TMZ asks for vacation photos of Congress—and the people love it
Plus: Homemade "coffee yogurt" trends online.
Happy Monday!
Here are the latest trending internet culture stories today:
It’s always surprising when people are actually praising TMZ. This time, it’s because they’ve asked everyone to send in photos of politicians skipping town amid a partial government shutdown.
Social media users are trying out “coffee yogurt,” one of the most divisive, protein-overloaded food trends on TikTok.
A new website is bringing back the glorious (and frustratingly slow-loading) Flash websites of the early internet.
See you next time,
— W.J.
⚡️ Today in Internet Culture
“Make politicians accountable”: TMZ is earning surprising goodwill after asking for photos of vacationing lawmakers
Did TMZ actually do something good? The celebrity-focused tabloid known for breaking stories of deaths and scandals is receiving praise from all over after its latest move.
A partial U.S. government shutdown began in February, following a funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in addition to other agencies. This has impacted travel for people across the United States. TSA agents are not currently being paid, leading to long airport lines and calls for members of Congress to be fired.
“Makes you want to quit the internet”: The coffee yogurt drink trend divides viewers. Is it disgusting or a smart way to get protein?
The “coffee yogurt” drink naturally gained a lot of traction among the gym rat crowd for its pre-workout components that include caffeine from coffee, electrolytes from coconut water and salt, and, of course, protein from Greek yogurt.
Novelty-obsessed foodies who are coffee-yogurt curious are responding with coffee-yogurt content of their own. Others aren’t convinced—in fact, some are downright repulsed by the idea of adding tart, tangy yogurt to coffee.
Newgrounds Roulette shuffles through the iconic (and sometimes forgotten) Flash animations of the early internet
A fun new website is bringing our nostalgia for Flash videos to the forefront by shuffling through classic Newgrounds animations. Although it originated in the 1990s, Newgrounds hit its stride in the 2000s primarily as a host for Adobe Flash-based animations—videos, games, memes, and more.
At the time, Adobe Flash had become the easiest way for people to get their weird ideas out to the world, and centralized platforms like Newgrounds and Ebaum’s World were popping up to help them find an audience.
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🕸️ Crawling the Web
🤕 “Accused me of watching too much TikTok”: Patients are sharing the worst things medical professionals said to them
🍟 The KPop Demon Hunters collaboration with McDonald’s is splitting fans: some want to boycott, others can’t wait
📲 Dad’s Disney trip keeps getting derailed by work—so his daughter edits it like a horror movie
🎮 Players agree that “Pokopia” is a chill and relaxing game—except for one yucky feature
🍽️ Trader Joe’s customer opens mac and cheese. Then she spots the bunny on the packet
📝 “Insider secrets” people shared from their professions that are worth writing down
🐕 UPS drivers are posting the cutest dogs along their delivery routes on Facebook
🎤 Vince Vaughn tells Theo Von that he thinks late-night hosts are too political
▶️ 15 YouTubers who turned their image around, according to Redditors
🐿️ The squirrels are vaping, and no one can handle it
🔥 Hot on the Dot
This was the most-read story on the Daily Dot yesterday:
➤ Druski parodied Erika Kirk in his latest comedy bit, and conservatives aren’t happy