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His demand to be listed on his husband's death certificate could make gay marriage legal everywhere.

Sometime in June 2015, marriage equality might become the law in every state.

It all began with a heartbreaking request.

On April 28, 2015, the Supreme Court is set hear oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that could finally make gay marriage legal nationwide. All because the state of Ohio refused to honor Jim Obergefell's wish to be acknowledged on his husband's death certificate.

Jim and his husband John Arthur started dating in 1993. John was Jim's first serious boyfriend and, it soon became clear, the love of his life.

They had been together 18 years when John was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Both Jim and John knew that John didn't have long to live and wanted to be married before John passed away.

The problem was, gay marriage wasn't legal in their home state of Ohio. But they knew they couldn't let that stop them (emphasis added):

"Obergefell and Arthur devised a plan that July: With $13,000 raised through family and friends, the pair chartered a medical Learjet to Maryland, where they could be legally wed on a Baltimore airport tarmac.

Arthur's aunt, who became ordained online, officiated a 7-1/2-minute ceremony inside the small plane. The grooms exchanged vows and rings." — NBC News

They were finally married, but their home state still didn't recognize their marriage.

They both knew time was running out. So Jim took the state of Ohio to court to try and force them to list him as John's husband on the documents that certified John's death.

But, sadly, John passed away before the case could be resolved.

To honor John's memory, Jim kept on fighting.

Joined by three other plaintiffs from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Michigan, Jim is asking the Supreme Court to order Ohio to recognize his marriage.

This is, by far, the most important marriage equality case to date.

Even more important than the two landmark cases the Court has addressed in the very recent past.

In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court dismissed anti-gay groups' defense of California's Prop 8 due to lack of standing (basically, a fancy way of saying that the people who wanted Prop 8 to stand have no reason to care who gets married to whom and should butt the hell out) and re-legalized marriage in California.

In United States v. Windsor, the Court struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which paved the way for the wave of circuit court rulings that made gay marriage legal in 37 states.

But there's a strong chance that gay marriage will become legal everywhere if Jim and the three other plaintiffs prevail.

Which, in the immortal words of the vice president of the United States...

...is a big (bleeping) deal. For millions of Americans.

And if the Supreme Court finally makes marriage equality the law of the land, it will be thanks to the efforts — some big and obvious, some small and unseen — of thousands of people over the course of three decades.

But the fight will end fittingly...

With one man's commitment to honoring the person he loved.

Joy

Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights

Best. Host. Ever.

@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.

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Pop Culture

Daughter shares incredible 3D optical illusions painted by her father, who has aphasia

David Hollowell suffered from a traumatic brain injury in 2021, losing his ability to speak. Remarkably, he is still able to express himself through art.

@david.hollowell/TikTok

David Hollowell pictured with his 3D art

For a little over three decades, David Hollowell’s professional life had been dedicated to art. In addition to working as an art professor, his highly acclaimed 3D illusion paintings were shown in prestigious exhibits. In 2018, the 71-year-old began taking his talents to a larger scale, turning his family barn into an immersive mural.

Then, in May of 2021, Hollowell fell off the roof of his home, resulting in a traumatic brain injury leading to aphasia, a disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate through speech or written language.

Though Hollowell couldn’t access words the way he used to, his ability to paint detailed, mesmerizing images remained remarkably intact. And his daughter-slash-self-appointed-TikTok manager, Adrienne, is determined to share his work and his journey with as many people as possible.

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family
Family

Dad found out his son bullied a kid at school and came up with a brilliant teaching moment

"I told him that we have the opportunity to make things right."

@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
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Joy

Australian in the U.S. says she thinks it's rude that Americans don't say 'You're welcome'

Who's being more polite?

via Tilly Hokianga/TikTok and RoseGoldMillie/TikTok

An Australian woman thinks it's rude that Americans don't say, "You're welcome."

There’s been a growing trend amongst American Gen Zers and millennials to stop saying, “You're welcome,” after being thanked. Older generations may think the change is part of a more significant trend of younger people having more lax manners, but in actuality, younger people believe that giving a simple “OK” or “Mm-hmm” after being thanked is more polite than saying, “You're welcome.”

Recently, Australian TikTok user Tilly Hokianga vented her frustrations with Americans in a viral post entitled, “Things That Send Me as an Australian Living in the US.” A lot of the points she made were pretty typical for someone visiting the United States, such as there's too much sugar in the bread and too many options for cereal.

However, she also noted that Americans have difficulty saying, “You’re welcome.”

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Pop Culture

Mississippi meteorologist paused for a 'human' moment while reporting on devastating tornado

"Oh, man. Dear Jesus, please help them."

WTVA 9 News/YouTube

Meteorologist Matt Laubham prays for the people in the path of a deadly tornado.

Broadcasters who have to report on tragedies as they are happening have a tough job. On the one hand, they have to maintain their professionalism and inform the public of what's happening in a factual way. On the other hand, they're still human and sometimes humanity trumps the traditional perception of what's "professional."

Such was the case for WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan, who found himself live on the air staring at a radar scan of a deadly tornado as it moved towards the small town of Amory, Mississippi. He, more than anyone, understood the severity of the situation, and he did his best to convey that to his viewers.

"This is a strong, life-threatening tornado that's going to move either extremely close to Amory or in through the northern part of the city of Amory."

He added, "Y'all trust me too much," explaining that people sometimes take his predictions of where the tornado will go as hard fact, but the reality is that tornados can change directions at any time. "So Amory, we need to be in our tornado safe place," he said.

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humanity
Pop Culture

Rick Astley covered Foo Fighters' 'Everlong' and it's shockingly great

Consider yourself Rick-Grohled.

Rick Astley/YouTube

Rick Astley rocking his Foo Fighters 'Everlong' cover.

Rick Astley has to be the luckiest '80s musician on the planet. The whole "Rickrolling" phenomenon has given his hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up" a reach far beyond its natural life span, and kept the guy a household name far longer than he probably would have been.

(For those who are unfamiliar, Rickrolling is when you make someone think they're being sent to a website, but the link goes to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video instead as a joke. It's a silly viral bait-and-switch gag that's been going since 2006.)

But what people may not realize, because his most famous song has become an internet joke, is that Rick Astley is actually a really freaking great musician. The man can saaaang and it seems he's only gotten better with age.

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