Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
I hope your weekend is off to a good start! Our top stories for you today are about: A Dunkin’ worker filming himself as he got stuck in the store’s bathroom, the internet melting down after comedian Larry David slapped Elmo on the TODAY show, why people think Moana 2 and Wicked: Part One will create the 2024-version of ‘Barbenheimer,’ and how the internet reacted when it found out how many employees DocuSign had.
After that, we’ve got a brand new “Meme History” column for you.
P.S. — If you didn’t take our weekly news quiz yesterday, you still can! Just open yesterday’s newsletter to answer the question. If you guess correctly, you might win a web_crawlr shirt.
See ya next week!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🚽 WTF
‘I’m gonna die in here, aren’t I?’: Dunkin’ worker gets stuck in the bathroom. His manager blames him
A Dunkin’ worker caught the moment he got stuck in the store’s bathroom during his shift on video, and now it’s viral.
🖐️ VIRAL
‘ELMO IS A CHILD’: Larry David’s play slap of Sesame Street character prompts complete online meltdown
Comedian Larry David attacked Sesame Street’s Elmo on NBC’s TODAY show, prompting jokes, memes, and a multitude of online reactions.
🎬 CULTURE
‘Moana 2’ and ‘Wicked: Part One’ are being released on the same day—will it be 2024’s ‘Barbenheimer’?
“Watch out ‘Barbenheimer,’ here comes ‘Moaned‘.”
💻 TECH
‘I would have guessed like 12’: DocuSign layoffs have the internet shook (again) about how many people work at DocuSign
While a steady drumbeat of tech layoffs have been in the news since the beginning of 2023, it was the fact that DocuSign had over 7,000 employees in the first place that caught people’s attention online.
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🤓 Meme History
By Kyle Calise
Video Producer
Meme History: Orange Peel Theory
Meme History is a weekly column that dives deep into internet lore to uncover the history of famous memes. It runs on Saturdays 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.
🍗 Everyone’s finalizing their plans for the best part of the Super Bowl: the snacks. This ranking of the carbon footprint of game-day staples can help you plan a spread that’s delicious and planet-friendly.
🧬 A genealogist on TikTok posted a viral video calling out AncestryDNA for now requiring a membership to see shared matches.
💸 This user on TikTok is calling out SoFi bank after alleging that the bank froze the account with all of her funds—and would not give her a reason for the freeze nor a timeline regarding when it would be fixed.
👥 A Walmart shopper posted a viral storytime video saying she was followed around the store. A worker reportedly told her it happens more than you might think.
🦞 Thanks to TikTok, customers get to see just how much servers at various chain restaurants take home in tips. Like this sever from Red Lobster, who shared how much she made in took home during a weekend shift.
🤰 Motherhood isn’t easy, and many moms have taken to social media to share the challenges of being a parent and why some are choosing to opt out of parenthood.
🧹 It might be a surprise for some to discover that their Airbnb is often not cleaned by their host but by a third-party service. These cleaners are as big a part of the Airbnb marketplace as home and apartment owners.
💼 An employee highlighted the absurdity of her company’s demand that she head into the office while all of her peers are working from home.
📺 From the Daily Dot archive: What happens when your favorite TV show gets canceled?
👋 Before you go
Earlier this month, TikTok user Jeff (@hittaa_jeff) went viral after claiming that he purchased a house on Amazon.
Although Jeff was not the first on the platform to do this, some users remained skeptical of whether Jeff truly bought the house. However, he reassured both the Daily Dot and those watching that he did, in fact, buy the house, and that he planned to turn the property into an Airbnb.
Now, the house has actually arrived—and Jeff is surprised by what he received.
In a clip with over 8.5 million views, Jeff shows off the newly delivered house and reveals some interesting information about the delivery.
