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6 Speed Reads: Boy's Reaction to a Foul Ball is Priceless

In today’s midday reads: A foul ball makes one kid’s day, Shaq signs up for LinkedIn and a study illustrates the impact of a good hair day.
A boy reacts after he was gifted a game ball in the stands at a Giants-Rockies game.
A boy reacts after he was gifted a game ball in the stands at a Giants-Rockies game.Comcast Sportsnet

1. Kid’s Amazing Reaction to Foul Ball

Every kid who goes to an MLB game hopes that he or she will catch a rogue ball. On Monday’s San Francisco Giants-Colorado Rockies game, an adult fan caught one and gave it to the young boy sitting behind him. The kid was so dumbfounded that he stared in amazement at his souvenir for a solid 15 seconds. The announcer says it best: this is how you should feel when you get a foul ball.

2. Shaq Joins LinkedIn

Shaquille O’Neal is the latest person to join LinkedIn. Why? We’re not sure. He’s gainfully employed at “NBA on TNT,” and he’s a businessman and entrepreneur whose investments range from real estate to fast food restaurants. Nonetheless, he’s there. Shaq lists his current position as CEO and president at “Alot (sic) of different companies. Inc.” Possibly the best part of his profile is his description: “My best asset is that I am proven to lead teams to championships. I mean multiple championships.” Seriously, what employer’s going to turn that down?

3. People Magazine’s Most Beautiful Person Is...

Academy Award winner and Yale Drama School graduate Lupita Nyong’o has been named People magazine’s “Most Beautiful” person. The Kenyan actress said she grew up thinking "light skin and flowing, straight hair" made a woman beautiful, but with the encouragement of her mother, she eventually began to find confidence in her own looks. Nyong’o appears to be having the best year ever after earning several award nominations and winning an Oscar for her performance in “12 Years A Slave”; she also landed a contract with Lancome Paris. Our congrats to the formidable actress.

4. Time Travel Is Here, At Least on Google

Since its launch in 2007, Google Street View has been the closest thing we have to teleporting. With the click of a button, you can leave the dark hole of your office cubicle and wander the streets of the Champs-Elysees or climb to the top of Machu Picchu. But now, Street View is no longer limited to the present. Starting today, all the images from the last seven years are viewable. Users can go back in time and see how much the streets of the world have changed. Our personal favorite: watching the construction of 1 World Trade.

5. NYPD Twitter Fail

File this under #fail. The New York Police Department launched the #myNYPD Twitter campaign yesterday afternoon. Its goal was to have New Yorkers tweet pictures of themselves with police officers. They got some of those, but things quickly went south. Images of alleged police brutality began to flood in -- a lot of them from the Occupy Wall Street protests two or three years ago. Talk about bad press. New York’s finest responded in a statement: "Twitter provides an open forum for an uncensored exchange and this is an open dialogue good for our city." Well, that’s one way to look at it.

6. The Paradox of a Good Hair Day

A great hair day may make you feel like you can conquer the world, but new research out of Stanford University shows that when you feel attractive, it can affect your attitude toward inequality. The study found that social hierarchy is not only based on wealth and education, but also beauty. When participants felt attractive, they were more likely to believe that those in lower social classes deserved to be there. On the other hand, the mere memory of a bad hair day caused participants to view inequality as a social problem. Maybe there is a real upside to a bad hair day.