upworthy
Pop Culture

Jimmy Fallon asked people to share their 'funny mistakes,' and the answers were hilarious

What would you do if you could 'turn back time'?

jimmy fallon hashtags, daylight savings time
YouTube/Twitter

Someday we'll all look back at this and laugh, right?

Jimmy Fallon recently asked folks to share a “funny or silly mistake” along with the hashtag #IfICouldTurnBackTime, in honor of what many consider to be the greatest mistake in all of human history—daylight saving time.

Since 1918, the chaos of DST has wreaked havoc across America—except in Arizona and Hawaii, that is—and the globe, causing us to spring forward, fall back, do the hokey pokey and shake ourselves about as we try to get a grasp on our schedules, energy and (seriously) overall health during that period of adjustment that comes twice a year.

Besides the topsy-turviness of it all, daylight saving time didn’t even fulfill its original purpose of saving electricity. In fact, a lot of evidence indicates that it actually costs more money. So yeah, it's pretty much one of history's biggest “oopsie-daisies."

We might not be able to look back on DST and laugh just yet, but at least we can at least find comfort in the silly stories shared by strangers on Twitter.

Below are some of the funniest answers people sent to Fallon, ranging from "might induce a relatable chuckle" to "oh my, that's delightfully cringey." Even if daylight saving time doesn't put a smile on your face, these mistakes might.

Without further ado, check out what other folks might have done differently if, like Cher once contemplated in her song, they could turn back time…

"I took my car to get fixed because the window wouldn’t roll up. I made it there just before it started raining. The shop had it fixed in two minutes. The window lock was on. They did not charge me, but it cost me some dignity that day." – @AbbyTribble

"I would have CHECKED my mailbox to see the notice of suspended license due to unpaid tickets - before driving one night and getting pulled over & car towed. Having to pay just another $900 on top of what I already owed 🙃." – @23Vaniece

"Grabbed a rebound from the opposing team free throw and threw up a beautiful fadeaway jump shot with nothing but net…Two points for the other team 🤦♂️" – @kenkaigle

"I would have checked the label on the sunblock I borrowed from a Cross Country teammate. Turns out it was muscle relaxer cream, and I started drooling halfway through the race since I applied it to my face." – @Ashley_M_Lowry

"I am a middle school teacher, and when I was teaching the book Al Capone Does My Shirts, I had the title written in presentation. Unfortunately, I left the R out to shirts. I had written Al Capone Does My Sh!ts instead of shirts. I have never had a class laugh so hard! 👚💩🤦♀️" – @klennisd

"Met my childhood crush @joeymcintyre of NKOTB. He commented on a pin I was wearing which sent me into a 5 minute monologue about Zazzle, how it works and why it's my go to for customized gear. Then I walked away. Because I was... out of Zazzle content?!" – @NatteringNic

"When I was 5 I wiped cream cheese from my hand onto my dad's brand new dodge shadow back seat. He caught me and yelled 'come on use your head!!' So I wiped the cream cheese on my head. 30 years later he still brings it up." – @jbrad0618

"I would’t say 'oh that must be mine' while trying to grab from the hands of the guy who lives upstairs the package he was holding thinking he was the delivery guy. So embarrassing 🤦♀️😂" – @michi_says

"I went through the house turning back all the clocks on microwave, stove, living room wall clock...without knowing my husband had already done it. Needless to say we showed up for work 2 hours early on Sunday! 😴😵🤦" – @spiderbutt_68

"I did PA announcing in college and for an ad read, instead of reading the line 'best breakfast,' I said 'breast breakfast' in front of hundreds of people. Worst part was hearing the echo in the speakers mere seconds later!" – @Phanatic2010

"I would've made sure that the person walking behind me was in fact my mom before I turned back and said 'I love you!' to a random employee at Wal-Mart." – @tubularcaracal

From Your Site Articles
funny
Family

'It's not Little Sun': Mom admits she's having trouble pronouncing her newborn's name

It was fine 'til other people tried to say it and now she's confused.

via JustusMoms29/TikTok (used with permission)

Justus Stroup is starting to realize her baby's name isn't that common.

One of the many surprises that come with parenthood is how the world reacts to your child’s name. It’s less of a surprise if your child has a common name like John, Mohammed, or Lisa. But if you give your child a non-traditional name that’s gender-neutral, you’re going to throw a lot of folks off-guard and mispronunciations are going to be an issue.

This exact situation happened with TikTok user Justus Stroup, who recently had her second child, but there’s a twist: she isn’t quite sure how to pronounce her child’s name either. "I may have named my daughter a name I can't even pronounce," Stroup opens the video. "Now, I think I can pronounce it, but I've told a couple of people her name and there are two people who thought I said the same exact thing. So, I don't know that I know how to [pronounce] her name correctly."


@justusmoms29

Just when you think you name your child something normal! #2under2mom #postpartum #newborn #momsoftiktok #uniquenames #babyname #babygirl #sahm #momhumor

Stroup’s daughter is named Sutton and the big problem is how people around her pronounce the Ts. Stroup tends to gloss over the Ts, so it sounds like Suh-en. However, some people go hard on the Ts and call her “Sut-ton.”

"I'm not gonna enunciate the 'Ts' like that. It drives me absolutely nuts," she noted in her TikTok video. "I told a friend her name one time, and she goes, 'Oh, that's cute.' And then she repeated the name back to me and I was like, 'No, that is not what I said.'"

Stroup also had a problem with her 2-year-old son’s speech therapist, who thought the baby’s name was Sun and that there weren’t any Ts in the name at all. "My speech therapist, when I corrected her and spelled it out, she goes, 'You know, living out in California, I have friends who named their kids River and Ocean, so I didn't think it was that far off.'"

Stroup told People that she got the name from a TV show called “The Lying Game,” which she used to watch in high school. "Truthfully, this was never a name on my list before finding out I was pregnant with a girl, but after finding out the gender, it was a name I mentioned and my husband fell in love with," says Stroup. "I still love the name. I honestly thought I was picking a strong yet still unique name. I still find it to be a pretty name, and I love that it is gender neutral as those are the type of names I love for girls."

The mother could choose the name because her husband named their son Greyson.



The commenters thought Stroup should tell people it’s Sutton, pronounced like a button. “I hear it correctly! Sutton like Button. I would pronounce it like you, too!” Amanda wrote.

“My daughter’s name is Sutton. I say it the same way as you. When people struggle with her name, I say it’s Button but with a S. That normally immediately gets them to pronounce it correctly,” Megan added.

After the video went viral, Stroup heard from people named Hunter and Peyton, who are dealing with a similar situation. “I've also noticed the two most common names who run into the same issue are Hunter (people pronouncing it as Hunner or HUNT-ER) and Payton (pronounced Pey-Ton or Pey-tin, most prefer it as Pey-tin),” she told Upworthy.

“Another person commented saying her name is Susan and people always think it is Season or Steven,” Stroup told Upworthy. After having her second child, she learned that people mix up even the simplest names. “No name is safe at this point,” she joked.

The whole situation has Stroup rethinking how she pronounces her daughter’s name. Hopefully, she got some advance on how to tell people how to pronounce it, or else she’ll have years of correcting people in front of her. "Good lord, I did not think this was going to be my issue with this name," she said.

This article originally appeared last year.

From Your Site Articles
baby names
Joy

Mic'd-up hockey goalie's hilarious self-talk during games has people in stitches

Nick the Goalie's monologuing is just delightful.

@nickthegoalie_1/TikTok

You don't have to watch hockey to enjoy Nick the Goalie's running commentary.

Goalkeepers and goaltenders in all kinds of sports play a unique role on a team. While other players have to communicate and strategize with one another as they play, a goalie just has one job—keep the ball/puck/etc. out of the goal. It's a hugely important job, but pretty straightforward.

When their team is on the other side of a field or rink, goalies watch and wait. Since their teammates know and trust that they're watching the action, they don't really have to interact with anyone most of the time. And while they can't totally zone out, they have all kinds of time to themselves while the action is happening far away.

Have you ever seen what happens when a person—especially someone who likes to talk—has a whole lot of time to themselves and no one to talk to?

Meet Nick Weston, who is giving everyone a glimpse into a world most of us only watch from afar and never get to hear. Weston is an amateur hockey player from Vancouver, Canada, who has become a TikTok sensation with his mic'd-up goalie videos under his nickname, Nick the Goalie.

Do you remember the snowboarding 4-year-old in a dinosaur costume who coined the phrase "I'm a stuck-a-saurus!" and won hearts with her adorably entertaining monologuing? Nick the Goalie is like that, only as a grown man playing a team sport.

People love Nick the Goalie's wholesome self-talk as he performs his goalie duties with gusto. (Though he often wears a Vancouver Canucks jersey, he doesn't play for a National Hockey League team. As he explained to CTV, he gets brought in to play goaltender on various local league teams.)

His videos have even been shared by ESPN and the NHL, and the comments on his videos are as fabulous as his running commentary.

Watch:

@nickthegoalie_1

Mine! #hockey #goalie #nhl #hockeyboys

"This is how I imagine a golden retriever's internal monologue. He's SO excited, I love it," wrote one commenter on Reddit.

"Only reason I gravitated towards the goalie position, other than my hatred of running, was my need to constantly sing to myself. Can relate so hard," wrote another.

A whole thread of soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse goalkeepers, as well as baseball catchers and outfielders, confirmed that this is exactly what they do—monologue, monologue, monologue.

@nickthegoalie_1

I COULD’VE DROPPED MY CROISSANT 🥐 #hockey #goalie #nhl #hockeyboys

It's hard not to smile at the the wholesomeness and hilarity of his self-talk. The singing, the squealing, the trash talk to no one in particular—it's all just so delightful.

@nickthegoalie_1

This video is a lot to take in #hockey #goalie #hockeyboys #nhl

Even people who aren't that into ice hockey are commenting with how much they enjoy his videos. As one person wrote, "Ok fine I’ll watch sports if I can get this insider commentary for every game."

So much fun. Recently, Weston has been using his social media fame to raise money for the Canucks Autism Network in addition to sharing the sport he loves. As of 2024, over 1.1 million has been raised.

Keep following Nick the Goalie on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

From Your Site Articles
hockey hilarity
Health

How often should you wash your sheets? Experts settle the debate once and for all.

People have all kinds of opinions on this.

Kampus Production/Canva

How often do you change your sheets?

If you were to ask a random group of people, "How often do you wash your sheets?" you'd likely get drastically different answers. There are the "Every single Sunday without fail" folks, the "Who on Earth washes their sheets weekly?!?" people and everyone in between.

According to a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by Mattress Advisor, the average time between sheet changings or washings in the U.S. is 24 days—or every 3 1/2 weeks, approximately. The same survey revealed that 35 days is the average interval at which unwashed sheets are "gross."

Some of you are cringing at those stats while others are thinking, "That sounds about right." But how often should you wash your sheets, according to experts?

Hint: It's a lot more frequent than 24 days.

While there is no definitive number of days or weeks, most experts recommend swapping out used sheets for clean ones every week or two.

Dermatologist Alok Vij, MD told Cleveland Clinic that people should wash their sheets at least every two weeks, but probably more often if you have pets, live in a hot climate, sweat a lot, are recovering from illness, have allergies or asthma or if you sleep naked.

We shed dead skin all the time, and friction helps those dead skin cells slough off, so imagine what's happening every time you roll over and your skin rubs on the sheets. It's normal to sweat in your sleep, too, so that's also getting on your sheets. And then there's dander and dust mites and dirt that we carry around on us just from living in the world, all combining to make for pretty dirty sheets in a fairly short period of time, even if they look "clean."

Maybe if you shower before bed and always wear clean pajamas you could get by with a two-week sheet swap cycle, but weekly sheet cleaning seems to be the general consensus among the experts. The New York Times consulted five books about laundry and cleaning habits, and once a week was what they all recommend.

Sorry, once-a-monthers. You may want to step up your sheet game a bit.

What about the rest of your bedding? Blankets and comforters and whatnot?

Sleep.com recommends washing your duvet cover once a week, but this depends on whether you use a top sheet. Somewhere between the Gen X and Millennial eras, young folks stopped being about the top sheet life, just using their duvet with no top sheet. If that's you, wash that baby once a week. If you do use a top sheet, you can go a couple weeks longer on the duvet cover.

For blankets and comforters and duvet inserts, Sleep.com says every 3 months. And for decorative blankets and quilts that you don't really use, once a year washing will suffice.

What about pillows? Pillowcases should go in with the weekly sheet washing, but pillows themselves should be washed every 3 to 6 months. Washing pillows can be a pain, and if you don't do it right, you can end up with a lumpy pillow, but it's a good idea because between your sweat, saliva and skin cells, pillows can start harboring bacteria.

Finally, how about the mattress itself? Home influencers on TikTok can often be seen stripping their beds, sprinkling their mattress with baking soda, brushing it into the mattress fibers and then vacuuming it all out. Architectural Digest says the longer you leave baking soda on the mattress, the better—at least a few hours, but preferably overnight. Some people add a few drops of essential oil to the baking soda for some extra yummy smell.

If that all sounds like way too much work, maybe just start with the sheets. Pick a day of the week and make it your sheet washing day. You might find that climbing into a clean, fresh set of sheets more often is a nice way to feel pampered without a whole lot of effort.


This article originally appeared last year.

From Your Site Articles
home
Pets

Man finds a mysterious egg in London, incubates it, and launches a Pixar-worthy journey of love

When Riyadh found an abandoned egg, he had no idea that it would change his life.

Courtesy of Riyadh Khalaf/Instagram (used with permission)

When Riyadh found an egg, he had no idea how much it would change his life.

The story of Riyadh and Spike starts like the opening to a children's book: "One day, a man walking through the city spotted a lone egg where an egg should not have been…" And between that beginning and the story's mostly sweet ending is a beautiful journey of curiosity, care, and connection that has captivated people all over the world.

Irish author Riyadh Khalaf was out walking in London when he came upon an egg. "We just found what we think is a duck egg," Riyadh says in a video showing the milky white egg sitting in a pile of dirt. "Just sitting here on its own. No nest. No other eggs."

Thinking there was no way it was going to survive on its own, Riyadh put the egg in a paper cup cushioned with a napkin and took it home to incubate it. He said he used to breed chickens and pigeons, so he had some experience with birds. Knowing the egg could survive for a while in a dormant state, he ordered an incubator on Amazon, and the journey to see if the egg was viable began.

Even though it was "just an egg," Riyadh quickly became attached, and once it showed signs of life he took on the role of "duck dad." Every day, the egg showed a drastic change in development, and Riyadh's giddy joy at each new discovery—movement, a discernible eye, a beak outline—was palpable. He devoured information on ducks to learn as much as he could about the baby he was (hopefully) about to hatch and care for.

Finally, 28 days later, the shell of the egg began to crack. "I could see this very clear outline of the most gorgeous little round bill," Riyadh said—confirmation that it was, indeed, a duck as he had suspected. But duckling hatching is a process, and one they have to do it on their own. Ducklings instinctively know to turn the egg as it hatches so that the umbilical cord detaches, and the whole process can take up to 48 hours. Riyadh watched and monitored until he finally fell asleep, but at 4:51am, 29 hours after the egg had started to hatch, he awakened to the sound of tweets.

"There was just this little wet alien staring back at me," he said. "It was love at first sight."

Riyadh named his rescue duckling Spike. Once Spike was ready to leave the incubator, he moved into "Duckingham Palace," a setup with all of the things he would need to grow into a healthy, self-sufficient duck—including things that contribute to his mental health. (Apparently ducklings can die from poor mental health, which can happen when they don't have other ducks to interact with—who knew?)

"My son shall not only survive, but he shall thrive!" declared the proud papa.

Riyadh knew it would be impossible for Spike to not imprint on him somewhat, but he didn't want him to see him as his mother. Riyadh set up mirrors so that Spike could see another duckling (even though it was just himself) and used a surrogate stuffed duck to teach him how to do things like eat food with his beak. He used a duck whistle and hid his face from Spike while feeding him, and he played duck sounds on his computer to accustom Spike to the sounds of his species.

"It's just such a fulfilling process to watch a small being learn," said Riyadh.

As Spike grew, Riyadh took him to the park to get him accustomed to the outdoors and gave him opportunities to swim in a small bath. He learned to forage and do all the things a duck needs to do. Throughout, Riyadh made sure that Spike was getting the proper balanced nutrition he needed as well. Check this out:


After 89 days, the day finally came for Spike to leave Riyadh's care and be integrated into a community of his kind "to learn how to properly be a duck." A rehabilitation center welcomed him in and he joined a flock in an open-air facility where he would be able to choose whether to stay or to leave once he became accustomed to flying. Within a few weeks of being at the rehabilitation center, his signature mallard colors developed, marking his transition from adolescence. Spike has been thriving with his flock, and Riyadh was even able to share video of his first flight.

This is the where "And they all lived happily ever after" would be a fitting end to the story, but unfortunately, Spike and his fowl friends are living in trying times. The rehabilitation center was notified by the U.K. government in December of 2024 that the duck flock needed to be kept indoors for the time being to protect them from a bird flu outbreak and keep it from spreading.

Building an entire building for a flock of ducks is not a simple or cheap task, so Riyadh called on his community of "daunties" and "duncles" who had been following Spike's story to help with a fundraiser to build a "Duckingham Palace" for the whole flock. Riyadh's followers quickly raised over £11,000, which made a huge difference for the center's owners to be able to protect Spike and his friends.

All in all, Riyadh and Spike's story is a testament to what can happen when people genuinely care. If Riyadh had left that egg where it was, it may not have made it. If Spike hadn't survived and been moved to the rehab center, the ducks there would be in greater danger of the bird flu due to the costs of building an indoor shelter for them. Despite the ongoing bird flu threat, the story really does have a happy ending.

Thank to Riyadh for sharing Spike's journey with us. (You can follow Riyadh on Instagram here.)


From Your Site Articles
love stories
Family

Father 'throws a tantrum' at son for refusing to name first child after his late stepmother

The son is refusing to let his dad's grief 'dictate' his choices.

Photo credit: Canva

Many are saying this dad needs therapy.

We all love a funny “terrible names” story, but sometimes it’s not all laughs. Sometimes which names are chosen, or not chosen, can stir up painful family drama—primarily because the conflict tends to reveal certain boundaries which have been crossed.

This seemed to be the case for one 28-year-old, whose already "complicated" relationship with his dad got more strained when he decided to name his first born daughter after his late mother, rather than his late stepmother.

As the man explained, his mother and father divorced when he was just a baby, and when he turned 5 years old, his mom passed away. By that time, his father “was already remarried and had another child,” and seemed to expect that “I would forget about my mom entirely and assimilate into his new family like they were the only one.”

“There was also a big effort to ignore my grief and to expect me to move on like nothing happened,” he added, saying that when he was thirteen, his father sat him down and asked if he’d allow his wife to “adopt” him, even saying that “it was time for me to acknowledge her in that role and position in my life and make it official.” When the then 13-year-old said no, he “threw a tantrum” and then it was never mentioned again.

names, baby names, family drama, reddit aita, toxic dads“There was also a big effort to ignore my grief and to expect me to move on like nothing happened."Photo credit: Canva

Still, there would be tense moments that followed, including when the step mother had passed, and the father expected the son to delay his own wedding for years. But mostly, this subject was largely considered off limits. Until now, when he and his wife are expecting their first shield.

The couple had secretly decided to name their soon-to-be daughter after the man's late mother, as it honors her legacy and was a “nature name,” something his wife really wanted. However, at family get-together, the father shares his expectation that the child would be named after than man’s late stepmother. And, unsurprisingly, "lost his temper" and accused his son of having “no respect” when the man informed him that wouldn’t be happening.

"He told me he's grieving, my siblings are grieving and I should take that into consideration," the man wrote. "I told him that has nothing to do with what we name our child."

names, baby names, family drama, reddit aita, toxic dads"His grief does not get to dictate the name my wife and I choose for our child.”Photo credit: Canva

Things only escalated when the father arranged a one-on-one meeting and surmised that the child would be named after “that woman,” which he called "inconsiderate."

“He told me a good son would take this into consideration and honor the woman his father loved, the woman who raised him as her very own," the man said. However, at this point, the son decided to stand up against his dad, telling him, "his grief does not get to dictate the name my wife and I choose for our child.” Heaven even added the fact that zero acknowledgement was made to his own grief as a child after losing his mother. After that he said there would be no more discussion.

Seemingly unanimously, readers are siding with the OP, agreeing that the father was having unrealistic expectations, and had been acting selfishly in general.

"Your Dad needs counseling," one person commented. "He's showing no understanding towards you at all yet is demanding a higher level of understanding that he gave you. He's obviously not thinking clearly and is too wrapped up in himself."

“Postponing a wedding for years and having a tantrum about naming a child isn't grief you should respect, it's something you tell them to go to therapy over because it's affecting lives around them negatively,” another added.

One person even suggested going low/no contact, writing, “your father is extremely self centered and doesn’t care about anyone else’s feelings but his own. I highly suggest you distance yourself from him.” To this the OP wrote that he is "strongly considering" it.

Severing ties with problematic family members is a growing trend. And while not everyone agrees it’s necessary or the healthiest way to handle a problem, stories like these remind us why they are a valid solution in some cases.

From Your Site Articles
what's in a name
Trending Stories