Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Happy Friday! Our top stories today are about: A woman confronting a DoorDasher who she claims stole a previous order from Pizza Hut she had made, how a congressional candidate is convincing people on TikTok they don’t need to pay taxes, a new-fear-unlocked moment where a man shares how a stranger accessed his internet search history, and Southwest Airlines getting dunked on after unveiling their new seats.
After that, the trending team shares with you their pick for “Main Character of the Week.”
Also, it’s Friday, which means it’s time for our weekly news quiz! Just scroll down below to answer the question. If you guess correctly, you might win a web_crawlr shirt.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🍕 VIRAL
‘You owe me $35. You stole my Pizza Hut order the other day’: Customer orders Popeyes through DoorDash. She recognizes the driver
A woman went viral after she posted her interaction with a DoorDash delivery person who, she claims, had stolen her previous order.
🧾 POLITICS
How a congressional candidate convinced TikTok they don’t need to pay taxes anymore
An obscure congressional—and former presidential—candidate is racking up millions of views with his new policy proposal that calls for everyone—and he means everyone—to stop paying taxes.
📡 WTF
‘I am never using anyone’s wifi again’: Man shares how to access someone’s internet search history—after someone did it to him
As far as the greatest fears of anyone living in the 21st Century go, having a stranger find out your internet search history has to be in at least the top five.
💺 FAIL
‘The seats are already rock hard’: Southwest Airlines announces new seats and updated interiors—it backfires
The reveal prompted unhappy travelers to let the airline know that—rather than being impressed by the new design—they will now instead be booking with other airlines in the future thanks to this change.
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Former President Trump recently shared a post where someone compared his looks to a famous musician. Which musician was it?
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👑 Main Character of the Week
By Ramon Ramirez
Managing Editor
Main Character of the Week: Jack Sweeney
Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🍗 The Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday, and what always goes with the Super Bowl? Wings. Here’s the best fake buffalo wings recipe you’ll need to prepare for the big game.
🖐️ A former Smoothie King worker claims he was fired after posting a viral video complaining about customers touching his hand.
🥓 If you’re craving one popular McDonald’s breakfast sandwich but don’t want to jump in the car, here’s a hack that might satisfy your craving.
🚗 A person eminently qualified to talk about car buying—someone who worked in a dealership before—has shared some tips about those big purchases from the inside, including the best time of month to buy a car.
🧠 Here are the origins of the “smooth brain meme,” where “all ideas slide right off.”
👕 A Zara customer captured Zara employees accusing him of stealing the same clothes he wore into the store.
👀 Over the years, self-checkouts have become the norm at more and more establishments, from grocery stores to clothing retailers. But one Five Below customer is wondering what the point of the machines is if employees are still watching your every move.
💵 A server went viral on TikTok after sharing why she’ll no longer tip certain service industry workers 20% of her bill.
👮 From the Daily Dot archive: Police struggle to justify use of Fusus, a community surveillance tool they foisted on citizens.
👋 Before you go
When employers do decide to drug test, they generally use one of several methods. These include urine tests, saliva tests, and in some cases, blood tests.
Another method is a hair test—which TikTok user Tara (@t_com12) recently learned can be a pretty daunting experience.
In a video with over 244,000 views, Tara recounts her experience getting the drug test. The first warning sign, she says, came when she told the testing center that she was getting a hair test.
“[The worker] looks at me like, ‘I’m so sorry,’” Tara recalls. “And I go, ‘Yeah, it’s cool. Like, they should pull a couple pieces out and send them out,’ and she goes, ‘No, they use scissors.’”
It was at this point that Tara discovered that a significant chunk of her hair would be removed.
