For a country intent on the loosest possible definitions of free speech, one of our most marginalized populations is subject to an insidious degree of censorship. The United States—the world leader in incarceration, imprisoning 2.2 million at this very moment—is fixated on free speech, but we favor the adjective over the verb. Prisons throughout the country are banning books that disagree with the racial disparity in U.S. prisons, the prison-industrial complex, and other incisive critiques of mass incarceration. And some are banning books altogether: one Georgia jail recently imposed a ban on all books, excluding only religious texts. Louisiana has …
Culturally, we all recognize the significance of a flashy status symbol—even if we don’t exactly understand the point. These ostentatious displays of wealth are so important to some that they might be willing to get stranded in a Hunger Games battle for damp mattresses and untoasted cheese sandwiches. Others opt for Insta-worthy gold rolling papers (though these, of course, are just as tragically destined to go up in Fyre). There’s a difference between a splurge and a status symbol: an expensive skincare product is usually for self-pampering, not for bragging about. (Let’s take a moment to imagine: “check out my new pore-smoothing …
By now, you’ve probably heard that Game of Thrones‘ eighth season has been a disappointment—whether you’ve heard it from your disgruntled friends or from your own mouth, screaming at the TV. It’s difficult to watch characters we love and identify with have such anticlimactic endings unworthy of all that they’ve accomplished. The show has been on the air for eight years, and not everyone considers what a significant weight eight years can carry. In the span of eight years, a student could begin high school and graduate college. In the span of eight years, most successful romantic relationships become marriages (statistically, …
Books are hardly the strangest thing human beings have ever put into a vending machine. Aside from our love of stories in all forms, that’s one thing all people generally have in common: we’re honestly pretty weird. One woman’s pregnancy cravings led to the invention of the cupcake vending machine, providing Mississippi, USA with twenty-four-hour cupcake access and making the rest of us wonder why you’d need to be pregnant to want junk food at four in the morning. China and Japan both offer live crab vending machines, complete with vinegar and ginger tea for an optimal on-the-go-meal. (Being from …
What’s the worst thing that a potential beau could do on a first date? Well, provided your date doesn’t snatch your wallet or set fire to the restaurant, the answer is nearly unanimous: treat the waitstaff poorly. Everyone knows the most fundamental tenet of common decency that of treating others with respect. No one is entitled to unkindness; certainly, no one has the right to mistreat someone whose job requires them to serve or assist you—that means no shouting at customer service reps, no predatory flirting with disinterested bartenders, no taking it out on a retail employee when you didn’t …
