Death by lava, an R2D2 helmet, new 'Friends' episodes for 2015, living with HIV/AIDS, surprising benefits of weight loss, drunk people explain things, hockey and porn combine, the NBA rookies answer your questions, and more!
 
Upvoted Weekly

Several worldwide events connected on Reddit this week, with redditors live-reporting on the explosion in Tianjin and 2jzevo doing an AMA about getting caught in it, a TIFU post to rule them all, and citizens of r/Iran and r/Israel hosting a cultural exchange (by the way, you’re probably saying “Iran” wrong) even as tensions between their countries run high.

We’ve been publishing more and more original content on r/upvoted, which you should subscribe to if you haven’t already. It’s not just for discussing the latest issue of Upvoted Weekly or podcast episode anymore. Now we’re also sharing write-ups, like an interview with the redditor behind Hip-Hop RPG and the woman from the top of r/pics who reads to shelter dogs.

We’ve also started an “Ask an Admin” column with our very own admin extraordinaire Greg, u/bluepinkblack. He’s dished on everything from inner-office politics and who has the best laugh to admin criticism and horse-sized ducks. Check it out, say hi, ask a question, and stay tuned for more!

Your feedback on everything we’re doing really helps us improve the original content we produce, so please keep it coming. And keep doing amazing things on Reddit!

(And speaking of doing amazing things, please sign up to donate to a teacher in need through Reddit Gifts! Did you know teachers spend on average $485 out of pocket each year on supplies for their classes?)

kn0thing
Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder
 
OSHA
Warning: Do not operate heavy machinery without understanding torque
 
submitted by dmgctrl

OSHA? Oh shit.

Comments 12 read more 85 Upvoted
 
EXPLAINLIKEIMDRUNK
Railway_Pilgrim explains Trans-Pacific Partnership for drunk people

It’s been in the news a lot, and yet a lot of us still don’t understand it. Railway_Pilgrim posted a brilliant, simple, and hilarious explanation of this notoriously complicated trade agreement on r/EXPLAINLIKEIMDRUNK. So sit back, crack open a beer, and learn something new!

Comments 109 read more 490 Upvoted
 
STARTREK
Patrick Stewart & LeVar Burton walk into a bar…
submitted by Captain_Jack_Daniels

One redditor captured this meeting between Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton (or Captain Picard and Geordi La Forge, for all you Trekkies) at an airport bar in Vegas. Was this planned? Was their plane delayed due to problems with the warp core? Perhaps we’ll never know…

I’m not one to go into hysterics over celebrities, but if I met these two at the same time, i think my head would explode.

Comments 259 read more 1184 Upvoted
 
NBA
NBA rookies answer your questions, including their favorite college classes

The 2015 NBA rookie class also talked about the weirdest questions reporters have asked them, cultural differences between the US and Latvia, and who’s the rookie class clown.

Comments 1467 read more 1633 Upvoted
 
HOCKEY
When porn gets played over a hockey game, one redditor identifies the source waaaaay too quickly
 
submitted by Rocksaysso

Rocksaysso posted this video of a Predators-Blues hockey game that was accidentally broadcast on Fox Sports with audio from a pornographic film in the background. (The moaning starts at 0:06.) Within an hour of seeing the post, redditor daCoolestPeep identified the, ahem, “sauce” of the audio. Some people just know a lot about cinema.

Comments 67 read more 130 Upvoted
 
LOSEIT
emmynine lists 23 surprising benefits from losing weight

After losing 40 pounds, emmynine shares some lesser known side effects of losing weight, including changes in her pooping habits and how she shaves, does yoga, has sex, sleeps, and more, as well as some surprising—and sad—social ramifications.

Comments 528 read more 1839 Upvoted
 
PICS
Coolest. Dad. Ever.
submitted by mikesweeney

When one dad’s infant son had to wear a helmet after receiving craniosynostosis surgery, he decided to give the designs an upgrade, and possibly set his son on a new career path. See the rest of the helmets here. TheBiomedic did the same thing for his kid (and may have saved Gotham in the process).

Comments 211 read more 5521 Upvoted
 
ASKREDDIT
Redditors with HIV/AIDS share when they first realized something was wrong

Read personal stories from a man who participated in the San Francisco Clinic’s “frozen blood study” in the late ’70s, a soldier who contracted the disease by rescuing an HIV+ stranger from a car wreck, and a recently diagnosed 20-year-old who was writing from the hospital.

From the responses, we also discovered that some(1) amazing(2) progress(3) has been made in HIV research and treatment.

Comments 4367 read more 6096 Upvoted
 
LECTURES
Why climate change is making our world more violent & less secure
 
submitted by [deleted]

Whether you want to learn about “The End of the Periodic Table” (what does that mean?!) or see a young Bernie Sanders explain how propaganda works (it’s from last month, but c’mon: it’s Bernie), r/lectures is here to help.

Comments 3 read more 38 Upvoted
 
NOSTUPIDQUESTIONS
If you jumped into a pool of lava…how exactly would you die?

In response to a not-stupid question (from r/NoStupidQuestions), GeorgesDanton explains why lava doesn’t kill you the way you’d expect it to. Factors like what clothes you’re wearing and how high you fall from can decide your fate. He even describes how it’s possible to survive falling in thigh-deep lava like one man did.

Comments 131 read more 603 Upvoted
 
ARCHIVEPORN
Don’t mess with Eleanor Roosevelt. Seriously. Even at age 72.
submitted by LaunchOurRocket

Eleanor’s quotes pack a powerful punch, but turns out she was packing in other ways too, as this 1957 gun license shows.

You can also check out a reproduction of the 1843 circus poster that inspired a Beatles song or read a Victorian satire magazine from 1851.

Comments 5 read more 42 Upvoted
 
PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING A TEACHER IN NEED
 
 P.S.

Check out this perfectly written new episode of Friends, in which celt1299 brings Joey, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, and Phoebe into 2015 and that we all wish we could see in real life. And if you want even more new episodes or want to contribute your own, there’s a fledgling r/redditwritesfriends that will be there for you—will you be there for it too?