The Golden State Warriors Did It
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins in the 1995-96 NBA season Wednesday night, when they reached their 73rd win of the season with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Stephen Curry also destroyed his own record of 286 three pointers from last season by reaching 402, and President Barack Obama tweeted out his congrats to the team. Up next for the Warriors: a shot at two NBA championships in a row. [SF Gate]
Congrats to the @Warriors, a great group of guys on and off the court. If somebody had to break the Bulls' record, I'm glad it's them.
— President Obama (@POTUS) April 14, 2016
A New York Observer Reporter Quit After His Paper Endorsed Donald Trump
Political reporter Ross Barkan abruptly quit the New York Observer after the paper, which is owned by the son-in-law of the Republican frontrunner, endorsed Donald Trump. Here he is in his own words on why he left. [Politico]
Questions We Have for Buzzfeed Over That “Black People” Video
In case you missed it, BuzzFeed made a truly cringe-worthy video this week entitled “27 Questions Black People Have for Black People” that, to a lot of people, sounded more like “questions white people have for black people but are too afraid to ask,” according to author Janet Mock and many others, including Very Smart Brothas’ Damon Young who summed up the video’s potential for harm this way: as a way for millions of young black people “to convince themselves that Black culture is somehow specifically malignant.” [Very Smart Brothas]
A Peek Inside the Life of One Chinese Family on Ludlow Street
Photographer Thomas Holton, who has an American father and a Chinese mother, spent some time capturing small, intimate moments in the life of one Chinese family that lives in a tenement building on Ludlow Street. The photos are quite striking — three kids in a tub, the family hanging out in their cramped living room, always making the best of their situation. [Slate]
UC Davis Paid $175K to Scrub Infamous Pepper Spray Incident from the Web
The University of California, Davis hired contractors to try and improve the school’s online search results — an attempt at damage control after videos of campus police brazenly pepper-spraying a group of seated protesters at the school went viral in 2011. The Sacramento Bee reports that the school paid one firm $15,000 a month to “execute an online branding campaign designed to clean up the negative attention,” the school got after the incident. [Sacramento Bee]
Intrepid Octopus Stages Daring Escape From Australian Aquarium
A football-sized octopus named Inky managed to squeeze through a small gap left open on its tank, slither across the floor of the aquarium and make its way down a drainpipe that lead to the ocean, Radio New Zealand first reported. Turns out octopuses are rather crafty creatures. [Washington Post]
Brooklyn Man Broke World Record For Longest TV Binge Watching Session
After 94 hours, Alejandro Fragoso emerged victorious (and we’re guessing with a bad headache). [PIX11]
The Story Behind Aretha Franklin’s Massive Hit ‘Respect’, 50 Years Later
Few songs have had the staying power of Aretha Franklin’s "Respect." Here’s how the Queen of Soul, at the age of 25, made that song what it is. [Elle]
The Art and Science of Living Beyond Your Means
If 50 Cent can do it, then why can’t the rest of us? Scroll through the rapper’s Instagram and you’ll immediately notice the cars, money and lifestyle of a famous celebrity. Only problem is, the “Candy Shop” rapper filed for bankruptcy last year, claiming he was millions in debt. But research shows that this isn’t just a 50-thing. Apparently, “everyday people are also leasing a lifestyle beyond their reach in order to project an image.” Is it a social thing, is it worth the investment? Well, these same researchers also say it’s important to strike the right balance. Just don’t go spending rent money to rent clothes or be “In Da Club” like 50 Cent. [BBC]
Theater Chain AMC Wants to Allow You to Text During Movies
In an effort to lure in more audiences, especially younger ones, AMC wants to do away with the no texting rule that’s part of current movie theater etiquette. “You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said this week. Acknowledging that constant texting is irksome to a large population of movie-goers, AMC is exploring offering special “texting-friendly” theaters. [Quartz]
Victorian Era Inventors Contemplated Using Mirrors to Talk to Aliens
In light of recent hysteria that a new ninth planet is coming to destroy us and everything we know and hold dear, this Atlas Obscura article about 19th-century efforts to contact aliens using mirrors is a fun, light-hearted read. [Atlas Obscura]
This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Danielle Tcholakian, Irene Plagianos, Gwynne Hogan, Jeanmarie Evelly, Eddie Small, Nikhita Venugopal, Rachel Holliday Smith, Shaye Weaver, Noah Hurowitz, Carolina Pichardo and Emily Frost.
