Category: Internet Culture

Coronavirus distractions: This ridiculous dart flip is the most impressive challenge yet

We’ve reached the “throw darts at basketballs” phase of sports deprivation.

With millions of people responsibly staying at home and practicing social distancing to help curb the spread of coronavirus, we’ve seen the rise of several new viral challenges on social media. Hawks superstar Trae Young popularized the #InHouseChallenge, a modified three-point contest using balled up socks and a basket, a boxer set a ridiculously high bar with a medicine ball challenge, and Baker Mayfield attempted the push-up challenge on a live stream and was promptly roasted for his form.

Charles Renninger, who goes by @ManMythBeard on social media, aced a phenomenal new dart challenge – and couldn’t believe his result. You’ve seen the bottle flip challenge, where the object is to flip a partially-filled bottle of water and have it land standing up? ManMythBeard upped the difficulty by exchanging the bottle for a standard dart, and attempted to land the tip of the dart inside the air valve of a basketball. With almost zero margin for error, he flipped his dart, called out ‘Kobe,’ and watched it nail the target perfectly. The markings on the table would suggest he previously had missed plenty of times, but still, to pull this off before you get bored or rage quit is pretty impressive.

@ManMythBeard also shared another crazy dart challenge, where he throws a ball behind his back, attempts to throw a dart to pop a balloon while the ball is in midair, and then catch the ball with the same hand he threw the dart with.

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The reporter escaping a herd of bison in Yellowstone National Park is the meme we all need right now

LOL!

NBC Montana reporter Deion Broxton was just trying to do a shoot from Yellowstone National Park when he looked over and saw a herd of bison heading in his direction.

So he did what anyone would do in that situation: he uttered, “Oh no, I ain’t messing with you,” packed up and bolted. Smart man.

He then uploaded the footage to Twitter — by the way, he did end up with a shot of the bison in question! — and became a viral star, and of course that means he became a meme.

Here’s a sampling, including some sports takes on the video, starting with the original footage:

The GIF is the best:

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How to use Jackbox to play virtual games over video chat with your friends

A good way to have fun while you’re doing social distancing.

The other day, while on a video chat with a pair of my friends, one of them mentioned that we could totally do a night of trivia for our next conference call by using something called Jackbox (which made it to our super-helpful list of 34 video games you should be playing to get through quarantine).

I had so many questions, and it seems like a lot of other people do, and that’s where this comes in.

It’s a series of trivia games put out by Jackbox Games that you can play, and by using Jackbox TV, you can actually connect and have the host screenshare the game on a video meeting service like Zoom or Google Hangouts. Here are the steps:

1. Someone needs to have purchased a Jackbox title

Let’s call that person the “host” to make it easy to describe. That person should launch the game on their computer.

2. The host should share their screen on their favorite video meeting service

Hangouts, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, whatever. If you’re the host, find the button that shares your screen with the other people on your call.

3. Go to Jackbox.TV and enter the code you see

It’s a four-letter code for your specific room, and you enter it using your phone.

4. Start playing!

That’s it!

And if none of that made sense, well, fine, here’s a video from Jackbox Games:

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Everything you need to know about Animal Crossing: New Horizons

DON’T TRUST TOM NOOK.

If you’ve logged on to the internet in the last week or so, you’ve probably seen a lot of tweets about money hungry raccoons named Tom or animals crossing…. or something.

Don’t be alarmed. I assure you everything is OK. The social distancing hasn’t gotten to people’s heads just yet. There are just a bunch of people on your Twitter timeline playing Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons that released over the weekend for Switch.

Confused as to what that is? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here. This is everything you need to know about Animal Crossing.

So, what is Animal Crossing?

Animal Crossing is Nintendo’s tentpole social simulator franchise that launched in 2001. Think about it like you’d think about the Sims — except it’s much more chill and you can plant trees, fish and perform other work-related tasks for bells (cash).

It’s latest title, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is a Nintendo Switch exclusive and the franchise’s first installment since 2012 when Animal Crossing: New Leaf dropped for the Nintendo 3DS — great game, btw.

So what do you do in animal crossing?

So, in this game you’re transported to a deserted island owned by Nook Incorporated (more on that later) and your overall goal, ultimately, is to turn it into a utopia.

On day one you’re given a tent and sent on missions to set the other islanders up. Eventually, you start to fish, collect fossils, and perform other tasks to make the island a habitable space.

What kind of animal are you?

You’re not. At the jump you get to create your own human and then you’re off on your deserted island experience with your new raccoon buddies, Timmy and Tommy. Wild, I know.

Wait, where are the animals?!? I want animals!

So you live on this island with a bunch of animals that have human-like traits. They walk, talk and interact with you as if they were people — just with animal heads.

More and more animals visit the island as the game progresses and it’s your job to build it up and convince them that it’s a nice place to live.

What is all this I’m seeing about raccoons?

DON’T TRUST ‘EM.

Nook Inc. is a family-owned business run by Tom Nook (the dad raccoon) and his two kids Timmy and Tommy. Once you get to the island, Tom hooks you up with a tent that you eventually pay off.

After that they hook you up with a loan of a whopping 98,000 bells (the island’s currency) to buy a house from Nook. You are eventually able to upgrade your house… for another 198,000 bells from Nook. And that’s kind of how the game goes.

You’re basically Nook’s island servant…but you still have a ton of fun fishing and farming and junk so it’s all good!

So should I play this game?

Absolutely! It’s exactly the kind of calming fun that you’re looking for right now while you’re social distancing. There’s online multiplayer, so if you can get it and convince your friends to get it you’re all set.

If you have a Nintendo Switch, you can get it for $59.99 from the Nintendo store right now. If can swing it, it’s a good time.

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People are creating sports and games to play against their cats during coronavirus lockdown

Cat tic-tac-toe? Cat tic-tac-toe!

If you’ve been responsibly practicing social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, you might be getting a little bored at home, especially as there’s almost zero sports to watch.

Some very inventive people are finding new ways to entertain themselves by…. creating sports to play with their cat. If you have a cat at home, you might want to give one of these games a shot. If you have a dog, you’re welcome to try (and should definitely film the results for the benefit of the internet).

Cat cricket

Cat tic-tac-toe

Cat air hockey

Cat bowling

Cat dominoes

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PlayStation 5: How to watch Sony’s PS5 presentation on Wednesday

Sony is giving a “deep dive” into the PS5 on Wednesday.

Gamers have been waiting for years for a new generation of consoles, and assuming the coronavirus doesn’t force delays, you should finally be able to upgrade from your Xbox One or PS4 later this year. Microsoft has already unveiled its new Xbox Series X, and on Wednesday afternoon, Sony will provide a “deep dive” on the upcoming PlayStation 5.

The PlayStation Twitter account announced that Mark Cerny will give a presentation that was reportedly originally scheduled to occur at the 2020 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which was canceled due to coronavirus. The live stream will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET, and you can watch on the PlayStation Blog website.

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Author starts a heartwarming movement to help people with their bills during the coronavirus crisis

This is so heartwarming.

The coronavirus has already become devastating financially for many.

The local barber shops, the nail salons, the mom and pop shops around your neighborhood? They’re all going to struggle to make ends meet this month, and many who work in the service industry are facing job instability.

Nobody wants to leave their homes and, for the people that have to go out survive, they aren’t getting along well.

And that’s where basketball super fan and author Shea Serrano is coming in. In one of the most kind gestures you’ll see online, Serrano is offering up his own money to pay people’s bills as they go through this tough time.

(Warning: Tweets contain some profanity)

He’s really out here giving people money.

He gave away so much money that, apparently, he reached the limit on how much money you could actually give away on Venmo.

Others were inspired by Serrano’s kindness and began offering to help strangers with their bills as well.

Shoutout to Shea, and everyone else who has contributed to help others. This is the best thing I’ve seen in a while.

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Poll: Is it acceptable to recline your seat on a packed airplane?

A viral video has the internet divided.

A viral video shot in the middle of the flight has sparked a furious debate over travel etiquette on social media. If you haven’t seen the polarizing footage already, the video gives us a fascinating snapshot into a fierce battle between two travelers simply trying to relax in the confined space of an economy section.

In the video, a passenger sitting in what looks to be the back of a plane, up against a wall, attempts to watch a video on his phone with his tray table deployed. The only problem? The passenger sitting directly in front of him has reclined their seat, driving his tray table right up against his torso. In retaliation, the passenger in the back is shown rocking the seat of the passenger in the front, in an apparent attempt to get them to move their seat to an upright position.

We don’t know about the backstory here, and we have a lot of questions. Was there a prior negotiation? Did the passenger in the back repeatedly ask for more space before advancing to continuous seat punching?

Still, this is the internet, and you have to choose a side. Are you #TeamRecline or #TeamSeatPunch. Cast your vote below.

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FTW Explains: Don’t fall for the #BroomChallenge hoax

Why are so many people balancing brooms?

A new viral trend is, uh, sweeping across the internet this week, and if you’ve been on social media at all, your feed is likely filled with photos and videos of brooms. What’s going on, and why are people so amazed that a broom can stand on its end? We’re here to help.

How did all this begin?

According to a viral tweet, NASA announced that February 10th, 2020, is the only day you can balance a standard broom on its bristles, due to the “gravitational pull” of the Earth.

Wait, is that true?

No, of course not.

You’re telling me I can still balance a broom on February 11th, and any other day?

Go get a broom! I’ll wait.

Will people stop posting photos and videos of themselves balancing brooms once they learn it’s a hoax?

Doubtful.

Are The Brands going to use this to harvest likes?

You bet.

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The new ‘Dolly Parton Challenge’ is taking over social media

Dolly Parton continues to be the best.

Dolly Parton is the true GOAT and I don’t think anyone would argue against that.

But if you need one more line for her extremely long resume, here you go: she started a meme — I’m not sure it was intentional but either way, so awesome! — by posting a quartet of photos of herself, labeling them as if she was posting them on various social media platforms. There’s the more formal one you’d use for LinkedIn, a more artistic-looking one for Instagram and so on. “Get you a woman who can do it all,” she wrote.

And now, people are working 9 to 5 (I’m contractually obligated to make that joke, sorry not sorry) to take on the Dolly Parton Challenge.

Here’s the original:

And because we’re For The Win, here are some sports takes on it:

Some famous people took it on:

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When my agent asks if I can play different roles.

A post shared by Ellen DeGeneres (@theellenshow) on

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Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.

A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on

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Get a guy who will play them all ✨

A post shared by Mark Ruffalo (@markruffalo) on

We got something going on.

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