The band OK Go is out with a new music video, and if you haven't seen it, it's amazing.
Yes, that is two flight attendants spiraling through the air. GIF from OK Go/Facebook.
They're in zero-G! They're not on a green screen and this most definitely isn't CGI. They really did choreograph an entire routine — complete with flying laptops, acrobatic flight attendants, and a storm of colored floating balls — all set to a remarkably catchy song.
But OK Go definitely didn't go to space for this.
OK Go is known for doing some crazy stuff in their videos, like dancing on treadmills or constructing a musical car obstacle course, but even they don't have the wherewithal to blast into space. Instead, their latest video all takes place on a special airplane from S7 airlines in Russia that can simulate zero gravity.
A similar plane in Germany. Image from borsi112/Wikimedia Commons.
How it works: The plane flies in long arcs up and down. At the very top, right as it stops going up and is just starting to fall back down, the passengers can experience what it's like to be in space. It's like how a pop-fly in baseball will sometimes appear to hang in the air for just a second before falling back to Earth.
A lot of people have used this technique before.
In fact, you may have seen it before and not even realized it.
It's been used in movies, such as the weightlessness scenes in "Apollo 13."
GIF from "Apollo 13."
But it has applications beyond the silver screen as well. It's been used to train astronauts, for one thing.
Image from NASA/Wikimedia Commons.
And in 2007, physicist Stephen Hawking got to go for a ride as well!
Image from Jim Campbell/Aero-News Network/Wikimedia Commons.
But the secret behind this production is more than just a special plane. It also took a little video magic.
Here's the rub about making a three-minute video on this plane. Each bout of zero-G only lasts about 20 seconds. After that, the plane needs about five minutes to reset.
And, fun fact, that weight they lose at the top of the arc comes back with a vengeance afterward. Any passengers on the plane will be plastered into their chairs for a few seconds.
So while they were able to film the entire thing in one continuous shot — by pausing their actions for the non-weightless periods and snipping that out of the video — the actual trip took about 45 minutes! You can read more about how they found those amazing flight attendants, how many people it took to do this (a lot), and how many times the crew experienced stomach troubles from the constant up and down (also a lot) on the video's FAQ page.
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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."