It seems if two things are for sure, it’s that the internet will always bring us a viral meme challenge and someone will always get fired from old tweets. In the second edition of the Everipedia Internet Culture Roundup, we have all of that plus the smartest 16-year-old in America, an inspiring bucket-list finisher, and a leader in the Bitcoin community. If you think we missed anything, leave a comment down in the responses!
Bird Box Challenge
With over 45 million accounts tuning into Bird Box, it’s safe to say that it was one of Netflix’s most popular original productions. A central part of the movie is the need for the characters to have their eyes blindfolded when outside, which has inspired a number of memes online as well as the Bird Box Challenge in real life. In short, people participating in the Bird Box Challenge must be blindfolded for a certain amount of time while doing normal activities. Although many have already uploaded videos on YouTube taking part in the challenge, Netflix has warned against it and tweeted that they don’t want anyone to “end up in the hospital due to memes.”
Trace Mayer speaking at an event
Trace Mayer
Trace Mayer has been recommending Bitcoin since it was $0.25 and has been funding projects since the ecosystem was in its infancy. Now, Mayer has founded an annual event to both commemorate Bitcoin’s Genesis Block and hold third-parties holding cryptocurrencies accountable, the Proof of Keys Celebration. The concept is simple; if you have cryptocurrency on an exchange, move it to a personal wallet on January 3rd. Mayer, who is a huge proponent of monetary sovereignty and has one message “not your keys, not your Bitcoin.” In light of Proof of Keys, a number of exchanges halted withdrawals or froze accounts including HitBTC, Bitfinex, and Poloniex.
Tweet from Dr. Lara Kollab in 2012
Dr. Lara Kollab
Dr. Lara Kollab is in the news for all the wrong reasons. The doctor who graduated from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, a New York City-based Jewish college, was fired for her anti-semitic comments which were unearthed online. Some of her tweets compared Jews to animals and flirted with the idea for giving Jews the wrong meds for being Jewish. Kollab is one of many people to be fired from their profession for comments they posted online and to think she wasted tens of thousands of dollars and years of time studying to become a doctor only to have it flushed all the way over some hateful comments she said.
Morissa Schwartz taking a selfie
Morissa Schwartz
With the number of accomplishments she has under her belt, calling Morissa Schwartz driven would be an understatement. When she was twelve, she made a bucket list of things she wanted to achieve such as set a Guinness Book World Record, write a book, appear on national television and more. Since then, Schwartz has completed all of those goals as well as 75% of her list. As the new year starts, Schwartz shows us that it’s never too late to create resolutions for ourselves to strive for.
Braxton Moral
Braxton Moral is not your average 16-year-old. The Ulysses, Kansas native is set to graduate from both his high school AND Harvard University in 2019. Although he is most interested in hard sciences, Moral studied government and politics in college. In the future, he plans to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government next and aspires to run for President of the United States one day “just to say he was one.” There is no doubt that Moral is gifted and will be interesting to see how he contributes to the world in the future; Hopefully, his moral compass will stay intact.