This week, things started at rock bottom with Dwayne Johnson making another questionable career move (aka Rampage). Next, we dug deep into Coke Zero’s oddly private @CokeZero Twitter handle. We heard the bad news that Huey Lewis had canceled a tour due to hearing loss, inspiring an ode to the 1980s musical genius. Also, sex workers explained to us regular johns what effect SESTA-FOSTA might have on our lives. And lest we forget, yesterday was 420. We certainly celebrated the best way we know how: With a fresh bowl of weed content.
Blaze it.
Anyway, welcome to the “Best of MEL from the Week that Was,” a new Saturday post where we’ll highlight all of our top-performing pieces from the previous week, as well as some of our editors’ favorites.
My Month As A Member of the ‘Wild Wild Country’ Sex Cult
Contributor Bridget Phetasy binged Wild Wild Country just like the rest of us. Only, her experience watching the Duplass-brothers Netflix doc — about a yoga-and-sex commune in rural Oregon that turned into a violent cult — was slightly different than everyone else’s since she was once an Osho Ashram devotee.
A Quick Conversation with California’s Kinkiest Tax Professional
On Tuesday, Americans participated in the least popular of American rituals: Filing our taxes. And for those people in, let’s say, less traditional trades — like sex work — it can be hard to find a tax pro who’ll take their case. That’s where Christopher Kirk comes in: His company, Safeword Tax, specializes in tax prep for kinkier professionals.
A History of Famous Men Trying to Convince You to Lose Weight
There are no shortage of famous weight-loss spokeswomen — Suzanne Somers, Oprah and Anna Nicole Smith quickly come to mind. But until recently, spokesmen were practically nonexistent. But that’s all changing, and it’s a sign that marketers are rebranding weight loss.
What Do I Do If My Very Young Child Starts Masturbating?
It’s not something a parent really wants to think about, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make good sense to be prepared if it happens. We spoke to a sex educator, a therapist and a one-time early masturbator about how to communicate properly to ensure your kid is informed, empowered, smart and safe about the choices they makes as their hormones begin to rage.
The Battle for the Gayborhood Has Become A Passive-Aggressive Turf War
Gay people think straight folks are appropriating their neighborhoods. Straight folks believe they’re experiencing “heterophobia.” So where does the “gayborhood” go from here?
The Sweet Serenity of Earwax Extraction YouTube Videos
And zit-popping. And cyst-extracting. Either you love ’em, or you find them truly disgusting (I’m personally in the latter camp). Regardless of how you feel about them, these gross-out videos are some of the most popular on YouTube. Here’s why they give (some of) us a perverse thrill.
The Legend of Mr. Baldnutz, a Canadian Guy Who Will Shave Your Scrotum
Staff writer Miles Klee tracks the hilarious history of “Mr. Baldnutz,” the pseudonym of a Vancouver-area fella who shaves men’s testicles in his home, and whose ad became a legend within alt-weekly classifieds and the recently defunct Backpage.
The Documentarians Exposing America’s Backlog of Unopened, Untested Rape Kits
The startling new HBO documentary I Am Evidence explores the fact that hundreds of thousands of rape kits in the U.S. remain unopened and untested. The film’s directors spoke to contributing editor Tim Grierson about why that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our broken justice system’s handling of sexual assault cases.
The Man Who Gets Vaginas Stoned
In honor of 420, contributing writer Tierney Finster profiled Mathew Gerson, founder of Foria (short for euphoria), an L.A.-based wellness company, about his mission to bring chill to ladies’ nether regions with weed lube and marijuana suppositories.
If a Stoner Comedy Isn’t Funny When You’re Sober, Is It Any Good?
Also in honor of 420 (you can catch up on all of our cannabis coverage here), Grierson went to see stoner comedy Super Troopers 2. He had some… thoughts. Like, how the gag reels are terrible. And that no, taking female sexual enhancement pills will not turn men into women despite what the film may suggest. Needless to say, he wasn’t a fan.
Jeff Gross
Jeff Gross is MEL’s senior editor for social media and content marketing. His daily ICYMI column, which chronicles all things meta on the site, is the quickest way to catch up on MEL, and the funniest thing you’ll read all day. Follow him on Twitter.
