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College student uses adorable TikTok videos to shine a light on life with ADHD

Relatable for those who have it. Eye-opening for those who don't.

Olivia Lutfallah/TikTok

A little compassion goes a long way.

Creating TikToks might be the number one hobby of choice for many twenty-somethings. But for Olivia Lutfallah, it’s talking about ADHD. Actually, she’s combined both—offering videos that shine a light on the disorder in a fun, compassionate and educational way.

She took the decision to create an ADHD-specific TikTok right before the start exams in her second year of college, and originally it was for pure recreation. “I thought it would be fun to talk about ADHD. I mean, I've had like 20 years of coping experiences. It's something I absolutely love doing,” Lutfallah shared with Upworthy. That pastime has quickly grown into a deeper purpose.

Lutfallah, who was diagnosed with ADHD when she was around 7 years old, has dealt with a number of challenges with being misunderstood, especially when it came to getting necessary accommodations in school.

She recalled having a physics teacher who wouldn’t allow her to get extra time to turn in work because she had the “highest grade in her class.” Having failed to see that ADHD affected Lutfallah’s “ability to go from the beginning of a task to the end of it” rather than her IQ, she thought she’d try to explain it another way. The next day she arrived in class with a note that read “ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactive disorder.”

“And she said, ‘well, I'm a teacher. I took these courses. I know what that stands for'. And I said, ‘I know you think you know what that stands for, but I don't think you know what it means,'” Lutfallah shared. That statement finally clicked with the teacher, who apologized and told her, “Thank you for educating me. So I don't make that mistake again.”

With the intent to educate even more people, as well as empower others with ADHD to use their voice, Lutfallah has filled her channel with entertaining yet informative videos that offer one of three things—tips for dealing with ADHD, simple insights into the disorder and lighthearted, relatable ADHD content.

Here’s a small sampling:

@olivialutfallah I’ve shown up to the lab far too many times without goggles🫠 #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah

@olivialutfallah ADHD🤝Autism #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok #autism #autismoftiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah

@olivialutfallah I know im not the only one … #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah

Some of her most popular clips are the ADHD simulators, where viewers get to really witness how those with ADHD experience the world. To put it simply—it’s a lot of noise to deal with.

Below is an example of just how many distractions can pop up within only one minute of trying to make lunch. It paints such a clear picture of the difficulties those with ADHD face when trying to focus on everyday tasks.

@olivialutfallah This is just 1 minute of what I experience everyday as a person with adhd. #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #adhd #adhdtiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Lutfallah

“By the end of it, I had watered the flowers, not put away all the groceries, didn't eat and left to go and get ready for a meeting, you know? Just because there's so many different things going on," she shared.

Lutfallah bridges the gap between folks who are neurotypical and those who are neurodivergent in such fun ways that it’s no surprise her channel already has more than 200,000 followers. It’s clear from the comments that it is really serving a need. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can be a difficult thing to explain or understand. Symptoms can be quite general—such as lack of focus or impulsivity—and indicative of other conditions, often leading to misdiagnosis.

And even with a proper diagnosis, there is still a lot of stigma surrounding the condition, primarily due to misinformation. People might be labeled as bad students or workers, being mentally defective or perhaps worst of all, as having an imaginary condition that’s completely made up.

“It's overwhelming and suffocating to understand what you're feeling, but not be able to express it to others,” Lutfallah explained. That’s why her ultimate goal is to inspire “a little compassion.”

You can find even more videos on Lutfallah’s TikTok.

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Democracy

Fox News viewers changed their minds after getting paid to watch CNN for a month

Some hope we can bridge the political divide.

Greg Gutfeld and Anderson Cooper images via Wikicommons

Fox viewers changed their minds after watching CNN

The prevailing logic in today’s political world is that polarization is worsening because people live in media echo chambers where they are only exposed to outlets that mirror their views.

People who live in echo chambers come to distrust any opinions that exist outside of their bubbles and when they're not exposed to any conflicting information. This creates a scenario where the person becomes increasingly entrenched in their worldview.

One would assume that after a person becomes fully entrenched in an echo chamber they have little chance of changing their views. However, a new working paper by researchers at Stanford and Yale universities has found that when people are removed from their bubbles there’s a chance they’ll change their minds.

David Broockman of Stanford and Joshua Kalla of Yale conducted a study in 2022 where they paid regular Fox News viewers $15 an hour to watch CNN for around seven hours a week for a month. The researchers then surveyed them about their political beliefs and knowledge of current events.

The study is titled “The manifold effects of partisan media on viewers’ beliefs and attitudes: A field experiment with Fox News viewers.” The research was done in fall 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lead-up to the presidential election.

When the participants were polled, researchers found that they were 5 percentage points more likely to believe that people suffer from long COVID, 6 points more likely to believe that other countries did a better job of controlling the virus and 7 points more likely to support voting by mail.

“CNN provided extensive coverage of COVID-19, which included information about the severity of the COVID-19 crisis and poor aspects of Trump’s performance handling COVID-19. Fox News covered COVID-19 much less,” said the study.

After the Fox viewers switched to CNN, it changed their opinions on the social justice protests happening at the time as well. The switchers were 10 points less likely to think that Biden supporters were happy when police got shot and 13 points less likely to believe that if Biden gets elected “we’ll see many more police get shot by Black Lives Matter activists.”

Many of the participants also realized that when it came to Trump, they weren’t getting the whole story. After switching to a steady diet of CNN they were less likely to agree that “if Donald Trump did something bad, Fox News would discuss it.”

“Despite regular Fox viewers being largely strong partisans, we found manifold effects of changing the slant of their media diets on their factual beliefs, attitudes, perceptions of issues’ importance, and overall political views,” the authors of the study said.

The study shows that Fox News isn’t just a media outlet that affirms its viewers' worldviews, it also feeds them a distorted version of reality that pushes them toward more extreme opinions. The good news is that some of these people can be changed when exposed to better information.

It should also be noted that Fox News viewers aren’t the only ones living in information bubbles and that there are plenty of ideological traps that ensnare people on the left as well.

The study should give everyone hope that all is not lost and that America’s political divide may not be impossible to bridge.

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Joy

15 of the funniest photos from the 2022 Comedy Pet Photo Awards

See the funniest pets in the world.

Winners of the Comedy Pet Photo Awards.

Seven years ago, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards started highlighting some of the funniest photos of the animal kingdom, and after its runaway success, its founders created the Comedy Pet Photo Awards. The goal of the annual competition is 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 competition's organizers, with the help of Animal Friends Pet Insurance, backed up that pledge this year by donating £10,000 ($11,270) each to three separate charities to help improve the lives of pets and promote their work.

Th2 2022 winner is Kenichi Morinaga of Japan with his brilliant photo of two cats sitting on a fence, cheek to cheek—or neck and neck. The photo, entitled "Boom Boom," beat out more than 2,000 entries to win the top prize, £2,000 ($2,250) cash and a £5,000 ($5635) donation from Animal Friends Pet Insurance to go toward the animal welfare or conservation charity of the winner's choice.

Morinaga fell in love with photographing street cats while on a backpacking trip to Europe.

“Suddenly, I became fascinated by the antics of cats out in the streets and had to photograph them,” he said in a statement. “When I returned to Japan, I continued to seek them out, they really cheer me up, especially after the last two years of the pandemic—they are so funny, even when they are doing something serious. This amazing competition reminded me that such gestures from all animals are recognized as being hilarious, cute and heart-warming not only in Japan but all over the world."

Here are 15 of the best photos from the 2022 Comedy Pet Photo Awards.

Winner: Kenichi Morinaga "Boom Boom" (two cats, Japan)

"Cats are bumped on the wall suddenly. It was like a cartoon. Such a funny moment." — Kenichi Morinaga

Dog Category: Jose Bayon "Nilo's Love for Water" (dog, Spain)

"Nilo is an adopted puppy about 10 months old. He was hit by a car and was barely saved. Now recovered, he has just discovered water for the first time. His capers and pirouettes show his passion for water. Love at first sight." — Jose Bayon

All Other Creatures: Stefan Brusius "Smokin' Alpaca" (alpaca, Germany)

"He looks like he is smoking a cigar." — Stefan Brusius

The Mighty Horse: Radim Filipek "Happy Borses" (mare and foal, Czech Republic)

"Happy mother and her 3 day old son Monty." — Radim Filipek

People's Choice Award: Marko Jovanovic "Dashing Through the Snow" (dog, U.S.A.)

"Carter was on a Euth list in California. We flew from Chicago to Cali to rescue him. This was his first time experiencing snow. As you can see he could believe was missing out all these years!" — Marko Jovanovic

Junior Category: Freya Sharpe "Jack the Cat Stuck in the Hedge" (cat, U.K.)

"We had gone out for the day and came home to find our kitten Jack had got stuck in the hedge!" — Freya Sharpe

Pets Who Look Like Their Owners: Judy Nussenblatt "Dave and Dudley" (dog, U.S.A.)

"This is my friend, David and his dog Dudley. During the early days of Covid, David and I took advantage of a beautiful day and we were out shooting pictures. Dudley was so excited when we got back that he threw his front paws around David's shoulders and I snapped this picture. They both look like they could use a good haircut, but it was Covid....so who cares." — Judy Nussenblatt

Comedy Pet Team Favorite: Mehmet Aslan "Chauffeur Dog" (dog, Turkey)

"This is what I saw when I stopped at the traffic lights. At first I thought the dog was really driving!" — Mehmet Aslan

Highly Commended: Beth Noble "OMG What Is That?" (cat, U.K.)

"CK shows his surprised face." — Beth Noble

Highly Commended: Christopher Johnson "Revenge of the Tennis Ball" (dog, U.K.)

"This is Star playing in the snow in a local field and getting surprised by a passing tennis ball." — Christopher Johnson

Highly Commended: Jonathan Casey "Grandmistress Candy" (cat, U.K.)

"My tabby cat Candy is ranked East Anglia #1. — Jonathan Casey

Highly Commended: Karl Goldhamer "Werewolf 2.0" (dog, Germany)

"Even a werewolf needs to relax sometimes." — Karl Goldhamer

Highly Commended: Kazutoshi Ono "Too Desperate" (cat, Japan)

"She is my lovely kitty that is rescued from my local cat care facility. This is just a door that continued to a corridor. Sometimes she jumps up and holds a door when she is too desperate to go out." — Kazutoshi Ono

Highly Commended: Kenichi Morinaga "Now, How Do I Upload My Pics?" (cat, Japan)

"I gotta smartphone so I want to upload my pics for my SNS. But I don't know how to use it. Please someone tell me how to use it." — Kenichi Morinaga

Highly Commended: Lucy Sellors-Duval "Mine, Not Yours" (dogs, U.K.)

"Benji was determined to be the one to get all the yummy treats during his photo shoot even if it meant stopping his older brother Doug." — Lucy Sellors-Duval

This article originally appeared on 9.22.22

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Pop Culture

Guy reveals why the 'old man praying’ painting you see everywhere is not what it seems

It started as a photograph.

via Wikimedia Commons

The Minnesota state photograph "Grace" by Eric Enstrom depicts traveling salesman Charles Wilden in Bovey, Minnesota.

The painting of an old devout man praying over a bowl of gruel and a loaf of bread in front of a Bible is one of the most popular pieces of 20th century American art. The piece is called “Grace” and you’ll find it in homes, churches and even restaurants.

I clearly remember there was a copy of it hanging on the wall at my corner burger joint, Mack’s Burgers, in Torrance, California, in the ’80s. Sadly, it’s been torn down and is now a Jack in the Box.

However ubiquitous the photo may be, a new video by pop culture YouTube user Austin McConnell shows that “Grace” isn’t really what it seems.

“Grace” was originally a photograph taken in 1918, during World War I, by Eric Enstrom, a Swedish American from Bovey, Minnesota. Enstrom was preparing some photographs to take with him to a convention when Charles Wilden, a salesman selling boot scrapers, came to his door, and he know he had to take his photo.

“There was something about the old gentleman’s face that immediately impressed me. I saw that he had a kind face… there weren’t any harsh lines in it,” Enstrom said. “I wanted to take a picture that would show people that even though they had to do without many things because of the war they still had much to be thankful for,” he added.

Enstrom posed Wilden in front of a loaf of bread, a bowl—which may have been empty—and a large book that many assume to be the Bible. But, as McConnell notes, the book is far too large to be the good book, as most people assume. The Grand Forks Herald claims that a receipt for payment from Enstrom to Wilden reveals that the book is a dictionary.

The photograph went on to be a huge hit at the convention and Enstrom began selling copies about town. After many requested copies of the photo in color, Enstrom’s daughter, Rhoda Nyberg, began hand-painting them in oils and added a streak of light on the left side of the painting. This is the version that people have come to love.

\u201c@BrentTerhune The artist who hand- colored \u201cGrace,\u201d a photo showing a white-bearded man bowed in prayer before a simple meal, was Rhoda Nyberg, the daughter of Eric Enstrom. Rhoda's father took the photo in his studio in Bovey, Minnesota in 1918.\n\nRhoda Nyberg died at the age of 95. in 2015.\u201d
— Brent Terhune in Akron Jan 6 & 7 (@Brent Terhune in Akron Jan 6 & 7) 1640282253

"The intent of the photo is fairly obvious,” McConnell says in the video. “Enstrom wanted an image that conveyed to people that even though they had to do without many provisions because of the ongoing war, there was still much to be thankful for. A picture that seemed to say 'this man doesn't have much of earthly goods, but he has more than most people because he has a thankful heart.'"

Enstrom convinced Wilden to sign over his rights for $5, which gave him the sole copyright. He then licensed the image to the Lutheran-affiliated Augsburg publishing house, which distributed the image across the country.

According to McConnell “thousands and thousands” of copies of the photo were sold. The image entered the public domain in 1995.

Although not much is known about Wilden, it is believed that he lived a hard life. "He was living in a very primitive sod hut near Grand Rapids, eking out a very precarious living," retired history professor Don Boese told the Grand Forks Herald. It’s also likely that he wasn’t the devout man we imagine in the photo. "The stories about him centered more around drinking and not accomplishing very much,” Boese said.

So the painting was actually a photo. The Bible, a dictionary, and the subject was more likely to be the town drunk than a saint. But, in the end, does it matter? McConnell believes that its meaning rests in the eye of the beholder.

"If you found out today that everything you thought you knew about this iconic image was actually wrong, would you take it off your wall?” McConnell asks at the end of the video. “Or would you accept that the value in a piece of art isn't merely derived from the knowledge of how it was made? Or who made it?”

This article originally appeared on 1.6.23

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Democracy

Video explains the surprisingly cool way U.S. highways are numbered

Did you know all of this?

CGP Grey/YouTube

How U.S. highways are numbered is surprisingly systematic.

A bunch of years ago, our family traveled around the United States as nomads for a year, driving thousands of miles through dozens of states. And throughout the entirety of that kind of epic road trip, I never once learned that there's a system for how our highways are numbered. It always seemed random, but it's so very not.

A viral Facebook post sharing just two basic principles of interstate highway numbering blew my mind, and also the minds of approximately 196,000 other people who shared the post in the past few days. Rich Evans included two images showing the East-West interstate highways and the North-South interstate highways with this explanation:

"I always knew there was a logic to it, but I never saw it explained so well until I stumbled upon this delightfully informative short video on how the US interstates are numbered.

Those with 2-digits traverse the entire country.

If they end in "0" they run East-West (10, 20, 30, ..)

If they end in "5" they run North-South (5, 15, 25, ..)

Those with 3-digits are bypasses and contain the last 2 digits of the interstates they bypass.

That's it! (plus exceptions ) Neat!"

It is neat, actually. But it's even a bit more complex than that, and the video link Evans shared explains it all in a clear (usually) and funny way. "The Interstate's Forgotten Code" from CGP Grey uses animation to show that the numbering system does indeed have a rhyme and reason, despite there being a few notable exceptions. (A highway system would be boring if it always followed the rules, wouldn't it?)

Enjoy learning something new if you didn't already know this:

This article originally appeared on 2.17.22

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Joy

People are sharing their favorite quote from a comedian. Here are 20 of the best.

There are some killer one-liners in here.

via Bonnie/Wikimedia Commons, Alan Gastelum/Wikimedia Commons, Underbelly Limited/Wikimedia Commons

Comedians George Carlin, Jim Gaffigan and Joan Rivers

Reddit user cutecutejames posted a great question on the AskReddit subforum: “What is a quote from a comedian you'll never forget?” The post quickly went viral, receiving over 10,700 responses on the first day. Of the countless comedians mentioned in the thread, Norm Macdonald appears to be the most quotable.

Sadly, Macdonald died of cancer in 2021, but he was famous for his outlandish musings, delivered in a dry, deliberate tone. Macdonald is best known as a stand-up comedian, but he was also memorable on television as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 1993 to 1997 and on his sitcom, “The Norm Show.”

Two other deceased funnymen were often quoted in the discussion, Mitch Hedberg and George Carlin.

Hedberg’s comedy was based on short, memorable one-liners filled with absurdity. He passed away in 2005 from a drug overdose. George Carlin is often listed among the greatest stand-up comedians of all time and was a voice of the counterculture in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Later in life, his comedy evolved into a nihilistic criticism of American life that, for many, is still relevant today.

“It's called 'the American Dream' 'cause you have to be asleep to believe it,” Carlin said.

Here are 21 of the funniest and most poignant quotes from a comedian shared on the AskReddit forum.

1.

Jabazaba wrote:

"Every time you clog a toilet, you exceeded someone’s expectations." — Unknown

2.

ShofarD**kSwordFight wrote:

"Everybody thinks they're a comedian. Especially in my line of work." — Norm Macdonald

This came from Macdonald's memoir, "Based on a True Story," a must-read for Norm fans. My favorite thing about this line is that it was a sort of random throwaway, almost an afterthought, as he was expressing disdain for a doctor who told a joke and got a big laugh from everyone else in the room.

And that doctor's joke? It was Macdonald's own moth story.

3.

NotoriousREV wrote:

“I’m not an adventurous person. I’ve only ever used one side of a cheese grater.” — James Acaster

4.

TheZMage wrote:

“I’ve started cooking with wine. That sounds so fancy, cooking with wine. What I do is I get drunk and I make rice. I tell my friends ‘come over, I’m cooking with wine.’ They come over, I’m drunk, and there’s rice everywhere.” — Kevin Nealon

5.

Biggoofydoofus wrote:

"What is it like to have four kids? Imagine you are drowning, and then someone hands you a baby." — Jim Gaffigan

6.

Mysterious-Judge-333 wrote:

"I find a duck's opinion of me is very much influenced by whether or not I have bread." — Mitch Hedberg

7.

SalveBrutus wrote:

“Cocaine is God's way of saying you make too much money." — Robin Williams

8.

NecroeJoe wrote:

"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." — Bob Newhart

9.

KingNewbie wrote:

“People say someone lost their battle with cancer. But if someone dies from cancer, the cancer dies too. I’d call that a draw.” — Norm MacDonald

10.

ElvishMystical wrote:

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, which is just long enough to be president of the United States." — Spike Milligan

11.

Active Oppressor wrote:

"When you are on fire, and running down the street, people will get out of your way." — Richard Pryor

12.

Buttflakes27 wrote:

"I was walking down the street the other day and these construction workers were working on the roof hammering away. One of them told me I was a paranoid lunatic...in morse code." — Emo Phillips

13.

ZorroMeansFox wrote:

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." — Groucho Marx

14.

Mikethereddit wrote:

"I didn't want to be Drunk in Public. I wanted to be drunk in a bar. They THREW me into public." — Ron White

15.

Heckhammer wrote:

"I know I'm getting older, my last birthday cake looked like a prairie fire!" — Rodney Dangerfield

16.

OneFingerIn wrote:

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." — George Carlin

17.

SoftwareAlert7192 wrote:

"When you got a career there ain't enough time in the world...when you got a job there's too much time." — Chris Rock

18.

Megsy73_Idgaf

"She had enough plastic surgery so that when she crossed her legs, her mouth snapped open." — Joan Rivers

19.

NotaDogIswear wrote:

"Nationalism does nothing but teach you to hate people you never met, and to take pride in accomplishments you had no part in." — Doug Stanhope

20.

Freedomdeliverus wrote:

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while.

Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, 'Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, 'Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.'

And we … kill those people.

'Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.'

It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride.

And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace." — Bill Hicks

This article originally appeared on 4.3.23

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