The Dinotes' hilarious skeletons.
The Dinote family of San Antonio, Texas, inadvertently started a tradition in 2020 when they purchased two human skeletons and a skeleton dog to decorate their lawn for Halloween. Steven Dinote told KSAT they jokingly propped one up against a lawnmower, which gave his wife, Danielle, the idea of making the skeleton walk the dog the next day.
This led to a competition where the family members try to outdo one another with funny ideas.
"It started as a joke in October 2020 when everyone was home during the pandemic," Steven told Today. The displays became must-sees for the people in the neighborhood who would stroll by their house to see what the skeletons were up to each day.
“We didn’t realize how popular it got … we had neighbors all of a sudden walk on up and say ‘We love your display, we purposely change our walks just to see what you got,’” Dinote said. Since 2020, the skeleton display has expanded to four adults, a kid, a dog, a cat and a piranha-like fish.
via Oscar Carrero
The family says it takes between 20 minutes to an hour to set up the scenes daily. They put everything together in the morning, but sometimes have to do a bit of preparation the night before.
The family has even set up a Facebook page, Skeleton House of San Antonio, where people around the world can keep up with the family’s antics. Last year’s scenes included couples’ yoga, a rock band and painter Bob Ross giving a painting lesson.
This year started with a scene of the skeleton family returning from vacation to celebrate the holiday. “Boo!! We’re back!!!” a sign on the lawn read. What a great way to kick off the season.
via Oscar Carrero
This scene of the skeletons golfing was so detailed that the Dinotes' neighbor, Oscar Carrero, could only do it justice by taking a video. The golf balls in the scene go all the way to the neighbor's lawn where another skeleton is holding the pin.
Here's a scene from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." They did a perfect job of recreating the ghost costumes worn by the "Peanuts" kids.
via Oscar Carrero
The boney break dancers. I wonder if they're listening to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? "See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads ..."
via Oscar Carrero
In the end, for the Dinotes, it’s all about spreading some cheer during times that have been challenging for a lot of people.
“We’re getting a lot of people coming up and thanking us and bringing a little joy. We had one person say there’s so much negative stuff going on in the news, everyone’s bitter with each other and it makes their day just to come over and see a little bit of humor,” he said. “If that helps, that makes us happy.”
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
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."