“Simple” Math Equation Sparks War on Social Media

By
Monica Pop
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The Internet used to be the place people reached for whenever they needed instructions or information, but nowadays it seems it’s a place they use to vent their frustrations and many times get into arguments with people they’ve never met. And sometimes, a “simple” math equation can be enough reason for a “war” to start between social media users. If you wonder what we are speaking about hear this.

Just recently, someone posted this on Facebook, 8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ?, and wrote, “only 1 in 1,000,000 can solve this simple equation.” Well, based on the stir it caused, it’s not that simple after all.

Based on what thousands of people commented, the opinions are divided between the following answers, 1 and 16.

Even different calculators give different results.

Of course, not everyone is trying to find the answer to this mysterious math problem. Believe me, many are here because of the comments and people’s arguments.

It turns out that politics isn’t the only topic that makes people feel like they have to share their opinions about. Psychologists say that the huge number of people “fighting” about things like this equation is that they have to show the rest of the online world how smart they are.

Academic Sian Beilock of the University of Chicago says that when these debates of who’s right and who’s wrong make people feel like jerks at the end once they realize they are investing too much time and energy convincing others why their answer is the best one. “Often people feel the most stressed when the audience is made up of people they know. It’s very painful to fall on your face in front of your friends and family,” Beilock explained.

When we were at school, teachers taught us that mathematics is a subject without ambiguity, so how is it possible for a math task to have two different answers? Mathematicians explain that same as the syntax of a language, equations are solved by “reading” them the proper way, or ordering the operations the right way. PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses Exponents Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction is how we were told operations are ordered. Based on this common knowledge, the answer to this popular equation is 1. But is it really like that?

This simple task really shows the lack of our educational system to teach students the ambiguity and the beauty of the subject of mathematics.

Most of the social media users who provided an answer agree that what is in parenthesis should be calculated first, the problem arouses when they have to decided whether division or multiplication comes next. Based on what you choose to do first, the answer is different, of course.

In such cases, we use the most common standard convention, which says operations are done from from left to right. What it means in this case is that division comes first and the correct answer is 16.

Steven Strogatz, a professor of mathematics at Cornell, said, “No professional mathematician would ever write something so obviously ambiguous. We would insert parentheses to indicate our meaning and to signal whether the division should be carried out first, or the multiplication.”

At the end, we have to agree that our education system many times fails to teach us how to think outside the box, a so-much needed trait for solving many everyday problems.

Lonely Elderly Lady Sticks a Touching Note on Building’s Front Door Asking Neighbors to Help Her

By
Monica Pop
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If you have a bigger family you live with under one roof maybe the social distancing we are forced to respect because of the coronavirus pandemic won’t fall hard on you. Sadly, there are people who live all alone and they find it hard to cope with the lockdowns and not being able to socialize with their family and friends. This is especially true for the elderly citizens, which can be seen from this story about a loving 72-year-old lady from London.

Source: Schriever Air Force Base

She has always been independent, but now, because of this social distancing thing, she needed the help from her neighbors and she wasn’t afraid to ask for it. Namely, she ran out of books and DVD’s and was getting quite bored without any so she stuck a note on the front door of the building where she resides.

The note, that later vent viral, said how she was spending her days “going round the twist” without any books to read. But will her neighbors be so kind as to answer to this lady’s recquest?

Source: Connie Bliff/Twitter

The answer will surprise you.

One of the neighbors, Connie Bliff, who took the photo of the note and later shared it online, rushed upstairs to grab some of her books and DVD’s she believed this lady would find enjoyable. But as she went to her front door, she saw many of the neighbors already offered their books as there was a pile there.

The elderly lady couldn’t believe how kind and generous her neighbors were, so she stuck another note thanking everyone for taking their time and thinking of her.

Source: Connie Bliff/Twitter

Maybe this doesn’t sound like much, but it’s obvious it meant the world to this lady.

After Connie shared both notes on Twitter, she didn’t expect so many people to see them and retweet them. Some of the comments said:

Source: Connie Bliff/Twitter

This story helped Connie raise awareness of the importance of helping the elderly during these tough times for the humanity. She asked from people to help their lonely neighbors as much as they can.

Don’t forget that even the smallest acts of kindness can truly go a long way.

Grandma Pays for Hot Dogs, Her Sister Insists on Paying Her Back and It Leads to a Hilarious Argument

By
Monica Pop
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Did you get the chance to check one of the best YouTube accounts out there, that of Grandma and Ginga? If not, this is your chance to see one of their cutest and most hilarious videos.

These two sisters are living by the rule that no one should ever pay for their stuff, but themselves. They don’t even want to take money from one another. But what happens when one of them tries to buy the other one some hot dogs? Well, you have to check that out yourself.

Genevieve and Arlene, who go by the names Gee and Ginga were driving around with Gee’s daughter when Ginga payed for the hot dogs. Of course, Gee who is the older sister, 104 years old to be exact, was looking for some money in her purse. When she finally found them, she rolled the cash and handed it to Ginga, who is 99 years old. And that’s when their argument started.

“Hey Arlene, take this,” said Gee. But Gee pretended she had no idea why her sister was offering her money and kept asking, “What is it for?” to what Gee answered, “Take it. I’ll tell you later what it’s for.”

Gee insisted her sister take the money as much as Ginga refused to do so. She even tried to persuade her saying, “I’m getting tired holding it.”

At one point, Ginga revealed the very much obvious reason for their senseless “argument” saying, “I bought those hot dogs.”

Gee’s daughter have seen these kinds of situations many times before, so she was just waiting for the outcome of the “money fight” between these lovely sisters.

And yes, as expected, Gee would stop at nothing until she makes Ginga take the money for the food she bought. But when Gee says, “Please take it! You went and got all the hot dogs,” Ginga replies, “So what? I don’t give a shit.”

Someone watching this hilarious video wrote, “Love old people who talk like sailors lol…”

In fact, understanding the next part of their conversation was a bit hard, as all we heard Ginga say is, “You put your rambom buh. I’m not give you no napkins. Gee, I got you napkins. Gee, that haptom bee.” But as the video goes on, we understand she’s trying to threaten her sister that she won’t give her any of the napkins if she continues offering the money.

When the time came for Gee’s daughter to get some gas at the gas station she got out of the car, filled up the tank, and paid for it herself. Of course, she wasn’t ready for another money argument.

The video has been seen by more than 1.4 million people who agree how these two ladies are beyond sweet and hilarious. One person wrote, “One thing I admire about Ginga and that’s after watching all these videos, that she is a class act when it comes to handling money.. never wants free stuff and pays people right back in her own way. Respect!!”

You definitely don’t want to miss this video. Check it out below and make sure you share it with your friends.

5-year-old Girl Celebrates Last Day of Chemo with a Parade of 80 Cars

By
Monica Pop
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Rosie Schutter isn’t your ordinary 5-year-old girl. She’s a warrior who battled a 5-pound tumor and ended up winner. Now her family is celebrating life and are over the moon to have their sweet daughter home again, healthy and happy.

However, it isn’t just the members of her household who are excited for Rosie to be out of the hospital, but the rest of her family members and friends as well. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing that is taking place all over the world, they weren’t able to visit her in her home. That’s why they came up with a super cool idea, to organize a car parade in front of her house.

Seeing all those people being there just for her made sweet Rosie excited. She felt like a princess and waved at them as she greeted each and every one of the family members and friends with a huge smile on her face.

“It’s been four or five days here where we’ve only been able to video chat. So even just getting my wife and Rosie back home today was super emotional, but just to see our friends and family come by and see her light up, so excited,” said Steve Schuter, Rosie’s father.

Rosie was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer that affects children some time ago, but had her surgery back in October 2019. Up until this day, she was receiving chemotherapy treatments, and this awesome car parade celebrated her last round of chemo.

All the signs and honks made this girl’s day even better. Steve said how she still has a couple more outpatient treatments, and this parade was the perfect thing to boost her spirit and remind her of how much she’s loved by everyone.

“She’s kind of become her old social self again. So something like this is just right up her alley. Just being able to see everybody and say hi and so I just absolutely love to see how happy it made her,” Steve added.

Take a look at the video of this special celebration below and don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Nurse Tested Positive for Coronavirus Begged Doctors “Don’t Let Me Die”

By
Monica Pop
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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, when governments from all over the world are taking precautions that would help stop the spread of the virus, we realize that it’s our frontline healthcare workers who put their safety and even life on the line. For that, we are forever grateful. Sadly, there individuals aren’t spared and are very likely to be affected by the virus themselves.

One British nurse shares her story of how she got the disease and how she fought against it.

Kelly Ward, 35, recalls the day, April 19, when she first felt the symptoms. She told Daily Mirror how she suddenly felt weak when she finished her shift at the Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Kelly was sure that uncomfortable feeling was a result of lacking a rest, so she went home and decided to take some. But as it turned out, her symptoms only got worse as time passed by. Eventually, her line manager at the hospital advised her to call an ambulance and get tested for the virus.

She was tested positive and struggled to breath, so she was soon placed on oxygen and transferred to a high dependency unit. Kelly was worried and feared for her life, but it was after she agreed to be part of a clinical trial for the virus treatment that she got even more scared and started to panic.

“I was seen by the medical team who were quite concerned and wanted to put me on a CPAP machine to help my breathing and they wanted to do it NOW,” told Daily Mirror.

“I hadn’t seen my kids of Ryan, my family, my friends and what if I go worse and the treatment didn’t work.”

Kelly remembers begging her colleagues to not let her die.

Luckily, after 24 hours, Kelly started regaining her strength. The symptoms became milder and milder and she was finally released from hospital. Speaking of her battle against the coronavirus, she describes it as “blur.”

We are very happy Kelly recovered and is now doing great. We hope everyone who got infected will eventually manage to fight the virus off. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected and with our brave healthcare workers. You are our heroes!

Utah Couple Killed by Intruder While Their 3 Kids Slept Upstairs During the Fatal Attack

By
Monica Pop
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On April 18, the lives of two young parents of three, 31-year-old Tony and 30-year-old Katherine Butterfield, ended in a horrific manner. The two were killed in their own home while their children slept upstairs, unaware their mommy and daddy will forever be gone.

The attack was reported by one of the neighbors who heard screaming and gunshots. When the West Jordan police arrived at the crime scene, they found the body of Toni in the backyard, while Katherine’s was inside the home. A blood trail indicated that the two didn’t die without a fight and the killer was probably injured or stubbed before they managed to escape.

The news of the killing disturbed Utah citizens. The families of the couple were devastated. They mourned the loss of Toni and Katherine and were left heartbroken for their three angels who are now orphans.

The GoFundMe page set up to help raise funds for the sweet children read, “Our hearts are broken as we mourn the tragic loss of Tony & Katherine Butterfield and are concerned what comes next for their three surviving children… While we are so grateful that their children were not harmed, we are devastated at the loss of their loving parents.”

Those who knew her, describe Katherine as the most caring person ever. And the same goes for her husband Toni, who was said to be the best friend anyone could ever ask for. The GoFundMe page said Katherine was “a ray of sunshine with a vibrant smile” and Tony was “always ready with a witty remark that kept everyone laughing.”

The couple was further described as hardworking. They had their own business and Toni gave many people a job.

Katherine’s brother Aaron Crane said, “I had the privilege of working alongside Tony, and though problems would arise, I never once saw him complain or raise his voice. He was a well-balanced man.”

West Jordan police reported how they made a break in the investigation and arrested 31-year-old Albert Enoch Johnson who they believe is the person responsible of the killing. As for now, no formal charges have been pressed, however. His wife, 29-year-old Sina Johnson faces charges for obstruction of justice. She confessed how her husband, the suspect, knew the Utah couple as he tried getting a job in their landscaping company in the past.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, only few family members were allowed to attend the funeral of Toni and Katherine, and the rest could watch the service online. They all said how they will be there for the kids and will make sure they know how much their parents loved them.

The family hopes the GoFundMe page will help them raise enough funds to secure the children’s future.

“At this devastatingly difficult time, we sincerely request your generosity in making a donation, in honor of Tony & Katherine’s memory, to aid and support their beautiful little family,” the page says. “We know that there is nothing that we can do to bring back the parents of these dear children, but we earnestly hope that we can provide some measure of assurance and security for their future needs.”

We are so deeply saddened because of this tragedy. Our love and prayers are with the three children who lost their parents.

Terrified Mother Brutally Beaten by Husband as She Shielded 3-day-old Baby

By
Monica Pop
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A terrified mother from UK who got brutally attacked by her vicious husband is encouraging victims of domestic violence not to stay silent, because there is always a way out. 

Kerry Armstrong got severely beaten while trying to protect her 3-day-old son and used her body as a shield. Her husband, Gary Peoples then assaulted Armstrong’s 13-year-old daughter who witnessed the attack over her mom and tried to prevent it. 

The incident happened inside their family home, and Peoples wouldn’t let Armstrong get out. The poor woman couldn’t ask for help. But she eventually managed to escape the house and drove herself to her mom’s place. When her brother saw her bruised and bloody eyes and body, he immediately alerted the authorities. 

Shortly after, Peoples was arrested and charged with domestic violence. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison. 

Armstrong now spreads her story along with the photos of the injuries she sustained hoping other victims will be encouraged to step forward and prevent what is happening behind closed doors. 

Domestic violence can affect everyone, but if we stay silent, no one would be there to lend us a helping hand. 

“It has been quite a long time since this happened and it has been hard to get to this point,” Armstrong told BelfastLive.

 

“At times I just wanted to give up but I was determined to go through with it on behalf of other women who have suffered and who are still suffering from the effects of domestic violence.”

By sharing Armstrong’s story you will help her reach her goal of rising awareness of the devastating consequences of domestic violence.

Generous Woman Let Man Stay in Her Garage Temporarily– Now He Refuses to Leave

By
Monica Pop
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We tend to believe that the kindness we offer to others is what makes this world go round. But is it possible for the good deeds we do get us in trouble? Sadly, in the case of a kind-hearted woman named Silvia Arocha the answer to this question is yes.

When she met this man who was obviously down on his luck and trying to get down on his feet again she felt sorry and decided to let him stay in her garage. She used to rent the place that provided her with some additional income, but now she is left paying for the bills herself as it’s been three months already and the “guest” refuses to leave.

Speaking to Fox News, Sylvia who is 67 years old, says that she fears for her own safety and “feels like an idiot” for welcoming that man in the first place.

“He said he’s not going to move he has rights,” she added.

Sylvia is paying for his electricity bills, which are around $300 per month and that severely affects her finances.

The case has been reported to the police numerous times, not only by Sylvia, but her neighbors who complain of the man’s screaming and yelling.

Sadly, this woman is now unable to stay in her own home as she’s too afraid to be near this man’s side, so she spends time with family members.

“I’m afraid of him, I really am afraid of him,” Sylvia. “I don’t know what else to do.”

She truly hopes authorities will help her have this cruel man evicted from her garage as soon as possible. And we hope so too. But with the rule of banning evictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, it doesn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.

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