pop culture – Topical Fruit

Shooter McGavin Has Been Voted the Biggest Pop Culture Jerk of All Time

If pop culture has taught us anything, it’s that we love to argue about fictional people almost as much as real ones. And now we have a brand new reason to fight in the group chat. TheRinger.com did a March Madness-style bracket to determine the biggest pop culture jerk of all time, and the final winner is a name Adam Sandler fans know very well.

Shooter McGavin is officially the biggest pop culture jerk ever.

The smug, trash-talking golf villain from “Happy Gilmore” squeaked out a narrow victory in the championship round, beating Eric Cartman from “South Park” with 54% of the vote. That is a tight finish, especially considering Cartman has spent decades being aggressively awful to just about everyone within shouting distance.

The tournament started with a massive field of 64 fictional jerks pulled from movies, TV shows, and cartoons. We’re talking about a truly stacked lineup of unpleasant personalities. Early competitors included Draco Malfoy, Gollum, Stifler from “American Pie”, Newman from “Seinfeld”, Jerry from “Tom & Jerry”, and Biff Tannen from “Back to the Future”. Right away, it was clear this bracket was not messing around.

The list got even more chaotic when you dug deeper. Phil Connors from “Groundhog Day” made an appearance, along with Larry David playing a version of himself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Squidward from “SpongeBob SquarePants” was there, Veruca Salt from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” showed up, and Jim Halpert from “The Office” was thrown into the mix.

Jim’s inclusion raised a few eyebrows, but if you look at the show through the eyes of Dwight, Roy, or especially Toby, it makes sense. Jim did manage to beat Real Housewife Ramona Singer in the first round, but his run ended when he lost to Biff in the next matchup.

When the dust settled, the Final Four came down to Shooter McGavin, Eric Cartman, Biff Tannen, and Larry David. That is an impressive group of people you would absolutely avoid at a party. In the end, Shooter’s combination of arrogance, constant trash talk, and total lack of self-awareness pushed him over the top.

There is also something deeply funny about Larry David almost winning a tournament for playing a jerk based on himself. If anything, that feels like the kind of result he would appreciate the most.

So congrats to Shooter McGavin, who now holds the most prestigious and completely meaningless title in pop culture history. And if you disagree with the result, do not worry. That just means the bracket did its job.

How Often Do We Listen to Music? For One in Four, the Answer Is: Always

If you feel like life should have a soundtrack, you’re in good company.

One in four Americans, according to a new YouGov poll, say they more or less always have music on, turning their daily routines into personal concerts.

23% listen to music “almost all the time”

The jumps to 36% for younger listeners as Gen Z’s headphones continue the process of fusing to their skull. Another 44% of Americans listen daily.

Not everyone listens to music

18% only pump the tunes a few times a week, 13% said even less than that, and then there’s the elusive 2% who claim they never listen to music at all, which… we don’t even know what to do with. Silence? On purpose?

Who’d you listen to this year?

The numbers dropped alongside Spotify’s annual Wrapped feature, the thing that lets everyone flex their favorite artists and songs from the past year—or quietly hide them, depending on how 2025 went for your playlists. (3% of us think our taste in music is so cringe, we’d rather keep it a secret.)

A quarter of people say their musical taste evolved over the past year. Maybe they got into jazz, finally gave in to K-pop, or circled back to emo after pretending they’d outgrown it. As for the rest of us? We stuck with our tried-and-true faves like it was still 2011.

So whether you’re blasting music all day or saving it for special moments, the numbers don’t lie – America’s love for music is still going strong, earbuds in and volume up.

Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year Is “Rage Bait”

Oxford English Dictionary just dropped its Word of the Year, and by definition, it’s infuriating.

If you’ve spent more than 10 seconds on any social media app or news site (or in the comments section of either), you’ve experienced it: rage bait.

What is “rage bait”?

Oxford’s definition is “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.” In other words, it’s the reason you can’t scroll through your feed for five minutes without wanting to throw your phone into the sea.

An old term that got trendy

Oxford says use of the term “rage bait” tripled in 2025 even though it’s not exactly new. The first known use dates all the way back to 2002, when someone used it on an internet forum to describe the pure fury of getting tailgated on the highway. That’s right, rage bait existed before Twitter, TikTok, or even Facebook – it just used to happen in traffic instead of on your For You page.

The announcement is rage bait for grammar nerds

Funny enough, the selection of “rage bait” itself has some people enraged. Grammar sticklers are melting down over the fact that Oxford’s “word” of the year is technically two words. (You can almost hear the collective sound of a thousand red pens snapping in half.)

We only have ourselves to blame

Rage bait exists because it works. Social media algorithms thrive on outrage, and nothing spreads faster than a post that makes you mad enough to comment, “You’re an idiot” or “This is why society is doomed.”

Oxford’s team says they chose “rage bait” because it perfectly captures “the public mood and online discourse” this year – which, let’s be honest, has been a chaotic mix of dunking, doomscrolling, and deep sighs.

So the next time you’re tempted to click on a headline that makes your blood pressure spike, remember… “It’s a trap!“

20 Iconic Beach Scenes That Still Make Waves in Pop Culture

Summer’s here, the sunscreen’s out, and whether you’re actually beach-bound or just dreaming from your desk, it’s the perfect time to relive some of the best beach moments ever captured on screen. “Entertainment Weekly“ pulled together a salty, sun-drenched list of pop culture’s most unforgettable beach scenes—and honestly, it’s a total vibe.

Let’s dive in (with SPF 50, obviously).

1. “Jaws” (1975)
Beach terror hits its peak with the frantic rush of swimmers fleeing the water.

2. “Baywatch” (1989–2001)
An entire TV show dedicated to slow-mo running on the sand. Red swimsuits, dramatic rescues, and a generation of people suddenly motivated to become lifeguards.

3. “The Notebook” (2004)
“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams get romantic and soggy in a beachside moment of pure rom-dram.

4. “Point Break” (1991)
Patrick Swayze’s final, defiant surf into a deadly wave is haunting and beautiful. A perfect exit.

5. “Casino Royale” (2006)
Daniel Craig walks out of the ocean in tight blue trunks, flipping the traditional Bond girl moment on its head. Internet = broken.

6. “The 400 Blows” (1959)
In Truffaut’s French New Wave masterpiece, young Antoine finally reaches the ocean. His frozen, pensive stare into the camera has haunted cinephiles ever since.

7. “Barbie” (2023)
Ryan Gosling’s Ken gets ultra competitive with Simu Liu’s Ken in a “beach off.” Bonus: Venice Beach plays a starring role when Barbie ventures into the real world, sparkles and all.

8. “From Here to Eternity” (1953)
No beach list is complete without this one: Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling around in the surf mid-affair. Waves crashing. Passion overflowing. Absolute classic.

9. “The Office” (2007)
“Beach Games” features Michael Scott leading the Dunder Mifflin crew in ridiculous competitions. Fun fact: it’s actually a lake. But the energy is very beach.

10. “Planet of the Apes” (1968)
The Statue of Liberty buried in sand. The twist. The existential horror. All thanks to one chilling beach reveal.

11. “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003)
Demi Moore struts out of the ocean while Little Surfer Girl plays. Sass, style, and surf—it’s peak early-2000s camp.

12. “Happy Days” (1977)
The origin of the phrase “jumping the shark,” literally. Fonzie water-skis over a shark while wearing his leather jacket on the episode, “Hollywood: Part 3”. Television, folks.

13. “Mad Men” (2013)
Don Draper might be in paradise in the episode “The Doorway”, but this Hawaiian beach scene reveals a man haunted by existential dread, all while reading Dante’s Inferno in the sun.

14. “Die Another Day” (2002)
Speaking of Bond girls: Halle Berry’s slow-mo strut from the sea in an orange bikini became instant film history.

15. “Top Gun” (1986)
Shirtless, sweaty volleyball with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. Need we say more?

16. “The Karate Kid” (1984)
Wax on, wax off. And yes, that includes Ralph Macchio learning the iconic crane kick right there on the sand.

17. “Chariots of Fire” (1981)
That opening scene . . . runners charging along a wind-whipped beach to the Vangelis synth score . . . pure cinematic gold.

18. “Friends” (1997)
“The One with the Jellyfish” gave us way too much info about first aid, and peeing on someone to help them.

19. “Saving Private Ryan” (1998)
One of the most harrowing depictions of D-Day ever filmed, as Tom Hanks and company land on Omaha Beach. Brutal. Important. Unforgettable.

20. “Splash” (1984)
Tom Hanks meets Daryl Hannah (as a literal mermaid) in a dreamy, sandy, fish-out-of-water moment that launched a thousand beachy rom-coms.