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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A comment from former President Trump about Hillary Clinton pouring “acid that will destroy everything within ten miles” that has baffled the internet, people mocking a congresswoman’s call for TikTok to be more like an infamous dating app, a McDonald’s customer sharing a fry hack to get more bang for your buck, and Oliva Rodrigo being accused of being Satanic after she offered Plan B bills at a recent concert.
After that, we’ve got a “One Good Thing” mini-column for you (been a while!) since Mikael is out.
Enough from me, lets get to the news.
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
💧 POLITICS
People love Trump’s mental picture of Hillary Clinton pouring ‘acid that will destroy everything within ten miles’ on her server
Former President Donald Trump claimed that Hillary Clinton used “essentially acid that will destroy everything within ten miles” to get rid of email on a personal server. The comment baffled the internet.
📱 TECH
‘Is she well??’: Congresswoman’s call for TikTok to be more like this infamous dating app flamed
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) wants TikTok to be a little bit more like Grindr, the dating app targeted toward gay and bisexual men. Posters are losing it over the congresswoman’s praise of Grindr, using the opportunity to complain about app glitches.
🍟 HACKS
‘Ingenious move’: McDonald’s customer shares fry hack for getting more bang for your buck
With a groundbreaking revelation in a TikTok video that has amassed over 57,000 views, one user unveiled how McDonald’s goers can double their medium fries order for $3.29—as long as they use the self-serve kiosks.
🎙️ CONSPIRACY
Olivia Rodrigo dubbed ‘high priestess of child sacrifice’ by anti-abortion crowd for free Plan B at concert
Conservatives are accusing Olivia Rodrigo of being Satanic after the pop star offered free Plan B pills at recent concert in St. Louis, Missouri.
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👍 One Good Thing
‘If there’s a space you’re in a safe place’: Police officer shows how to tell if you’re being watched via two-way mirror
We cover the “best and worst” of the internet, but sometimes the “best” can get lost in the shuffle. We’ll focus on stories that highlight the “best” in a re-occurring section called “One Good Thing.” If you want to read stories like this, sign up for web_crawlr here.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
❎ A customer who was asked to leave a tip on a Toast touchscreen POS system decided to devise an innovative way to determine what kind of gratuity was left for the employee processing their transaction: a game of Tic-tac-toe.
🍗 Like most businesses, inflation has hit Raising Cane’s. That’s why a former worker went viral for slamming the price increases since she’s worked there.
🍽️ A TikToker who offers tips and tricks for restaurant servers in the art of upselling customers recently shared a suggestion that served as a good warning for customers as well.
🚙 Some people can get pretty specific with their requests. According to one car rental agent and TikTok user, this specificity can extend to what color car renters want to lease out.
🦷 After claiming she was a victim of dental insurance fraud, a patient says her insurance company is making her pay for it.
☕ Spring has officially sprung. And no, not because of anything to do with the weather. The 2024 Starbucks spring drinks menu is here.
👁️ This doctor went viral for sharing something people thought should be “common knowledge:” stop rubbing your eyes.
⚰️ From the Daily Dot archive: Here are the real-life stakes of faking your death online.
📝 Question of the Day
Everyone’s got opinions, and we want to know yours. Just click a button below to answer the question, and tomorrow we will let you know how fellow web crawlers like you answered.
DO YOU WATCH ‘JEOPARDY‘ FREQUENTLY?
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👋 Before you go
A customer got more than they bargained for when they ordered a cupcake from a vending machine in the airport.
TikToker Awestin The Pilot (@awestin_the_pilot) shared his experience in a viral video that has now amassed 2 million views. The clip features an upbeat song that starts blaring while dispensing the sweet treat. The only problem is that the vending machine is in a near-deserted airport, attracting a lot of attention to the poor, hungry TikToker.
The lyrics “I love sprinkles, yes I do, yes I do” blared out from the speakers and couldn’t have been further from the quiet and discreet dispensing the customer was probably hoping for.
As they dealt with the embarrassing situation—noting via the TikTok description that “everyone looked at me”—an on-screen caption read, “Today I learned that those cupcake machines at the airport BLAST music when you order.”
Commenters were highly amused by this turn of events, as several of them shared their own stories of similar mishaps.
