Powered By Page Trump and CNNs Jim Acosta have heated exchange over women reporters asking questions (2023)

TikToks Holocaust trend has been called out by the Auschwitz Memorial

The Auschwitz Memorial(Opens in a new tab) has addressed the trend of teens on TikTok pretending to be Holocaust victims, calling it "hurtful and offensive." However, the museum also warned against attacks against the teens making these videos, encouraging further education instead.

For those blissfully unaware of TikTok's Holocaust trend, it's exactly what it sounds like(Opens in a new tab). TikTok users have been filming videos in which they roleplay as Holocaust victims in Heaven, typically talking about how they died. Often they use makeup to make themselves appear injured and unwell, or even wear costumes. It is not great.

Acknowledging the tasteless trend in a tweet on Wednesday, the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland noted the importance of remembering the Holocaust but stated this particular method can trivialise history instead.

"The stories of people who were imprisoned and murdered in Auschwitz are incredibly tragic, painful, and emotional," it wrote. "It is crucial to share the individual stories to commemorate and educate. It's also important to place the stories within the context of accuracy and respect."

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Some TikTok users do in fact consider the Holocaust trend a way to spread awareness(Opens in a new tab) and share history. However, as the Memorial states, "Some [videos] were not created to commemorate anyone, but to become part of an online trend. This is very painful." Even the most well-intentioned people can make hurtful mistakes as well, especially when they're young teens attempting to grapple with enormous atrocities.

"We cannot allow vilifying, shaming, and attacking the young people who may have done something in the wrong way as the aftermath," said the Auschwitz Memorial. "Social media is a part of our everyday lives and communication. That is why we could continuously raise awareness that not every social media activity can commemorate the Holocaust."

As such, the museum stated that teachers should educate young people in how to engage with history in a respectful manner, being mindful of proper language, context, and factual accuracy. Simply tearing down misguided teens who thoughtlessly jumped on a trend is likely to do more harm than good.

"In social media, there are far more outrageous issues, like algorithms promoting antisemitism or the presence of Holocaust denial that is a dangerous & hideous carrier of antisemitism & hatred," said the Memorial. "Social media platforms sadly allow denial content to remain on their platforms."

One such example is Facebook, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously defended Holocaust deniers' right to remain on the site (though he half-heartedly attempted to backtrack(Opens in a new tab) later).

It's important to remember what happened in the Holocaust, and to eliminate antisemitism wherever it is found. Even so, dressing up on TikTok is probably not the way to do it.

Lunarly is the self-care box for people who are into crystals

I am not good at self-care.

That's not to say that I'm not good at performing self-care. I will never turn down a chance to slap on a sheet mask, Instagram a dissolving bath bomb, and precariously balance my laptop on the closed toilet to hate-watch The Bachelor. Aside from my tendency to consume Flaming Hot Cheetos for breakfast, I'm pretty good at taking care of my body.

But when it comes to mental health, that all kind of goes out the window.

Relaxing isn't my forte. Whenever I attempt a "self-care" night, I find myself fidgeting in a tub of glittery bathwater, waiting for enough time to pass for me to be able to justify spending upwards of $8 on being pastel human soup. Meditation is exhausting — how are you supposed to empty your mind when there's so damn much to think about? And while I've become that person who lives in L.A. and got into the habit of daily yoga, I spend a lot of it anxiously planning out my day instead of paying attention to my breathing.

Which is where Lunarly's subscription box comes in. The self-care box's website advertises "learning the art of self-care," and a monthly subscription offers members a plant, a notebook and stickers, and a handful of curated "wellness products." Its mission is to encourage subscribers to "set intentions" as a way to live for mindfully.

Launched in the summer of 2018, Lunarly(Opens in a new tab) is the brainchild of BuzzFeed and Scotts Miracle-Gro. According to Bloomberg(Opens in a new tab), the collaboration was an effort to advertise gardening to young people.

Basically, taking care of yourself — even if it's with the help of an aesthetically-curated marketing tactic — is in right now. But is paying $40 a month worth it?

The Sap Moon Box

Each box corresponds with the new moon; the Lunarly website says that at the beginning of the moon cycle, subscribers are supposed to set their intentions and figure out how to live better.

"The full moon marks the culmination of your chosen affirmation and is as crucial to intention setting as the new moon," the FAQ states(Opens in a new tab).

I don't consider myself a crystal kind of person, but I can comfortably say I'm crystal-adjacent. By that, I mean that I own a salt lamp because I think it looks nice, I keep Co—Star notifications on, and I have perused the stands dotting the Pacific Coast Highway that sell sage bundles and mango boxes. While I appreciate the aesthetics of it all, I can't imagine taking any of it seriously.

But I'm willing to give it a try.

March's box corresponds to the "Sap Moon." A card included in the box says the moon was named for "the unfolding of the world beginning to melt and move," after sap from maple trees begins to flow. OK.

This month's box includes a spider plant, a bar of lemongrass sage soap, a bag of incense pyramids, a rock, the standard notebook and stickers, and a mushroom-ginger-green tea "drink."

The plant

Lunarly's plant was by far the biggest disappointment in the box, but that was mostly my fault — the box was delivered on a Friday when I was on vacation, and I didn't free the poor spider plant from its cardboard prison until Monday morning. By the time I finally gave it some water and fresh air, half of it was wilted.

This is what the plant is supposed to look like, according to images provided by Lunarly. Look at how lush my plant could have been!

The spider plant perked up considerably after a few days in the sunlight on the ledge of my apartment's patio, and even made a new snail friend. I did really like that Lunarly sent a pet-safe plant — something my asshole cat (coincidentally named Lunar!) took advantage of the second I looked away.

Let this be a warning: If you're going to subscribe to Lunarly, open it RIGHT AWAY. I do wonder how the plants would survive being delivered in the middle of the summer or during a winter cold snap. Luckily Los Angeles is relatively temperate in late February/early March, so I'm pretty sure that if I had freed the plant the day it was delivered instead of letting it suffocate for a weekend, it would have looked less pathetic.

Incense cones

This month's box also included a full-size package of Reverse Karma Pyramid Incense Cones, which run for $8.95 for seven cones online(Opens in a new tab). It was listed under "Restore" on the list of products that came with the box.

Lunarly's description said the cones' "dreamy scent, released with fire," would "invoke clear thoughts for planning the seasons ahead."

I popped one in what I hoped was a flame-proof bowl and lit it up. The card instructed me to "waft the smell of the earth to ground you during your self-care routine." I don't know if I'd describe what I felt as grounded, but the incense did smell like the Buddhist altar at my grandma's house, which was nice. Neither the product card nor Reverse Karma's website listed what the cones were made of — what if someone had allergies?

I'm also wary of Reverse Karma. Its items have names like "Sage That Sh*t" (sage bundles for nearly $12) and "Stay Lit" (incense sticks), there's something culturally appropriative-ish about the whole brand. They're not explicitly stealing from cultures, but it all comes off as someone who went to a Southeastern Asian country once for two weeks and decided to market its traditions to millennials.

Aragonite

I literally laughed out loud when I opened the little velvet bag that held this month's crystal because it was so tiny. For the Sap Moon, Lunarly sent a nugget of aragonite, which is supposedly a "mineralized beam of light." Here it is, next to a tiny hand for scale.

Described as "strong, but delicate, and ever moving forward," the hunk of rock is meant to remind you that "moving on is letting go." The card instructed me to try a mindfulness exercise while holding the rock, breathing deeply as I imagined light coming from the rock.

"Where does the light go?" the card asked. "Take note."

I usually dismiss crystals' healing properties, but the exercise was a chill way to avoid being on the hell that is the internet for ten minutes. Sometimes you do need a break. I wish the rock was bigger, though.

Lemongrass sage soap

This month's box also included some incredible smelling soap from Spinster Sisters Co. Its website(Opens in a new tab) lists the soap for $3 for a 0.9 ounce bar. It was under "Care" on the list of products that came with the box.

I'm not going to lie, the soap smelled delicious, like an herby lemon tart. If you told me that it was a Lara bar, I'd probably try to take a bite out of it.

While the card provided with the box suggested using the soap "often to strengthen your soul this Sap Moon," I experienced no soul strengthening. The card wasn't clear on what soul strengthening was supposed to feel like, but if it's anything like pleasantly citrus-scented hands all day, then maybe my soul was strengthened!

Mushroom Matcha drink mix

The "Care" section of the card also included Four Sigmatic's Mushroom Matcha Drink Mix(Opens in a new tab), which runs a whopping $33 for a 20-serving package. The card claims that it "gets your mind moving" since it's caffeinated.

Adhering to the package's suggestions, I mixed the matcha powder into hot water and topped it off with some oat milk and honey. It was disgusting. The additions didn't help the taste — the green tea drink tastes what I'd expect mushroom flavored La Croix to taste like. There's only a hint of mushroom, but it's somehow both unsatisfying and overpowering.

And the people around me found it repulsive, too.

My roommate, who usually enjoys the taste of dirt and regularly drinks weird herbal-infused liquors, described the tea as "how the smell of Manhattan would taste." My other roommate spat it into the sink as soon as she took a sip. We even tried to give it to my cat, who will beg for any kind of human food and regularly hunts insects, but he sniffed it and promptly walked away. This is an animal who likes to eat snails. If even he doesn't find the drink appealing, who will?

Setting intentions

The part I struggled with the most was setting intentions, mainly because I have no idea what that is in the first place.

Another card that came with the box described intentions as "values we seek to embody every day." Based on the lunar cycles, setting intentions is meant to "manifest the absolute best versions of ourselves."

"Intention setting is choosing an intention to carry with you every day," the FAQ read, which is just as helpful as describing anxiety as "when you're feeling anxious."

Lunarly's FAQ(Opens in a new tab) about it wasn't clear, either. It suggested ways to set yourself up while setting intentions, with phrases like "find a peaceful place to THINK clearly" and "speak your truth." I tried it all, and I still couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be looking for.

Instead, I made a list of goals to decrease my overwhelming and constant anxiety, but I'm still not sure what an intention is. The journal and the stickers reminded me of bullet journaling, another self-care aesthetic I was enthusiastic about but wasn't able to stick to.

This notebook was a cute exercise in scrapbooking that kept me accountable. In the three days of "intention setting" I did, I felt overall less jittery and less on the verge of panic, but I think that was more from me cutting back on the sheer amount of caffeine I was consuming instead of cleansing my soul.

At the end of the day, I'm still not sure who this box is meant for. If you're just starting out in the world of mindfulness and Instagrammable spirituality, Lunarly leaves its main goal of intention setting unexplained.

If you're already well-versed in the world of pseudo-Buddhism and meditation and sage burning, then you probably know where to get incense cones that aren't $8.95 for seven and likely don't need motivational stickers that declare "Literally Plant Even" for your practice. Obviously a cute notebook won't take the place of an actual mental health professional, but I think this box would be better for beginners if it had more clear guidelines.

That's not to say that the box isn't worth it, from a monetary perspective at least. My pet peeve is when subscription boxes send tiny "sample" sizes that feel more like miniaturized clutter. I appreciate that Lunarly sent full-sized items that you'd actually use (aside from that nasty tea, but maybe someone in this vast world thinks it's tasty) instead of things that will take up space. This is not a subscription box of knick knacks you'll keep until your annual Netflix-fueled KonMari clutter sweep.

I also want to note that individually, the items in the box tally up to over $40 a month. There are plenty of things that cost $40 a month -- like the time I signed up for a free trial of YouTube TV to watch the premiere of The Bachelor and forgot to cancel it once the trial was over. I'll admit that as silly as Lunarly's suggestions felt, I'd rather spend $40 on one of their boxes than on another month of hate-watching The Bachelor.

Would I actually buy a monthly subscription to Lunarly(Opens in a new tab)? Probably not — even if I'd choose it over The Bachelor, I think there are better ways to spend my money than on comically small rocks. There are also more effective ways to learn the art of self-care.

The 14 best tweets of the week, including trucks, Pizza Hut, and Weird Al

We're almost through October. How? I don't know. What a world.

Another pandemic week in the books, people. The presidential debates are finished (thank goodness). Halloween is coming up. The election is less than a fortnight away. A fortnight!

So, anyway, we collected our favorite tweets again. Because we can. And because you deserve a laugh during...all this.

Here they are, the 14 best tweets.

1. Stop beeping while you're at it

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2. If you don't get this, I cannot explain it. But it is good.

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3. I've been whispering, "Weird Al, an American original" to myself over and over all week. Also, this is the best Trump impression. It nails the nonsense word association.

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4. Everything gets a little worse over time

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5. Only Nic Cage could deliver this line.

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6. It's the "kind regards" that gets me here

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7. Spo0oO0oky

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8. Ouch. Direct hit.

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9. Obligatory dril tweet

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10. Another dril tweet for good measure

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11. Only managers can do that

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12. Don't play w me gordon.

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13. Inception doesn't hold a candle to this

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14. And finally, this

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Ivanka Trump tells jobless Americans to Find Something New, reinvents Let them eat cake

Ivanka Trump — first daughter, heiress, White House adviser, and person who has worked for her father nearly her entire adult life(Opens in a new tab) — put out some serious let them eat cake vibes with her new initiative centered on the slogan "Find Something New."

While "let them eat cake" was most likely not actually uttered (Opens in a new tab)by Marie Antoinette, the eldest Trump daughter 100 percent, really did release the new slogan amid an awful economy and global pandemic that has been woefully mismanaged in the United States.

The Find Something New initiative(Opens in a new tab) is apparently aimed at helping job-seekers find a new career path. Unemployment is, after all, at 11.1 percent(Opens in a new tab).

"This initiative is about challenging the idea the traditional 2 and 4 yr college is the only option to acquire the skills needed to secure a job," Trump herself wrote on Twitter. "This work has never been more urgent."

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Of course, urging Americans to #FindSomethingNew while the country is shut down, medical bills are piling up(Opens in a new tab), and companies are going out of business(Opens in a new tab) left and right feels... callous... to lots of people. It's tough to think it's simple to find something new as more than 135,000 Americans have died(Opens in a new tab) from COVID-19 and infections are at an all-time high.

So, it makes sense the internet's reaction to Trump's new slogan wasn't exactly warm.

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Netflixs Pornhub doc sheds light on the adult industry

In the last decade, Pornhub has exploded in terms of both brand recognition and controversy. The issues surrounding the site are complex, engendering conversations around the porn industry, sex work, and free speech.

Netflix takes on these topics in its new documentary, Money Shot: The Pornhub Story, dropping Wednesday, March 15. In addition to giving a concise history of internet porn and the tube giant itself, Money Shot — directed by Suzanne Hillinger — details the anti-porn and anti-sex work movement that use Pornhub as a catch-all for the whole adult industry.

With interviewees from those inside the porn industry and those who want to destroy it, Money Shot gives a fair yet clear look into the growing censorship battle fought online, and how porn performers are on the frontlines.

"If the attack on porn continues on the path that it's currently on," said performer Siri Dahl in the documentary, "It's not just an attack on porn. It's an attack on women's sexuality, it's an attack on queer sexuality, it's an attack on people being able to express themselves openly, especially online."

What is Money Shot about?

Money Shot explains the rise of tube sites like Pornhub in the early 2000s, and how these sites were built on pirated content. Pornhub, which was founded in 2007, changed the industry by forcing studios and creators to change how they made and distributed content. As director Bree Mills said, porn production became much more of a volume game. Eventually, studios began partnering with Pornhub, and Pornhub's parent company MindGeek started acquiring studios and other tubes as well.

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Pornhub became a household name because of its search engine optimization strategy (meaning, they claimed top spots on Google searches) and savvy decisions to advertise in Times Square and publicize yearly traffic insights.

Prior to 2020, a Pornhub user needed to be verified to make money from content, but any unverified users were able to upload content. This led to bad actors posting illegal content (like CSAM, child sex abuse material) onto Pornhub, as unfortunately happens on other social platforms like Facebook(Opens in a new tab).

Exodus Cry, a conservative Christian-right(Opens in a new tab) group, led the Traffickinghub(Opens in a new tab) campaign calling for a complete shutdown of Pornhub. The stories of actual sex trafficking that the campaign highlighted "have nothing to do with us as an industry," said performer Asa Akira in Money Shot.

Nonetheless, Traffickinghub caught the attention of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who published an op-ed in December 2020 called "The Children of Pornhub."(Opens in a new tab) The piece went viral, as did calls to shut down the site.

"It's a nightmare for us because when you present two unrelated things as being closely related in a paper everyone's going to believe, what happens? Well, exactly what you think would happen," said performer Cherie DeVille in the documentary. "The public sees it and they are outraged because it is outrageous and it is horrible and it is something nobody wants and then they say, 'That is trash and we need to eliminate it.'"

"They neglect to see that sex work and sex trafficking are two completely different things," said Akira. Sex work, by definition, is done with consent. If it's non-consensual, it's rape.

After the op-ed, Pornhub deleted millions of unverified videos and changed their policies so only verified accounts can upload content; performers and employees called for the latter for years. After pressure from Exodus Cry and another anti-porn group National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), formerly known as Morality in Media, Visa and Mastercard stopped processing payments on Pornhub, which meant that performers lost income.

Money Shot also discusses the bills FOSTA-SESTA, which passed in 2018. The bills amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Section 230 basically states that online platforms aren't liable for illegal content people publish there; FOSTA-SESTA amends this so platforms are responsible for "sexual solicitation" content posted.

But FOSTA-SESTA didn't help the problem; it actually made it more difficult to find traffickers(Opens in a new tab). The bills also led to social platforms deplatforming and silencing sex workers, hurting their livelihoods, and potentially subjecting them to unsafer forms of work.

The brunt of the aftermath of FOSTA-SESTA and the viral New York Times piece was and is felt by sex workers. Criticisms of the porn industry — and, these days, Pornhub is used as shorthand for the porn industry — end up hurting performers the most, said porn historian and former MindGeek employee Noelle Perdue.

Why you should watch Money Shot

Money Shot amplifies the voices of sex workers and porn industry advocates. They explain that sex work and sex trafficking are different, and how conflating the two will hurt sex workers and anyone online who wants to express their sexuality. They're also not afraid to say the quiet part out loud: NCOSE and groups like it want to eradicate porn and sex work on the whole.

"Those people don't care about the victims," performer Gwen Adora claimed in Money Shot, "They just care about getting the porn industry to be as small as possible." The failure of FOSTA-SESTA is an example of this.

The documentary isn't one-sided, however. Money Shot also features senior legal counsel for NCOSE Dani Pinter, who claims that Pornhub made performers dependent on it, and apparently sees performers as victims.

The film also hints at ramifications here beyond the adult industry. Sex workers are the "canaries in the coal mine" for censorship. If the recent Section 230 hearings and anti-LGBTQ legislation(Opens in a new tab) is any indication, free speech for non-sex workers is also at stake.

One criticism of Money Shot comes at the end of the documentary. Then-VP and general counsel (she's now chief legal officer) for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Yiota Souras seems to imply that Section 230 should change, that platforms should be held liable for content hosted there. There's no response, however, about how that would fundamentally change the internet.

As Mashable's Elizabeth de Luna explained, amending Section 230 further could make you, the user, liable for anything you say on a platform should someone be upset enough about it to take legal action. It could also cause platforms to implement strict rules, thus acting as de facto censorship.

Overall, however, Money Shot handles Pornhub and the adult industry with nuance and care. Let's hope the rest of the internet takes notes.

Ryan Reynolds attempts the bottle cap challenge, fails spectacularly

Ryan Reynolds never misses an opportunity to plug his gin company.

He's pretty much got the whole social media marketing thing nailed. He's written fake Amazon reviews, he's made videos revealing the secret ingredient, and his previous adverts for Aviation Gin have even featured cameos from the likes of Hugh Jackman, Richard Branson, and Andy King (you know, the Fyre Festival blowjob guy).

And now, Reynolds is jumping on the latest viral trend: the bottle cap challenge.

In case you haven't seen this yet, the challenge basically involves knocking the lid off a bottle with a spinning kick, a video of which you naturally need to post online in glorious slow motion.

Unsurprisingly, though, Reynolds put his own spin on it.

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That video is exactly what we've come to expect from Reynolds -- a slow, artistic build-up followed by a wonderfully abrupt twist ending. Like this one.

Keep 'em coming.

Hell hath no fury like Dictionary.com after Donald Trump's joint press conference with Vladimir Putin.

In true 2018 woke dictionary fashion, following Trump's comments in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, the official Dictionary.com Twitter account brutally subtweeted the U.S. president.

For today's burn — after listening to Trump trash the FBI, the Mueller probe, and Hillary Clinton (again), all while congratulating Russia and failing to defend his own country — Dictionary.com felt compelled to define two very different words: "Patriot" and "Traitor."

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According to Dictionary.com, a patriot is "A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion." A traitor(opens in a new tab), on the other hand, is "A person who commits treason by betraying his or her country."

Ouch.

Trump's comments were met with fury by many Americans, including CNN's Anderson Cooper, who called Trump's performance "one of the most disgraceful by an American president."

So it should come as no surprise that Dictionary.com's Twitter wasn't the only digital wordsmith to get in on the Trump shade. As always, Merriam-Webster was there to subtweet the heck out of the Commander-in-Chief, dropping definitions for "complacent," "treason," and "collusion" throughout the day.

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As always, everything is:

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For the two people that believe that there's no wrong way to mash foods together, we've got great news for you.

Taylor ham ice cream now exists.

For those who don't know, Taylor ham is basically really good ham. And New Jersey loves it so much they make it with all types of food, except dessert. Until now.

Windy Brow Farms in Sussex County, New Jersey, has just introduced(opens in a new tab) the state's first Taylor ham ice cream, with a "French toast/maple element" to make it sweeter.

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According to NJ.com(opens in a new tab), each two and a half gallon container includes two pounds of Taylor ham.

In defense of this new product, bacon donuts are a thing, but I'm still not a fan.

One little girl of New Jersey is a fan of pork desserts, however. Watch her devour Taylor ham ice cream, as well as hear an in-depth explanation of Taylor ham ice cream here:

New Jersey, I think it's safe to say you've taken things too far this time.

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Istanbul has a special place in human history, sitting metaphorically and physically between the East and West. At one point it was the capital city of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and the key to trade and cultural dominance. Once called Constantinople, today Istanbul offers a glimpse into ancient history and modern sensibilities. Famous for its mix of ancient mosques and Cathedrals, textiles, and food, travellers can get lost in history or seek out experiences unique to the Middle Eastern-European vibe.

We’ve rounded up the best places to see in Istanbul that you won’t find in a travel guide.

THINGS TO DO

For couples: Known for its boutiques, Istanbul is where you’ll find that unique souvenir for your friends or family. Sevan Bicakci'(opens in a new tab)s studio offers travellers a look at the artist’s stunning and award-winning jewelry designs. According to travel writer Krista Canfield McNish of FoodWaterShoes(opens in a new tab), “the craftsmanship is drop dead gorgeous and unlike anything you've ever seen before.”

For business travellers: The Galata Tower is itself a destination for tourists who want to climb the 14th century medieval stone structure, but it’s the galleries surrounding the tower that attract the most experienced travellers. Try Schneider Temple Art Gallery(opens in a new tab) for fashion history or Arte(opens in a new tab) for sculptures and paintings, and get a first-hand look at the art movements coming out of Istanbul today.

For families: Vialand(opens in a new tab) is considered a must-do for families visiting Istanbul, offering respite from touring and a bit of excitement geared toward kids. The theme park is a magical playland with roller coasters, games and more. Parents can enjoy shopping and eating while the kids have a day to relax from sightseeing.

For anyone on a budget: The Balat Street(opens in a new tab) neighborhood and its brightly colored winding streets are a beautiful reminder of Istanbul’s past, as well as a quiet getaway from the hustle of the city centre. If you tour Balat, “you may see super-nice historical buildings, synagogues, churches and mosques next to each other,” says travel writer Çiler Geçici(opens in a new tab). Once a settlement for the Jewish community during the Ottoman Empire, it’s now where the cool kids go to hang out at cafes and galleries.

THINGS TO SEE

For couples: If you’re in search of a beautiful painted Turkish coffee set to take home or a vividly coloured ceiling pendant, you won’t want to miss a trip to the Grand Bazaar(opens in a new tab). Built in the mid 1400s, the covered shopping area spans 61 streets and houses 4,000 shops. But as travel writer Stephanie Craig(opens in a new tab) notes, the real travel enthusiast will want to venture to the roof for secret — and breathtaking — views of the city that make for perfect Instagram moments.

For business travellers: Take a colleague to The Walls of Constantinople(opens in a new tab), which were built under Constantine’s rule after he took over the city in 324. Once meant to protect the city from attack by sea and by land, today in some sections they’ve been removed to make way for Istanbul’s growing population. The remaining ruins are a living monument to the power of the Byzantine Empire, as well as an architectural feat.

For families: Miniaturk(opens in a new tab) is an excellent way to introduce children to Istanbul and Turkey’s greatest architectural wonders – shrunken down. The park features 105 small-scale models of the city’s structures, a life-sized chess board, and a playground where the kids can run freely while getting an experience unlike anything back home. Not to mention, the chance to take photos of giant children walking among a miniature city!

For anyone on a budget: Visiting Kadıköy(opens in a new tab) by ferry across the Bosphorous is one of the best ways to enjoy authentic contemporary Istanbul culture. Geçici calls it the Bohemian part of Istanbul and recommends you, “get lost in the streets of Moda especially. There are art studios and music venues and many beautiful buildings with amazing murals to visit.” Çiçek İşleri is a favourite — you can find handmade Turkish linens with traditional embroidered motifs.

WHERE TO DINE

For couples: Mürver(opens in a new tab) is new on the scene and has quickly become an Istanbul hot spot. With its open fire cooking concept and beautiful views of the Bosphorus, this restaurant offers both a wonderful meal and an exciting atmosphere as you watch your food grilled only moments before it arrives at your table.

For business travellers: Toi(opens in a new tab) is the new hot spot in Istanbul for anyone looking for an excellent dining experience. Don’t be surprised to find New England clam chowder and Carnoroli risotto with spring mushrooms and "Tulum" cheese on the menu as Toi boasts an international influence that will make any traveller feel at home.

For families: Insiders recommend Köfteci Arnavut Balat(opens in a new tab), which only serves meatballs. Kids will love the familiar food, but make sure you get there early — the restaurant closes as soon as they’re out of meatballs.

For anyone on a budget: Kybele Cafe(opens in a new tab) feels like home for most locals, who describe the atmosphere as feeling like you’re at an old relative’s home. In warmer weather, enjoy dessert on the back patio.

WHERE TO PARTY

For couples: Spend the night talking and enjoying each other’s company at Safa Meyhanes(opens in a new tab)i. Drink raki alongside locals under a crystal chandelier surrounded by paintings and a warm charm as you soak in the atmosphere at one of Istanbul’s oldest taverns.

For business travellers: Concerts at the Basilica Cistern(opens in a new tab) offers the experience of hearing modern music in an ancient venue. “Walking around the giant marble columns is like time travelling to another time and the acoustics are out of this world,” says travel writer Krista Canfield McNish.

For families: Kalendertepe is family-friendly while still serving delicious authentic cuisine. Kids can roam through the park-like setting while parents enjoy well-made traditional Turkish dishes.

For anyone on a budget: Klein is the place to go dance amidst a scene that’s more about enjoying yourself than getting noticed. The borderline kitschy atmosphere draws people looking for a good time, thanks to a reputation on par with some of the world's best nightclubs.

WHERE TO STAY

Whether you’re looking for a location in central Istanbul that puts you in the middle of it all, or a convenient spot near the airport that make business getaways easy, TRYP by Wyndham hotels provide an easy modern experience that will suit your needs. TRYP by Wyndham Istanbul Taksim(opens in a new tab) is centrally located near the metro station and some of Istanbul’s most famous attractions. TRYP by Wyndham Istanbul Airport(opens in a new tab) makes it easy to access conference centres during working hours and unwind afterward with hotel ammeneties including a sauna and heated pool.

You've probably heard of competitive eating, those food challenges in which people consume ungodly amounts as fast as they can, battling it out for cash prizes as high as $10,000. These challenges span the globe, are broadcast on ESPN(opens in a new tab), and include just about anything(opens in a new tab) edible: jalapeños, shrimp cocktail, and gyoza, to name just a few.

They've also got history. In a story from the 1400s, notes Eater(opens in a new tab), a Nordic man enters an eating competition with a god. In the 1700s, poet James Taylor wrote of(opens in a new tab) the "Great Eater of Kent," whom, Atlas Obscura reports(opens in a new tab), ate "some 60 eggs, a good portion of a lamb, and a handful of pies — a meal that left him hungry for more."

As for today's competitions, food is supplied by organizers, and participants typically register via Major League Eating's website(opens in a new tab) — the organization that oversees all professional eating competitions. Usually entry is free.

Competitive eaters, like the surprisingly slim 24-year-old YouTube star Matt Stonie, told GQ(opens in a new tab) that when he's gearing up for a competition, he'll eat anywhere from 10,000 to 22,000 calories a day. In a 2015 interview with GQ(opens in a new tab), Joey Chestnut, the top-ranked(opens in a new tab) eater in the world, said he only binges on solid food once every five days when he's in practice-mode.

The sport comes with its own set of risks, like asphyxiation, which has killed several (opens in a new tab)competitive eaters, as well as morbid obesity, gastric ruptures, gastroparesis, and eating disorders, according to (opens in a new tab)USA Today(opens in a new tab). But you don't need to be a professional eater to enjoy the competitions. We compiled the 11 best, weirdest, and most disgusting we could find. Get ready to be grossed out, but also impressed.

11. The Vaughan Pizza Fest World Pizza Eating Contest(opens in a new tab)

At the Vaughan Pizza Fest World Pizza Eating Contest in Woodbridge, Ontario, competitors feast on as many personal pizzas as possible in record time.

At the third annual event, which took place in July of 2018, Geoff Esper broke a world record by eating 19.25 9-inch personal pizzas within 10 minutes, according to(opens in a new tab) a Major League Eating report.

His prize for devouring those mini pizzas, supplied by Pie: Wood Fired Pizza Joint(opens in a new tab), was $4,000. Cash and free pizza? Not too shabby.

It's inconclusive what, if any, toppings made it onto the pies.

10. Smoke’s Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship(opens in a new tab)

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Major League Eaters from all over the world head to Toronto for this annual competition to see how much of the popular Quebec dish consisting of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy they can consume.

2017's poutine-eating winner, Carmen Cincotti, the number two eater in the world, ate a little over 20 pounds of poutine in 10 minutes, taking home a $6,000 prize. The competition returns for its ninth year on October 13, 2018.

According to Smoke’s Poutinerie(opens in a new tab), since it began in 2016 the event has helped raise more than $100,000 in donations, which support Friends of We Care(opens in a new tab) in sending children with disabilities to summer camp. That's probably the nicest possible outcome of a bunch of adults eating a massive amount of cheese curds and gravy for public enjoyment.

9. La Costeña Jalapeño Eating Contest(opens in a new tab)

The thought of eating just one jalapeño is enough to make my eyes water. Imagine eating 265!

Molly Schuyler won a $1,500 grand prize for doing just that(opens in a new tab) at the 2018 WBCA Jalapeño Festival's La Costeña Jalapeño Eating Contest in Laredo, Texas.

While the festival has just passed its 40 year anniversary, it's unclear when people began competitively stuffing spicy peppers into their mouths for cash prizes.

8. St. Elmo Shrimp Cocktail Eating Championship(opens in a new tab)

Joey Chestnut won this annual shrimp cocktail-eating competition in 2017, beating out nine other eaters for the grand prize of $1,500, according to RTV6(opens in a new tab).

The professional eater earned his fifth win by downing 10 pounds and 6.4 ounces of shrimp cocktail (including the sauce) all at once.

The Indianapolis-based competition has its contestants eat their shrimp with St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail sauce(opens in a new tab), which is famous for being exceptionally spicy. You can purchase your own bottle here(opens in a new tab).

7. The World’s Ice Cream Eating Championship (opens in a new tab)

At the weeks-long Indiana State Fair(opens in a new tab) in Indianapolis, visitors can feast on fair concessions, interact with farm animals, and witness the World's Ice Cream Eating championship, where competitors try to eat as much ice cream as is humanly possible.

Geoff Esper won this year's competition in early August, eating 15.5 pints of vanilla ice cream in six minutes, according to Indy Star(opens in a new tab). He took home a prize of $4,000 for guzzling down an equivalent of about nine tubs of Häagen-Dazs.

6. Berkwood Farms Bacon Eating Contest (opens in a new tab)

At the Keystone Bacon and Bourban Festival(opens in a new tab) in Keystone, Colorado, visitors can find bacon sampling stations, concerts, and most important: the Berkwood Farms Bacon Eating Contest.

The bacon-eating competition is still going strong since it began in 2008. February 16, 2018, brought a new bacon-eating champ. Matt Weis, a relatively new competitive eater, was crowned 2018's "gold skillet winner," after he ate a full pound of bacon(opens in a new tab) supplied by Berkwood Farms.

Weis, who is on the high fat, low carb Keto diet, told the (opens in a new tab)Des Moines Register(opens in a new tab) that he can eat bacon pretty much whenever he wants, because it has the "perfect ratio of fats and protein with no carbs."

Must be nice.

5. The National Harbor World Peeps Eating Championship(opens in a new tab)

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The National Harbor World Peeps Eating Championship began in 2016. Despite its newness, many of the world's highest-ranking eating competitors, including Carmen Cincotti and Gideon Oji — numbers two and six, respectively — have turned up for the Maryland event.

At the inaugural competition, Matt Stonie ate 200 peeps in five minutes, setting a world record. In 2017, he beat his own record by eating 255 peeps. That's enough to fill at least 25 easter baskets.

4. World Pie Eating Championship(opens in a new tab)

Unlike most eating competitions, at the UK-based World Pie-Eating Championship in Wiggan, competitors must only consume one thing: a single pie. The beef and potato-filled pies measure four inches in diameter and one inch in depth, according to the (opens in a new tab)Daily Mail(opens in a new tab).

Whoever eats the pie the fastest receives a free lunch at Harry's Bar(opens in a new tab) (where the competition takes place) and the "Bradley Piggins" cup — likely a nod to British cyclist and sports personality Bradley Wiggins, but with a cheeky meat-oriented spin.

The pie-eating contest (opens in a new tab)has been happening for 24 years now and it has become a local and national favorite.

Martin Appleton-Clare won the competition for the third year in a row in 2017, eating his pie in 32 seconds flat. Vicky Lindley won the women's competition, devouring her pie in 30 seconds. Champions, both of them.

3. Acme Oyster Eating World Championship(opens in a new tab)

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This event takes place at the New Orleans Oyster Festival in Louisiana, and witnessing it must be a bit like watching a culinary horror movie. You will be scared, you will be amused, and you will be so relieved when it's all over.

Competitive eater newcomer Darron Breeden won the 2018 competition — and a beautiful oyster belt (a belt adorned with fake oysters) — for consuming 480 oysters(opens in a new tab) supplied by the Acme Oyster House in one sitting. Absolutely revolting.

2. The Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship(opens in a new tab)

The fried Japanese dumpling known as gyoza is a delicious appetizer or snack. But if you're Joey Chestnut, it's just another food you're eating by the hundreds.

In 2018, Chestnut gobbled up a whopping 359 gyoza(opens in a new tab) in 10 minutes at the 12th annual Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship in Los Angeles.

Nineteen competitors, including Matt Stonie, fought for a large cash reward, the amount of which is currently unreported (last year it was $6,000(opens in a new tab)). But Chestnut out-ate everyone.

1. Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest(opens in a new tab)

Ah, Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest, or the Super Bowl of the competitive food eating world.

In 1916, Nathan's hot dog-eating contest in Coney Island turned competitive eating into a sport, according to (opens in a new tab)Time(opens in a new tab). Every Fourth of July, thousands of people still head to Coney Island to watch people eat one of the least healthy foods(opens in a new tab) on the planet: the hot dog.

At Nathan's 102nd contest this summer, competitor Joey Chestnut defended his championship title, winning his third hot dog eating contest in a row while breaking a new world record of 74 hot dogs, according to NBC News(opens in a new tab). Chestnut has won the contest 11 times, and only been beaten once —by Matt Stonie in 2015 — since he started competing.

Miki Sudo also defended her title in the women's competition — which began in 2011 — eating 37 hot dogs. Each winner took home a grand prize of $10,000 and a belt (mustard-yellow for Chestnut, pink for Sudo(opens in a new tab)).

Hungry?