Heroes
Finally: A Mode Of Transportation That Helps Clean The Air As You Use It
Oh, so THIS is why China never hosts the Tour de France.
02.15.13
Joy
Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights
Best. Host. Ever.
03.27.23
@penslucero/TikTok
Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights
Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.
Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.
However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.
Then one night, the knock came.
In a video Lucero posted to TikTok, which now has over 12 million views, we hear Martin ushering her out to take a peek. Then we see Lucero’s face light up just before seeing the sky do the same.
“I thought it was a prank,” the onscreen text reads in the clip. “And then I see it….”
Watch:
@penslucero Replying to @PatriotFamilyHomes ♬ Golden Hour: Piano Version - Andy Morris
“I was mostly in awe of what this Earth is capable of,” Lucero recalled. “I never expected it to be THAT beautiful for the naked eye.” This is a hopeful sentiment against the widely accepted notion that the northern lights are often better looking in photos than they are in real life.
As Lucero asserted in a follow-up video, “Our video doesn’t do it justice at all…I would argue it’s even better for the naked eye.”
Others were quick to back Lucero with anecdotes of their own experience.
“It’s definitely possible to see it like in the pics. I saw it this winter in Norway, there was bright green, purple and so much movement.”
“They’re so much better in person, the way they dance and move around is insane and beautiful.”
Of course, if you ask Martin, who everyone agreed was the best host ever, seeing guest reactions of pure wonder and joy is even “better than the lights themselves.” But still, he can’t deny that there’s a breathtaking magic to it all. He shared with Upworthy that “Sometimes it feels like it will pull you up in the sky like you are in the middle of it. I wish everyone would have the chance to witness it.”
A photo from Martin's Airbnb listing
When it comes to tips for actually seeing the northern lights, Martin admits it still mostly comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Luckily, his Airbnb listing can help with that.
Nature has a great way of reminding us that beyond the distractions and distresses of modern life, there is sublime beauty waiting for the chance to capture our hearts.
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Family
Dad can't believe it when his 9-year-old son gives him a dress shirt he sewed all by himself
"You made that?"
03.29.23
A father tries on a shirt that his 9-year-old son sewed for him.
There's always something very touching about receiving a gift from your child, especially when you know it's something that they really put their heart into creating. A video posted to TikTok by Aaron Gouveia shows that sometimes a child can give a gift that’s so surprising it’s almost too much to handle.
Gouveia, 43, is a Massachusetts father of three who posts videos as “Daddy Files” on TikTok about the joys and challenges of family life. On March 26, he posted a video featuring his son Sam, 9, that was so heartwarming it has received over 12.4 million views.
According to Today.com, Sam is a neurodivergent fourth-grader who's been teased by classmates for wearing nail polish. His father believes he struggles to get along with kids his age because they "don't understand him or his interests."
A year ago, Sam began taking a sewing class at school, and in the video, he showed his dad the blue patterned shirt he made for him.
“I got a shirt that I made at sewing class,” Sam said, holding the shirt in his hands.
“You made that?” his dad asked, astonished.
@daddyfiles Sam made me a shirt! Wow. #sewing #sewingtiktok #samsewgood #boyswhosew #parenting #raisingboys
“I did the buttons, and I did the button holes,” Sam continued. “I got some help, but I did most of it by myself.”
Gouveia then tried his son's creation on and looked at himself in the mirror. The shirt fit him perfectly. He seemed astonished that his young son was able to make something so well-crafted with so little experience. Gouveia pored over all of the details of the shirt, especially the ‘70s-style lapel.
“The collar is so unique,” he noted. He was also impressed by the box pleat on the back of the shirt that Sam admitted was “hard” to stitch together.
At the end of the video, Sam said he had his father’s style in mind while designing the shirt.
“Why did you choose this pattern?” Gouveia asked.
“Why I chose the pattern is, it just looks cool to me. It stands out to me,” Sam replied. “And it goes with jeans like you usually wear.”
The proud father then asked if he could wear the shirt out to dinner that night.
“Uh yeah,” Sam replied, beaming with pride.
In a follow-up video posted on March 27, Sam thanks people for the support he’s received and says that he’s now taking orders for shirts and dresses. The transformation in Sam is delightful because he was a little insecure when he first handed the shirt to his father. But after the overwhelming support he’s gotten in the 92,000 comments the video received on TikTok, he’s excited to share his talents with the world.
@daddyfiles Bus stop interview with my celebrity child. 🤣 Good news: Your overwhelming support made him open to doing commissions! 🪡 Thank you for 8.5M views! #sewing #sewingtiktok #samsewgood #sewingforyoupage #parenting #fashion #fashiontiktok
“That caught me off guard,” Gouveia told Today.com. “He hasn’t wanted to make things for people. You can even see in my first video, he's nervous. He has a lot of anxiety and doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. But after reading all the positive comments, he was like, ‘Well, I can do it!’”
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Pop Culture
Guy shares the reason viral gym videos need to end, and it's so spot on
"If you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all.”
03.28.23
“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand."
Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being.
However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame.
Take for instance a video shared to Reddit by u/ASTATINE_628, where we first see several cuts of a young woman at the gym, seemingly perturbed that people are continuously walking through her frame in her video.
The clip then cuts to a guy who breaks down what’s wrong with this scenario in a very clear and concise way.
“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand,” he said, noting that “for you to get upset because there’s people simply in your video going about their workout, not bothering you, minding their own business, is ridiculous.”
He certainly has a point. Of course, when personal space is actually being infringed upon, like when someone is facing harassment, that’s a different story. But in this case, as the man stated, there is no wrongdoing by simply existing.
The man then summed it all up with a short and sweet reminder about common decency. Or maybe not-so-common, since we’re needing reminders.
“Unless your name is on that gym, your filming is never a priority over other people. They pay the same gym membership that you do. If you can’t film responsibly, if you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all,” he said.
Really, this behavior stems from something larger than modern-day gym culture. We film ourselves a lot these days, and often in public. This has undoubtedly caused a shift in how we view personal boundaries in the outside world, with both positive and negative effects.
On the one hand, it can be fun and self-esteem-boosting to treat your life as one big video diary. On the other hand, we bring strangers unwillingly into our orbit, treating them as punching bags, entertainment, or, in the case of the miffed gymgoers, nuisances. We vainly stop treating other people like fellow humans sharing life on this crazy blue planet. No video seems worth forgetting that.
Even for those who have never set foot into a gym, and never will, this is a poignant reminder to not lose our humanity as our relationship with social media grows. It’s perfectly fine to tap into “main character energy.” Let's just keep in mind that really, we’re all part of the same story.
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Pop Culture
Robin Williams used the perfect gag to stop Oprah from outing Nathan Lane during live interview
“I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready.”
03.29.23
Robin Williams distracts Oprah from outing Nathan Lane.
Robin Williams was a gem of a person. The comedian knew how to keep people laughing, but as the years go on after his untimely death, we hear more stories about what a good friend he was. Recently, Williams' kind nature was the topic of conversation between Willie Geist and "Murders in the Building" star Nathan Lane on "Sunday Today".
Lane sat down for an interview to discuss his new play, and during the conversation, he reminisced about his first big role in the 1996 movie, "The Birdcage." In the movie, he played a gay man that was married to Williams' character and the pair were trying to marry off their straight son to a nice woman who had conservative parents. For Lane, the movie mirrored part of his personal life as he was actually a gay man and not just playing a part for the screen.
But this was the 90s, when being gay wasn't as openly discussed or accepted as it is today, so it's understandable why Lane wasn't prepared for a public announcement.
Lane explained that when he and Williams were about to be interviewed by Oprah, he was nervous she would ask him about his sexuality, unintentionally forcing him to out himself.
"I said to Robin beforehand, 'I'm not prepared. I'm so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I'm not prepared to discuss that I'm gay on national television. I'm not ready,'" Lane told "Sunday Today". "He said, 'Oh, it's alright, don't worry about it. If you don't want to talk about it, we won't talk about it,'" the actor recalled.
Then came the moment of truth. Oprah started to poke at the question in a joking, roundabout way and that was Robin's cue to swoop in. With Lane now providing more context, you can see Williams distract the host with his typical wit and humor in the clip of the Oprah interview below.
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Pop Culture
Man rents out theater to create incredible 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once' proposal
Behold, “Annie-thing, Annie-where, All At Once."
03.29.23
@danyo_le/TikTok
This proposal is EVERYTHING.
Some proposals have everything. This one has “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.”
Daniel Le recently proposed to his girlfriend, Annie, by renting out a movie theater for a screening of the 2022 hit A24 movie “Everything, Everywhere All At Once.” Unbeknownst to Annie, this version of the film would be cleverly edited to have Le playing key characters, all leading up to asking for her hand in marriage.
Le contacted multiple independent theaters before finding one that would accommodate his elaborate plan. Then, using a bit of editing wizardry—along with some help from his friends, who arrived at the theater before showtime to hide in the dark so Annie wouldn’t see them—he delivered the surprise of a lifetime.The funniest part is watching Annie slowly start to get suspicious, even asking, “Why is the [film] quality so bad?” followed by the gleeful laugh of realization as Le shows up on screen in full Dierdre garb, bob wig and all, followed by…well…no spoilers.
Every detail about this proposal, just like the movie it’s based on, is equal parts hilarious and sweet in all the right ways.
But the real pièce de résistance comes during the live portion (seen in a follow-up video) when Le gets down on one knee and can be heard saying, "As long as I get to do laundry and taxes with you,” a nod to an iconic line in the film.
Without further ado, watch “Annie-thing, Annie-where, All At Once” below. It’s perfection.
@danyo_le Theater proposals been done before but hopefully not an EEAAO version LOL 👀 @a24 #everythingeverywhereallatonce#oscarmovie#bestactor#movieproposal#proposal#proposalvideo#movietheater#eeaao#oscars#marriageproposal#engagement#kehuyquan#jamieleecurtis#michelleyeoh♬ In Another Life - Son Lux
She said yes—of course.
As Le pointed out, theater proposals might have been done before, sure. But folks agreed that this one had its own flavor of epic.
“THIS IS…LITERALLY…EVERYTHING.”
“It’s so nice to see men love this hard, your video and message to her had me tearing up, this is so sweet.”
“Not me crying, this is so funny, wholesome, and creative.”
“You set the bar high bro.”
"Why didn’t this get any Oscars.”
Congrats you two. May you enjoy a life full of laundry, taxes and love.
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Joy
Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin's friendship began with a hilarious exchange of mutual admiration
Chaplin teased the world's most famous physicist with his quick wit.
03.29.23
Public Domain
Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin at the premiere of "City Lights" in 1931
Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin are two of the most famous figures of the 20th century for completely different reasons, and an exchange early in their friendship sums up those differences perfectly—and hilariously.
According to the Nobel Prize committee, Einstein had only been keenly interested in meeting one person in Hollywood: Charlie Chaplin. He got the chance while visiting the U.S. when the scientist and silent film star were introduced during a tour of Universal Studios. The two hit it off, and in 1931, Einstein attended the premiere of Chaplin's 1931 film, "City Lights."
Reportedly, the men exchanged an expression of mutual admiration that demonstrated the actor's quick wit.
"What I most admire about your art, is your universality," Einstein said to Chaplin. "You don’t say a word, yet the world understands you!"
Chaplin replied with perfect comedic timing.
"True. But your glory is even greater!" he told the physicist. "The whole world admires you, even though they don’t understand a word of what you say."
The anecdote was shared by the Nobel Prize organization, but there is some question as to the accuracy of the quotes—though not the sentiment of the joke.
According to Quote Investigator, there are a few published accounts of similar quotes referring to Chaplin being beloved because everyone understands him and Einstein being admired because no one does. For instance, in October 1933, an article written by Charlie Chaplin for “Woman’s Home Companion” included the following anecdote attributing a similar quote to Einstein's son:
“We sat down to delicious home-baked tarts made by Mrs. Einstein. During the course of conversation, his son remarked on the psychology of the popularity of Einstein and myself.
"'You are popular,' he said, 'because you are understood by the masses. On the other hand, the professor’s popularity with the masses is because he is not understood.'"
In another instance, the joke was attributed to Chaplin. Einstein's physician and friend János Plesch shared in a memoir published in 1947:
"Once when Einstein was in Hollywood on a visit Chaplin drove him through the town. As the people on the sidewalks recognized two of their greatest, if very different, contemporaries, they gave them a tremendous reception which greatly astonished Einstein. 'They’re cheering us both,” said Chaplin: “you because nobody understands you, and me because everybody understands me.' There was a good-humoured pride in his remark, and at the same time a certain humility as at a recognition of the difference between ready popularity and lasting greatness."
Different biographies of Chaplin and Einstein include different versions of the story, including the one shared by the Nobel Prize organization on Instagram. Though we don't know for sure exactly what was said or by whom, it's clear that the two men shared a joke about their unique paths to fame and popularity.
How delightful that the mutual admiration of these two legends not only led to them meeting but forging a genuine, if unlikely, friendship.
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