Latest news with #KoolAid
New York Post
12-07-2025
- New York Post
Jonestown mass death survivors who didn't ‘drink the Kool-Aid' weigh in on the site becoming a tourist attraction
Jonestown is seared into the American psyche as one the darkest tragedies of the modern era, where 918 people 'drank the Kool Aid' and ended their lives under the command of cult leader Jim Jones. Located in the remote Guyanese jungle, the site where the army first discovered the mass of dead bodies of People's Temple members in 1978 is now opening as a somewhat morbid tourist attraction. It is designed to pay somber tribute in the manner of Auschwitz and the Killing Fields of Cambodia. The curious can pay $750 to visit the clearing where Jones' religious cult, mostly US citizens who had traveled with him to Guyana, unraveled in the most gruesome way imaginable. Advertisement 14 Jim Jones put on fake healings to raise money for his burgeoning People's Temple. AP And there were survivors — although the overall story of Jones' followers poisoning themselves with cyanide-laced fruit punch (it was actually an off-brand version of Kool-Aid called Flavor-Aid) is notorious, lesser known are how around 80 of Jones' acolytes survived. Some did it by getting lucky and being out of town when the poisonous drinks were served, including Jones' son Stephan Gandhi Jones, who was at a basketball tournament. Advertisement 14 Jonestown started out as a 'socialist paradise' and turned into a scene of massive, self-inflicted death. Getty Images 14 After moving to San Francisco, Jim Jones got into taking illicit drugs and his paranoia grew. AP Others slipped out unseen, running into the jungle or hiding in the camp's cupboards. About 18 of Jones' followers took Congressman Leo Ryan – who's visit to the camp sparked the mass suicide – up on his offer to leave the religious enclave with him. Advertisement Jordan Vilchez, now 67, who joined the People's Church at 12 and remained there until the end, was fortunate enough to be in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, when the mass suicides went down. 14 Artist Jordan Vilchez heard over a CB radio that the suicides were about to go down. She and the people around her did not honor the command of Jim Jones. AP 14 Cyanide is the deadly drug that did in Jim Jones' loyal followers. Jones himself died from a shot to the head. Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images 'I created a job for myself, talking about Jonestown to the Guyanese community. That task was acceptable to the leadership, and it allowed me to not spend so much time in Jonestown,' she told The Post. Advertisement Hearing over a CB radio the Jonestown suicides were happening, she was horrified but not entirely surprised. 'There had been discussions about a mass suicide,' said Vilchez, who lost two sisters and two nephews to the forced killings. 'In some circles, there were practice drills. There was talk of 'Revolutionary Suicide'. There was a running narrative of us being persecuted. 14 Jim Jones son, Stephan Gandhi, at the scene of the suicides. Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images 14 Stefan Gandhi Jones today. He lucked out by being at a basketball tournament when all hell broke loose in Jonestown. AP 'Unbeknownst to us, the world was closing in on Jim. Because of his pathological narcissism, he was not going to go down alone. People were stuck and emotionally drained – I got caught up in it and was not going to escape. Over the years, we got more hooked in. We were told that America would become a police state and our safety was in being part of this group.' Vilchez is against the new tours to the site – where little remains, apart from a commemorative stone and the entrance archway. 'It seems silly. It's something that people will make money from. It seems like an abuse.' Advertisement The Guyanese tourism company behind the trips, Wanderlust Adventures GY, defend their position. 14 Thomas Bogue escaped death in Jonestown. But he had to depend on maggots to save his life. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images 14 Mike Touchette survived Jonestown and considers the years before Jim Jones showed up to be 'the best thing in my life.' AP 'We want to present things in a way that is responsible and educational,' Roselyn Sewcharran, founder of the company, told The Post. Advertisement During the overnight trip to Jonestown 'we talk about the social and political issues, the dangers of following with blind faith and the lessons learned from the Jonestown tragedy.' The People's Temple was founded by Jim Jones, a Communist sympathizer, in Indianapolis, in 1955. He put on fake healings to generate income and promoted the idea that all races and ethnicities would be welcome. In 1961, with the cold war top of mind for most American, Jones claimed to have a vision that Indianapolis would be decimated by nuclear attack. The People's Temple relocated to California, with its main headquarters in San Francisco. 14 The Jonestown massacre site is marked with a tourist-friendly sign in Guiana. Corbis via Getty Images Advertisement 14 Rusty truck parts are among the the few remnants of Jonestown at the tourist site. Corbis via Getty Images Jones began proclaiming, 'I am come as God Socialist [sic].' Once in the heavily hippie-fied Frisco, Jones began dabbling in illicit drugs and his sense of paranoia is said to have ratcheted up. Jones, who had a particularly magnetic personality, put up a convincing argument for belonging and in 1974, the People's Temple rented more than 3,800 acres in Guyana, a tropical country which borders Venezuela. Advertisement Jones promised to create a 'socialist paradise,' and reminded followers how he'd read that in the event of a nuclear war, South America was the safest place to be. 14 Jonestown started as a communal living relgious experiment and ended in a grizzly death scene. Getty Images He sent a cadre of followers to set things up, while he led the church in San Francisco. Things went fairly smoothly at first. 'It was great,' said Bogue, who moved to Guyana in 1976 at the age of 15 with his family. 'I'd work eight hours a day, helping to build cottages and overseeing my own crew in the plant nursery. Then I'd go in the jungle and play before having a nice meal.' Mike Touchette, another Jonestown survivor, agrees. 'We built a community out of nothing in four years,' he told the Chicago Tribune. 'Being in Jonestown before Jim got there was the best thing in my life.' However, in 1977 an article filled with accusations appeared in New West magazine –including that a member's teenage daughter was beaten so badly 'her butt looked like hamburger,' driving Jones to flee to Guyana. 14 Syringes of Cyanide and cups of Flavor-Aid which killed the 912 people at Jonestown. Bettmann Archive 14 'Unbeknownst to us, the world was closing in on Jones (pictured). Because of his pathological narcissism, he was not going to go down alone,' according to Jordan Vilchez. AP Within a year, things on the commune got harder, and weirder. Survivors say there was a feeling of victimhood, perpetrated by Jones. His rambling meetings went on for hours, workdays seemed endless and it became all about ideology rather than Utopia. 'It steadily got worse … Ninety-five percent of the people had no idea what was going on. It was like being stuck on an island,' Bogue said. However, some did escape and word got back to California, prompting that state's congressman Leo Ryan and a group of journalists to arrive in November 1978, intending to investigate complaints from escapees. Bogue's father was already hatching an escape plan, but when Ryan offered an opportunity to leave with him, the family said they'd join. 'It was a very high-risk opportunity,' Bogue, now 63, said about his family proceeding with Ryan and others to a landing strip where a plane waited to fly them out. 'But maybe it was the best opportunity.' When the group assembled at an airstrip to leave, cult members, including one named Larry Layton, opened fire on them. Ryan was shot dead as were three journalists and a temple member hoping to escape. Layton was later extradited, found guilty of wounding two people and served 18 years in a California prison. Bogue, then 17, was inside the plane when its tires were shot out. He got up from his seat just as one member was shot in the head. Bogue took a bullet to the leg. When the shooting seemed to have abated, he and his sister ran off into the bordering jungle. Back at camp, knowing he'd be implicated in the death of a US senator, Jones gave the command to his faithful that it was time for Revolutionary Suicide. Syringes of cyanide were squirted into juice and sandwiches and consumed by the congregation – the children first. Jones shot himself in the head. Despite his injury, Bogue survived in the jungle for three days. 'I was saved by maggots. They ate the gangrene. And then, during the third morning, I became delirious. I lost all sense of direction. But I was with my sister and three others from [another] family.' They were found and he was reunited with his father. They made their way back to the US shortly after. Nearly 47 years later Bogue works as an auto mechanic and serves as vice mayor of Dixon, CA. 'I think it's great to turn it into a tourist attraction and a memorial,' he said, 'I've already been back there three times and the jungle is starting to reclaim the area. I would love to be a consultant on something like that.'
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Josh Duhamel reacts to Seth Rogen using him as a joke in ‘The Studio': ‘You'd think they would have called me'
They transformed him, and he's not pleased. 'Transformers' star Josh Duhamel was surprised to learn that he was used as a plot point on Seth Rogen's AppleTV+ comedy, 'The Studio.' 'There's a whole episode with me being cast as the Kool-Aid Guy,' Duhamel said during a recent appearance on the 'Inside of You' podcast. Duhamel, 52 added, 'Yeah, it's cool, I love Rogen and all them. But you'd think they would have called me and said like, 'Hey, do you mind if we use your name and likeness for this?' Or at least, 'How do you pronounce your name?' Because they pronounced it wrong.' 8 Josh Duhamel on the 'Inside of You' podcast. Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum/Youtube 8 Seth Rogen on 'The Studio.' Apple+ The 'Ransom Canyon' actor explained that they pronounced it 'do-HAH-mull.' Podcast host Michael Rosenbaum speculated that 'they did that as a joke, though.' Duhamel replied: 'They might have. Maybe.' 8 Josh Duhamel attends the Men's Health Lab on June 12, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images for Hearst Magazines In 'The Studio,' which Rogen created and also stars in, he plays Matt, a movie studio exec who must compromise his values in order to succeed in Hollywood. This involves making a movie based on Kool Aid, to cash in on the 'Barbie' movie trend. He'd rather do more artsy faire, but his boss, Griffin, is demanding a Kool Aid movie. In the world of the show, they discuss Duhamel in it. 'I don't care,' Duhamel clarified. 'I'm kind of flattered by it.' 8 Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Seth Rogen on 'The Studio.' Apple+ 8 The Kool Aid man. Hallmark In the show, they discuss whether it would be offensive for Ice Cube to play the Kool Aid man. Unlike Duhamel, Ice Cube is in 'The Studio.' Rogen told People that he was 'petrified' when he approached the actor-rapper to appear on the show. He said his Zoom meeting was 'very reflective of the joke in the show [itself], where I'm trying to not be offensive and I'm trying to explain my creative position.' In the world of the show, Duhamel's role is recast with Don Cheadle in the role. 8 Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Kathryn Hahn, and Seth Rogen on 'The Studio.' Apple+ Duhamel is best known for action movies like 'Transformers.' In April, he talked about moving away from Hollywood to live in his native North Dakota and filming the Netflix romance cowboys series 'Ransom Canyon.' Duhamel has two sons: 11-year-old Axl, who he shares with his ex-wife, singer Fergie, 50 (who he was married to from 2009 to 2019) and 1-year-old son Shepherd, who he welcomed with his current wife, former beauty queen Audra Mari, 31. They tied the knot in 2022. The actor relates to his 'Ransom Canyon' characters' emphasis on family legacy. 'I have done that, with this property that I have back home in North Dakota,' he explained. 'For me, the idea of family is making memories, bringing people together. And, passing it on is really important.' 8 Josh Duhamel with his wife, Audra Mari, and two sons, in a 2024 Instagram photo. audramari/Instagram 8 Josh Duhamel and his wife, Audra Mari, in an Instagram selfie from Feb. 2025. joshduhamel/Instagram He described his home as being a cabin in the woods on a lake, '40 miles from anything.' 'It's pretty remote, but it's so peaceful and it's good for the soul,' he told the Post. 'It's a cabin in the woods on a lake, 40 miles from anything. It's pretty remote, but it's so peaceful and it's good for the soul.' 'I just love it out there,' he went on. 'I think there's something about reconnecting to nature and reconnecting the basics…I didn't realize I needed it, until I got out there and started building this place, and shaping it, and figuring out how we wanted to do it. There's always a project … I feel like I have purpose when I'm there.'
Business Insider
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
I worked at Tesla for 7 years. I quit because I couldn't support Elon Musk any longer.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Trae Cervantes, who worked as an engineering technician at Tesla until March 2025. It has been edited for length and clarity. I started at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada as a production associate in 2018, and I worked my way into a role as an engineering technician. I held at least four different positions during my time at Tesla. I was drawn to Tesla because I needed a way to improve my situation. Leading up to Tesla, I wasn't doing super well. I'd gone through a divorce, I got arrested for drinking and driving, and I was working two jobs to make ends meet. One of my best friends was working there and he told me to apply. When I got the job, I quit the two jobs and immediately got a better paying role with more time off. The reason I stayed is because they kept treating me well. I was getting paid the most I'd ever gotten in my adult life. No education, no real skills to speak of, and Tesla offered me opportunities to take charge of my life and grow my career. I started out on their production line for the Model 3 and I moved up from there. When I started out, it was grueling work. It was pushing heavy things up and down aisles. I was on my feet for 12 hours a day, but they also give you three to four days off a week to recover. It was a physically demanding job, but it didn't bother me. I knew that if I demonstrated a good work ethic I could work my way up, and that's what I've done. Every few years I was able to move up, from production associate to technician to eventually lead and engineering roles. A month into a new role, it was March 2020, and we were all furloughed. It was a big freak-out moment for me. Nobody was telling us what was going on, and I felt like I was going to lose my job. But we were back to work five weeks later and I learned to work around the new COVID safety standards. I felt like I really took ownership of my area, and I eventually became a lead for that team. To do it, I really had to show my value — I had to leverage my skills and build the relationships and rapport. That's what you have to do at Tesla — the skills aren't enough, you also need the relationships, and you need to show you can pick up the slack because things are always changing there. In 2023, they provided me an opportunity to go to school through a program at a local community college. They helped me get a certificate in advanced manufacturing. I took nine courses between January and May, all while I was still doing my normal duties, and I even made the Dean's list. Later on I got another certificate, a green belt certification for Lean Six Sigma. 'A cult of personality around Elon' I never drank the Elon Musk Kool Aid. When I started at my orientation, they talked about his controversial tweets. They said it's gotten him in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but they were mostly joking about it, like his behavior was okay because of who he was, what he does, or however much he's worth. There's always been that kind of mindset at Tesla, a cult of personality around Elon. I remember when he smoked weed on the Joe Rogan Experience, seeing so many T-shirts referencing it at the Gigafactory. I'd thought some of the things he'd done were wrong, like the Thai diver incident, but I believed in the mission. Then all of a sudden, he jumped into a capacity where he could impact my daily life. His involvement in Twitter, his involvement in the election, all of that was detracting from the company's mission. I didn't realize how much it mattered to me until the last couple of months. When Musk started throwing his money around in politics — that was a big thing for me. What I took issue with the most was the giveaway for prospective voters. It seemed so morally wrong. I didn't want to be associated with that. I started actively looking into his history, and the company's. The stock price and how we're making money — none of it made sense to me. That was another reason I wanted to get out. There are a lot of empty promises that haven't been fulfilled, like Full Self-Driving or the lower-cost EV. When I first left, I gave myself a hard time When he lifted his arm and did that Nazi salute, I was disgusted. (Editor's note: While discussing the incident with Joe Rogan, Musk said, "Hopefully, people realize I'm not a Nazi.") Last year, I started to be ashamed to tell people where I work. I chatted with a couple of folks at Tesla and I explained to them why I believed that that was a Nazi salute, and most of the time they just heard me out. Near the end of my time at Tesla, I started bringing up politics because I'd kind of got to a point where I didn't really care. I started working on my resumé. I spoke with my wife, my very close friends, and I explained the reason I wanted to leave. My wife just wants me to be happy. A lot of my friends are really, really pissed off at Musk, just like I am. They were all excited for me to leave the company. I have a pretty good support system. I changed my profile on Teams to a meme of Musk. I resigned that day. When I first left, I gave myself a hard time. I didn't have a job lined up, and I could have stayed longer or waited to get laid off and gotten severance at least. But then I started thinking about the layoffs last April, and I remember sitting in the building, seeing people send out text messages and Teams messages and wondering if they had a job. There were people who didn't find out until they got to the security gate at the factory. Why would I want to go through that? Between that and then the day when Trump bought a Tesla on the White House lawn, which happened the same day I gave my resignation notice, I felt more resolute in my decision. When I met with my supervisor and put in my notice, I told him, "I have to leave. I can't do this anymore. It's getting to a point where I feel like I'm compromising myself morally by walking through those doors every day." I'm not going to lie, I cried a little. Seven years is a long time and Tesla wasn't always a bad thing for me. What I would tell people is, if you're sitting in my shoes, and you feel uncomfortable, go for it. Do what you think will help you sleep at night. There are plenty of good people at Tesla. I didn't leave the place because of the company. I left because of the face of the company.
Buzz Feed
25-06-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
Fun Facts Everyone Believes That Are Actually False
You know those "fun facts" we all know and that somehow make it into every dinner party or trivia night? Turns out, sometimes they are totally wrong, but that hasn't stopped people from repeating them like gospel. Mainly because a lot of us have heard them throughout our lives and tend to take them at face value. Recently, redditor ColdAntique291 was curious about those "facts" when they asked: "What's a super common 'fun fact' that everyone keeps repeating but is actually false?" The thread got over a 1K responses. Below are the top and most often repeated "fun facts" that were actually a big lie: "That bats are blind. They hunt by echolocation, but they can actually see quite well." —blue_eyed_magic"It gets better: only about 1/3 of all bat species can use echolocation. Others just look where they're going."—rkaw92 "That we only use 10% or 30% of our brain capacity. This is nonsense. We use 100%." —abraxasnl"You're correct. Our brains are being used to maintain the body's functioning, and there is not a secret hidden 90% we can use unless we want organ failure, I suppose."—maruhchan "That you swallow eight spiders a year in your sleep. And that it takes seven years for gum to be digested." —Special_Discipline94"Wouldn't the spiders get stuck in the gum? 🤣"—One-Bodybuilder309 "Not exactly a 'fun fact,' but 'Let them eat cake.' It's attributed to Marie Antoinette, but she never actually said it." —Minibearden "I was told my entire life that cracking your knuckles is bad for you and causes arthritis. This is not true." —Forward_Age6247"I actually believed it, up until i read your comment. And I'm 54 lol"—CHICKADEE7dee "Sorry, but you can't see the Great Wall of China from orbit." —disturbednadir "If you make a face, it will stay that way. It absolutely does not, Mom." —ExxxemplaryVegitable "That the tongue has different taste zones, they taught us in school, ffs." —simonko1"They hadn't even identified 'umami' as the fifth taste when I was in school."—jack-jackattack "Napoleon wasn't short; he was actually above average height for his time." —clemoh"Britain's propaganda just made him that way to make fun of the French. He also wasn't actually French, he was Corsican."—squid_ward_16 "People say your hair grows back thicker if you shave. Absolute twaddle." —Botheuk "The idea that local honey can treat or cure seasonal allergies. Not true, never been true, people repeat it anyway." —chemicalysmic "That blood is blue inside your body until it touches air. Your blood is still red in your body, just darker." —wowza6969420"As if there's no oxygen in your blood while it's in your body."—OriginalKriWolf "The Jonestown Massacre: they drank Flavor Aid, not Kool Aid, but as everyone repeatedly says, 'Drank the Kool Aid.'" —Ned_Braden1 "Turning the inside car light will get you pulled over by the cops." —Available_Ad2852"Parents myth, lol"—airb00st1 "Dog year = seven human years. Not true! Sincerely, someone who works in veterinary." —Fun-Engineering7877 "Dogs are pack animals. They are not. They are social animals. The person who coined that term of them being pack animals, the same exact person responsible for that myth, is the person who completely 180'd when he realised his studies were extremely flawed, and upon review re-published to correct his mistake, but nobody paid any the fact that if you research yourself what pack animals actually do and the behaviours they engage in, none of it aligns with dog behaviour. 🤦" —No-Wolverine296 "You lose most of your body heat from the top of your head." —Boglikeinit"In the military, during training, I heard 'keep your head cold and your feet warm.'"—Ilirot "Sweating like a pig. Pigs do not have sweat glands, which is why they wallow in the mud to keep cool. Horses, on the other hand, sweat profusely." —MoreQuiet3094 "That you can catch a cold from being outside in cold weather. A cold is a viral infection. You're more likely to catch one inside from being in close proximity to people." —Turdwienerton "Everyone believes that the captain of a ship can perform weddings. It was even referenced in an episode of The Office once, but it's not true." —-Brother-Seamus-"Well, they can perform one, but the marriage won't be legal."—PlanetLandon And lastly, "Sugar makes kids hyper." —Bulky_Algae6110"Sugar doesn't actually make you hyper; it just makes you tired."—squid_ward_16 You can read the original thread on Reddit.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Kraft Heinz pulling artificial dyes from its US products in 2027
Kraft Heinz will be pulling artificial dyes from its U.S. products starting in 2027 and will no longer roll out new products with the dyes. The move comes nearly two months after US health officials said that they would urge foodmakers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors in the nation's food supply. Kraft Heinz said Tuesday that almost 90 per cent of its US products already don't contain food, drug & cosmetic colors, but that the products that do still use the dyes will have them removed by the end of 2027. FD&C colors are synthetic additives that are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in food, drugs and cosmetics. Kraft Heinz said that many of its US products that still use the FD&C colors are in its beverage and desserts categories, including certain products sold under brands including Crystal Light, Kool Aid, Jell-O and Jet Puffed. The company said that it will instead use natural colors for the products. "The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we've been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colors across the remainder of our portfolio," Pedro Navio, North America President at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement. Kraft Heinz stripped artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from its macaroni and cheese in 2016 and said it has never used artificial dyes in its ketchup. The company plans to work with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove the dyes. In April Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference that the agency would take steps to eliminate the synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry. Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that "the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives." The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. In January, the agency announced that the dye known as Red 3 - used in candies, cakes and some medications - would be banned in food by 2027 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats. Artificial dyes are used widely in US foods. In Canada and in Europe - where synthetic colors are required to carry warning labels - manufacturers mostly use natural substitutes. Several states, including California and West Virginia, have passed laws restricting the use of artificial colors in foods. Many US food companies are already reformulating their foods, according to Sensient Colors, one of the world's largest producers of food dyes and flavorings. In place of synthetic dyes, foodmakers can use natural hues made from beets, algae and crushed insects and pigments from purple sweet potatoes, radishes and red cabbage.>
