An Athlete Got Her Period During a Race and Responded to Critics With a Powerful Message

“Not the most flattering photo of Emma, surely they can crop it a little better,” commented Xavier Coppock on a post where the athlete is shown finishing a race with a bloodstained one-piece swimsuit. It was at that precise moment that a long debate ensued.

https://brightside.me/articles/an-athlete-got-her-period-during-a-race-and-responded-to-critics-with-a-powerful-message-813791/?utm_source=5_minute_crafts_usa_fb&utm_medium=square_cards&utm_campaign=1st_comment_links&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0IswMr_B2AyGOomWLESHmxGHWzfvgAYMExKZBtiyJMavxhVkPOMNgPxHc_aem_AZZHgjRAkqt1De4XxAAgtiLGA6aJPZg0m3x72S-zy93fq-gSUZHAsAPtsG-VbU-VWVlj0fjO1QNHkSRjgpsMMWS0

Emma Pallant-Browne is a British athlete who competes in triathlon, duathlon, and aquathlon events. Among her latest achievements, she won a silver medal at the 2022 World Long Distance Triathlon Championships. In the prestigious Ironman 70.3 competition, she won 2 medals (silver in 2017 and bronze in 2022) and a gold medal at the European Championship in the same year.

In her latest multi-sport challenge, Emma finished fourth. The PTO Tour European Open in Ibiza was held just days after she won the Duathlon World Championship.

https://brightside.me/articles/an-athlete-got-her-period-during-a-race-and-responded-to-critics-with-a-powerful-message-813791/?utm_source=5_minute_crafts_usa_fb&utm_medium=square_cards&utm_campaign=1st_comment_links&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0IswMr_B2AyGOomWLESHmxGHWzfvgAYMExKZBtiyJMavxhVkPOMNgPxHc_aem_AZZHgjRAkqt1De4XxAAgtiLGA6aJPZg0m3x72S-zy93fq-gSUZHAsAPtsG-VbU-VWVlj0fjO1QNHkSRjgpsMMWS0

On the other hand, Xavier Coppock is another triathlete who decided to comment on a photo of Emma that had been published on the official profile of the competition that took place in Spain. Among the images, she is shown running with a red stain on her swimsuit due to her period.

Although we believe that the athlete’s comment was not made with ill intentions, his words caused a stir online. For her part, Emma was quick to respond. In the same forum, she tagged him and dedicated a few lines to him.

5 days later, the athlete uploaded the same photo to her profile. In the description, she sent an important message. “Celebrating the amazing women in sport and the equally amazing men who champion them. Humbled by the number of messages I’ve had from both men and women about the unglamorous reality of racing on your period,” she began.

In the post, she explained the factors that contributed to this situation. Her light pink outfit was chosen so as not to attract the sun’s rays, and she rolled over her bike, making the stain more visible. She squirted water at the hydration stations, but it failed to remove the stain.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csoa5cJMuIL/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d30d56d3-7650-4905-8639-26ef57bdf82a

“This is a women’s sport and the more barriers we can break, the better. After a long career, you end up with a photo like this, but the idea of editing it means there is something wrong with it. I share it because there’s really nothing wrong with it, it’s a natural thing,” she said.

“So if you have a photo like this, save it, cherish it, and remember how you performed on a tough day because one day you might just be able to help someone else with it,” she concluded in her powerful message.

The original post was deleted, but we still have Emma’s, which she posted on her profile. This athlete gave us a lot to talk about — she managed to turn a small comment into an empowering message regarding menstruation. It gave us pause and made us think about the natural things we should stop turning into taboos.

Preview photo credit em_pallant / Instagramprofessionaltriathletesorg / Instagram

Can You Solve This Tricky Viral Math Problem

We all love a good brain teaser, especially when it involves math—whether we admit it or not. A tricky math problem recently went viral, leaving the internet divided and proving once again that even simple-looking equations can be deceptive.

My Math Struggles & A Challenge

Here’s a quick personal anecdote: I recently started preparing for the GRE and realized that I hadn’t taken a formal math class in nearly nine years. Confidence? Gone. My quantitative reasoning skills? Rusty at best. So, I decided to brush up by taking online high school math courses, starting from the absolute basics.

When I came across this viral math puzzle that was stumping the internet, I thought, “This is my moment! Let’s see if I still have my 9th-grade math chops!” Spoiler: I did not.

The Viral Math Puzzle Taking the Internet by Storm

The problem originally surfaced in Japan, where researchers found that only 60% of people in their 20s managed to solve it correctly. It quickly spread online, turning into yet another viral challenge because, apparently, we love testing our brains with tricky equations (or we just enjoy arguing over the answers).

At first glance, the problem looks simple. But the devil is in the details. My gut told me there was some sort of trick involved—it seemed too easy. However, instead of embarrassing myself by attempting it publicly, I turned to the internet for guidance. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that someone, somewhere, has already tackled your problem and made an instructional video about it. So, I spent my morning watching people do math on YouTube. Exciting stuff.

The Math Problem:

6 ÷ 2(1 + 2) = ?

Go ahead, solve it. I’ll wait.

Video : Viral problem from Japan

Common Wrong Answers

If you got 1 or 9, you’re not alone. Many people arrived at these answers because of a little acronym called PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction).

You may remember PEMDAS from school—or perhaps the mnemonic “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” The rule dictates that you must solve problems in this specific order:

  • Parentheses
  • Exponents
  • Multiplication & Division (from left to right)
  • Addition & Subtraction (from left to right)

So, following PEMDAS, some people calculated it as:

  1. Solve inside the parentheses: (1 + 2) = 3
  2. Rewrite the problem: 6 ÷ 2(3)
  3. Some then treated 2(3) as a single term and multiplied first: 6 ÷ 6 = 1

However, others applied division before multiplication:

  1. 6 ÷ 2 = 3
  2. Then, 3 × 3 = 9

Both groups were confident in their logic, but only one approach was correct.

The Correct Answer

The correct answer is 9. Here’s why:

Step 1: Solve the Parentheses First

(1 + 2) = 3

Now the equation is rewritten as:
6 ÷ 2(3)

Step 2: Follow the Order of Operations

According to PEMDAS, division and multiplication are performed from left to right (since they share the same level of priority in the hierarchy).

  1. 6 ÷ 2 = 3
  2. 3 × 3 = 9

Wait… Isn’t the Answer 1?

Some people argue that implicit multiplication (like 2(3)) takes precedence over division. However, modern mathematical notation treats multiplication and division equally. Since they appear side by side in the equation, we solve left to right.

If the equation had been written as:
6 ÷ (2 × 3)

Then, you would multiply first and get:
6 ÷ 6 = 1

But because the given equation lacks parentheses around 2(3), the correct answer remains 9.

Why People Get It Wrong

The confusion stems from different ways of interpreting notation and how we were taught order of operations. In some older textbooks, implicit multiplication (like 2(3)) was given higher priority than division, leading to the alternative answer of 1. However, under modern mathematical conventions, division and multiplication hold equal weight and should be solved left to right.

Video : 13 Riddles That Are Trickier Than They Seem

Math Rules Are Not Always Universal

Believe it or not, different countries and academic institutions teach math slightly differently. Some older math textbooks might suggest treating multiplication next to parentheses as having higher priority, while others follow the standard left-to-right rule. This is why debates like this never really die down—people were simply taught different methods!

How to Avoid Future Math Confusion

  1. Always follow the standard order of operations – PEMDAS (or BODMAS, if you learned it that way).
  2. If in doubt, add brackets – Parentheses make everything clearer and help prevent confusion.
  3. Be consistent – If you’re solving problems with others, use the same approach so that everyone gets the same answer.
  4. Check multiple sources – Sometimes, even textbooks disagree. Looking at different explanations can help clarify tricky concepts.

Final Thoughts

This viral math problem is a perfect example of how simple-looking equations can spark endless debate. The way you approach it depends on how you learned math, but if you apply PEMDAS correctly, the answer is 9—at least according to current conventions.

So, did you get it right, or are you questioning everything you thought you knew about math? Either way, at least we can all agree that math is a lot trickier than it looks!

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