The week of October 17, 2015 was practicing our fish gape and singing “The Rose” so loudly alongside Amy Poehler and Jack Black. Also, thank god. Janet is BACK.

We all loved Pizza Rat. But this, our friends, is the Real Rat of New York City.

 

Mash-Ups in the News:

 

Quit Calling It “Ethnic” Food

Let’s stop calling everything that’s not Italian or French food “ethnic” and also let’s stop blaming all of our food poisoning on Chinese restaurants. See: Yelp.

via City Lab

Raising a Transgender Child

Watch this really wonderful video of a mom and her trans son, who identified his gender issues at age 2. And before you say anything, we agree that the most shocking part of this video is their huge Brooklyn apartment. We are jealous.

via Cosmopolitan

“Homeland” Gets Punked by Arab Graffiti Artists

Oops, someone hired Arab-speaking graffiti artists to decorate the set of “Homeland,” and they didn’t consider the fact that much of the Arab community thinks “Homeland” is super anti-Arab. So the artists wrote things like “Homeland is racist,” but no one on the set knew because they don’t speak Arabic. This is fun and also super unsurprising.

via The Guardian

The Beauty of Black Children’s Hairstyles

So much diversity in the different hairdos featured in this delightful photo series.

via For Harriet

Hasan Minhaj on White People at Desi Weddings

“I don’t know if you guys know this but, whenever you guys go to anything remotely ethnic, you guys act like you’re on molly. Like all of my white friends were losing their minds at my wedding. They would be like ‘Oh my god Hasan. Oh. Oh. The colors! Oh. The colors!’”

via NPR

Will German Bread Rise Again?

German bread is now designated an “intangible UNESCO cultural heritage” because apparently German bread making goes back to the Middle Ages. Ssshhh: Don’t tell the Germans about gluten-free everything.

via Al Jazeera America

Hillary Clinton Goes Full Tejana in Texas

We are totally fascinated by how candidates make their stops culturally appropriate, whether it’s blasting Bruce Springsteen in Jersey or dancing on the stage to Selena in Texas.

via Fusion

Donald Trump’s “Where Are You From?” Moment

Donald’s dumb response to a Korean-American kid who challenged him about Korean politics at a forum: “Where are you from?” The kid’s answer: Colorado. Booyakasha.

via NPR

The Unexpected Bat Mitzvah

With all the rebelling we do against our upbringing, sometimes our kids just want to go back to our roots. People are really something.

via NY Times

Ellen DeGeneres Spoofs Nicki Minaj’s Butt. It Does Not Go Well

Oy. Putting a big butt in your pants and mocking a Black woman’s body? No thanks, Ellen. Let’s try again.

via Think Progress

Not All Queer People Come Out, and That’s OK

40% of the homeless youth in the U.S. are LGBTQ, and many ended up homeless after coming out. Sometimes, not coming out is an important act of self care.

via Mashable

“I Was Spiritually Tricked by Witchcraft”

Apparently witchcraft is the fastest growing religion in America after Islam. We don’t totally believe the sources cited in this article, but whole premise of this article is pretty hilarious.

via NY Post

“You Talk White”: Being Black and Articulate

Faking a British accent at auditions because you get less questions for being an articulate Black Brit than an articulate Black American? Check.

via Huffington Post

Why “Mom” and “Dad” Sound Similar in So Many Languages

Really interesting exploration of the fact that your baby is making the easiest sound with their mouth “mamamama” and directing it towards someone, who turns out usually to be their mother, so that becomes your name. But seriously, Mom, Mama, Nana, Dad, Papa, Dada, Tata…you can’t deny that there’s something there!

via The Atlantic