diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2ebaa93f2c..8d938a7147 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ While more ops may be added, I think this base is stable.
 Despite being tiny, tinygrad supports the full EfficientNet. Pass in a picture to discover what it is.
 
 ```bash
-ipython3 examples/efficientnet.py https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Chicken.jpg
+ipython3 examples/efficientnet.py https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/hen-picture-id831791190
 ```
 
 Or, if you have a webcam and cv2 installed
diff --git a/extra/utils.py b/extra/utils.py
index f278e11608..7ce050531d 100644
--- a/extra/utils.py
+++ b/extra/utils.py
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ def fetch(url):
       dat = f.read()
   else:
     print("fetching %s" % url)
-    dat = requests.get(url).content
+    r = requests.get(url)
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    dat = r.content
     with open(fp+".tmp", "wb") as f:
       f.write(dat)
     os.rename(fp+".tmp", fp)