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Adam Carolla is a multifaceted entertainer known for his comedy, podcasting, and television-hosting roles. One of his notable characters, Mr. Birchum, is a grumpy and eccentric woodshop teacher who first appeared on the LA-based KROQ radio’s “The Kevin and Bean Show” in the 1990s before becoming a regular character on “Crank Yankers,” a comedy series in which prank calls are reenacted by puppets. Mr. Birchum’s cantankerous demeanor and outrageous interactions with callers made him a fan favorite. Mr. Birchum (S1: E1) Mr. Birchum is a no-nonsense remedial high school Woodshop teacher from a saner time. With no patience for woke BS and no filter, he lets you, his students, and anyone else in earshot know exactly what he thinks about pronouns and what you can do with them.   Mr. Birchum Review The single most important question about any comedy is, is it funny? If so, virtually, all a show’s weaknesses can be forgiven. Thankfully, Mr. Burchum is, and its weaknesses are few. Sure, the pilot episode hasn’t quite found the series’ rhythm, resulting in some uneven pacing, and some secondary characters don’t yet smoothly fit into place, but this is pretty standard for programs such as this. Besides, the show offers more than enough laugh-out-loud moments to make up for these early growing pains. Adam Carolla voices the titular character, and while there’s a reason The Aceman never graduated to Hollywood A-lister, his comfort with the material mellows his usual presentation-style performance, as Birchum basically espouses shortened versions of Carolla’s signature rants. Further aided by his always excellent comedic timing and, most importantly, his hilarious lampooning of the world around us, his minor warts as a performer can be easily forgiven. The rest of the star-studded voice cast is perfectly adequate, and with talents like Rosanne Barr and Jay Mohr (just to name a few) on board, they will almost certainly continue to gel as the season fully finds its voice. However, there is one among the cast who shines like a rainbow sun in unicorn heaven. Stand-up comedian Tyler Fischer plays Mr. Karponzi, an avatar for every radical progressive nutbar idea floating around the current cultural toilet bowl. Fischer, who I’m almost ashamed to say didn’t appear on my radar until I reviewed another Daily Wire original—Lady Ballers—is a superstar waiting in the wings. His pitch-perfect delivery of the archetypal man bun-wearing gender catchphrase Libs of TikTok-horror show of an educator is the very definition of side-splitting, and his is hands-down the best performance on the show. Overall, the inaugural episode of Mr. Birchum is generally well done. While not groundbreaking, its animation is simple and clean, stylistically falling somewhere between Big City Greens and The Simpsons with hints of King of The Hill. This first episode’s writing is a little uneven, with many situations feeling forced around Carolla’s irritated soliloquies rather than occurring organically throughout, but the groundwork for something special has clearly been laid. When all is said and done, Adam Carolla and The Daily Wire have a clear path ahead for growing Mr. Birchum into a classic adult cartoon series.   WOKE ELEMENTS How ‘Bout No? What’s more no than no? Double no? Dr. No? The post Mr. Birchum first appeared on Worth It or Woke.

A breastfeeding mother's experience at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo is touching people's hearts—but not without a fair amount of controversy.Gemma Copeland shared her story on Facebook, which was then picked up by the Facebook page Boobie Babies. Photos show the mom breastfeeding her baby next to the window of the zoo's orangutan habitat, with a female orangutan sitting close to the glass, gazing at them. "Today I got feeding support from the most unlikely of places, the most surreal moment of my life that had me in tears," Copeland wrote."I visited Schoenbrunn zoo in Vienna whilst on a mini-break with my partner and son. We nipped in to see the orangutans at the end of our day who were happily playing in the enclosure, so I went to the window for a closer look and sat down by the window so my lb could see the orangutan who was roughly 5/6ft away. She then got up, carried a piece of cloth to the window and sat down with me. She looked directly into my eyes then placed her hand up as if to touch my son. I was in awe of this beautiful creature already.""My son wanted feeding and as it was quiet I fed him whilst I sat there. The way the orangutan reacted took my breath away she kept looking at me, then my son then back again," she continued. "She sat with me for approximately half an hour, kept stroking the glass and lay down next to me as if to support and protect me.I had to share this because my mind was blown. We may be a species apart but breastfeeding connected us today in a once in a lifetime moment that will stay with me forever. I'm also incredibly lucky that my partner caught all of this on video ?"The Facebook page added a story about a gorilla being taught to breastfeed by women from La Leche League, an organization dedicated to supporting breastfeeders:"Did you know that women from La Leche League once taught a mother gorilla to breastfeed? The Mamma gorilla had been born and raised in captivity and didn't know what to do with her firstborn, and her baby sadly died. When she next became pregnant, breastfeeding women volunteered to sit beside the gorilla's enclosure and breastfeed their babies, showing the gorilla what to do. When the gorilla gave birth, a volunteer came over and breastfed her baby, showing Mamma gorilla what to do, step by step. Mamma gorilla watched, and then copied, and went on to successfully feed her baby "The story has been shared more than 37,000 times, with many commenters stating how beautiful and moving it was. Others, while appreciating the beauty of the animal encounter, expressed sadness at seeing such a creature in captivity. As with practically every post about animals in zoos, debate broke out over whether or not zoos are helpful or harmful to the animals they house.And like most debates, people's opinions fall along a broad spectrum. Some feel that zoos are the best way for people to learn about animals first-hand, which leads them to care more about protecting them in the wild. Some acknowledge that captivity isn't ideal, but that many animals die individually or go extinct as species without the work they do. Some feel that it's always wrong to keep an animal in captivity, no matter what. Even animal experts don't agree on this front.And not all zoos are created equal. Many zoos have moved more toward a rehabilitation and conservation model, and there's no question that many animals who have been raised in captivity would not survive if they were suddenly released into the wild. There's also the issue of whether trying to limit natural breeding in captivity falls under the ethical treatment of animals, as breeding is a natural animal instinct. And what about the animals that have gone extinct in the wild and can only be found in zoos? There are a million questions with a million unclear answers when it comes to zoos.However there is one thing most can agree on. Whether or not you think zoos are helpful or harmful, necessary or not, they largely exist today because of human activity mucking with nature. The same nature that compels this creature to connect with a human mother, despite her unnatural surroundings. The same nature that humans are destroying to get palm oil for our cookies and soaps, leading orangutans to the brink of extinction. The same nature that we are all responsible for protecting.Whether we find this story sweet or sad or something in between, the reality for orangutans in the wild is worth our attention. Visit www.theorangutanproject.org/ to learn more about how to help.This article originally appeared on 10.04.22

Zoe's story, "Removed," has been seen by millions of people. It was previously shared by my amazing Upworthy colleague Laura Willard. We got just a tiny taste of what it was like for kids in foster care, right after being removed. Specifically, a little girl named Zoe and her little brother Benaiah. My wife and I, foster parents for the past year, even shared the original with our adoption worker, who passed it along to the entire agency and, then, it took off like wildfire among those people as well.This is part 2 of that story, and it hits hard. (Yes, the video's on the long side at about 20 minutes. But it's worth the watch to the end.) She describes her life as a cycle, interrupted by a tornado. She's a foster child. I don't think I need to say any more.So ... let's accompany that with 9 uncomfortable — but enlightening — facts below. There are only nine bolded, but within those headers, there are several more facts.1. There are an estimated 400,000 kids in foster care right now.Some are awaiting adoption. Some will go back to their parents. Others will age out or, sometimes, run away.2. Foster kids can suffer from PTSD at almost two times the rate of returning veterans.And PTSD can mimic a lot of other mental illnesses, and it can manifest as nightmares, flashbacks, fight-or-flee responses, anger outbursts, and hyper-vigilance (being on "red alert" at all times), among other symptoms.3. The average age of a foster child is 9 years old.They're just on that edge of childhood, and chances are, it's been a pretty messed up childhood at that. Trauma does that.4. About half of all foster kids are in non-relative foster homes.8% are in institutions, 6% are in group homes, and only 4% are in pre-adoptive homes. Read that again — only 4% are in pre-adoptive homes.5. Some of foster children experience multiple placements. In some cases, eight or more.That's eight homes that they move into — and out of. And just consider ... that means they lose not just adults and other kids with whom they are establishing a bond, but friends, schoolmates, pets.6. The average foster child remains in the system for almost two years before being reunited with their biological parents, adopted, aging out, or other outcomes.8% of them remain in foster care for over five years. Of the 238,000 foster kids who left the system in 2013, about half were reunited with parents or primary caregivers, 21% were adopted, 15% went to live with a relative or other guardian, and 10% were emancipated (aged out).7. In 2013, more than 23,000 young people aged out of foster care with no permanent family to end up with.And if you add that up, year after year, hundreds of thousands of foster youth will have aged out of the system. What does that look like? "You're 18. You've got no place to live and no family. Good luck — buh-bye now!" One-quarter of former foster kids experience homelessness within four years of exiting the system.8. Foster "alumni" (those who have been in foster homes and either adopted, returned to parents, or aged out) are likely to suffer serious mental health consequences.They are four-five times more likely to be hospitalized for attempting suicide and five-eight times more likely to be hospitalized for serious psychiatric disorders in their teens.Based on that set of statistics alone, it's in the public's interest (ignoring, for a second, the interests of those kids) to help them through their lot in life and spend resources making it all work much better for everybody before it gets to that point. Right?So there's a lot to be angry about in this whole messed up situation. But this next thing? My blood boils.What's one of the biggest risk factors in families whose children are placed in foster care?Your guess?Cruelty?Drugs?Sexual abuse?Neglect?The answer is ...9. PovertyTogether with homelessness and unemployment, it's a main contributing factor. It happens all the time. The fact that it's far easier for a parent to be accused and investigated for neglect or abuse because of simple things like lack of access to a vehicle, or a working refrigerator, or the ability to get a kid to a doctor's appointment — that has a lot to do with this. Tie that to the link between drug abuse and poverty and between poverty and child abuse ... well, you can see where this is going.And in a country where one-third of children are living in poverty (hint: the good ol' U.S. of A.), imagine how that affects the number of kids being removed and placed into foster care.I'll end this with a bit of hope through my story.My kids went through something a lot like the kids in the clip above before they came to live with us. We've been through the ringer in ways that we're going to have to talk about one day because it's not just that the kids have been challenging — they have — it's that the system itself has been more challenging.The entire system — from agencies to government entities to social workers to even the schools — seems like it's designed to fail these kids and the families who are attempting to help. It's almost designed not to work. There, I said it.But that doesn't mean we won't fight to make it better for everybody. We most definitely will.As for us, we're just a few weeks away from becoming the legal parents to these kids, and we're extremely happy to be right here, making it happen. And they seem quite happy to be our kids. Along the way, we fell in love with them, and we can't imagine life without them.But to be totally honest ... if we'd have known how hard it was going to be when we started this journey, and if we could somehow turn back the clock and NOT do it ... well, would we have actually gone forward with the process?I take that back. I won't be totally honest here. I will simply let you decide.Here are some places to help, if you're so inclined.AdoptUsKids.org is a place to start if you're considering fostering or adopting.My Stuff Bags is a really cool and inexpensive way to help foster kids by gifting them actual luggage, duffel bags, and more, so that they don't travel from home to home with garbage bags for their belongings — or nothing at all.CASA for Children offers legal help and advocates for foster kids through a network of volunteers.This story was written by Brandon Weber and originally appeared on 07.17.15

The first gummy bears were created in the 1920s by Hans Riegel, owner of the Haribo candy company in Bonn, Germany. Since, gummy candies have become popular worldwide and evolved to take the shapes of fish, sour patch kids, frogs, worms, and just about anything a clever candy maker can imagine. But unlike the popular Disney '80s "Gummi Bears" cartoon, these sweet little guys don't come from a hollow tree in the forest. Sadly, their creation is a bit more terrifying.In the video below, Belgian filmmaker Alina Kneepkens shows how the colorful snacks you bought at the movie theater actually began as pigskin. Yes, an NFL football and a gummy bear have the same humble beginnings. But if you're a vegan or vegetarian, there's no need to worry; there are candy manufacturers that make gummy bears out of agar and pectin so you can enjoy these fruity delights minus the swine skin.Now, you know you want to sing along to this tune.This article originally appeared on 9.3.21

Singer Ariana Grande and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Pete Davidson were dating back in May of 2018.Neither star had confirmed the relationship outright, but their reps weren't pushing back on reports claiming the two had linked up either. The singer and comedian's playful interactions on Instagram certainly suggested to fans the romance was budding.While many celebrated the news, it inevitably came with a side of backlash too. Some of the criticism, however, crossed an unfortunate line.Trolls began pointing to Davidson's history of mental illness to suggest he couldn't be in a healthy relationship.The comedian felt it necessary to shut that down. Fast. "Normally, I wouldn't comment on something like this cause like, fuck you," Davidson wrote in a note he shared to his Instagram story. "But [I've] been hearing a lot of 'people with BPD [Borderline Personality Disorder] can't be in relationships' talk. I just wanna let you know that's not true."Davidson said he was diagnosed with BPD in 2016 after having lived through a "nightmare" year that involved rehab and grappling with the ups and downs of diagnosis. The comedian has also spoken openly about living with depression."Just because someone has a mental illness does not mean they can't be happy and in a relationship," Davidson wrote. "It also doesn't mean that person makes the relationship toxic."After noting there are many life-changing treatments available for people like him, Davidson emphasized the importance of combating stigmas associated with mental illness."I just think it's fucked up to stigmatize people as crazy and say that they are unable to do stuff that anyone can do," he wrote. "It's not their fault and it's the wrong way for people to look at things." See on Instagram Davidson has been praised by mental health advocates for using his celebrity to humanize his illnesses — and poking fun at himself along the way.In one "SNL" segment that aired shortly after he went public with his diagnoses, the comedian spoke candidly about his mental illness with "Weekend Update" host Colin Jost."If you're in the cast of a late-night comedy show, it might help if they, you know, do more of your comedy sketches," Davidson joked about ways others can help him get through his dark times. "I was born depressed, but it might make me feel better if I was on TV more."Like many comedians, Davidson often uses brash and cringeworthy lines as a form of therapy to overcome trauma. His father died on 9/11, for instance, and the comedian's folded the devastating loss into his routine with a comedic spin. Laughter may not be the best medicine, but it certainly can help. Davidson ended his message on Instagram clarifying why he decided to speak up in the first place."I'm simply writing this because I want everyone out there who has an illness to know that it's not true [that you can't be mentally ill and be in a relationship] and that anyone who says that is ill and full of shit," he wrote. "Mental illness is not a joke; it's a real thing." "For all those struggling I want you to know that I love you and I understand you and it is going to be OK," Davidson concluded. "That's all. Love to everyone else."This story originally appeared on 05.25.18

American "Bluey" fans have enjoyed nearly full access to the entire lineup of the popular Australian kids' show since it started streaming on Disney +, with one notable exception: Season 2, Episode 13, also known as "Dad Baby." The "Dad Baby" episode has attained legendary status in the "Bluey" world, with U.S. audiences wondering what could possibly have caused Disney to choose not to include it on its streaming service. Now, thanks to the official "Bluey" YouTube account sharing the full episode for free, we can all find out. The 7-minute episode, which you can view below, was uploaded to YouTube on May 1, 2024 and has received more than 6 million views in five days. Comments on the video are turned off, but people have been discussing the censorship of "Dad Baby" on social media with a resounding reaction of "Huh? Why?" While childbirth might be seen by some as a touchy subject, most viewers agree that there's nothing in the "Dad Baby" episode that feels questionable or inappropriate for young children. In short, the kids are playing pretend with their dad, Bandit, who puts on a baby carrier and carries Bluey's younger sister around as if he were pregnant. There's an ongoing bit with Bandit acting as if being pregnant is a walk in the park, while actually feeling the strains and pains of carrying an extra person around. Ultimately, he ends up "giving birth" with the help of a neighbor, in the family's backyard blow-up pool. It's all very silly and quite hilarious. It's also an accurate portrayal of how kids actually play in the real world. One of the things fans love about "Bluey" is the way the parents go along with their kids' imaginary play, sometimes going to ridiculous lengths to act out their make-believe storylines. This episode might stretch those lengths a tad bit, but not more than some other "Bluey" episodes. Watch and judge for yourself:The comments are turned off on the YouTube upload, but people have been discussing it on social media with comments such as these:"That was an absolutely adorable episode thank you for sharing it with us. Idk why it’s banned, but I’m glad I got to watch it.""I cackled so hard at this episode. I couldn't believe they kept it off disney plus.""i work in a nursery every day for my 10 year + career i have seen all children play pretend pregnant boys and girls ... its just something kids do(it aint a new thing i promise you xD) n this episode is just a dad joining in his kids play!"""One of my family’s favorite episodes! My 10y/o to 4y/o were in tears laughing the first time we saw it thinking of when I was pregnant with their little sister/brother (who are now 3y/o and 1y/o).""America is so backwards, it sensors/removes/bans things on a children’s program that are nothing to worry about but then they allow guns in real life!!! How does that make sense?? This episode has aired on cebeebies (a toddlers tv channel in the uk) many times and is on the uk disney+. I honestly don't see the problem with this episode."Disney has apparently never explicitly stated why "Dad Baby" was censored from the lineup, so people naturally gravitate toward their own theories. Perhaps it's a tad too close to sex education? Maybe it's showing a man being pregnant? Maybe it's the visual of a dog lying with its legs spread in a pool while "giving birth," even though no body parts are even shown? Maybe it's our societal squeamishness about childbirth in general? Whatever the reason, people seem to disagree that there's anything worth censoring in this episode and are thankful that they're now able to see it. As one of the top streaming shows, "Bluey" has built an enormous loyal fan base of all ages, and for them (ahem, us), even one missing episode is one too many.