Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Matt.
1. Peppa Pig wants Aussie kids to play with killer spiders
An episode of Peppa Pig has been pulled off air in Australia, following complaints that the show encourages children to pick up and play with spiders. Now, I’m no spider expert, but I do know Australian wildlife is no joke.
One peeved Australian mum said:
“The context of the way the spider is portrayed in the episode lessens any impact of scariness or danger; the spider does not look real, it has a smiley face and is shown in context of a show with other talking animals.”
If you share this view, I’d strongly suggest avoiding The Jungle Book, most other kids films, TV shows, and generally any form of entertainment targeted at under fives.
2. Snap Maps helps flood victims
A couple of months back I wrote about how everyone was freaking out over Snapchat’s new location feature, Snap Maps, due to some major concerns over child safety.
Now, attentions have turned to how Snap Maps is helping people caught up in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, by allowing users to keep tabs on friends and family, and monitor levels of flooding and damage where they live.
In a recent Reddit thread, one commenter said:
“Snapmap is my lifeline right now. I have close friends in Houston and have been monitoring this for days with a heavy heart from Austin. Thankfully, one just got rescued by coast guard boat!”
Read the full article at Mashable.com
3. Crap date
Of all the top stories you expect to see on the BBC homepage, this isn’t one of them:
*Click*
The headline says it all to be honest, but if your thirst for details gets the better of you, you can check out the article here. I think the moral of the story here is don’t try to throw a poo out of the window.
4. Instagram hacked
Instagram has fallen victim to a major hacking incident, which allowed perpetrators to gain access to six million user accounts, including a number of high profile celebrities such as David Beckham, Taylor Swift, and Selena Gomez (who is the most-followed person on Instagram, with 125 million followers). In an effort to cash in on the stolen data, which is alleged to include email addresses and phone numbers, the hackers have taken to the dark web, where the contact information is being sold off for as little as $10 a pop.
Instagram provided this statement and offers this advice for anyone concerned with the security of their account. Tut-tut, Instagram.
5. Bat in the kitchen
Animals trapped in houses always makes for great content. Remember The Owl Whisperer?
The latest video to emerge in this niche but excellent sub-genre involves a bat in a kitchen, and while you can’t help but feel a bit bad for the bat, the commentary more than makes up for it. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk0pA-G0Kz8
