Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
We crawled the web for you today and our top stories are about: A barista recounting some of the most ridiculous encounters she’s had with customers, New York City killing its free internet plan, how people online are being criticized for posting their Wordle score amid a one-day strike at the New York Times, and a food service worker sharing a “hack” for finding the freshest food at the airport.
After that, we’ve got our weekly “This Week on the Internet” column from our Senior Culture Editor Tiffany.
P.S. — Don’t forget to take our weekly news quiz today! If you answer correctly, you might win a “Blog the Halls” Daily Dot shirt, just in time for the holidays.
Also keep an eye out for tomorrow’s newsletter where we’ll be giving away some more web_crawlr mugs. 👀👀👀
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
☕ VIRAL
‘I would go insane within a few days’: Barista shares ridiculous everyday customer interactions
A barista went viral after sharing some of what she calls the most ridiculous encounters she’s had with customers.
🔗 TECH
New York City kills its ambitious free internet plan
The project aimed to provide internet to over one million New Yorkers.
📰 FAIL
‘Scab’: Wordle scores ratioed on Twitter as New York Times goes on strike
Employees of the New York Times asked readers to boycott its website and digital offerings, including Wordle, while they underwent a one-day strike on Thursday. But some people weren’t willing to sacrifice their streaks.
✈️ HACKS
Food service worker shares how to pick the freshest food at airport
When buying food at the airport, it can be difficult to tell which of the many prepackaged items is the freshest. Now, a TikTok user has sparked a discussion with her own take on how to find the freshest airport food.
💾 Are you extremely online?
Are you the most online reader of web_crawlr? Are you extremely online?
Prove it by answering our question of the week. Next week, we’ll shout out people who answered correctly, and of those who do, you’ll be entered to win a “Blog the Halls” Daily Dot t-shirt!
Which pizza chain was criticized for having a “cruel” sign that said “please do not feed the employees?”
Think you know the answer? Sign up for web_crawlr so you can answer next week’s question!
🎁 Gift guides
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🗣️ This Week on the Internet
Lensa’s AI avatars shows how easily we will hand over our photos to an app
In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Fridays our Senior Culture Editor Tiffany Kelly recaps the most pressing online discourse of the week in her “This Week On The Internet” column. If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to you inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🍻 A TikToker is going viral for sharing how a gas station has a door that verifies IDs for purchasing alcohol.
☕ A Starbucks barista’s excitement over a new tipping method has caught the eye of more than 300,000 people on TikTok.
🔍 From the Daily Dot archive: Telegram is supercharging conspiracy theories across the planet.
😧 Dove Spray Antiperspirant is allegedly causing cysts in multiple women’s underarms including her own, according to a woman on TikTok.
🦵 A woman’s video showing a salon employee allegedly using plain printer paper to wax her legs has raised several eyebrows online, where viewers are stunned to see it.
🐾 Whether you’ve got a big dog, a loveable cat, or a scaly water dweller, there are Christmas gifts for them all. Don’t disappoint with the ultimate gift guide for pet owners.*
💸 This TikToker is sounding the alarm about deceptive price hikes for Black Friday sales.
💰 From our friends at Passionfruit, the Daily Dot’s creator economy newsletter: “10 of the top-earning YouTubers of all time—and what we can learn from them.”
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
📅 Meme of the Week
Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega has become part of a meme where people “reveal” fake interests and hobbies of the actress.
