+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
upworthy
Joy

This Milwaukee library's TikTok videos have become the season's surprising new must-see

These are some seriously creative videos.

milwaukee public library
Milwaukee Public Library/ TikTok

This library is where it's at.

Libraries are a vast treasure trove of information, ideas and inspiration. And yet, they often simultaneously seem like the product of a bygone era. Let’s face it, the convenience of the Internet has made it our go-to source of knowledge, causing us to sacrifice analog magic for expediency.

To be sure, libraries have adapted for the modern age by offering digital resources including basic online access that often provide a lifeline for underserved communities. But still, the general consensus seems to be that libraries are stuffy and archaic. This lack of interest, combined with continued budget cuts, pose a real challenge to physical libraries everywhere.

However, one library is actually harnessing the power of the internet to prove just how cool, and yes, hip, these public spaces can be…one hilarious and viral TikTok at a time.

Looking for a meaningful way to engage a new audience, employees at the majestic Milwaukee Public Library began posting TikTok videos filled with clever pop culture references that also highlighted everything the library has to offer.

Below is one of their most popular ones, featuring a 90-year-old woman proudly sticking her tongue out (and flipping the bird) when told she can't read manga.

@milwaukeepubliclibrary When you're around I got arrhythmia (literally). I'm on multiple medications for it. #Girlfriend #HemlockeSprings #OldPeople #Elderly #Manga #Comics #Anime #fyp #FlippingOff #Birdie #MiddleFinger #FlipTheBird ♬ girlfriend - Hemlocke Springs

Because obviously mangas are cool to read at any age.

Another great one—grown-up Matilda, one of children literature’s most beloved bookworms, working her magic with library items.

@milwaukeepubliclibrary #Matilda #RoaldDahl #Trunchbull #MissHoney #MaraWilson #DannyDevito #ThurstonHarris #LittleBittyPrettyOne #BookTok #Librarian #Book #MatildaChallenge #SpecialCollections #Archives #fyp ♬ Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris

Seriously, kudos to the use of practical effects in this one.

And can you even have a TikTok without at least one Wednesday Addams dance video?

@milwaukeepubliclibrary I cruise though the city and I roam the street looking for this nice librarian. I need a book recommendation. #WednesdayAddams #Wednesday #TheAddamsFamily #JennaOrtega #WednesdayEdit #WednesdayVibes #TheRealPussinBoots#fypシシ#fyp ♬ Goo Goo Muck - The Cramps

With content this fresh and fun, it’s no wonder that Milwaukee Public Library’s TikTok has become an instant hit. Derek Reilly, the library’s data analyst and main camera man, told TODAY that within the first month alone, the page racked up a collective 5 million views. And now, it has close to 9 million followers. The once imposing building has become a welcoming and enticing destination for people, many of whom would travel to Milwaukee simply to visit its library. Other libraries from across the country have even reached out for tips on how to generate their own buzz.

Libraries everywhere, including Milwaukee, struggle with a decline in visitations, physical book checkouts and funding. These videos are a lighthearted way of encouraging much needed support.

@milwaukeepubliclibrary Try one or try them all #AEHolidayCard #LetsGo #IntuitTouchdownDance #LibraryTok #LibraryToks #LibraryTikTok #LibrariesForAll #LibrariesRock #BeautifulLibraries #BlackFriday #BlackFridayDeals #fypシ #fyp ♬ LETS GO - LevitatingOnTheMoonWithDulaPee

Besides nailing TV and movie nods, Milwaukee Public Library’s TikTok page really captures the type of experience visitors are in for the moment they step through those doors—everything from interactions with a lively, vibrant staff to the feeling of that first library card in the palm of your hand, and all of the possibilities that come with it.

These are all things that the internet, even with its many attributes, simply cannot provide. That’s why these spaces need to live on. Until we really do become a society of cyborgs, human beings will crave visceral experiences. We’ll crave fun. Despite what you might initially think, libraries offer this and so much more. And what’s more, they do it for free.

If you’d like to follow along with Milwaukee Public Library's shenanigans, you can find them on Instagram and Tiktok.

From Your Site Articles
pop culture
Science

Astronaut shares the profound 'big lie' he realized after seeing the Earth from space

This change in perspective could change humanity.

via Rubén Moreno Montolíu/Flickr

Our home, from space.

Sixty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make it into space and probably the first to experience what scientists now call the "overview effect." This change occurs when people see the world from far above and notice that it’s a place where “borders are invisible, where racial, religious and economic strife are nowhere to be seen.”

The overview effect makes man’s squabbles with one another seem incredibly petty and presents the planet as it truly is, one interconnected organism.

Keep ReadingShow less
space
Internet

This viral bookshelf hack is helping people create beautiful luxury closets on a realistic budget

The closet of your dreams is only a bookshelf away.

Morgan Baiiley|TikTok

Viral bookshelf hack is creating luxury closets on a budget

Peak adulthood is being envious of rich people's closets. There's usually some sort of full length couch in them or a luxurious chaise lounge, a wall of shoes and some sort of automated rack that spins to help you pick out a tie. They are amazing and the non-rich people typically have some wire racks in a small walk-in with no where to put shoes, bags or anything else that doesn't hang.

But people have been finding a way to revamp their normal closets to look like they were custom built and it's for a price tag that will make your budget happy. The Target bookshelf hack has been going viral on TikTok for several months as new people discover the trend and post their own before and after videos.

Users on the social media app are buying the tall $40 Room Essentials bookshelves from Target and turning them into custom closet builds.

Keep ReadingShow less
target bookshelf hack
Science

A juice company dumped orange peels in a national park. Here's what it looks like now.

12,000 tons of food waste and 21 years later, this forest looks totally different.


In 1997, ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs approached an orange juice company in Costa Rica with an off-the-wall idea.

In exchange for donating a portion of unspoiled, forested land to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste — a nature preserve in the country's northwest — the park would allow the company to dump its discarded orange peels and pulp, free of charge, in a heavily grazed, largely deforested area nearby.

One year later, one thousand trucks poured into the national park, offloading over 12,000 metric tons of sticky, mealy, orange compost onto the worn-out plot.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Teen with autism makes record-breaking Jenga block tower, inspiring Hallmark holiday movie

15-year-old Auldin Maxwell, who stacked an astonishing 1,840 Jenga pieces all on one single block, says using them helps tap into his creativity.

Canva

Maxwell hold two Jenga-realted world records

At the ripe old age of fifteen, Auldin Maxwell is already breaking world records and inspiring Hallmark movies.

Maxwell landed his first spot in the Guinness World Records in November 2020, when he successfully balanced 693 Jenga blocks all on top of one vertical facing Jenga block.

Only four months later, he broke his own record by stacking 1,400 Jenga blocks onto one vertical block, more than doubling the original amount. He then broke the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks (500) stacked on top of a single vertical Jenga GIANT block.

Keep ReadingShow less
pop culture
Internet

Are women actually quiet quitting their marriages? Women say not so much.

Men are often blindsided by their partner filing for divorce while women prepare for months.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Women push back on claim they're quiet quitting their marriage

By now everyone's familiar with the term quiet quitting. Doing the bare minimum of your job requirements to not get fired but don't really go above an beyond to secure promotions or pay increases. The term has been applied to areas outside of the workplace as well, specifically dating relationships but in a recent Newsweek article, it's expanded to marriage.

Except, Newsweek's article and accompanying video are implying that the quiet quitting of a marriage is more prevalent for the woman in marriages. Statistics are pretty indisputable—nearly 70% of divorces are initiated by women and men, according to the article are often blindsided by the filing.

In the case of quiet quitting marriage, the wife often continues to do the daily responsibilities of a partner and continue having a sexual relationship while planning their exit. But are women actually quiet quitting because women have other opinions on the matter.

Keep ReadingShow less
quiet quit marriage
Family

'This isn't how it's supposed to be': Family with ‘good jobs’ lives paycheck-to-paycheck

“Go to college, get a degree, work to support your family. Here we are. Did that. Now what?”

via Mackmoan1988/TikTok and Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

A mom in Pennsylvania is having a hard time getting by even though she has a good job.

There’s a specific trait that exists deep in the American collective psyche that suggests that one’s financial well-being is somehow a reflection of their moral compass. Many people assume that if someone struggles to get by, they don’t work hard enough or make poor choices.

But that knee-jerk reaction couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are countless reasons why hard-working people struggle, especially these days with historically high inflation. Just about everything costs an arm and a leg.

For many, the sharp increase and costs forced them to go from being comfortable to getting by paycheck to paycheck. In addition to the financial stress, many feel stigmatized because of their struggles.

Keep ReadingShow less
inflation
Trending Stories