TOW #17

This is a picture that went viral recently through social media sites like Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and Tumblr. The caption reads that a shark collapsed at the Discovery science center in Kuwait, and that it's something people on these sites should like or upvote because it's something they'll only see once in a lifetime. As it turns out, however, this picture was a hoax, and it wasn't originally designed to make people believe that there were actually sharks swimming in a mall. Jamie King, a photoshop expert, made this photo to be a joke and posted it on his twitter. Someone else added the caption and, before we knew it, the picture went viral. This is just one example of many where people simply believe things without checking the sources of what they've found interesting. A recent "disease" was shared on the internet called Alexandria's Genesis where a child is born with purple eyes, they have no hair on their armpits or their legs, for girls they wouldn't menstruate, and fair skin that would never burn. People shared this diagnosis on Tumblr for months, not knowing that it was an interesting character trait made by an author of fanfiction. No one really knows why people change the meaning of certain things to make large numbers of people believe something that isn't true.  It does, however, prove that we, when we use the internet and see something, need to check before we share it, effectively making more and more people "dumber".

TOW #16

http://news.yahoo.com/trial-sought-sc-boy-14-executed-1944-172035983.html


In 1944, a young man, 14 years old, by the name of George Stinney was executed by the state of South Carolina for the murder of two white girls, aged 7 and 11 years old. He was found guilty in a trial which only lasted 2 hours, and was held and interrogated by multiple police officers, grown white men, before confessing to the crime. A full story was included in the confession detailing how he did it and why. However, what people are  beginning to find out is that this crime would have been impossible to commit. The murder weapon, which was found near the two bodies of the young girls, was a rail spike weighing over 20 pounds. Stinney would have barely been able to lift the weapon, let alone swing it multiple times in the way that crushed the skulls of the two young victims. In South Carolina in the 1940s, however, racism ran rampant, and Stinney happened the last person to see them alive. If he had been a white boy, there is almost no doubt that Stinney would have been acquitted or not even tried for the crime. Now, however, there may be retribution as Stinney gets another day in court, mainly to clear the name of the youngest person ever executed.

TOW #15

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/giant-squid-caught-by-net-fisherman-off-japan/

Recently, on the internet, a story of a giant squid, measuring up to about 160 feet due to radiation poisoning from the recent power plant explosion in japan, was circulating, along with a photoshopped image and quotes from experts who actually didn't exist. People on social media sites didn't quite fall for it however, knowing that it was just a hoax. 160 feet? Really? That would be about 16 floors tall for a building. I don't even know if there are whales that big. An actual giant squid was caught, however, with more more reasonable, although still pretty big, measurements of 12 feet long and 330 pounds in weight. They swim at depths of 300 feet, and this one was caught by a net fisherman from Japan named Shigenori Goto who is more used to catching buri yellowtail at depths of 300 feet. If the size was unbelievable at first, it'll be interesting to hear that giant squid can grow to sizes of up to 40 feet and can weigh nearly a full ton - 2,000 pounds. To me, this rare species is definitely one of the more interesting that Earth has kept guarded from the dangers of human beings.

TOW # 14

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12205467/1/more-pathetic-pictures-from-a-dying-sears.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Stores seem to be lacking in multiple areas, as shown by Twitter user Brian Sozzi, who takes pictures of different areas of the stores where they seem to be having trouble maintaining a decent upkeep. He even makes jokes about the stores, saying that there are places that you should check when trying to gauge the quality of a store. Like, for example, under empty shelves that have been placed slightly away from the wall, blocking items. Or on racks that boast a hot selling item but that have been empty for days. Or, in many cases, racks that are simply empty. These stores, namely JC Penny and Sears, were quoted by the article to be "dying", but it could just be that they need to hire a new staff team. Brian Sozzi, the man who was taking the pictures, seems to be a credible source, as he is the CEO of Belsus Capital Advisors and a writer for TheStreet. He mainly took pictures of stores tagging them #fail to describe the picture and #shld to tell the viewer what the picture was about.

TOW #13

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/30/showbiz/actor-paul-walker-dies/

Paul Walker, star of the Fast and the Furious movie series, and a friend, Roger Rodas, died on November 30th, 2013, at around 3:30 PM, while they were on their way home from a charity event to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The cause of death was a car crash, as the car (2005 Porsche GT) slid off of the road and into a light pole before bursting into flames. They were just meters from their destination, which was probably Rodas's shop. Multiple fire extinguishers were used to try to stop the flames from killing the two men inside the car, but they were trapped, and the flames continued to burn. The site was surrounded for hours by fans and curious onlookers for hours, and was later decorated with flowers to pay tribute to the actor. According to the press, Paul Walker was also a philanthropist, who would often give money to those in need. Recently, it was decided that all proceeds from the Fast & Furious franchise would go towards Walker's charity, Reach Out WorldWide.

TOW #12

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ap-gfk-poll-health-law-131659580.html

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was flawed in its institution according to many Americans. Rising premiums and deductibles have been blamed on the health care overhaul, which adds to Obama's list of problems. This list, including the functionality of the healthcare website, healthcare.gov, has been under America's spotlight recently. The overall turnout was the opposite of what the White House was expecting, as they were looking forward to a positive reaction from people as they saw how well the law would slide in to current society. Now, on the contrary, the Republicans are using it as another reason to pick at the Democratic party. The benefit, however, is that 11% of people who responded to a survey conducted by the Associated Press tried to sign up for healthcare that they were previously not able to. The survey was conducted via the internet, and the respondents were interviewed online.

TOW #11

http://news.sky.com/story/1181130/australia-gay-marriage-law-reversed-by-court

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25344219

Last Saturday, the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) passed a law that would guarantee same-sex partners marriage. Soon afterwards, the Australian High Court ruled unanimously against the ACT's ruling, saying that it was inconsistent with federal laws because in Australia's Marriage Act explicitly states that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. All of the couples who had been married on Saturday had their unions rendered invalid, which was heartbreaking, but, on the other hand, they did have the moment of marriage which some said was invaluable. Although this is a step backwards for Australia as a whole, the ruling is a baby step in the right direction because it cements the fact that the federal government controls marriage, not individual state governments, like in the United States.