Winners of the USA Mullet Championships are being crowned and it's as epic as you'd imagine
Business in the front, party in the back.

The 1980s mullet has made a comeback.
Those of us who lived through the '80s remember well the heyday of the mullet, that business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hairstyle many feel should've been left in the annals of history under category of "humanity's bad decisions."
However, the mullet has apparently been making a comeback in recent years. For some, it's a kitschy statement, for others it's a morbid curiosity and for some … well, for some it's a lifestyle. #mulletlife
In fact, since 2020, the USA Mullet Championships has crowned winners for the best mullets, offering cash prizes and a whole host of bragging rights to the child, teen and adult who sport the ultimate mullet. Say it with me now: "Yeee hawww!"
The child and teen category winners have already been named for the 2022 contest. Prepare to be amazed, impressed and maybe a little mortified.
The top spot in the kid's division went to Emmitt Bailey of Menomonie, Wisconsin, with his spikey-curly combo mullet. In second place, Epic Orta—yep, his name is Epic—came rolling in from La Joya, Texas, with some tousled, epic ombre action. And finally, William Dale Ramsey of Pataskala, Ohio, came in third. (If that kid doesn't go by "Billy," then nothing in this world makes sense anymore.)
The USA Mullet Championships Kid's Division winners.
USA Mullet Championships/Facebook
It's the wraparound sunglasses that really bring out the mulletness on all three, isn't it?
Moving on to the teen division, another Wisconsinite took the top prize. Cayden Kershaw of Wausau barely eked out a win with less than 20 votes separating him from second place. Gotta say, that big feathered action up top perfectly harkens back to the true '80s mullet. Second place winner Fisher Monds came in a solid, though, representing Florida with those gorgeous sun-tipped curls. And Max Weihbrecht, yet another Wisconsinite (what's with the mullets, Wisconsin?), came in third.
(Personally, I think it was the aviators that lost it for him. Get that boy a pair of wraparounds—he's got a bright mullet future ahead of him.)
The USA Mullet Championships Teen Division winners.
USA Mullet Championships/Facebook
People are loving the mullet championship updates, not necessarily for the love of the mullet itself but for the sheer entertainment value. Who among us has not stared in awe at a mullet before? Who among us has not encountered a dedicated mullet man and asked the ultimate existential question, "Why?"
To be fair, the mullet predates the 1980s, and not just a little bit, according to the Mullet Championships website:
"According to some historians, the mullet has been around since at least Ancient Greece, where the style was as much for function as it was for fashion. Cropped hair around the face with longer locks in the back allowed for both visibility and a protective layer of hair for your neck. Homer even described a haircut that sounds eerily familiar in The Iliad: “their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the backs.” The Greeks weren’t the only ones sporting the mullet, though. There is evidence that Neanderthals and our oldest ancestors would wear this ‘do,' as well."
Another fun mullet fact: The name of the hairstyle was actually coined by The Beastie Boys in the 1994 song "Mullet Head." The term "mullethead," meaning "a stupid person," has been around much longer, but the Beastie Boys described the mullet hairstyle in their song: "Number one on the side and don't touch the back, number six on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack." ("Number one" and "number six" referring to the clipper guard sizes on a set of hair shears.) The name stuck, and now here we are nearly three decades later holding national mullet competitions.
The USA Mullet Championships folks actually held a live mullet competition in May 2022 and the video from it is a must-see for reasons I can't really explain.
The open division is accepting registrations until August 31. We shall be waiting with bated breath to see which adult takes first prize in the USA Mullet Championships.
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."
This article originally appeared in May.