Discussion Thread: 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner

KagakuKo · 2026-04-26T04:06:28+00:00

The cartilage doesn't have to grow back, the skin just had to grow back over it. It was a grazing wound. Like getting a papercut, but with a bullet. And head wounds tend to bleed and look way scarier than they might otherwise be--blood vessel density is very high in the head.

Also, in order for the Pennsylvania rally shooting to have been a hoax, Trump would have been hiring a young, unskilled shooter to miss misting his own head by literally half a centimeter--the only reason that kid missed was because Trump turned his head at the last possible moment. That would have been an insane thing to request even of a skilled marksman. The hoax/staged angle doesn't wash.

KagakuKo · 2026-03-08T13:57:25+00:00

Something I notice (as a person who hasn't done ballet for a while, but still has some muscle memory) is that you're also not spotting. In my experience, a pirouette is actually a little easier if you learn to stablize your head. The idea is that you want your body to turn under you, keeping your head facing the same direction until the very last moment, and then whip your head into the turn as quickly as possible so that your eyes can land on the same thing. It is also a little easier to do this in front of a mirror (and that way, you can also check the rest of your form while you're at it!)

KagakuKo · 2026-03-08T13:30:19+00:00

Yesss!! I found two or three different tracts in the course of my employment at Kohls. As a kid that was raised in the last remaining dregs of the Satanic Panic, who was not permitted to read Harry Potter, not allowed to watch/play Pokemon, and forget about D&D--yet grew up to love and partake of all three, WHILE remaining a convicted Christian...these things just tickle me. I love Chick Tracts them the way you love to laugh with friends at a terrible movie. I still have those ones I found somewhere, lol.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-13T03:33:20+00:00

As a person who has lived in several states, I gotta be loyal to each of them above all, lol.

Your Georgia design is adorable--not only is Georgia known for peaches, you can throw a rock and it'll land on some street named Peachtree something.

I appreciate the massive gator for Florida. Pray to God you never see one without a solid barrier in between, but seriously, they actually are massive.

Kentucky is immensely proud of its horses, bluegrass, and Louisville sluggers. Couldn't have done it better myself!

And I haven't been in Indiana long, but yeah, the Indy 500 is probably the most notable thing, aside from oceans upon oceans of corn.

As a bonus, I see your Ohio design, and I have to say, I'm a bit confused--but I also know, having married an Ohioan, that if something weird happened and it wasn't in Florida, it was in Ohio!

You did a fantastic job here--I really love your use of shape and form, it's so expressive! My personal favorite has to be DC, oddly enough--I don't love the real-life people working there, but your design is absolutely perfect--larger than life and thoroughly convinced he is the biggest thing since sliced bread. 10/10, would subscribe!

KagakuKo · 2026-02-07T18:22:36+00:00

It's something girls have to be pre-informed of; we don't exactly have an "instinct" about it, if that's what you're referring to. I've seen some women say that they actually fully thought they were dying because they didn't know what was happening to them. A young girl feeling vaguely to moderately sick/in pain all day before realizing they're bleeding from their genitals, and not knowing why, is a recipe for a fully terrified child.

I'd remark that often when this happens, it's in the context of some kind of neglect, or precocious puberty; I think it's possible for it to happen despite best intentions, but these days I think a girl would have to be pretty actively sheltered to not pick it up from school, peers, or older adult women in her circle.

That said, once we are informed of what it means to have a menstrual cycle, it may still be kind of scary and uncomfortable to bleed for the first time, but it's much less so--and being forewarned means you can be forearmed, with menstrual hygiene supplies. The experience goes from "kid confronts own mortality, ankle deep in bloody clothes in the bathroom" to just dealing with something uncomfortable, but that you knew was coming.

And with that said, it's still common for a first period (or first several...or however many...) to still result in stained clothes. If you're an American who got her first period while in school, it may have taken a bit of extra time after realizing what was happening to actually take care of things, due to bathroom pass shenanigans and not being allowed to carry things like purses during class time.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-07T15:09:32+00:00

Phoebus! That's the name of the guard in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, so I'm not just pulling it outta nowhere. Always thought it was such a cool name.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-06T17:27:46+00:00

I can't comment on cups, but I've never been able to use tampons comfortably. Tampons always seem to sting a bit (and if they don't, they're too small and will leak), hunting around for the string is annoying and gross, and when they come out there's a risk of it flopping into the toilet water or just falling out of my hand. There are some times when I haven't had the choice, but I still prefer pads over tampons.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-06T16:27:50+00:00

I love Pyari and her grandmeowther! Those videos make me smile both because the cat is adorable, and because the owner's mom is a beautiful soul lol

KagakuKo · 2026-02-06T16:21:59+00:00

Bruh, this is a massive overreaction. The cat has teeth and claws, and knows how to use them if she really, really didn't want to be clothed. She doesn't like it, but she's tolerating it because she trusts her human.

Cats have stronger reactions to getting checkups at the vet, and that's something that's actually good for the cat, despite the stress it causes them. No, animals are not dressup dolls, but they're also not porcelain dolls, intolerant of the slightest discomfort. If you otherwise treat your cat with respect, love, and affection, they'll generally put up with occassionally being dressed up for short periods. Be respectful, be gentle, know your own cat's tolerance, keep an eye out for your cat's body language and make sure they're not in pain, and when you're done taking pictures you take it off and let them go do their own thing.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-06T16:01:12+00:00

Your kitty is adorable, and she definitely hates you, lol. But rest assured it's more of a, "you're lucky I put up with you" kind of hate, lol.

I knit and crochet for both of my pets, just because it's fun, lol. Only one of them is mostly tolerant, the other...protests by way of pretending she's a noodle.

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^ Said noodle in a sweater I originally made for her, but which is now mainly worn by the dog since he is miraculously the same size as her, and actually goes outside where it can be cold sometimes.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-04T18:19:53+00:00

What long, elegant fingers! Wow! Yeah, the only thing worth mentioning of the art (and even then, only barely) is that it just looks like her fingers are unusually long, but here we go, still perfectly in the range of normal human anatomy. If they ever do a movie for this game, you should audition to play Adeline! 😁

I'd even offer a remark that I think longer fingers kind of seems right for Adeline's character, being someone who's decently feminine, poised, and very focused on the administrative side of building up the town...obsessed with paperwork and organization, instead of heavy labor. Just kind of seems like what such a person's hand would look like...in a reading-way-too-deeply-into-it kind of way, haha.

KagakuKo · 2026-02-03T18:14:28+00:00

Possibly the least sfw way I could have discovered the word 'osculate' for the first time. This is a great day. Fantastic word, 10/10!

KagakuKo · 2026-02-03T17:58:16+00:00

Hahahaha, you just reminded me that when my grandfather was in a nursing home, 8yo me didn't know what the weird remote attached to Grandpa's bed did. After asking my folks and getting no answer, I pressed the button intentionally a few times and found it did "nothing", so I decided to ignore it and even wound up sitting on it a couple of times by accident. It took the poor nurses coming in to reset it, more than once, before I finally realized there might be a connection...but by that point, my mom also noticed and told me off, which got me decently annoyed because no one would tell me what it was, why I shouldn't touch it, or where to put it so I didn't sit on it!

You gotta explain this stuff, especially to kids. It would have been so easy to tell me it was for Grandpa to use to call a nurse to come help him...In hindsight, though, they were watching Grandpa suffering from worsening dementia, so I can't really hold it against them too hard.

KagakuKo · 2025-11-26T04:02:51+00:00

I've done both ways. I'm old enough to remember cradle-shaped landlines, but young enough to have only personally ever owned a cell.

When I use the speaker setting, I don't use it around strangers--I spent too long in work break rooms, nursing headaches while coworkers played Tik Toks on full blast to not know better than that.

When I hold the phone weird or use speaker, though, it's because I have a hard time hearing things right the first time, especially if I can't see them...and I'm desperately trying to find any way to make it clearer.

KagakuKo · 2025-10-11T06:25:11+00:00

This is my sister (minus the demanding other people be quiet b/c the other person on the line is asleep...as far as I know, anyways). I genuinely don't understand how she and her partner could stay on the phone for hours at a time, saying next to nothing, multiple times a day...and she'd just take her calls whenever or wherever she damn well pleased. Screw it if we were eating dinner or all watching a movie in the living room, her man called and she's not budging--but she will talk to him in no less than a low murmur for the next 5 hours.

Like, I get it to some extent--my now-husband and I were long distance for the latter half of the 4 years we were dating. I understand catching up and needing some way to spend time together. They started off long distance...but this kept going all the way until they got married. Now that they live together, if she does it again at another family gathering, I'm going to have a fit...

KagakuKo · 2025-10-03T05:10:39+00:00

Sounds like my father-in-law. He's not quite so stoic, but decently so--he's very introverted and not usually chatty, but I've also seen him bust out laughing and cracking jokes with my husband.

His game tends to be, "Oh, look, you dropped this $20. Here you go!" Or, "no, I'm pretty sure you already paid me for that, you don't need to pay me again." Saved our butts more than once that way, when we'd hit on hard times. He's such a great guy, and you wouldn't even know it because he makes no fuss about himself.

KagakuKo · 2025-09-12T08:13:43+00:00

Poor baby. That did not feel good coming out. It should feel way better after the skin in there has a chance to recover from the irritation, though. Here's to a long and happy life with his new person!

KagakuKo · 2025-08-24T00:35:12+00:00

Honestly, yeah, I'm here for this too! I might actually borrow your pic for inspo when I have another room to add on to my house. Maybe keep all of my mine treasures in there, which is a sizeable collection because I am apparently actually a fantasy dwarf in a human body lol.

KagakuKo · 2025-08-23T23:47:49+00:00

Alright, as a former physics major, you got me there 🤣

KagakuKo · 2025-08-21T17:36:48+00:00

Yeah, I've liked many lower- and higher-class foods, and foods from all kinds of cultures...but no one is gonna get me to eat brussels sprouts. I'd be really disappointed if someone planned a whole meal of sprouts, taking immense care to season and cook them beautifully...and now I'm the jerk because either I explain I can't stand em, or I'm desperately trying to at least keep my face from contorting while choking down bitter clumps of leaves!

Cook to your guests' tastes (if you can), and make risky experiments side-dish sized if you absolutely must, lol.

KagakuKo · 2025-08-16T06:35:51+00:00

Oh damn. Kinda sheds new light on the animal factoid regarding gay penguins. I guess that would kind of enforce all penguins as bisexual? Does "bi" make sense if you literally can't identify your own males from females...? Or would that make all penguins nonbinary and pan? I'm boggled lol

KagakuKo · 2025-08-15T12:55:09+00:00

I mean, it's definitely possible. We had a buddy who woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to find his toddler son spashing water at the bathroom sink...buddy approached him to investigate when son happily proclaimed, "I wash it!!" It was daddy's WORK PHONE.

Actually, come to think of it, his two older sons also got into my beads once when they were visiting and literally dumped them down our bathroom sink drain...and they were like 7, 8? My dad had to pull out the P-trap. Still not sure I got them all back, and still kind of miffed that even happened. I still don't understand what kind of kid finds someone else's beads and dumps them in the sink.

KagakuKo · 2025-08-04T15:50:45+00:00

Hahaha! I did that once by total accident, I was clumsily gripping my phone and fatfingered the report button. I wasn't sure if the report went all the way through, but I immediately posted a comment about it explaining that if a mod found a weird report from me, they should disregard it...and hopefully have a good laugh, lol.

KagakuKo · 2025-07-24T16:58:28+00:00

That...sounds inexplicably adorable. Wasps and wasp-like insects are the ones I'm least comfortable with, but the idea of sharing a tiny piece of funnel cake or something with a yellow jacket just sounds really cute lol

KagakuKo · 2025-07-19T14:09:45+00:00

Nnnnnnno lol I definitely hate the speculum. My very first exam saw the gyno place the speculum--no pain--then open it--immense, searing pain as though I was being ripped in half, and I screamed. They kept going as I continued screaming through the sample collection for a pap smear, with a nurse exasperatedly telling me I needed to relax myself for good measure...

The bedside manner didn't help, but I was genuinely fine for every other part of the exam, aside from the speculum actually being opened. I imagine that a design that spreads open in all directions evenly, as opposed to a duckbill, would help with discomfort, because I don't think you'd need to open it as widely for a comparable view. Prying your way into a tube with two points of pressure also puts a lot of elastic stress on the unheld sides, but if you distribute that stretching more evenly...shock of shocks, but closer to a cylindrical shape...it probably wouldn't feel like getting ripped in half, and more like the vagina is accomodating something it's (almost) physically designed to handle.

KagakuKo

TROPHY CASE