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10 Things That Happened 10 Years Ago: Aug 17-23

One Direction breaks up, “Potato Parcels” go viral, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte finally lives up to its name. Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

The PSL finally got real pumpkin

12 years after the Pumpkin Spice Latte debuted at Starbucks in 2003, they finally decided to toss some actual pumpkin in there. The new recipe included a “pumpkin spice flavored sauce” made with pumpkin purée.

One Direction broke up

The “extended hiatus” proved to be so extended, it functioned as the band’s unofficial break-up. Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan went their separate ways to work on solo projects. There was talk of a reunion tour in 2024 before Liam died tragically that October after falling from a third-floor window at a hotel in Argentina.

A Texas man was making $10,000 a month mailing potatoes

The website PotatoParcel.com exploded onto the scene after a 24-year-old in Texas launched an app offering to mail Russet potatoes with personalized messages on them. The unlikely success story led to a string of competing websites, and Americans found out the USPS allows you to mail a potato without a box. The potato itself counts as a container.

Jon Stewart had his first gig after leaving the “The Daily Show”

His last show (of his first stint as host) was August 6, 2015, but he was back in the spotlight two weeks later. His first gig following the departure was hosting WWE’s “SummerSlam,” where he fully screwed John Cena out of his World Heavyweight Championship title.

Jennifer Lawrence was the world’s highest paid actress

She topped the annual “Forbes“ list at $52 million, followed by Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy, Bingbing Fan, and Jennifer Aniston. Robert Downey Jr. had recently topped the highest paid actors list at $80 million.

Three Americans stopped a terrorist attack on a train headed for Paris

On August 21, 2015, a man with an assault rifle opened fire on a train heading from Amsterdam to Paris. Luckily, his gun misfired, and three Americans in their early 20s – two of them off-duty members of the U.S. military – were able to subdue the gunman and end the threat. Four people were injured, including another American who initially wrestled the gun away, but there were no fatalities. The gunman was later sentenced to life in prison.

Ashley Madison hackers leaked everyone’s info

The dating site for cheaters had been hacked that July, and the hackers threatened to release all of the data if the site didn’t shut down immediately. They followed through with the threat, releasing more than 60 GB of data on August 18 and 20. An analysis later showed that Alabama led the nation in extramarital affairs.

Tracy Morgan got married and announced his return to “SNL”

It was a big week for the “Saturday Night Live” alum. The show announced he’d be returning to host after he nearly died in a car crash a year earlier. He also married his 28-year-old baby mama Megan Wollover that same week, but sadly it didn’t last. They filed for divorce five years later in 2020.

A man in Scotland received the “world’s first bionic penis”

The 43-year-old had lost his junk years earlier when it was ripped off in a crazy car accident that saw him dragged nearly 600 feet. Headlines claimed it was the “world’s first” bionic penis, which wasn’t actually true. But people were happy to hear the man’s new bionic junk was an impressive eight inches long.

The owner of the “Goonies” house shut fans down

The owner of the home – located in Astoria, Oregon – was sick of people doing the Truffle Shuffle on her lawn, so she covered the front of her house in blue tarps. She said she’d been dealing with more than 1,000 visitors a day and installed a sign that said, “Imagine that you buy a house, fix it up, spend money, time and love. Then the city of Astoria encourages 100,000’s of people to come and stand in front and view it.” (A sign that said “Hey, you guys! Please stop it!” might have been more effective.)

The Craziest (and Funniest) Excuses People Have Used to Skip Work

We’ve all had those mornings. You’re tired, unmotivated, maybe a little emotionally allergic to your inbox. But most of us still manage to slap on some deodorant and show up anyway. Others? Not so much.

Someone on Reddit recently asked for the wildest excuses people have ever given to miss work, and the responses did not disappoint. From wildlife drama to pop star heartbreak, here are some of the most head-scratching—and hilarious—reasons people have called off the job.

1. “I thought Valentine’s Day was a federal holiday.”
We respect the commitment to romance, but no.

2. “I flushed my car keys down the toilet.”
Yikes.

3. “Chipmunks filled my truck’s engine with walnuts.”
A real-life Alvin and the Chipmunks sabotage. Nature: 1, punctuality: 0.

4. Exfoliating injury?
One woman claimed she sliced her own nose while doing skincare. Those exfoliating scrubs are getting aggressive.

5. “I ran out of toilet paper.”
A surprisingly relatable 2020-style crisis that still makes the excuse list.

6. “There was a big bug outside my door.”
Turns out the terrifying “bug” was just… a piece of string.

7. “I ate a whole log of cookie dough.”
No judgment. Honestly, this one feels more like a mental health day than an excuse.

8. “There was a huge human dookie on my driver’s seat.”
That’s a hard pass on carpooling.

9. “A squirrel bit my finger while I tossed a coffee cup.”
The squirrel was presumably offended at the lack of recycling.

10. “Zayn left One Direction. I can’t.”
Grief is real. So is pop culture heartbreak.

Whether you’re Team PTO or Team “power through it,” these bizarre excuses are a reminder that sometimes truth really is stranger (and more entertaining) than fiction. So next time you’re tempted to call in sick because Mercury’s in retrograde or your dog gave you a weird look, just make sure you have a good excuse.

TikTok Debate: Do You Check Out at a Hotel… or Nah?

Checking out of a hotel used to be a whole production: stand in line, hand over your key, maybe argue about that $6 minibar Snickers you definitely didn’t eat. Now? For many travelers, it’s more like grab your bag and vanish like a travel ninja.

That’s exactly what kicked off a viral debate when a woman posted a TikTok of herself walking straight from her hotel room to the parking lot. Her caption: “Older generations: This is how you check out of a hotel. You just walk out.” She doubled down in the description, saying the front desk doesn’t need to know and they definitely don’t need to chit-chat about it.

Technically, she’s right… plenty of hotels have app-based check-out, virtual receipts, and key cards that might as well be coasters once you’re done. But the comment section? Let’s just say it turned into the hospitality version of a family holiday argument.

People who say they’ve worked in hotels believe you should still give a quick heads-up, especially if you’re leaving early. It helps housekeeping start cleaning sooner, which means faster check-ins for the next guests.

Some travelers said they only notify the desk if they’re leaving well before check-out time, because “what’s the difference?” if they’re leaving when they’re supposed to.

Then there’s the “old school” camp, insisting you should always stop by to make sure there are no issues or surprise charges. Detractors call that a Boomer move… after all, most hotels email receipts now. Others say they’d happily check out in person… if there were actually someone at the front desk when they walked by.

One commenter offered a middle ground: mention you’re leaving as you pass. “It just takes 10 seconds,” they said. “This is a weird thing to feel like a bad-a** over.”

So, is the personal check-out a dying tradition, soon to join travel agents, printed boarding passes, and hotel alarm clocks in the history books? Possibly. Until then, hotel lobbies will remain neutral ground for the generational battle over whether you exit with a polite wave… or pull a full-on Houdini.

@the.shit.chat

The front desk doesn’t need you to tell them you’re checking out and they don’t need you to hand them your room key.

♬ original sound – iHearCanvas

Olive Garden Lets You Buy Soup by the Gallon

Move over, endless breadsticks. Olive Garden fans have discovered something even more comforting—and arguably more absurd: you can buy Olive Garden soup by the gallon. Yes, a gallon. Of soup. Served in what can best be described as a bucket.

This glorious carb-heavy revelation has been making the rounds online, even though it’s technically not new. The secret? It’s hidden in plain sight on Olive Garden’s catering menu. So if you’ve ever dreamt of slurping Zuppa Toscana straight from a jug, now’s your chance.

The gallon-soup options include all the classics: Chicken & Gnocchi, Pasta e Fagioli, Minestrone, and Zuppa Toscana. You can order a full gallon or a half-gallon, and while prices vary depending on location, it’s a pretty serious deal compared to individual portions. According to Food & Wine, you could pay around $2.50 per bowl this way—versus the usual $12 when ordering soup à la carte.

Naturally, this has turned into a bit of a meal-planning hack. A full gallon serves 12 people, making it ideal for family dinners, office lunches, or a week of cozy leftovers. Just don’t expect to show up and order it dine-in.

The catering portions are strictly for takeout or delivery. So no, you can’t post up at the bar with your soup bucket and freak out the waitstaff.

There’s one catch: no breadsticks are included. You’ll need to order those separately, which feels like a missed opportunity but also a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of gallon-sized soup dreams.

The discovery is yet another example of how fast food and restaurant chains are quietly leaning into bulk-buy culture. From Costco’s legendary rotisserie chicken to Taco Bell’s Taco Party Packs, it seems like America is on a mission to make “family size” the new “regular.”

And honestly? We’re not mad about it.

So the next time you’re craving comfort food in volume, skip the drive-thru and head to Olive Garden’s catering page. Just remember to BYOB—bring your own breadsticks.

SZA Tapped as Vans’ New Artistic Director

Vans just added a major dose of star power to their brand: Grammy-winning artist SZA is now their new artistic director. The singer will help reimagine upcoming marketing campaigns and collaborate on new collections, blending her signature style with the skatewear label’s laid-back vibe.

SZA says the partnership feels natural, explaining, “In Vans, I feel free! I’ve been wearing Knu Skools and other styles for years, they’ve always had an ethos I connect with.” She added that her mission in this role is to prove that joy, community, creativity, and fashion are still deeply connected, and that humanity and culture remain at the heart of it all.

Her appointment marks another high-profile crossover between music and fashion. In recent years, Rihanna made headlines as Puma’s creative director in 2014, bringing fresh designs that became instant hits, while Beyoncé teamed up with Adidas in 2019 for a four-year partnership under her Ivy Park brand.

For Vans, having SZA in such a creative role could help attract both her dedicated fan base and style-conscious shoppers looking for fresh takes on the brand’s classics.

Her track record for bold visuals, genre-bending music, and unapologetic authenticity suggests Vans’ upcoming collections could lean into experimental colors, textures, and campaigns that push the envelope while staying rooted in the brand’s skate and streetwear heritage.

Fans have already started buzzing online after Vans released a video announcement teasing the collaboration with “VANSZA”. While details on specific designs haven’t dropped yet, sneakerheads and SZA fans alike are ready to see what happens when her artistic vision meets Vans’ decades-long legacy.

Given how other artist-led collaborations have sparked huge waves in the sneaker and streetwear market, this move positions Vans to not just keep pace, but potentially set the tone for 2025’s fashion trends. Whether you’re a die-hard Vans loyalist, a casual wearer, or just here for the SZA vibes, it’s safe to say the next collection might be worth lining up for.

Robert Plant Won’t “Stairway” Into Led Zeppelin’s Greatest Hits on Tour

Robert Plant just wrapped up the European leg of his tour with his band Saving Grace, and as the North American dates approach this October, fans hoping for a full-on Led Zeppelin greatest hits setlist might want to adjust their expectations.

Yes, Plant has been sprinkling in a few Zeppelin favorites like “The Rain Song” and “Ramble On”, but don’t expect the legendary frontman to belt out some of the band’s most famous anthems. His reason? In his words, “to do it for the sake of it was never what Zeppelin was about.”

Plant explained that the so-called “hits” from Led Zeppelin are tricky to place in today’s context.

“They fit as a sort of memoir,” he said, adding that it’s not that he hates songs like “Stairway to Heaven”, but he’s not drawn to the idea of performing them just for nostalgia’s sake.

Instead, Plant has a soft spot for some of Zeppelin’s deeper cuts. He praised tracks like “For Your Life” from the album “Presence” and the epic “Achilles Last Stand”, calling it “extraordinary that three people and a singer can do that.” To him, these songs capture more of the magic and challenge that made the band legendary in the first place.

In another bit of classic Plant independence, he also declined an invite from Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi to attend the band’s “Back to the Beginning” show. “I said, Tony, I’d love to come, but I can’t come… I don’t know anything about what’s going on in that world now,” he explained. Plant stressed that it’s not about disrespect — he simply feels his creative life has moved into “other places that are so rich.”

So, when you see Robert Plant live in 2025, expect a mix of Saving Grace’s material, a few carefully chosen Zeppelin tracks, and a setlist that reflects where he is now, not just where he’s been.

For Plant, it’s about keeping the music alive in the present, not locking it in the amber of classic rock history.

It’s a bold move in an era when nostalgia tours dominate the live music circuit, but then again, Robert Plant has never been one to follow the crowd. And judging by his energy and curiosity, it seems like he plans to keep it that way.

Taylor Swift Revealed New Album Details on Her Boyfriend’s Podcast

Taylor Swift’s appearance on the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast yesterday didn’t just get fans talking, it temporarily broke the internet. Over 1.3 million people tuned in live to watch on YouTube, and about 1 hour and 44 minutes into the broadcast, the stream abruptly cut to black. The “New Heights” social media team quickly explained it was a glitch, but by then the damage (and a flood of memes) was done. The complete video feed eventually went up, and there’s a full audio version on podcast platforms.

The big news? Swift used the appearance to officially unveil her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl”. She revealed the album cover, the full 12-song tracklist, and a release date of October 3rd. The record will feature a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, and for collectors, there’s a limited run of four different CD editions, each with its own unique cover and accessory like a necklace or keychain.

Swift also made it clear there will be no bonus tracks this time. “There’s no other songs coming,” she told the brothers. “This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time.”

She chose an orange theme for the album, explaining it matches the energy she’s felt in her life recently. Lyrically and emotionally, the project reflects what was happening behind the scenes during her electric, high-energy Eras Tour—not what the public saw on stage.

Her creative goal? “Melodies that are so infectious that you’re angry at it, and lyrics that are vivid, crisp, and completely intentional.” She even found time to work on the album while touring Europe. According to Travis Kelce, all 12 tracks are “bangers” and lean toward fun, upbeat pop—a sharp contrast to the moodier “Tortured Poets Department”.

Swift also talked Easter eggs, saying they’ll always point to her music and never her personal life. And in perhaps the most down-to-earth reveal of the day, she admitted she’s currently obsessed with baking sourdough bread—so much so that she talks about it “60% of the time.”

An NBA All-Star Is Begging America to Teach Him How to Use a Can Opener

Tyrese Maxey can drop 30 points on an NBA defense, but hand him a $4 can opener and it’s game over.

The Philadelphia 76ers all-star went live on Instagram this week, desperately asking America how to open a can.

The nearly 13-MINUTE video begins with Maxey saying, “I need help.” He explains he’s trying to feed his dogs, but the can opener is defeating him. Normally, his chef takes care of it… but the chef was off that day, and his mom wasn’t around, leaving Maxey to face his metal nemesis alone.

The can in question? Not dog food, but a regular can of Libby’s pumpkin. (Which raises a whole new set of questions about his dogs’ diet, but we’ll save that for another day.)

As viewers flooded the chat with suggestions, Maxey gamely tries them out, but it’s… awkward. At one point he says, “I ain’t even trying to be funny… I’m dead serious.” And he is. The frustration was real.

Teaching someone to use a can opener over text is basically impossible… how do you explain “turn the handle while clamping the blade” without resorting to interpretive dance?

Maxey tries all sorts of angles with the can opener… and even pulls out a KNIFE at one point (which had to have Philly fans getting nervous). If he did eventually crack that can open, it happened off-camera.

Bonus detail: throughout the whole video, you can hear a smoke alarm chirping in the background, which suggests Maxey may need a little help with batteries too.

Some players go viral for game-winning shots. Tyrese Maxey? For losing to a can.

Tim Burton Returns to Stop-Motion Animation for “Wednesday”

Tim Burton is proving that sometimes the tiniest things take the most time—especially if you’re making them move one frame at a time. He spent EIGHT MONTHS creating a 90-second stop-motion animation for the first episode of “Wednesday” Season 2, and he says it was a chance to return to the art form that launched his career.

If you’re not familiar with stop-motion, it’s the ultimate patience test. Artists hand-build sets and puppets, then photograph them one painstaking frame at a time, moving them ever so slightly between shots. The process is so slow that even a short scene can take weeks or months to complete—so eight months for a minute and a half is actually… pretty on brand for Burton.

For this sequence, Burton brought in the same team that worked with him on “Corpse Bride”. The scene follows a Nevermore Academy student who crafts a clockwork heart to replace his own—a perfectly eerie concept for a show that’s already dripping with gothic quirk. Burton even designed the puppet himself.

“It’s the kind of show where we get to play around with things,” Burton told “The Hollywood Reporter“.

“I went old school with it and kept telling the animators, ‘We need to pretend I’m back in my student days, doing it like I did at the beginning.’”

That “beginning” includes Burton’s early short film “Vincent“ from 1982, a stop-motion ode to childhood imagination, Vincent Price, and the macabre. Fans have already noted the similarities in tone and style between that short and this new sequence. If you’ve never seen “Vincent”, it’s worth the six minutes of your life—it’s Burton in pure, unfiltered form.

While most big productions would lean on CGI for such a scene, Burton’s choice to go physical and tactile shows why his work still stands out. Stop-motion might be slow, but the result has a handcrafted charm that digital animation rarely matches. It’s the cinematic equivalent of hearing a vinyl record instead of a compressed MP3—you can feel the fingerprints on it.

And judging by the buzz among “Wednesday” fans, those eight months were well worth it. Now the only question is whether Burton will sneak more stop-motion moments into the season.

You Can Reduce the Cost of Your Wedding… By Selling Tickets?

The average wedding now costs $33,000, which works out to about $284 per guest. That’s a lot of money to feed Aunt Carol, who will still complain that the chicken was “a little dry.” And it’s really hard to find ways to save a meaningful amount of money.

But now, there’s a new French app called Invitin that basically lets you sell tickets to your wedding.

Before you clutch your pearls, it’s not about charging your friends and family admission (although, let’s be honest, a few relatives would deserve it). This is for strangers… actual paying wedding crashers. You pick how many tickets to sell, price them anywhere from $100 to $200 (or more if your venue is fancy), and then let randos come eat your food, dance to your playlist, and cry during your vows like they’ve known you since kindergarten.

It’s not a total free-for-all, though.

Couples can “approve” ticket buyers after seeing their profiles first, and guests must follow a strict code: dress nice, show up on time, drink like an adult, and keep their phone in their pocket unless they have permission to post.

So, basically, they have to act better than some actual family members.

There are some obvious logistics to figure out. The wedding planner has to seat these people somewhere (maybe “Table 9: The Misfits”), and alert the photographer so you don’t end up with an album full of, “Wait, who’s that?”

Right now, Invitin is just a small French startup, but if it takes off, you can bet it’ll hit the U.S., or inspire something similar. Give it a couple years and you’ll be RSVPing “Yes” to a wedding you found on Eventbrite, showing up with a gift card, and telling the bride, “I loved your ceremony. By the way, what’s your name again?”

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