Sheep are hardy‚ resilient animals. Depending on the breed‚ they thrive in the driest of desserts and snowiest of planes. But being highly social animals‚ one thing they cannot tolerate is isolation. So imagine poor Fiona‚ a sheep who spent more than two years in solitude at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland.Dubbed Britain's‚ then the world’s “loneliest sheep‚” Fiona had become something of a local legend—first spotted by a kayaker in 2021‚ and then again two years later‚ not malnourished and in good condition‚ but with badly overgrown fleece and in need of a good shearing.How exactly Fiona became stuck at the bottom of a cliff was a mystery. But hauling her out was an even more confounding problem.Despite over 50‚000 people signing a petition to rescue Fiona‚ the Scottish SPCA called the safety logistics “incredibly complex” due to the terrain being so inaccessible‚ not to mention any human interaction likely causing extreme stress for the stranded rescuee.That’s when a group of five farmers—including sheep farmer and BBC presenter Cammy Wilson‚ and Youtube star Graeme Parker— took things into their own hands.With a whole lotta rope‚ and a whole lotta patience‚ the team successfully found Fiona in a cave (a little overweight‚ perhaps eating her lonely feelings a bit) and hoisted her up the steep cliff to safety.Watch the harrowing resc-ewe mission below. Gotta say‚ the drone footage makes it look even more epic. Fiona was then taken to Dalscone Farm Fun‚ a new forever home‚ where her new owner‚ Ben Best‚ dubbed her healthy and relaxed‚ even if she “could lose a few pounds.” (“As it Happens‚ CBC Radio)Though animal rights activists did show concern with Fiona’s new living situation‚ likening it closer to a “petting zoo” than the sanctuary she deserved‚ Best affirmed that was not the case‚ saying &;quot;It's effectively a farm where people can go and visit the animals‚ but they don't go in amongst the animals.” He also added that she would be kept away from the public eye for five-to-six months‚ and not step into the limelight until she’s ready for it. And there you have it‚ folks. Fiona might have once been the world’s loneliest sheep‚ but now she’s living it up like the star she is. This article originally appeared on 11.14.23

Many great comedians have sat at the helm of the “Weekend Update” desk on “Saturday Night Live” over the show’s 48 seasons. Chevy Chase was known for his cool deadpan. Dennis Miller was the hip intellectual. Norm Macdonald will go down in history for his endless OJ jokes that eventually got him removed from the desk. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon were a great double act that was a fun mix of high-brow and low-brow humor.The current anchors‚ Michael Che and Colin Jost‚ will probably best be known for making fun of each other. Over the years‚ one of the duo’s signature bits has been writing jokes for each other and reading them live for the first time. It seems like every time they do that bit‚ Che finds a new way to embarrass Jost.On Saturday‚ April 1‚ Che was at it again‚ this time with a brutal April Fool’s prank where he secretly asked the audience not to laugh at any of Jost’s jokes.Che and Jost opened their segment with jokes about the indictment of former president Donald Trump‚ but the audience laughed much harder at Che than at Jost. A few minutes into the bit‚ Jost made a joke at his own expense and it received only a smattering of laughter.&;quot;At this point‚ it feels like even pro-Trump people have moved on‚&;quot; Jost said‚ referring to the trial before a superimposed image of him wearing a &;quot;Make America Great Again&;quot; hat and a sign that read‚ &;quot;LET OUR BOY GO&;#33;&;quot; appeared on the screen.The gag was met with an audience member screaming‚ “You stink&;#33;&;quot; The heckle was the last straw for Jost‚ who hung his head in his hand in shame. At that point‚ Che gave up the gag.&;quot;I told them not to laugh at you for April Fools‚'&;quot; Che told Jost‚ and the two couldn’t keep it together. &;quot;That's the meanest thing you've ever done to me. I'm covered in sweat‚” Jost told Che through fits of laughter.&;quot;I was truly like‚ 'Am I not mic'd&;#63;' And then I was like‚ 'Oh‚ I just suck‚&;quot; Jost joked.The crowd broke out in applause for Jost‚ but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of acknowledging them after they refused to laugh at his jokes. &;quot;No‚ no&;#33; Don't even dare&;#33; Don't you even dare try now.&;quot;When it was Jost’s turn to tell his next joke‚ a bit about Florida Ron DeSantis‚ Che said‚ “They’ll probably laugh at this next one.” And the audience did.The episode was hosted by Abbot Elementary’s Quinta Brunson‚ who shined in “Traffic Altercation‚” a sketch where she and Mikey Day played motorists screaming at each other in traffic. The crux of the bit was that they couldn’t hear what each other was saying‚ so they had to argue using hand signals.This article originally appeared on 4.3.23

It may seem like autism spectrum diagnoses are on the rise. In many ways‚ the diagnosis of this neurological difference is on the rise due to diagnosis clinicians receiving more education around what autism looks like in different populations. When the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was first being studied‚ the diagnostic criteria was based on white males‚ much like ADHD.This narrow demographic means that many people who didn't fit into that category were misdiagnosed or under diagnosed. With the advancement in education around racial and gender bias‚ other components have been taken into consideration when diagnosing. But the focus has still mostly been on male children‚ leaving some girls being undiagnosed well into adulthood. With the rise of social media‚ people have been able to connect dots on their autism diagnosis by learning from other autistic people. This has been extremely validating for so many‚ especially women who have struggled much of their lives learning to mask behaviors they learned society deemed as unacceptable. But social media isn't the only tool people are using to get an idea of if they're autistic or not.There are countless self-assessments available for free online‚ and generally someone who suspects they may be autistic takes several assessments to triple and quadruple check the results. The majority of people are not walking around hoping they're autistic. These are usually people that have noticed that they simply don't fit in or feel left on the outside‚ miss important social cues‚ and sometimes have a hard time feeling like people enjoy their company. Many internalize these things‚ knowing that it may not be &;quot;normal&;quot; for an adult to spin in circles when they're excited‚ count the words people say when they're anxious‚ or feel like they're going to spontaneously combust if they have to make a phone call. So when they see someone who behaves like they do‚ they want to learn more and seek out answers. Those answers are not always sought through traditional means. People that are neurotypical or even those who have never been without adequate financial means may not understand why someone wouldn't immediately seek professional help if they suspected a diagnosis. The truth of the matter is‚ if you're an adult‚ getting an official diagnosis can be extremely difficult. Autism can't be diagnosed by just any therapist with a license‚ the diagnosis has to come from a neuropsychologist‚ a psychologist and sometimes a pediatrician (when diagnosing a child)‚ according to the American Psychological Association.This means that waiting lists can become extremely long and the price can be out of reach for some people since insurance companies don't always cover testing for an adult. But waiting lists and finances are not the only reason people may forego a formal diagnosis. Some people are worried about the impact of a formal diagnosis‚ whether it be a job‚ military service or more limited immigration options. These are just some of the social and financial reasons that keep people from making their diagnosis official.Does that mean their self-assessment and subsequent self-diagnosis is invalid&;#63; No. As a licensed clinician I truly believe that people are experts on themselves. This doesn't mean I personally like self-diagnoses‚ I don't. There are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account and diagnosing is more involved than a few online assessments. A differential diagnosis can have a high correlation with positive autism assessment results. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can mimic symptoms of autism‚ so can ADHD‚ and certain types of anxiety.For this reason‚ I encourage people who think they have autism to seek therapy if it is within their ability. While the average therapist may not be able to diagnose autism‚ there are therapists that specialize in working with autistic people. Meeting with a therapist for more than a few sessions will give them the ability to properly assess if they have no concerns with the self-assessment results. They may come to the conclusion that there are other things that need to be addressed before they can accurately look at the possibility of autism.Whether you have the means or desire to meet with a therapist‚ it would be beneficial to know from loved ones if they noticed these behaviors when they were a child. If the behaviors have always been there then chances are the self-diagnosis is likely correct but if they started after a specific event in life‚ or comes with things outside of autism then there may be something else to consider.Given all of these variables in self-assessment and self diagnosis‚ it would be incredibly difficult to declare someone else's personal experience and self-expertise as incorrect. Unless there is direct knowledge of untruths in the self-assessment or that person has been your client for a period of time‚ there would be no way to look at a person and know if their self-assessment of being autistic is incorrect.So if someone discloses that they're autistic‚ simply believe them. There doesn't have to be any follow up questions about who diagnosed them or how‚ just believe them because they know themselves better than anyone else.The author of this article‚ Jacalyn Wetzel‚ is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and practicing therapist.

Optical illusions are wild. We can look at an image and swear up and down we see one thing‚ only to find out what we're seeing isn't what we're actually seeing at all.Some optical illusions regularly go viral‚ like the not-really-two-dogs photo or the cat going up or down stairs drawing or the moving Van Gogh painting. (And we all remember the debates over &;quot;the dress‚&;quot; right&;#63;) One that's making the rounds now is an image that appears to be a pixelated photo of someone holding a Coca-Cola can. The colors are muted‚ but the can definitely looks red. But it's not.In reality‚ the only visible colors in this image are black‚ white and teal (or cyan). from woahdude Seriously‚ zoom in. Trippy‚ right&;#63; There's a similar version that uses a more stripey pixelation:And there's another version made out of black‚ white and yellow that makes the Coke can appear blue (negating the idea that our brain is automatically making the can red because it's the color our brain expects it to be). Again‚ no blue in this image when you zoom in. There's only black‚ white and yellow. @daverai2019 @AkiyoshiKitaoka The same account posted one where the Coke can seems blue‚ and I don't think most people associate the brand with the colour blue \nhttps://t.co/ESeliXVsFD — (@) So what exactly is going on here&;#63; It's the complicated way our colors work and the way our eyes perceive and process them in our brains. Here's how one Reddit user explained it when someone claimed the white in the Coke can wasn't really white: &;quot;It is white. This is an example of simultaneous color contrast‚ a phenomenon that occurs when two adjacent colors influence one another‚ changing your perception of the colors. The cones in your eyes make it seem like it is pink. Cones give your eyes good color vision but can also play tricks with your brain‚ hence why from a distance‚ ie not zoomed in‚ the color appears pink and why you see the can of Coke as “red” even though there is no red in the image.Essentially‚ the way your eyes see color in the first place is by contrasting it with other colors.&;quot;Another commenter verified that the white is‚ in fact‚ pure white. &;quot;The pixel color on the white is: #FFFFFF which means pure white. If there were any red in there we would see a variation on it like #FFFEFE. It is not a trick. It really is pure white‚&;quot; they wrote. &;quot;I too thought it might be a compression trick. Nope. Our brains just be weird.&;quot;Indeed‚ our brains do be weird.Photographer and filmmaker Jared Bendis explained it in another way with a demonstration of the &;quot;Retinex effect‚&;quot; also known as color constancy. Essentially‚ because our eyes have to recognize color in varying kinds and amounts of light (otherwise how would we find food at different times of day)‚ our brain is excellent at filling in blanks. How it works is rather complicated‚ so Bendis shows how it works using a photo of a bowl of fruit. Our brains may be weird‚ but also very cool.

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What a sweet moment captured on camera&;#33;

The charming and funny Nicolas Cage/Deborah Foreman-led 1983 romantic comedy manages to remain both a product of its punk/New Wave era and still relatable to generations old and new.