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Democracy

Where's the freest place in the world? A London think tank has the answer.

The answer was pretty surprising.

freest country, which country is most free, canada
via Global Panorama/Flickr

Where's the freest nation in the world?

This article originally appeared on 11.05.15


Which country best represents the "free world"? That was one question at the heart of a report by a London-based think tank.

Each year, the Legatum Institute ranks countries on their Prosperity Index by measuring performance on eight subindices.


Among their most notable findings for 2015 is a new global leader for personal freedom.

They rate countries' personal freedom according to surveys covering tolerance for immigrant and minority communities, civil liberty and free choice, and citizens' satisfaction with their freedom of choice.

study, research, welfare, health

A mapping out of what creates personal freedoms.

Image by the Legatum Institute.

So which country is our new beacon of freedom?

liberty, happiness, Canada, universal rights

Dancing Canada.

assets.rebelmouse.io

That would be Canada.

The Canucks ascended five places since the previous year to take the #1 seat for personal freedom.

They took the top spot because over 92% of survey respondents said they believe Canada is both welcoming to immigrants and "tolerant" of ethnic minorities, and 94% feel they have the freedom to shape their own futures.

Canada ranks sixth overall for prosperity and holds the second highest rank for education. Their lowest score was in the subindex for entrepreneurship and opportunity, which could change under the leadership of Canada's newly-elected prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

Others in the freedom top 10 include New Zealand, Norway, Luxembourg, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and Uruguay.

What about the United States?

It is the self-proclaimed "land of the free."

America, freedom, countries, rights

All-American Benedict Cumberbatch.

Happy Bbc GIF/Giphy

You're not fooling anyone, Cumberbatch.

The U.S. climbed seven spots from its 2014 rank, just barely squeezing into the 90th percentile for personal freedom at #15. And though it remains the world's richest country, it ranks 11th overall for prosperity.

The U.S. was the subject of another one of Legatum's top-line findings for becoming less safe, sliding down three places to #33 for the safety and security subindex.

The world's highest-ranked country for overall prosperity is Norway. But that's old news. The quasi-socialist Scandinavian state has held the post for the last six years.

Today, the maple leaf is a global symbol of freedom.

Let's let it ring to a tune by one of Canada's most iconic sons, Neil Young:

Here are the full 2015 Legatum Institute Prosperity Index rankings:


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Joy

A woman accidentally said, 'Love you!' to an important client. His response was perfect.

He even followed up with a heartwarming e-mail.

Photo credit: Canva

Saying "I love you!" by accident is one of life's most cringe moments.

For many of us, telling our friends and family that we love them is second nature. Every time someone leaves the house, "Love you!" Before bed at night, "Love you!" Getting off a call with them, "Love you!"

That's all well and good until that sweetly ingrained habit spills over into your work life. Especially when you're talking to an important client, where the boundaries of professional conduct are particularly important to uphold. (Do you feel the cringe coming?)

I Love You Elf GIF by MOODMANGiphy

A woman shared an oh-so-human story about absent-mindedly telling a client she loved him, and his thoughtful response has people cheering.

"Accidentally said 'Love you!' at the end of a call with an important client yesterday," wrote a Reddit user. "I heard him giggle as I hung up, and I was mortified. Today, I saw he emailed me this:"

The email began, "Hey—Just wanted to say that I didn't mean to laugh at you when you accidentally signed off on our call with a 'love you.' I just found it funny because I've definitely done that before, and I know it happens."

Okay, phew, he understood that the laughing was mortifying and he wasn't bothered by the "love you." But then he added the absolute best thing he could have said about the situation:

"I'm glad you have enough love in your life that that response comes naturally. If anything, you should be proud of that. :)"

Then he mercifully resumed their professional conversation. "Have a great weekend! We'll follow up about my call with Chris on Wednesday, as discussed."

embarrassing story, saying I love you on accident, workplace stories, professional communication"Love you!" Oops.Photo credit: Canva

He didn't just ignore the elephant in the room and let it hang over her like an awkward cloud. He put her at ease, letting her know he's done it before and it happens and is no big deal. But then he took it a step further, adding a deeper human layer to the moment by acknowledging the fact that the words flowing so automatically and easily for her meant she was surrounded by love.

The client's emotional intelligence and thoughtful response warmed people's hearts.

"What a great and respectful response. He is completely right, it’s such a beautiful thing to have that much love in your life that it comes out naturally."

"You work with good people."

"Honestly, this made my day 😂 It's so wholesome how they responded. Shows that a little kindness (even accidental) always leaves a good impression!"

"Such a classy response. Made you feel at ease while staying professional and moving the conversation forward."

"Green flags from that client."

Green Flag GIF by The Last Talk ShowGiphy

People also shared their own similar experiences with blurting out accidental "love you"s and it was a veritable love-fest:

"I told my supervisor I loved her at the end of our weekly touch point call - she chuckled and said she loved me too. We shared a good laugh. I am happy to see empathy from a random human, it is much needed."

"I said 'love you' to my new boss at labcorp when she called me to tell me I passed my drug test. Same thing, hanging up, not thinking, she gave me my results and my start date to come in for orientation and I ended the call with 'bye love you!'"

"Back in the day I straight up called one of my bosses mom. It was so embarrassing I almost died."

"A surprising number of people have done this at least once. Happens when you’re distracted and tired. My ex husband (a prosecutor) accidentally ended a phone call with 'I love you' when talking to a rural county sheriff in the middle of the night."

Embarrassed Hide GIF by florGiphy

"I had a coworker say 'love you,' just as we were about to hang up. There was an awkward pause, clearly neither of us had hung up, then he added, 'Don’t tell my wife.' We both laughed and finally disconnected."

"I did that with my ex husband last Thursday, we both burst out laughing lol. Happily we get along great and he and his fiancée are attending my wedding next week."

"Was on phone with my boss right after he had called his wife. He ended the call with "love you." Had so much fun telling him that while I cared for him, I didn't think it was love."

Embarrassing moments don't have to ruin your day—in fact, when handled like this client, they can turn into beautiful moments of human connection. This kind of relatability, empathy, and emotional intelligence makes us all feel better about our shared humanity, oopsies and all.

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Woman on flight sees something wrong with seatmate, stands up to clear the aisle for final goodbye

There's still good in the world.

Screenshots courtesy of Hailey Sand

Woman clears aisle on flight to help passenger see dying grandfather

Even when your life feels like it's falling apart, other people's lives are still going on as normal. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop because tragedy strikes someone's family, but recently on a United Airlines flight, one woman had a pretty close equivalent. Hailey Ann Sand recently took an unexpected trip after finding out her grandfather was being placed on comfort care as he was nearing the end of his life.

Sand knew she wanted to be there for his final moments, so she booked a last-minute flight and headed out. What was supposed to be a smooth trip wound up being stress-inducing due to the flight landing behind schedule. The airline was aware that some passengers had connecting flights taking off in a few minutes so they made the announcement asking for passengers to extend courtesy to those with tight connections.

airplane, flight airport, airplane passenger, sky, commercial jetblue and white airplane in the sky during daytime Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

Sand was one of those with an extremely tight connection when the flight landed in Denver, but as airline passengers often do, many stood up, not allowing others to get off the plane first. It was then that the grieving granddaughter was reminded that there are still good people in the world. The woman shares in a video that she was in seat 31A and another woman, whom she didn't know was in seat 31B noticed the urgency on Sand's face prompting the woman to inquire if something was wrong. After Sand explained that she was in a hurry to catch her next flight so she could be there with her grandfather in his last moments, the stranger sprung into action.

Sand's connecting flight was scheduled to depart in 25 minutes but the aisle was completely blocked. That is, until her seatmate got everyone to clear it.

airports, airplanes, denver, foot traffic, takeoff, airport gatePeople walking inside an airport. Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

"You didn't owe me anything but you stepped out in the aisle and you announced very loudly to everybody to please step aside so that I can get off the plane in a timely manner," Sand says hoping her words reach the woman who helped her. "We landed 25 minutes before my next flight was supposed to depart, and it was a 22-minute walk across the Denver airport. We flew into gate 73ish, and I was flying out of 12. I had to walk all the way across. I just want you to know that I made that flight and I got to be there last night. And I got to tell my grandfather how much I loved him and he got to tell me back and he understood what I was saying."

The grieving granddaughter was able to be there along with the rest of her family until her grandfather passed. She continues the video with an emotional thank you to the stranger saying that her act of kindness changed her life, hoping the video would reach the kind stranger. While the video didn't reach her, the video did reach United Airlines causing several flight attendants and crew to reach out to Sand. Through some detective work, they connected her with a relative who connected her with the stranger, Katie.

@haileyannsand @United Airlines ♬ original sound - Hailey Ann

Turns out Katie wasn't just an average passenger, she's a hospice nurse who deeply understands a family's need to be together during someone's final hours. Sand tells Upworthy it look less than 24 hours to track Katie down and get in touch with her. While the flight they shared was from San Antonio to Denver, Katie just happened to be traveling from work and isn't from either city and Sand lives in San Antonio but is from Washington. The chance seating assignment seemed meant to be.

Once Sand reached her family she left her chance encounter with a hospice nurse to feel the warmth and comfort of the hospice nurses at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, Washington, "They did an excellent job for my grandfather in his final moments but also my whole family in helping us through a difficult time."

@haileyannsand @United Airlines ♬ original sound - Hailey Ann

Sand shares that her grandfather was "a husband of 62 years, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a brother, a friend, a mentor. He served in the Army and worked his whole life as a farmer. He was the most hardworking man. He loved to travel and has been all over the world. He was very involved in his community, and the world would be better with more people like him in it."

While the woman hoped the video would reach the passenger that helped her on the plane, she likely didn't expect it to reach over 9 million people but since it has she hopes people leave her video with a message of kindness.

"I hope this story continues to resonate with people and inspire them to love each other more, and think twice when the flight crew asks you to stay seated so that people who have a tight connection can get off the plane. You never know why someone is traveling and it’s not always for a happy reason."

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Pets

Woman builds an elaborate hotel in her yard for stray cats to stay cozy through the winter

People are calling it "Hotel Catifornia" and "The Fur Seasons."

Images via Canva

A woman in China provides a cozy home for stray cats in her neighborhood.

When winter comes around, people may wonder how stray animals stay warm and safe. Stray cats in particular are highly adaptable creatures and their home is the great outdoors, so most of the time there's not much that people need to do to protect them. But when temperatures dip to dangerous levels, caring humans naturally want to make sure strays have a place to go to get out of the harsh elements.

One woman has taken that desire to a whole new level with an elaborate cat apartment she built for the many stray cats in her neighborhood. We're not just talking about a shelter–it's like luxury hotel living for her feline friends. The apartment has multiple rooms, cushy blankets that get taken out and cleaned, and even a temperature-controlled water source so they're always able to find drinking water in frigid temps.

Check this out:

The woman who built the apartment actually lives in China and was sharing her videos on TikTok, but it seems her account has since been deactivated. This hasn't stopped people from talking about her and her impressive project, though. This thread on TikTok contains updates about the cat hotel from people finding and reposting the adorable story.

Welcome to the Meowtel Catifornia

Of course, the clever hotel jokes and puns started rolling in first thing:

'Welcome to the hotel catifornia."

"Such a lovely place."

"They can check out any time but they won't ever leave ^^"

"I prefer Hotel Calicofornia."

"Meowriott."

"Given my skill, mine would be more like Meowtel 6."

"Pawliday Inn.'

"The Fur Seasons."'

"Meowne Plaza."

People loved seeing the care and ingenuity she put into the "meowtel," as well as how happy the cats seem with the arrangement. In fact, some people were sure their own house cats would move out just to go live in this kind of cat commune.

"My cat just looked at me and sighed…"

"All the neighbours be looking for their cats and they’ve bailed to live at the kitty motel."

"They’d pack their little bags and move in without a second thought."

"They wouldn't even wait to pack their bags."

"Alright Carol it’s been real but we’re gonna head out. Found a great deal on a luxury apartment so yanno… take care."


Cats live where they want when they want

cats, stray cats, pet cats, felines, kittiesKitten snuggled in a person's arms. Image via Canva.

Those people may have been joking, but several others shared that their cats really did ditch them to go live with neighbors who had more desirable living situations.

"I’ve had two cats do this. One was annoyed at our second dog’s puppy energy so she moved in with an older lady a street over. We used to see her all the time until she passed. The other missed our kids being little so she moved next door where there’s a little girl. We talked to both neighbors and said if they get sick of them to let us know and we’ll take them back but both lived the rest of their lives with their new families."

"One of our cats moved next door because he loves children and wanted to be with the little girl next door. Because it’s a very small village, he goes to the school most days to wait for her and they come home together. School is 3 buildings away."

"We had a cat do the same thing about 20 years ago. She hated the barks of our new puppy and would put her paw on his mouth to try and stop it. One day, she slipped outside and I found her a month later, two streets over, hanging with a couple who didn’t have a dog. They said she just showed up at the door and moved in. I gave them all her cat food and hope she had a nice quiet life."

Is it a bad idea to feed and shelter stray cats?

cats, stray cats, feeding cats, feral cats, shelter catsCats eating kibble on the street.Image via Canva

People have differing opinions about whether it's good to feed stray cats or not, as cats can cause problems for local wildlife and it's not great to encourage an increasing stray cat population. According to Catster, in the United States alone, an estimated four billion birds and 22 billion mammals (such as mice, voles, rabbits, and shrews) are killed annually by both domestic and stray cats. In Canada, cats are the number one of killer of birds, killing "between 100 and 350 million birds every year." These numbers are staggering, but the bird and small mammal populations can be protected if stray cats are cared for responsibly: namely, spaying and neutering those in your area to cut down on the population and finding homes for those who are friendly and comfortable with humans.

According to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, here are the best practices for feral and stray cats:

- Spay/neuter to prevent additional litters

- Find homes for friendly cats

- Feed outdoor cats on a schedule

- Remove food & dishes when they are done eating

- Pick up scraps and keep the feeding area tidy

- Provide fresh water

- Provide a warm place for the cats to sleep

So, go ahead and care for those kitties and keep them warm through the winter—just make sure they can't make any more kittens.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Couple includes 19-year-old dog in emotional wedding ceremony days before crossing rainbow bridge

"As much as it's our celebration, it's a celebration of Jack as well so everyone we love can say goodbye."

jamierossweddings/Instagram (used with permission)

Senior dog Jack is part of his owners' wedding ceremony days before he will cross the rainbow bridge.

Dogs are more than pets—they are family members. They are there for big life events and the mundane days. For couple Ryan and Libbee, their wedding day would not have been complete without their 19-year-old dog, Jack. It was a bittersweet day of celebration—and one of Jack's last with them.

Wedding videographer Jamie Ross (@jamierossweddings) shared in an emotional video on Instagram the story of how Ryan and Libbee chose to honor their pup Jack on their big day, allowing family and friends to say their final goodbyes (and "good boys") at their ceremony.

"I don’t usually get emotional at weddings these days—I stay pretty focused on filming, but this story got me," he captioned the video. "When I arrived on the wedding day, it was immediately clear how much Jack meant to his Ryan & Lib, and I knew I had to capture whatever I could."

In the video, it begins with bride Libbee sharing about Jack. "So Jack, he's 19. He turned 19 three weeks ago. And he's going to go to Heaven on Monday. So this weekend, as much as it's our celebration, it's a celebration of Jack as well so everyone we love can say goodbye to him," she says. Scenes from the wedding day are played as the couple cuddle and kiss Jack together.

She explains that Jack traveled everywhere with them all over the world. "I feel like he's touched a part of everybody's lives in his 19 years, so celebrating him," she added.

In another clip, Ross captured the couple's vows, which included a special anecdote about Jack. Groom Ryan says, "And even though our trio is about to become a duo, I know it won't be long until we are filling the backseat again," he says through tears.

Groom Ryan (@ryandyer21) shared more about what it meant for Jack to be a part of their special day in the video's comment section. "@libbeedyer and I are so blown away by all the love and amazing comments from so many people! I’m sure Jack would be absolutely thrilled by all the attention. We hope he’s watching us from up above while working through an endless pile of bones 🦴 🤍," he wrote.

Following the wedding, Ryan shared a post following up on Jack's final journey. "Earlier today we had to say the hardest of goodbyes to our beautiful boy. Over 19 years of the most amazing memories that we’ll cherish forever. So incredibly grateful for the time we had but it will never be enough," he wrote.

In the carousel, he shared a photo of them holding Jack's paw in his final moments. "Navigating through this next phase of life won’t be the same without you. You’ll always have a piece of our hearts 💔 Rest easy our forever best friend ❤️," he added.

The couple's emotional wedding video got an overwhelming response from viewers in the comment section. "Crying 😭 this is such a beautiful tribute to Jack. Rest easy sweet boy 🤍," one wrote. Another shared, "This has ruined me 💔🥺🥺 what a special family ❤️." Another viewer commented, "Jack said: my life is complete, these two are going to do so well together and they will have lots more pups in their life, approved and sent by me 🥹🥹🥹🥹."

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Schools

Behold! The authentic recipe for '80s school cafeteria rectangle pizza.

Now you can make the rubbery but nostalgic pizza from the comfort of your own home.

Canva Photos & U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Everyone who came of age in the 80s and 90s remembers rectangle pizza.

If you grew up in the '80s or '90s, I'd like you to close your eyes. In your mind, you are now back in your elementary school cafeteria. You're walking past all the tables full of other kids, trying not to trip or pee your pants or do anything else embarrassing that will submarine your reputation for the next decade. You approach the line and grab a tray, and the kindly lunch lady takes it from you and serves you up a heaping portion of today's main course. What is it?

If you're like most millennials and Gen Xers, you're almost certainly thinking of that very specific rectangular, and more than a bit rubbery, pizza. Doesn't matter if you grew up in Los Angeles, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Boston, or anywhere in between. It doesn't even matter if your parents packed your lunch. You remember eating this pizza almost every single day of your youth. And while the local Papa Johns or boutique Neapolitan pizzeria is fine, deep inside, you yearn for the square. It's the one that taught you how to love pizza. Was it good? It doesn't matter. It made you who you are today.

'80s and '90s kids, you're in luck. Clever Internet sleuths have uncovered the original recipe for the school cafeteria pizza of yesteryear.

pizza, school, school lunch, food, recipes, youth, 80s, 90s, nostalgia, 80s nostalgia, 90s nostalgiaThe only thing more influential to the public image of pizza than school lunch were the Ninja Turtles.Giphy

The Internet Archive has been quietly collecting documents for years now from a little government agency called the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service division.

They have pretty boring names, like this one from 1988 called "Quantity recipes for school food service." But inside these hand-scanned handbooks is an absolute treasure trove, and that's where some fine citizen initially discovered the Holy Grail: Pizza with Cheese Topping.

Behold. If you've ever wanted to recapture the whimsy and imagination of being a child in the '80s, you can now do it in your very own kitchen. Here's the exact recipe.

pizza, school, school lunch, food, recipes, youth, '80s, '90s, nostalgia,' 80s nostalgia, '90s nostalgiaI'm convinced it was the marjoram that captured our young hearts all those years ago.U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

After all these years, we now know that the secret "sauce," figuratively and literally, is: dehydrated onions, garlic powder, black pepper, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, marjoram, and thyme.

I'm no Gordon Ramsay, but the key ingredient to me seems to be marjoram. That's an herb from the mint family that's not exactly a staple in most people's kitchens at home. It must be what gave school pizza the little extra kick that helped it claw its way deep into our hearts and brains for decades.

Of course, to get the full effect of Pizza With Cheese Topping, you'd have to find a way to source the same ingredients. And obviously, different school districts across the country may have cooked up their own versions of this basic formula.

But this is a pretty spot-on approximation.

pizza, school, school lunch, food, recipes, youth, 80s, 90s, nostalgia, 80s nostalgia, 90s nostalgiaThere are a lot of memes and jokes about how school lunch in the 90s wasn't very healthy, but these stats aren't too bad.U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

If you're intrigued but don't actually feel like going through this process yourself, don't worry. Someone on Reddit went through all the steps recently and posted their results. A quick reminder for anyone bold enough to try this at home: The recipe above created five full-size sheet pans of pizza, or 100 slices. It uses three pounds of tomato paste and a whopping 12 pounds of mozzarella cheese.

When properly scaled, the final product looks something like this. Cowabunga, dude!



The handbook from 1988 also includes such coveted recipes as Salisbury Steak, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Meatloaf, and Mac and Cheese. Put it all together and you've got pretty much the entire school lunch menu of our youth.

Experts say food is one of the most powerful things on the planet when it comes to memory and nostalgia. Why? Bond University writes, "Food.. engages multiple senses: taste, smell, texture, sight and sound."

Smell, in particular, is extremely closely linked to the part of the brain that forms strong, vivid memories. To this day, sometimes I'll smell something that reminds me of middle school, and I don't know why—maybe it was the body spray someone wore or the subtle smell of the school. Food is just like that, but even more potent. It also brings with it other memories of friendship, love, family, or even negative memories of being bullied or feeling left out.

All kidding aside, your memories of school lunch (and rectangular cheese pizza in particular) may not be all sunshine and roses. But I'd be willing to bet they are some of the most vivid and stubborn memories you have. It could be fun to spend an evening recreating the smells, textures, and tastes to see what kind of other memories it stirs up.

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