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It's Like Visually Delicious Stuffing For Your Brain: An Animated Thanksgiving History Lesson

A lot of (United States of) Americans view religious freedom as the pillar on which the U.S. was founded. But too much reality gets lost in our patriotic reverence, including the real reason for the earliest English colony (jump to 1:03); why the Pilgrims didn't all die and why we celebrate Thanksgiving (jump to 6:32); or how far apart the practices of early colonies were from their godly ideals (jump to 9:51).

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3 organic recipes that feed a family of 4 for under $7 a serving

O Organics is the rare brand that provides high-quality food at affordable prices.

A woman cooking up a nice pot of pasta.

Over the past few years, rising supermarket prices have forced many families to make compromises on ingredient quality when shopping for meals. A recent study published by Supermarket News found that 41% of families with children were more likely to switch to lower-quality groceries to deal with inflation.

By comparison, 29% of people without children have switched to lower-quality groceries to cope with rising prices.

Despite the current rising costs of groceries, O Organics has enabled families to consistently enjoy high-quality, organic meals at affordable prices for nearly two decades. With a focus on great taste and health, O Organics offers an extensive range of options for budget-conscious consumers.

O Organics launched in 2005 with 150 USDA Certified Organic products but now offers over 1,500 items, from organic fresh fruits and vegetables to organic dairy and meats, organic cage-free certified eggs, organic snacks, organic baby food and more. This gives families the ability to make a broader range of recipes featuring organic ingredients than ever before.


“We believe every customer should have access to affordable, organic options that support healthy lifestyles and diverse shopping preferences,” shared Jennifer Saenz, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer at Albertsons, one of many stores where you can find O Organics products. “Over the years, we have made organic foods more accessible by expanding O Organics to every aisle across our stores, making it possible for health and budget-conscious families to incorporate organic food into every meal.”

With some help from our friends at O Organics, Upworthy looked at the vast array of products available at our local store and created some tasty, affordable and healthy meals.

Here are 3 meals for a family of 4 that cost $7 and under, per serving. (Note: prices may vary by location and are calculated before sales tax.)

O Organic’s Tacos and Refried Beans ($6.41 Per Serving)

Few dishes can make a family rush to the dinner table quite like tacos. Here’s a healthy and affordable way to spice up your family’s Taco Tuesdays.

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 22 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)

1 packet O Organics Taco Seasoning ($2.29)

O Organics Mexican-Style Cheese Blend Cheese ($4.79)

O Organics Chunky Salsa ($3.99)

O Organics Taco Shells ($4.29)

1 can of O Organics Refried Beans ($2.29)

Instructions:

1. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until thoroughly browned; remove any excess grease.

2. Add 1 packet of taco seasoning to beef along with water [and cook as directed].

3. Add taco meat to the shell, top with cheese and salsa as desired.

4. Heat refried beans in a saucepan until cooked through, serve alongside tacos, top with cheese.

tacos, o organics, family recipesO Organics Mexican-style blend cheese.via O Organics

O Organics Hamburger Stew ($4.53 Per Serving)

Busy parents will love this recipe that allows them to prep in the morning and then serve a delicious, slow-cooked stew after work.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 7 hours

Total time: 7 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)

1 ½ lbs O Organics Gold Potatoes ($4.49)

3 O Organics Carrots ($2.89)

1 tsp onion powder

I can O Organics Tomato Paste ($1.25)

2 cups water

1 yellow onion diced ($1.00)

1 clove garlic ($.50)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano

Instructions:

1. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until thoroughly browned; remove any excess grease.

2. Transfer the cooked beef to a slow cooker with the potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic.

3. Mix the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder and Italian seasoning in a separate bowl.

4. Drizzle the mixed sauce over the ingredients in the slow cooker and mix thoroughly.

5. Cover the slow cooker with its lid and set it on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the potatoes are soft. Dish out into bowls and enjoy!

potatoes, o organics, hamburger stewO Organics baby gold potatoes.via O Organics


O Organics Ground Beef and Pasta Skillet ($4.32 Per Serving)

This one-pan dish is for all Italian lovers who are looking for a saucy, cheesy, and full-flavored comfort dish that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 27 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb of O Organics Grass Fed Ground Beef ($7.99)

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 can O Organics Diced Tomatoes ($2.00)

1 can O Organics Tomato Sauce ($2.29)

1 tbsp O Organics Tomato Paste ($1.25)

2 1/4 cups water

2 cups O Organics Rotini Pasta ($3.29)

1 cup O Organics Mozzarella cheese ($4.79)

Instructions:

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks.

2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder

3. Add tomato paste, sauce and diced tomatoes to the skillet. Stir in water and bring to a light boil.

4. Add pasta to the skillet, ensuring it is well coated. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Remove the lid, sprinkle with cheese and allow it to cool.

o organics, tomato basil pasta sauce, olive oilO Organics tomato basil pasta sauce and extra virgin olive oil.via O Organics

@jennielongdon/TikTok, Photo credit: Canva

It might not be hip, but it makes sense!

Online shopping is an integral part of adult life no matter what age group you fall into. But apparently there’s one digital spending habit that didn’t make it to Gen Z.

UK-based radio host Jennie Longdon recently went viral for sharing how—despite being able to do virtually everything from our phones—folks over the age of 30 can’t seem to part with using their laptops for “big purchases.”

“Takeaway , clothes, shoes within reason, yeah,” she says in a clip posted to her TikTok. “But…a plane ticket? That’s a laptop job!”

Longdon continues to feign disgust as she imagines big purchases being made from the phone, as these items obviously require the larger screen. It’s just something that a millennial brain cannot get behind. “We cannot make a big or significant purchase on the phone. You can't browse properly."

“Bigger screens for the big things please,” her video caption reads.

@jennielongdon Bigger screen for the big things please. #millennial #millennialsoftiktok #millenialmum #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound - Jennie Longdon

But there may be some sound reasoning behind this seemingly outdated logic. According to Fluid Commerce, the average desktop provides “over 3 times as much information” as a smartphone screen, allowing for more research. Laptops might not offer quite as much information as a desktop, but they certainly offer more than a phone, and it’s just good common sense to want as much information as possible before making an investment.

Either way, most millennials seem willing to die on this hill.

“Big purchases on the computer because I don’t trust mobile apps to show me everything I need to know,” one wrote in the comments.

“Big purchase requires the big internet,” added another.

A third said, "I will literally look at the information on my phone, then go get my laptop to go to the same site to book it.”

A few even shared horror stories of trying things the newfangled way and it backfiring immediately.

“I lived dangerously the other day and booked a hotel room on my phone and it tools ages buffering at the confirmation screen and I was fuming and knew I should’ve done it on my laptop,” one person lamented.

Another wrote, "I booked a mini break on my phone once and I accidentally refreshed the page with my thumb midway through booking.”

Still, there are some millennials who are on board with the phones-only approach.

"I booked flights, accommodation, and extracurriculars for four people on my phone recently,” one person wrote. "I was so proud."

Another said, "I'm a millennial and I just booked my Vegas hotel and flights on the phone. It's.....fine....."

Lastly—kudos to this commenter, who truly got to the root of this issue by saying:

“We grew up in an age when mobile websites were terrible and we’ve never forgotten it.”

That really hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it? Some scars just never truly heal.

via COmedy Pet Photography Awards

Two funny entries in the Comedy Pet Photography Awards.

It's that time of the year again when Upworthy shares our favorite snaps from the Comedy Pet Photography Awards. We've handpicked 15 of the top 30 nominees in this year's competition to share, which include a headless horse, an angry Yorkie and a hungry tortoise.

The Comedy Pet Photography Awards were started by Paul Joynson Hicks and Tom Sullam, who are both professional photographers. They created this fun competition to highlight pets' vital role in our lives and to promote animal welfare.

While the contest is all about funny photos, it carries a meaningful message. “Through the Comedy Pets, we want to promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives," the founders say on the competition's website.


Go to the Comedy Pet Photographic Awards' website to see all 30 of the competition's photos and vote on the People's Choice Category through June 2, 2024.

Here are Upworthy's 15 favorite photos from the competition.

1. "Dancing Queen" by Vera Faupel (Germany)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Vera Faupel /Comedy Pets


"What can I say, this dog (Pepper the Pointer) loves to jump!" — Vera Faupel

2. "Cat in a Trap" by Kenichi Morinaga (Japan)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Kenichi Morinaga / Comedy Pets

​"Cat in a trap it looks like the video game Super Mario World." — Kenichi Morinaga

3. "Hard Workers" by Atsuki Ohshima (Japan)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Atsuki Ohshima / Comedy Pets

"They give their all in every situation." — Atsuki Ohshima

4. "Not Just for Cats" by Sarah Haskell (England)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Sarah Haskell / Comedy Pets

"Hector saw the cat do it...so thought he would give it a try ....and this is about as far as he got before reversing out the way he came. But the cat made it look so easy." — Sarah Haskell

5. "What am I Thinking?" by David Kertzman (Brazil)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© David Kertzman / Comedy Pets

"A little shake of the head and... where is everyone? I was lucky enough to click at the exact moment the head disappeared." — David Kertzman

6. "Grumpy Dog" by Luiza Ribiero (Brazil)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Luiza Ribiero / Comedy Pets

"Meet Nick Barry, a 5-year-old Yorkie with a special talent for hilarious expressions. This may not be his most flattering photo, but that frown is undeniably captivating — a true portrait of a dog who doesn't need smiles to win our hearts." — Luiza Ribieo

7. "Who Are You?" by Sylvia Jiang (England)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Sylvia Jiang / Comedy Pets

"Loki and a lion." — Sylvia Jiang

8. "Peekaboo" by Bernard Sim (Singapore)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Bernard Sim / Comedy Pets


"Look, ma, no eyes!" — Bernard Sim

9. "New Rose" by Jonathan Casey (United Kingdom)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Jonathan Casey / Comedy Pets

"Edgar loves to eat flowers, and her favorites are dandelions for spring, snapdragons for summer and here she can be seen gobbling a whole Gertrude Jekyll rose last September. We grow them for her and as she is elderly we handfeed her, sometimes snapping her in between bites as you can see." — Jonathan Casey

10. I Believe I Can Fly" by Julie Smith (Ireland)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Julie Smith / Comedy Pets

"Flying poodle." — Julie Smith

11. "I Think I Saw A Mouse" by Debby Thomas (USA)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Debby Thomas / Comedy Pets

"This beautiful and athletic gelding loves to try to fly off the ground! This is one of the series of leaps he performs." — Debby Thomas

12. "It's Cold" by Tammo Zelle (Germany)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Tammo Zelle / Comedy Pets

"Our dog had a lot of fun in the snow, but unfortunately ice crystals always stick to his paws." — Tammo Zelle

13. "Sun Lover" by Alina Vogel (Germany)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Alina Vogel / Comedy Pets

"This is Freddie, he was my first Hamster and probably the most photogenic ever. Freddie died recently and that's the last honor I want to pay my little friend." — Alina Vogel

14. "It's Time to Get Up" by Lock Liu (China)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Lock Liu / Comedy Pets

"Every morning, my dog wakes me up by lying on my chest until I open my eyes." — Lock Liu

15. "The Proud Pup and His Best Friend" by Darya Zelentsova (USA)

comedy pet awards, funny pet photos, photography awards

© Darya Zelentsova / Comedy Pets

"Ludo von Lickenface, the sweetest 16-year-old rescue pup, strikes a pose alongside his beloved guardian, David." — Darya Zelentsova

Representative Photo by Siobhan Kelleher|Wikimedia Commons

Elderly cats now safe thanks to adorable cat retirement village

There is an amazing retirement village now accepting guests but instead of catering to elderly people, it's designed for elderly cats. Shropshire Cat Rescue has been rescuing elderly cats that are set to be euthanized and providing them with top notch elder care.

The owner of the rescue was tired of seeing older cats get passed over for adoption and subsequently put to sleep simply because they were old so she decided to do something about it. That's where the idea for Shropshire Cat Rescue came from and they've got cats wandering the retirement village who are over 20 years old. One cat, lovingly named Cat, loves to hang out in the little "store" in the tiny cat town, while others lounge in cat condos.

Veterinarian, Dr. Scott Miller, owner of an elderly cat himself wet to visit the feline retirement community to check it out. He was impressed with how much the retirement community had to offer the cats that call it home.


Shropshire Cat Rescue is in England, but it's not the only retirement home out there for felines. A Florida couple opened a retirement home for elderly cats, too. Terry and Bruce Jenkins decided to open their home for elderly cats in their back yard, rescuing them from "hardship situations." The Jenkins' don't adopt the old kitties out, they let them live out their years cozy in their back yard.

In fact, there are several retirement homes for cats in America, but the Shropshire village truly looks like a mini town. It comes complete with stores and other town staples designed for cats to lounge about in, but humans also use the store fronts to store items for the cats.

Watch:

Shropshire Cat Rescue currently has about 17 cats and has a program set up that allows local kids to come play with the cats. The elderly cats get to socialize with humans and other cats while receiving whatever care they need. The retirement home is the last stop for these old guys so there's no effort to rehome them.

These cats simply get to live out the rest of their lives being loved on by volunteers and the visiting children. Maybe even more retirement homes will start popping up across the country.

Strangers improvise incredible dance to music they didn't know

Improving anything isn't always easy and can sometimes be hilarious, which is why improv shows are so popular. Usually when someone is improvising dance moves, there's not a partner involved and if there is, they're generally not trained in dance. Limbs are jerking or smoothly flowing to the beat while feet and hips do their best to make coordinated motions.

But Rose City Swing dance studio, which specializes in West Coast Swing, has gone viral several times for their improvised dances. What they do is take two random dancers and pair them up, while the dancers are on the floor music starts playing. The dancers have no idea what song will be played and must come up with dance moves on the spot that coordinate with their partner.

It sounds nearly impossible but one duo that got paired together make it look easy. They dance so intuitively with each other that their video has gone viral multiple times on its own.


The video first appeared on social media in December 2023 where it had over 2.2 million views. It was posted again garnering millions more views before being posted on the Rose City Swing Instagram page where it grabbed a massive 3.6 million likes. Needless to say people love this random pairing's dance chemistry.

Watch it now:

The dancers in the video are PJ Turner and Tashina Beckmann and they flawlessly devoured this challenge. People in the comments can't get enough of the pair.

"Every time this pops up on my feed I watch it like 12x in a row," one person writes.

"They're dressed so unsuspecting and then bust out the SICKEST MOVES," another says.

"Every time I see this, across my feed, I have to watch it again. And every time I watch it, I feel the same Joy I did the first time. Smiling throughout," a commenter gushes.

"I’ve watched this so many times. This is how dance is supposed to be: fun. They have such an incredible ease. I want to take a class," someone else writes.

The dance studio is in Portland, Oregon if you're wanting to give it a try but there are no promises you'll be this smooth with an impromptu song, dance and partner. Totally worth a shot if you're local, if nothing else you'll have a blast trying.


@aguyandagolden/TikTok

All of their videos are so well done.

If you’re not following Jonathan Lower and his golden retriever Teddy on their @aguyandagolden TikTok channel, you’re missing out on some grade A wholesome entertainment.

According to an interview with Fox, Lower noticed that audiences were more interested in videos of Teddy than his regular videos home improvement projects. So Lower gave the people what they wanted—extremely well edited skits, all with Teddy as the star. And now, they are both full-time content creators.

To give you a taste of what they do, Lower recently posted a video of Teddy revealing some pretty impressive piano playing skills.

In the clip, Lower drops Teddy off at grandma’s for the day, where Teddy is so moved by grandma’s piano rendition of “Beauty and The Beast” that he sheds a single tear.

As soon as grandma leaves, Teddy begins tinkering at the keys, and even pulls up a Youtube tutorial for piano playing. Teddy’s hard work pays off too, because by the time Lower gets back, he’s able to play “Colors of the Wind” like it’s nothing!

Watch:

@aguyandagolden My dog learned how to play the piano! #dog #goldenretriever #dogsoftiktok ♬ original sound - AGuyandAGolden

That wide shot at the end is particularly cool. It really does look like Teddy has turned into Beethoven. The composer, not the movie dog.

Needless to say, people were blown away by Teddy’s talent.

“Johan Sebastian Bark,” one person commented.

Another wrote, “Wow Teddy is a fast learner. When is he going on tour?”

Another just commended Teddy’s acting chops, saying he “should have his own movie.” We are past due for another movie series starring a gifted dog.

Of course, Teddy might be too busy to film, as he’s already taken on other jobs, including electrician, caped crime fighter and “dogtor.” On the bright side, Lower told Fox that they still have plenty of skit ideas to bring to life.

“I have a notebook at home with about 500 to 600 video ideas,” he said. "A lot of them are ambitious and they might take a little bit of time to come to fruition but we think of a lot of short hitting ones and easy ones that we can do now and we knock those out.”

To not miss any of those videos, be sure to follow Lower and Teddy on TikTok.