For King & Country's "Little Drummer Boy" being played live.
Since it was popularized in the 1950s, the Christmas carol "Little Drummer Boy" has been performed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and David Bowie, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and more. It's a sweet, beloved classic that tells the story of a little boy who was invited to go see baby Jesus but had nothing to offer as a gift except his drumming.
But in all of the renditions of this song, there's never been one quite like this.
For King & Country's live performance of "Little Drummer Boy" takes the carol to a whole other level. If you like big sound and big drums and big lights, this will be a treat for you.
(And if anyone knows what that funky accordion-piano instrument the lead singer plays is, do tell.)
For King & Country (stylized as "for KING & COUNTRY") is a Christian rock duo from Australia composed of two brothers, Joel and Luke Smallbone, who we see singing lead here. The platinum-selling duo have won four Grammy awards for their music. Their Christmas album, appropriately titled "Drummer Boy Christmas," also includes other classics such as "Joy to the World," "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night," as well as two original songs.
If you'd like to hear the studio version of the duo's "Little Drummer Boy," here's the official music video for it. No flashing lights for this one, but it does include an actual little drummer boy:
Can we bring back some 50s fridge features, please?
There are very few things that would make people nostalgic for the 1950s. Sure, they had cool cars and pearl necklaces were a staple, but that time frame had its fair share of problems, even if "Grease" made it look dreamy. Whether you believe your life would've been way more interesting if you were Danny Zuko or not, most would agree their technology was...lacking.
All eras are "advanced" for their time, but imagine being dropped off in the 50s as someone from the year 2023. A recent post by Historic Vids on Twitter of a 1956 commercial advertising a refrigerator, however, has some people thinking that when it came to fridges, maybe they were living in the year 2056. I don't typically swoon over appliances, yet this one has me wondering where I can purchase a refrigerator like this.
Of course, there's no fancy touch screen that tells you the weather and asks how you'd like your ice cubed. It's got more important features that are actually practical.
Like a fruit drawer that not only pulls down so you can quickly check your inventory, but also pulls completely out.
"A big picture window hydrator for fruits and vegetables," the actress says while demonstrating. "It tilts down to show you your supply at a glance, and it also lifts out, so you can take it over to the sink when there's a fresh supply to be washed and put away."
Yeah, that could be helpful and reduce the clutter in your fridge from all those clear storage bins companies designed to essentially do the same thing but maybe in a more cumbersome way. But the cool factor of the vintage refrigerator didn't stop there. You know how sometimes it's like playing Jenga removing leftovers? Well, this fridge has shelves that slide out nearly completely. Oh, the amount of reduced stress that would give folks sneaking a late snack after a holiday meal.
Watch the fascinating video below:
\u201cThis refrigerator from 1956 has more features than modern day fridges\u201d
One commenter said, "Can we vote to bring this back?" and I have to agree. Take my money.
For a little extra fun, check out the full commercial below and marvel not only at the refrigerator but at how our attention spans for advertisements have diminished over the decades.
Couple investigating noises accidentally awaken a bear.
It's not uncommon to hear something outside of your house, especially if it's close to trash pick-up day. Raccoons and stray cats treat an overflowing trashcan like a holiday dinner, and even if you weren't sure if you heard something or not, the torn trash bags confirm your suspicion.
This is a pretty universal experience in America, so hearing a rustle under your house typically conjures images of a trash panda that got stuck. But for one family, the noises weren't coming from a raccoon at all. In a viral video on TikTok that has over 10 million views, a couple is outside looking for the source of the noises they've been hearing. The woman is filming at a fairly safe distance, while the guy investigates their crawl space.
Everything is going well. They hear what sounds like a hiss and with relief exclaim that it's a raccoon.
They were wrong. Like pee your pants, everyone for themselves, wrong.
As the man tries to move whatever is blocking access to the crawl space, he stands back and sprays something into the small opening. Another man is seen holding a broom to help shoo the little mask-wearing friend on its way, when the panel that closes the area starts to move, right before it busts open from the inside.
In that moment, the man forgot he had a wife and a friend. He ran as he yelled, "Oh, it's a bear!"
If you live in an area that frequently has bear sightings, it's important to remember that bears like to hide in dark cool places, like crawl spaces or under a pool deck. So secure your crawl spaces and other areas around your home that might make a bear think it's a good place to take a long nap. No one wants to explain why they hurdled their kids and stiff-armed their grandma to get back into their house.
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was found not liable on April 4 in a lawsuit where he was accused of stealing elements of the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud."
The case called attention to the fact that there are motifs and musical structures common in pop music that no one owns, and all are free to use. When it comes to chord progressions, the 12-bar blues and basic I, IV, V, I progressions you hear in country and folk have been used and reused since people first picked up the guitar.
In the wrong hands, the progressions can result in music that is boring and formulaic, but in the right hands, they can be a springboard for fresh ideas.
In 2009 Australian comedy group Axis Of Awesome did a funny sketch showing how one four-chord progression, famous for being the basis of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” has been used countless times by musicians to great effect.
They played a medley of 38 major hits using the same progression to prove their point. For musicians, it’s known as the I–V–vi–IV progression, and when played in the key of C it would be C, G, Am, F.
Usually when we think of corsets, the words suffocation, fainting and shifting organs probably come to mind.
This is certainly what Bernadette Banner has come across in the comments section of her Youtube channel, where she shares all kinds of fashion history education. The general consensus is that Victorian women were either all incredibly tiny or that they went to extremely dangerous lengths to achieve the highly exaggerated signature silhouette of the era, which was to have the bust 10 inches larger than the waist, with the hips 15 inches larger. 34-26-36, for example.
This notion is certainly backed by Hollywood, where we normally see women of that time period being laced up so tightly they can barely breathe, suffering under the crushing weight of whalebone and the patriarchy.
As Banner breaks down in her video below, this is not entirely true. In reality, Victorian women deployed numerous different strategies that are nothing at all like we see in movies. One tactic is, dare I say, shockingly modern.
Tactic #1 Reduction
Okay, so first things first—some women did reduce their waist size through corset use alone. However, Banner notes that this really only worked for those who had a larger, softer, body type. By comparison, people with more athletic or thin body types wouldn’t be able to get much reduction in their waistline, and certainly not without effort, pain and discomfort.
“This is something that Hollywood very often misinterprets when it’s presenting historical periods,” Banner says, saying that normally a very thin actress is cast and then corseted down.
Having a naturally thin person in the role isn’t a problem, she adds, as “every body type existed all throughout history.” The real issue is that costume designers try to further reduce their waists with an uncomfortable corset to achieve an hourglass look, rather than augmenting the hips and the bust.
Which brings us to…
Tactic #2 Augmentation
Why cinch when you can stuff, amirite? This strategy is fairly straightforward
Banner demonstrates this by augmenting her own slim silhouette as she puts on a corset pre-padded at the hips and bust (though padding over the corset was also done…fashion is eternally nuanced). Since the corset is actually very flexible, she can also breathe and move easily.
From here, women would add in frills, fluffs, bustle and petticoats of varying sizes to get the desired ratio.
Tactic #3 Illusion
We’ve discussed clever placements of what goes on under the dress. But Banner explains that Victorians would also create an illusion of an hourglass with their outer garments as well. It’s not coincidence that this time period is when we had the “largest skirts in history,” Banner says. But it’s not just fluffy skirts—there were also puffy sleeves, elongated shoulder lines or shoulder padding, and special jackets, coats and belts to “trick the eye into seeing a very specific shape.”
Banner again demonstrates this scheme as she puts on her skirt with a tight waistband and wide, flat sash. Though with all the layering her waist is about an inch larger than it was before, it nonetheless looks smaller. The contrast is evident when she throws on the blouse and skirts sans the “sculptural understructures.”
Tactic #4 Image Manipulation
That’s right. You thought Photoshop was a new concept? Guess Again!
The ability to manipulate an image has been around almost as long as photography itself, and was “profuse in the late 19th century,” Banner says. Everything from waist shape to facial features to even skin texture could be altered.
Basically, just as you would never trust a too-perfect picture you see on social media, Banner warns you to similarly “never trust a picture of a Victorian. Especially when the waist looks absolutely impossibly tiny.”
And now the real question: Why do we think all Victorian women were tiny?
Banner answers that too. A major reason is the number of tiny garments that have survived from the time period. However, these pieces probably were only worn by young girls for a shorter amount of time, therefore endured less wear and tear.
In conclusion, Victorians were not ubiquitously impossibly small. They were simply masters of illusion, who created a mirage so convincing we still believe it today.
Heightened beauty standards still exist today—the rising popularity of cosmetic procedures is a clear indicator of that. While this might not inherently be a good or bad thing, more and more women are risking their health (not to mention their finances) in order to achieve that which is physically impossible. Banner argues that folks in the 21st century can perhaps take a lesson or two from Victorian women when it comes to achieving seemingly impossible aesthetic ideals without causing oneself harm.
As she astutely put it, “History teaches us that there are other options.”
You can find even more of Banner’s fascinating fashion history videos on Youtube.
Crooked teeth is a very, very common occurrence in our modern world. Nine out of ten people have at least some misalignment going on in their mouths. Over 4 million people wear braces in the United States alone. I don’t know about you, but I can still feel the utter sticker shock from my own teeth-straightening journey. (I call it a “journey” so it feels a little more whimsical and less devastating.)
And yet, this is not something our ancestors dealt with. Like…at all. How could it be that no one experienced this normal modern-day conundrum in a time when we had exponentially less technological advancement?
As it turns out, technology might be the culprit, and a video from Ted-Ed explains it all.
The prevailing theory in the scientific community is that millions of years ago, when humans were hunter-gatherers, their teeth had to work extra hard to grind down seeds, fruit, meat, etc., and make them digestible.
When humans began incorporating tools, food was broken down before it even entered the mouth. It only became more refined and easier to chew with the introduction of agriculture, followed by the innovations of the Industrial Revolution.
In a relatively short amount of time (12,000 years), teeth were basically relieved of most of their “pulverizing duties.” And while teeth were initially able to adapt to the gradual evolution of culinary changes, things simply changed too quickly to keep up. Over time, jaws have reduced in size much more quickly than our teeth have, leading to overcrowding and some…unique dental arrangements.
This also helps explain why wisdom teeth are such a pain. By the time these final molars come out, there is simply no room left in the mouth for them. This is why many people need them surgically removed in order to prevent discomfort or infection.
This theory has been tested on animals like spider monkeys and lyraxes, who were given naturally tough foods and artificially softened foods. Sure enough, the critters with the softer foods also developed narrower jaws, and more crooked teeth.
Bottom line: this issue has a lot more to do with lifestyle than anything genetic. Which is why different people in different parts of the world don’t deal with dental crowding at all, and even have room for wisdom teeth. Knowing this might not stop us from eating softer foods—it’s certainly not gonna make me give up warm gooey cookies any time soon, perfect smile and zero cavities be damned—but it’s certainly something to chew on.
You can watch the full video, based on a lesson by dental anthropologist G. Richard Scott, below:
Whether you're feeling stressed over end-of-the-school-year chaos, depressed over the challenges our world faces or refreshed by the beautiful spring blossoms blooming everywhere, you can surely use some extra doses of joy.
In this week's list, we have some delightful interactions between parents and young adult children, a hilarious take on millennials getting older, some helpful and entertaining animals, a throwback to one of the most iconic (and earwormy) jingles of all time, a photo that has been blowing people's minds and of course, some utterly adorable toddlers.
We hope these little nuggets brighten your day! Enjoy!
1. Watch this first-generation college student find out he got accepted to Harvard
It's a genuine photo. No editing tricks. the brown on the top right is a wall and below is its reflection. Still hard to picture, I know. Find the full explanation with other visual proof that there's nothing altered in the photo here.
6. Check out these stories of animals sensing when someone needed medical care
Those are some impressive spins there, buddy. Cat doesn't even know what to do with that.
8. Footage of the Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" song being recorded is pure nostalgic joy
Everyone who lived through the 90s had this song stuck in their head on repeat for years. Learn more about the famous vocalists behind the iconic jingle here.
9. Kiddo figures out how to give a thumb's up and it's 10 seconds of adorableness
Can't even talk, but he can sing along with Bruno. And the timing of those foot stomps. May we all dance with such abandon.
Hope that brought some smiles to your faces! Sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here to get more posts like this one delivered to your inbox.
