The latest celebrity to be forced into refuting a death hoax is controversial cyclist Lance Armstrong. Last Friday, a fake news site claimed that Armstrong, a cancer survivor, had died the previous Wednesday from a relapse of the disease. To prove that he was, in fact, still alive, Armstrong posted a video of himself on Instagram. In the short clip, he looks at the news story on his phone and then shakes his head in disbelief. The video was captioned with a famous Mark Twain quote: “The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
A post shared by Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) on
The fake news report of Armstrong’s death is especially mean-spirited being that he is a testicular cancer survivor. The seven-time Tour de France winner has been the subject of public scrutiny since he was banned from sanctioned Olympic sports for life after it was discover he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout this career. But, public opinion of Armstrong should be tempered by the fact that the Livestrong Foundation, a cancer charity he founded in 1997, raised over $500 million while helping over 2.5 million people in the past 15 years.
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.
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.
Chris Hemsworth is the 35-year-old star of “Thor: Ragnarok,” or you may know him as the brother of equally attractive actor Liam Hemsworth. But did you know he’s also a father-of-three? Well, he is. And it turns out, he’s pretty much the coolest dad ever.
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.
