How do you know when you've found your best bro?
You know, that special someone who truly makes your chill sessions complete? That bro who you don't even have to invite to anything because, obviously, dude, he'll be there.
The ancient rituals and traditions of dude-dude bonding are not only steeped in storied history, they're important. They're even healthy, according to science.
So how do you to know when you've found the Sam to your Frodo? The Finn to your Poe Dameron? The Ian McKellen to your Patrick Stewart? The Walt to your Jesse?
GIF via Television Academy/YouTube.
Or even ... dare I say ... the Trudeau to your Obama?
After pics of President Barack Obama palling around with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his first official visit to The White House began surfacing online, the Internet fell in love with the way the two heads of state just seemed to click.
Here are the seven undeniable signs you've found your best bro, as demonstrated by "Trubama":
1. You both support the welcoming of Syrian refugees.
Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.
A good sign you've found your bro-4-lyfe is that you both want to welcome Syrian refugees into your country. And sure, it's going to be an uphill battle for you in Congress, and you may have to make strong pleas to the country to shift public opinion, but it's about being on the right side of history, bro. You both understand that, and that's the making of a true bromance.
2. You're both super into the scientific consensus on climate change.
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Climate change is decidedly not dope. But you know what is? The scientific consensus that yes, it's a real thing. If you and your bro have acknowledged that and have made active steps to combat it through powerful initiatives, well, you may have just found yourself a best bro.
3. You can put your differences on the Keystone pipeline behind you and still bro-out.
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Sure, you think the Keystone pipeline is a regressive action that would create a small number of jobs and "undercut" America's leadership when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and he supports it, but if you can put that all behind you and just chill together, that's a damn good bro.
4. You both want mad health care for everyone.
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You love health care so much that your last name is now semipermanently attached to the word "care." You love it so much that healthcare reform will surely go down in history as one of your biggest and most lasting accomplishments. If he does too, that's a solid bro.
5. You both think marijuana laws should be way less mega-harsh.
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Hey, he might even support the legalization of marijuana. You can't quite go that far, but you both can agree that locking up kids and individual users for long stretches of time is too harsh a punishment for the stuff. That's the kind of bro-greement that only best bros can come to.
6. You both want to invest in infrastructure.
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Both of you know you can't have crumbling highways and out-of-date bridges AND have people unemployed. That's just lame. So that's why you passed a $305 billion spending bill in 2015. Look into your bros eyes. If you see that he also wants to boost government spending to support public transit infrastructure, social infrastructure, and even green infrastructure, then that's a true bro.
7. You both want to raise taxes on the wealthy.
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You're two of the most powerful people in the world. But even you can clearly see that the income gap has gotten a little ridiculous. That's why you proposed a budget in 2015 with tax hikes on the wealthiest citizens, and your bro openly supports a tax hike on the rich. In fact both of you know that it's not class warfare. it's about paying your fair share. That's pretty chill.
If you and your bro share any of these beliefs, you may have found a best bro.
So raise up your glass...
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And lets all toast to the besties in our life. The number 1 bro's. The got-your-back-no-matter-what bros.
Even if you have bros already, bro, you should probably get some more. There are endless hockey games to attend, video games to play, craft beers to drink, and Magic: The Gathering tournaments to win, and there's no one better to do those things with than with your best bros.
They complete us. They make us stronger. They lift us when we're down. And lets face it.
You look damn good together.
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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."