His son failed a math test. He got help from the most unexpected place.
Let's be real: Math is hard.
Yeah, I know some people love it. But for those who still struggle with figuring out percentages when it comes to leaving a tip, going back to elementary school mathematics (listen, I don't want to scare you, but have you thought about how terrifying long division is lately?) is enough to give you a headache.
You know what I have nightmares about? Those "three-minutes tests" I was given in third grade. The ones where I had to solve as many problems as I could in a limited time span. Those were the days my mom packed Mylanta with my lunch.
Everything is even harder when you're a parent.
You're an adult and out of school, and despite what your teachers said, you have a calculator at all times. You chuckle sensibly at "common core" memes (even though the system maybe makes sense). And then — you have a kid of your own. And that kid is struggling with math too. Now it's your job to help them. What do you do?
That's the problem one dad faced recently. But he probably never expected find help on a subway train in Brooklyn. He was working on understanding fractions better so that he could come home and help his third-grader who'd failed a recent math test.
One commuter caught what happened next, and everyone's loving it.
So today omw from work the guy in the red sat down opend up his folder and started reading a few stops later the guy...
Posted by Denise Wilson on Tuesday, April 17, 2018
According to Denise Wilson, who snapped a pic of Corey Simmons (he's the guy in red) and an unnamed good Samaritan (that's the guy in the hat), she was just trying to get home when she heard the two strangers having an intense conversation. About fractions.
“He was just telling the guy, ‘I’m in my 40s and all of this is new to me, so I’ve got to re-learn this to teach my son because he failed a math test,’” Wilson told CBS2.
This dad was in luck, though. The stranger had been a math teacher. And he had no problem stopping what he was doing to help the 42-year-old Simmons — who hadn't even thought about fractions in more than three decades — get back on the horse again.
“Everything he got wrong or was confused about, he broke it down and corrected him,” Wilson wrote in her post accompanying the image of the two men.
This reminder that people help each other in little ways every day is powerful.
Wilson says that Simmons and the math teacher got off at different stops. And even though Wilson's post has been shared over and over, no one's as of this story publication has figured out who the mysterious math teacher is. But perhaps that's the most beautiful part of this story: The guy wasn't helping for accolades or attention. He just saw another human being struggling, he had the expertise, and he offered to help.
Simmons may not be all the way up on fractions ("We're halfway there," he said), but the message he took home to his son that night was less about math than it was about perseverance — and never being afraid to ask for help. Even when that help comes from a place one may have never expected.
"You need help sometimes and you shouldn’t want to bite your tongue, to not ask for the help,” Simmons told CBS2. “So don’t feel shy to ask someone for help, it’s OK.”
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."