the most comments on her post. First, men enjoy throwing heavy objects into bodies of water. Preferably, the larger the rock, the deeper the body of water and from the highest vantage point possible.

The other is watching construction sites. Evidently, the phenomenon is so popular in Italy that there is a specific word for this type of person in Italian.

Here are 19 of the best responses to the question, “What’s a universal thing that most men like?”

What\u2019s a universal thing that most men like? I\u2019m making a comic but I just realized I don\u2019t actually know any men in real life.
— Aubrey Hirsch (@Aubrey Hirsch) 1647902733

1.

It's so common in Italy that there's a name for ithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell
— James Billot (@James Billot) 1647938793

When asked why men enjoy watching construction sites so much, a poster on Reddit named justdaps had the perfect response. "I just find it really satisfying and interesting to see the process behind things being built," he wrote.

2.

https://t.co/SpjqBiViFr
— Daniel Larkin 🌹🏴 (@larkin721) March 22, 2022

3.

Me: Thinking intently trying to come up with a good answer.\nAlso me seeing this tweet: Ooh, yeah, this is a good one. A good deep sounding sploosh with a big splash. Yeah, this is a good one.\nWe aren't complicated.
— Michael Miller (@Michael Miller) 1647967400

pic.twitter.com/33W9wqOYP4
— Uhtred Ragnarson (@Iskander861) March 22, 2022

4.

I have seen dudes do this and I have done it plenty of times myself. I usually stand while watching TV when I want to really focus on what’s happening and do not want to be distracted. This usually happens while watching sporting events or the news. It's also a great way to use your body language to let other people know that there is something very important happening on the television.

5.

If a guy walks under a low hanging sign he will jump up and try to tap the bottom of the sign as he passes.

Guys like being asked to open jars.

Power tools. Give a guy a new drill and he'll wander around looking for stuff that needs holes.
— Alan Morgan (@lettersndigits) March 21, 2022

When we do this 99% of the time we’re pretending that the sign is 10 feet high and that we have the ability to dunk a basketball. There are two types of men, those that can dunk and mere mortals.

6.

Memorizing favorite lines from their favorite movies, then reciting them with their friends (or even strangers) who’ve also memorized them, doing entire scenes. Extra points for using accents. A true source of unparalleled amusement & male bonding.
— cautiously optimistic 🙏🏼✌🏻 (@BethCal84918882) March 22, 2022

As a man, this one is near and dear to my heart. I can’t tell you the number of hours I have spent with my friends just throwing lines from “The Big Lebowski” back and forth.

“Nice marmot.”

“The Dude abides.”

“Say what you want about the tenets of national socialism, Dude. At least it’s an ethos.”

A movie that's running up the ranks of being among the most quotable is another dude buddy pic, "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood."

"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?" ... "Rick, it's a flamethrower.”

7.

Right, no-one else has posted this yet, I know my duty: pic.twitter.com/HPwd8qwgUP
— Katie (@ZiziFothSi) March 22, 2022

8.

Talking about their athletic glory days pic.twitter.com/9LmaG2oEiD
— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) March 21, 2022

9.

Dining tables made with resin pic.twitter.com/3WQOjEjvcK
— 🌹Robin Isomaa🐕 (@RobinIsomaa) March 22, 2022

10.

Using tie down straps to secure a load in the back of a truck, then twanging the straps and going "that's not going anywhere"
— Gom Jabbarjaw (@SensitiveWigi) March 22, 2022

11.

When shopping at a grocery store, leaning forward with your forearms on the handle of the carriage, while you walk up and down the aisles
— Joe DellaGatta (@JoeDellaGatta) March 23, 2022

Evidently, after reading the responses, Hirsch knew what was going to happen next. No need to feel ashamed about going viral. It just means you created something that people love.

This story originally appeared two years ago.

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men

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Oh, some of these are cringeworthy.

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Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum?

When Callaghan posted the letter to Twitter (since deleted), it quickly went viral and inspired hundreds of supportive responses.

Callaghan says the school hasn't responded to his letter. (Yes, he really sent it.) At least, not directly to him.

A female writer asked what's a 'universal thing men like' and got 19 hilarious answers

“I just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life."

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

'Wicked' author says one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's backstory

Dad shares the hilarious conversations he has with 5-year-old daughter and folks are cracking up

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We have a small favor to ask of you

twitter

"Her paella will live (digitally) forever.”

How an Easter egg became the internet's new tech obsession

Makeover time!

Oh, but the story gets even better (and more delicious)

The garnish on top: a college roommate’s memory that will make you smile

The beautiful family legacy lives on

Things got post-apocalyptic in a hurry.

The amazing disguises in "Mission Impossible" aren't as unrealistic as you think.

"Keep your habits private from the kids!"

Oh, some of these are cringeworthy.

Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum?

When Callaghan posted the letter to Twitter (since deleted), it quickly went viral and inspired hundreds of supportive responses.

Callaghan says the school hasn't responded to his letter. (Yes, he really sent it.) At least, not directly to him.

“I just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life."

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.