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People had lots of thoughts and concerns about the Dr. Seuss story. Let's discuss the best ones.

People had lots of thoughts and concerns about the Dr. Seuss story. Let's discuss the best ones.
Public Domain

A very simple thing happened earlier this week. Dr. Seuss Enterprises—the company that runs the Dr. Seuss estate and holds the legal rights to his works—announced it will no longer publish six Dr. Seuss children's books because they contain depictions of people that are "hurtful and wrong" (their words). The titles that will no longer be published are And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super! and The Cat's Quizzer.

This simple action prompted a great deal of debate, along with a great deal of disinformation, as people reacted to the story. (Or in many cases, just the headline. It's a thing.)

My article about the announcement (which contains examples of the problematic content that prompted the announcement) led to nearly 3,000 comments on Upworthy's Facebook page. Since many similar comments were made repeatedly, I wanted to address the most common sentiments and questions:

How do we learn from history if we keep erasing it?


A racist image in a children's book is a historical artifact, but it isn't "history." History is the recording of and study of events in the past. Things themselves aren't history. (If physically holding onto things were necessary to remember history, we'd still have segregated water fountains to remind us that they existed.)

What's happening with these books right now, though, is history. A famous author's estate choosing to stop publishing a handful of his books because they contain racist imagery is literally history in the making. It's not like the images have just disappeared altogether. Students can learn about this history with images in digital archives and museums where they can be learned from at an appropriate age with appropriate context.

Why don't they keep the books in print and use them as an educational tool?

There are at least two reasons for that, as far as I can see:

1) As Dr. Seuss Enterprises said, these depictions are hurtful. It really doesn't make sense to keep producing hurtful content in order to educate people who are not hurt by it. You don't keep punching someone in order to teach observers who aren't being punched that punching hurts. That's cruel.

2) These books are made for small children. Kids who are 4 or 5 or 6-years-old don't have enough background knowledge about the history of racism and racial stereotypes to make these books a useful tool for teaching them about racism. (That doesn't mean they don't have an impact on them—more on that in a sec.) While parents should be talking to their kids about race starting young, the imagery here is a more complex element of the topic that doesn't fit the developmental stage of the kids the books are targeting.

Imagine what that lesson would look like in a class of kindergarteners. "See this picture, kids? That's an exaggeration of racial features and cultural stereotypes that are hurtful to people of African/Asian descent. It's just one example of how racism was long accepted in America because they believed people who looked different or came from different places were inferior." That's already too much for a kindergartener to process, and that's just the basic overview. Developmentally, cognitively, educationally, they're just not there yet.

At that age, kids are just subconsciously absorbing these stereotypes. And what's worse is that they're enjoying absorbing them because Dr. Seuss's whimsical rhymes are fun and reading time is fun.

Seems wiser to just stop publishing them and use what we already have published to teach older kids, teens, and adults about the history of racism in literature.

So "WAP" song being Song of the Year is appropriate but Dr. Seuss isn't?

I'm personally not a fan of sexually explicit lyrics, but this is an apples and oranges comparison. A highly sexualized song that isn't made for kids is not comparable to problematic racial imagery in a book that is made explicitly for kids. I'm assuming (and hoping) parents aren't singing WAP when they tuck their kids into bed at night. Dr. Seuss is deemed innocent and his books are beloved. Warm and cozy childhood memories are made with books. Having warm childhood memories intertwined with racist imagery is a problem.

Dr. Seuss?!? Is there anyone cancel culture won't come for?

The term "cancel culture" is getting a bit overused, in my opinion. Criticism isn't canceling. A company receiving critical feedback and making a decision based on that feedback isn't canceling (unless you count self-canceling as canceling). I grew up loving Dr. Seuss books and read them to my kids when they were little, but I think the company made the right move.

Racism can't be perpetuated just because we like someone. If we think of this as an attack on racism rather than an attack on a person, it might be easier for Seuss lovers to digest. Ted Geisel was a whole, imperfect human being who evolved over time and left a complicated legacy. His early racism should absolutely be discussed as part of that legacy. His racist works should absolutely be "canceled" by ceasing to be published. People can debate whether or not to read his other books, but the idea that his racially insensitive stuff should continue to be published for children is a pretty gross take.

Get over it. It's a children's book.

The same could be said to people throwing a fit about these books no longer being published. The difference is that the people who are hurt by the imagery have an entire history of racial oppression—and likely a good amount of personal racial discrimination—behind their feelings about the images. The people who are offended that a company isn't making the books anymore have no actual harm to get over. Seems like the lesser offense, objectively and by far, is to stop publishing them.

Why do people even care about color of the characters? Why can't you just enjoy the stories?

Adults think kids are colorblind. They're not. Research shows that very young children—even infants and toddlers—notice racial differences. That doesn't mean that they discriminate, but they do notice race. So presenting racial differences in the form of stereotypical caricatures is a problem. It may not matter to you if you don't identify with the race being depicted, but it matters to many.

Who gets to decide what's offensive and what's not?

The people on the receiving end of racism get to decide what's racist or not. That doesn't mean there's always a unanimous consensus, but it's pretty clear when a large number of people point out that something is racially offensive. There's also research behind this decision. A 2019 study of 50 Dr. Seuss books found that only 2% of his human characters were not white, and nearly all of them were depicted in problematic ways. Whether the imagery is truly racially insensitive isn't really the question. The question is whether or not that imagery should continue to be published anew forever and ever.

Why is this just a problem now when these books have been around for decades?

It's not just a problem now. This isn't a new issue or a new complaint—the people who have been portrayed problematically just haven't been listened to in a real enough way for changes to be made until now. This is what learning and progress and growth as a society looks like. When we know better, we do better.

Yes! What took so long?

Despite the uproar, many people praised the decision, citing years of complaints about the racial stereotypes and caricatures in those books. People also pointed to the blatantly racist political cartoons Geisel (Dr. Seuss's real last name) drew early in his career as evidence that, yes, the imagery really was rooted in racism.

There's no question that some of Geisel's early work was racist. Some argue that he was a product of his time, but that doesn't make the works any less problematic. His views did evolve over the course of his life, and he tried to make indirect amends with his later books that had anti-prejudice themes, but never formally apologized for his early work. (As writer Danielle Slaughter points out, the kinds of apology statements that are standard now weren't expected in the time in which he lived, so a public apology would have been nice, but unusual.)

Some people have suggested that Geisel himself may have actually supported the Dr. Seuss Enterprises decision if he were alive today. If he was truly open to learning and broadening his understanding of race, the 30 years between his death and now may have prompted him to make that decision himself. Who knows. But undoubtedly Dr. Seuss Enterprises knows better than the average American what the author would have wanted, and they have the authority to make choices in his name.

So if people are still angry that Dr. Seuss canceled some Dr. Seuss books, they'll have to take it up with Dr. Seuss.

Parenting

Devastated dad shares why he didn't tell his 10-year-old daughter it was her birthday

“I don’t know if we made the right decision…It’s killing us.”

@kylephilippi/TikTok

“Today’s her birthday, and we’re pretending like it’s just another day."

Kid’s birthdays are both lovely moments of celebration, and potential sources of stress for any parent, for various reasons. For dad Kyle Philippi (whom we’ve previously covered for dressing up as Jafar to cure his friend of an irrational phobia), his daughter’s 10th birthday was particularly full of anguish—since he didn’t tell her it actually was her birthday.

In a video posted to his TikTok that amassed close to 3 million views, the concerned dad shared his unique plight that brought him to this unusual decision: his daughter’s birthday falls on Jan 2, over winter break, meaning most kids wouldn’t be able to attend her birthday party. Two years prior, the Philippi found this out the hard way, when they tried to throw a party on the day, and no one showed.

“She was devastated,” Philippi let out through a sigh.

Then last year, they tried a different approach. Instead of a big social gathering on Jan 2, they had a more intimate environment of just the family and one close friend, followed by a proper party once winter break was finished. At this point Philippi explained that his daughter is on the spectrum and had auditory processing disorder—so even though she had fun at both events, she still couldn’t understand why her friend couldn’t show up on her actual birthday, and was still disappointed. That’s never what any parent wants for their kid.

To make matters more sensitive, Philippi shared that his daughter was beginning to not be invited to other classmates' parties, and suspected that part of why she yearns to have a party with all her friends there was because “she knows she’s not getting to go to everyone else’s birthday.”

Hence why Philippi and his wife decided to try something new by simply not acknowledging the birthday until they can do a party with his daughter’s school friends. Understandably, though the choice was made with the best of intentions, when Jan 2 came, there were tons of conflicting feelings.

Photo credit: Canva

“I don’t know if we made the right decision. But here we are,” Philippi shared. “Today’s her birthday, and we’re pretending like it’s just another day…and it’s killing us.”

Down in the comments people—especially those with special needs kids, or were autistics themselves—were quick to reassure Philippi that he made a tough, but right call.

“As an autistic person who struggles with birthdays, you’re doing the right thing. it’s a little unconventional, but so are kids like us!! keep it up,” one person wrote.

Another added, “these ‘decisions’ are so hard but you are doing great by taking it all into consideration and trying to do what will help her feel great on her birthday.”

It seems the real thing worth noting here is that Philippi and his wife are trying to make their kid’s birthday the best it can be for her, and that’s truly admirable. Odds are nearly every parent can relate to this on some level. And for parents with neurodivergent kiddos, that can often mean navigating uncharted territory. Maybe they’ll try a different approach next year. Maybe not. What matters is they’re trying.

And from the looks of it, the actual birthday wasn’t a total wash. In a follow up video, we see that Philippi’s daughter got her favorite chicken wings for dinner, and got to plan her upcoming birthday…which will apparently be Raggedy Ann themed.

@kylephilippi Replying to @mamamcsorley1 She ate her favorite meal today and we continued to plan out her ultimate birthday party in 9 days 🙂 #birthday #parenting #parentingtips #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #auditoryprocessingdisorder #surprisebirthday #birthdayparty ♬ original sound - Kyle Philippi

Naturally, Philippi will be going as Raggedy Andy, per his daughter's request.

Internet

A 1965 invention for 'centrifugal birth' has been brought to life and it's terrifying

The invention would spin the mother around so fast that it would force the baby to be shot out into a net.

A 1965 child birth invention brought to life is terrifying

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to give birth while you're strapped inside an F-15 fighter jet doing a flat spin? Neither have most people who have given birth but that didn't stop someone from inventing something just as concerning. "The Blonsky Device," which should probably be named the baby catapult machine, was invented by George and Charlotte Blonsky in 1965.

The two were trying to find a way to help ease the process of birthing a child as the process looks incredibly painful and can take more than 24 hours at times. Their hearts were in the right place, though their idea probably should have stayed as pillow talk, alas, it did not. The couple scurried to the patent office to secure their invention before anyone else could come up with the same idea.

The Blonsky Device is certainly an interesting way to aid in helping a baby descend the birth canal. What makes the invention so peculiar? Well, doctors would need to manually strap a laboring mother to a metal table, securing her by her wrists, ankles and a heavy duty chest plate. The table then elevates and tilts before it begins to spin until it reaches 8 G-force, which is equivalent to what fighter jet pilots experience.

Flying Top Gun GIF by XboxGiphy

Yes, they planned to take a pregnant person and spin them to use centrifugal force to "aid" in childbirth. If you were worried about the baby, calm your fears. A net is placed just below the mom's feet to catch the newborn being delivered at 8 G-forces, and incase no one notices and infant being shot into the net, there's a bell that will ding to let doctors know the baby has arrived.

Aside from the obvious dangers of this invention, there are so many questions. Will the net be large enough to catch the baby? What happens if the mom has to vomit? Do they stop the table for cervical checks? Thankfully, for birthing people around the world, there has never been a reason to answer these questions because the invention never made it beyond the patent stage.


But the curiosity on how the contraption works and what it would look like has been answered by Science Gallery Dublin, who built a life-sized replica of the machine, and Hashem Al-Ghaili who generated a video of how it would work. Al-Ghaili's video has racked up 4.4 million views on TikTok with actual humans that have given birth weighing in with their thoughts on the device.

"Okay not only is that insane I don’t even wanna think of the fluids that’ll be sprayed 360°," one person says.

"Can you imagine the contraction pain and then the table is just spinning?! Bruh I’d be so mad," another laughs.

"I got overstimulated when the nurse kept rubbing my leg. I fear I'd crash out if I just started spinning out of nowhere," one woman writes.


"I felt like I was gonna throw up the whole time was in labor and I can’t imagine adding spinning to it. I would just be a mess," a different mom adds.

"Yes. Females all over the world have been birthing offspring for millions of years and a man somewhere went, 'I have a better way for women to give birth,'" someone else chimes in.

Many assumed that there was no woman involved in the invention of this hazardous contraption, but it was co-invented by Blonsky's wife, Charlotte. In their defense, they did not have children of their own and sexual education was limited in the 60s, so it's very likely they only had a general idea of how babies were born.

not ready baroness von sketch GIFGiphy

The idea came to them after they witnessed an elephant spin while giving birth. One would gather the elephant was not spinning at any level of G-force given the size and weight of the elephant, as well as...physics. This detail didn't stop the Blonskys from getting creative and thanks to their willingness to think outside the box–way outside the box, we can look back and have a giggle. No babies or birthing people were harmed.

Joy

17 Gen X memes for the generation caught in the middle

Gen X is so forgotten that it's become something of a meme. Here are 17 memes that will resonate with just about anyone born between 1965 and 1980.

Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z

"Generation X" got its name in the early '90s from an article turned book by Canadian writer Douglas Coupland. And ever since, they've been fighting or embracing labels like "slacker" and "cynic." That is, until Millennials came of age and all that "you kids today" energy from older generations started to get heaped on them. Slowly, Gen X found they were no longer being called slackers...they weren't even being mentioned at all. And that suits them just fine.

Here are 17 memes that will resonate with just about anyone born between 1965 and 1980.

Gen X basically invented "Whatever."

gen x memesSOURCE: TWITTER

Until recently, Generation X has been sitting back and watching as Millennials and Boomers eat at each other with an amused, non-confrontational attitude. But recently, Millennials and Gen Z became aware of their presence, and dubbed them "The Karen Generation."

They seem to be embracing the Karen thing.

SOURCE: X

While I'm pretty sure the "Karen" thing is not complimentary—as BuzzFeed puts it, it's meant to communicate someone who is "the middle-aged white mom who is always asking for the manager and wondering why kids are so obsessed with their identities,"—lots of people landed on a different Karen to represent the generation: the martini-guzzling, wise-cracking Karen Walker.

Get it right!

SOURCE: X

Well [expletive] me gently with a chainsaw, she's right. The 1980s cult classic starring Winona Ryder and Shannen Doherty really is the Mean Girls of the '80s and a much better term than Karen.

The disdain is mutual...

The Breakfast Club

SOURCE: X

Most of my Gen X friends have Gen Z kids and they are intergenerationally very chill with each other. However, Gen X is the generation most likely to have Boomer parents and younger millennial kids, and this meme seems to be resonating a bunch with Xers of a certain age.

A lot of Xers are enjoying the "OK boomer" squabble.

SOURCE: X

The media tends to ignore Generation X as a whole—as a few tweets coming up demonstrate—and that's nothing new. After all, they're used to it. They were latchkey kids whose parents both worked long hours, so they're used to being somewhat neglected.

"No one cares what we think anyway..."

via GIPHY

This GIF of Janeane Garofolo mocking her classmates at the high school reunion is basically a whole Gen X mood and definitely captures how a lot of this generation caught in the middle feels about the "OK boomer" wars.

A whole mood.

SOURCE: X

Gen X: "Look, don't pull us into this. You'll make me spill my beer."

Gen X: Get used to it.

SOURCE: X

Perhaps Gen X's blasé attitude to the generation wars has something to do with being called "Slackers" for a full decade.

Pass the popcorn.

SOURCE: X

Aside from this whole "Karen generation" blip, Gen X continues to be largely overlooked, and that fact—as well as their silent delight in it—is possibly one of the most Generation X things to happen.

Pay no attention to the man behind the venetian blinds.

SOURCE: X

Back in the '90s, Gen X bore the same kind of criticism Boomers tend to heap on Millennials and Gen Z now. It's not necessarily that they want to watch a cage match. It's just they're so relieved the heat is aimed elsewhere.

See?

SOURCE: TWITTER

Although this chart doesn't list the generation names, the approximate age ranges are all there...except for a big gap between the ages of 35 and 54 where apparently no humans were born? Poor Gen X (and some elder Millennials) apparently don't have political beliefs worth examining.

Don't you forget about me...

SOURCE: X

If Millennials are the "burnout generation," I guess Gen X is truly the invisible generation. I'm starting to feel inspired to write a science fiction novel where everyone born from 1965 to 1980 inhabits a totally different dimension.

There are perks to being invisible...

SOURCE: X

Being overlooked can be an advantage when you just want to sit in the corner and be immature.

Party on.

SOURCE: X

Before Brené Brown was telling us all how to dare greatly, Gen X got their inspirational advice from a different kind of Ted and his pal Bill, who taught us all how important it is to learn from history and be excellent to each other.

Too late and yet too early.

SOURCE: X

Romance—or getting lucky—was never easy for Generation X. They were the generation most impacted by the AIDS epidemic when it comes to anxiety about casual sex. Whereas Boomers had the free love of the late '60s, Gen X was about safe sex, which usually meant less sex. And even when having safe casual sex, singles in the '90s had to meet people the old-fashioned way or, if they did meet online, they felt shame over it. Now online dating is the norm.

When Gen X replaces the Boomers.

SOURCE: X

This is probably an optimistic view—because the truth is there are "Boomers" in every generation, and many of them tend to find their way into powerful positions. Let's call this a best case scenario, though.

The Nihilism Generation

SOURCE: X

There is no generation more over it than Gen X. They are ready for the apocalypse, but don't expect them to, like, help or anything!

Now we have Generation Alpha to contend with, so let's hope they're more chill about the generation wars than their predecessors. And as of 2025, an even newer generation is starting: Generation Beta. Hopefully, the fighting will have died down.


This article originally appeared five years ago.

@newenglandrunnr/TikTok

If you don't deal with anxiety, this tip might not be for you.

TikTok has been a gold mine for finding lesser known, but highly effective parenting tips, especially when it comes to dealing with tantrums. While we still have the app, let’s offer one more! Coming from a mom who goes by @newenglandrunnr, this tantrum tip is certainly unique, but makes so much sense.

Her advice, which was also something she found on TikTok, is for parents to treat a kid's meltdown “like anxiety attacks” within themselves. For her, that means whenever her son is having a tough time, she gives him an ice cube and lets him throw it in the bathtub.

“Instantly calms him down,” she said. “He instantly wants to do it because he’s able to throw something, and then the cold from the ice cube tricks the nervous system into calming down because it distracts it. [It is] the best calming technique that I’ve ever found. So if you’re looking for a way to calm kids’ meltdowns, just treat it like how you would anxiety for yourself.”

This is apparently a physical self-soothing technique that works during her own anxiety attacks, and it’s this aspect of “treating the body’s response” that works on the all-circuits firing, emotional overwhelm feeling that both anxiety and tantrums can elicit. After that is regulated, then parents can talk about why that behavior “is not acceptable,” she also noted.


@newenglandrunnr Also works at daycare because they just have him splash cold water on himself 👍🏻
♬ original sound - newenglandrunnr

While the specific ice-cube trick is super nifty, just the general concept of using anxiety reducing tactics for tantrums is genius in and of itself. Lots of fellow parents commended the idea in the comments

“It’s all about co-regulation at this stage!” one person wrote. “They are experiencing life for the first time. Regulate with them and they’ll learn skills for life.”

“It’s also teaching a healthy outlet for anger/frustration/anxiety so he doesn’t let it bottle up,” added another.

Many even shared their own similar strategies.

“My 3 year old and I have started using something similar to the Bluey episode where they gather all their angry and upset then throw it far away,” wrote one person. “It makes him laugh when I do it and then he forgets he was mad.”

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Another added, “My favorite for my oldest is to enter a complain-off and we take turns venting about all the things we’re mad about. She needs to see that I understand emotionally what she's going through.”

“My favorite tantrum advice was to say something wrong because they’ll want to correct you,” was a third option, while a fourth said, “I had a breakthrough with a kid who was known for historic tantrums when I asked her ‘do you know how to/need help calming down’ instead of just telling her ‘calm down.’”

Hopefully this bit of advice can not only help stop tantrums in their tracks, but also help parents stay sane while in the throes of them. The next time logic has flown the coop and only screams of rage remain, maybe try throwing logic out the window and opt for something else instead.

Unsweetened coffee could reduce your risk of dementia.

Reach for that second cup. Recent research from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that older folks that drink a higher intake of unsweetened black coffee reduce their risk of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia.

The author of the study, Tingjing Zhang, wanted to see if there were any associations or correlations between neurodegenerative diseases and coffee consumption. Zhang’s team of researchers studied data acquired from UK Biobank, a giant database of biomedical information from individuals living in the United Kingdom. The group looked at the health, genetics, and lifestyle of 204,847 individuals aged 40 to 69, analyzing their food and beverage intake within a 24-hour period five different times during a calendar year.

Those who consumed at least one coffee beverage were considered coffee drinkers, and out of those coffee drinkers they were further classified as consumers of unsweetened coffee, consumers of sugar-sweetened coffee, and consumers of artificially sweetened coffee if they consistently had their coffee solely in one of those classifications. This was to see if there was any variation of health data within those sub-groups, too.

The results showed that those that drank unsweetened coffee had 29% to 30% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related dementia, along with a 43% lower risk of dying from those conditions compared to the non-coffee drinkers in the study. Those who drank unsweetened decaf had a 34% to 37% percent chance of lowering their risk of those afflictions along with a 47% lower risk of related mortality compared to non-coffee drinkers. Unfortunately for coffee drinkers that needed sugar or artificial sweeteners, there didn’t appear to be any reduced risk of those diseases or mortality regarding them.

While this appears to be great news for those who drink black coffee, it shouldn’t be taken as hard evidence of correlation, at least not until further studies confirm it. But coffee can be healthy for people aside from just these potential physical health benefits.


Three people drinking coffee and laughingCoffee is a good excuse for any social interaction.Photo credit: Canva

Coffee is good for our social health. According to Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones of the University of Utah, coffee is a social catalyst that brings us together in so many different environments and contexts. It’s a great way for coworkers to take a break together, or conversely a friendly method for bosses and employees to discuss issues with both guards down. Meeting up at a coffee shop is a great first date, catch-up with a friend, or introduction to a potential new business partner. Blue collar, white collar, any collar color tends to have coffee involved in their work life.

Coffee is good for our heart, too. Not just cardiovascularly, but spiritually. Humans are ritualistic and one ritual for many is the first cup of coffee of the day. It’s usually a quiet moment to reflect and get your mind ready with that first sip. It’s the pause before the action, or for some the ritual includes grinding the coffee beans and making the coffee themselves with a French press.

A woman sipping coffee alone.Sipping coffee on your own counts as a reflective morning ritual.Photo credit: Canva

Further studies might disprove the data found regarding Alzheimer's or Parkinson’s disease, but even if that gets outright debunked, there are other reasons why coffee can be good for you. So unless your doctor tells you otherwise, have a cup of coffee with some friends, coworkers, or just by yourself. Just be careful about how much cream and sugar you add.

Hands hold coffee mugs, cheeringCoffee brings us together.Photo credit: Canva