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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
I hope you had a good holiday! Things look just a tad different today.
Instead of our regularly scheduled column, we’ve got a “One Good Thing” for you to check out. Also, I asked the editors to share some recent long-reads and exclusives that perhaps you missed. Scroll on down below to see what stories they chose.
Anyway, our top stories today are about: A woman filming herself after getting trapped in an elevator, shoppers discovering a credit card skimmer at 7-Eleven, a clip of Nikki Haley saying she won’t bend to Trump resurfacing after she endorsed him, and why some people think McDonald’s is making their burgers “bad on purpose.”
See you tomorrow! We’ll be back to normal.
— A.W.
⚡ Today in internet culture
😱 CAUGHT ON CAMERA
‘I would’ve panicked’: Woman gets trapped in elevator because someone held the door open
A woman filmed herself after getting stuck in an elevator—and people had a lot of thoughts about it.
💳 SCAMS
‘He definitely knew’: 7-Eleven shoppers alert worker of credit card skimmer on machine. It backfires
In her video, which currently has over 25 million views, two shoppers can be seen pulling a skimmer off of a credit card machine at 7-Eleven.
🗳️ VIRAL POLITICS
‘No need to kiss the ring’: Clip of Nikki Haley saying she won’t bend to Trump resurfaces after endorsement
Haley will vote for someone she called “unhinged.”
🍔 FAST FOOD NATION
‘McDonald’s is sabotaging their food items’: Expert thinks McDonald’s is making their burgers ‘bad on purpose.’ Here’s why
If you’ve ever bought a burger from the Golden Arches, took a bite, and thought that the only way to make it taste so bad was to do it on purpose, then you’re not alone.
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👍 One Good Thing
We cover the “best and worst” of internet culture, but sometimes the “best” can get lost in the shuffle. We’ll focus on stories that highlight the “best” in a reoccurring section called “One Good Thing.”
‘I literally cracked the code’: Woman shares trick to getting through to a human when you call customer service
Getting in touch with a human representative while on the phone with customer service can be a frustrating experience.
Most of the time, the call directs the customer to an automated voice instead. However, a woman revealed the three magic words on how she connects to a human while on the phone with customer service.
TikTok user Alexi (@artsialexi) said, “I literally cracked the code on how to speak with a human when you call customer service and it’s too good not to share.”
First, she provided background information on this discovery. Typically, the content creator ordered Chipotle through their app. Since there wasn’t an option to add a side of vinaigrette in their app, she would have to call them. “Well, it’s kind of, like, a timely thing because you need to get a hold of someone in the store before your driver comes to pick up the order,” she said.
According to the content creator, she would have trouble connecting to a human.
However, she found a way to do so.
📰 ICYMI
The Daily Dot editors shared a few long-reads and exclusives we recently published. Maybe you missed a few? Take a look below.
💉 EXCLUSIVE: Anti-vaccine dating, blood swapping site Unjected exposes users’ DMs, locations
💬 Inside the Facebook message fiasco rocking Montana’s Democratic congressional primary
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🍓 This grocery store worker has issued a warning: the produce you buy at the grocery store might not be as fresh as you expect.
🧺 A Costco customer who bought new Kirkland-brand laundry detergent pods made what she’s positioning as a concerning discovery that feeds into ongoing shrinkflation narratives.
🍝 Can you get fired over serving a pasta dish? This woman tearfully recounted in a now-viral TikTok how she was fired from her server job over a pasta dish that contained bacon. She says other employees kept their jobs after making worse mistakes.
☕ So many online posts are dedicated to hacking or finessing the system at Starbucks. ☕ So many online posts are dedicated to hacking or finessing the system at Starbucks.
🧈 A woman is offering sage advice for people who find themselves in restaurants being asked if they’d like to add truffle butter, or any similar additions, to their meals—especially when the server poses the ask as a trick question.
🔊 From the Daily Dot archive: Distorted TikTok sounds hurt marginalized creators—and AI is making it worse.
👋 Before you go
It’s long been understood that if you have proximity to power, you’re likely to get away with a lot more than the average person.
In a viral video, a woman said it shouldn’t be this way. She specifically called out police officers for having different safety standards for their buddies vs. regular people who may not be pro-police.
In a TikTok, which has nearly 2 million views, Ash (@ashcapps_) shares a recent sighting that she says left her frustrated.
