If they gave out medals for shame and incompetence, Mitt Romney would be leading in the medal count by leaps and bounds. USA!? USA? US… sigh. Before he left for England, he took Obama out of context for a cheap attack, even though he said the same thing at his own Winter Olympics. Then he…
Wherein he attacks the London Olympics and the Prime Minister responds in kind:
Wherein the Mayor of London responds in kind:
Wherein he forgets a party leader’s name and flip flops on his Olympic position.
Wherein the DNC wraps it all up a nice bow for you to watch in it’s tragic entirety:
Bless his heart.
Better health, better jobs, and a brighter future all start with access to a safe, affordable home.
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.
Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
Please turn this into a cookbook.
Chef Craig Bowerson had a wonderful idea. He had noticed that the residents in the nursing home where he oversaw the dining menu had quite a few complaints about the food. So, it dawned on him to let their own personal recipes do the talking. He asked them for their favorite homespun dishes, and what happened next was downright lovely.
In a TikTok video, food podcaster Owen Roy shared a clip of Bowerson explaining his program for getting recipes from the residents. He asked them questions like, “How did you make spaghetti? How did you make lasagna? How did you make your chicken Cordon Bleu?” There is clear emotion in his voice, as he expresses the importance of embracing and cooking the food that might make the residents feel the most at home.
He shared, “As you’re pulling all these recipes from the 1920s, 1930s, I’ve had residents give me index cards that their mother had written like in the 1920s. They’d say, ‘These are all my mom’s recipes. Find one that you like. This is what my mom used to cook for me. I cooked this for family.’ So we ended up incorporating all of our resident recipes into our menu, where we were actually reproducing all the family recipes. And my complaints went from almost 75 percent to almost no complaints whatsoever.”
Under the clip, there were over 2,500 comments on TikTok alone. One person shares, “This is what dignity looks like.”
Another points out how incredibly thoughtful the idea is. “Can you imagine tasting your comfort food from childhood as an aging, reliant, invalid person? A time when you miss your mom the most. This is beautiful.”
And this TikToker, as many of the commenters do, believes this should be incorporated everywhere. “Every retirement home, nursing home, memory care home should do this. I bet it’s really comforting and brings back great memories for them. Beautiful idea.”
Upworthy had the opportunity to learn more about Bowerson, his love of food, and his admiration and respect for nursing home residents he serves. He also addressed a few of the questions that were repeatedly asked in the comment section.
Upworthy: What drew you to the art form of cooking?
Bowerson: “I have dreamed of being a chef since I was 6. My grandmother started cooking with me around then. Currently, I’ve worked in food service for 31 years, and would say maybe the last 14, I’d consider myself a chef.
Food has always made sense to me. I love food, I love to talk about food, think about food, and I love the emotions that food can create. When you’re sick, you want grandma’s soup, or during a holiday it doesn’t feel right without that one dish that gets passed on and passed down. Food, I think, has been the ultimate expression of appreciation for nature as the ingredient maker. And the eater, who is the person receiving from the chef, (gets) the full expression of themselves, presented in a dish.”
Upworthy: How and when did you begin working with nursing homes?
(Bowerson first explains it was trial and error when he first began working with nursing homes.)
Bowerson: “Covid hit and my focus shifted from having to deal with administrative duties to developing relationships with residents to help make the ‘lockdown’ period better. It was during this time that I started talking more one-on-one with residents and learning about their backgrounds. I found many of the women were homemakers and ran the house prior to coming to the nursing home. Many reminded me of my own grandmother, who initially was the first person to teach me how to cook.
Working for contract services, we had to follow menu plans and recipes that designated ingredient inventories and so on. Residents at my home felt like they were receiving someone’s idea of ‘showing off.’ They said the food they received was nothing like what they had made at home, and it was a hard adjustment for them to make. Long story short, I learned how to submit substitute recipes into our menu system to receive CDM and dietitian approval for facility use. Then, as we could, we would substitute previous menu items. Let’s say (we would sub) the company’s potato salad recipe, for Peggy Sue’s potato salad recipe and notate it on the menu.”
Upworthy: Do you have a favorite recipe so far?
Bowerson: “One of my favorite recipes is only my favorite because of the story behind it. Sopapillas. I had a pair of residents who were from New Mexico and had been moved to Kansas. I used to have conversations about food with the wife. Her husband was not doing well at this point and was almost nonverbal. She used to tell me how much she missed sopapillas and green chili enchiladas. She gave me her favorite sopapilla recipe and said if I could make it for her sometime, she would enjoy that. At times her husband would wake up and could eat on occasion, so one day when I knew he was awake, I converted a food cart into a buffet line and made her enchiladas and her sopapillas. For the next few weeks, until his passing, he would wake up and request green chili and sopapillas.
I received a personal handwritten letter from her describing how much they enjoyed having their personally prepared upscale meal.”
Upworthy: Any plans to create a senior cookbook?
Bowerson: “I’ve had some people request one on social media. I have thought about collecting all the recipes, adding in copies of letters and notes I’ve received from residents, and stories on what made the recipe stand out to me. I hope I can follow through and put one together.”
Upworthy: My mom resides in a senior living home in Dallas, and I know she would just love giving recipes to the chef/cook. Have you encouraged others to do this?
Bowerson: “I have tried to champion this type of approach for some time. I actually designed a food service program that helps convert kitchens into a more ‘home design’ type menu. I submitted it to one company but don’t know of another way to submit it without it being lost in the shuffle of large corporations.”
I trained my cooks to look at food from a resident perspective and remember that a lot of those we serve feel like their choices are being lessened and restricted. And if giving them control of their menu, their food, and how it’s cooked helps with the transition, then that’s what needs to happen. I have seen a lot of people say I must have struggled maintaining my budget, but I found as a chef it’s my job to learn ways to make better food and at lower costs without compromising the quality of what is being served. Homemade is always better than premade.”
A roof rack significantly reduces MPG.
There are few things more frustrating than watching gas prices climb and knowing there’s nothing you can do about it. Oil prices around the world are skyrocketing, and in the United States, some people are paying as much as $7 per gallon. It’s enough to make people rethink public transit and bicycles. Because of the gut-punching fuel prices, people are looking for ways to stretch their gas.
People have been turning to social media to ask how to increase their gas mileage and save money. Some of the answers are surprising, but what people find most refreshing is that real people are sharing strategies that work for them.
STA-BIL is a fairly inexpensive product sold almost everywhere. It’s designed to be poured into your gas tank before filling up. After you fill the tank, the instructions say to let the car run for about five minutes. The solution “cleans the fuel system, prevents the buildup of gum and varnish” and helps prevent corrosion. According to the company and commenters, a cleaner fuel system allows your engine to run at its best, improving fuel efficiency.
Under the video about using STA-BIL to increase gas mileage, people shared the pain they feel at the pump. One person wrote, “Bruh I pumped $37 in a civic! CIVIC!! before it went up it was $20 for a full fill up.” Another added, “Just paid $52 in SoCal for my civic.”
In a Reddit thread about getting the best gas mileage out of your car, one commenter warns against fast acceleration:
“Accelerate slow and always be planning ahead to see if you need to continue pressing on the gas. Often times people are still blindly accelerating up to a light that’s red, traffic that’s stopped, etc. … Anticipatory braking is big in the efficiency game. If you can slow down early and avoid completely stopping at a red light that’s a win. You want to conserve as much of your motion as possible.”
Someone else added later in the thread, “If you do any highway driving stick to the right-most lane and do the speed limit (55,65, etc) via cruise control. the MPG difference at 65 mph vs 70 mph is insane.”
It’s not uncommon for people to sit in their cars and idle, whether it’s a mom trying to have a quiet moment or someone in a parking lot scrolling on their phone. While idling may be unavoidable in cold climates, when you need to warm up your car, it should be kept to a minimum outside of those situations.
In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency launched an “Idle Reduction Campaign.” One example used to illustrate the effects of idling is startling:
“One car idling for just 15 minutes has wasted .08 gallons of gasoline. That doesn’t seem like much, but if they idle for 15 minutes every day of the year, that’s 29.2 gallons of gasoline in one year. At a price of $3.50/gallon, that’s $102 spent in gasoline to get you nowhere.”
In response to someone on Reddit asking whether a roof rack decreases gas mileage, the answer was a resounding yes. One person added, “Yes it worsens it quite dramatically actually. I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head but I want to say a roof rack alone is an observable drop, and with a luggage case it’s a ~10-15% loss.”
Car and Driver tested this theory with a 2022 Kia Carnival equipped with a factory-installed roof rack. The outlet reported being “initially disappointed in our observed fuel economy.” After suspecting the rack, they spent 10 minutes removing it.
“Upon removal, we instantly saw increased efficiency numbers, prompting us to make a second attempt at our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test,” the outlet revealed. “In the second run, we bested our prior attempt by 3 mpg (25 mpg to 28 mpg), a 12 percent increase and also better than the EPA’s highway figure of 26 mpg.”
This is a quick and inexpensive fix for improving gas mileage. Cars don’t alert you to low tire pressure until it drops significantly. The recommended PSI is listed on your tire, and one mechanic says keeping your tires properly inflated can help boost gas mileage.
“Keep your tires inflated to the proper pressure,” Andy’s Auto Advice said in a TikTok video. “If you run your tire pressure too low in your vehicle, it’s going to cause more friction between the tire and the road surface, thus reducing your overall MPG. So by keeping your tires at the proper PSI, it’s going to give you the optimal fuel economy for your vehicle.”
Routine maintenance is more of a long-term strategy, but Andy’s Auto Advice and other mechanics say it’s the most important.
According to the Associated Press, removing excess weight can help you get the most out of your gas tank. Apps like GasBuddy show you the cheapest gas stations near you, so use them in conjunction with these tips to stretch your dollar at the pump.
“Jesus never said a word about homosexuality.”
Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States (1977 to 1981). Looking back on his achievements both in and out of office, it’s easy to say that he was a man ahead of his time. He was far ahead of the mainstream when it came to advocating for social justice, human rights, and the environment.
Carter famously installed solar panels on the White House in 1979, only to have them removed by Ronald Reagan.
The former peanut farmer and Navy Lieutenant from Plains, Georgia, was also far ahead of his time when supporting gay rights. In 1976, while running for president, he said he would sign the Equality Act, an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. “I will certainly sign it, because I don’t think it’s right to single out homosexuals for special abuse or special harassment,” he said.
He continued to advocate for gay rights as president. In 1977, the first gay delegation visited the White House. He also campaigned against California’s Proposition 6, which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in the state’s schools and was the first Democratic president to endorse gay rights in the party’s platform in 1980.
It may seem unusual for Carter, a confessed born-again Christian, to be a staunch advocate for gay rights. But he has publicly said that he believes that being pro-gay is wholly aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Carter’s advocacy found itself in the spotlight once again after a meme featuring his thoughts about Christ and homosexuality from 2012 went viral on Reddit’s MadeMeSmile forum on April 8, 2024.
The viral quote was taken from an interview with the Huffington Post in 2012, during which Carter promoted his book, NIV, Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter. At the time, LGBTQ rights were the subject of heated debate in Washington, and President Obama had just “evolved” and began publicly supporting same-sex marriage.
“A lot of people point to the Bible for reasons why gay people should not be in the church or accepted in any way,” the interviewer Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush said. But Carter responded by correctly noting that Jesus Christ never said anything about homosexuality.
“Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things—he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies,” Carter said. “I draw the line, maybe arbitrarily, in requiring by law that churches must marry people. I’m a Baptist, and I believe that each congregation is autonomous and can govern its own affairs.
“So if a local Baptist church wants to accept gay members on an equal basis, which my church does, by the way, then that is fine. If a church decides not to, then government laws shouldn’t require them to,” he continued.
Three years later, Carter shared the same sentiments in another interview with the Huffington Post, this time shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. “I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else,” Carter said.
Jimmy Carter’s belief in gay rights stems from his faith as a Christian, but it’s also in complete alignment with his values as an American. Carter believed that the United States was a “beacon” for human rights, and in his 1981 presidential farewell address, he reminded the nation that the job was an ongoing struggle.
“The battle for human rights–at home and abroad–is far from over,” Carter said. “If we are to serve as a beacon for human rights, we must continue to perfect here at home the rights and values which we espouse around the world: A decent education for our children, adequate medical care for all Americans, an end to discrimination against minorities and women, a job for all those able to work, and freedom from injustice and religious intolerance.”
Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100 years old. He was the longest-lived U.S. president. After his passing, President Joe Biden wrote that Carter, “stands as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life of principle, of faith and humility. His life was dedicated to others.” He will forever be remembered as a man who fought for human rights both at home and abroad.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
“The biggest mistake people make is they talk a lot.”
Isn’t it wild to think that spies are actually real? Governments all over the world send secret agents to other countries to steal information or conduct missions. The key element that makes a spy, of course, is the secretive nature of their work. They go undercover, sometimes even wearing disguises, and carry out their missions without attracting attention. That means they’re masters of psychology and social science rather than combat and weaponry.
In a revealing interview with Steven Bartlett on his “Diary of a CEO” podcast, former Secret Service Special Agent Evy Poumpouras shared how to get people to do what you want them to do. The key, according to Poumpouras, is to understand what motivates them. Once you know the psychological framework behind what makes them tick, you can persuade them to behave as you like.
Poumpouras is the co-host of Bravo TV’s “Spy Games” competition series and author of “Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, Live Fearlessly.” She served in the Secret Service’s Presidential Protective Division for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and protected George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
Poumpouras says that to get a “good read” on someone, it’s essential to listen.
“The biggest mistake people make is they talk a lot,” Poumpouras said in the video clip. “Steven, if I’m doing all the talking and you’re doing all the listening, you’re learning everything about me. You’re learning about what I care about, my values, my belief systems, getting a good read on me and I’m learning nothing about you.”
The former Secret Service Agent says that you should listen to determine the subject’s motivational mindset. Are they motivated by money, sex, admiration, status, freedom, relationships, or safety?
“Everybody’s motivated by something different. But I have to hear you and pay attention to you to understand what that is. Everybody’s purpose is different,” she continued. “If you give people enough space, they will reveal themselves to you.”
To be clear, Poumpouras isn’t in the business of helping people trick others. Instead, she hopes the techniques she teaches will, “Increase your self-confidence, your self-worth, and your ability to trust and believe in yourself.”
The commenters on TikTok loved the advice:
“People are so interested in themselves and want to talk about themselves… We give our power away by talking.”
“Changed my life when I was told to stop filling the silence”
“As a parent, I needed this reminder too.”
Yes, the parents came out in full force to support Poumpouras’ tip. Perhaps no one, other than espionage experts, better understands the importance of learning how to get other people to do things without threats and violence. (OK, sometimes there are threats).
It’s also a wonderful tactic because your subject will have no idea they are part of a manipulation because they are the ones doing the talking. It’s nearly impossible to give yourself away when you’re sitting in silence.
Understanding what motivates people is essential when protecting the safety of the nation’s most important assets and dealing with shady, dangerous people. But it’s not only useful for spies and double agents.
This so-called “trick” can also benefit the layperson by giving us a framework to understand people better. Knowing what motivates someone is very important, whether you’re on a date, in a business deal, or in a leadership role at work. It’s also very important when raising children or training an animal.
The data agrees. Forbes writes about the experiments of Dan Ariely, who found that, “People are much more likely to go above and beyond for tasks that they’re emotionally (rather than financially) invested in.” So, if you want people to do things that benefit you, sure you can pay them or convince them that it’s in their best interest, but you’ll have far better luck if you appeal to their core principles and desires. To do that, you first have to listen and find out what they are.
Understanding your personal motivators is also essential for making the best choices in life.
It helps us determine which actions will be genuinely beneficial. It’s also a great way to ensure that we are involved with people, organizations, and activities for the right reasons.
In other words, digging into someone else’s (and your own) core beliefs and motivation can be used for good! Not just protecting state secrets and preventing assassinations.
Productivity consultant Ashley Janssen says the key to understanding your motives is knowing your values.
“When you know what you value, you can identify how an activity or goal will support and foster those values,” Janssen writes. “When you decide to try something, consider whether it’s what you think you should want to do or what someone else has said you should do. Those conditions are often not enough to sustain a behavior or activity. It’s hard to keep moving forward on something that you don’t really care about or are not invested in.”
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
There’s an art to avoiding the “memory ring” that makes a candle tunnel around the wick.
The evolution of candles from lighting necessity to scented ambience creator is kind of funny. For thousands of years, people relied on candles and oil lamps for light, but with the invention of the light bulb in 1879, fire was no longer needed for light. At that time, people were probably relieved to not have to set something on fire every time they wanted to see in the dark, and now here we are spending tons of money to do it just for funsies.
We love lighting candles for coziness and romance, relishing their warm, soft light as we shrink from the fluorescent bulb craze of the early 2000s. Many people use candles for adding scent to a room, and there are entire candle companies just for this purpose (Yankee Candles, anyone?). As of 2022, candles were an 11 billion dollar business.
With their widespread use, you’d think we’d know a thing or two about candles, but as it turns out, a whole bunch of us have been burning candles wrong our entire lives without knowing it.
A recent post on Twitter X started the education session:
“Just learned that my fiancé, who buys candles all the time and we literally always have candles burning, did not actually know how they work and blew out a medium first burn candle 30 minutes after I lit it when I wasn’t paying attention and ruined it,” the user wrote.
Many people had no idea what she was talking about. In fact, the original since-deleted post went viral with hundreds of people asking: Huh? So the OP explained.
“If a candle is not burned for long enough on first burn to melt edge to edge it will create a ‘memory ring.’ Once a candle has a memory ring, it will continue to tunnel and never burn all the way across.”
Now THAT’S something almost everyone has experienced. Candles are pretty expensive, so it’s frustrating when all that delicious-smelling wax gets left behind. Apparently, a short first burn (in this case, just 30 minutes) is one of the main culprits of a ruined candle.
Tunneling is the name of the phenomenon where a narrow tube-shaped area of candle continues to burn deeper and deeper, leaving lots of “waste” wax around its edges. Experts agree that the first burn should last 2-4 hours at least to avoid an uneven or narrow memory ring. However, burning a candle for over 10 hours at a time can cause carbon buildup on the wick.
“This is why you should not light a large candle at night, which is unlikely to burn all the way across before you need to blow out to go to bed. Allow at least one hour per inch of candle width,” she went on.
So that’s why candles always end up with a hole in the middle, making us think the candle companies are just running a scam to make us go through candles faster. Nope. It’s a user error, and many people were flabbergasted by this realization.
“This is the most useful information I’ve been given my entire adult life,” wrote one person.
“This skill should be taught in schools,” shared another. “The amount I’ve wasted on half burnt candles is outrageous, the amount of times I’ve used Algebra since leaving school = 0.”
“When I worked at Pier 1 in the 90s I got to go to some candle workshop that taught us the correct way to use (and therefore sell) candles and that is probably some of the most useful knowledge I’ve carried in my head this long life,” shared another.
Well, never say ‘never,’ because here’s the good news: a tunneled candle can be fixed!
Probably the easiest way is to avoid tunneling your candles in the first place by burning them long enough upon first burn to liquify the entire top layer of wax. Again, that’s usually 2-4 hours.
It also helps to care for the wicks regularly! Good wicks allow for a clean, even burn. Trim the burnt ends before lighting the candle and, if possible, use a snuffer instead of blowing out the flames with your mouth. Using a candle warmer is another way to get an even melt; with the added perk of making the scented wax last much, much longer.
But even if you do accidentally “ruin” a candle, it can be recovered. Placing a ring of foil around the candle with just a small opening at the top for the flame will help trap heat and help the edges of the wax melt on the next burn. Once the memory ring evens out, you can burn the candle like normal again.
In fact, you can even use a candle warmer to melt the wax back to even and then resume burning. Some clever candlers even put candles on the hot pad of their coffee makers as a DIY hack.
The candle posts also prompted a separate discussion about candles and indoor air quality and the volatile organic compounds that are released when they are burned.
Some people equated burning candles with having a small engine running in your living room, though according to the Cleveland Clinic, there’s scant evidence that the amount of toxins released by burning candles is actually hazardous to your health, especially if you use high quality candles in a well-ventilated area.
How do you know if a candle is “high quality”? First, check the wick for metal. Lead in wicks is not nearly as common as it used to be, but best not to risk it if you find metal in the wick. Second, choose soy, beeswax, palm or coconut wax candles instead of paraffin, which is petroleum-based product and more likely to put off soot and smoke particles. Everyone reacts differently to different amounts of particulates in the air, so if you find yourself getting headaches or respiratory symptoms when using candles, it’s probably best to avoid them.
But if you tolerate them, feel free to enjoy as recommended,—just make sure that first burn melts the wax all the way to the edges to avoid the dreaded tunneling.
This article originally appeared 2 years ago. It has been updated.
The seven animals on his personal patch each represent specific attributes.
Like the space flights before it, the Artemis II mission revolves around hard science and data. But what has captivated us most here on Earth is the beauty and humanity it reveals. We’ve enjoyed the astronauts’ joyful camaraderie as they reach farther into space than any humans have gone before. We’ve been touched by the reminder that we are all one people. And we’ve wept at the naming of a moon crater after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife.
And now, we’re hearing from the lone Canadian onboard, sharing how Indigenous elders’ wisdom has helped guide him through this mission.
In preparation for the Artemis II launch, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen said he sought advice that led him to Indigenous wisdom. Asked what he learned from Indigenous elders, Hansen shared his response from space.
“I’ve had many Indigenous elders spend time with me in my travels across the country, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said. “If I can give you one piece of advice, sit with your elders and ask questions. But listen intently. Every time I’ve stopped to listen, I’ve just learned these amazing things.”
Hansen pulled out the personal mission patch he carried onboard.
‘This encompasses a few of the things I learned from the elders,” he said. “But when I left the vision quest, I had a better understanding of it. These animals in this patch, that was created by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond from the Turtle Lodge, these animals represent some things that I try to think about every day. My mantra when I wake up is I am just going to try to spend my day walking with these attributes. And so I start with courage, humility, respect, love, honesty, wisdom, and truth.”
Hansen said the crew named their Orion spacecraft “Integrity,” which he says encapsulates those attributes.
“For me, being ‘in integrity’ is walking in accordance with these seven sacred laws, and it’s just something that helps guide me through life,” he said.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) explains the “Seven Sacred Laws” represented by the animals on Hansen’s patch. The following descriptions come from Sabe, Leader of Turtle Lodge, and have been edited for concision by the CSA:
Buffalo – Respect
The buffalo represents respect. It gives its entire being to feed the people, for them to live. Elders teach that when you respect others, you give of yourself, you give your life to help people around you to create a better existence for all.
Eagle – Love
The eagle represents love. Grandmothers say that one of the most powerful medicines we have is love, that love is a powerful healer. The eagle also symbolizes vision and sight. It is important to see ahead, to have a vision of one’s purpose and to work towards it. Elders teach that one’s true purpose is always rooted in love and in support of others.
Bear – Courage
A very physically powerful animal, the bear represents courage. A mother bear is fearless in the protection of her cubs. It is natural for her to display courage and strength, to do what is right in life. It is not always easy to face challenges, follow one’s purpose and do the right thing. Only with the courage and resilience of the bear will you be able to face and overcome the challenges that could prevent you from living out your life’s purpose.
Sasquatch – Honesty
Sasquatch or Bigfoot – Sabe or ‘giant’ in the Ojibway language – represents the importance of honesty and being true to one’s word. Say what you mean and be honest with yourself and others. Elders often exemplify this trait; when they say something, their word is a commitment and can be counted upon. Honesty is also speaking true and good words about others and avoiding gossip.
Beaver – Wisdom
The beaver represents wisdom. It has an incredible gift to build and create, as well as the wisdom of how to use this gift. The beaver’s creation harnesses life-giving water to create important ecosystems that support and enable life. It can even channel water back into an area following a devastating forest fire, renewing and revitalizing that ecosystem.
Like the beaver, we all have a special gift to offer others. Use the wisdom of the beaver to acknowledge your gifts and put them to use in the service of others: this is the source of life satisfaction and happiness.
Wolf – Humility
The wolf represents humility, acknowledging that there is a higher power and natural laws governing the universe. Showing gratitude for our life and our existence, while acknowledging that we are all equal is a sign of humility. The sun shines on us all equally, and no one is better or less than others.
Turtle – Truth
The turtle is truth. The Elders say that in order to know and understand truth, we have to learn to understand the six other teachings: respect, love, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility. The turtle leaves a trail, truth, for us to follow. As we are constantly faced with challenges, we should do our best to follow that trail and live truthfully.
The patch has some obvious symbols, such as the Big Dipper, the North Star (with five points to represent Hansen’s five family members), the Canadian flag, and the Royal Canadian Air Force astronaut wings.
But it holds other symbolism as well, the CSA explains. The bow represents Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the moon and the hunt. She launches her arrow with the astronauts, taking off from Turtle Island—the Indigenous name for the Americas—toward Grandmother Moon. The silver border represents the Orion spacecraft. The blue border beneath it represents the light, or spirit, in all living things that travels with the crew through space.
What a beautiful reminder of our connection to Earth, and of the meaningful lessons we carry with us when we leave it.
“I might be 88 but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying new things.”
At 88 years old, Marie McLaren has done a lot in her life. Before retirement, she worked as a sales assistant, a factory worker, and a cleaner—all while raising three children, who now have kids of their own. But in her golden years, she’s pursuing a new challenge: stand-up comedy.
Most up-and-coming comedians make their debut at small shows or open mics. McLaren, however, had the added pressure of performing a five-minute set as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. It would be understandable to flop or fumble under those conditions. Instead, McLaren nailed it like a pro.
McLaren decided to give stand-up comedy a try after years of encouragement from family and friends. In fact, she was practically pushed into it. Her daughter signed her up for a four-week stand-up comedy course for seniors.
“I’ve always liked making people laugh. I’ve been a bit of a joker all my life and I’ve never had much time for folk that just complain and moan,” McLaren told Chortle. “My friends used to say I should try stand-up, so when my daughter signed me up for this I thought, ‘Well, I’ll give it a go.’ I might be 88 but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying new things.”
The class, taught by award-winning Scottish comedian Viv Gee, teaches senior students how to write and develop original material. It also focuses on building confidence and controlling the room in front of a live audience. The course is promoted in partnership with Age Scotland.
Age Scotland is a charity focused on the social and mental well-being of older adults. It helps fund and promote programs that provide activities, care, and companionship. These efforts aim to address the loneliness epidemic among elderly communities.
Once the course ended, McLaren and her classmates performed at the Social Hub in Scotland. The class and the show were organized in partnership with Age Scotland. The name of the seniors’ comedy show? The Old Ones Are the Best.
McLaren credits her successful debut to her teacher.
“Viv has been brilliant. She explains everything properly and gives you the confidence to try it,” she said. “You come in thinking you don’t know what you’re doing and then suddenly you’re writing things down and thinking, ‘I can do this.’”
While this was her first time writing and performing stand-up comedy, McLaren has always had a performance bug. Prior to her comedy debut, she and her husband joined a talent agency for walk-on roles in film and TV. Most notably, she appeared in a music video for The Proclaimers, directed by Matt Lucas.
While the class is over, McLaren’s journey into the comedy world is just beginning.
“If I was asked to do more, I would definitely say yes. As long as I can still stand up and make people laugh, I’ll keep going,” she said. “I don’t think you should ever stop. If something comes along and you fancy it, just do it.”
“My Auntie is my favorite human.”
There’s no doubt that the role aunts and uncles play in a child’s life is important. Typically, these are the people who are raising the cousins that often serve as your child’s first best friends. But many Millennials are part of a growing group of adults opting not to have children.
Instead of raising their own children, they’re leaning into their childfree status and the additional bandwidth it affords them. “Rich auntie” status is not new. It’s the endearing nickname given to women who chose to forego children to maintain the lifestyle they worked for. It replaced the more derogatory term of “childless cat lady,” which replaced “spinster.”
Though the idea of a childless aunt or uncle isn’t new, the prevalence is. This phenomenon was once so rare that it caused speculation around sexuality and sanity. Clearly, there must be something wrong with you if you didn’t have children. Today, people are celebrating the mutually beneficial role childless adults play. Not only do they bring fun and adventure to a child’s life, but they also serve as a trusted babysitter for a much-needed evening out.
It’s not only the kids and parents that benefit, but the childless adults also gain. TikToker Amanda Vanhook says, “I’m very much single, no interest in dating, none. And I’m very happy that way. I’m very happy in my life.” Later, she adds, “I’m also very fortunate that I had a sister that gave me two little crazy hooligans, my four-year-old nephew and my two-year-old niece, and I would not change that for the world because they are the light of my life.
I would go above and beyond, go over the moon, and wouldn’t even blink an eye for those two. So I get the best of both worlds. I get to spoil myself, treat myself whenever I want, and enjoy my quiet time life, but I also get my nuggets, who I want to spend all this time with. I want to show them the world, I want to show them the great things of life.”
Adults remain childless for a variety of reasons. Struggles with fertility, not finding the right partner, or simply not having the desire to raise a child full-time are some of the most prominent. No matter the reason for being child-free, though, the mutual benefit of those without kids having close relationships with those who do have them shouldn’t be understated. One family has a tradition they’ve shared online for others to see. Since their aunt doesn’t have children, instead of Mother’s Day, they created a special day just for her called “Auntie Lynn Day.”
Every year, the family gathers for a cookout complete with decorations and a cookie cake, declaring it “Auntie Lynn Day.” It’s a day filled with love and smiles, acknowledging how valued her role is in their family.
Another woman, Jillian Gerhardt, explains the importance of having childless friends who double as aunties and uncles to your children. “Every parent needs a childless auntie or uncle friend. They’re not real aunts and uncles, but they’re that friend that shows up smelling like independence and freedom.” She advocates that their role is vital to remind parents who they were before they had children, to keep them grounded in their sense of self.
Mike Mancusi, a childless uncle, makes an argument for those on the fence about becoming a parent. “Anyone that’s on the fence about having kids or not having kids, I’m going to propose to you a third option, and it is by far the best option–being an aunt or an uncle. It is the best. It’s all of the good parts of parenting and none of the bad parts.” He adds, “You get to hang out with these kids, you get all of the joy, all the endorphins, and then as soon as they start being annoying, you just get to hand them off to the people that are legally required to take care of them.”
The consensus of the childfree aunts and uncles is that they get to be the fun-havers. They come in like a superhero to either give parents a break while they spoil them, or rile the kids up right before bedtime. Either way, they get to go home or drop the kids back off with their parents when they’re overstimulated.
Parents who appreciate the childless aunties and uncles celebrate what they bring to their lives. Childless aunts and uncles appreciate that they get to share parenting with their sibling or friend without the full-time responsibility. It’s a win-win-win. A win for the parents, a win for the childless person, and a win for the kids.
“The DINK, Auntie and Funcle life is really underrated,” one person says. DINK stands for Dual Income No Kids.
“It really is the best option. Also, when they become teenagers, they only fight with their parents and have a great relationship with you and ask for your advice and will listen to you,” someone writes in response to Mancusi’s video.
An adult child reveals, “My Auntie is my favorite human. 42 years later that woman is my go to for just about EVERYTHING.”
Someone else adds, “Childless auntie here! My besties kids are my world. My weekends are spent at soccer games, cheer games, etc and then I get to go home at night and read my book in silence. Someday we will build a compound so they can just walk to my house whenever lol.”
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