It’s no secret that healthcare in the US is expensive, but every now and again a story like this comes along to remind us of just how astronomical the costs can be – especially if you don’t have insurance.

Mom-of-two and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Marina Mogilko took to Instagram to share her experience earlier this year, after she welcomed her second child into the world.

Having given birth before, Marina was familiar with the process and waited a couple of hours after she went into labor before she actually left to go to the hospital.

Once she arrived, she and her husband learned that she was already well on her way to giving birth so she was taken straight to the delivery room where she had a ‘super fast’ delivery, giving birth just 20 minutes after she entered the room.

Doctors had to stitch up Marina afterwards, but otherwise, it was a ‘smooth’ delivery and the family was then moved to a room with a private bathroom, unlimited food, and a bed where Marina’s husband could stay for the night.

Marina stayed in a private room with her husband (Instagram/@linguamarina)

With another young child already at home, Marina and her husband decided to leave the hospital the following day, meaning they only spent one night there.

The family then got to enjoy two weeks as a new family of four, before they were hit with the medical bill for their time at the hospital.

Now, news of Marina’s private room with unlimited food might lead you to expect a slightly higher bill, but probably not quite as high as the one the mom actually received.

According to her Instagram video, in total the parents were billed $36,455.16 for their one-night stay. To put that in perspective, that’s more than a year’s salary for a lot of people.

Insurance thankfully covered much of the bill (Instagram/@linguamarina)

Thankfully Marina was covered by insurance which paid for the majority of the bill, but she and her husband still had to pay $2,201.29 for giving birth at the hospital.

Viewers have been left horrified by the figure, with one person writing: “That’s actually a disgusting bill. I’m so sorry that you have to put up with that.”

Another added: “Theft in broad daylight.”

A number of international readers also expressed their relief that they don’t have to worry about such costs thanks to free or cheaper healthcare in their countries, while other people suggested Marina would have been better having ‘stayed home and had a home birth’.

The original Home Alone, which fans are still continuing to spot new nooks and crannies within to this very day, released 34 years ago.

Yep, you read that right. We first met the McCallisters some 34 years ago, making us all feel very old indeed.

Home Alone has certainly withstood the test of time and is regarded by many as one of the best festive flicks out there, with some households even watching the film multiple times in the build-up to the big day.

The first 1990 movie sees troubled kid Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) get accidentally abandoned by his family as they head off for a Christmas vacation.

Left home alone over the festive period, Kevin has to fend for himself, with the scenes all fans love involving Kevin reeking havoc on Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), aka the Wet Bandits, through a series of stunts that leaves the criminals sustaining multiple serious injuries.

Home Alone 2 followed a few years later, which included a lot of similar antics, but this time in New York.

While there is an official third movie in the Home Alone series, a parody ‘Home Alone 3′ trailer is doing the rounds on social media.

While Kevin would be in his 40s, we have no doubt this film would have been utter chaos and a whole tonne of fun. Though, there was a Home Alone 3 (and even a Home Alone 4 for that matter), but they really weren’t well received.

The third instalment follows eight-year-old Alex Pruitt as he defends his home from a dangerous group of criminals.

Alex is given a remote-control car for helping his neighbor, Mrs Hess, shovel snow from her driveway.

The ‘Home Alone 3’ trailer has gone viral (YouTube/VJ4rawr2)

But little does he know the seemingly harmless toy car contains a top-secret computer chip – which the thieves are trying their hardest to acquire.

Alex then has to fend off the criminals as they intend to use the chip to help a terrorist organization.

The real life Home Alone 3 was received incredibly poorly by fans and critics alike, which might have been because Macaulay Culkin and the Wet Bandits were nowhere to be seen.

Oh, Kevin.

Given you avoid an early death on the road, catching a deadly disease or falling foul some other way, if you do manage to live your life till your heart finally signs out, then you should listen to what all the oldest people in the world eat for breakfast.

This ‘superfood’ is actually quite common, and if a UK survey of 2022 is anything to go by, more than a third of young adults aged 18 to 24 already eat this food for breakfast.

For those in the US, the city in Loma Linda, California, has been dubbed the ‘Blue Zone’ and it is populated by a number of Seventh-day Adventists – a Protestant Christian denomination commonly known for avoiding alcohol and smoking and observing a meat-free diet.

Residents of Loma Linda are also accompanied by their senior counterparts in Costa Rica, Greece and Japan, each home to regions where the locals are more likely to live to 100 – in fact, they’re 10 times more likely than the average American to become a centenarian.

Glam-ma’s know what they’re doing and how to strive for longevity (Getty stock)

So, what should you have for breakfast if you’re looking for longevity?

If you are to follow in the footsteps of most senior of all seniors in the world… you should dish up a bowl of oatmeal. Every. Single. Day.

The late Marge Jetton, who lived in the Loma Linda’s Blue Zone until she was 105, explained to researchers her daily routine.

An extract from the study read: “Marge Jetton age 105 woke up every morning at 5:30 am read her Bible, had a breakfast of slow cook oatmeal, nuts, and dates with soymilk and a prune juice shooter.

“She would then ride her stationary bike for 30 minutes and get in her Cadillac and drive to her volunteer jobs for 7 different organizations.”

A hot steamy bowl of porridge could the answer your heart is looking for (Getty stock)

Oatmeal has a number of health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and improving your heart.

WebMD writes: “Oatmeal is nutritionally rich. It has more protein than most grains and also contains numerous vitamins and minerals. It contains antioxidants and a soluble fiber called beta-glucan, which aids several systems of the body.”

While a study of 2,000 adults in the UK, commissioned by milk alternative brand, Wunda, proved that oats are already a staple in a lot of young people’s diets.

Research found that 18 to 24 year olds consume the most porridge of all age ranges, with 39 percent of them doing so, while prepping overnight oats to eat the following morning is also frequent with 33 percent of the same age range doing so.

If that’s anything to go by then Gen Z is heading in the right direction.

Once upon a time, the ‘World’s Longest Kiss’ record was up for grabs, ready to be bestowed upon whichever two people could successfully keep their lips locked the longest.

In 2013, those two people were Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat; a Thai couple who had entered a competition for the world’s longest kiss held by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Pattaya, Thailand.

The rules of the record

As per Guinness World Records, were as follows:

• The kiss must be continuous and the lips must be touching at all times. If the lips part, the couple are immediately disqualified.
• Contestants may consume liquids via a straw during the attempt, but again, the lips must not part.
• The couple must be awake at all times.
• The contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids.
• No rest breaks are allowed.
• Adult nappies/diapers or incontinence pads are not allowed to be worn.

Couples attempting to break the record were allowed to take trips to the toilet, but they had to remain kissing the whole time while also being monitored by a referee.

It’s probably not the kind of scenario many couples would be prepared to encounter during their relationship, but these contestants were obviously OK with it.

Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat are the last record holders (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP via Getty Images)

The event kicked off on February 12, 2013, with nine couples – including one couple in their 70s, who dropped out after an hour and 38 minutes because the husband couldn’t stand up any longer.

But Ekkachai and Laksana stayed strong, and 58 hours and 35 minutes later, they officially held the record for the world’s longest kiss. The couple won the grand prize of 100,000 Thai Baht ($2,967), as well as two diamond rings also worth 100,000 Baht.

It’s an incredible feat – especially with the logistics of going to the bathroom – but after Ekkachai and Laksana set the record Guinness realized that it was too risky to continue.

Kissing comes with some health risks (Getty Stock Image)

Why? Well, as determined contestants fought to continue their kiss, they became subject to dangers associated with sleep deprivation, such as psychosis.

One example of this occurred in 1999, when record holders Karmit Tzubera and Dror Orpaz almost fainted after securing the record with a kiss which lasted 30 hours and 45 minutes and had to be rushed to the hospital to be treated for fatigue.

In 2004, another contestant suffered muscle cramps during the attempt and needed his partner to massage him to help him deal with the pain. After 31 hours and 18 minutes of kissing, he then had to be resuscitated with oxygen.

So Guinness scrapped the record for the sake of people’s health – but if you still fancy trying to secure a title for tonsil tennis, there is the ‘longest kissing marathon’ record, which does permit rest breaks.

If you’ve been married for a while, you may be looking for a way to spice up your love life and one couple certainly decided to do just that – but just in full view of the internet too.

The videos ended up racking in some serious numbers too, obtaining more than 1.2 billion views so much so, the pair were named Pornhub’s most-viewed amateur model of the year for the second time in 2022.

The adult film stars later opened up about why they believe they’re so successful, joking while they’re both just ‘very horny’ there’s definitely a lot more that goes into their videos than just that.

Speaking to BuzzFeed News, the couple said they ventured into the adult industry after watching a YouTube video of another couple talking about their success in it.

“We were always very sexual, and we said, ‘Let’s do porn’,” said Yiny.

In their first month they made more than $2,000 and they went on to amass between $15,000 and $25,000 a month.

Leon said at the time: “It’s ridiculous. I was in the military for 13 years, but I left because what I made in the Army in a year, here I make in a month and a half, two months.”

The pair reveal it’s their outdoor videos which helped them stand out most – filming themselves having sex in the middle of a run or hike.

And it’s clearly paid off too, the category having grown 121 percent in 2022, according to Pornhub.

However, despite their success, Leon doesn’t ‘consider’ himself a porn star, noting: “It’s never going to be my intention to try to look professional or anything. But thank God people say, ‘Wow, what great production you guys have’. Really, it’s just us with a cellphone.”

With Christmas fast approaching and millions getting into the festive spirit with parties, presents and turkey, the big day represents a deeper meaning for many.

For many, December 25 marks the 2,023rd birthday of Jesus Christ – but the reality, according to some experts, is that Jesus wasn’t born on that certain day in December.

While we don’t know for sure, researched detailed in the MailOnline suggest that Jesus may have been born during the spring, throwing curveballs into everything many have believed for so many years.

On top of that, experts are suggesting Jesus may be a lot older than we all think, and the fact there’s no reason to believe Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day.

Speaking to the MailOnline, Professor Lawrence Mykytiuk of Purdue University in Indiana said: “It remains a humbling fact that despite various claims, no one in modern times is really certain of the exact year of Jesus’ birth.”

Historian Flavius Josephus told the outlet that there was a lunar eclipse shortly before King Herod the Great of Judea died.

How does this look into Jesus?

Well, according to the bible, Herod said that all Jewish boys under the age of two must be killed.

While we can still not confirm this as a definite, it would suggest Jesus was born at least 24 months before King Herod’s death.

As for potential death dates of the king, according to experts these are: December 29, 1 BC, January 10, 1 BC, March 13, 4 BC and September 15, 5 BC.

Jesus Christ may have been born in the spring (Getty Stock Photo)

Professor Mykytiuk added: “Josephus also tells us in two places that the Jewish Passover occurred soon after the death of Herod the Great. Because the Passover is observed in the spring; September, January, and December are ruled out.”

The professor continued: “It is most unlikely that Jesus was born on any day in December, let alone on December 25th, because ‘there were shepherds living out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks at night’.

“During winter, shepherds kept sheep in the fold to protect themselves and their sheep from severe weather. This fact of plentiful grass in March fits with the lunar eclipse occurring shortly before the death of Herod the Great.

“The narrowest date one can confidently arrive at for Jesus’s birth seems to be the month of March, during the years 6, 5, or 4 BC.”