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Dear Mr. Trump: All 6 U.S. science Nobel Prize winners this year so far are immigrants.

At a time when anti-immigration rhetoric is at an all-time high, it's imperative we look at the bigger picture.

“I think the United States is what it is today largely because of open borders."

That comment comes from Scottish-born naturalized U.S. citizen Sir J. Fraser Stoddart. When he said this to The Hill, he'd just won the Nobel Prize for chemistry.

This statement was bold, especially in an election year where the topic of immigration has been a hot-button issue filled with troublesome rhetoric.

Stoddart had a good reason for the comment: All six American Nobel laureates in science announced so far this year are immigrants.

Every year, the Nobel Foundation awards this prestigious honor to the most innovative scientists, writers, researchers, and peace-builders around the world for their outstanding contributions in the world of physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, and peace.

All six science Nobel Prize winners from the U.S. Photos by (clockwise) Scott Olson/Getty Images; Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge/Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images; Kayana Szyymczak/AFP/Getty Images; Mickael Vis/AFP/Getty Images; Denise Applewhite/Princeton University/Getty Images.

Stoddart was recognized for his breakthrough research in creating new ways to energize and steer molecules that could revolutionize how we treat illnesses and help develop more powerful computers.

The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Duncan M. Haldane, who is British; David Thouless, also Scottish; and Michael Kosterlitz, who is originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, and was born to Jewish refugees who fled Hitler's Germany. Their theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter could have a tremendous impact in electronics and computing.

Finally, Oliver Hart is from Britain, and Bengt Holmström is from Finland. Both are being recognized for their contributions to economics.

(On Oct. 13, 2016, the foundation also announced that beloved singer-songwriter Bob Dylan earned the coveted Nobel Prize for literature for "new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Not too shabby, America!)

This science lineup is a big deal, especially now.

At a time when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is taking an unapologetically tough stance on immigration by proposing "extreme vetting" (and promising to build a massive wall and deport undocumented immigrants who are already here), this award lineup speaks volumes about why we need inclusive immigration policies.

It proves we can greatly benefit from inviting immigrants into our country. It shows that when we abandon our fear of differences, we'll find that folks from other places have a lot to offer in terms of science, education, and technological advances.

These six winners are literally making the world a better place.

The Nobel Foundation Prize Award Ceremony in 2008. Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

As Stoddart pointed out to The Hill, America's incredible scientific progress can remain strong "as long as we don't enter an era where we turn our back on immigration."

These Nobel Prize winners make an excellent and irrefutable case for nurturing our immigration system.

“I think the resounding message that should go out all around the world is that science is global," Stoddart said.

It's imperative we look at the bigger picture instead of just focusing on the negative aspects of immigration. Many of our amazing and impressive scientific innovations are here because of immigration.

We can accomplish amazing things when we have no barriers — physical or otherwise.

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Underpaid teachers reveal they taught while hungry after mom cries over undecorated classroom

"My 1st year I made 27K and my room was empty."

Photo credit: Canva

Teachers reveal they taught hungry after mom cries over empty classroom

It's August, which means a lot of kids have either started school already or are heading back. The back-to-school month also means an influx of parents voicing their grievances on the internet. Everything from not wanting their children to share school supplies to the teacher's wish list items. What is typically an exciting time for children can be a stressful time for parents and teachers for different reasons.

One disappointed mom took to the internet in tears due to the lack of classroom decor in her child's classroom for "meet the teacher." It could be that this is the mom's first time sending a little one off to school, as to the reason she didn't know that there would likely be more decorating happening before the first day of school. Either way, her tearful reaction to the lack of decorations caused a few teachers to reveal the reality they face.

teacher; teacher pay; low pay; teachers; mom cries; undecorated classroom; back to school Overwhelmed with emotion.Photo credit: Canva

Most teachers, especially those of little ones, want to have their classrooms decked out in all the colorful, age-appropriate decor, but in reality, that costs money. Often, money neither teachers nor the school districts have. This is why public school teachers have wish lists that they pass out before the first day of school; some even create Amazon lists so people outside of their district can help. It's a pretty common understanding that teachers don't make a lot of money, but for some parents, just how little teachers make may be overlooked.

A teacher who goes by Mrs. Frazzled on social media recently reacted to the post of the crying mom. In this case, the teacher lived up to her social media moniker because what followed was more PG-13 than her usual content. Someone who goes by the name Kubi responded to Mrs. Frazzled's rant with an eye-opening reality, "My first year as a teacher I made 27K and my room was empty because I could[n't] afford to buy things for it. and I didn't even get my first check until 30 days in so I taught HUNGRY the first month."

teacher; teacher pay; low pay; teachers; mom cries; undecorated classroom; back to school Stressed at the desk, seeking a moment of calm.Photo credit: Canva

The confession prompted Mrs. Frazzled to commiserate with her own, revealing, "I also taught hungry my first year of teaching. That's part of why this whole thing made me so freaking mad. I'll tell you my story as a first-year teacher because it is not a unique story by any means, clearly."

She goes on to share that student teaching isn't paid and comes at the end of teaching certification, which requires soon-to-be-teachers to teach during the day for free, then attend classes at night. This essentially means there's no feasible way for student teachers to make enough money to cover living expenses unless they forego their sleep. Mrs. Frazzled says that in the spring of her student teaching, she had a major life event that resulted in her looking for a new place to live on virtually no income.

@mrs.frazzled Replying to @Kubi ♬ original sound - frazz

"On the heels of this happening, I'm starting my first year as a teacher. And you do not get paid for the first month that you teach, so nine months, no work. Summer, very minimal work. Then you start school, and you need to have a fully furnished and ready classroom, because if you've seen a government-sponsored classroom, you know it is very barren in there."

The woman reveals that she couldn't afford to live in the area where she taught, so her commute was anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. She also confesses that the only reason she had anything in her classroom was because "parents kinda carried me on my back financially." They purchased the things she needed, including a big, colorful rug that can run well over $500.

teacher; teacher pay; low pay; teachers; mom cries; undecorated classroom; back to school Storytime circle with kids and teachers in the classroom.Photo credit: Canva

"My first month of teaching, I was so stinking poor. I had a mattress on the floor, no refrigerator. I had a couch that I dumpster dove for, and I was driving Postmates after school so that I could get like $12 to buy dinner or whatever. I remember crying because I needed Q-Tips and I couldn't afford Q-Tips. I had to go Postmates for hours to make enough to buy Q-Tips. This is the reality of teaching in the United States," Mrs. Frazzled shares.

It's a reality check that some parents may not be ready to hear when their expectations fall short of the reality teachers are living. Feeling disappointed when something doesn't meet your expectations is understandable, but when it comes to classroom decor and supplies, it takes a village.

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Man writes a beautiful letter to the stylist who'd serve his wife with dementia

"To see her so happy was priceless."

Photo credit: Canva and Sara Verkuilen/Instagram

An act of kindness wasn't forgotten.

Sometimes a story comes along that reminds us of the profound beauty that can come from simple interactions, even though we may not realize it at at the time.

Sara Verkuilen was working at Hair Cuttery in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, when an older couple walked in for a haircut. "I don't think I had ever done their hair before," Verkuilen told Upworthy. "They were walk-ins."

The man and his wife were "just really cute together," she recalled. "He was so sweet with her and obviously very in love." Little did Verkuilen know how much of an impression her personal service and professional skills would have on both them that day.

The stylist shared a letter she received recently from the husband, signed only as "a grateful customer." The letter reads:

"Dear Sara,

This is a little bit awkward. But I've waited a really long time to pass this on to you.

My wife and I came in for haircuts shortly before Christmas of last year.

My wife was suffering from dementia, and you treated her as if you'd been working with dementia patients all your life. You let us sit next to each other, and when it came time for her cut you turned her chair towards me so I could watch her expression as you cut her hair.

Representative image Photo credit: Canva

It turned out even better than I thought it would.

Sadly, she died in March. And that haircut was one of the last, best moments of her life. She felt so pretty. She visited the mirror in her bathroom several times during the day and would come out beaming.

To see her so happy was priceless.

Looking back, it was likely dozens of haircuts you gave that day. But one which revitalized a woman's sense of self and her singular beauty. I hope you always realize the power of your profession.

It's so easy to take things like that for granted.

Sincerely,

A grateful customer"

Verkuilen said she wishes she could contact the man to thank him. She doesn't remember the couple's name and the letter didn't give any personal information, but it meant a great deal to her to receive it. She says she'd been feeling kind of stuck and bored in her career, which she had been in about eight years, and this letter gave her the boost she needed. She also hopes seeing the letter helps clients understand that stylists don't "just cut hair."

stylist, hair salon, kindness, beauty, dementia Stylists do more than just cut hair.Photo credit: Canva

"Receiving this letter was a huge reminder why I do what I do," she said. "It's an amazing feeling seeing someone look in the mirror after a transformation and smiling. Seeing how beautiful they feel, how confidence levels change. But it's an extremely difficult career. I get burnt out easily. I hope this letter can restore faith in other stylists that are maybe doubting if this career is right for them. We touch more than hair and I hope all the stylists out there realize how important they are and how what we do can have such an impact on our clients."

Caring for a loved one with dementia is never easy, and having a positive experience and interaction like this one, especially out in public, means a lot for a caregiver. But especially for this husband who wanted nothing more than to see his wife happy, it was particularly meaningful.

What a beautiful reminder to appreciate people who work in service jobs, the little things that make us happy, the "singular beauty" of our loved ones, and the time we have with them.

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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Woman gives stray cat the most Gen X name ever, and her friend can't stand it

As if?

via Canva/Photos

A woman making a "loser" sign and a shocked cat.

There are no hard-set rules for naming a cat, but if you want to follow the current trends, give them a cute-sounding human name. Over the past two years, the top five most popular cat names have been Luna, followed by Charlie, Lucy, Bella, and Leo.

No matter what type of name it is, it can also be hard to settle on one for a new cat because it’s what you’ll be calling out for the next 12-plus years. What if you name the cat Jerry, but it acts like a Sebastian or a Michael? Then what will you do? Two friends got into a spat over naming a cat, with the new owner rejecting their friend’s suggestions in favor of a term popular among Gen Xers in the ‘80s and ‘90s.


“I found a little stray cat in front of the grocery store. Super friendly but skinny and obviously abandoned,” A Redditor with the username SpecialEggSalad wrote. “My friend was with me and kept throwing out names. I didn’t like any of them. It was Ross, Beck, Tucker, Zorro… I asked her to just chill. She was getting worked up and kept asking if she could have the kitten. [It’s] My kitty. Anyway, after 20 minutes of her, just suggesting endless amounts of names…She got mad and said, ‘Fine, call him whatever you want.’ So now the cat's name is WHATEVER.”


When SpecialEggSlad announced the cat’s name, her friend “turned red in the face and she was about to cry.” It could be that the friend hated the feeling of rejection, but if she grew up in the ‘80s or ‘90s, she’d understand that being on the receiving end of a “whatever” was quite the insult.

What did 'whatever' mean to Gen X?

You see, Gen Xers were known for having an aloof attitude because, in those days, caring too much about anything was totally uncool. So whatever was more than a catchphrase was a way of life. The term became popular in the early ‘80s when Valley Girl speak expanded from Los Angeles to the world. But what began as innocuous slang evolved into something more nihilistic. In Nirvana’s breakout 1991 anthem, Smells Like Teen Spirit, where Kurt Cobain ditches any attempt at making a point in the song by singing, “Oh well, whatever, never mind.” Whatever was a way of distancing yourself from the powers-that-be, whether it was political, religious, corporate, or the media.


The term was also part of ‘90s hand-gesture culture, where people would call someone a loser by making an L with their index and middle fingers and placing it on their forehead. In Clueless, the affluent teens used two hands to merge the double Ls into a W, to signal “whatever,” with a double loser casher. Business Insider’s Emily Stewart notes that Gen X’s attitude comes from being raised as the least parented generation in recent memory. “Gen X's ‘whatever’ attitude has translated to a society that's perpetually a little ‘whatever’ about them,” she wrote.


It may be a knock on Gen Xers that they were once so nihilistic that they rallied around the term whatever, but it’s also a sign of knowing what’s important. A lot is going on in the world, and we only have so many Fs to give; it’s best to hand them out to the people who deserve them. Because when you care about everything, it’s hard to truly care about anything.

In the Reddit post, SpecialEggSlad faced criticism from commenters for naming her cat Whatever, which made it look like she didn’t care about the animal. Realizing this, she changed the cat’s name to Peekaboo. Let’s just hope the kitty grows into its name and isn’t a cat that refuses to hide, even if given an incredibly cozy cardboard box.

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A girl signed a pro soccer contract but trolls ruined her big moment. She got the last laugh.

The soccer world came to her defense, and then Skye Stout showed her stuff on the pitch.

Canva Photos

A 16-year-old pro soccer player had her big moment stolen by bullies, but fans came to her defense.

The life of a professional athlete can be exciting, even glamorous at times, but it also comes with a great deal of public criticism. When they screw up on the field or bungle a question from the media, they're bound to hear about it from angry fans. Especially high-profile athletes make headlines with every move, and every misstep, they make. It comes with the territory.

One big difference between male and female athletes, however, is that women also have to deal with critiques about their appearance. Lucky them! They'll get bullied for not being attractive enough, and also, somehow, for being too attractive. It's truly impossible for women in sports to avoid lewd reactions from (mostly male) fans.

But you'd think sports fans would have the common decency to not stoop so low as to bully a teenager for her appearance. Sadly, that's exactly what happened to 16-year-old Skye Stout.

Stout was recently signed to a professional contract with the Scottish football club Kilmarnock FC. At 16, that's a huge accomplishment and should have been an incredible moment for Stout and her family.

When the club officially announced her signing, however, cruel fans mercilessly mocked the girl's skin condition in comments and responses. The bullying got so bad that Kilmarnock had to remove the post altogether. According to AOL, Stout even deleted photos and videos on her own accounts that linked her to the team, just to make the hateful comments stop.

The whole ordeal was incredibly heartbreaking.

When word spread about the negative response, the soccer and women's sports communities decided to step up in support of Skye. The show of love was absolutely overwhelming.

One post from Soccer Girl and TOGETHXR was seen by millions of people, racking up a staggering 170,000 Likes and thousands of warm comments.

"16-year-old Skye Stout got her pro signing with @kilmarnockladiesfc overshadowed by online bullying from a bunch of men’s soccer fans and the post was taken down. Let’s give her a proper redo and show her just how positive, supportive and incredible the women’s football space really is ... Congratulations on signing your first professional contract Skye! We can’t wait to see where this journey takes you!!" the post read.

"I’ve never met a hater doing better than me. Keep going girl, keep doing your thing!!!!! MORE LIFE" one commenter said.

"Sky! You are amazing and beautiful ! All your hard work and dedication has paid off! Enjoy this moment. Well-deserved," wrote another.

"Let's not call them men, because real men wouldn't do that. Thrilled for this young woman!!! Forget those boys; they are way out of their league in so many ways," someone added.

"How you going to hate from outside the club??? You can’t even get in!!!! Hater gone hate. Go Skye Go! Incredible," wrote another new Skye Stout fan.

The story especially struck a cord with others who've dealt with bullying related to acne and skin conditions.

At this point, it's almost impossible to find a photo of Stout or the Kilmarnock FC on social media that isn't flooded with supportive and loving comments from fans.

As for Stout herself, she reportedly said she was going to let her skills do the talking for her.

Impressively, she was able to shake off the controversy and deliver a terrific performance in her pro debut for Kilmarnock FC.

At one point in the game, Stout took a free kick and sank it perfectly into the corner of the net for her first pro goal. Talk about shutting up the haters!

It's been amazing to see the sports world rally around this young girl and celebrate her incredible talent and accomplishments. Sadly, bullying and crass comments from fans is something she may have to deal with at various points throughout her career. But for right now, Stout can focus on being proud of what she's achieved and scoring as many goals for her team as possible. Go Skye!

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