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Athleticism is a huge aspect of Survivor, and contestants often find it important to keep their tribes physically strong so that they will perform well in challenges. Tribes with former professional athletes usually keep those players in the early stages of the game with a goal to eliminate them before individual immunity challenges begin.

Over Survivor's more than 40 seasons, professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer players have competed as well as some Olympians.. They have ranged from being the first boot of a season to winning the game and the title of Sole Survivor, but all were targeted at one time or another for their athletic past.

Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn first competed on the show at age 27. He returned a few years later for All-Stars, and came back nearly two decades later for the iconic Winners At War.

Prior to his first appearance on the show, Ethan was best known for being a professional soccer player. He was a goalkeeper for the Hawaii Tsunami and the Cape Cod Crusaders in the United States, and played for the Highlanders F.C. in Zimbabwe before he founded Grassroots Soccer.

Gary Hogeboom was best known in his Survivor career for lying about who he was — he told his tribe-mates that his name was Gary Hawkins — and maintaining that he was and always had been a landscaper. He also found the first ever hidden immunity idol and used it correctly.

Unbeknownst to his fellow castaways originally, Gary played football for Central Michigan University and then was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and the Phoenix Cardinals. The other contestants quickly figured out his identity and targeted him for being a physical and social threat.

Ashley Massaro was the second person voted out of Survivor: China, so viewers didn't get a chance to see her Survivor story unfold on their television screens. However, she already had a large television presence as a WWE Diva.

Ashley professionally wrestled for almost four years, returning to the scene briefly in 2017. She was on the popular wrestling show Smackdown! as a commentator after winning the Raw Diva Search in 2005. She died in 2019 less than two weeks before her 40th birthday.

Crystal Cox was best known for her hilarious confessionals on Survivor: Gabon and her season-long rivalry with fellow castaway Randy Bailey. She placed sixth and ended up being a jury member.

Despite her tribe calling her out for her weak performances in challenges, Crystal was an Olympic athlete years before she competed on the show. Crystal ran track and field in the 2004 Olympics and won a gold medal, but was later stripped of it after admitting to doping.

Steve Wright was dealt the unfortunate cards of being on a tribe with notorious Survivor villain Russell Hantz as a captain on the 22nd season of Survivor. He was taken out in a Pagong-like fashion by Boston Rob and his allies, but he did make the jury.

In the 1980s, Steve played in the National Football League for several teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and the Los Angeles Raiders. He was an offensive tackle and briefly played with future Survivor alum Gary Hogeboom when they were both on the Cowboys.

On Survivor: Redemption Island, Grant Mattos became fan-favorite Survivor player "Boston Rob" Mariano's right-hand man before being blindsided by the legend himself.

Much like his castmate Steve Wright, Grant played professional football. He was a wide receiver and had a fou- year career where he played for San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, and the Tennessee Titans before retiring in 2006 due to knee injuries.

Jeff Kent was bitterly voted out of Survivor: Philippines by Lisa and Michael's alliance just after the merge. He became the second member of the jury and ultimately voted for Denise to become the Sole Survivor.

Jeff was one of the most famous and notable professional athletes to appear on the reality show. He played second base for six teams over the course of his Major League Baseball career, playing his longest stint with one club as a San Francisco Giant.

Julia Landauer was on the "fans" tribe for the second edition of Fans vs. Favorites. Her tribe was taken down pretty quickly by the "favorites," and she was the victim of a re-vote following a tie at a pre-merge tribal council.

Julia was only 21 years old when competed on Survivor but had already been racing stock cars for several years. Following her appearance on the reality show, she became a NASCAR driver and motivational speaker.

Brad Culpepper was a divisive character both times he appeared on Survivor. The first time, he was known as returning player Monica's husband and the enemy of several other castaways. His second time around, he made it to the final tribal council and even racked up a few votes after having a great redemption arc.

When his wife Monica first appeared on One World, people recognized her as being married to former NFL player Brad Culpepper. Brad was a defensive tackle for nearly 10 years, playing for teams such as the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Chicago Bears.

Cliff Robinson had a legendary Survivor bromance with martial arts instructor Woo Hwang before being blindsided at the first tribal council his tribe attended in season 28.

Cliff and Woo bonded over their love for sports and competing, something Cliff knew well as he played professional basketball for 18 seasons. He played for five different teams over the course of his career and was named an NBA All-Star in 1994. Cliff sadly died in 2020 after battling lymphoma. He was 53.

John Rocker was a bit of a hothead when he appeared on the 29th season of Survivor with then-girlfriend Julie McGee, so it was no surprise when he was eliminated third from the game. Julie later quit Survivor because she felt that John's reputation was hurting her game.

John's tribemates recognized him as being a relief pitcher in the MLB for several years. He played for teams such as the Braves, Indians, Rangers and Devil Rays during his professional career.

Tyler Frederickson was placed on the "white collar" tribe for Survivor: Worlds Apart, falling victim to an idol play by eventual winner Mike Holloway sometime after the merge.

Before he was on the island, Tyler was a placekicker on eight different NFL teams. Unlike other pro football players who appeared on the show, Tyler never started in a regular season game and was primarily a practice squad member on the teams he was signed to.

Scot Pollard was famously blindsided out of Survivor: Kaoh Rong after Tai Trang refused to join forces with him to activate their shared super-idol at tribal council.

Scot played in the NBA for 11 years, first with for the Detroit Pistons before going on to play for Sacramento, Indiana, Cleveland and Boston. He retired in 2008 after winning a championship.

Alan Ball placed 15th on the 35th season of Survivor. He was voted out on day 11 when a tribe swap didn't go in his favor after originally being placed on the "heroes" tribe.

Prior to his Survivor appearance, Alan was a football cornerback for several teams including the Cowboys, Texans, Jaguars, Bears and Cardinals. He was released in 2016 following a foot injury the previous season.

Katrina Radkte was unlucky during her time on Survivor, as she was the first person voted out of the 35th season. As far as professional athletes go, she had the worst placement of any to appear on the reality series.

Despite this, Katrina had an impressive professional swimming career. She was on the U.S. team for the 1988 Olympics and won two gold metals in the 1985 and 1987 Pan Pacific Championships.

John Hennigan was a member of the great season 37 alliance the "Brochachos," in which he and fellow "Goliath" tribe member Dan aligned with "David" tribe member and all-around likable Survivor castaway Christian Hubicki.

Originally born John Hennigan, John adopted the stage name John Morrison as well as the nickname "Mayor of Slamtown" in the professional wrestling scene. He has won multiple WWE championships over the course of his two-decades-long career.

Bi Nguyen's time on Survivor was cut short due to a knee injury early on that led her to withdraw from the game in order to protect her career.

Bi was an MMA fighter when she competed on the show, something she continued to pursue after leaving the game. Her knee injury took months to heal, causing her to lose her first post-Survivor match. She goes by the wrestling name Killer Bee.

Elizabeth Biesel was the third Olympian to compete on Survivor, and she did well in challenges due to her swimming excellence.

Though she didn't strike gold on the show, Elizabeth has racked up plenty of medals during the course of her career. She went to the Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016, specializing in the individual swimming medleys and backstroke.

Tom Laidlaw competed on the 39th season of Survivor as a member of the Lairo tribe. He created strong connections with his tribemates early on, but he was voted out following a trip swap.

Tom was best known for his professional hockey career spanning 12 years. He played as a defenseman for the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Raiders before going on to be a motivational speaker.

Danny McCray is the latest pro athlete to compete on Survivor, making his appearance on the Survivor 41, which host Jeff Probst declared as being a new era of the reality series.

While Danny's fate on the show has yet to be determined, he has appeared on television screens before. He was a safety in the NFL for six years, playing for teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears after graduating from Louisiana State University.

As a good battle shonen should, One Piece has a variety of iconic fights that are complemented by some flashy and exciting finishing moves. A staple of any anime fight, the idea of the finishing move fuses both brutal power and explicit branding to create some of the most exciting and recognizable attacks ever seen in fiction.

In One Piece's world, Devil Fruits, Haki, martial arts, robotic enhancements, and some very loose interpretations of physics all contribute to One Piece's own, colorful gallery of finishing moves. And while rating each one's power and effectiveness is a large discussion within its own right, it's also really fun just looking at which finishing moves are just the coolest and most memorable.

Monkey D. Luffy's Gum-Gum Gatling doesn't have the awe-inspiring, simplistic appeal of a one-hit attack; but what it lacks in brevity, it more than makes up for with raw, visceral spectacle. The Gum-Gum Gatling isn't often used as Luffy's finishing move, but it is the stopping point for a couple of his best fights and most action-packed episodes of One Piece.

At the end of his iconic battle with Sir Crocodile, Luffy didn't just invent a new move to defeat a Warlord. He just summoned all of his strength and just kept punching until Crocodile was through the ceiling. The same thing happens in his legendary bout with Rob Lucci when Luffy refused to go down and unleashed a flash barrage to send Lucci flying.

Hell Memories is the upgraded version of Sanji's Diable Jiambe, a kick attack that uses high-speed friction and passionate intensity to burn Sanji's opponents at extreme temperatures. Seeing Diable Jiambe for the first time against Jabra was one of the great spectacles of the Enies Lobby Arc. It captured the imagination by teasing just how fast and good at kicking Sanji really is.

Hell Memories is a more advanced version that uses Sanji's own trauma from training to create a kick that envelops his opponent's entire body in flames. It's a flashy and ridiculous move that does a great job of capturing the imagination and getting people to love Sanji even more.

Roronoa Zoro's strongest attack to date and one of the most ridiculously named attacks in anime (and most rewatchable scenes in One Piece), the billion-fold world trichiliochosm is the epitome of samurai slashes. Anime and Japanese movies are famous for their special brand of swordplay that idolizes attacks faster than the eye can see but powerful enough to create clean cuts through bodies, doors, and, in Zoro's case, a guy made out of an entire country.

This move is the result of Zoro summoning all of his strength and haki and focusing it into a singular point between all three of his swords and slashing so hard that he can practically cut through an entire city.

Meteor Volcano isn't exactly coined as Akainu's finishing move in the anime, but it is in some of the video games. It's also easily his most jaw-dropping attack. While the rest of his move set just has Sakazuki create a large, molten fist, meteor volcano sends a barrage of blazing fists into the air, only to have them arch back down like hellish rain.

This attack created one of the most frightening scenes during the Paramount War where pirates had to scramble as lava fell down upon them and the ground beneath their feet evaporated. This is the One Piece version of the Omaha Beach scene from Saving Private Ryan, and it solidified Akainu, ironically, as one of the coldest figures in the Marines.

While Sanji and Akainu have some pretty hot moves of their own, no one in the series has as much burning blood as the ex-Captain of the Spade Pirates and Whitebeard's 2nd Division, Portgas D. Ace. Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit wasn't exactly the most original, anime power out there, but Ace did use it in a variety of interesting ways, such as his signature Fire Fist, his fireflies attack, and his Flame Commandments.

His most powerful move of all simulates the look and intensity of an entire sun that, if launched at anyone else besides Blackbeard, could wipe out nearly any enemy in the One Piece world.

Magellan was the transitionary villain of the Marineford Saga who guarded the dark cells of Impel Down. With his Venom-Venom Fruit, Magellan did so much more than just coat himself in poison. He created venomous bubbles, noxious gas, and even a terrifying hydra that he could swim through.

His best attack of all transforms him into a giant, devilish soldier made of his strongest venom. Besides the horrifying aesthetics, Hell's Judgement creates a venom so strong that it can infect even the stone walls and floors of Impel Down, allowing Magellan to wreak, harsh justice literally wherever he steps.

Ursus Shock isn't the shiniest move or the most complex one, but it does a better job than most at quieting a scene with pure intensity. With his Paw-Paw Fruit, Bartholomew Kuma is able to reflect what seems to be everything and anything at the speed of light. This includes Perona's Hollow-Hollow ghosts and somehow the concept of pain.

His most iconic attack with the Paw-Paw Fruit involves Kuma constantly reflecting air particles between his hands and condensing large quantities of them into a single, paw-shaped bubble. This bubble is essentially a bomb that can unleash destructive amounts of air pressure that can wipe out armies or even a continent-moving giant.

Shiki the Golden Lion is a semi-canon character who rivaled Gol D. Roger during One Piece's old pirate era and ran amok as the main villain of the movie, One Piece: Strong World. With his Float-Float Fruit, Shiki is able to levitate and seemingly manipulate anything he touches, allowing him to fly, move entire ships by himself, and even hold up his entire, captive country in the sky.

However, Shiki's Devil Fruit really stretches the meaning of floating when he uses it to manipulate the ground to create torrents of solid rock. With Lion Majesty, Shiki is able to create a giant, lion head that can crush his opponent, and Lion Majesty: Earth Coiling is essentially a tsunami version of that.

While Zoro has grown considerably stronger since his adventures on Enies Lobby, he has yet to really capture people's imaginations the same way that he did when, for seemingly no reason at all, he grew two heads, seven extra arms, and six swords - quite the One Piece plot twist!

A manifestation of Zoro's aura, his Nine-Sword Style: Asura move allows Zoro to create the illusion of a multi-limbed god of war as well as triple the output of his attacks. There's not much more that actually explains this move, especially since he rarely uses it, but it's super cool nonetheless.

Luffy has thrown some pretty iconic punches over the years. His first Gum-Gum Pistol against a Sea King is a series signature, his first "fight" with Bellamy was incredible, and his cathartic punch against a Celestial Dragon on Sabaody Archipelago is one of One Piece's most rewatchable moments.

However, his best and strongest punch to date has to be the ultimate culmination of both his Haki training and Gear transformations. King Kong Gun requires Luffy to transform into the already, overpowered Bound Man. However, in this state, Luffy can continue to blow air into his arm, essentially fusing Gear Fourth with Gear Third, allowing him to deliver a punch that can split an entire island.

While there are several superheroes blessed with the uncanny power of elasticity, two of the more iconic stretchy comic book heroes are One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy and the Fantastic Four's leader Mr. Fantastic. Naturally, since their powers are based on their ability to stretch and contort themselves in unworldly forms, the question becomes, whose stretchability is the strongest.

Neither Luffy nor Mr. Fantastic were born with their powers. Instead, each came onto their powers as a result of an outside event. In the case of Luffy, that event occurred when he ate the "Gum-Gum Fruit" as a child. As a result of eating the fruit, Luffy's body was rendered in a rubber-like state that allowed him to stretch, bend, elongate, and inflate his body. In contrast, Reed Richards' transformation occurred after he piloted an authorized flight into space with his future wife Sue Storm, her brother - Johnny Storm, and Reed's college roommate Benjamin Grimm. The flight, which was conducted without proper protection, was pelted by gamma radiation. That radiation transformed Reed's DNA to give him the ability to stretch every part of his body as if he were a rubber band.

On the surface, it might seem that there is little difference in the stretching ability of Luffy and Mr. Fantastic.  Both Luffy and Mr. Fantastic's power of elasticity allows them to reform their bodies into any shape that they wish. In addition, their rubbery consistency makes them immune from most "blunt" attacks such as a punch, kick, or even a bullet. Moreover, their elasticity allows them to transform their bodies into effective weapons. For instance, both can use their bodies to redirect bullets and shells back towards the shooter. In addition, both can use their bodies to wrap up and constrain others from moving. However, a deeper dive into the abilities of Luffy and Mr, Fantastic reveals that not all stretching abilities are equal.

Despite the similarities, there is one crucial metric that separates the top-rated from the runner-up, namely maximum stretch distance. Indeed, how powerful is one elasticity, if one's ability to stretch covers only a short distance. In this respect, Luffy comes out as the clear winner. Indeed, Luffy has the ability to stretch without restriction. That is, he can stretch as far as he deems necessary to accomplish the task. Conversely, while there is no official limit to how far Reed can stretch, it has been demonstrated that there are limits upon which Reed can effectively control his stretching abilities. There is a distance where Reed loses his ability to effectively control these body parts. Conversely, there is no such known limitation for Luffy.

While there is no argument that both Luffy and Mr. Fantastic have incredibly powerful abilities of elasticity, not all rubber-like abilities are the same. The Fantastic Four's Mr. Fantastic might be able to use his powers to wrap up a villain across the street, chances are that One Piece's Luffy can do the same a block or even a city away.

Larger-than-life, witty, and fascinating villains were one of the things that fans of the cult fantasy Supernatural couldn't get enough of. In fact, the show had a range of supervillains who kept the heroic Winchester brothers on their toes.

However, the big baddies alone wouldn't be able to sustain the show had it not been for a variety of other, low-key, but often dangerous antagonists that the brothers had to face and fight. Whether humans, angels, or humans and angels possessed by other angels and archangels, there was no dearth of challenges that the brothers had to rise to, beyond the typical freak-of-the-week monsters.

Bela wasn't a villain per se as much as she was a troublemaker. She turned up as suddenly as she left but within the short span of time that her path crossed the boys', she brought them a world of trouble, including stealing a staggering 46,000 dollars, that was probably more money than Sam and Dean had or were ever to see in their lives.

Bela also stole the coveted Colt from the brothers, the gun that was the only one of its kind and could kill any entity however immune to other weapons. Never particularly scrupulous, Bela was a slippery eel, but she certainly wasn't as horrifying as some of the people or creatures that Sam and Dean go on to meet. Her death, presumably by hellhounds, seemed a tad harsh and the boys seemed to forget about her pretty soon.

The fallen angel Anna seemed like a potential ally for the brothers and Castiel at first, and even had a steamy night with Dean at the back of the Impala, one of the many emotional Supernatural moments the Impala had been through. She was an angel who had revolted against the requirements of Heaven and thus seemed like one of the good guys, capable of thinking of her own.

However, she soon became antagonistic as she decided to go back in time and kill Mary and John Winchester so that Sam and Dean would never be born, the first of the 66 seals that needed to be broken to unleash Lucifer upon the earth would remain intact, and most importantly, Lucifer would not have his true vessel. She was then killed off by the archangel Michael possessing John who wanted to save his wife and although it meant that the apocalypse couldn't be stopped, Anna's death was good riddance.

Not an out-and-out villain, Gadreel was one of the main characters in season 9, and a secondary antagonist of sorts after Metatron, the scribe of God.

Gadreel had taken refuge in Sam's body after most of the angels were ejected from Heaven. Having convinced Dean that that was the only way to keep Sam alive, he ended up becoming the scheming Metatron's right-hand man. While he did seem ambivalent at first, fans went thoroughly against him when Gadreel, possessing Sam, murdered young Kevin Tran in cold blood following Metatron's instructions, and Dean could do nothing about it.

An angel who at first seemed desperate to save a chaotic Heaven, Duma gradually turned antagonistic as she allowed Lucifer to rule over Heaven in return for his help in creating more angels.

She also held sway over Heaven briefly herself, creating a reign of terror which made Heaven a brutal final destination for humans. She also manipulated Jack so that she could have his tremendous power at her disposal, and eventually became a vessel for the Shadow, the entity ruling the Empty, one of the main locations/sets on Supernatural, since time immemorial. Duma was yet another loose end that needed tying up which Cas finally did.x

Billie the reaper became Death after the former Death was killed with his own scythe by Dean Winchester. Initially appearing to be an ally who wanted to save the world and destroy God just as the Winchesters did, Billie turned out to be a villain too towards the end of season 15.

Billie's endgame was ambiguous, for the most part, although it seemed as though she was on the brothers' side and wanted to get rid of God. To that end, she had even had Jack resurrected and told him how he could improve his strength which he would need to preserve to kill God. Yet, at the end, it was revealed that Billie had been manipulating the brothers and Jack all along. She wanted to kill God not to save the world but to take over the universe herself.

Although not exactly low profile, Lady Toni Bevell became a temporary villain in season 12 as the merciless killer on the British Men of Letters' payroll.

Bevell was shown to be a terminator of sorts, with very little morality or scruples to anchor her, and willing to go to any length to follow the instructions coming from upstairs. She abducted Sam Winchester and tortured him inhumanly, all to please the high command, And unlike Ketch who at least had a compelling personality, Bevell's character was simply irritating. This was one villain fans hated unlike some of the other Supernatural villains whom they loved.

One of the earliest angels the brothers met, Uriel deceived everyone (including Castiel) when it was revealed that he was actually working to bring about the apocalypse, rather than helping to stop it.

As the Devil's mole in Heaven, Uriel was one of the angels who had turned against God, sick of his absence and tired of following instructions from someone who never really showed up. He was probably the one who proved to Sam and Dean that angels, contrary to popular perception, weren't necessarily the good guys. Uriel was still just a pawn since more important angels like Zachariah soon joined the party and made life a living hell for Sam and Dean. But he was the first of the villainous angels the brothers encountered.

Castiel makes this list since he nearly went dark side more than once. Season 6 saw Cas going rogue, killing hundreds of his fellow angels, to say nothing of humans he massacred. The idea of becoming God possessed him to the extent that he lost any ounce of humanity he might have picked up from spending time around humans like Sam and Dean.

Later too, Cas agreed to let Lucifer in so that they could beat the Darkness. However, Lucifer had his own plans and the Cas shaped Lucifer soon took over Hell where he kept Crowley under captivity, killed Rowena and basically raised hell. Castiel himself might have been the best of entities, but he made some choices that didn't go so well, especially for him.

One of the villains in the course of the series that fans might have forgotten but who was definitely a key antagonist at the time was Soulless Sam. Sam Winchester returned in season 6 from Lucifer's Cage in Hell where he had been broken and battered to the point that when he returned, his soul had been left behind.

The havoc that the Soulless Sam wreaked became a major plot point in the sixth season as Sam lost his connection with the softer human emotions and didn't care if he had to kill a few perfectly innocent humans here and there. He even set a vampire on his own brother knowing that the latter ran the risk of getting turned, and indeed he did! Soulless Sam might have been pretty low-key in the context of the entire series but he was quite terrifying for a period of time.

Of course, John Winchester was a good man who had met with a terrible tragedy when his wife died so shockingly, leaving him with two young kids, one of them an infant. It was also he who taught the boys everything they knew about hunting.

However, there is a reason Supernatural fans consider Bobby a better father to the brothers than John Winchester. it was John's obsession with finding the demon who had killed his wife that led Sam and Dean down this path from where there was no turning back, that took away their childhood. And although they did save the world multiple times, and certain events had been set in motion that would have affected them anyway, the brothers only had their father to thank for a lot of the sacrifices they had had to make.

The 1986 remake of The Fly is one of the single-best horror/sci-fi epics ever made, and the debate still rages over whether it's better than the original 1958 version. Jeff Goldblum's excellent performance as the eccentric and loopy Seth Brundle is one of his best, and the film is loaded with many memorable quotes not just from his character, but others as well.

These quotes help tell the story of Brundle's grotesque transformation from a handsome young scientist into a horrific man/fly hybrid and the horrors that ensue. It's one of the darkest and most tragic horror flicks of the 1980s, and the blood-curdling visuals are married to one fantastic script that sticks to the story and sells it perfectly.

Seth Brundle was an eccentric oddball who mostly kept to himself, and the rigors of his work. His days were spent researching technology related to teleportation, which would have a drastic impact on humanity, were the power harnessed correctly. He wasn't a typical horror movie mad scientist, but he walked the obsessive edge of the knife that led many to fall astray.

He first met Victoria at a science gala, where he immediately tried to woo her with tales of his research. It was enough to capture her interest, and agree to come back to his lab, where he introduced her to the teleportation pods he had been working on.

Brundle's teleportation technology was akin to something out of the Black Mirror franchise, and just as dangerous. To demonstrate the power of his teleportation pods, Brundle asked Victoria to share a personal item. She ended up taking down one of her stockings and giving it to him, after which he placed it in a pod, activated the machine, and successfully teleported it to the other pod.

At first, Victoria believed he had destroyed her stocking, prompting this funny quote that was ironic in and of itself. She'd later come to realize just how on the money Seth was when it came to his research, even if teleportation of organics was still out of his reach.

When Victoria revealed that she wanted to write a piece on Seth's work, he immediately hesitated for fear of his funding being cut. He tried to woo her a little more by inviting her to lunch, where he pitched the idea of them working together, rather than on opposite sides.

Victoria would hold off on revealing her story until Seth felt that the technology had been perfected. It was a deal made on mutual trust, paving the way for a working relationship, and a romantic one that followed.

After experiencing a bout of jealousy over Victoria's ex-boyfriend, Seth got a little too drunk and decided to test his teleportation pods on himself. He emerged healthy and intact on the other side, but it didn't take long for the warning signs to start popping up.

He took Victoria to lunch, where he went off on a super-energetic rant about teleportation technology, and how it made him feel. He seemed reborn, like a new man bursting with boundless optimism, self-confidence, and physical strength, not to mention a rather unhealthy obsession with sugar.

Victoria realized that Seth wasn't well when his personality started to change. He was no longer the adorable, socially awkward guy she fell in love with. He had become arrogant, unhinged, temperamental, and judgmental, all because she wouldn't allow herself to be teleported as well.

He eventually clashed with her and sabotaged his romantic relationship by saying he'd find someone else who wasn't afraid of the process. To Seth, teleportation was the pathway to ultimate bliss. To Victoria, it was a nightmare scenario wrought with pitfalls that she did not trust.

After breaking up with Victoria, Seth decided to go out and find another woman that he could convince to get into the teleportation pods. He arm-wrestled a burly bar patron and broke his wrist as a demonstration of his power, which was enough to entice a young woman to come home with him.

The two hooked up after Seth demonstrated his teleportation technology to her, but when he tried to convince her to go through, she resisted. Seth told her not to be afraid as he dragged her to the pods, but Victoria stood in his way, telling the young woman to be very, very afraid. Ironically, a behind-the-scenes Fly factoid reveals that comedy legend Mel Brooks was the one who came up with this quote as a tagline, believing it was a comedy instead of a horror film.

After Victoria left Seth to his own devices, he began taking her warnings about his physical appearance and personality changes to heart. He went into the bathroom to examine himself, noticing that several parts of his body were beginning to deteriorate.

He ended up pulling off one of his own fingernails with ease, which was enough to strike fear into him. He wondered if the process had caused him to contract some sort of disease, or mess with his molecular structure to the point where a rabid form of cancer had set in. This element of "body horror" is just one reason why the 1986 remake is better than the original 1958 version of The Fly.

Seth compared the data of his first teleportation trip and discovered that a foreign organic entity was in the pod with him at the time. He was horrified to learn that it was a common housefly which the computer didn't know what to do with. It chose to fuse their respective DNA patterns together at the genetic level.

He finally had his answer for why he was changing. When Victoria showed up to discuss it with him, Seth indicated that the unnatural fusion of the DNA was turning him into something the world had never seen. To lighten the mood, he cracked a joke about the scientific merit that would undoubtedly have earned him at least one Nobel Prize.

As Seth kept mutating, so too did parts of his body keep falling off. His teeth, ears, genitals, and other pieces of his body were now becoming redundant in the wake of the emerging new genetic mutation. Rather than get rid of them, he stuffed the parts in jars and hid them in the medicine cabinet of his home.

With nothing else to do but ride the mutation out, Seth felt compelled to at least make some jokes about his state of affairs. He asked Victoria if she'd like to see the collection of body parts that had since fallen off, but she was understandably opposed to the idea.

When the mutation entered its second-last stage, Seth realized that his mind was gradually regressing into something much more primitive. He joked about the irony of "insect politics" with Victoria, which was meant to illustrate that insects are brutal and instinctive, and don't care much for diplomacy.

It was his way of demonstrating the dangers of her being around him. Finally, he came right out and said that if she stayed, he'd end up hurting her. Seth knew that as his mental state deteriorated, so too would his regard for humans. Instinct would become his first reactionary mechanism, and nothing could be more dangerous.

Photo by Anton from Pexels

WhatsApp had been planning to introduce a feature called "Community"; however, someone leaked the underdevelopment, WABetainfo reported Monday.

"We wanted to wait for some screenshots to introduce it," it said on its official Twitter handle.

Someone leaked "Community", under development for WhatsApp. We wanted to wait for some screenshots to introduce it.
Community is a way for users to organize their WhatsApp groups better. Nothing more, it's not something like Twitter and Facebook. Updates will be following soon...

 According to WABetaInfo, the community feature is a way for users to organise their WhatsApp groups better.

However, addressing the rumours that this feature is like Twitter, WABetaInfo — the main independent portal where you can discover the news and real-time updates about WhatsApp — said: "It is not something like Twitter and Facebook."

The portal added that more details of the feature will be revealed soon.

Marketing the trick to read deleted WhatsApp messages might be seen as concerning to many users but one can look back at any messages, embarrassing or not, they quickly deleted. Try the steps below if you do.

What is a deleted message?

You can delete messages instantly from both individual chats and from groups no matter if you’re using on Android or on iOS phones.

It comes with the condition that recipients are told  “this message was deleted”, which can be triggering.

But this message even after being deleted by the sender is stored on the phone, and can be seen using WhatsApp’s backup feature.

How do I read deleted messages?

If you’re really desperate and impatient to read that deleted message(s), you need to first uninstall WhatsApp and then re-install it and restore chats from backup.

Simply select the restore option and your chats will be restored, including deleted messages, which are shown as if they were never removed.

Also, there are various third party apps that you have to have installed in your phone before that message was deleted. So it’s like preemptive action. These apps record all your chats and do not acknowledge the sender’s right to delete them.

Apps like Notification History Log and Notification Log show you all of the notifications stored in your gadget’s notification register.

But the apps do have their limitations: You have to have interacted with the notification to read it.

Nevertheless, this has the security hazard because you’re allowing apps to read into your personal space only so you can have an eye on some deleted messages.

Google and Microsoft released their latest OS updates this week. While Android 12 is yet to roll out to most users, Windows 11 is now generally available on compatible devices. Considering the XDA community is chock full of early adopters, it won’t be wrong of us to assume that many of you have already installed the updates on your devices. If that’s the case, which of the two updates do you think was the bigger and better release?

Before you answer that question, let’s take a quick look at some of the cool new features included in the latest software releases from Google and Microsoft.

Android 12 is undoubtedly one of the most significant updates to the Android operating system in years. It brings a ton of new features and changes, including a massive Material You redesign, scrolling screenshot support, a native one-handed mode, and a Game dashboard. It also brings several privacy and security improvements, like the new Privacy dashboard and the camera and microphone indicators.

In addition, Android 12 brings with several new widgets, a better auto-rotate system, URL/image sharing support in the recent apps overview, a new Internet panel, stretch overscrolling effects, app launch splash screens, and much more. While it’s still too early to say how Android 12 will perform on Google’s Pixel phones and devices from other manufacturers, we already know quite a bit about the update to decide whether it is a bigger and better upgrade than Windows 11 or not.

Microsoft’s latest software release is also a pretty significant upgrade over the previous version. Like Android 12, Windows 11 also brings some massive design changes. It also includes a boatload of new features, including Android app support (which isn’t live in the current release), updates for several stock apps, and gaming improvements. Furthermore, Windows 11 packs a revamped Microsoft Store, Snap Layouts and Snap Groups, and new widgets.

While Windows 11 also brings a ton of other smaller changes, it also suffers from some issues. Since it has already started rolling out to users, we’ve seen several reports claiming that early users are facing performance issues on AMD CPUs, gaming performance has taken a hit, etc. Although we can’t say that Android 12 won’t face similar problems when it reaches more users, the chances of that happening are rather slim.

Windows 11 review: Fixing the wrongs of the past decade

Keeping all these things in mind, which one do you think was the bigger and better upgrade? Can you think of any other reasons to pick one over the other? Or are you of the opinion that one shouldn’t draw a comparison between the two? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! 

Source: XDA Pranob Mehrotra

 Social media giant Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg became a laughing stock at Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update segment.

Hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che didn’t hold themselves back in ridiculing the company after an eventful week at the Facebook HQs over a whistleblower’s revelations about the firm and the application facing an outage as well.

“This week we found out that sometimes a guy in a hoodie actually can be dangerous,” begam Jost.

Jost—also a Harvard graduate like Zuckerberg—said he was at the Ivy League school around the same time as the young tech mogul in 2004.

"I feel terrible. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to college and find Mark and say, ‘hey man!… Can I be part of your company?" he said.

"Which explains their rival’s new slogan, ‘TikTok, bring your fat [expletive] over here," he quipped.

Che chimed in to the mockery of Facebook, saying: "This week, Instagram was down for an entire day, forcing many Instagram addicts to fill their time with Twitter, TikTok or hosting ‘SNL,’" he said, subtly pulling guest host Kim Kardashian’s leg. 

Google has never really given ‘inferior’ treatment to iPhone users when it comes to its apps and services. Some app features, in fact, get to iPhone users first before Android smartphone users. Having said that, the Google experience on iPhone can be better and it’s something the company is working on. According to a report by 9to5Mac, staff engineering lead for Google Design on Apple platforms Jeff Verkoeyen, explained this in a long Twitter thread.

Verkoeyen said in a series of tweets that “as we continued on the pursuit of cross-platform pixel parity, our iOS components were slowly drifting further and further from Apple platform fundamentals because those fundaments were also evolving year over year.”

He further said that what Google realised is that how it approached the design for Apple platforms allowed it to “marry the best of UIKit with the highlights of Google's design language.” UIKit being the user interface kit that enables Google to maintain or provide a specific user interface across it apps.

As a result, “app bars become UINavigationControllers. Standard controls just need light branded touches,” explained the engineering lead for Google design. He further said, “Simplification, while still affording distinction where it matters.”

Verkoeyen said that with the introduction of SwiftUI and significant UIKit improvements in iOS 14+, “it's never been easier to build a great branded experience with a tiny amount of code.”

Google is not really making custom code for Apple platforms but is rather “now invested in the long tail of UX details that really make products feel great on Apple platforms.”

Google has been quick to update its apps to have better integration with iOS 15. For instance, it has updated Google apps to work with Focus mode and make notifications as relevant and timely as possible. “For example, if you’re navigating somewhere with Google Maps, we’ll still let you know when you need to make a turn or if there are changes to your route — like road closures or unexpected traffic. Focus mode won’t silence these helpful, timely reminders,” Google explained.

Source: Times Of India

It's not too often that astronomers are at a loss for words when making a space-related discovery, but the above image from NASA's Hubble telescope managed to do precisely that. Of all the tools at our disposal for exploring outer space, Hubble has repeatedly proven to be one of the best. The 31-year-old telescope has made countless discoveries over the years, whether it be answering questions about our own Solar System or investigating galaxies millions of light-years away.

In 2021 alone, Hubble has been up to a lot. It's captured a large 'eye' in the middle of a constellation, learned new information about Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and even identified a 'ghost' galaxy utterly devoid of dark matter. All of this has happened despite a scare earlier this year — one that caused Hubble to go offline for a month due to a nasty computer glitch.

NASA just shared one of Hubble's latest discoveries, and it may be one of the most head-scratching of the entire year. Looking at the photo above, all seems pretty normal at first. The picture shows a large cluster of galaxies deep in space, with Hubble focusing on two of them. The first one, labeled 'single image,' is a run-of-the-mill galaxy with a bright center and numerous stars surrounding it. Where things get interesting is with the galaxy labeled 'mirrored image.' Not only does it look like a galaxy mirroring itself, but it's also a copy of the 'single image' galaxy above it. In other words, there are three sightings of the same galaxy for no apparent reason. After first spotting the 'double' galaxy in 2013, astronomer Timothy Hamilton admitted he and his team "were really stumped."

If it sounds impossible for there to be three instances of the exact same galaxy, that's because it is. What's really happening here is something called 'gravitational lensing'  — a visual trick that occurs when a large amount of matter distorts light from other galaxies. Gravitational lensing is a fairly well-known thing today, but in 2013 when Hamilton discovered these perplexing galaxies, that wasn't the case.

In this particular situation, NASA explains the lensing as follows: "A precise alignment between a background galaxy and a foreground galaxy cluster produces twin magnified copies of the same image of the remote galaxy. This rare phenomenon occurs because the background galaxy straddles a ripple in the fabric of space." Another way to think about it is like wavy reflections present in a swimming pool. When the afternoon sun is shining bright on an outdoor pool, the light from the sun appears on the bottom of it with swirling, wavy reflections. As Richard Griffiths from the University of Hawaii explains, "The ripples on the surface act as partial lenses and focus sunlight into bright squiggly patterns on the bottom."

This is essentially what's happening in the image at the top of this article, albeit on a much larger scale. A ripple in space is taking light from the single image galaxy, magnifying and distorting it, and that's what's seen with the mirrored image galaxy. That's a great oversimplification of all the science and research that went into getting to this answer, but that's ultimately how the photo is explained. If anything, it's a great reminder of how much we still have to learn about space. In just 8 years, astronomers went from not understanding this photo to having a logical explanation for it. In the next 8, 16, or 32 years, who knows what other mysteries we'll also have answers to.

Source: NASA

The latest Dead by Daylight survivor in need of a strategy guide, Mikaela Reid, will be arriving in the game on October 19 along with the update for chapter 21.5. The next chapter in Dead by Daylight, Hour of the Witch, is predictably based around a Halloween theme.

Mikaela Reid looks like a character plucked straight out of a Halloween movie: black attire, long, red hair, funky glasses, and a hat fit for a witch. Mikaela’s backstory involves her father dying when she was 16, leading her down a path of witchcraft and the occult.

Mikaela has three perks unique to her character in Dead by Daylight. Like all the characters in the game, Mikaela’s survivor perks can be used to gain an advantage over the killer. Mikaela’s perks are all centered around totems, similar to the Killer The Hag's Hex Totems when she was released. Traditionally, only Killers could use Totems to make survival more difficult. Hex Totem effects remain until a Survivor cleanses the totem. Mikaela's abilities allow her to bless and use totems, including Hex Totems, turning them into Boon Totems that benefit the whole Survivor team.

The following perks will be available for Mikaela Reid upon the character’s release in Dead By Daylight:

Clairvoyance: This is an intrinsic energy in a Survivor that sees beyond their vision. Clairvoyance activates whenever a Survivor cleanses a Totem. When empty-handed, hold the Ability button to unlock full aura-reading potential. For up to 10 seconds, Survivors can see the auras of exit gate switches, generators, hooks, and chests within a 64-meter range. Teachable at Level 30.

Boon: Circle of Healing: A boon that offers comfort amidst the terror. Press and hold the Ability button near a Dull or Hex Totem to bless it and create a Boon Totem. Soft chimes ring out in a 28-meter range. Any Survivors within the Boon Totem’s range gain a 100% healing speed bonus and can heal themselves without needing a Med-Kit or Perk. Survivors can only bless one Totem at a time. All equipped boon Perks are active on each Boon Totem. Teachable at Level 35.

Boon: Shadow Step: A boon that conceals the truth. Press and hold the Ability button near a Dull or Hex Totem to bless it and create a Boon Totem. Soft chimes ring out in a 28-meter range. Any Survivors within the Boon Totem’s range will have their scratch marks and auras hidden to the Killer. This effect lingers for 4 seconds after leaving the Boon Totem’s range. Survivors can only bless one Totem at a time. All equipped boon Perks are active on each Boon Totem. Teachable at Level 40.

Boon: Circle of Healing and Boon: Shadow Step are immensely useful for group play. If players are near a Circle of Healing Boon Totem, they can all heal themselves at 200% healing speed without a Med-Kit. Using this ability after unhooking a teammate and losing the killer can make the getaway much smoother.

Using Boon: Shadow Step can also make a getaway smoother. Players’ scratch marks and auras become hidden near this totem, which conceals fleeing players’ movements. Lastly, Clairvoyance is a straightforward ability. Players should use Clairvoyance when they have an opportunity and keep moving afterward. Seeking out a totem for Clairvoyance is not particularly useful, so Survivors can instead simply activate it when the opportunity arises. Whether players are playing Dead By Daylight solo or with friends, Mikaela is a great addition to the Survivor team.

Disney and Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings continues to outperform expectations at the box office, sailing past $400 million worldwide. The Phase 4 MCU movie is in its sixth weekend since its release, which was back on September 3. Shang-Chi was an immediate success upon release, grossing $29.6 million at the box office on its opening day, which was the third-best opening day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shang-Chi would go on to take the crown of the largest Labor Day weekend opening ever. The Disney film earned over $94 million at the box office during the 4-day weekend, far surpassing Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween reboot which previously held the Labor Day opening weekend crown at $30.6 million. Shang-Chi ended up earning $100 million in just five days, making it the fastest to film to reach such a milestone since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film held the number one spot at the box office for four consecutive weekends, marking it as the third MCU movie to pull off such a feat behind Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther. By September 30, Shang-Chi hit another box office record by becoming the first pandemic era movie to achieve the $200 million box office milestone, and it seems the film has just surpassed another one.

Forbes reports that Marvel's Shang-Chi sailed past the $400 million milestone at the global box office in the sixth weekend since its release. During the past weekend, the film grossed an additional $4.2 million for a domestic total of over $212 million, setting it up for a final domestic gross between $220 million and $225 million. The film has also earned over $189 million in other territories, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, and France.

One of the reasons Shang-Chi's performance is so notable is the fact that its international box office does not include China, since the movie has yet to release in the Middle Kingdom. Owing to comments the film's star, Simu Liu, made in a CBC 2017 interview that referenced negative aspects about his parents living in China, the Chinese government excluded Shang-Chi from their list of upcoming MCU movies scheduled to release in its territories. This is particularly noteworthy because Disney's latest film passed the $400 million global box office milestone without the help of a Chinese release, making it the first pandemic-era Hollywood movie to do so. This has led many to speculate on how well Shang-Chi could have performed if it was allowed to release in China.

While Disney was a little reluctant in releasing Black Widow, releasing the movie to both theaters and Disney+, they went all in on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, allowing for an in-theater only debut. The film has clearly been a success, outperforming all expectations, signaling that audiences may be ready to head back to the movies. The movie's success not only ensures a sequel is in the works, but it will be interesting to see how a follow-up film performs when it releases in a post-pandemic era.

Source: Forbes

If xXx 4 wants to evolve the series, it should take a page out of The Fast And The Furious playbook and bring in some of Xander Cage's family. The original xXx was custom built for Vin Diesel as a star vehicle, following the surprise success of 2001's The Fast And The Furious. Plans to turn it into a James Bond-style series came to halt when the star passed on a sequel, with Ice Cube taking over for State Of The Union in 2005. This follow-up was a box-office dud, but Diesel was later lured back for 2017's The Return Of Xander Cage.

While that appeared to right the ship, xXx 4 has been delayed due to lawsuits. Despite being one of Diesel's most well-known franchises, he's only played Cage twice over a 20-year span. Compared to his run as Dom in the Fast & Furious movies - who throughout that series has evolved from street racer to saving the world multiple times - has barely scratched the surface of Cage as a character. Outside of his fondness for tattoos and extreme sports, there's not much depth to Xander.

xXx 4 doesn't have to go to Shakespearian depths to get under Cage's skin, but he could use some fleshing out. Given the popularity of the ongoing Fast And Furious saga, the next xXx could dig into his past and explore some of his family ties. Outside of briefly mentioning an aunt in the original movie, the xXx series hasn't revealed much about Cage's clan and a sequel that sees him connect with his family could bring some emotional heft to the movies.

Given that F9 focused on Dom going head to head - and eventually somewhat reconciling - with his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena), maybe that's too familiar a beat for xXx 4. That said, a younger brother or sister he barely knows, or even a son or daughter he's never met, could be one direction to explore. Given that Xander's taste for mayhem is one of his defining traits, a xXx 4 where he has to connect with or somewhat keep a child of his own under control has potential.

xXx 4 will likely carry on from the events of The Return Of Xander Cage and see the title spy working with his fellow former agents like Cube's Darius Stone. The series is ultimately going for more over the top thrills than the more recent James Bond movies, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little bit of heart mixed in. The next sequel doesn't have to be a straight rip of the Fast And Furious formula, but a Xander Cage family member or two could give some more stakes to the saga.

While Squid Game has become Netflix’s latest hit, it has sparked worry over kids potentially replicating the survival game.

A primary school in England issued a letter to parents expressing concern that children that have watched the brutal show are pretending to shoot other children in the playground as a way of re-enacting the show.

The letter states: "Dear Parents/Carers, It has come to our attention that a number of our children are watching Squid Game on Netflix.

"We have noticed an increased number of children starting to play their own versions of this game in the playground - which in turn is causing conflict within friendship groups.

"Children who are watching this are being exposed to graphic realistic scenes of violence and sadly children are acting out this behaviours in the playground which will not be TOLERATED.

"I would like to make you aware that this programme is rated a 15 for a reason.

"IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN. Any child who mimics or demonstrates these behaviours, parents will be called upon and sanctions applied. Please be aware of the dangers of this TV programme for your children and reinforce positive behaviours.

"Also please explicitly share that pretending to shoot one another is not appropriate - nor acceptable. Please support us in keeping your children safe," the letter concluded.

last week the cryptocurrency market persistently asked the gnawing and annoying question, “Why?”

Specifically, why did someone make a massive purchase of $1.6 billion worth of bitcoin on Wednesday in a couple of minutes?

While many see this huge buy as a signal of bullishness, there may be more complex answers when one zooms out and looks at the overall picture, one that involves capital markets beyond the relatively small world of crypto.

Some of the clues about why – and who – may be found in what, where, when and how this enormous bitcoin trade happened.

As CoinDesk’s Muyao Shen reported Wednesday, a buyer or a group of buyers entered an order on a centralized exchange to buy $1.6 billion worth of bitcoin. That’s not nothing – to put it in perspective, that’s roughly 4.5% of the average daily volume in the bitcoin spot market over the past two months.

That much supply hitting the market in under five minutes (13:11 to 13:16 UTC Wednesday) is a lot to jam into any one exchange (or three). It almost immediately sent bitcoin prices skyrocketing 5% to roughly $55,500.

A buyer with a long-term perspective would be more careful if the goal was to get in at the best possible price to mitigate the risk of that rascal known as slippage.

Slippage is more than what happens when a bartender fills your glass to the brim and you walk it over to your table while George Thorogood is blaring in the background. It’s the difference between the execution price and the midpoint between the bid and ask price that got you to take on the trade in the first place. With a big buy, filling every offer eventually pushes the transaction price (and thus the average execution price) higher and higher. But do it in dribs and drabs and you give new sellers time to place orders that can be filled slowly but at a potentially lower price than if it were to be done all at once.

Here’s an example, albeit on a bigger scale, of how one firm handled a major buy of bitcoin: Last year, when MicroStrategy purchased $450 million in bitcoin, the company did so in smaller clips from Coinbase over the course of five months, not five minutes. While the price eventually moved up over the course of those several months, each trade didn’t cause it to shoot up with the same kind of ferocity seen this past Wednesday, thus keeping CEO Michael Saylor’s costs from, well, slipping away from him as he bought.

That wasn’t the case this past week with whoever plunked down the equivalent of $1.6 billion for bitcoin. It seems Wednesday’s big buyer was in a big hurry to get the trade done.

Trying to pin down the exchange that took on this trade offers some hints about the buyer’s motivation.

The price of bitcoin on Coinbase relative to other exchanges rose sharply as the trade was underway, leading some to speculate that the regulated U.S. exchange was the platform where the transaction happened. However, a little more digging into the data places the trade in Asia.

Three exchanges saw particularly large volumes in their perpetual futures contracts, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of data provider CryptoQuant. Those three – Binance, Huobi and ByBit – while not technically based in China, have long had ties to the country, where yet another crackdown on crypto was recently announced.

“Whales bought up $BTC in the perpetual futures markets yesterday mostly at @binance, @HuobiGlobal and @Bybit_Official. Basis ratio says it was futures-driven, and they punted long positions as open interest skyrocketed at that time. These guys know something,” Ki tweeted Thursday.

Ki hypothesized that one possible explanation could be traders taking on huge positions ahead of a rumored approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a futures-based bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The buzz hit the market after the regulator’s chairman, Gary Gensler, merely reiterated his previously stated preference for a futures-based ETF should one ever get launched.

“If this move was the ETF front-running from US whales, they are likely to use non-US exchanges to avoid blame for insider trading IMO,” Ki tweeted, shooting down the idea that the trade came from an order on Coinbase. “Spot trading volume dominance for Coinbase is increasing lately, but not that high compared to early this year.”

Again, that doesn’t explain the trader’s willingness to accept slippage. After all, front-running a regulatory action a full week after speculation began by piling all in with one big order wouldn’t be prudent or rational. That doesn’t mean irrational exuberance doesn’t exist in crypto markets; for many participants it’s a feature, not a bug. But that’s not something usually characteristic of an entity with the resources to take on a billion-dollar trade.

Rather, the fact these three perpetual futures exchanges originated in China (though no longer based there) may be more significant than just their relative liquidity.

It’s an eerie coincidence a trade of this magnitude happened on exchanges with ties to Chinese customers in the middle of a week beset by capital market woes in that country.

Two days before the transaction took place, Fantasia, a real estate developer based in China, missed a bond payment of $206 million. That led to the company getting downgraded by ratings agency Fitch. The situation isn’t just limited to one company as Standard & Poor’s downgraded fellow Chinese developer Sinic. Of course, the two pale in comparison to Evergrande, the overleveraged real estate behemoth that has been teetering on default. Shares of Evergrande were halted from trading Monday as well.

Another large real estate developer, Chinese Estates Holdings, decided to go private Thursday after the market slammed its stock by more than 40%. Chinese Estate Holdings is a major investor in Evergrande.

This is a roundabout way of saying there’s some serious contagion going on in the Chinese real estate market. That’s not good for the country’s economy given that roughly one-third of its economic activity is related to the real estate sector, whereas it’s only one-sixth or so for the U.S.

But wait, there’s more!

While the purchase is denominated in the press as $1.6 billion, it wasn’t actually $1.6 billion in greenbacks paid for bitcoin.

For one, if CryptoQuant’s Ki is correct, this was first done in the perpetual futures market, not the cash market. That means actual bitcoin may not have gone to the initial buyer. Nonetheless, it will have an effect on the cash market because the two move in tandem.

Also, dollars themselves were most likely not the currency used but instead the transaction appears to have been largely done using the stablecoin USDT, issued by Tether, which was an on-ramp for many in China to trade on exchanges like Binance or Huobi.

“Most trading volume was from BTC/USDT,” Ki told CoinDesk regarding Wednesday’s trade, “which means buyers already had USDT coins.”

A look at trading volumes on data site CryptoCompare.com shows that at the time the trade occurred, the pair of BTC/USDT outpaced BTC/USD (bitcoin for the U.S. dollar) by roughly 2-to-1.

That means someone with significant USDT holdings – even if a fraction of the actual transaction since leverage could have been involved – converted their stablecoin holding to bitcoin exposure, if not the actual coin itself.

Remember a minute ago when we talked about Chinese corporate debt? Here’s something interesting: On Thursday, BloombergBusinessWeek released its cover story, “Anyone Seen Tether’s Billions?” Toward the end, author Zeke Faux writes, curiously:

“After I returned to the U.S., I obtained a document showing a detailed account of Tether Holdings’ reserves. It said they include billions of dollars of short-term loans to large Chinese companies – something money-market funds avoid. And that was before one of the country’s largest property developers, China Evergrande Group, started to collapse.”

He goes on to say:

“Tether has denied holding any Evergrande debt, but [Stuart] Hoegner, Tether’s lawyer, declined to say whether Tether had other Chinese commercial paper. He said the vast majority of its commercial paper has high grades from credit ratings firms.”

What is on Tether’s books remains hidden to the outside world. But if the mystery buyer saw the same document as Bloomberg’s Faux, or other compelling evidence that Tether is indeed exposed to China’s credit market, then they would have a strong motivation to unload USDT. Even $1.6 billion in one fell swoop.

Again, that’s just conjecture. Unless and until we know who did it, we may never know the trader’s motivation.

Nor will we know if it was the right move, especially if the contagion spreads to crypto.

Source:Coindesk

Instagram will introduce new measures to nudge teenagers away from harmful content and encourage them to “take a break,” from the platform, Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said on Sunday. Clegg made the remarks on CNN’s State of the Union show less than a week after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress about internal research that showed Instagram can have a negative effect on the mental health of young people.

“We’re going to introduce something which I think will make a considerable difference, which is where our systems see that a teenagers is looking at the same content over and over again, and it’s content which may not be conducive to their well being, we will nudge them to look at other...

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Cheryl Burke and Cody Rigsby have reunited inside the Dancing With The Stars rehearsal studio following their COVID-19 diagnosis. Within the last two weeks, both Cheryl and Cody tested positive for COVID-19, forcing them to rehearsal and perform virtually and individually. In doing so, they were allowed to remain in the competition despite not being physically present for the live shows.

Cheryl was the first to test positive between the dancing duo. Just days before the second live show of DWTS season 30, Cheryl tested positive for COVID-19. In place of their live performance for that week, the four judges based the couple's scores off of a prerecorded rehearsal from before Cheryl's diagnosis. Then just a few short days later, Cody tested positive as well. As the duo continued to rehearse via Zoom, their third performance took place virtually from inside their individual homes. This was the first time ever on the show a couple has performed in such a way.

Now as the dancing competition nears its fourth week, Cheryl and Cody are preparing to head back to the ballroom together. Over the weekend, Cheryl took to Instagram to share photos of herself and Cody back inside the rehearsal studio together after being apart for nearly two weeks. In preparation for the upcoming two-part Disney Night on DWTS, Cheryl and Cody posed in their best Disney attire. Cheryl wore a pair of Minnie Mouse ears while Cody rocked a Goofy hat as they prepared for not one but two brand-new dances. Cheryl captioned the post, "Reunited and it feels so good!" Take a look at the post below:

Fans were excited to hear that Cheryl and Cody will be rejoining the other remaining couples in the ballroom this week, especially in time for Disney Night. Some referred to them as the "dream team" while others admitted how happy this news made them. Fellow professional dancer Daniella Karagach shared her excitement for their return in the comments section as well, writing, "YAAASSSSSSSS." One user noted, "The judges better be fair for once!!!!" Following Cheryl and Cody's virtual dance last week, many felt the judges were too harsh with their scores. Even Cody admitted their low scores hurt.

Since Cheryl and Cody have been quarantined at home for nearly two weeks, this will only be their second live performance together inside the ballroom. In addition to that, they have not one but two dances to prepare for this week. Monday night's episode will feature a Disney-themed Heroes Night. Then on Tuesday night, the couples will take on performances based off of Disney villains. Here's hoping Cody and Cheryl can earn some higher scores now that they are back in the ballroom together.

Source: Cheryl Burke/Instagram

The world of Vikings will continue expanding with the sequel series Vikings: Valhalla, but what does the title really mean? Historical drama has become one of the most popular genres on TV, and among the most successful projects in recent years is Vikings, created by Michael Hirst (The Tudors). Although it was originally planned to be a miniseries, the first episodes of Vikings were so well-received by both critics and viewers that it was quickly renewed for a second season, and it lived on for a total of six seasons, coming to an end in December 2020.

Vikings covered the first years of the Viking Age, from the Lindisfarne raid (as seen in season 1) onward, and the main focus of the first seasons was legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers. However, as the series progressed, it changed its focus to Ragnar’s sons (Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar), who ended up becoming the protagonists of the show, carrying the story after Ragnar’s death in season 4. The final season of Vikings brought the arcs of its main characters to an end, but the stories from the Viking Age don’t end there, and a spinoff series, titled Vikings: Valhalla, will be released on Netflix in 2022.

Vikings: Valhalla is set a century after the events of Vikings, so characters from the main series won’t appear (unless in flashbacks), yet there will be connections between the characters of both shows. Now, while Vikings covered the beginning of the Viking Age, Valhalla will explore the final years of it, focusing on different stories that will eventually converge. Following the death of King Edward the Confessor, three lords make claim to the English throne, and meanwhile, Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett) leads Greenlanders across the North Atlantic. His half-sister, Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), has become an anti-Christian following a traumatic event and becomes the leader of the Old Norse religion against rising Christianity in Scandinavia, and starts looking for a new home for her people. Now, “Valhalla” isn’t a new name for fans of Vikings, but it being the title of the spinoff series has surely raised some questions about what it really means for the show.

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic and enormous hall in Asgard ruled by Odin. Before the hall, there’s the golden tree Glasir and the hall’s ceiling is thatched with golden shields, but not everyone can have the privilege of seeing these and entering Valhalla. Only those who die in combat and are chosen by Odin can travel to Valhalla led by the valkyries, while the others go to Freyja’s field Fólkvangr. Once in Valhalla, the dead warriors join the rest as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök (the equivalent to the end of the world). With that in mind, and taking into account that Vikings: Valhalla will cover the final years of the Viking Age (and possibly the battle that ended it), the title is very fitting, as many warriors will make their way to the great hall and join Odin’s army. The topic of Christianity vs Paganism might also be reflected in the title, as their different ideas and concepts of the afterlife and more will surely clash at some point, even more than they did in Vikings.

With the final years of the Viking Age and thus the final battles being shown in Vikings: Valhalla, the series will see the last Viking warriors that will enter Valhalla, joining many others before them, including Lagertha, Björn, Ivar, and quite possibly Ragnar as well, so the title takes a lot more meaning. Vikings: Valhalla already has some connections to the main series, and there could be more through Valhalla and the characters who made their way to the great hall.

Netflix's Defenders characters could be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe at last and may feature in a number of different shows and feature films. Back when the MCU was truly taking off after The Avengers, Marvel TV and Netflix joined forces to create multiple Marvel shows that would culminate with a crossover event, The Defenders. Shows for Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist entered development and were sold as taking place in the MCU. Now, these characters could be set to join forces with the wider franchise.

The original Marvel/Netflix shows launched with great success thanks to Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but the popularity of the universe continued to dwindle as time went on. One of the reasons viewers began to tune out may have been the lack of crossover between the shows and the MCU movies. This eventually led to Netflix slowly canceling all of its Marvel shows that existed within the Defenders universe. It began with Iron Fist's cancelation just a month after season 2 debuted, which was followed by Luke Cage being canceled a week later. While fans hoped this could be to set up a Heroes for Hire show, instead, Netflix eventually confirmed that Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher were ending too. These cancelations left major storylines unresolved and seemed to indicate that their stories were over, along with any chance of a proper Defenders MCU crossover.

Several years have passed since any of the Defenders characters have been seen, but they might soon find a second life as part of official Marvel Studios productions. There are plenty of rumors about Kevin Feige figuring out a path for some, if not all, of The Defenders' characters/actors to return in Phase 4. If they do, it is not clear whether or not the MCU will establish the Netflix shows as canon or reboot the characters while retaining great casting choices of the past. Either option could work, although a reboot is cleaner for the MCU's canon. In any case, Marvel has a big slate of movies and TV shows that each of the Defenders characters could appear in, but which ones are the best fit for the individual characters?

The bulk of the speculation surrounding the Defenders characters returning to the MCU stems from reports that Charlie Cox is in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He played Matt Murdock in three seasons of Daredevil and The Defenders. Fans theorized that Daredevil could appear in the movie shortly after Spider-Man: Far From Home ended with Peter Parker's secret identity being revealed. It is still not confirmed that Cox is in the third solo film, but it is easy to see how Matt Murdock could fit. If Peter goes to court due to Mysterio blaming Spider-Man for the London attacks, he'd need a great lawyer to defend him. This can be where Matt - and maybe even Foggy Nelson and Karen Page - come into play. It might mean Cox's MCU return doesn't see him actually suit up as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, but that can happen later on.

Whether or not Daredevil is in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there are other opportunities for him to appear in Phase 4. The next best project that Daredevil could be involved in is She-Hulk. The Disney+ series starring Tatiana Maslany will explore Jennifer Walters' legal career when she isn't fighting bad guys as She-Hulk. It is possible that Matt Murdock may appear to help Walters with a current court case or even defend Walters if she is eventually put on trial. This would be a great connection for the MCU to make, as it puts Marvel's two most prominent super-powered lawyers in the same property. It also allows She-Hulk to link with Daredevil's story if his return in Spider-Man: No Way Home is minimal.

Marvel Studios could also look to bring Daredevil back for the upcoming Echo Disney+ show. Alaqua Cox is playing Maya Lopez in Hawkeye, and it has already been announced that a spinoff focusing on her character is in the works. Daredevil plays a huge role in Echo's story in the comics, as he is framed by Kingpin to be responsible for the death of Echo's father. This leads Echo to try and kill Daredevil out of revenge, only for him to reveal the truth about her father's death. Echo is a chance for the MCU to bring this story to life and give Daredevil a prominent role once again.

Krysten Ritter plays Jessica Jones in three seasons of Jessica Jones on Netflix, and her opportunity to return as the private investigator in the MCU could be tied to She-Hulk. Although Jessica takes a very different approach to the law, she is still repeatedly connected to legal cases in some manner. There is no word on where She-Hulk will be set in the MCU, but Walters' legal career has mostly taken place in New York after her start in Los Angeles. Jessica Jones founds Alias Investigations in New York as well, so there is an opportunity for the two to crossover in some fashion. There's even the opportunity for Jessica and Jennifer to become friends for the MCU, as she did at one time consider hiring She-Hulk to be the nanny for Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's baby.

Jessica Jones could even make a surprise appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home potentially. After some time as a private investigator, Jessica took a job with the Daily Bugle as a vigilante analyst. She worked under J. Jonah Jameson at this time and with Ben Urich to create The Pulse. It is possible that after Spider-Man: No Way Home reverses Jameson's public outing of Spider-Man's secret identity that Jones could become the latest member of the Daily Bugle team to try and make it friendly to superheroes.

Speaking of Luke Cage, Mike Colter could return as Power Man at some point in Phase 4 after two seasons leading Luke Cage and guest appearances in Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. One place that Luke Cage can make his MCU return in during Phase 4 is Captain America 4. The movie will star Sam Wilson's Captain America (Anthony Mackie) after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This could be done if Captain America 4 continues to explore the idea of other super soldier programs. Luke Cage gets his powers in the comics from experiments based on the super-soldier creation process. The MCU can make this connection too. Luke Cage's return in Captain America 4 would also give Marvel Studios the chance to put one of its biggest Black superheroes in the first movie featuring Sam's Captain America. While Sam is a likely candidate to lead the MCU's next Avengers team, the return of Luke Cage in Captain America 4 can also set him on the path to lead the Avengers as he's done many times in the comics.

There's also the opportunity for the character to appear in She-Hulk. When Luke Cage isn't leading the Avengers in the comics, he is frequently in charge of Heroes for Hire. She-Hulk has been part of Heroes for Hire in the past, although her work for them was mostly legal and not fighting crime with her gamma strength. Still, Luke Cage and Heroes for Hire could make an appearance in She-Hulk to set up their MCU future. It could even give Marvel a chance to tease a romance between Luke and Jennifer, which was also short-lived in the comics.

Iron Fist's MCU future is even more uncertain than the rest of the Defenders cast. While Cox's Daredevil, Ritter's Jessica Jones, and Colter's Luke Cage are well-liked, most viewers disliked Finn Jones' portrayal of Danny Rand. His efforts did improve as he got more time with the character, but Iron Fist still seems like the most likely of the Defenders to be recast for the MCU. Regardless of whether or not Finn Jones plays him in the MCU, there isn't a great place for Iron Fist in the confirmed list of upcoming MCU projects. That said, Iron Fist could be a great possible fit for Shang-Chi 2 depending on its story. The martial arts and mystical franchise would be an excellent place to reboot The Living Weapon. Shang-Chi's depiction of Ta-Lo already mirrors K'un-Lun, so a visit to the magical city responsible for Iron Fist could be in store for the sequel.

Jon Bernthal's Punisher joined the Defenders universe in Daredevil season 2, and the response to the character resulted in a spinoff show that lasted two seasons. Bernthal is primed to play Punisher again in the MCU, and many want to see this happen in Moon Knight. The Disney+ series stars Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector, who becomes Moon Knight after gaining superpowers from the Egyptian moon god Khonshu - or at least that's what Marc thinks. Spector was a mercenary prior to his days as Moon Knight in the comics, so it is possible a similar origin in the MCU could be how Punisher appears. Frank could be an old friend of Marc's potentially or be tasked with hunting down the all-white costumed vigilante.

In addition to the main Defenders characters, the MCU would also be wise to utilize a few other major characters from the Netflix Marvel shows. Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin remains someone fans want to see more of, and there are rumors this could happen in Hawkeye. If that happens, Wilson Fisk could also come back for Echo and even battle Spider-Man one day potentially. Simone Missick's Misty Knight was also a highlight of the Netflix shows, and Marvel could bring Misty back in Captain America 4, which could bring her and Sam's romance to the big screen. It is also possible that Jessica Henwick's Colleen Wing and Elodie Yung's Elektra return, whether either comes in Shang-Chi 2 or Elektra returns for Echo.