A 16-year-old ran 71 miles in 4 days to draw attention to a national crisis.

She's taking on a problem her government won't acknowledge.

Tracie Léost wanted to take action against a major problem facing women in her country — so she started running.

The 16-year-old Canadian girl ran more than 71 miles in four days and raised thousands of dollars in the process. She ran from Oak Point, Manitoba, to The Forks in Winnipeg.

GIF from CBC News.

Her run made national news. So why was she running, anyway?

Tracie ran to draw attention to the missing and murdered indigenous women of Canada.

In Canada, aboriginal women are nearly three times as likely to face violence compared to non-indigenous women. (And the problem is not limited to Canada, either. In the U.S., Native Americans also face increased rates of violence.) The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommended that the Canadian government conduct a national inquiry and develop an action plan centered on protecting this vulnerable population.

More than 1,000 aboriginal women have been murdered in Canada since 1980.

Amnesty International calls it a "national human rights crisis," pointing to a 2014 Canadian government report stating that since 1980, more than 1,000 aboriginal women have been murdered. Amnesty notes that gaps in reporting mean the number is actually much higher than what can be counted.

Most murdered and missing aboriginal women are moms. Meet their children #MMIW http://t.co/P6Q6GIgaJL http://pic.twitter.com/3mWKDqZhao— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) August 28, 2015

Critics argue that the government hasn't made protecting Aboriginal women a priority — and they're right.

In a 2014 interview (likely to haunt him long after he leaves office), Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was asked whether he planned to launch a national inquiry into these disappearances and murders. His response?

CBC asked PM Harper about an inquiry into missing & murdered Indigenous women. His response: "It isn

"It isn't high on our radar." Needless to say, that wasn't especially reassuring to those who have lost friends or family members to violence.

"Stephen Harper won't step up and make this change," Tracie wrote on her GoFundMe page. "So stand along side me as we fight for justice in place of these women and girls."

If the government won't act, that's where everyday people like Tracie come in.

Tracie's run raised money for the Families First Foundation, which raises awareness and helps the families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Tracie on the road. Photograph from Tracie Léost.

Tracie's run helps shine a light on this serious issue and shows how even when a government won't take action, regular people can make a difference.

Interested in learning more? Watch this story from the CBC for more about Tracie's 71-mile journey.

More information about the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls can be found at Amnesty International. You can donate to Tracie's run at her GoFundMe page. Thumbnail image via CBC News.

A Canadian shelter sells older cats like used cars, and it's pretty effective ... and hilarious.

Can I interest you in a pre-owned cat?

These mustached Canadians decided to treat older shelter cats like used cars.

Why? Because in a world where around 8 million pets enter shelters and only around 4 million get out, that's a lot of sad math.

In an attempt to stop that sad math, the kind folks from the Calgary Humane Society got creative.

The fastest domestic cat running speed appears to be 29.8 mph. This salesman knows his product!

They got weird.

They discovered some very adept cat performers.

Call Hollywood!

They pulled out all the stops to help future cat owners realize that pre-owned cats are the way to go!

And in addition to the commercial, the cats were priced to go on a very special Saturday.

Kittens are popular. There's no way around it. They're kittens! I used to be kitten-crazy (I was a child!), but I've adopted older cats and so have my friends. They're special. They're cute. They're soulful. And instead of adorably biting your fingers until they grow up past kittenhood, older cats chill out on your couch and teach you about relaxing.

I'm sharing this because it might save a pre-owned cat.

We missed the Big Sale Saturday (but let's be real, pre-owned cats are always priced to go), but the love for pre-owned cats continues. And this commercial, well ... it's timeless. And worth a watch.

Original by Calgary Humane Society.

The 'Star Wars' Facebook page just replied obviously and correctly to a sexist comment.

Meet Captain Phasma. She's a character in the new "Star Wars" movie.

Captain Phasma from the new Star Wars film is looking incredibly badass. http://pic.twitter.com/iO3jtCswwB— Mike DeLeon (@mikejdeleon) August 17, 2015

And that's ... basically all we know about her.

Most details about her remain top secret, so much so that "Star Wars" HQ has only revealed two pretty obvious things: She's a high-ranking stormtrooper, and she's played by Gwendoline Christie, aka Brienne of Tarth from "Game of Thrones."

I think she's ready. Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images.

Despite knowing next to nothing about who she is, what she does, or what role she plays in the story, some fans have very ... strong opinions about the way she looks.

Specifically about her armor.

Shiny and chrome. Photo via Mike DeLeon/Twitter.

Which, historically speaking, on female characters, has tended to look more like ... this.

Yeah, maybe it protects your chest, neck, and face, but how much gam does it show? Photo by JD Hancock/Flickr.

Or even, somehow, this.

"Can you go in the hot tub with your armor on? Let's focus on what's really important here, people." Photo by Luigi Novi/Wikimedia Commons.

For reference, this is real armor.

The better to protect your torso from blows from the GIANT SWORDS you're sparring with. Photo by Lowell Silverman/Wikimedia Commons.

Unsurprisingly, actual experts (yes, really) have convincingly argued that were you to wear the kind of armor typically drawn onto female action heroes to a real sword/axe/gun/laser fight, you would be very quickly dead.

Thankfully, "Star Wars" was having none of it. None. At. All.

Here's how they replied to one whiny commenter, and, in 11 words, completely ended the ridiculous debate.

Well played @StarWars, well played... :) http://pic.twitter.com/xL3HyPALkc— Man vs Pink (@ManVsPink) August 28, 2015

Let's blow that up, for those of you in the cheap seats.

Screenshot via Man vs. Pink/Twitter, artwork by Seth Groves/Instagram.

Ordinarily I would try to say something clever here, but no "May the Force be with you" quip does the awesomeness of this comeback justice. It's perfect.

Female warriors wouldn't wear special, form-fitting costumes that only exist to be ogled. They would wear what would best help them win in a fight.

Thank you, Official "Star Wars" Facebook Page, for reminding us all what's important about armor.

It doesn't matter how good it looks at a pool party. Man or woman, it just needs to keep you the hell alive.

The image in the above tweet was created by Man vs. Pink, a terrific blog written by a geek dad raising a daughter. You can and should like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. The artwork was created by Seth Groves, more of which can be seen on Instagram like so.

She turned code into 'spells,' and the results are very Harry Potter. In the best way.

Learnio computer codeus!

When one teacher turned coding into casting spells, things got very Harry Potter in the very best way.

Until University of California San Diego's Sarah Guthals came up with this new approach to educational games, most were like chocolate covered broccoli: a thin layer of yummy (play) hiding a big old piece of yuck (learning).

"I love this term chocolate covered broccoli. And that has been what educational games have been up until now." Sarah says.

Most were like this:

According to Sarah,

"You shouldn't have to stop playing to go do the learning, and you shouldn't have to stop learning to go do the playing."

So she created CodeSpells, an educational game that teaches coding and computer science. And the results are truly magical.

Learnio computera codeus! Image via "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

All the spell-casting, none of the pure-evil life-threatening stuff. Here's how it works:

First, kids study their spells.

With a pen and paper!

"Getting the kids to actually write the spells down on paper, it's a slower process, and they actually think about it more"

The spells start out pretty basic. But as the CodeSpells Kickstarter points out, as players get more fluent in the coding of CodeSpells, they can eventually "code in typed Javascript!" That's huge.

Then they team them up to cast their spells.

It's the industry standard of a driver and a navigator in coding to work as a specific type of team, so these kids are learning early.

The teamwork not only helps them work together, it makes them better computer scientists!

"Because they have to articulate what it is they want, they start to use the language of computer science much more expertly."

And once they've learned spells, it's time to make stuff.

Stuff THEY want to make.

Guthals uses the concept of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) in her lessons.

And the results are so creative!

"It's important to show that computer science is expressive."

"Everything related to STEM, you're going to have to have some creativity."

The personal touch that the A in STEAM — art — has done wonders to inspire kids to keep pursuing coding, even outside of the classroom.

Instead of using their code to create boring things — one thing a lot of computer science programs do is make kids write code that makes a calculator (snooze) — they make their own art projects. Comic books, video games — art that moves!

Guthals' goal is to make this teaching system accessible for schools everywhere.

Most of the time, if (and that's a big if) there's a computer science class in schools, it's because there's one teacher who has experience in computer science. Most teachers don't have that experience. So computer science doesn't get taught.

Guthal's ideas could change all that.

I don't have to tell you that we're living in a world where computer and smartphone technology is becoming more and more important and exciting. Or that teaching kids how to MAKE technology should be as important teaching them to ENJOY and USE technology.

But I told you anyway. Because our kids are missing out.

I'm sharing this so that more people know about the exciting future ahead and the work being done to give our kids such a gift and so that we can all watch the young wizards who are already making it happen.

For more of a peek at the game Guthals created, check out this video!

Original video via Fig. 1 by University of California. You can get updates on the game at the CodeSpells website.

Emma Watson's latest looks are turning heads thanks to her eco-friendly clothes and accessories.

They spent 17.9 billion hours yearly caring for loved ones. She thought they could use a vacation.

She could do anything she wanted with a half a million dollars in prize money. This is what she chose.

Imagine you won half a million dollars for being a genius.

Heather did.

Image by Macarthur Foundation.

Heather McHugh is a poet from Seattle. She is also a genius.

The MacArthur Foundation gave her over $600,000 in unrestricted grant money for her poetry, which the foundation calls "intellectually challenging, yet emotionally engaging verse that balances gravity with humor."

Winners of this "genius grant" can do whatever they want with the cash.

I give you ... awesomeness.

No regulations on the cash. No nothin'. That's what makes the MacArthur genius grant so exceptional.

Some winners have started businesses, funded films, taken off on a passion project the grant allowed them to focus on, or just continued their vocations with a really nice nest egg. Heather chose something a little different.

Heather gave away all her $600k genius grant money to strangers.

But not just any strangers.

You see, Heather was kinda freaked out by the prospect of spending over $600,000 on herself alone. So she looked around her life for people who might also be in need of funding.

She didn't need to look far.

Reflecting on the massive efforts of her godson and his wife as they raised a baby with severe disabilities, she decided what to do with her grant money.

As told to KPLU. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

She started the nonprofit Caregifted, which gives vacations to people who have spent a decade or more taking care of a family member full time.

Speaking of her personal experience in watching her godson and his wife care for their daughter, who were told she would never be able to walk, talk, or feed herself, she said, “It was obvious to me when that baby was born that in 10 years, they were going to need a break."

In 2014, around 15 million caregivers provided an estimated 17.9 billion hours of unpaid care. There's no paid vacation (or even just vacation) for this more-common-than-you-think job.

In steps Caregifted. They have already given vacations to 30 caregivers.

Says one recipient, “It was the first time in many, many years that I only had to worry about myself."

So selfless. I'm sharing this so that more people recognize the work of our caregivers. You matter. <3

You can find out more about Heather's nonprofit Caregifted at Caregifted.org. You can also read some of Healther's poems here.

The #BornAndMade campaign is celebrating women. And it's fantastic.

This is the message we should be hearing.

Maybe you've seen pics of some of your friends' beautiful faces with writing over them like this in your social media feed the past few days:

Photo by #BornAndMade, used with permission.

So far, over 50,000 people have made pics like those above and there's a great reason why.

Being a woman isn't always easy. (Stick with me here.)

We're constantly getting messages, both subtle and quite overt, telling us who to be: how to dress, how to do our hair, what size we should be, what tone of voice we should use when we speak, and even what words we should choose.

But you know what we should actually be? Ourselves! Fully, boldly, and proudly ourselves.

That's why Lisa Price, founder of hair and skin-care company Carol's Daughter, and Emily Greener, co-founder of the nonprofit I Am That Girl, teamed up to create the #BornAndMade campaign.

They're showing us who to be in the best way possible by helping us reflect on who we already are and encouraging us to share that with the world.

The purpose of the #BornAndMade campaign is quite simple: to encourage girls and women to be who they were born and made to be.

"I want every woman and girl to know she has worth, she is not insignificant in this world. She just needs to understand who she is," Price told me.

"I want every woman and girl to know she has worth, she is not insignificant in this world. She just needs to understand who she is."

"That means knowing who you were born and made to be, but then determining where you want to take that knowledge. It can empower you in unexpected ways."

It's a great campaign for girls and women alike. Just visit the site, upload a photo, fill in the blanks, and share.

Even my daughter made one:

My husband's and my amazing daughter, who is so proud of who she is.

I love campaigns like this. As a mom, I want to raise my daughter to be herself — and to remain proud of who she is, in spite of the messaging that often plants seeds of self-doubt. As Greener told me, "Beauty is the goodness inside you that comes out of you and impacts the world, starting with your own world."

"I want girls out there to celebrate every fiber that makes them unique, to recognize that they can be who they were born and made to be, not who they're supposed to be," Price added.

Let's drown out the negatives with confidence and pride in ourselves.

This campaign is taking off, with women sharing their #BornAndMade photos all over Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram:

Proud to support @carolsdaughter & @iamthatgirl in telling the world how we as women & girls were #BornAndMade! http://pic.twitter.com/uNGB8pr9ZM— erica williams simon (@createdbyerica) August 28, 2015

#BornAndMade http://pic.twitter.com/J5jES0dd5q— Lexi Monroe (@am_pr18) August 28, 2015

I

#bornandmade in the Bronx! http://pic.twitter.com/EZPYmwEBcr— Rachel Mátos (@theartmuse) August 28, 2015

When it comes to beauty, we all have it. "Beauty is inherent in every single person. It cannot be added or taken away. It shines from within us and touches every person we meet," Price said.

"Part of what I love about this campaign is that the words are over what we would normally perceive to be our beauty. Our face, eyes, smile, hair. The words are our power and the representation of the beauty that is shining through them."

As for the negative messages we get all the time, Greener has some great advice: "Surround yourself with a community that reminds you who you are (and who you're capable of being) every single day, who make it safe for you to say the things that are true for you in any given moment, and who support you in all of the moments along your own personal journey — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the gorgeous."

You can follow Carol's Daughter on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.