After the Who Dat Nation and Mardi Gras revelers exit the Crescent City, they’ll leave behind more than just memories of Bacchus, Thoth, and a Super Bowl victory parade that disgraced parades of years past; they’ll also leave trash and lots of it. And who is left at the end to cart off the mountains of beads, discarded Hand Grenades, ruined stuffed animals, and plastic beer bottles? Sidney Torres IV and the SDT Waste and Debris Services.A USA Today piece profiles Torres, 33, and his efforts to clean up after both the Big Easy’s biggest tragedy and biggest party in recent memory. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Torres, a former hotel developer in the French Quarter, started SDT after noticing that post-hurricane trash companies were overcharging residents in a city suddenly overwhelmed with garbage and wreckage. In addition to starting a trash-collecting service at pre-hurricane prices, one of the most significant problems Torres handled early on in the flooded city was that of the smell, specifically the smell on Bourbon Street. Enlisting a chemist’s help, they came up with “Superfresh,” a fragrance that SDT now sprays throughout the French Quarter to combat smells that accompany all-night partying and an absence of open container laws. Local New Orleans businesses have persistently praised his dedication to cleaning and maintaining city streets.Early Wednesday morning Torres and his team face the ruin of yesterday’s emphatically more joyous storm, and will work to move the thousands of tons of trash quickly. Anyone who has seen the mess after a Mardi Gras parade knows that the undertaking is not an easy one, so I can’t help but wonder how much, if any, of the trash will get recycled. The majority of the garbage is plastic (beer bottles, bead bags, cups, etc.) and paper mixed in with everything else on the streets. SDT does have a recycling program that it is working to implement, but I have a hard time believing that anyone will be sorting the plastic from the pizza. Perhaps Torres can use his newfound recognition to solve the city’s recycling problem next.Photo by Tim J. Mueller/USA Today
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Man’s dog suddenly becomes protective of his wife, Internet clocks the reason right away
The online community came through in a big way.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Otis knew before they did. Canva Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
This article originally appeared last year.
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Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
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Why mass shootings spawn conspiracy theories
Mass shootings and conspiracy theories have a long history.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
Pointing to some nefarious plan by a powerful group – such as the government – can be more comforting than the idea that the attack was the result of a disturbed or mentally ill individual who obtained a firearm legally.
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