Are you sitting down? Because someone invented a wearable chair.
I think we can all agree: Standing up for long periods of time is just ... it's really hard.
The struggle is real. GIF from "Arrested Development."
No one knows this struggle better than a surgeon.
It takes a lot of skill to keep your razor-sharp focus and stay on your feet for hours at a time while someone's life is on the line beneath your scalpel.
That's why one company invented the world's first wearable ... chair?
Yes, you read that right: wearable chair. Sure it sounds ridiculous, but it's actually pretty simple — and pretty cool.
The wearable chair, called the Archelis (a rough phonetic translation of "walkable chair" from Japanese), supports key pressure points on the legs to ease the wearer's fatigue, re-creating the sensation of sitting while maintaining an upright position. It was designed through a collaboration between the Japanese company Nitto and Chiba University’s Frontier Medical Engineering Center.
Basically, it's a pair of high-tech leg braces that hold your butt (and thighs and ankles) while you're standing.
GIF from Archelis/Archelis/YouTube.
Just a few years back, a Swiss company called Noonee introduced a similar creation called the Chairless Chair.
Wired described this hydraulic-powered titanium frame as, "a really bad-ass wearable or an especially lame exoskeleton."
The company's CEO, Keith Gunura, said that the device can give the body "microbreaks" of three to 10 seconds to relieve the stress of standing and compared the sensation to sitting on a barstool. It could also come in handy in workspaces where there's just not enough room to store chairs.
GIF from Noonee/YouTube.
While the concept of a wearable chair was originally designed to aid surgeons during seemingly-endless shifts, the design has plenty of potential outside the hospital.
Aside from the general exhaustion of standing all day, musculoskeletal disorders caused by physical strain, repetitive movements, and poor posture factor into 33% of workplace injuries and illnesses.
And, of course, surgeons aren't the only ones who face this kind of risk. A wearable chair could go a long way to ease the strain on all the people who work in restaurants, retail, and factory production lines and stay on their feet for hours at a time.
GIF from "(You Drive Me) Crazy."
You know who else could benefit from a wearable chair? Anyone who spends their day sitting at a desk.
It's easy to understand the pain of someone who's forced to stand all day. But it turns out that excessive sitting isn't good for us either.
Aside from the general mind-numbing-ness of staring at Excel spreadsheets all day, the passive lifestyle of a desk job could lead to a whole host of ailments, one of the biggest being hunched posture — which can lead to migraines, back pain, breathing problems, and much more.
This is all assuming, of course, that the boredom doesn't kill you first.
Though not necessarily meant for all-day sitters, the Archelis does help the user maintain ideal posture and allows for easy switching between sitting and standing. Something like that could definitely come in handy for those dreary desk-bound days.
GIF from "The Incredibles."
At the end of the day, no one should have to spend six to eight straight hours sitting or standing.
Moderation is a good thing. In a perfect world, we'd find a way to restructure the entire labor system so that productivity and physical strain weren't so intertwined, regardless of whether you're on your feet or in a chair.
But until that happens, at least we have cool tech like the Archelis to help us hit that Goldilocks sweet spot between sitting and standing. It's not perfect, but it's a start.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."