These women won the World Cup. They're still angry. You would be too.
The ugly side of the "beautiful game."
The United States women's soccer team is, undeniably, the best in the world.
Their matches fill stadiums, their players are household names, and they've won three FIFA World Cups and four Olympic championships since 1991. Last year alone, this team generated $20 million more in revenue than the U.S. men's team did.
The U.S. women's soccer team celebrating during the 2012 Olympics. Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.
So, naturally, they're only paid about 1/4 of what male players get. Yes, you read that correctly.
I understand if you need to take a minute to yell into your rage pillow. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Let it out, Marissa. GIF from "The O.C."
Because these women WIN for a living, they aren’t going to accept this unfair treatment.
This week, five members of the women's team — on behalf of all their fellow players — filed a wage-discrimination action with the national Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against their bosses at the U.S. Soccer Federation.
It’s not the first time the women’s team has gone up against their employers.
Back in January, the players submitted a new deal to their employers through their union — one that had, according to their lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, "equal pay for equal work as its guiding principle." U.S. Soccer disagreed on the timing, saying their current deal was binding until December 31, 2016. Now both parties are in court, with the U.S. Soccer Federation suing the players to abide by the past contract — the one that pays them about four times less than players on the men's team — until after the Rio Olympics.
Even if we look past the dispute on contract timing, it is hard to have much empathy for U.S. Soccer.
Women in the United States are already subject to unfair wage discrimination. On average among full-time workers, American women make just 79 cents for every dollar an American man makes. What women’s soccer players are facing is so much worse than that.
Let’s say that for every time Landon Donovan, a star player on the U.S. men’s team, scores a goal, he gets a dollar.
Congratulations on your dollar, Mr Donovan! Image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Sport.
The current wage rules would mean that when Megan Rapinoe, a star on the U.S. women’s team, scores, she only gets paid 25 cents.
Megan Rapinoe, earning the heck out of her 25 cents. Image by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
In this scenario, for her to get close to the national average for women’s pay, she has to score three times. And to be paid equal to what a male player gets for one goal, she has to score four.
According to U.S. Soccer, it takes four Megan Rapinoes to equal one Landon Donovan. That's bananas. And just wrong. Image by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
(FYI: It was exhausting just writing that out. Imagine what it’s like living it every single game.)
"I've been on this team for a decade and a half, and I've been through numerous CBA negotiations, and honestly, not much has changed," Hope Solo told "Today."
"We continue to be told we should be grateful just to have the opportunity to play professional soccer, to get paid for doing it."
"In this day and age, it's about equality. It's about equal rights. It's about equal pay. We're pushing for that. We believe now the time is right because we believe it's our responsibility for women's sports and specifically for women's soccer to do whatever it takes to push for equal pay and equal rights. And to be treated with respect."
Soccer is an intense physically demanding sport. The women who play it professionally have to be wickedly fit, quick-thinking team players who can run nonstop for hours without vomiting.
They deserve our admiration, our ticket dollars, and every trophy and accolade they earn. And if their employers still don't agree they deserve at least as much as men, then those employers deserve every bit of criticism these women kick their way.
Game on.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."