Over the weekend, artist Ana Teresa Fernandez and a group of volunteers with the BorderArte project took sky blue paint to parts of the wall along Mexico's border with the United States.

Their goal was to give the wall an illusion of transparency and to make a statement against the oppression it represents. The project -- titled "Borrando la Frontera," or "Erasing the Border" -- took place in three different locations along the Mexican side of wall: Ciudad Juárez, Agua Prieta and Mexicali.

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This octogenarian tapped into his jazzy side with a newfound hobby. 

Arne Mayala, an 85-year-old Navy veteran, took up tap dancing last month at a studio in Minnesota, checking an item off his bucket list, according to Today.com.  

 Robin Lind, the studio owner, says that entering the world of tap at Mayala's age reminds us all of an important lesson. 

"You're never too old to pursue your dreams," Lind told Today.com.

The 85-year-old has long appreciated the dance style, being a big fan of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies, Mayala's wife Carol told KARE11. So when he and his wife passed the studio on the way to an accounting firm, his wife convinced him to learn some moves himself. 

While he took a bit of a fall on the day of his first class, dancing seemed to pick his spirits right up. 

“It just really touched my heart in seeing him go from having a bad day and what dance can do,” Lind told KARE11.

Mayala now makes weekly trips to the studio, traveling 40 miles to pursue his new passion. He's been sharpening his skills at the studio and Lind says Mayala and his wife have been a pleasure to have at the facility, according to Today.com.

"It's been such a joy getting to know them," Lind told the outlet. "Today I found out how Arne and Carol met … He spotted her across the room at a bar and asked her to dance. So they actually met dancing. No wonder she was excited for him to learn!"

His can-do attitude has even extended past the walls of Dance Tech Studios. Lind was so inspired, she started a program at her mother's assisted-living facility. It turns out that there are a lot of other seniors who, like Mayala, are interested in getting into the groove. 

"They just want to move," said Lind said of the senior citizens, according to Today. "They want to have fun. I was told it was the largest turnout the center had ever had at an event."

Lind told Kare11 that dance is just another way to bring joy to people of all ages.

“We all just want to feel special and important in some way."

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Au revoir, crummy hotel. Your visit to France could soon include a night in the lavish Palace of Versailles, where King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette slept hundreds of years ago.

Three buildings of the historic luxury playground will turn into a hotel and restaurant by 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. Bonjour, luxury!

The Lov Hotel Collection, a French hotel group, will transform a corner of the Palace of Versailles into a 20-room oasis with a spa, underground pool and views of the gardens.

World-renowned chef Alain Ducasse -- who is known for his gourmet astronaut food, among other things -- will run an adjoining restaurant, Eater reports.

While not exactly an "off-the-beaten path" place to stay, the new Versailles hotel will be an excellent chance to sleep in an iconic piece of French history. Decor is expected to have a "traditional 18th-century look," Conde Nast Traveler reports. Bring on the gilded mirrors!

There's no word on pricing yet, but other hotels in the Lov Collection suggest rates will be fairly high: A standard room in Lov's La Bastide de Gordes hotel, for example, costs about $225 per night.

Hey, if this doesn't work out, you can always just sleep in a castle instead. 

Bon voyage!

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First they plundered Britain. Then they gave each other the shaft.

Apparently all that conquering made Roman soldiers thirsty for a drink out of a penis-decorated pot.

The third-century vessel is featured in a new "Sex in Objects" workshop at Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in England.

One of the pot's prominent designs is a chariot pulled by penises, surrounded by other phalluses and images of couples copulating. According to the museum, it's believed that Roman troops drank from the pot to tickle their funny bone as they attacked Britain.

"They would be drinking watered-down wine from it and surely having a laugh about the decoration," Imogen Gunn, the collections manager for archaelogy, told The Huffington Post Monday. "I would be inclined to say that the decoration was meant to be humorous and a bit titillating."

Gunn said the beaker -- believed to be excavated during a dig in the mid-19th century and in the museum's hands since the 1940s -- was probably from Great Chesterford, Essex, the site of a Roman camp.

According to the BBC, the Romans began their invasion about 2,000 years ago, calling the region "Britannia," or "Land of Tin." Interested in the precious metals, they killed and pillaged while also building new forts and spreading their laws and language.

Apparently they weren't too busy to leave their middle school sense of humor behind either.

H/T Daily Mail

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When you're putting something on your body forever, you might want to be deliberate. On the other hand, sometimes the best artistic creations come about when you're willing to experiment and consider happy accidents. 

It took at least two fluke occurrences for tattoo artist Dave, who goes by Winston the Whale, to take up 3D tattooing. About a year and a half ago, Dave, who has been an artist and illustrator for several years, says he "was focusing on pursuing murals and other forms of art" when a friend asked Dave to give him a stick 'n' poke tattoo. "I ended up doing this little planet and some stars and the tattoo actually looked pretty decent!" he told The Huffington Post in an email.

He began tattooing more friends and posting the photos to Instagram. "A month later I was booked out of my apartment doing stick 'n' poke tattoos!" he said. "It was really crazy how fast it happened."

Then, last September, Dave was discussing a possible tattoo with a last-minute client. "I suggested a simple skull. He asked me if it was possible to do it in red and blue like a 3D image and I figured it was worth a shot to at least try it," he said. The photo blew up on Dave's Instagram, and suddenly he was flooded with requests for red-and-blue 3D tattoos. "I kinda just went with it," he said.

Dave's designs feature clean, playful lines and simple elements that are easy to grasp even with the potentially eye-crossing effect of the red and blue version offset over each other. "It's really about delivering something that is stripped down to the basics for maximum impact upon immediate viewing," he explained. "People only really look at an image for a second or two and these little 3D designs capture their attention for just the right amount of time."

Before you rush out and buy a pair of 3D glasses, however, be warned: "They don't actually work on skin," Dave told HuffPost. "Unfortunately there are several factors to making an anaglyph image effective and the contour of the body, skin tone, color overlap, etc. that negate the actual anaglyph 3D effect."

Dang. 

Still, chances are the tattoo recipients and those they meet will not be equipped with 3D glasses very often, so the most important fact remains: These little red-and-blue line drawings look super-cool.

Check out some more of his work below, and at Winston the Whale's Instagram.

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Our modern era looks a little weird sometimes. The hottest gadgets around are big, wire-stuffed virtual reality boxes you strap to your face. It's hard to look dignified playing with them.

Still, that's no excuse for taking video footage of someone and posting it online for the entire world to gawk at and retweet.

Here's case No. 1: a short clip of a man playing with a Samsung Gear VR on Boston's public transit system last week. His face is obscured by the device, which is why we're comfortable embedding the footage here. It was retweeted over 200 times after Twitter user Neil Lindquist originally posted it, and an account called Internet of Shit boosted it to greater heights days later.

Here's a guy trying to enjoy himself during the worst part of anyone's day -- cramming into a germ-filled space on a subway ride -- and strangers took the opportunity to post video footage of him online for others to laugh at. 

Sure, the guy looks a little silly. As the BBC and Boston Globe both pointed out, it's probably not safe to wear a device that completely removes your ability to see and hear the world around you when rocketing through a major city. 

But that's not really what these Twitter users were getting at. They're pointing at a person and laughing.

"Luckily, I caught him at one of his animated moments, which seems to have been pretty popular on the Internet so far," Lindquist told the BBC. 

Yeah, how lucky for you. (For what it's worth, Lindquist said the man he recorded came forward after the video was published online, and that he was ultimately OK with Lindquist keeping it there.) 

The Internet of Shit account exists to point out ridiculous examples of new technology. Did it need to make its point with this innocent dude on the train? How is this furthering the conversation? There are smarter ways to examine the aesthetic of virtual reality that don't involve embarrassing straphangers.

Case No. 2: a man using a Bluetooth keyboard to type on his phone during a subway ride in New York City. He published an article about his shaming experience last week, so we're OK showing you a tweet depicting what happened.

The man, Jason Wishnow, said he was typing some notes for a screenplay while on his way to work. You can probably imagine how much that sucks: You're folded into a seat on the subway, doing your best to be productive before work, and someone thinks you look ridiculous and publishes footage of you online without permission.

There's a reason why this matters, and it's not just that it's unkind. Steven Spohn, an advocate for people with disabilities who runs TheAbleGamers Foundation, explained why in a series of tweets responding to Wishnow's story Saturday.

Are we really OK with it being open season on people who look different? Who knows what difficulties they're facing? Maybe the guy wearing that VR headset on the train has crushing claustrophobia and it's therapeutic to escape into a virtual world. Instead of working on a screenplay, Wishnow might have been someone developing motor skills on a keyboard for any number of good reasons.

Think what you want, but keep your smartphone cameras out of it -- for everyone's sake.

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Imagine getting the opportunity to hold a private photo session with David Bowie at the height of his stardom. We're talking post "Ziggy Stardust" and "Aladdin Sane," with "Pin Ups" and "Diamond Dogs" still on the horizon. Imagine you had an entire evening to play dress up with the iconic shapeshifter and capture the manifold personas he embodied so swiftly yet completely. 

And suppose, over 40 years later, after the iconic artist's death, you return to those photos you took so long ago and notice what seems to be a message. A message that reappears throughout his later works, culminating with the "Lazarus" video off his final album "Blackstar," that perhaps illuminates the artist's feelings about death and immortality. 

This is what happened to photographer Steve Schapiro, who spent one fateful night in 1974 photographing Bowie in his Los Angeles studio. "From the moment Bowie arrived, we seemed to hit it off. Incredibly intelligent, calm, and filled with ideas," Schapiro recalled in a statement. "He talked a lot about Aleister Crowley, whose esoteric writings he was heavily into at the time. When David heard that I had photographed Buster Keaton, one of his greatest heroes, we instantly became friends."

The two collaborated on many striking images, each transforming Bowie into a distinct character, as unique and otherworldly as a mythical creature. Yet a particular ensemble, the one pictured above and featured on Bowie's 1976 album "Station to Station," holds special significance. 

In the image, Bowie dons a navy blue striped body suit and, crouched on the floor, doodles diagrams of Kabbalah's Tree of Life, a series of 10 spiritual emanations. Lyrics from the title track "Station to Station" echo the language of Kabbalist symbols and beliefs. "Here are we, one magical movement from Keter to Malkuth," Bowie sings, with Keter (the Crown) and Malkuth (the Kingdom) being the first and last virtues on the Tree of Life. 

In his last music video, "Lazarus," from album "Blackstar" -- regarded by many as a cryptic goodbye letter to his fans -- Bowie whips out the exact jumpsuit worn in the 1974 image, visible around the two-minute mark. Just as Bowie doodled obsessively in the '70s photo shoot, in 2016 Bowie scribbles feverishly in a notebook, heightening in intensity until finally he appears to come to a conclusion, finishing his notes and walking away. (In Bowie style: backward.) 

As Albin Wantier interprets in his introduction to Schapiro's photography book: "He appears to have found the meaning he has been searching for. The connection between both images, 40 years apart, is stunning ... He has resolved his enigma, and the curtain can fall at last."

A close-up of the writing in Bowie's notebook reveals a trail of symbols. Wantier analyzed these symbols in conjunction with some appearing on a vinyl edition of "Blackstar," all of which resembled the doodles from the 1974 shoot. The "Blackstar" images, Wantier determined after checking with a friend, were part of a chemical formula depicting the various stages of the nuclear fusion, which leads to the formation of a sun. Or perhaps, a blackstar. 

"In the 'Lazarus' video, Bowie resolves the enigma of life, which he had been endeavoring to do since 1976," Wantier summarizes. "His life, which was indistinguishable from his work, led him to enact various characters of his own devising; his life was in itself a work of art. Now that he has finished, Bowie can close the book. However, the last chapter does not end with the artist’s passing -- that would be too simple."

While Bowie's physical body is no longer with us, his creative energy has catalyzed to create a cosmic eruption, felt around the world, that can never be undone. "David Bowie is not the kind to just disappear just like that from our world," Wantier writes. "The chemical symbols that accompany the 'Blackstar' release point where he’s going: an artistic nuclear fusion of two elements that creates enough energy to make a sun."

While many acknowledged the poetry in Bowie's final album, his requiem, and its tremendous impact as his final work of art on this earth, few pieced together the fact that the roots of "Blackstar" trace back to 1974, when a photographer and the world's biggest rock star became fast friends and spent a single evening creating, contorting and doodling away. As Bowie's producer Tony Visconti put it: "His death was not different from his life -- a work of Art."

See the image that started it all, as well as the many other never before published images captured that night, in Bowie. A preview of the book is featured below, with all photographs by Steve Schapiro and published by powerHouse Books.

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Her holiness Frida Kahlo is many things.

A revolutionary painter who forever altered the course of contemporary art. A fashion icon. A political activist, a passionate gardener, a proud Latina feminist and a bisexual person. And, yes, the wife of painter Diego Rivera. 

Unfortunately, that last detail is pretty much all that's mentioned in this cringeworthy 1933 article about the "wife of the master mural painter," who "gleefully dabbles" in making art on her own. 

Cue the ghosts of feminist artists past rising from the great beyond to roll their eyes in unison. 

At the time of publication in 1933, Kahlo was 26 years old. At 18, she was in a crippling bus accident that left her right leg crushed and her uterus pierced. Although she'd relearn to walk, she would never bear children and would endure severe pain for the rest of her life. It was during recovery following her accident that Kahlo took up painting, interweaving elements of Mexican mythology and her own dreams into self portraits that depicted her pain in striking intensity. 

None of these stirring details, however, were included in the article. But then again, the author clearly needed space to diss Kahlo's outfit. "While her husband paints with large brushes on a huge wall surface," the article reads, his wife is "herself a miniature-like little person with her long black braids wound demurely about her head and a foolish little ruffled apron over her black silk dress ... "

This sad glimpse back in time shows the struggles women artists have long faced along the path to being taken seriously. The only redeemable part of the article, not too surprisingly, is a quote from Kahlo herself, in which she says Diego "does pretty well for a little boy, but I'm the big artist."

And that, ladies and adorable husbands of ladies, is how it's done. 

For more on the topic of Frida Kahlo being a badass, check out this photo of her donning a menswear suit at 17 years old for her family portrait. 

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A Christian author is warning women that "masturbation is a direct path to Satan."

Mack Major of Eden Decoded wrote on Facebook that "too many Christian women are losing their salvation because they masturbate."

"Dildos and all of those other sex toys have been used for thousands of years in demonic sex rituals," he wrote. "It's one of the main ways ancient pagan societies worshiped their demonic gods."

Major added: "There is nothing normal about it. And shame on any Christian that says so."

The Facebook post linked to a blog entry on the topic on the Eden Decoded website which warned that Satan used sex to "empower demonic entities."

He wrote: 

"Many of you who are reading this have sex toys in your possession right now. And whether you want to accept it as fact or not: those sex toys are an open portal between the demonic realm and your own life. As long as you have those sex toys in your home, you have a doorway that can allow demons to not only access your life at will, but also to torment you, hinder and destroy certain parts of your life as it relates to sex and your relationships."

The post was an excerpt from Major's book, "Diva, Goddess, Queen: Breaking The Power Of Soul Ties, Lust And Sexual Demons."

Sex in general, and masturbation in particular, were popular topics on the Eden Decoded website. Another post, an excerpt from a book called "Hedonism: Destroying Demonic Sexual Strongholds," warned:

"There are such things as sex demons. And the danger in masturbating is that one could inadvertently summon a sex demon to attach itself to you through the act of masturbating. And once that demon attaches, it is difficult to get it to leave. It will drive you to masturbate, even when you don't want to. You'll be hit with urges to play with yourself so powerful that only an orgasm will allow you some temporary relief."

Major also wrote that a sex demon may attract "other unclean spirits," which would "also attach to your life."

There is no scientific evidence of "demons" attaching themselves to people who masturbate. On the contrary, medical experts believe masturbation is healthy, if not important, for both men and woman. 

Dr. Lauren Streicher, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University and author of "Sex Rx: Hormones Health And Your Best Sex Ever," spoke to HuffPost last year on the benefits of masturbation for women, which included pain relief, better sleep and stress relief.

However, many religions have a complicated history about sex, and masturbation is no exception. Beliefnet even features a summary of teachings on touchings for major religions, which you can read here.

(h/t Raw Story)

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A collection of pop artist Andy Warhol's iconic "Campbell's Soup Cans" prints has been stolen from a Missouri art museum. The FBI on Monday posted a $25,000 reward for information leading to the artwork's recovery.

The seven stolen prints, which the FBI valued at $500,000, are part of a collection of 10 owned by the Springfield Art Museum, in Springfield, Missouri, since 1985, according to KCTV News.

The museum said in a statement the burglary occurred sometime after hours on April 6 or early April 7. Its exhibition where the Warhols were on display -- entitled "The Electric Garden of Our Minds: British/American Pop" -- is closed as a "safety measure," the museum said.

The FBI reportedly said Monday that the stolen works are part of set number 31 of Warhol's 1968 "Campbell’s Soup I" collection.

Sally Scheid, chair of the museum's board, told the Springfield News Leader she was "shocked and totally saddened" by the burglary, which she called "an invasion of the trust" the museum has with the community. 

Warhol's works have been known to fetch incredible prices. In 2008, for example, a 12-foot-tall painting called "Eight Elvises" sold for more than $100 million. 

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Richard Nixon wasn't particularly keen to host non-English-speaking officials at the White House. Ditto Elvis Presley, according to a scene from the new movie "Elvis & Nixon," which depicts the singer's famous 1970 meeting with the president. A counterculture-averse Presley (Michael Shannon) wanted Nixon (Kevin Spacey) to appoint him as an undercover agent in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. As shown in this scene -- exclusive to The Huffington Post and its parent company AOL -- Nixon didn't want to take the meeting in the first place.

"Elvis & Nixon" premieres next week at the Tribeca Film Festival before opening in theaters on April 22. Directed by Liza Johnson ("Hateship, Loveship"), the movie also stars Alex Pettyfer, Evan Peters, Colin Hanks, Tate Donovan, Sky Ferreira and Tracy Letts. Watch the clip below.

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When it comes to dogs, all sides are their good sides. 

Photographer Serena Hodson, a 39-year-old who lives in Brisbane, Australia, just released a photo series featuring dogs looking downright delightful on their backs.

The series, called "The Upside to Dogs," is bound to make you turn that frown upside-down. 

Some of the pooches seem sleepy, while others are unapologetically goofy. Hodson told The Huffington Post that the concept for the photo shoot came from her very own dogs, Simon and Garfunkel, who are featured in the series.

"I have photographed Simon on his back since he was a pup and my following have always lapped up the layers of gorgeous wrinkles," she said. "Then came along Garfunkel, my Frenchie, who always sleeps on his back. One day watching him get into his nightly position on his back I saw this ridiculous face of heaven." 

She thought it'd be a hoot to see other dogs do the same. 

"It took a special kind of dog and owner relationship for the shots as it’s not natural for all dogs to arrive at a stranger’s house and flop on their backs," she said. "The callout was for very easy going dogs that regularly sleep on their back and along came all my willing wonderful models. ... When dogs are happy in their environment and feel safe it was pretty easy to get the shots."

Well, they definitely know their angles!

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In his series "Lux Noctis," photographer Reuben Wu explores the otherworldly terrain present on planet earth, documenting landscapes draped in darkness. The photographer, filmmaker and music producer documents desert rock formations that appear like melting birthday cakes from another planet, illuminated solely by a single glowing, mysterious light source.

"In my visual work, I am driven not just by the urge to create imagery,
but by a desire to explore new places as if they were unknown territory,
constantly open to serendipity and with an eye for the unnoticed and the hidden," the artist explained in a statement. "Photographs, like music, can create an echo of a time and a place. To me, my images are more than pictures. They are fragments of memory and imagination."

Wu has a talent for capturing the infinite complexity of what's on the surface, pondering how a peculiar canyon can contain as much stunning visual detail as the most intricate of paintings. Check out Wu's Instagram for more images of the peculiar dark spaces nature has to offer.

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Prepare to ascend a stairway to musical heaven. 

The group 2Cellos recently released a mashup of Led Zepellin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5 in C minor" played on cello.  

Somehow, the video will make you want to rock out and sip fancy wine at the same time. 

Watch as Croatian cellists Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic start out masterfully playing Beethoven's 5th. The video then cuts to some badass Led Zep and eventually the sounds meld together in an unexpectedly perfect blend of music. 

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John Kasich just can't seem to wrap his mind around the idea that young women are engaged participants in the political process. 

During a campaign event on Monday, the GOP presidential candidate took a question from a young woman who asked about social security. "Did somebody tell you to ask this question?," inquired Kasich. "No," she responded. "I think for myself."

ABC political reporter Ben Gittleson, who was at the event, tweeted that Kasich seemed "surprised" at the young woman's question.

One might be able to excuse this instance of Kasich's condescension as a misguided attempt at lightheartedness. But this isn't the first time he has put his foot in his mouth during an interaction with interested, thoughtful political constituents, who also happen to be young and female.

In October, University of Richmond student Kayla Solsbak raised her hand enthusiastically to ask Kasich a question about his proposed policies on undocumented immigrants. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any Taylor Swift concert tickets,” he said when he eventually acknowledged her. Because, obviously, college women only attend political town halls in the hopes that there might be a secret T-Swift ticket giveaway at the end! Oh, Johnny John John. 

Solsbak responded by writing a thoughtful essay where she clarified: "I didn’t go to a town hall forum for Taylor Swift tickets, Gov. Kasich. I went because it’s my civic duty to be an informed voter." 

Watch a clip of the exchange, here:

Millennial women have been belittled on the political stage time and time again. We've been dismissed as "Beyoncé voters." We've been told to go on Tinder instead of getting out to the polls. One time, a conservative SuperPAC suggested that we're all Obama's girlfriends who all need to break up with him. Charming.

The young women I know on both sides of the political aisle are dynamic, engaged and opinionated. They have a thirst for political knowledge, because the results of elections, both national and local, have real implications on their lives. Young women are facing down crippling levels of college debt. They are seeing their reproductive rights and their access to health care under attack. They are wondering how they will fare in the job market. They are thinking about gun control and climate change and terrorism and racial inequality and the wage gap. 

They want to see their ideas -- and their lives -- taken seriously by the politicians who represent them.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Kasich's opinion of older women is any better. After all, this is the man who bragged that women once "left their kitchens" to elect him and defunded Planned Parenthood in Ohio just this past February.

It should be obvious to politicians that alienating women -- especially young women, who will be voting for years and years to come -- is a pretty short-sighted move. After all, unmarried women are becoming an increasingly powerful political force. And politicians would do well to start paying attention to them. (Read this excerpt from Rebecca Traister's fantastic book All The Single Ladies to learn more about how the changing demographics of our country are dovetailing with louder calls for equal pay, family leave, child care and accessible health care.) 

As Traister wrote in October: "Free advice to everyone in presidential politics: If you want young women to vote for you, stop treating them like dumbbells."

If politicians like Kasich continue to ignore that advice, their condescension may catch up with them on election day. In the indominatble words of William Shakespeare: "Though she be but little, she is fierce."

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Hank Willis Thomas' "Truth Booth" is shaped like a giant cartoon speech bubble. Also known by its longer moniker "In Search of the Truth," the 14-foot high inflatable sculpture has a door, and inside that door is a video recording booth. The booth has traveled throughout places like Ireland, Afghanistan and the U.S., welcoming passerby to record a two-minute video inside. All they need to do is complete the sentence, "The truth is..."

The booth, Thomas and his collaborators -- Jim Ricks, Ryan Alexiev, Will Sylvester, together known as Cause Collective -- claim, is an ideal platform for finding out what people are thinking during critical times. "What is a critical time, exactly?" you might ask. Suffice it to say, this American election period counts.

"Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have definitely shaken everything up and made it no longer business as usual," Thomas explained in an email to The Huffington Post. "I think everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats even more than in the past because it is like a thriller movie." 

Citizens of the United States are used to hearing about the election via politicians and pundits. It's hard to glean an accurate and representative idea of how civilians -- from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between -- are actually feeling. "Every election season we hear politicians and pundits speaking for and about the citizens in sometimes simplistic and generic ways," Thomas added. "We know that the American public is much more nuanced and complex. We also know that everyone has the capacity to express themselves articulately about the things that they know and care about."

Enter "Truth Booth," which, after touring several countries and gathering thousands of statements, is headed back to the U.S. for a 50-state run. Thomas and Cause Collective members have taken to Kickstarter to raise $75,000 to haul the booth around the country, just in time for this critical election. 

The booth is, as Thomas outlined, meant to be a safe space for generosity and vulnerability; an invitation to the public to express itself. Once inside, people are encouraged to do and say whatever they want. "The best thing about art is that it grows in unexpected ways and gains new meaning in the context it is presented in," Thomas said. "We have learned not to try to anticipate what will happen and what people will say [inside the booth]. We just get to listen and witness the incredible wisdom and creativity of total strangers."

To compliment the booth, Cause Collective will create an interactive website that will allow people to follow the tour and view truths from the traveled locations. "Throughout this long-term project, the video footage will be compiled and edited into a video installation to be exhibited in galleries, museums, and public viewings," the "Truth Booth" Kickstarter page states. "It is our hope that viewers, as we have, realize that there are common things that people struggle with. That things like loss, love, hunger, and the feeling that you are worth more than society suggests are universal. That we all share truths."

"The truth is I don't think I have enough money to finish college." - Hofstra University 2012

Thomas is no stranger to socially-conscious art. His past exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery, “Unbranded: A Century of White Women, 1915-2015,” explored the ways advertisements "created" the White American Woman. His series "B®ANDED" addressed the commodification of African-American male identity. "I believe that all art is political, whether or not we decide to call it that," he said. "It is a form of free speech that people have, and continue to fight for its value and place in society. I think fine art has the capacity to unify and open minds like nothing else in society. It can do this because it can take some many different forms."

Cause Collective has 30 days to raise funds for its campaign. You can check out more from the Kickstarter here, but in the meantime, if you were wondering how Thomas would complete his own prompt:

"My answer changes from moment to moment, but right now I will say: The truth is that it is better to speak for yourself than to let someone else speak for you."

See more "truths" below:

"My truth is that my father died a year ago, a Vietnam vet from Agent Orange exposure and we miss him a lot and wish he was here. My other truth is I've been separated from my husband for four long years and they have been the hardest and most difficult of my life and I would give anything for us to get back together again because I still love you Herman. You're the love of my life and me and our daughter miss you lots. Thats my truth. That's all I got to say." - Brooklyn 2015

"The truth is, um, I've been dealing CRPS Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome since I was 10. And now I'm 14 and I am done with it. I've come to realize that I don't want to have to deal with it anymore. Now I'm here in Cleveland, Ohio at the Cleveland clinic for regional pain and they've gotten me from a wheelchair to walking, well hardly walking, in a matter of three weeks. Now I'm staying an extra week so [I can] get the extra touches put back in place and I'm really excited to go back to my normal life. So the truth is you never should give up because we all have a story and people don't know that story until you actually tell them and you're a fighter and you just gotta fight until you get what you deserve. So that is the truth for me." - Cleveland 2014

"The truth is that I'm still 11 years old but I really do believe in unicorns. I know I sound super crazy but I believe unicorns are real, also mermaids, also fairies, and all of those sort of things. I love magic. You can't take that from me. I also love the Percy Jackson series and I am never going to stop loving them no matter what my mom says." - Miami 2014

"The truth is that Afghanistan will be all right one day. Then people will live together in a free and healthy environment again. I want to make clear that if all Afghans join hand-in-hand and raise capacity and the level of knowledge they can defeat poverty and solve the problems that exist in our country and rebuild the nation. Then all our problems will end. Thank you." - Afghanistan 2013

"The truth is not to be discovered because it was there before we were born. It hid itself when we were born and it only comes out once we are dead. I am nearly dead so the truth will shortly emerge." - Ireland 2011

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Grab a calculator, because this 5-year-old genius is about to school math lovers everywhere. 

Steve Harvey met numbers aficionado Luis on Sunday night, when the math wiz paid a visit to the NBC show "Little Big Shots." The adorable Brooklyn native was quick to show off his skills by doubling and squaring numbers at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, Harvey needed the help of a calculator to double-check Luis' swift answers.

But Luis isn't just talented at math, his parents also post videos on YouTube of him showing off his amazing knowledge of the chemical elements, which he can list alphabetically, and the planets. 

His mom, Kiesha Esquivel, told The Huffington Post that she realized how smart her little boy was when he became passionate about spelling at 2 years old. But his interest in math didn’t surface until June.

"He just remembered everything we told him and was able to understand it as well as teach it," Esquivel said. 

And he still has that childish wonder, too. There was an adorable moment on the show when Luis tried to figure out what was that pesky dark silhouette that kept moving behind him. 

We totally get it, Luis. Watch him track down his shadow and get very excited about playing math games in the video above. 

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A class assignment turned into something more for one family after their son wrote a touching poem and gave a peek into life with autism. 

Benjamin Giroux, a 10-year-old boy who is on the spectrum, wrote a poem titled “I Am” as an assignment for his fifth grade class. His father, Sonny Giroux, explained to The Huffington Post that every line of the poem already included two words like "I am" and "I wonder" as a prompt for the students to complete. In his poem, Benjamin wrote that he is “odd” and “new” and that he feels “like a castaway.”

“I am odd, I am new. I wonder if you are too,” Benjamin wrote. “I hear voices in the air. I see you don’t, and that’s not fair.”

Sonny told HuffPost that when he and his wife read the poem, it brought tears to their eyes. 

“We were both so proud, and yet so heartbroken, that this was how he felt,” he said.

The National Autism Association posted Benjamin’s poem on Facebook on Sunday. As of Tuesday, the post has been liked more than 9,100 times and has racked up more than 4,000 shares. Sonny said he wanted to share his son’s work so parents with children on the spectrum could see what their children might be feeling and Benjamin could see that his diagnosis does not define him.

"I also wanted to show Benjamin that he is not, odd, alone, or isolated and that his diagnosis is something to embrace and not something to hold him back," Sonny said.

The proud dad said his son has been "overwhelmed by all the positive response," especially when his poem got to 1,000 likes. Alluding to the line in Benjamin's poem, "I try to fit in," Sonny said the feedback has shown his son that he belongs.

"Each like, share and comment he's received since has made him feel like not only he does fit in and belong in this world, but has also moved him beyond words that he's touched so many."

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In Hawaii, the Merrie Monarch festival -- an annual hula competition -- is on par with the Olympics.

While its performances are always talked about within the Aloha state, one woman's performance this year blew everyone away, earning her the title of Miss Aloha Hula, the top honor for female solo dancers. Watch her captivating performance below:

Kayli Kaʻiulani Carr delivered an incredible, fast-paced oli (chant) and two beautifully executed dances. The 25-year-old performed both a kahiko (traditional hula) and an 'auana (modern hula), both of which had our jaws on the floor.

The Merrie Monarch festival takes place on the Big Island and brings the very best hula dancers together for a celebration of the traditional art, which is considered to be one of the most vital parts of native Hawaiian culture.

For many native Hawaiians, hula is not simply a dance, but a way of life. In ancient Hawaii, hula was a way of communicating stories and perpetuating the traditional culture -- a lesson that Carr takes seriously.

"Hula is alive," she told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, "and the basis of hula is olelo (language), so that’s why it’s important to perpetuate Hawaiian language. That’s how we tell our stories, and that’s how they’re passed down from generation to generation. And eventually, when we leave, that’s the only thing people will have."

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