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'Hack expert' explains why the side of the bed you sleep on says a lot about your personality

Prefer the left side? You're probably more positive.

via jordan_the-stallion8 and Gary Barnes/Pexels

A couple sleeping and Jordan Howlett sharing sleep facts

Jordan Howlett recently blew people’s minds with a TikTok video where he explained why you could learn a lot about a person based on the side of the bed they prefer. Jordan is a popular TikTok creator with nearly 11 million followers who shares candid monologues, reactions, stories, life hacks and intriguing fast food secrets.

His video was a response to TikTok users Angelina & Skyler, who confessed they don’t usually pick a side of the bed. (FYI: Your side is determined from the perspective of laying in bed. For example, sleeping on the left side means that your partner would sleep to your right.) Howlett responded to their video by explaining why the side you choose is so important. “Psychologically speaking, humans will pick a side of the bed due to attitude towards work, personality and income,” he says.

“People who sleep on the left side of the bed psychologically have a more positive outlook on life, they can deal with heavy workloads, they’re not easily phased by stressful days and they’re calmer in a crisis than [their] counterpart,” he continues. “And they’re more confident.”

@jordan_the_stallion8

#stitch with @Angelina & Skyler || DIY 💚 #fypシ

“People who sleep on the right side of the bed earn more money, have a less positive outlook on life, but are more prepared for worst-case scenarios than their counterparts,” Jordan said. Jordan ends his video with a final fact: “Also, people who are claustrophobic naturally choose to sleep near the wall.”

Although Howlett didn’t cite any specific data, his points are perfectly aligned with current research on the topic. It appears he may have taken his facts from sleep expert Hope Bastine. Recently, Bastine told Cosmopolitan that folks who sleep on the left side are more optimistic than their grumpier, right-side counterparts.

"According to research, people who sleep on the left are likely to be more cheerful than their right-side counterparts," Bastine said. "A positive outlook allows lefties to be more capable at dealing with a heavy workload, which means they’re not as easily phased by a stressful day. Those who sleep on the left believe they are calmer than their partner in a crisis and are more confident in general."


This article originally appeared last year.

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Love Stories

'I love you if you love me'—choirboy's touching letter found in church pew after 125 years

William Elliott wanted you to remember him.

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

A choir boy's note was found in church pew, 125 years after its creation.

The date was August 11, 1897. William Elliott’s 14th birthday was fast approaching, which meant the days he spent singing in the church choir of the Sunderland Orphanage would soon be over.

William took a pencil and scribbled some words onto the back of a sermon paper, then hastily stuck it away inside a church pew. Now, more than 125 years later, his moving letter has been discovered.

The church was undergoing renovation in an effort to transform it into an event space called Seventeen Nineteen, when Master Craftsman Stevie Hardy found the note, which he sent to conservation specialist Matt Parsons.

It would take months to arduously clean off the years of accumulated grime, made up mostly of wax polish, dust and dirt, and specks of black paint. But eventually, the paper was successfully restored.

Here’s what William’s letter said:

“Dear friend, whoever finds this paper think of William Elliott who had two months and two weeks and four days on the 11 of August 1897. Whoever you are that finds this paper don’t tear it up or throw it away…”

“Keep it in remembrance of me, W Elliott… I was the leading boy of this choir…”

“I love you if you love me.”

Touched by the boy’s sweet message, Seventeen Nineteen posted the story to its Facebook page and went on a mission to find out more about William. Where were his parents? And whatever happened to him?

Their research indicated that William was one of 50 orphaned sons of seafaring men who lived at the Sunderland orphanage. His father, Thomas Duncan Elliot, was a chief officer who tragically washed overboard while sailing on a ship called the Skyros.

William’s mother was Sarah Elliott, a widow left with four young children, who had worked as a dressmaker to make ends meet following Thomas’ death. Prior to the father’s untimely end, that family had been financially comfortable.

William had been accepted into the orphanage in 1892, and then discharged on his 14th birthday, October 29, 1897. Though no information on him could be found after 1901, William most likely escaped a life at sea in exchange for work with a local solicitor due to his exceptional literacy and numeracy skills. Whether or not he continued to sing remains a mystery.

“His letter has touched us all,” said Tracey Mienie, Seventeen Nineteen’s center manager. “He was clearly very aware that his time at the orphanage – and in the choir – was ending and I think apprehension at what his future may hold comes across in his words.”

The letter inspired Seventeen Nineteen to launch a project called “Dear Friend,” where people can write in to receive a handcrafted letter kit along with a copy of William’s letter, then send their own personal response back.

As for William’s original note written more than a century ago, the leading choir boy got his wish. His letter has been framed and hung over the pew in which it was found. He will indeed be remembered, in the very way he had hoped for … with love.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Retirement home lovebirds become newlyweds at nearly 100 years old

Love always finds a way.

Photo credit: Canva

Couple nearly 100 years old find love and marry

There's no age limit on love. Maybe your hands are a little less familiar as time has stolen their smoothness and the reflection in the mirror more like your mother than you remember. Maybe you've sent your last child off to college years after a divorce when the coffee chats with your single neighbor start feeling a little more romantic.

Love really can come to you at any time no matter which one of life's season you've just survived and it often comes along when you least expect it. Unexpected love is exactly what Jo Cartwright experienced when she and Bernard Snyder became friends while living in their retirement home, Westminster. The pair were both widowed from marriages spanning several decades.

Cartwright, the younger of the two, at a young 96-years-old was married for 67 years before her husband passed away and Snyder, who is 98, was previously married for 73 years. These two obviously know a thing or two longevity in a relationship but Cartwright wasn't looking for a partner when her now husband first laid eyes on her. At the time, she was simply trying to figure out how to eat a comically large piece of chicken.

“She’s sitting there and she's looking at this chicken. And she looks so helpless. I mean, it was just hilarious. I had to find out who she was,” Snyder tells KUT News.

two people standing on brown wooden floor Photo by Marc A. Sporys on Unsplash

The pair were both dining at a restaurant in Austin, Texas, where they reside at Westminster and something about Cartwright trying to wrestle with the chicken on her plate sparked adoration in Snyder. But after being married to her previous husband for so long, she hadn't thought about being romantically interested in anyone since he died, especially not with Snyder. She knew of him prior to his wife's death and didn't consider him to be a possible suitor. It was Snyder who opened the eyes of Cartwright to the possibility of companionship.

"When I first met him [Snyder], he was married and his wife was not well," Cartwright Snyder explains to KVUE. "He was so gentle and kind, and I thought the world of him as a person, never thinking about a future with him. But I thought he was such a fine man."


Snyder had been lonely since his wife passed away in 2017 so when Cartwright caught his attention, he couldn't get her out of his head...or out of his sight.

“Wherever I was, he was there,” the new bride tells the news outlet. “I would look up and there he was right there. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe this man — maybe he likes me a little bit.’”

He more than liked her a little, Snyder was absolutely lovestruck by her, eventually working up the nerve to ask her to be his dinner partner. It worked. The two spent more and more time together and before long, Cartwright realized she was falling in love with her new beau. Since they're both in their late 90s, they didn't waste any time tying the knot in a ceremony planned by their kids.

red and white eat, drink, and be married signage near brown tree Photo by Ben Rosett on Unsplash

"She fell for him and all the flattery and the sweet things he said to her and how he treated her, it was amazing to watch it," Cartwright's daughter shares with KENS 5.

"You never imagine that a 96- and a 98-year-old are going to find each other and fall in love and be happy. Bernard is just such a gentleman. I can see why mom got swept off her feet," Drew, Cartwright's son says to KVUE.

The couple plan to spend their remaining days together no matter how long or short their time may be. Love has no timeline and these two are a testament to that notion.

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Newlyweds are getting a lot of love for their beautiful $500 wedding. Here's how they did it.

They focused on what really matters.

via Nadya Vysotskaya/Unsplash

A couple exchanges wedding rings.

Having a big, expensive wedding seems like the worst way for a young couple to start their lives together. For those who get mommy and daddy to foot the bill, no problem. But in the U.S., 28% of couples reported going into debt when paying for their weddings and the average celebration costs $29,200.

“It’s one of those life events that’s really tied to emotion, to your values, what’s important to you,” researcher Elyssa Kirkham told CNBC. ”[People are] willing to take on debt and do that trade-off if it means they can get closer to achieving their dream.”

Kiara Brokenbrough and her new husband Joe have received a lot of attention recently because they bucked the trend and had a beautiful wedding for just $500. The wonderful thing about the celebration is that its focus was on the couple and those who love them.

"You have a wedding, with witnesses there to witness you, vowing to your spouse, vowing to God that you guys are going to stay together for life," Kiara told “Good Morning America." ”And then you celebrate with food, drinks and dance. And that's exactly what we did."

​After trying on a few $1,500 dresses at a traditional wedding shop, Kiara decided to save some money by purchasing a dress for $47 at Shein, an affordable online fashion store. She revealed her money-saving decision in a TikTok video that went viral.

@kiarabrk

Reply to @maalikaelise dress included! $47 on @SHEIN 🤩🤩 #weddingtiktok #weddingdress #cheapwedding #blackbride

The dress impressed a TikTok user named Kristen. “I be tryna tell yall cost of things don’t matter. It’s how you put it together and wear it. AND BABYYYYY YOU PUT IT TOGETHER AND WORE IT,” she commented on the video.

The couple also cut costs by having the runner and flowers donated by her family. As for the venue, they chose a free location overlooking the ocean on the California coast. "Our goal was to just be as minimal as possible," Kiara told “Good Morning America." "And to spend the least amount of money as possible."

The Brokenbroughs saved money on the reception by having guests pay for their food and drinks. "The people we have there, they understood the assignment, they understood the things that we were trying to do, and they really supported us," said Kiara.

The Brokenbroughs’ decision to have an affordable wedding to start their relationship on a good financial footing was an incredibly savvy move and according to research, it could bode well for the couple’s future.

The most recent study on how wedding spending correlates with a couple's longevity was done in 2014 and found that "marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony."

If the research still holds up, the Brokenbroughs’ attitudes toward finances could be a predictor of a long and happy marriage.

“It could be that the type of couples who have (an affordable wedding) are the type that are a perfect match for each other,” one of the study’s authors, Hugo M. Mialon told CNN. “Or it could be that having an inexpensive wedding relieves young couples of financial burdens that may strain their marriage,” he added.


This article originally appeared on 4.19.22

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