Guys ends up being the only one on his flight, so he decides to party with the crew
After a near 18 hours delay, everybody except for Phil Stringer had given up on a flight heading from Oklahoma City to Charlotte.

It all turned into a once-in-a-lifteime experience
From troubling double decker seat ideas to tales of horrible plane etiquette, airline travel stories are pretty unsavory at the moment. Which makes this wholesome account of a solo plane ride feel like a total upgrade.
After a near 18 hours delay, everybody except for Phil Stringer had given up on a flight heading from Oklahoma City to Charlotte. Stringer dedicated to make the best of his impromptu private flight, and it ended up being a blast for everyone involved.
Documenting the journey in a now-viral TikTok video, Stringer begins with a joke. His on-screen caption reads, “When you buy every single ticket on the plane so you don’t have to deal with people” as he walks on board.
Then, cut to: “Just kidding, it was delayed 18 hours and everyone else gave up” as Stringer explains that he is “the only person on the plane, and they have an entire flight crew” who "do not want to do this flight.”
Don’t let his self-deprecating humor fool, Stringer made friends with every employee that day. Flight attendants could barely contain their laughter as they performed a safety routine—with far more sassiness than normal—to their audience of one.
@phil.stringer 18-hour delay turned this flight into a private party! ✈️🥳 Watch how the amazing crew and I made the most of it! #americanairlines #flightattendant #airplanetiktok #privateparty #FlightFun #delayedflight #fyp #viral ♬ Makeba - Jain
Stringer ends the clip with a sweet picture of himself with the cabin crew.
Folks in the comments section were quick to remark how Stringer’s uplifting attitude probably made the flight worth doing.
“That’s probably the best flight they ever had,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Flight attendant here. This is literally our dream scenario, especially for a delayed flight. So glad you had a nice time.”
Apparently, the comedy keeps going even after the plane lands. In a follow-up video, Stringer gave an update to say that when he finally touched down in Charlotte at 4 o’clock in the morning, he couldn’t get home because his bag was missing. Like, how does that happen with only one bag on the entire flight? Mabye there really are airplane gremlins after all.
Still, Stringer optimism remains. In an interview with Insider, he shared, "I believe that your attitude determines your destination. Yeah, it was a sucky day. No one wants to stay in the airport for 18 hours, but if you have a positive view, you can turn something into a lot of fun."
Wise words. Indeed, we can’t control a lot of what goes on during our flight. But one thing we can always control is how we treat the situation and those around us. That goes double for airline workers, who not only have to deal with the stress of flight travel for a lot longer than we do, they are often the punching bag for other passengers. Simply being kind to them is enough to turn an entire flight around. In a good way, that is.
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- Woman has the best response to a toddler crying on her flight - Upworthy ›
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.