+
upworthy
Joy

People are freaking out over this guy who can ‘literally look like everyone’

Elvis, yep. Dolly, check. Tobey Maguire? Absolutely.

massimo mandatao, impressions, transformation

Massimo Mandato transforms into Dolly Parton.

It’s always amazing to see a great impressionist, such as Frank Calliendo or Melissa Villaseñor, put on another persona for comedic effect. There is something magical about people who can uncover a person’s mannerisms and essence and replicate them for comedic effect.

It’s one of the oldest forms of comedy, but when done right, it’s still as entertaining as ever.

Massimo Mandato, a 24-year-old Canadian TikTokker, has devised a new way of impersonating people simply by making a face and striking a pose. The incredible thing is that, for some reason, he has the ability to look like different people, regardless of their gender or age. The magnificent thing is he can pull off their look in just a few seconds, and once you see it, you can't unsee the resemblance.


"It's the way that I literally look like everyone," he opens his first video in the series. "Don't believe me? Buckle up." What is it about this man’s face that makes it a blank slate that can transform into just about anyone?

Let’s take a look at some of his fabulous work.

In this video, he shows us that he looks like Kendall from “Dance Moms,” Elvis Presley, Sam Smith, Gru (from “Despicable Me”) as a kid, Shane Dawson and YouTuber Dream. How in the world can he look like all those people when they don’t even look like each other?

Commenter Camille Roe asked the same thing: "None of these people look similar, but somehow you look just like every one of them.”

@massmandato

tell me who else I look like☠️ #shanedawson #samsmith #dream #gru #elvis #fyp #greenscreen

After the video went viral, the commenters began asking him to do impressions of some more people they think he looks like. That led to a follow-up where he poses his face to look like Elizabeth Moss from “Mad Men,” Emma Chamberlain, Dina from "Superstore," Ellen DeGeneres, Napoleon Bonaparte and Tobey Maguire.

[Video 2]

@massmandato

Wait till the end I was shook☠️ #emmachamberlain #tobeymaguire #ellen

Again, Napoleon looks nothing like Ellen, and Tobey Maguire looks nothing like Peggy, the copywriter from “Mad Men,” so how does he look like all 4? The commenters were blown away by Mandato’s resemblance to the French emperor.

"Why are you literally Napoleon?" Vee asked in the comments. “Napoleon had me dead," Karolastrona added. "When you zoomed out and Napoleon appeared, my eyes popped out of my head," Michelle Lee wrote.

In this video, Mandato looks like Katy Perry, Paris Jackson, Lorde, Balloony from "Phineas and Ferb," JoJo Siwa, British racing driver George Russell, and Lenny from “Shark Tale.”

@massmandato

The list just keeps increasing😫#jojosiwa #georgerussell #lorde #greenscreen @JoJo Siwa @

Last, but not least, here's Mandato as Dolly Parton.

@massmandato

Literally how😭 #dollyparton

Even though impressionists have been working throughout human history, technology has opened up a new way for these artists to show off their craft.

Mandato isn’t just great because he poses like the people he’s impersonating. The videos flawlessly morph into a picture of the person, which is why the illusion works so well. Without TikTok, it’d be a little hard for Mandato to pull off his act. It would be interesting to see how he would present his unique talent in a live stage show.

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?



92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

Keep ReadingShow less

The grandmother was suspicious.

A grandmother always felt her middle granddaughter Lindsay, 15, looked slightly different from the rest of the family because she had blonde, curly hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark “I thought genetics was being weird and I love her,” she wrote on Reddit’s AITA forum.

But things became serious after Linday’s parents “banned” her from taking things a step further and getting a DNA test. If the family was sure their daughter was theirs, why would they forbid her from seeking clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the law, the situation started to seem a little suspicious.

“I told my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy around her birth she needed to know. They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandma wrote.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

7 things Black people want their well-meaning white friends to know

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

Growing up black in a white neighborhood.

I grew up black in a very white neighborhood in a very white city in a very white state.

As such, I am a lot of people's only black friend.

Keep ReadingShow less

Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway.

Charles Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffet’s closest business partner, passed away on Tuesday, November 28, at 99. Buffett and Munger's partnership lasted over 50 years, producing Berkshire Hathaway, one of the largest and most successful conglomerates in history.

When Munger passed, his estimated worth was $2.6 billion. Buffet, 93, is believed to be worth $119 billion.

But Munger was far more than just a wealthy man. Apple CEO Tim Cook called Munger a “keen observer of the world around him,” and he was known for his pithy bits of common-sense wisdom known as “Mungerisms.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

Keep ReadingShow less