A Perky Wallflower

An American living in Denmark. non-binary/gender fluid 30 something

[tilthat]

TIL “Yankee Doodle” was written by the British to mock americans. “Doodle” is thought to come from the German “dödel”, meaning “fool” or “simpleton” and “macaroni,” a flamboyantly stylish type of dress, painting the Yankees as morons who thought placing a feather in one’s cap made them a “dandy.”

via reddit.com

[toastpotent-deactivated20250619]

so you’re telling me that “stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni” would be like saying “wrote a G on his belt and called it gucci”

[beggars-opera]

that’s…a pretty good analogy actually

[ti-bae-rius]

US moron came to town

Hunting for some coochie

Wrote a G up on his belt

And this bitch called it Gucci

[ti-bae-rius]

Seeing my notifications get flooded with this every July 4th is the only thing I respect about America

[escuerzoresucitado]

[parkchanwoohoo]

[butchdemiurge]

in 2026 let’s start actually noticing and taking seriously the true scale and impact of jkrs transmisogyny and how she’s been funneling decades of royalties and ip owner cash directly into anti trans lobbying thats been making the uk hell while gradually worsening conditions elsewhere through impacting the zeitgeist

[butchdemiurge]

[shamebats]

The (European) sun is a deadly laser, stay safe everyone

[unfuckablebogtroll]

☝️🤓 it’s because the further you move toward the earth’s poles, the lower the angle of the sun is at the hottest parts of the day, meaning the radiation hits your whole body, causing it to feel 10-20 degrees warmer than the thermometer reading will tell you. People from tropical climes, aka close to the equator, are used to the sun’s radiation hitting a much smaller target- their head and shoulders.

Also the further you move toward the poles the more pronounced the difference between the length of day and night is. Worst part of a far-north (or south) heatwave is it doesn’t get dark long enough for meaningful cooling.

It’s not the heat. It very literally is the sun.

[feuervogel]

OH MY GOD that explains everything

One of the things I've struggled to explain to my friends back in the States is how much of a difference being in the sun vs shade makes. Like, yes, we all know the shade is cooler than the sun; I grew up in Maryland and lived in North Carolina and Georgia, places where the air is hot soup for many months of the year, and you sit in the shade. It's cooler. To keep your rooms from becoming a greenhouse, you block out the sun. This is understood!

But here? In northern Germany? It feels like a literal 10-15 (Fahrenheit)-degree difference in temperature when you walk into the shadow of a tree or when the sun goes behind a cloud for a few minutes. The north side of my building is COLD until mid afternoon when the sun finally hits it. I've gone from "comfortable in a t-shirt" to "I wish I had a sweater" in the span of 5 minutes because of the presence of the sun.

Also the second paragraph? Yeahhhhh, I couldn't open my windows last night until 8 pm because it was still warmer outside than in (and the sun was still up, but on the other side of my building). I had to close them before 8 this morning because the sun was already in my window and heating up my apartment. (It's currently 27C inside. With the windows closed and as much sun blocked as I can, because my building doesn't have those awesome rolling shutters.)

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

[relevant-wikipedia-articles]

Crumple zone - Wikipedia

[librarychair]

The amount of safety features incorporated into modern cars is unreal. I've seen crashes where the car flipped over and the occupant only had minor injuries. My dad was t-boned by someone speeding off the highway and walked away with a broken arm. The car was completely smashed except for the passenger compartment, which was curtained on all sides with airbags. That one manufacturer has decided they are exempt from implementing all these advancements disgusting and terrifying

When I was going through driver's ed I was taught that the steering column would stab through your chest if you crashed head on and that was just the way it was. We do not want to go back, not even a little

[foone]

The point of car safety features is that the car is supposed to die in an accident so you don't have to. Your car should be a pile of smoking rubble after an accident, and you should be fine.

[a-teacup-of-golden-cracks]

[elalmadelmar]

I totaled my first car. Like, the car itself just stopped where the windshield met the dashboard. Ahead of that point, there was no more car. It was gone.

Me? I had some really spectacular bruises and a lil friction burn on my nose from where Mr. Airbag and Ms. Glasses had a disagreement. That's it. That's it.

I was driving a little tiny coupe and went more or less head-on with a pickup truck. The entire engine and hood of my car was twisted rubble that was not connected to the rest of the car afterward. I sat down on the verge, about twenty or thirty feet from the accident, while I waited for the cops and EMTs to work their way through the traffic backup to get to us, and found that I was sitting beside one of the headlights of my car. The whole entire headlight, bulb and reflector and cover and frame and all.

All I had were bruises and that little friction burn. That's it.

Crumple zones save lives. So do seatbelts and airbags; half the bruising was the exact shape of my seatbelt in livid crimson and black on my torso. It was and remains the most insanely intense bruising I have ever experienced in my life. BUT IT WAS JUST BRUISING!! Unpleasant, sure, but eminently survivable and didn't even require much treatment beyond not wearing a bra for a few days. But all the force that created that spectacular bruising was force that wasn't flinging me through the windshield or impaling me on the steering column. My car crumpled and crushed and dissolved but it held me safe and secure and protected.

Crumple zones save lives. You do not want your car to look undamaged after the accident, because that means it made like a Newton's Cradle and passed every bit of the impact straight through to your soft and highly crushable body.

[hellenhighwater]

This is not my usual content, but as a result of my job, I see the aftermath of many extremely fatal car crashes. And I will add, just to emphasize: your car is the product of thousands of engineers and decades of research aimed towards the goal of protecting your body in its seat inside the car. However: this relies, significantly, on your body staying in its seat. Your seatbelt is crucially important in keeping you alive. With your seatbelt, you are locked into the safest place in your vehicle. Without your seatbelt, you are a soft projectile in a rapidly collapsing metal structure. Wear your seatbelt.

[sinmonger]

Hudson Williams | Best Lead Performer in a Drama Series

I didn't write a speech but I do have a little thank you list. Immediately to all the other nominees, it's just an honor to be nominated alongside you. I'm honored to be Canadian and this is fantastic.

[plain-flavoured-english]

As a Greek, in response to the current controversy about Matt Damon being cast as Odysseus, I'd just like to share that one of the moments that changed my brain chemistry as a kid was reading a novelized version of the Odyssey and coming across the following description of Odysseus when Circe sees him for the first time and thinks he's hot: "his hair curled like a clematis and his eyes were very brown".

So may I present my own casting choice for Odysseus:

[plain-flavoured-english]

Excuse me???

[ruffboi-mags]

you are right and you should say it.

[instantduckninja]

Is this the face of a man who would put his own infant in front of a plow to avoid going to war?

Absolutely not

You know who would try that shit?

Is this the face of a man who would defy the very gods to get home to his wife?

You know who would defy the gods just to show he could get away with it?

[fluffmugger]

The last thing Penelope's suitors ever see:

[ladiesloveduranduran]

"I find it really difficult to complete boring tasks" is one of the most embarrassing ADHD symptoms. like yeah of course you find it difficult! It's boring! Nobody wants to do something boring! Like it just sounds like such a spoiled and lazy thing to say, and it's tough to explain that no, actually, my inability to do boring things goes beyond what most people have. Like I'm medically spoiled and lazy!!! I can't help it!!

[ladiesloveduranduran]

I watch TV on my laptop while I do dishes and I feel like my roommates probably think I'm some sort of brain dead ipad kid because of it. Washing the dishes takes 5-10 minutes why would I possibly need to watch TV for that??? And while I can wash one plate or something without stimulation, if I had to do a whole bunch of dishes while just raw dogging reality it might not get done. Because that's boring and my mind can't do boring things!!!

[theres-a-body-here]

Having a Minotaur Boyfriend would be so fucking funny

Like imagine crying on the couch and you hear his thunderous, big body SUV built ass footsteps approach you.

"Baby, what's wrong," he says tenderly as he rubs your shoulder.

You look up to explain how bad your day was with tears in your eyes and you fucking see this:

I made a small drabble based on this

[fxdizzyie-deactivated20260219]

I had to draw it HELP

[sharkodactyl]

moment of unspeakable beauty today when one of my coworkers called another coworker "judas" for not splitting a can of white monster with her, and i got to watch the guy who sits next to me open a new google tab, type in "jeudis," and say quietly to himself "french thursday...?"

[egberts]

the hand bones connected to the hand bone

the hand bones connected to the hand bone

the hand bones connected to the hand bone

the hands got a lot of bones

[raccoonmilf]

When I was in grade school I used to send emails to biologists and zoologists asking them questions to get answers to include in school projects I was working on, and would cry when they did not respond because I thought I was stupid for thinking that some random kid would ever be deserving of a response from someone who does something as smart and cool and important as *checks notes* studies frog fungus.

Now, at 29, I’m lowkey having a panic attack because my academic email is filled with middle schoolers wanting me to answer their questions about pygmy raccoons and I keep putting off answering them because I’m so overwhelmed with all the other raccoon stuff I have to do.

Anyway, greatest apologies to any scientist I ever emailed as a child and also an adult.

[raccoonmilf]

I know your research is really important and I appreciate all you are doing but this is so fucking funny

[kropotkindersurprise]

February 3, 2026 - A MAGA fascist got out of his ridiculous truck and attacked a peaceful high school walkout protest against ICE in Buda, Texas, and quickly got his ass handed to him by a bunch of antifascist high-schoolers. [video]

[free-and-to-none-accountable]

"And DON'T tell the internet that I got my ass beat by 2 dozen children. Do NOT put it on the news."

[standwithdaanes]

here's an article on this:

Texas man arrested after getting into fight with high schoolers protesting ICE

Law enforcement say the 45-year-old man was the ‘primary aggressor’ in the fight that went viral

Earlier this week, students at Moe and Gene Johnson High School, located in Buda, Texas, walked out of classes in protest of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.While the protest was largely peaceful, a verbal altercation between an adult man in a vehicle and a female juvenile on the sidewalk escalated into physical violence, according to video of the incident posted online, shared by CBS Austin. The man, Chad Michael Watts, allegedly got out of his vehicle and confronted the female juvenile, resulting in an exchange of punches. After Watts pushed the girl to the ground, other students began attacking him, the video shows. Watts was arrested nearly a day after the incident and charged with two counts of assault causing bodily injury, the Buda Police Department said. The Hays County District Attorney said it was investigating the matter as well. [...] Multiple videos of the interaction, posted online, show Watts, holding what appears to be a red hat, challenging students, some of whom were holding “ICE out” signs. After Watts pushed the girl to the ground, several students physically confronted him. One jumped on Watt’s back and pulled him to the ground while others began hitting him, punching him and pulling his hair, the video shows. Buda police said that after a thorough investigation, “it was determined that Watts was the primary aggressor in the physical altercation.” Both Watts and the juvenile girl sustained minor injuries but did not need EMS attention on the scene.

"The youth in general, and especially the young women, are the spark of every revolution. We can’t look at the history and found a revolution without the youth. We are a fundamental factor. We should be aware of this reality, we should take conscience of our historical role. By doing this we will provide ourselves with a plan that will allow us the unity of action and objectives. The Youth should not be condemned to be a slave of the capitalist system. [...] If we reject the labels and mentalities imposed by the system, taking consciousness as Internationalist Youth in a global level and organizing ourselves, is there someone who can stop us?" — Lêgerîn

youth of the world, never stop standing up for what is right & defending each other with your teeth.

[free-and-to-none-accountable]

Smooth move, Chad

[eversoslightlybitter]

Granted, the news probably can't use this phrasing, because the case hasn't been through the court system yet, but

Texas Man Arrested after getting into fight with Assaulting High Schoolers Who Walked out of Class to Protest ICE

Fixed it

[trickstertime]

Wait this is leaving out an important, and kinda funny, detail. In the video he has a head of hair and a moustache, but if you look at the article, hes got a shaved head and is clean shaven (also a black eye, lol). The police didn't shave his head or face. This fuckin moron thought that, after trying to beat up some children, that he could get away with it and hide his identity by having a shave despite driving his own truck with clearly visible licence plates

[the-moon-loves-the-sea]

Shared here today by Matthew Boroson on Facebook. (ETA: Gaining inspiration from other authors is great. Lifting passages and avoiding giving credit isn’t.)

Tanith Lee was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for best novel, for the second book of the Flat Earth series. She died in 2015. You can buy Tales From the Flat Earth here and here .

[booksbrackenbooze]

You can also borrow some of Tanith Lee’s books from the Internet Archive if you are unable to buy them.

Here’s a link to Night’s Master, the first book in the Flat Earth series.

I cannot recommend Lee’s work enough. And it pains me that I’d never even heard of her until last year.

[moveslikekeithrichards]

got cornflakes for fried chicken & the back of the box has its own recipe. easy as pie. "rinse chicken tenders with cold water and coat with crushed kelloggs corn flakes cereal." and then cook. no binding agent. no seasoning. nothing but a pile of flavorless chicken with a side of the extra-dried-out cornflakes that fell off it. serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce. doesnt even say serve hot. Serve Warm. wouldnt wanna get too wild with it. truly this is the spirit of cornflakes

[memento-mariii]

[mala-taste]

Good for them!