As we continue on the journey of life, we learn that the road is filled with countless obstacles, setbacks, and challenges that hinder our ability to persevere. However, it is a common belief that success is not determined by the absence of barriers but rather by our ability to persist in the face of adversity.

In light of Yes Means Yes, Everything Else Means No by Bruce Mullen, let us explore the incredible power of perseverance and draw inspiration from his real-life story — emphasizing the importance of grit and determination.

The triumph of perseverance

While we often hear about perseverance and what happens through it, no one talks about what perseverance actually is. Perseverance is a superpower that enables you to thrive regardless of your circumstances. It is the tenacity to keep pushing forward when the road gets tough, the ability to adapt and learn from failures, and the determination to achieve your goals despite all odds. 

Yes Means Yes, Everything Else Means No sheds light on the inspirational journey of Bruce Mullen. He faced numerous challenges in his life, such as when he survived a plane crash with his daughter. Bruce’s story exemplifies the power of grit and perseverance. Despite all odds, the author worked tirelessly, remained focused on his goals, and eventually earned well-deserved success. His story reminds us that no matter how harsh our past or current circumstances may be, they do not define our future. It is indeed our determination to persevere that makes all the difference. 

The importance of resilience and determination

Wouldn’t you say that resilience and determination are the cornerstones of success? Because they are. In a world where we are so often tempted to give up at the first sign of difficulty, it is crucial to understand that achieving something great requires time and effort.

Rather than perceiving challenges as dead ends, we have to start embracing them as stepping stones to success. Remember that every setback opens up the opportunity to learn, grow, and become better.

Understanding grit

Grit is the ability of individuals to stay committed to a goal and work relentlessly toward it despite the odds. Simply, grit is about having the determination and tenacity to keep going when things get tough; it is not about talent or intelligence. 

Life is filled with obstacles and setbacks (you already know that). Grit enables you to persevere through adversity while maintaining enthusiasm for your goals. Harnessing the power of grit is essential; once you harness it, you can achieve remarkable success and push the boundaries of what you once thought possible. If you are interested in learning more about the power of grit and perseverance, Yes Means Yes, Everything Else Means No is an ideal read for you. This book will help you harness the essence of understanding the power of firm decision-making — welcoming you to a world where yes means yes and everything else means no.

The post Never give up: The power of grit and perseverance appeared first on Digital Journal.

This fact has not escaped the attention of lawmakers. The Affordable Care Act, often known as Obamacare, was passed in 2010 to address America’s health coverage gaps. The central portions of the act came into law in 2014 and had a drastic impact almost immediately. The share of Americans aged 18-64 without health insurance fell from around 15% to less than 10%. The latest data suggests just 7.7% of adults under 65 lacked health coverage in the first quarter of 2023.

These results have been a drastic victory for the bill’s proponents, but the headline numbers significantly downplay how much risk Americans still face. Care Better looked at research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal to understand why this might be the case. Their work shows that a startling one-quarter of Americans between 18 and 64 can expect to lose their health coverage at some point two years after they first sign up for insurance.

Care Better

Some people are at much higher risk of losing their coverage than others

The main reason for this discrepancy is that typical statistics only capture a snapshot of the population and do not account for the risk that a specific individual might lose their health insurance. People relying on Medicaid for health coverage can lose their plans for a whole host of reasons, including if they receive a raise that pushes them out of eligibility or if they move to another state with different qualification criteria. People who lose their jobs can lose their employer-sponsored health plans or be unable to afford plans they bought through private exchanges.

People with Medicaid or who buy their insurance through private exchanges are especially at risk. These individuals have a roughly 20% chance of losing their coverage in the first two years after enrolling. In contrast, people who get their insurance through their employers have less than a 10% chance of losing their plan over the same interval.

Some demographics are at higher risk of losing their health insurance than others. The study found that people with fewer educational qualifications, younger people, and Hispanic and Black Americans are especially likely to lose their insurance within two years of starting a new plan. These groups are both more likely to be enrolled in Medicaid and less likely than white Americans to work at jobs that have employer-sponsored health care coverage. Moreover, around half of those who lose their insurance do so for at least six months, while about a quarter remain uninsured for over two years.

In addition to the direct risks Americans face by not having health insurance, the study notes that inconsistent coverage can also force people into delaying vital health procedures. Spotty coverage can also confuse people about the services their plans cover or whether they have health coverage at all.

America’s health insurance woes are not just about the “permanently uninsured,” but also what the authors call the “transiently uninsured,” explaining that being insured is a dynamic state.

Story editing by Ashleigh Graf and Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.

This story originally appeared on Care Better and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

The post How official health insurance numbers understate consumer risks appeared first on Digital Journal.

Potential factors contributing to this learning loss include schools being ill-equipped for the pandemic shift, limited resources, and disparities in computer and broadband access among students. Additionally, COVID-19 death rates and employment losses may have either correlated with school closures or mediated effects on disadvantaged students.

To learn more about learning loss during the pandemic, HeyTutor looked at the robust “School District and Community Factors Associated with Learning Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic” report, released in May 2023 by the NWEA (formerly the Northwest Evaluation Association). While the NWEA’s primary analysis looked at math and reading test scores in 2016, 2019, and 2022 for students in third through eighth grade, HeyTutor’s examination focused on test scores of primarily eighth-grade students in 2019 and 2022, as reflected on a congressionally mandated, standardized test administered by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Answering the “why” of COVID-19-related learning loss is complicated by racial contexts. Higher death rates, elevated unemployment rates, and increased rates of depression and anxiety for Black and Hispanic adults during the pandemic underscore COVID-19’s potentially compounding effects on student learning.

“The pandemic affected nearly every aspect of students’ lives,” NWEA’s report states, “[including] their school experiences, their social networks, their parents’ jobs and income, their mental health, among others.”

Lower-income and school districts with majority Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations, as well as school districts that operated with hybrid or remote schedules, experienced the most learning loss, the NWEA report shows. It highlights persistent inequities facing one of the world’s richest countries. Within school districts, however, white students and those who were not economically disadvantaged experienced roughly the same amount of learning loss as Hispanic and Black students and those from low-income households. This finding suggests that factors on a local or community level—such as economic conditions and internet access for example—affected student populations within districts similarly.

Columbia University’s Black Education Research Center advocates in its “Black Education in the Wake of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism” paper for more investments in mental health and counseling services to address racial trauma as part of post-pandemic education; professional development programs to help school leaders address the emotional, academic, and social needs of Black students; and more culturally competent educators serving in Black students.

HeyTutor

School districts eye emergency relief funds to stanch learning loss

With an eye toward glaring disparities in learning loss during COVID-19, school districts are tapping resources from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund to start to undo the damage. Tutoring initiatives, summer learning programs, and extended school days are just a few of the ways districts are using the funding—$22 billion of which is designated for tackling learning loss.

“From our perspective, these test-score drops in no way indicate that these students represent a ‘lost generation’ or that we should give up hope,” four NWEA employees wrote in a Brookings Institute commentary. “Most of us have never lived through a pandemic, and there is so much we don’t know about students’ capacity for resiliency in these circumstances and what a timeline for recovery will look like.”

Story editing by Nicole Caldwell. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.

This story originally appeared on HeyTutor and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

The post What kinds of schools fared the best and worst during the pandemic? appeared first on Digital Journal.

Incredible Health analyzed the increasing costs of medical care and its contributing factors, referencing Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Rising health care costs are partly due to an aging population. According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 13% of people in the U.S. in 2010 were aged 65 and older; by 2021, 16% were 65 and up. By 2030, 1 in 5 people will be a senior citizen. Comparatively, this age group spends the most on health care, which means overall costs are expected to increase. Other factors also contribute to higher prices, including expensive new technology, more administrative costs, and hospital consolidation.

Americans may be spending more on health care, but they’re not getting the improved health they might think they’re paying for. Compared with other nations, the U.S. spends more money per capita on health care, but Americans continue to have a lower life expectancy and higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and infant mortality.

Incredible Health

How various health care costs have changed in 10 years

Inflation metrics for health insurance trail other metrics because people register for insurance plans before they get health care. Plan costs are set for the year, so if costs run higher, health insurers must absorb them until they can adjust insurance prices.

Consumers can expect insurance prices to rise more than usual in 2024, as Mercer forecasts a 5.4% premium increase, up from the typical 3% to 4% increase. Additionally, a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis found that plans available through Affordable Care Act marketplaces will likely have a 6% increase. Other factors to consider include inflation, which has affected the cost of medical supplies, and staffing shortages at hospitals and health care systems, which have prompted higher wages. Not to mention more medical claims and higher prescription drug prices will also increase plan prices.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 3 in 5 adults take at least one prescription drug, and 1 in 4 have four or more prescriptions. Price increases quickly become a pain point, particularly for people who are uninsured.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers make drug price adjustments twice yearly, in January and July, according to the Office of Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for the Department of Health and Human Services. During those months in 2022, manufacturers increased prices more than usual on more drugs. January’s increase affected 3,239 drugs, with an average increase of nearly $150 per drug; in July, 601 drugs had higher prices, with an average of $250 per drug. Ativan, a drug used to treat anxiety, had a 7.9% increase, from $37.65 to $40.62 per pill. Greenstone’s Fluconazole, used to treat fungal infections, jumped nearly 1,101%, from $2 to $28 per pill.

When prices jump, affordability decreases. According to KFF, nearly 2 in 5 of those with four or more prescriptions have trouble paying for them. Three in 10 adults cut medication costs by skipping doses, cutting pills in half, not filling prescriptions, opting for over-the-counter medication, or bypassing their prescription drugs altogether.

Consolidation within the industry has also led to higher prices. Kaiser looked at an analysis of several types of hospital mergers and found that less competition typically led to higher prices for insurers. When hospital consolidation resulted in just one option within a 15-mile radius, prices were 12% higher than in markets with four or more hospitals nearby. In more consolidated markets, private insurers have less power to rein in providers’ prices.

Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on Incredible Health and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

The post Medical care costs are up 30% in the past decade—here's what it means for Americans appeared first on Digital Journal.

Part of the reason for the boom, which peaked around 2017, is that many Americans have adopted a liking for spicier foods thanks to changes in immigrant populations, leading more restaurants and grocery stores to cater to these flavors. Hot sauce now goes far beyond the single grocery store option on the shelf or the ubiquitous Tabasco table offering of yesteryear. It’s evolved from a niche condiment to a global culinary phenomenon to meet the expanding consumer tastes.

Small-batch producers have even entered the scene, providing unique flavor profiles for consumers seeking distinctive tastes and premium ingredients—shifting hot sauce from a mere topping to a gourmet experience. Since its inception in 2015, the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones” has garnered millions of fans dedicated to the love of the sauce.

To see which hot sauces are on the tip of Americans’ tongues, Stacker looked at Instacart data on the 10 most popular hot sauces in the U.S. according to shoppers, then cross-referenced those findings with YouGov data on both the most beloved and most recognized products in the U.S. to determine the most popular hot sauces stateside.

The hot sauces are ranked by popularity, with ties broken by fame ratings. On YouGov, “popularity” is defined by the percentage of respondents who had a favorable opinion of the product, while “fame” is defined as the percentage of respondents who merely know of a product. There are also some honorable mentions included that were in the Instacart report but didn’t register on YouGov’s list.

Read on to see if your favorite mouth-tingling hot sauce made the list, and who knows? You might find your next favorite.

calimedia // Shutterstock

#4. Huy Fong Sriracha

– Popularity: 41%
– Fame: 63%
– Scoville scale: 2,200 SHUs

Huy Fong Foods’ sriracha, named after the coastal town of Si Racha in Thailand, where the chili sauce originated, was created by Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran. The name Huy Fong honors the freighter Tran boarded in Vietnam to come to the U.S. as a refugee in 1979. A year later, he started selling the hot sauce out of his Chevy van in Los Angeles.

Initially catering to the growing Asian immigrant community, sriracha soared in popularity due to its versatility and distinctive flavor—characterized by a balanced blend of spice, tang, and garlic—owing its heat to sun-ripened red jalapeño peppers. The iconic rooster logo and green-capped bottle gained a cult following and subsequently mainstream appeal. Huy Fong Sriracha is so popular that when a chili pepper shortage halted production in 2022, panic ensued.

Today, the sauce is in numerous cuisines, deliciously enhancing everything from noodles to soup to pizza, as the bottle suggests. Now, 45 years after he first came to the U.S., Tran’s net worth is at $1 billion, according to Forbes as of January 2024.

Billy F Blume Jr // Shutterstock

#3. Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce

– Popularity: 41%
– Fame: 72%
– Scoville scale: 747 SHUs

Texas Pete hot sauce has its roots in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where it was first introduced in 1929 by Sam Garner and his three sons—Thad, Ralph, and Harold—who’d previously bought a barbecue restaurant where they made a famous barbecue sauce. The hot sauce was their second success in the condiment world (and their Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce is still going strong).

Initially known as “Mexican Joe,” the hot sauce underwent a name change in the 1930s to Texas Pete, an homage to the piquant cuisine of Texas and a nickname Harold went by. Its combination of tangy vinegar, aged peppers, and a balanced heat level has made it a staple in the Southeast and beyond. The sauce compliments various dishes, including traditional Southern fare, barbecue, fried chicken, and Tex-Mex cuisine. Today, Texas Pete is still run by third- and fourth-generation Garner family members—and they’ve even gotten into the sriracha game.

JHVEPhoto // Shutterstock

#2. Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce

– Popularity: 48%
– Fame: 80%
– Scoville scale: 450 SHUs

Frank’s RedHot sauce has a spicy and rich history dating back to the turn of the 20th century. In 1896, traveling salesman Jacob Frank wanted a career change and decided to go into business with his two brothers in Cincinnati, establishing the Frank Tea and Spice Co.

As the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, the trio first sold spices in small, shelf-sized packages; then they expanded to peanut butter in 1906; and finally, they ventured into hot sauce territory in 1918. That’s when Frank traveled to New Iberia, Louisiana, where, with the help of pepper farmer Adam Estilette, they created a recipe for a hot sauce made with cayenne peppers rather than tabasco peppers.

The sauce, first bottled and sold in 1920, blends spicy and tangy flavors thanks to its unique cayenne pepper base. But what makes Frank’s RedHot sauce extra special is that the peppers are pickled with salts, garlic, and vinegar before they’re aged in oak casks.

Though it long had its fans, the popularity of Frank’s surged in the 1960s after being featured in the original Buffalo wing recipe at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. By 1980, the company was producing 72,000 Frank’s RedHot sauce a day.

In 2017, McCormick acquired the parent company of Frank’s RedHot for $4.2 billion. Today, the second most popular hot sauce in the U.S. is sold in 20 countries worldwide.

IKagadiy // Shutterstock

#1. Tabasco Original Red Sauce

– Popularity: 63%
– Fame: 95%
– Scoville scale: 2,500 SHUs

The most popular hot sauce in America, Tabasco also has a history dating back to the 19th century, when food lover and avid gardener Edmund McIlhenny first created it on Avery Island in Louisiana. Its popularity grew thanks to its unique blend of aged red peppers, salt, and vinegar that impart a bold, tangy flavor.

As the story goes, according to the official Tabasco website, McIlhenny was given seeds of Capsicum frutescens peppers that had either come from Mexico or Central America in the mid-1800s. He grew his first commercial pepper crop in 1868, and by the following year, he’d sent out more than 650 bottles of his brand-new hot pepper sauce, offering it wholesale for $1 apiece to grocers in New Orleans and around the Gulf Coast at large. He called it Tabasco, believed to be from the native Aztec word tlapaco, meaning “humid land.”

By the late 1870s, the hot sauce’s recognition had grown, and it was sold throughout the U.S. and Europe, becoming a staple condiment cherished for enhancing various foods.

Today, Tabasco comes in nine different varieties, and the company is still family-owned and operated on Avery Island. For the ultimate hot sauce enthusiasts, there’s even a museum where you can learn about how Tabasco is made.

The Image Party // Shutterstock

Honorable mentions

There are quite a few famous hot sauces that didn’t make the cut, based on YouGov data, but still deserve a mention, starting with a trio from Mexico.

First up is Cholula Hot Sauce, which comes from a 100-year-old family recipe. It boasts a combination of arbol and piquín peppers, providing a flavorful heat complemented by a hint of garlic. Then there’s Tapatío, created in 1971 and characterized by its well-balanced spice level and citrusy undertones. And finally, there’s Salsa Valentina, introduced in 1960 by Don Manuel Maciel Mendez. This one stands out for its use of Mexican puya peppers.

If Louisiana flavors are more your speed, there’s The Original Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce, a Southern classic that dates back to 1928 and delivers a cayenne-induced kick. It’s still made in New Iberia, Louisiana, just like Frank’s RedHot. There’s also Crystal Hot Sauce, another Louisana favorite, started in 1923 by Alvin Baumer. It features a milder heat with a hint of sweetness that complements everything from oysters and chicken to dips and cocktails. Little did Baumer know the recipe for “Crystal Pure” he discovered in a drawer would be the spicy gift that keeps on giving.

Also popular, according to Instacart’s findings, is Burman’s Hot Sauce, an Aldi dupe for Frank’s RedHot, which fans say is remarkably similar in taste and at a fraction of the price.

Story editing by Jaimie Etkin. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

The post The most popular hot sauces in the US—and the history behind them appeared first on Digital Journal.

The mid-20th century push for equality between Black and white Americans led to the end of racial segregation in schools, the workplace, and beyond. The Civil Rights Movement, long-preceded by the work of older generations of Black activists and thinkers, followed decades of Jim Crow-era violence and injustice. It was clear that the “equal protection of the laws” promised in the 14th Amendment to all Americans, regardless of race, failed to play out in reality.

The fight for racial equality was marked by protests such as sit-ins, marches, and Freedom Rides. By the time of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968—a time commonly referred to as the end of the Civil Rights Movement, though civil rights activism continued for decades after—the movement’s influence had spread across the globe, inspiring and taking inspiration from decolonization movements in Africa and Asia.

The third Monday in January marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in remembrance of the most recognizable figurehead of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s. But many other Civil Rights leaders working alongside King have been largely overlooked within the collective memory of Americans. To commemorate the contributions of some of these figures, Stacker used historical documents, news articles, and museum sources to uncover the stories behind 14 heroes of the Civil Rights Movement whose names you might not recognize.

Many of the names on this list preceded the more prominent heroes of the mid-century, with their lives and work spanning from the Great Depression to World War II. They built the foundation that would allow King, Rosa Parks, and many others to take action during the movement’s most heated years.

The list includes government officials, journalists, students, lawyers, and many others, demonstrating just how far-reaching civil rights activism was. This collection of leaders also exemplifies how civil rights were, and continue to be, unifying across many divides—race, gender, and politics included.

Read on to find out how these figures came together to support a fight that changed the course of American—and global—history.

Dudley M. Brooks/The The Washington Post via Getty Images

Claudette Colvin

Many may not realize that Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus was not an isolated or spontaneous occurrence; it was actually part of an orchestrated boycott. Nine months before Parks’ act of resistance, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin not only refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, leading to her being arrested and jailed; she also notably challenged the law as a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, which successfully overturned bus segregation mandates in Alabama.

Colvin told NPR in 2009 that she believes Rosa Parks became the national symbol for the bus boycott in part because Parks had a more “middle-class” look and was an adult. Additionally, an unmarried Colvin became pregnant soon after, causing the NAACP to consider her a less appropriate choice as a moral figurehead.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Robert Weaver

Robert Weaver’s work towards urban reform spanned several presidencies. While he was board chairman of the NAACP, John F. Kennedy appointed him the director of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, marking the then-highest position ever held by an African American in the U.S. government. When Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, named Weaver secretary of the newly minted Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1966, Weaver snagged another first: this time, the inaugural African American member of the White House Cabinet.

In this role, Weaver notably advocated for the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibited housing discrimination based on race, as well as religion, color, or national origin. Weaver’s contributions have perhaps been remembered less because of his relatively short career in government—after Johnson’s term ended, Weaver left to pursue a life in academia as president of Baruch College and as a professor at Hunter College.

Bettmann // Getty Images

A. Philip Randolph

The 1963 March on Washington is considered by many to be a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement and was the venue where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech—but the march would not have been possible without the efforts of A. Philip Randolph.

Randolph founded the most successful African American labor union of the time, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, during the 1920s. Two decades later, he succeeded in convincing President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prohibit discrimination in the war industry workplace. He then went on to found the Negro American Labor Council and was instrumental in organizing the 1963 march. The central focus of the march—and Randolph’s work as a whole—was to advocate for the rights of Black workers.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Claude Barnett

Many Civil Rights Movement leaders would arguably have struggled to reach national attention if not for coverage by the Associated Negro Press, which was founded by Claude Barnett in 1919 in the hopes of connecting activists and their work to the Black public.

While the concerns and actions of Black Americans went largely unreported by the white-dominated national newspaper industry, the ANP—which Barnett once described as “the eyes and ears” of the Black community—focused on covering just those stories and distributing them to at least 150 Black-owned U.S. newspapers, and an additional 100 in Africa. Barnett effectively handed a nationwide megaphone to some of the most influential voices of the day, including Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Richard Wright.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Charles Hamilton Houston

The role of civil rights attorney may not exist as we know it today if it weren’t for Charles Hamilton Houston, who received a law degree from Harvard at a time when African Americans were not even allowed membership in the American Bar Association. He went on to become Dean of Howard University’s Law School, where he encouraged other Black lawyers to use their powers to champion civil rights. His most famous mentee was future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Houston also acted as legal counsel for the NAACP and argued many civil rights cases that challenged the legitimacy of “separate but equal,” thus laying the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Afro American Newspapers/Gado // Getty Images

Howard Thurman

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Civil Rights Movement was its use of nonviolent direct action, which was largely thanks to the influence of human rights activist Howard Thurman. Thurman’s advocacy for nonviolent protest, which he was introduced to during meetings with Mahatma Gandhi in India, led to his position as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University.

While there, he mentored many students on the idea of civil disobedience—most notably, Martin Luther King Jr., who was pursuing his Ph.D. at the time. King directly cited Thurman as a guiding influence throughout the Civil Rights Movement, including rereading Thurman’s book “Jesus and the Disinherited” throughout the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Pauli Murray

It is hard to pin down Pauli Murray’s legacy onto just one action: Throughout their lifetime, they co-founded the National Organization for Women, became the first Black student to earn a JSD from Yale Law School, and authored the book “States’ Laws on Race and Color,” which is considered by many to be the “bible” of civil rights law.

Murray wrote “Roots of the Racial Crisis: Prologue to Policy” and “Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII,” both of which contributed to legal arguments that challenged—and ultimately ended—”separate but equal” doctrines. Murray was gender-nonconforming and mostly had relationships with women, an experience that informed their writing on the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.

Afro American Newspapers/Gado // Getty Images

Mamie Till-Mobley

Mamie Till-Mobley was thrust into the national spotlight after the tragic lynching of her son, Emmett Till, in 1955. Till-Mobley’s decision to have an open-casket funeral, ensuring Emmett’s brutalized body was viewed by mourners and photographed by national publications, set off nationwide outrage. After his killers were acquitted, Emmett’s killing became a galvanizing moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Till-Mobley traveled across the country telling her son’s story, contributing to a flood of growth and support for the NAACP. She continued to advocate for civil rights nationally until her death in 2003.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

Diane Nash

Diane Nash was a driving force behind two of the Civil Rights Movement’s signature strategies: sit-ins and Freedom Rides. While a student in Nashville working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Nash organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters throughout the city, successfully integrating some of the restaurants.

Just one year later, Nash worked on behalf of the Congress of Racial Equality to organize Freedom Rides on buses across the South, continuing despite often-violent opposition from police and angry white mobs. While living in Mississippi, Nash continued her work with the SNCC and was eventually arrested for teaching nonviolent protest tactics to minors. Rather than pay a fine, a then-pregnant Nash chose to serve her jail sentence.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Fannie Lou Hamer

Like Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer also started out working for the SNCC, traveling nationwide throughout the 1960s to spread awareness about voting rights amongst Black communities and helping register many to vote. At the time, only 5% of Mississippi’s Black population was registered to vote, and many would-be voters were kept from the polls by intimidation tactics and poll taxes.

Hamer helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which greatly expanded African American representation in the state’s Democratic Party. She was undeterred by several targeted attacks on her life, including being beaten by police officers and having her home shot with 16 bullets by white supremacists.

Mark Gail/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Dion Diamond

Dion Diamond began his work as a civil rights activist at just 15 years old, when he began undertaking one-man sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Virginia. He was frequently arrested, perhaps preparing him for the weeks he would later spend in jail as a result of participating in the 1961 Freedom Rides in Mississippi. Diamond’s actions mainly occurred during his young adulthood, but they were still impactful. His activism career ended, by his own account, when he enrolled in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, perhaps contributing to his relative obscurity in the history books.

Afro American Newspapers/Gado // Getty Images

Ella Baker

Ella Baker was involved in three of the most influential groups of the Civil Rights Movement: the NAACP, the SNCC, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She first worked for the NAACP in the 1940s, traveling throughout the South to speak with African American communities and urging them to advocate for their civil rights. She also advised SCLC activists to adopt group-centered leadership, rather than organizing around an individual leader.

Baker believed grassroots organizing to be the key to the long-term success of the movement. In 1956, she co-founded In Friendship, a group that supported grassroots movements throughout the South. Baker was influential in the founding of the SNCC, as well as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Marc Bryan-Brown/WireImage // Getty Images

Amelia Boynton Robinson

The 1965 Selma to Montgomery march was a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement, and Amelia Boynton Robinson stood at its center. Already a voting rights activist in Selma in the early 1960s, it was Robinson who asked Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC to come to the city to protest, resulting in the march. At the start of the march, Robinson and other marchers in the demonstration were savagely beaten by police in an event that would be known as “Bloody Sunday.” Photos of the protestors helped galvanize civil rights supporters nationally.

In 1964, Robinson became the first Black woman to run for Congress in Alabama, and she continued to work as an activist after King’s assassination.

Bettmann // Getty Images

Daisy Bates

As president of Arkansas’ chapter of the NAACP, Daisy Bates played a pivotal role in advising the “Little Rock Nine” in 1957. Prior to that, Bates and her husband co-founded the Arkansas State Press, an outspokenly pro-civil rights newspaper. This led to Bates’ position advising the nine Black Little Rock students who volunteered to desegregate the city’s Central High School, a task for which Martin Luther King Jr. personally praised her. In 1963, Bates was the only woman to give a speech at the pivotal March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Story editing by Eliza Siegel. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. 

The post 14 heroes of the Civil Rights Movement whose names you may not recognize appeared first on Digital Journal.

“People tend to let their guard down whenever they feel like the safe option is too expensive,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN tells Digital Journal. “This way, they expose themselves to greedy scammers waiting for someone to make a mistake, give out their personal data, or transfer money into malicious hands.”

Hackers use stolen payment cards to perform the scam

To perform ticket fraud, Warmenhoven  explains, criminals use stolen or hacked credit card details to buy plane tickets. After that, they offer these tickets for sale at prices too good to be true through phishing websites that may look legit to their unsuspecting victims. Once a victim pays for their fake ticket, criminals send the booking confirmation, and the user only finds out about the scam when the time to travel comes.

When a scam victim arrives at an airport, their booking may be cancelled after the owner of the stolen credit card finds out about the fraudulent transaction. Even if the owner doesn’t report the purchase until after the scammed traveller has boarded the plane, the credit card company may still reverse the charge, leaving the fraud victim with no way to return from their Christmas holidays.

How to avoid fake ticket scams

“This scam is especially dangerous because it is so difficult to detect. Since the scammer is the initial buyer, they remain the point of contact for the official ticket seller, so the scammed traveller has no way of finding out that their booking was cancelled before they need to board the plane,” says Warmenhoven.

He recommends being cautious online, especially before a Holiday time, and gives these tips for winter travellers:

• If the price is too good to be true, it probably is fake. Scammers can provide much lower prices because they purchase tickets by stealing money from other people.
• Be careful with “last-minute” deals. Hackers always try to sell the tickets they bought with stolen money as soon as possible, ideally before the robbed cardholder cancels the transaction.
• Learn to identify phishing websites. If you enter a suspicious website, inspect it for grammar mistakes, flashy ads, or poor design. Usually, hackers do not invest too much time polishing every sentence or illustration.  
•  Buy your tickets from trusted distributors. Even if you are not buying your tickets directly from an airline, make sure the distributor you choose is well-known and has multiple reviews from its users.

Warmenhoven concludes by recommending to Digital Journal readers that if you suspect you may have bought a fake ticket, contact the service provider by email or the phone number you can find on their official website. 

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Essentially, The tradwife is totally subordinate to the male.

That is quite literally the entire story.

This 1950s cookie-cutter image of a woman is somewhat ironic. Before the 1950s women were a cross between second-class citizens, day laborers, mothers, cooks, and household servants. In the 1950s, they were all of those things except with appliances.

Domestic violence was rampant. Quite a lot of that heavy-duty makeup went into hiding bruises and black eyes etc. Very high alcohol consumption was perfectly normal.

People weren’t really rich, but it was a boom time. The market image of the 1950s is as two-dimensional as most historical Images. Like most of the rare good times in human history that time is idealized to the point of absurdity.

This image is the working model for the tradwives.  The fact that that world barely existed outside upper-income brackets and TV screens doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Normally I’d say, “to be fair” and give a counterbalancing argument. That’s not at all easy in this case. The image of the tradwife is of utter conformity to the values of a society and culture that doesn’t exist anymore.

Pretending the last 70+ years didn’t happen cannot be a good idea. It’s totally unrealistic. These women are supposed to give up all their life opportunities, careers, and even basic self-determination. For what?

One of the popular theories is that the tradwife idea is that it’s a conservative anti-feminism media product. The Puritanical public image really does look very much like that. Tradwives are active enough on social media and are generally against feminism. The overall message is generally conservative to varying degrees.

They certainly get a lot of media exposure, particularly on YouTube. This looks very like the theory that all publicity is good publicity, another plodding trope from the 1950s. On TikTok, there are active tradwife groups.

A Google search will deliver a vast range of explanations of the tradwife. It looks very much like baseline marketing to me. People in idealistic settings explaining what is so great about themselves Is very much an acquired taste. Most of it is all about joining the movement, how great it is, and similar pitches.

People who don’t like the tradwife movement have a question to answer, though.

The question is:

How did this absolute vacuum of an extremely unoriginal idea get any traction with anyone at all?

What could possibly be appealing about it to any modern woman? Why would any intelligent woman want to become a cartoon picture of a housewife on a cookery book? The choice is being a possible millionairess, or a maid and you choose the maid?

The absolutely unnecessary nature of this idea deserves a mention. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nice home a nice house a nice family and nice things. You shouldn’t have to condemn yourself to a life of servitude to get those things. More to the point, you don’t have to do it.

It is perfectly true that some people prefer to be led rather than to lead. Being told what to do is reassuring for these people. A hierarchy is the ideal environment for them. Subordination means less responsibility and lower expectations of them. It’s roughly the equivalent of becoming a floorboard.

Tradwives are a minority if a vocal minority. It’s a matter of opinion whether or not this highly idealized ethos can survive in a disintegrating world.

It looks like half-baked social engineering to me.  

______________________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

The post Op-Ed: Tradwives, a banal mystery, or something else? appeared first on Digital Journal.

A survey conducted by YouGov in 2022 revealed that 35% of respondents agreed travel has become more important to them since the pandemic. But where are they going?

Airalo looked at data from Skyscanner and found international destinations with the greatest increase in searches from Americans. The 10 cities on this list saw the most significant increase in U.S.-based searches between July 2022 and July 2023 compared to the same period in 2021 and 2022.

These trending searches reveal Americans are imagining themselves on a beach with their toes in the sand next year, with six of the 10 destinations in tropical locations. Others are picturing themselves eating sushi or skiing under the shadow of Mount Fuji (Japan made the list twice).

No matter where the destination, American travelers seem to be channeling philosopher Alain de Botton’s words, “There is an almost quaint correlation between what is in front of our eyes and the thoughts we are able to have in our heads: large thoughts at times requiring large views, new thoughts new places.”

Without further ado, here are the places on Americans’ travel wishlists.

Natalia Barsukova // Shutterstock

#9. Oranjestad, Aruba (tie)

– Increase in searches over the last year: 155%

Oranjestad is Aruba’s gem of a seaside capital peppered with Dutch colonial architecture amid palm trees.

Travelers will be enamored right from the get-go with a scenic linear park that connects the airport along the coast to Oranjestad. The city’s tram connects its cruise ship terminals to Main Street and downtown, making sightseeing and shopping a breeze.

Those looking to explore outside the city can enjoy some natural wonders. At Flamingo Beach on Renaissance Island, tourists can swim or lounge next to these majestic birds of paradise. The Butterfly Farm, about a 15-minute drive north of the city, offers magical opportunities to get up close to beautiful, colorful creatures.

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#9. St. Maarten (tie)

– Increase in searches over the last year: 155%

Tied with Oranjestad is another Caribbean island. St. Maarten, a country with deep Dutch ties, occupies the southern part of this island, while French-owned St. Martin takes up the north. With friendly borders, this shared island makes it easy for tourists to jump from fine French Caribbean food to a quiet beach on the Dutch part.

There are 37 breathtaking beaches between the two territories for beachcombers to enjoy during the day. At night, St. Maarten does have an edge over St. Martin; its casinos and nightlife offer travelers more opportunities to party after sunset.

Lin kent // Shutterstock

#8. Taipei, Taiwan

– Increase in searches over the last year: 177%

Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, took an economic hit due to pandemic restrictions and political tensions, but this lively city has seen a slow comeback in recent years due to its famed festivals. The Taiwan Lantern Festival on Lunar New Year attracted over 1 million visitors in 2023 alone, cloaking the city in the glow of a million lanterns. Colorfully painted dragon boats race down the river to the rhythm of drums at the annual Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the Chinese poet Qu Yuan.

Visits outside of festival seasons can still yield exciting experiences. Year-round activities include chowing down on all sorts of meals at Ningxia Night Market’s open-air food stalls, stepping into a tea lover’s haven at Maokong, and hiking through the Yangmingshan National Park for those who want to go further afield. The city’s diversity and exhilarating festivals make Taipei popular for all types of travelers.

Brookgardener // Shutterstock

#7. Bermuda

– Increase in searches over the last year: 184%

Another sunny island escape made the list—it’s time to fish out your Bermuda shorts. The British island territory Bermuda is famous for its pink sand and luxury spas and hotels, but it offers much more. Art lovers will enjoy ogling the city of Hamilton’s many murals and installations, the art collection displayed at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, or the historical and decorative art collection at the Bermuda National Gallery.

It is also home to St. George’s, the oldest English town in the New World. The port city was founded in 1612 and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. While there, don’t forget to dive into Bermuda’s endless aquatic activities or explore its famous shipwrecks at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Of course, travelers can just lay back, take in the area’s pastel cottages, and sip its signature rum cocktails (dark ‘n’ stormy and Bermuda rum swizzle).

Giampaolo Nitti // Shutterstock

#6. Bucharest, Romania

– Increase in searches over the last year: 190%

Located in eastern Europe, Bucharest is steeped in rich history. Tourists fill their days visiting museums, monuments, and medieval castles before relaxing in one of Bucharest’s many outdoor beer gardens and bars. 

A testament to Romanian architects is the Palace of Parliament, one of the biggest administrative buildings in the world. It also houses the National Museum of Contemporary Art, which has four floors of exhibition space and offers stunning city views of Bucharest.

The Spotlight Festival has quickly become a highlight of the city, attracting many tourists. This international open-air festival lights up Bucharest’s famous buildings and brings to life monuments with multimedia lights and videos.

pics721// Shutterstock

#5. US Virgin Islands

– Increase in searches over the last year: 198%

Nestled just off the coast of Puerto Rico sits many small but mighty islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, which comprise St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island. These exuberant islands are a popular stopover for cruises, and year-round warm weather attracts sailors and boaters.

For many tourists, the allure of these islands comes in the form of a leisurely animal. The Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on the island of St. Croix is home to many endangered sea turtle species. Tourists and locals do their part to ensure these beach nests are kept safe.

This island also offers a fast lane—just follow the smell of fried fish and the sound of steel drums to meet ecstatic street dancers dressed in colorful feathered costumes. The vibrant Virgin Islands Carnival is a celebration of culture that occurs at different times of the year depending on the island and continues attracting people from all over the world.

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#4. Tokyo, Japan

– Increase in searches over the last year: 201%

Modern skyscrapers stretch across the horizon of Tokyo, and towering above them all sits the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji. Tokyo’s labyrinthine transportation system is one of the world’s largest and most efficient in the world, making getting from iconic temples and gardens to the Tokyo Skytree and Michelin-star restaurants a breeze.

Anime and manga fans worldwide travel to visit some of their must-see locations and shops. In the city’s Akihabara neighborhood, the main street closes to car traffic on Sundays to make way for anime and manga lovers looking for their next treasure.

Winter sports enthusiasts happily take off work to spend a week on the slopes in Hakuba, northwest of Tokyo. No wonder this all-encompassing city has seen an increase of over 200% in searches in the last year.

chanchai duangdoosan // Shutterstock

#3. Osaka, Japan

– Increase in searches over the last year: 210%

Located on the southern coast of Japan, Osaka is nicknamed “Japan’s Kitchen” owing to its endless supply of mouth-watering street food stalls and fresh portside seafood. Many flock to Dotonbori, where illuminated signs and giant billboards never fail to whip up an appetite for food connoisseurs.

More history-minded travelers wander through the grounds at Osaka Castle, especially in the springtime when cherry blossoms bloom, or see a masked drama at the Ohtsuki Noh Theater, which dates back to 1935. Kids will have fun on the Tempozan Ferris Wheel or Universal Studios Japan. Only a short bus ride away is Nara Park, where deer eat crackers out of the hands of willing tourists.

Maridav // Shutterstock

#2. French Polynesia

– Increase in searches over the last year: 227%

Clustered in the South Pacific, French Polynesia includes over 100 little islands. Tourists are eager to stay in the famous thatch-roofed overwater bungalows, some with glass floors on the terrace, allowing guests to watch the marine life dance below.

Perhaps one of the most famed islands in French Polynesia is Tahiti, home to a heavy barreling wave just offshore in the small village of Teahupo’o. The best surfers in the world travel to test their skills on this incredible wave with professional photographers nearby, ready to catch it all.

But beyond the pristine beaches, what makes French Polynesia truly special are the locals who retain a deep connection to the land and their ancestors and are working to keep it alive, from Virginie Biret, one of the few people who still know the Polynesian quilting technique called “tifaifai” to chef Nahema Charles, who offers a pescatarian menu at Pura Vida.

Richard Whitcombe // Shutterstock

#1. Cayman Islands

– Increase in searches over the last year: 483%

Three main islands make up the Cayman Islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, which are home to spectacular scuba diving sites, not to mention rare wildlife like blue iguanas and red-footed boobies.

Travelers can find many of the territory’s attractions on Grand Cayman. At Stingray City, people can feed wild stingrays in the shallow sandbar. Those looking for a more subterranean adventure can check out the Cayman Crystal Caves, where giant stalagmites and stalactites encompass the caves where Blackbeard supposedly hid.

Bioluminescent Bay is a spectacle worth taking the trip for alone. Single-celled plankton in the water light up when disturbed, so the ocean glows at night.

Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.

This story originally appeared on Airalo and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

The post The top trending international destinations on Americans' travel wish lists for 2024 appeared first on Digital Journal.

That same report says more than half of travelers who participated in the survey researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. The film location-as-travel phenomenon is so prevalent now that one app, SetJetters, partnered with the film industry to help people document locations where directors filmed movie and TV scenes.

Visiting these locations “enables the world of the film to exist and flourish in people’s imaginations,” SetJetters CEO Erik Nachtrieb told Stacker in an email.

Some of the most popular real-life locations to visit, according to SetJetters data, are already popular tourist destinations. The Netflix series “Emily in Paris” brought a surge of new interest in France, already the world’s most-visited country as of 2019. The “Harry Potter” movies continue to bring tourists to London, and several blockbuster movies and TV shows, from “Ghostbusters” to “Gossip Girl,” drive interest in New York City.

At the same time, regions that haven’t historically had huge crowds are beginning to see more set-jetting tourists. Stacker combed through trending destination data from Expedia, the SetJetters app, and local tourism boards to find out which destinations saw more visitors due to TV- and film-loving tourists.

Shutterstock // AlexeMarcel

Bușteni, Romania: “Wednesday”

The comedy horror series “Wednesday,” starring Jenna Ortega as the popular “Addams Family” character, was a huge hit for Netflix, becoming the streaming platform’s third most-watched English-language series of all time. Some of that viewership turned into increased interest in travel to Romania by fans: Hotel searches for Bucharest increased by 55% after the series premiered in November 2022, according to OnePoll research conducted for Expedia Brands.

One destination featured on the show, the Cantacuzino Castle, located in Bușteni, has seen an influx of young and foreign tourists. Exterior shots of the castle were used for the show’s Nevermore Academy.

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Scottish Highlands: “Outlander”

Thanks to the time-travel drama “Outlander,” tourism in the Scottish Highlands and other parts of Scotland has continued to increase over the years. Glasgow Caledonian University researchers estimate the “Outlander” effect has increased tourism by 45-200% at many Scottish locations. Tours promising the “Outlander” experience have popped up across Scotland to capitalize on interest in the book-turned-TV series.

“Outlander” fans may have a couple more years to add new areas of Scotland to their travel wishlist; the popular Starz show has announced Season 8 will be its last, but the final season will likely not be released until 2025.

Shutterstock // Gordon Bell

Richmond, UK: “Ted Lasso”

Searches for London’s Richmond borough increased by 160% on Expedia’s website after Season 2 of the hit series “Ted Lasso” was released. By the time Season 3 came out, that interest reportedly doubled, according to OnePoll. The town of Richmond has leaned into its newfound popularity with its Ted Lasso Tours, which takes fans to Ted’s Local Pub, thinking bench, and front door. U.S. travelers are driving the heightened interest in Richmond; the show hasn’t found a large audience in the United Kingdom. Australian, Canadian, and Japanese travelers are also jumping in on the “Ted Lasso” tourism trend.

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Bath, UK: “Bridgerton”

“Bridgerton” fans are using their vacations to venture away from London, dear reader, and instead heading to Bath, located in South West England. The popular Netflix series has given the city an economic boost of about $1.9 million. Since the most famous filming locations are spread out across the town, a Bath charity responded by adding a fleet of e-bikes for tourists to get around more easily. Hotels in Bath also offer special “Bridgerton” tours and afternoon teas to immerse fans in the Regency experience.

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Pasadena, California: “Twilight”

The “Twilight” films may be over a decade old, but Twihards continue flocking to places that remind them of Bella and Edward’s love story. A certain “Twilight” prom scene continues to drive visitors to Pasadena, a city northeast of Los Angeles. The scene, in which Bella sits outside on a bench and talks to Jacob, was shot at a private house worth more than $12 million as of November 2023 and was one of the top film location stops in 2023 on the SetJetters app. “Twilight” also continues to drive many visitors to parts of Oregon and Washington, where other parts of the movie franchise were filmed.

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Brisbane, Australia: “Thor: Ragnarok”

Who knew an alley could become a top tourist attraction? That’s the case for Esk Lane in Brisbane’s central business district, thanks to four days of filming that took place there in 2016. Many fans appeared during filming to wave at actors Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Cate Blanchett. The “Thor: Ragnarok” scene—a key confrontation between the characters Thor (Hemsworth), Loki (Hiddleston), and Hela (Blanchett) in the 2017 Marvel film—was teased in an early trailer for the movie before the setting was abruptly changed to a green plain in later trailers. Nonetheless, Esk Lane was one of the most popular locations on the SetJetters app for 2023. Even though the cameras are long gone, intrigue for the alley persists.

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Budapest, Hungary: “The Witcher”

Seasons 1 and 2 of “The Witcher” were filmed in several locations across Europe, including Slovenia, the U.K., and Poland. Budapest saw a 170% tourism boost, largely due to early scenes in the series that use Vajdahunyad Castle as a backdrop. Coincidentally—or not—”The Witcher” is not the only popular story linked to Vajdahunyad Castle; the landmark also imprisoned Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia, or Vlad the Impaler, believed to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula character.

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Taormina, Sicily: “The White Lotus”

The second season of the HBO series “The White Lotus” was filmed at the San Domenico Palace, located in the hilltop town of Taormina. Sicily was the 10th most popular location by combined visits, searches, and views on the SetJetters app and saw a 300% increase in bookings after its first two seasons, according to OnePoll data. Considering it satirizes the tourism and travel industries, it is ironic that both seasons of “The White Lotus” inspired travel to Hawaii, its Season 1 location, and Sicily.

Season 3 is anticipated to bring more interest in a new destination. “The White Lotus” won’t be back with new episodes until 2025, but HBO has confirmed it will occur at a luxurious hotel in Thailand. If the show continues working with Four Seasons hotels, there are four Thai locations to choose from: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, and Chiang Rai.

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Petra, Jordan: “Star Wars”

Ever wondered where they film many of the epic battle scenes in the rocky red desert? This is the place.

Love for the “Star Wars” franchise has endured since the 1970s, with more recent films drawing crowds to the stunning Martian-red desert of Petra and nearby Wadi Rum. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Rogue One” both include scenes filmed in the Jordanian desert.

Beyond the Force, many other films have used the dramatic sandstone and granite mountains as a backdrop. Over 100 feature films worldwide have been filmed in the area, and tourists are increasingly drawn to these sites. Some Hollywood examples include “Prometheus,” “Dune,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and “The Martian.”

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Astoria, Oregon: “The Goonies”

The cult classic film “The Goonies” may have been a phenomenon of the 1980s, but the thrill of a treasure hunt lives on among its fans today. It’s a good thing the movie characters didn’t tear down Mikey’s house in real life: Astoria remains the fourth most popular location by visits, views, and searches on the SetJetters app, with the “Goonies” houses being one of the most popular locations for 2023. The homes’ current owners have mixed feelings about the popularity of their properties. One house has been spotted with a “Goonies Not Welcome” sign, while the owner of Mikey’s fictional house—a “Goonies” superfan—bought it with the intention of preserving the cinematic landmark.

Story editing by Eliza Siegel. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.

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