Plus: Grocery Shopping in the U.S. as a New Immigrant, the Gravy Mega-Train, and More!
 
Upvoted Weekly

It’s Sunday! Pour yourself a giant mug of bacon and let’s get started.

This was a week of inspirational images on Reddit—from this unemployed dad in St. Louis trying to find a new job to this Mississippi firefighter comforting a 4-year-old car crash victim with a little help from Happy Feet.

We’re creating more and more original content over on r/upvoted—subscribe so you don’t miss any of it! We got so much love from u/blabyrinth’s article on the viral video “Real Life First Person Shooter” that I interviewed the filmmakers on the podcast. Thanks for the suggestion, ThatAstronautGuy!

Speaking of the Upvoted podcast, we’ve now blown past 1.5M downloads and your five-star reviews have a lot to do with that, so thank you!

Admin bluepinkblack returned for another installment of Ask an Admin, and showed off his snacking skills in the process. Leave a question in the comments for him to answer next week! (Tell him Alexis sent you!)

Oh, and you should meet our office robot. But please don’t serve it alcohol. (If Bender from Futurama taught us anything…it’s that bots and booze don’t always mix well.)

As we continue to expand our editorial content, please keep the feedback coming so we know what stories you’d like to go beyond the upvote—but in the meantime, here are some amazing things that happened on Reddit that you probably didn’t know about!

kn0thing
Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder
 
BASEBALL
Amaze-balls.
 
submitted by BobbyCrosby

Watch this ambidextrous Dodgers fan catch a home run in one hand—and catch it on video with the other. Guess you just have to be at the right place at the right time (with the right glove and the right camera, in the right seat at the right game…).

Comments 194 read more 1175 Upvoted
 
WOAHDUDE
Volunteer shares disturbing details of how botanical gardens raise butterflies

In response to this beautiful slow-mo gif of a butterfly being dropped, user ILIEKDEERS shared a behind-the-scenes peek into the odd routines of a botanical garden staff—dealing with everything from “butterfly life goop” to a “humming bag of wasps.”

Comments 474 read more 5428 Upvoted
 
GIFS
Behold the Shadow Train!
 
submitted by anubhavrana567

You won’t get tired of these motherf***ing shadows on this motherf***ing train. While you’re at it, check out this physics gif showing the surprisingly small impact of getting run over by a tank.

Comments 797 read more 5159 Upvoted
 
PICS
Grocery shopping in America for the first time

In 1992, Yev Pusin’s family immigrated from the Soviet Union to West Des Moines, Iowa. He shared this picture, taken just after their first visit to an American grocery store. In a related thread, Yev explained some unexpected forms of culture shock—including the joy of root beer, the terror of shower heads, and how American bread is different from Russian bread.

Comments 7 read more 45 Upvoted
 
SOFTWARE
This free eye-tracking software could revolutionize an entire industry
 
submitted by YeahIWroteOptiKey

Julius Sweetland developed a new eye-tracking software called “OptiKey,” and after 3.5 years of hard work, he’s releasing it for free. He designed the program to help people suffering from ALS (and other neuromuscular diseases) type without having to spend thousands of dollars on equipment. See Julius demonstrate how to type using only your eyes.

Comments 960 read more 4400 Upvoted
 
ASKSCIENCE
Five forensic psychologists walk into an AMA…

This week, a team of forensic psychologists sat down for an AMA—answering questions about body cameras, why wrongful convictions happen, and whether brain scans can detect false memories. The answers are anything but elementary.

Comments 199 read more 1739 Upvoted
 
TUCKEDINKITTIES
Will you tuck meow in?
 
submitted by unclekoog, beaparedes, & WavyGlass

There’s a whole community of sleepy cats over at r/tuckedinkitties, and they just—wanna—cuddle! How could you say no to a cat named Zooey Deschameow?

Comments 14 read more 320 Upvoted
 
WHATISTHISTHING
[Warning: Gore] This pig-hunt mystery sounds like an episode of ‘X-Files’

After cutting the pig open, user GlendilTEK’s in-laws discovered an extraordinary pigmentation in its fat (warning: the pictures are graphic). They sent a sample to scientists at UC Davis, but GlendilTEK is already exploring theories.

Comments 284 read more 2368 Upvoted
 
PICS
This ‘Mad Max’ fan turned his standing wheelchair into the best costume at Dragon Con
submitted by bitjpl0x

User bensmends, a student at the University of Central Florida, transformed himself into the title character from Mad Max: Fury Road. Find out how he constructed his rig and see an up-close and personal picture of our face-masked hero.

Comments 1082 read more 5582 Upvoted
 
EXPLAINLIKEIMFIVE
An indie musician explains the economics of streaming

In response to this question, user Sir Sparrow, a “full-time independent recording artist,” did the math—explaining how an indie musician on Spotify can earn more money than Bon Jovi.

Comments 1592 read more 4510 Upvoted
 
THIS ISSUE OF UPVOTED IS SPONSORED BY
 
 P.S.

In Reddit’s first ever “gravy mega-thread,” people from all over the world shared their favorite gravy recipes. Why wait for Thanksgiving? All aboard the gravy train!