The Lighter Side
The Lighter Side

The Lighter Side

@thelighterside

Man has the best response after being 'offended' by his neighbor's LGBTQ pride doormat
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Man has the best response after being 'offended' by his neighbor's LGBTQ pride doormat

A TikTok user named Clay came back from a bar and was walking on the third floor of his apartment complex when he came across something that offended him to the core: a doormat in front of an apartment building with the legend “Gayest place in town” on it."I don't like that at all," Clay joked in a TikTok video with nearly two million views. “Because it implies that my place is not the gayest place in town." He quickly ordered himself a "Gayest place in town" doormat and then taped a piece of paper with “2nd” written on it so the competing doormat now read: "2nd gayest place in town." He also attached a longer note that included a challenge: "Hello downstairs Gay-bor(s), I'm writing to let you know that I find your doormat to be extremely offensive. I personally believe that MY apt is the gayest place in town and I hereby challenge you to a gay-off,” the letter read, which also contained his TikTok user name. @claygaiken And my place IS the gayest place in town ????️‍?????‍♂️ Man challenges neighbors to a Pride Month gay-offClay challenged the offending residents, who he'd learn are Lauren and Cara, a lesbian couple, to a gay-off. "HEY THAT'S MY DOORMAT, HEY NEIGHBOR!” Lauren responded to the TikTok. You will be hearing back from us,” she added. “I look forward to it,” Clay confidently responded. The lesbian couple shot back with a letter on Clay's doorstep that read: "Hi Gay-boy, we have no clue what this entails, but it sounds gay, so naturally we are in—Cara & Lauren."Commenters on Clay’s TikTok page were excited that the gay-off was on, but some hoped that he was competing with a man. “You need to put out gay decor and then you and your neighbor keep trying to outgay each other's decor and then idk enemies to lovers y'all fall in love,” one person wrote in the comments."Everyone assumed the other apartment belonged to a gay man and hoped for an 'enemies to lovers' situation," Clay told Newsweek. "But I had a strong suspicion it was lesbians. I mean, I used to joke that the third floor was the lesbian floor."Clay posted a follow-up video showing the lesbian couple's response, and they didn’t hold back. @claygaiken Replying to @Shareda Mills team Lesbians, you’re up ?@Lauren Bishop @calabrese101 Clay let the commenters choose the winner, and they overwhelmingly chose the lesbian couple. “We’re sorry, but RAINBOW TINSEL?! Your decor is cute, but they came to WIN,” one commenter wrote. "Yeah, I mean, the door thing they put up is very eye-catching, yours is cute... but... I think they have this round,” another added. Compared to the lesbian couple, Clay's approach was more subtle. His decor included two small signs that said "Homo Sweet Homo" and "Just a heads up, its really gay in here" and two pride flags taped to the door. But, if you wanted him to win, don't feel bad just yet, there’s still a chance for a comeback. He told Newsweek that he plans on keeping the gay-off going throughout Pride Month. Plus, who knows, this could just be the beginning; next year, they may have to challenge each other to see who has the gayest place in their building once more.

I Googled to see if Maria Von Trapp remarried after Georg died. The result was horrifying.
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I Googled to see if Maria Von Trapp remarried after Georg died. The result was horrifying.

With AI being implemented seemingly everywhere for seemingly everything these days, it wasn't surprising when Google launched its "AI Overview" in the spring of 2024. With messaging like "Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you" and "Find what you're looking for faster and easier with AI overviews in search results," the expectation is that AI will parse through the search results for you and synopsize the answer.That sounds great. The problem is, its synopsis is too often entirely wrong. We're not talking just a little misleading or incomplete, but blatantly, factually false. Let me show you an example. I recently wrote an article about the real-life love story between Maria and Georg Von Trapp, and as part of my research, I found out Georg died 20 years after they married. I hadn't seen anything about Maria remarrying, so I Googled whether she had. Here's what the AI Overview said when I searched last week: This is what Google AI Overview said when I asked how many times Maria Von Trapp had been married. It's wrong.Screenshot via Google "Maria Von Trapp married twice. First, she married Georg Von Trapp in 1927 and they had 10 children together. After Georg's death, she married Hugh David Campbell in 1954 and had 7 daughters with him. Later, she also married Lynne Peterson in 1969 and had one son and daughter with him." Something about that didn't add up—and it wasn't just how it said she married twice but then listed three spouses. Maria Von Trapp was born in 1905, so according to the AI Overview, she remarried at 49 years old and had seven more children, and then married again at 64 years old and had another two children. That seems…unlikely. Did Maria Von Trapp have two children in her mid-60s? No. Giphy So I clicked the link icon on the AI Overview, which took me to the Maria Von Trapp Wikipedia page. On that page, I found a chart where the extra two spouses were listed—but they very clearly weren't hers. Hugh David Campbell was the husband of one of her daughters. Lynn Peterson was the wife of one of her sons. The fact is that Maria never remarried after Georg died. If I had just run with the AI Overview, I would have gotten it this very basic fact about her life completely wrong. And it's not like it pulled that information from a source that got it wrong. Wikipedia had it right. The AI Overview extrapolated the real information incorrectly. Ironically, when I Googled "Did Maria Von Trapp remarry after Georg died?" in the middle of writing this article to see if the same result came back, the AI Overview got it right, citing the Upworthy article I wrote. (Yes, I laughed out loud.) After my article was published, the AI Overview cited it while giving the correct answer.Screenshot via Google This may seem like a lot of fuss over something inconsequential in the big picture, but Maria Von Trapp's marital status is not the only wrong result I've seen in Google's AI Overview. I once searched for the cast of a specific movie and the AI Overview included a famous actor's name that I knew for 100% certain was not in the film. I've asked it for quotes about certain subjects and found quotes that were completely made up.Are these world-changing questions? No. Does that matter? No. Facts should matter no matter what they are. Giphy GIF by Angie Tribeca Objective facts are objective facts. If the AI Overview so egregiously messes up the facts about something that's easily verifiable, how can it be relied on for anything else? Since its launch, Google has had to fix major errors, like when it responded to the query "How many Muslim presidents has the U.S. had?" with the very wrong answer that Barack Obama had been our first Muslim president. Some people have "tricked" Google's AI into giving ridiculous answers by simply asking it ridiculous questions, like "How many rocks should I eat?" but that's a much smaller part of the problem. Most of us have come to rely on basic, normal, run-of-the-mill searches on Google for all kinds of information. Google is, by far, the most used search engine, with 79% of the search engine market share worldwide as of March 2025. The most relied upon search tool should have reliable search results, don't you think?Even the Google AI Overview itself says it's not reliable: Google's AI Overview doesn't even trust itself to be accurate.Screenshot via GoogleAs much as I appreciate how useful Google's search engine has been over the years, launching an AI feature that might just make things up and put them them at the top of the search results feels incredibly irresponsible. And the fact that it still spits out completely (yet unpredictably) false results about objectively factual information over a year later is unforgivable, in my opinion.We're living in an era where people are divided not only by political ideologies but by our very perceptions of reality. Misinformation has been weaponized more and more over the past decade, and as a result, we often can't even agree on the basic facts much less complex ideas. As the public's trust in expertise, institutions, legacy media, and fact-checking has dwindled, people have turned to alternative sources to get information. Unfortunately, those sources come with varying levels of bias and reliability, and our society and democracy are suffering because of it. Having Google spitting out false search results at random is not helpful on that front. — (@) AI has its place, but this isn't it. My fear is that far too many people assume the AI Overview is correct without double-checking its sources. And if people have to double-check it anyway, the thing is of no real use—just have Google give links to the sources like they used to and end this bizarre experiment with technology that simply isn't ready for its intended use.

A mom lost her son on a cruise ship. Turns out he was going viral from the karaoke room.
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A mom lost her son on a cruise ship. Turns out he was going viral from the karaoke room.

Cruise ships are often the perfect family vacation. They allow you to go to multiple different locations on a tighter budget while also giving your family a resort experience with all the on ship entertainment and activities. But cruise ships are big. We're talking so large that they make the Titanic look like a tug boat, so, it's fairly easy to get lost on one. This is what one mom, Kim Heyworth, thought happened when her young adult son disappeared from the group for a while. Thankfully, that wasn't the whole story. In turned out that the missing 20-year-old was going viral while his mom was actively looking for him. According to some comments, the missing kid, named Tyler, was supposed to be going to the pool but wasn't there when his family went looking for him. Instead of taking a dip, Tyler Heyworth went on a bit of a side quest after coming across a room full of people dressed up and singing karaoke. A large neon karaoke sign on the side of a building. Photo by Nikola Đuza on Unsplash Clearly, Tyler was no longer interested in the pool. His calling suddenly became the stage, a microphone, and a room full of uncles and aunties waiting to be entertained—and entertain he did. Tyler grabbed the mic as a familiar tune filled the room: "Nobody" by R&B artist Keith Sweat. Was he actually going to sing Keith Sweat? He was. He did. And the 20-year-old knew every single word and tone without having to look at the screen. This kid was born an entertainer, clearly. As soon as he starts singing the first few words, one of the women in the front of the room gets up and walks away before stopping to fan herself. It's clear that nobody in the room thought that song was going to come out of Tyler's mouth, probably because it's a pretty niche song that didn't seem to have much crossover when it was dominating the R&B airwaves. @crazy_chickenlady03 full video of Tyler singing Keith Sweat Nobody.#carnival #karaoke #nobody #arethafranklin #carnivalcruise ♬ original sound - Kim Heyworth Before long, Tyler's older brother comes looking for him, but fails to bring his brother back at all. The brother, Timmy, saw what Tyler was doing and decided to join in on the fun, both apparently forgetting they were supposed to be returning to their mother. Timmy dons a pair of sunglasses while rocking a messy bun and grabs the second mic. In time, the duo are grooving to the 2004 hit, "Let Me Love You" by Mario. While the crowd was thoroughly entertained, their mother was confusedly still searching—now for both of her sons. In the meantime, Tyler was going viral on social media thanks to small snippets from cruise passengers that were quickly being reshared online. Soon, Carnival had reshared a clip and, serendipitously, John Legend did too. Funnily enough, Tyler didn't have his own TikTok at the time, which was a let down for fans looking to follow him. What fans did have, though was Tyler's first name and the name of his cruise ship. @crazy_chickenlady03 Brothers Timmy and Tyler singing. #karaoke #carnival Paradise @TimmyHeyworth @tyler ♬ original sound - Kim Heyworth Eventually, word got to Tyler's mom and she found her boys in the middle of their viral moment. Soon, she uploaded two full videos of the performances: one of Tyler singing alone and the other with his brother. Carnival later reached out to Tyler, sending him a box full of goodies and inviting him back on one of their cruises with a guest. Tyler is good for business.

Philosophy expert answers the question: Why does it seem like dumb people are always in power?
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Philosophy expert answers the question: Why does it seem like dumb people are always in power?

As the old song by The Who goes, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” It’s a sentiment many of us feel every time a new mayor, governor, or president takes office, and we can’t help but feel that we deserve someone better. In a country with so many brilliant scientists, business people, educators, and public policy experts, why do the least impressive of us seem to rise to power?Philosophy expert Julian de Medeiros, a popular TikToker and Substack blogger, recently wrestled with this question, and it must have been on a lot of people’s minds because the video received over 4.2 million views. “Why does it seem like so many people in power are so dumb? It's like, why can't we get a better class of leaders?” he asked. @julianphilosophy Why do stupid people have so much power? #chomsky #philosophy #psychology #power Why is it that dumb people are always in power?Ultimately, de Medeiros believes that power and intellect are often at odds. “I've thought about it a bit more, and I think this is my thesis: that power is inherently anti-intellectual. Because what does intellect do? Intellect questions power. It speaks truth to power. It critiques power. And power doesn't like that,” he says. “And so power has to speak to the lowest common denominator. It dumbs everything down.""It's an anti-intellectual force. And that's why it seems like those in power are also the dumbest,” he concludes his video. The commenters further expanded on de Medeiros' thesis. “Also, intellectual people question and analyse everything. A leader needs to be invested in their opinion and abide by it,” one wrote. “Because those in power or seek power cares about the power only, so they make the decisions that keep them in power no matter what is the output,” another offered. A candidate who wants your vote.via Canva/PhotosWhat is anti-intellectualism?Another reason people who are a few fries short of a Happy Meal are often voted into office is that there is a deep vein of voters who are skeptical of intellectuals. These people tend to be populists who value “common sense” over intellectualism and may see experts or highly educated people as dangerous and out of touch with the common man. So, candidates position themselves against the “intellectuals” by either being their proud, dumb selves or by taking their IQ down a few notches while in public. Theologian and philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906—1945) believed that dumb people often ascend to power because evil people have difficulty getting elected. So, they champion someone who may be more charismatic or connected and ride their coattails into power. Finally, much like de Medeiros, Bonhoeffer believes there is a big difference between intellectualism and power. Therefore, once one attains power they are highly lifely to look like a buffoon. It’s as if, “Slogans, catchwords and the like… have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being,” Bonhoeffer says.It’s sad to realize that the very nature of power means that those who hold office, whether we voted for them or not, will probably disappoint us at some point. But the good news from this understanding is that we are freeing ourselves from the constant disappointment of having leaders appear rather dumb. Now, whenever we meet the new boss, we can assume he's just like the old boss and be positively delighted if they wind up slightly smarter.

Machine Gun Kelly And Megan Fox Finally Announce Their Baby’s Name
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Machine Gun Kelly And Megan Fox Finally Announce Their Baby’s Name

Megan Fox and Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly, welcomed their first child together on March 27. MGK announced the news on Instagram with a brief black-and-white video captioned, “She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed.” At the time, some fans were a bit confused about the announcement. “Please don’t tell us her name is Celestial Seed,” someone wrote. This person sent congratulations, “Welcome to the world Celestial!” But others weren’t so confident about the name. “People thinking they actually named the baby celestial seed is sending me,” a fan joked. But the name was not Celestial. View this post on Instagram A post shared by mgk (@machinegunkelly) Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox Have Been Quiet About Their Baby Girl Up until June 17, the couple kept the baby’s identity private. They have not shown a photo of their daughter’s face, but Machine Gun Kelly shared a new video of him playing the ukulele to his baby. He captioned the post. “Saga Blade Fox-Baker. Thank you for the ultimate gift @meganfox.” The baby’s name is not something you’ll find in the top 100 list, that’s for sure. But it does fall in line with Megan’s other three children. She shares sons Noah Shannon Green, 12, Bodhi Ransom Green, 11, and Journey River Green, 8, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green. MGK shares a 15-year-old daughter named Casie with his ex Emma Cannon. Interestingly, Machine Gun Kelly turned off the comments on his social media posts debuting his daughter’s name. It seems he didn’t want to hear from the naysayers. But MGK and Megan Fox fans love the baby’s name. “What a cool name!!! I bet they put a lot of thought in to it, and glad they were ready to share it with us,” a fan wrote. These people totally agreed. “i could cry, this is so cute! what an awesome name,” someone shared. “Such an awesome name!!!” This story’s featured image is by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy. The post Machine Gun Kelly And Megan Fox Finally Announce Their Baby’s Name appeared first on InspireMore.