Originally published in FLURT Magazine.

The past 10 years have been huge for the progression of marijuana legalization. From coffee shops in Amsterdam to hip dispensaries in Toronto, and even in some of the most conservative corners of the United States, people are flocking to places where they can indulge legally — medical or otherwise.

As legal access to marijuana, or in more scientific terms — cannabis — grows, so does awareness around other uses for the herb. And although various governments and media outlets have lumped cannabis in their own war on drugs campaign, scientific literature is tipping the scale in favor of marijuana for medical purposes. So while yes, it is still considered a drug and often used recreationally to ‘chill’, this drug, unlike alcohol and cigarettes, could help you to improve your health and well being — particularly, your mental health.

According to a recent report published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, mental health conditions are a prominent reason for medical cannabis use. Among the team of researchers for this report was Dr. Zach Walsh, clinical psychologist and professor at University of British Columbia in Canada. For nearly a decade, Dr. Walsh has been investigating cannabis’ potential for therapeutic purposes.

“When I first came [to British Columbia], it was at the same time as when the medical cannabis movement was really kicking into high gear around 2009,” says Dr. Walsh. It wasn’t ground zero, but it was certainly a much different place than where we are now,” Dr. Walsh explains. “I’ve always been interested in the therapeutic potential of substances that we as a society view as problematic… so that has really become my primary focus, looking at therapeutic and recreational and also potentially harmful aspects of cannabis use.”

Where cannabis can help

Throughout that same report from the Clinical Psychology Review, as well as the dozens of other studies he’s conducted, Dr. Walsh has found evidence that cannabis can in fact benefit people dealing with certain mental illnesses. Two strong cases for these findings are PTSD and anxiety.

“One of the places where we see the most positive, in terms of the evidence, have been using it to help with symptoms of PTSD,” he explains. “First of all, it helps with sleep and suppressing the nightmares that are so debilitating in PTSD. Across mental illnesses, once sleep becomes disrupted, things tend to spiral. So the extent that cannabis can be helpful for sleep without causing some of the problems we see with benzodiazepines… Reducing anxiety and repressing those dreams allow people to get their lives back on track and more generally, get to a point where they perhaps don’t need to use cannabis anymore. I think it can be a real facilitator to some of the behavioral changes that evolve while healing from trauma related disorders.”

Anxiety is also where we could see a lot of positive effects from cannabis use, partially because of how widespread it is. It’s something that so many people, even those who aren’t diagnosed with mental illness, suffer from and those people are often using prescription drugs to calm their symptoms. In those cases, cannabis could offer a more natural alternative.

“Growing up in Texas, the Bible belt of America, using marijuana for medicinal purposes was preposterous. As I got older, I researched what other miraculous properties that hemp and marijuana could do for our world,” says Kae, an Alberta resident who started smoking when she was 15 years old. “I take medicinal marijuana for my ADHD, which triggers a lot of depression and anxiety… I found the effects allowed me to see the world and function in a way that meshed better with societal standards and expectations of myself.”

Another area where there is a lot of talk around medical cannabis use is depression, although Dr. Walsh says that the current evidence is inconclusive: “It certainly can elevate mood, but in the broader picture there’s more research that needs to be done around depression.” Studies also suggest that cannabis may have a place in dealing with addiction, but more research is needed there as well.

Rise of therapeutic cannabis use

Not every mental illness will benefit from cannabis. Bipolar disorder, for instance, appears to have more negative side effects than good.

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com.

Originally published in FLURT Magazine.

On March 21, 2018, the United States Senate came together to pass a combination of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA).

97 voted in favor, and only two were opposed. One month before that, it passed the House of Representatives with a 388–25 vote.

On the surface, this bill seems well-intentioned. It was even endorsed by organizations like World Without Exploitation, as well as the parents of children who were victims of sex trafficking. The legislation was advertised as a way to protect trafficked girls from serial rape by holding online platform owners legally responsible. But there’s a glaring problem with this approach: Sites like Craigslist and Backpage are now liable for discussion around sex, forcing these platforms to censor their users or shut down completely.

There was something else many overlooked. While SESTA-FOSTA are supposedly targeting traffickers, the bill actually amends Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act — excluding those who use the Internet to “promote or facilitate prostitution.” Loose translation: This bill will be going after those who consent to sex work, such as escorts — as well as other areas of the industry.

“SESTA-FOSTA was dressed up as a way to help victims. In reality, it not only hurts victims by shoving them underground, it directly targets and harms voluntary sex workers,” explains Melissa Mariposa, sex worker and founder of Red Umbrella Hosting. “While it’s doing that, it’s also stripping away the digital rights and first amendment rights of every US citizen.”

A history of stigma and censorship

This isn’t the first time that the stigma of sex has been used to stifle voices online. Even before the bill was passed, platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were censoring users — particularly sex workers and activists, who post what these platforms deemed as “inappropriate sexual content.” This censorship comes in many forms, ranging from removing content without warning to outright suspension. And it extends beyond social media: Amazon has recently been called out for shadow-banning erotica by hiding these novels from appearing in its search results.

“To be completely honest, I’ve lost count,” says activist Sasha Scarr when asked how many times they’ve been banned from Facebook. “Since 2011, I’ve had to have been banned over 130 times. The majority of those are post blocks. I’ve had 27 Facebook accounts so far. I’ve also been banned from Twitter, Instagram and Medium for outing TERFs, rapists and pedophiles, along with showing my breasts.”

Sasha continues: “Neo-nazis were being allowed to organize on these platforms, but posts about Angela Davis were removed for ‘nudity.’ Men ran around shirtless, but my breasts somehow ‘incited violence.’”

How these laws are dangerous

This stigma around sex can not only affect sex workers’ online presence or livelihood, but it can also be life-threatening. This is because sex work becomes significantly more dangerous when providers are forced underground due to laws like FOSTA-SESTA treating them like victims.

Scott Cunningham, an economist interested in the effects of technology and policy on sex work, co-authored a study that explored the risks in countries that prohibit it. This study titled ‘Decriminalizing Indoor Prostitution: Implications for Sexual Violence and Public Health’ focused specifically on the United States. In it, Scott suggests that sex work is the most dangerous job for American women.

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com

A few weeks ago, my friend Nico König asked the Twittersphere about best practices when onboarding a new junior developer to your team:

Nico ☕️⌨️ on Twitter

Dev tweeps, I need your help 👋 We are hiring our first junior developer (which will also be the first employee) 🥳 ✅ What helped you starting as a junior? 🚨 What were red flags or what should be avoided? //cc @carolstran and @KlaraMiffili 😊

As someone who was recently a junior dev, I have a lot of opinions on this topic. So I decided to summarize them in this post (in no particular order).

💭 Distinguish between opinions and best practices

When you’re talking over concepts with your junior, deliberately point out whether the things you’re saying are your personal views or proven best practices.

We work in such an opinion-heavy industry. So sometimes it can feel impossible to differentiate feelings from facts — especially if you’re new to programming. One tangible way to help with this is to provide resources describing why something is best practice.

🖥 Dedicate time early on for Git commands

On the very first day (or maybe second), walk through the Git commands that you use most frequently on the job with your junior. Nothing is too basic — particularly because many bootcamps or university programs don’t teach Git. For example, the bootcamp I went to used Git for version control, but all of our tasks were done solo. So more collaborative Git workflows (like branching or pull requests) were new to me when I started my first developer job.

Ideally, you’d also take the time to explain what each command is actually doing. It took me nine months and one colleague sitting down with a pen and paper for me to finally figure out how a rebase works. Speaking of, teach them how to rebase properly!

📝 Have something for them to work on

Give your junior something to work on that is low pressure, but still impactful. If you’re stuck on what kind of work falls into this category, think either nice-to-haves (style improvements, micro-interactions, bugs that aren’t critical, etc.) or general improvements (refactoring, accessibility, performance, etc).

Be sure to have a dedicated backlog of tasks ready for them to choose from. For most junior developers, this will be their very first software job. So it’s unrealistic to expect them to “take initiative” and decide what they should work on without a curated task list.

✅ Give constructive code reviews

Code reviews are a major. At best, code reviews are constructive and serve as continuous learning opportunities. At worst, they can destroy trust and safety within a team.

As the reviewer, you should be pointing out things that are done well and if you have critiques, explaining why something is problematic rather than only saying ‘fix this’ or offering the solution.

👩‍💻 Practice pair programming

Set regular, dedicated times for pairing (like literally put it in the calendar). I’d recommend at least twice per week. You can have a set of tasks that you work on together or switch between individual tasks.

When pairing, make sure you’re alternating between who’s driving and who’s navigating. Depending on your junior and their learning style, this could also be them observing you. Personally, I learn so much from watching and asking questions.

🧠 Pair on things that aren’t code

It feels weird at first, but I promise that it’s helpful. Show them your workflow, how you prioritize tasks or approach learning something new. One of the best non-coding pairing sessions I’ve had was a colleague walking me through how he conducts a code review.

How you test your own code? Dive into a new project? Manage your time? Plan a company-wide presentation? All of this is valuable.

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com

Twitter bots have gained traction lately as an effortless way to integrate self-care reminders into your feed. Not only that, but you can also enable notifications and receive a friendly nudge each time they post.

But the thing is, every bot has its own personality. For instance, some are gentle and nurturing, while others literally shout at you in all caps. So you have to find one (or two or three) that are right for you.

That's why I've compiled a list of Twitter bots devoted to self-care. For each bot, I'll cover its background, style, tweet frequency and favorite topics.

The Bot Breakdown

— in alphabetical order —

5minselfcare

A bot that describes itself as a self-care clock, 5-Minute Self-Care checks in every couple of hours to make sure you've taken a break. Then it gives you ideas for what you can accomplish in 5 minutes, such as tidying your desk.

"If you can take just 5 minutes to do something for yourself, you will have taken a step in the right direction."

Tweet frequency: Every 3 hours
Personality in 2 words: Timely, forgiving
Topic(s): Taking breaks, small actions
Created by: Kate Gray

5-Minute Self-Care on Twitter

🕰: I know you're very busy, but please set aside five minutes for making a good cup of tea.

aloebud

Aloe is a self-care companion app that will soon be available on iOS. In the meantime, the team has built a bot to foster a community and send gentle self-care reminders throughout the day. They even have a virtual garden that you can nourish through emojis and receive something in return.

If you’re ever feeling down, send them a 🌹 rose emoji.

Tweet frequency: All the time — not recommended for notifications
Personality in 2 words: Encouraging, community-oriented
Topic(s): Small actions, self-reflection, enjoying nature
Created by: Amber Discko and Stefan Hayden

Aloe Bud on Twitter

☁️ Show us the sky where you are today

check_o_tron

A bot that checks in on you every hour, most often in the form of a question. While check_o_tron is just a bot, it knows that humans need to pay attention to their bodies and focuses on topics like muscle tension and body temperature. Sometimes will refer to you as “bio-friend” or “meat-friend”.

Check_o_tron’s reminders are also available through notifications.

Tweet frequency: Hourly
Personality in 2 words: Caring, sensible
Topic(s): Posture, breathing, hygiene, checking your feelings
Created by: Nora Reed

Check-O-Tron on Twitter

biological entity, have you taken a shower lately? this will help you function.

DOTHINGSBOT

I’ll admit, this one can be a little intimidating at first. Who wants someone shouting at them in all caps? But soon you realize that DOTHINGSBOT is just really invested in encouraging you to get things done.

As its bio says: “Sometimes if you are having a hard time doing things it helps to have a robot tell you to do a small thing first.”

Tweet frequency: Hourly
Personality in 2 words: Enthusiastic, practical
Topic(s): Small actions, changing focus, short exercises
Created by: Aria Burrell and Nora Reed

DO THINGS BOT on Twitter

BEEP BOOP GO, HUMAN GET A DRINK OF WATER FOR A MOMENT GOOD HUMAN *CLICK*

everydaycarebot

A resource designed by mental health activist Emily Reynolds for thoughtful but practical self-care reminders. Unlike other bots, everydaycarebot focuses on small, manageable tasks you can achieve in just a couple of minutes.

Reynolds believes that while one small action isn’t going to suddenly make you well, it can be a positive first step.

Tweet frequency: Every 6 hours
Personality in 2 words: British, pragmatic
Topic(s): The entire list is available on the everydaycarebot website
Created by: Emily Reynolds

practical self-care on Twitter

delete some files from your desktop

gamedevselfcare

As the name suggests, Game Dev Self Care was created by game developers, for game developers. It offers soft, practical nudges — like thinking about your abandoned side projects before starting new ones.

While the tips and reminders are targeted at those in the gaming industry, most are relevant to anyone working at a computer all day.

Tweet frequency: Every 3 hours
Personality in 2 words: Kind, nerdy (in the best way!)
Topic(s): Surviving the workplace, creativity, good engineering practices
Created by: Ebeth

Game Dev Self Care Bot on Twitter

Don't beat yourself up too much if you spent all day solving a problem. At least you got it fixed! 🎲

hydratebot

Getting enough water is a struggle for many, so hydratebot helps remind squishy humans to sip throughout the day. This is a very polite bot, always saying please and thank you when it suggests you add liquids to your “mouth-hole.”

You can even make your own hydratebot, no matter if you can code or not.

Tweet frequency: Every 30 minutes
Personality in 2 words: Concerned, polite
Topic(s): Hydration
Created by: Nora Reed

hydration time!! on Twitter

you must drink some some water, squishy human friend!

medrobot

Medbot’s description says that it is “reminders to take your medications from a robot that swallowed a thesaurus” and that’s pretty accurate. This bot will often use words and phrases like prithee, your majesty and thine medications.

Regardless of the words, the message is always the same: Take your medicine.

Tweet frequency: Hourly
Personality in 2 words: Shakespearean, enlightened
Topic(s): Medication
Created by: Nora Reed

Medbot on Twitter

I request that you mind that you devour your medications.

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com

Originally published in FLURT Magazine’s Winter 2017 edition.

There’s no denying that technology has become an integral part of the modern relationship. At the touch of your fingertips, you’re able to have face-to-face conversations across countries, find a new playmate entirely and now, even have sex.

From app-controlled vibrators to mutually responsive sex sleeves, new technology called teledildonics is changing the way we have sex from a distance. And with long distance relationships becoming increasingly common, this is a surefire way for couples looking for more intimacy and physical stimulation than what’s currently possible through traditional chat channels.

Here are some of the leading products defying distance and allowing couples to have realistic, high-tech sexual interactions while apart — all you need is bluetooth and an internet connection.

Two-Way Connection

For a truly interactive cybersex experience, Lovense provides long distance sex toys that mimic each other’s motions for their partners to simulate IRL sex.

“Most LDR couples are already sexting and having Skype sex on a regular basis, but it can be awkward for some or leave them craving each other more. Our products are a natural next step for these couples,” says Lovense’s Chief Marketing Officer Eddy Olivares.

The secret behind Lovense’s technology is an innovative bi-directional control feature. Each Lovense toy is equipped with a sensor that detects the user’s movements and then sends commands to their partner’s toy. Couples have three options for how it interacts, ranging from one-way action or syncing the toys so they react together. Any two toys can be connected, accommodating both homosexual and heterosexual relationships.

“It’s very clear that the technology, not just for long distance sex but for long distance control, resonates with consumers,” Eddy explains. He later mentioned that, “nothing replaces human touch, but when you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away from your partner, this is a great temporary solution.”

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com

There’s no right way to mourn the loss of a child. While many parents join a support group or keep a journal, the Greens chose an unconventional route — to create a video game about their son’s battle with cancer.

Directed and produced by David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, the documentary Thank You For Playing follows programmer and game developer Ryan Green and his wife, Amy, as they design a video game based on their experiences with Joel, their terminally ill son.

If you have 80 minutes and a box of tissues to spare, I would highly recommend Thank You For Playing. Not only does this powerful documentary offer a raw look at the Green family’s journey, but also it critically examines the gaming industry’s place in grief.

The film itself weaves home videos, interviews with Amy and Ryan, excerpts from That Dragon, Cancer and the footage shot by Osit and Zouhali-Worrall throughout their two years with the Greens.

The game, titled That Dragon, Cancer, is a series of immersive vignettes that provide intimate glimpses into the Greens’ lives — ranging from feeding ducks in the park with Joel to comforting him when he’s crying at the hospital.

I’ll admit: When I first heard about the premise for the game, I was skeptical. Aren’t video games supposed to be fun? How can something so heartbreaking be considered fun? However, that’s not the purpose of That Dragon, Cancer.

Using a mixture of poetry and game play, the Greens push the boundaries of what a player can experience emotionally in a video game. For instance, there are segments in the game when the player has limited, or even no, control over the outcome — much like Joel during his treatments. By being there to capture it all, Osit and Zouhali-Worrall inherently challenge the audience’s perspective of a video game’s potential as culturally significant work of art.

Read the rest of the article on workwithcarolyn.com

Using analytics from WhereOnThe.Net, I took this (now not-so-secret) obsession and scoured the Internet to see which of these reality TV moments turned GIFs are getting the web recognition they deserve.

Jessica Simpson and Chicken of the Sea

In 2003, MTV launched Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality series that offered a candid look into Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson’s first year of marriage. In the notorious debut episode, Simpson turned to now ex-husband Lachey and asked, “Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it’s tuna, but it says ‘Chicken … by the Sea.’” Simpson later visited the Chicken of the Sea headquarters and discovered that the tuna is fish.

The GIF was created in March 2014, way past its prime if you ask me, and has only appeared on seven different websites. While it does have over 220 total occurrences, 93 percent of those are from Perez Hilton. If we were tracking videos though, I’m sure this moment would generate hundreds, if not thousands, of hits.

Susan Boyle shocks Britain’s Got Talent

Many had their doubts when Susan Boyle took the stage with her full eyebrows and unexpected sass in the third season premiere of Britain’s Got Talent. After blowing away the judges with her stunning rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from The Wizard of Oz (if you missed it, you can watch it here), Boyle went on to place second in the competition and continues to maintain a thriving music career.

While the episode aired in April 2009, the GIF wasn’t created until later that year in November. It has generated over 30 appearances on nearly 20 websites, including Buzzfeed — with popularity spiking in early 2015 when news broke of Boyle becoming a multimillion pound brand.

Steve Harvey announces the wrong Miss Universe

At the end of the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, host Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner. There were tears of joy as the crown was placed on Gutierrez and she took her first walk as Miss Universe with the promise of Colombia holding the title for another year.

The problem was… she wasn’t Miss Universe. Less than two minutes later, Harvey returned to the stage and admitted that he misread the card and that Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was the true winner. The audience watched in heartbreak and horror as the crown was removed from Gutierrez and placed on Wurtzbach.

The cringe-worthy GIF went viral almost immediately after the live competition in December 2015 — landing on Marie Claire, Vine and 35 other websites. In addition, the still image of the crown being removed from Gutierrez’s head has over 1,500 occurrences online.

Teresa Giudice flips a table

The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice flips a table after an argument over Charles Kipps’ book Cop Without a Badge, which allegedly reveals secrets about co-star Danielle Staub’s past life. The discussion ultimately culminates into Giudice counting off the issues she has with Staub — including but not limited to “all the stripping, prostitution wh*re, f*cking engaged 19 times” — and then this epic freak out.

Since first gracing the web in November 2013, the GIF has gained over 200 appearances on 60 different websites, such as Huffington Post and TrueGif. The popularity has continued to increase over time, and honestly I think it’s because this GIF allows anyone to vicariously live out their table flipping fantasies (on the Internet).

Tyra Banks yells at an eliminated model

Episode seven in season four of America’s Next Top Model had a startling end when host Tyra Banks eliminated two girls from the competition instead of the usual one. Even more outrageous though was when she called the eliminated models back in front of her so she could “say one more thing” and launched into an explosive tirade against contestant Tiffany Richardson.

One of Banks’ infamous quotes from the scene, “I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this. When my mother yells like this it’s because she loves me. I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you. How dare you. Learn something from this.” And of course, the Internet transformed it into a GIF.

The GIF didn’t emerge until April 2008, nearly three years after the season aired and has racked up over 605 hits on 170 websites. The people of the web have used this GIF to express their feelings on topics ranging from Amanda Bynes’ arrest to the ending of a book.

Snooki gets punched in the face

MTV’s Jersey Shore is one of those rare shows where the individual cast members are just as ridiculous and legendary as the series itself. One of those gems is Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, who you can see above being punched in the face after she shouted at this guy for stealing their drinks (what an absurd and exceedingly melodramatic reaction on his part, by the way). Following this moment, Polizzi lays on the floor and cries while the dude is promptly removed from the bar.

Imgur and SodaHead are just two of over 215 websites and 660 unique pages that have hosted the GIF since it first appeared in December 2009. Occurrences of the GIF is steady until a spike in March 2015, which is ironically when articles also were popping up about Polizzi’s daughter’s baptism.

Got a reality TV moment you’d like to learn more about? Find out where it is and where it’s been with WhereOnThe.Net and share your results with us.

WhereOnThe.Net traces how images spread online. Whether you want to find copies of your own work or track viral images, we crawl the Internet and show you all the sites it has appeared on and it’s growth over time.

Images used in this article are used subject to news reporting and quotation exemptions in German copyright law, but if you are the rights holder and think it should be taken down, please let us know. For any questions, please email us at contact@whereonthe.net.

Unforgettable Reality TV Moments as GIFs was originally published in WhereOnThe Net on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Here at WhereOnThe.Net, we used our analytics to look at some of the world’s largest [insert a food that you hardly want to eat when it’s small here] to see just how Internet famous these record breakers have become.

World’s Largest Hotdog

Weighing in at 125.5 pounds, the world’s largest hotdog was cooked up at the Miami-Dade County fair on March 25, 2014 by Juicy Outlaw Grill. The meat cooked for three hours on a 100-foot mobile grill.

This dog went viral almost immediately after it was posted in March 2014. By July 2014, it reached over 140 of its 163 total online occurrences. To date, it has appeared on over 25 different websites including the New York Post and Metro.

World’s Largest Chicken Nugget

As part of Empire Kosher’s 75th anniversary, the company decided to mark the occasion by creating the world’s largest chicken nugget on October 29, 2013. After three hours, the completed nugget weighed 51.1 pounds and measured in at a little more than 3.25 feet by 2 feet.

Since first appearing online in November 2013, the nugget has reached over 75 unique pages on 30 websites, like Huffington Post and Trend Hunter.

World’s Largest Gingerbread House

In December 2013, the Traditions Club and St. Joseph Health System teamed up to build the world’s largest gingerbread house in Bryan, Texas. The structure stands at 60 feet by 42 feet with a height if 20 feet and took 1,800 pounds of butter, 7,200 eggs, 3,000 pounds of sugar, and 7,200 pounds of flour to construct. Oh, and the 2,500 pounds of candy on top.

This gingerbread mansion graced the web later that month and has now generated over 330 online hits. UOL Brazil and People are just two of the 63 websites that have hosted the image.

World’s Largest Gluten-Free Pizza

Chefs in Rome cooked up the world’s largest gluten-free pizza back in December 2012, which they allegedly named “Ottavia.” The giant pie weighed 50,000 pounds and the recipe called for 9.9 tons of gluten-free flour, five tons of tomato sauce and 4.4 tons of mozzarella cheese.

Acid Cow, Grist and over 65 other websites have featured Ottavia, generating a total of 128 unique pages since first appearing online.

World’s Largest Burger

Minnesota’s Black Bear Casino broke the record for the world’s largest burger back in September 2012 with their 2,014 pound masterpiece. The burger has a diameter of 10 feet and contains 60 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of lettuce, 50 pounds of sliced onions, 40 pounds of pickles and 40 pounds of cheese. The patty itself took four hours to cook and had to be flipped using a crane.

Although it first appeared online in 2012, the burger actually didn’t reach 200 hits until December 2015. Now it has racked up 375 occurrences on nearly 120 websites around the world, including Daily Mail UK, Heute Austria and Perez Hilton.

Got a favorite record breaking food you’d like to learn more about? Find out where it is and where it’s been with WhereOnThe.Net and share your results with us.

WhereOnThe.Net traces how images spread online. Whether you want to find copies of your own work or track viral images, we crawl the Internet and show you all the sites it has appeared on and it’s growth over time.

Images used in this article are used subject to news reporting and quotation exemptions in German copyright law, but if you are the rights holder and think it should be taken down, please let us know. For any questions, please email us at contact@whereonthe.net.

Record Breaking Food was originally published in WhereOnThe Net on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As our own ode to sports photography, we combed through Sports Illustrated’s “100 Greatest Sports Photos of All-Time” and used our WhereOnThe.Net analytics to see which images are getting the most action on the Internet to date.

Dwight Clark and “The Catch”

Known today as “The Catch,” this touchdown reception by San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark off a pass from quarterback Joe Montana gave the 49ers a 28–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship Game. The win secured their spot in the Super Bowl, where they later defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although the image has appeared on over 200 different websites since February 2008, 92 percent of the 6,400+ total hits are from Uni-Watch.

U.S. Hockey Defeats Soviet Union

The U.S. Men’s Hockey team caused the largest upset of the 1980 Olympics when they beat the Soviet Union 4–3 on captain Mike Eruzione’s game-winning goal. The U.S. later defeated Finland to take home the gold medal. and the story of this “Miracle on Ice” has now been made into what I would argue is the greatest American sports film ever. My father agrees, considering he signed me out of school so I could see it in theaters. Plus it doesn’t hurt that director Gavin O’Connor and his team casted real hockey players so the movie could be genuine and accurate.

Since first appearing online in March 2008, the iconic image has generated 595 occurrences on nearly 220 websites — including a Sporcle quiz, an inspirational billboard on Values.com and naturally, the USA Hockey website.

Dennis Rodman Goes Horizontal

During a game against the Indiana Pacers in 1997, Chicago Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman flew through the air as he pursued a loose ball at the United Center in Chicago. By the end of the 96–97 season, Rodman won both his sixth rebounding title and his fourth NBA championship.

According to WhereOnThe.Net, the snapshot has appeared on over 315 websites, like Acid Cow and Fresher Russia. A majority of those hits took place between 2013–2015 when Rodman made headlines for his trip to North Korea and the documentary that followed.

Bobby Orr Wins the Cup

This iconic photograph captures Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr following his winning goal during overtime of Game 4 in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals. The conquest over the St. Louis Blues was Boston’s first Cup in 29 years and Orr walked away with MVP honors.

Reddit, Jot Down Spain and about 320 other websites have celebrated the image’s impeccable timing. Today, the photo has turned up on 850 unique pages — gaining nearly two-thirds of the hits following the 2013 release of Orr’s book, which features a detail of the photograph on the cover.

The Winning Dunk

With his second photograph on the list, Walter Iooss Jr. captured Michael Jordan the moment before he reached a perfect score of 50 to win the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend 1988. This was Jordan’s second title, triumphing over a fellow NBA legend Dominique Wilkins.

Nearly 450 websites and over 1630 unique pages have hosted the photo according to WhereOnThe.Net. Surprisingly, it has appeared on less sports websites and more lifestyle pages, such as Pinterest and Food Republic. The image was even featured alongside an article published in Thought Catalog titled, “Screw My ‘Michael Jordan Year’” about a woman turning 23.

Michael Jordan’s Buzzer Beater

Jordan is also a double feature on this list, but this time he is shown scoring the game-winning buzzer beater against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Some argue that this was the most memorable shot of Jordan’s career.

Bleacher Report and ESPN are just two of the 525 websites that have hosted the image. It has also appeared on over 1770 unique pages, with occurrences nearly tripling after news broke in 2014 that Jordan is a billionaire.

Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston

And the oldest and most viral image goes to…. well, The Greatest. Photographer Neil Leifer snapped this renowned shot of boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965 during the heavyweight title rematch. Ali defeated Liston by knockout in the first round and would hold the heavyweight title until 1967.

The photograph has racked up appearances on nearly 6045 unique pages, with occurrences spiking after Ali’s hospital stints in late 2014 and early 2015. Almost 1330 different websites feature the image, ranging from Slate’s critique of the photo and CBS News’ piece about when the gloves went up for auction to a creative desktop background by a designer in Smashing Magazine.

Got a favorite sports photo you’d like to learn more about? Find out where it is and where it’s been with WhereOnThe.Net and share your results with us.

WhereOnThe.Net traces how images spread online. Whether you want to find copies of your own work or track viral images, we crawl the Internet and show you all the sites it has appeared on and it’s growth over time.

Images used in this article are used subject to news reporting and quotation exemptions in German copyright law, but if you are the rightsholder and think it should be taken down, please let us know. For any questions, please email us at contact@whereonthe.net.

When Sports Photos are as Iconic as the Events was originally published in WhereOnThe Net on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Global Discovery of “Cat Island”

Every cat lover’s wildest dream came true when photographs were released in early March of Aoshima — a small island in southern Japan where felines outnumber humans six to one.

This image of the cats crowding at the harbor went viral instantly after it was posted, reaching over 15,000 hits less than one month later. Stories about this gem can be found on publications like The Atlantic and Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News.

Video of Walter Scott’s Death

This image is a still from a video captured on Feidin Santana’s cell phone that shows police officer Michael Salger shooting Walter Scott eight times in the back in Charleston, S.C. on April 4. A true example of citizen journalism, the still image has traveled from social media to news outlets, such as Huffington Post and NBC News, and even appeared on the cover of TIME.

Since first appearing online in April, the image has been featured on over 370 websites and 3,100 unique pages.

Calbuco Volcano Eruption

On April 22, Chile’s Calbuco volcano erupted for the first time in 43 years. Photographer Alex Vidal Brecas was there to capture the moment and told The Guardian that this particular photograph was taken at dusk, 45 minutes after the eruption.

While the image has only appeared on 160 websites, it has a unique distribution spanning from Washington Post and National Geographic Italy to Tumblr and People.

Call Me Caitlyn

Transgender issues were brought to the forefront when Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce, admitted her struggle with gender identity in an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer in April. The Olympic gold medalist and reality television star later made her feminine debut through a feature in the July 2015 issue of Vanity Fair.

The most viral on the list, this cover generated over 19,700 hits after its June release. As expected, Caitlyn stirred up a vast amount of media coverage throughout the rest of the year — including Entertainment Tonight reporting on the inspired Halloween costume and LGBT editorials on BuzzFeed.

Public Premiere of Pluto

This image was taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and is considered to be the first ever picture of Pluto, according to TIME. The high-resolution image was released on July 13, over nine years after the two cameras that shot it left Earth.

Pluto has now appeared on nearly 1,300 websites and more than 10,000 unique pages. While over 51 percent of occurrences are from TB-3 in Russia, the image also appears on websites like The Onion and Independent.

Blatter’s Money Shower

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Sepp Blatter resigned from his post in June after spending a year embroiled in a corruption scandal. Later on July 20, FIFA held a press conference during which a man later identified as British comedian Simon Brodkin threw two packets of fake bills over the outgoing president before being escorted out by security.

This image of Blatter has reached roughly 120 websites and 300 unique pages since its release, including Daily Mail and CBC Sports.

The Body of Alan Kurdi

Hearts broke around the world when this photograph of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s dead body lying face down on a Turkish shore released in early September. While the image was published on the front pages of newspapers, it gained much of its power from the millions of shares on social media and became a symbol for the suffering of refugees.

Over 470 websites and nearly 4,000 unique pages have hosted the picture. It has also sparked news features, on CNN for instance, and a vast amount of editorials, like this one from the Montreal Gazette

Terror Attacks on Paris

On the evening of November 13, a series of seven coordinated terror attacks shook the city of Paris and left at least 130 people dead. This particular photograph depicts a victim outside the Bataclan theatre — the most deadly of the attacks with a total of 89 who lost their lives.

The image immediately went viral, reaching nearly 600 of its 625 total occurrences before the end of November. It has been used on 100 websites throughout the globe, from the Chicago Tribune to Tiin Vietnam.

Got a favorite photograph from 2015 you’d like to learn more about? Find out where it is and where it’s been with WhereOnThe.Net and share your results with us.

WhereOnThe.Net traces how images spread online. Whether you want to find copies of your own work or track viral images, we crawl the Internet and show you all the sites it has appeared on and it’s growth over time.

Images used in this article are used subject to news reporting and quotation exemptions in German copyright law, but if you are the rightsholder and think it should be taken down, please let us know. For any questions, please email us at contact@whereonthe.net.

2015’s Biggest Moments was originally published in WhereOnThe Net on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.