by Deepa Lakshmin 1 min ago

Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right? Westeros isn’t just about duels to the death — education is important, people! A bachelor’s degree should be a prerequisite for the Iron Throne. So, what would your favorite “GoT” character study to prepare himself or herself for the real world (of George R.R. Martin’s imagination)?

Spoilers ahead, if you’re not caught up with Season 4…

Petyr Baelish – Psychology

Nobody can read a mind quite like Littlefinger can. He always knows what you’re up to, but he doesn’t care about treating your issues — he’ll just use that info to manipulate you mercilessly.

Khal Drogo – Astronomy

Khal didn’t do much with his degree after graduation, but it did inspire those “moon of my life…my sun and stars” pet names with Daenerys.

Cersei Lannister – Finance

Girl gets s–t done. She was one of those annoying people who had a job offer two months into her senior year of college.

Stannis Baratheon – Statistics

This guy’s all about the strategy. In college, he was the guy who took out his calculator immediately after every exam to determine where his potential grade landed on the curve.

Related: 17 ‘Game Of Thrones’ Characters Get Their Names Screwed Up At Starbucks

Tyrion Lannister – Pre-Law

He can debate. He’s good at studying. He likes books. That’s all you need to ace the LSATs, right?

Gendry – Mechanical Engineering

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by Deepa Lakshmin 4 mins ago

Johanna Rae Taylor could’ve received a decade-long prison sentence, but this 19-year-old is perhaps America’s luckiest thief.

Over the course of five months, Taylor — a former Best Buy cashier in Grand Rapids, Michigan — ordered $35,000 worth of Best Buy appliances and electronics online, then used her computer skills at work to change the amount she paid for these items to $0. She did this more than 80 times, ultimately pleading guilty to the charges, Mlive.com reports.

Plus, she stole $561 in store gift cards and $3,644 in cash the old-fashioned way — summing up to a grand total of $39,654. (I mean, what does a 19-year-old even do with that much money?)

Convicted of embezzling from her employer, Taylor wouldn’t have gotten out of prison until she was almost 30…but the judge took pity on her, calling the teenager “one of the least likely criminal types” that he’s seen, adding, “You don’t seem generally disposed toward criminal conduct.”

So instead of 10 years behind bars, the judge only gave her 200 hours of community service over the next three months, plus a reduced (but still huge) $24,769 in restitution. Oh yeah, she also has to return $12,000 worth of unopened “purchases.”

And because Taylor is a first time offender under the age of 21, the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act can keep a felony conviction off her permanent record (she won’t have to reveal any of this info on her future job applications) as long as she ...

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by Deepa Lakshmin 3 mins ago

Say goodbye to $1 pizza. Milk is getting more expensive, and that means all dairy products — cheese, baked goods, pastries, everything that you hold near and dear to your heart — will be seeing a price bump.

The U.S. just doesn’t have enough dairy supplies to fulfill the consumers’ demands, Bloomberg reports, leading to a surge in imports…and costs. It may be time to start hoarding and freezing. Who knows, maybe buying an extra refrigerator will soon be less expensive than a box of pie. (OK, probably not, but still.)

Related: This Awesome Redditor Delivers Pizza To Those In Need

In July a gallon of whole milk was a whopping $3.65, the highest price the Bureau of Labor Statistics has seen since 2011. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that we’ll use up to 93.4 tons of milk this year alone, so yes, that might get a little expensive. You might have to settle for hot dogs — *gasp* — instead of cheesy pizza goodness this football season.

In short: We’re all gonna starve and Asher Roth will need to change his “I can get pizza a dollar a slice” lyric.

Aaand now here’s some pizza gifs to help you get over your loss.

by Deepa Lakshmin 16 mins ago

For decades, guys have worried about their girlfriends remembering to take the pill — but soon, the responsibility may be on both genders. Or even just men.

No, the male birth control pill isn’t here — but the male birth control gel is on its way, assuming the human trials go well. (Research has already proven the procedure effective at preventing pregnancy in baboons.) Here’s everything you need to know about the potential future of contraceptives…

Wait, what is this magical pregnancy-preventing drug?
It’s called “Vasalgel,” but it’s not exactly a drug. It’s a non-hormonal polymer gel that temporarily blocks sperm from flowing through guys’ tubes. Simplified tenfold, it’s a reversible vasectomy — minus the cutting.

You said “reversible,” right?
Yep. The gel is injected into the vas deferens — remember learning about those in 7th grade sex ed? — a.k.a. the ducts that transport sperm.

Wait, it’s injected into my balls?
Yep. Sorry. Want some Tylenol?

OK, OK, fine…tell me more.
The gel forms a wall that effectively stops any sperm from swimming to the motherland. When it’s time to reverse the procedure months or even years later, a second injection flushes out the polymer wall and restores the sperm flow. Compare this to a traditional vasectomy, where the vas deferens are permanently cut.

Is it 100% effective?
In the animal study, male baboons on Vasalgel were each given unrestricted, uh, play time with 10 to 15 female baboons. There were no female pregnancies in six months of baboon hanky panky. Earlier research on rabbits also supports ...

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by Deepa Lakshmin 13 mins ago

Some people go to the gym after carrying too much beer in their bellies, but 38-year-old German dude Oliver Struempfel goes to the gym to carry it in his arms. Yes, in Germany, competitive beer carrying is a thing. And last Sunday, Struempfel broke the sport(?)’s world record.

Struempfel impressively carried 27 one-liter mugs of beer across a 40-meter distance. (And he isn’t even a waiter, just a tax inspector.) I mean, just look at him go:

YouTube

Struempfel is not a beer-carrying newbie. “I have worked here in the beer tent for the past 17 years, so I have lots of training,” he told Reuters after his big win at the Gillemoos beer festival.

“Of course, it has happened to me before that some beer mugs have fallen down,” he said. “Three years ago, 23 beer mugs fell down at once.” But that’s nothing compared to his new 27-mug world record.

Better start training now if you want to outdo him at Oktoberfest. Watch the full video below:

by Deepa Lakshmin 28 mins ago

There’s plenty of fish in sea, yes, but there’s also a ton of sharks — and a new Australian study suggests that they prefer to feast on men rather than on women.

The researchers from Queensland’s Bond University discovered that 84% of unprovoked — unprovoked! — shark attacks against humans were directed at males. Men also made up 89% of deaths-by-shark-bite. Meanwhile, women were found to be nine times more likely to survive a shark attack than guys were.

“Potentially men spend more time in the water, and are more risk-prone,” associate professor and study author Daryl McPhee told the Telegraph.

Giphy

Related: 7 Reasons (Not Counting Sharks) The Ocean Should Terrify You

The number of unprovoked shark bites has tripled worldwide in the past three decades, prompting increased research on the topic. Australia has the highest number of shark attack fatalities, and over 18% of the country’s 171 recorded attacks between 1982 to 2011 were deadly. Compare that to the U.S., where only 25 out of 769 unprovoked bites — a mere 3.6% — killed the victim.

But this research only applies to unprovoked shark bites. Provoked shark attacks are a whole new ballgame: “People patting sharks on the head, making them angry, putting their hand in the shark’s mouth to get a fishing hook out, jumping on sharks and trying to ride them,” as McPhee explains.

Related: This ‘Testicle-Eating’ Fish Is Back In American Waters

Moral of the ...

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