Heroes
Not All Biologists Spend The Day In The Lab. Some Go Out And Get Arrested.
There aren’t a lot of good reasons to block a truck with your body, but this is definitely one of them.
05.01.13
“He explained every sound and bump”
Flight attendant sits on floor to comfort passenger
Not everyone enjoys flying. The level of non-enjoyment can range from mild discomfort to full blown Aerophobia, which is defined as an extreme fear of flying. While flying is the quickest way to get to far away destinations, for some people being that far off the ground is terrifying and they'd rather take their chances on the ground.
A passenger flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to JFK International Airport in New York confronted that fear while flying with Delta. The woman, who is currently still unidentified expressed that she was nervous to fly according to Molly Simonson Lee, a passenger seated behind the woman who witnessed the encounter. Tight spaces don't make for much privacy, but in this case, the world is better for knowing this took place.
According to Lee, who posted about the exchange on Facebook, the Delta flight attendant, Floyd Dean-Shannon, took his time to give the nervous traveler his undivided attention. Lee told Upworthy the unidentified passenger, "was very nervous and even before the plane took off, she was visibly shaken by each sound."
Approximately 25 million people in the United States have Aerophobia according to the Clevland Clinic and most of them probably wish Dean-Shannon was on their flights. "He took notice and began explaining what each [sound] was, with the warmest, calmest tone," Lee said. That wasn't even the most amazingly sweet part of the story.
While the explanation of noises helped, Lee said about halfway through the flight the passenger was fighting back tears, which prompted Dean-Shannon to sit on the floor and hold the frightened passenger's hand. He comforted her for the rest of the flight while sitting on the floor. "His tone was so kind and soothing," according to Lee.
Dean-Shannon's kindness didn't stop there. Lee explained, "the woman next to me was celebrating a birthday and he sang to her and made her a 'cake' with all of the goodies he could round up."
I'm not sure what Delta pays him but he needs a raise immediately and it seems the people of the interwebs agree.
Commenter, Miranda Anderson, tagged Delta Airlines and wrote, "I hope you see this! These are the types of people that deserve raises and make your company worth flying with. This is what pits [sic] you above the others so show these employees this is what you want and what you need."
"I love this. This is what society is lacking. Empathy and kindness towards people in time[s] of need" wrote Diane Lawrence.
While Mary Beth Acker Ford, said, "I was on a flight with him today. He exudes joy and is intentional about making a connection with each person!"
This level of engagement with passengers is not a common experience but clearly people are happy to see this type of connection between humans. Flying anywhere can be stressful for any amount of reasons. From leaving the house late and having to participate in an involuntary 5k to catch your flight, to making your way through the devil's backyard, also known as Atlanta International Airport...just for them to change your gate 10 minutes before boarding.
So having a flight attendant like Dean-Shannon is just the breath of fresh air people need. "The way he's looking at her...letting her know she's safe!!! This is just one of the many reasons I will always fly Delta Air Lines," Liz Martin wrote in the comments.
"It was obvious he is just a good, kind soul who shares that generously with everyone he encounters. Such kindness is rare and a true gift when encountered," Lee remarked. That level of kindness is rare indeed and we sure are happy someone thought to capture it.
A good excuse to not clean. It's for luck!
Don't sweep your good fortunes away!
Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations among East and Southeast Asian cultures. Unlike the Gregorian New Year, which takes place for one night, Lunar New Year celebrations last for several days and involve centuries old traditions steeped in superstition. Even the most mundane of everyday activities, when done on Lunar New Year, could decide a person’s fate—for better or worse.
Luckily, home decor blogger Wendy has given us a perfect rundown of taboo activities to avoid this Lunar New Year and thwart ill tidings—in the form of one hilarious TikTok.As Wendy explains in her caption, many customs are based not only in superstition, by a play on words. Washing your hair “washes” away your fortune, for example. Sweeping “sweeps” it all away. You get it.
There’s even caution against items that sound like Chinese words with a negative connotation—buying a book, which sounds like the word “lose” in Chinese, would bring bad luck. Similarly, buying shoes, which sounds like “rough” in Cantonese and “evil” in Mandarin, would be equally bad. There will be no trips to Barnes and Noble or Foot Locker during Lunar New Year. No sir.
While the education is already great, what makes this video next-level is the amazingly cartoonish slow motion chase scene happening the whole time on loop.
Watch:
@thekwendyhome What not to do on Lunar New Year. Inspired by: @thehustlingmama Most of these customs are based in superstition and a play on words! But I’ll take the excuse not to wash my hair or clean any day! Watching our expressions in slow motion really made us laugh out loud. Especially the scene where K runs with the knife and scissors. Which you should neverrrr do. This video took me much longer to edit with the “special effects” but I think it makes it funnier that we are chasing each other in a perpetual loop. #lunarnewyear#chinesenewyear#cny#cny2023#chineseculture#chinesecustom#chinesenewyear2023#yearoftherabbit♬ Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
Wendy alluded to the video being a time consuming project—what with all the special edits—but man was it worth it. This is TikTok comedy at its finest.
The clip has already garnered over 195K views. Those familiar with the customs found it laughably relatable. One person wrote, “thank you! I was running them through my mind and this was a great mini refresher.”
Others marveled at just how many things could make a year go terribly, terribly wrong. “Well, I’ll just stay in bed and not do anything,” one person joked.
The Lunar New Year for 2023 will fall on Jan 22, transitioning away from the Year of the Tiger and into the Year of The Rabbit, which represents wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. Hey, if it means becoming rich this year, I suppose we can let the hair washing and sweeping slide for a day.
'You date people you think you deserve. You deserve better.'
Gen Xer shares some timeless advice for Gen Z.
Meghan Smith is the owner of Melody Note Vintage store in the eternally hip town of Palm Springs, California, and her old-school Gen X advice has really connected with younger people on TikTok.
In a video posted in December 2022, she shares the advice she wishes that “somebody told me in my twenties” and it has received more than 13 million views. Smith says that she gave the same advice to her partner's two daughters when they reached their twenties.
The video is hashtagged #GenX advice for #GenZ and late #millennials. Sorry older millennials, you’re too old to receive these pearls of wisdom.
Here is some of the timeless advice that Smith shares in the video.
Perfection is bullshit.
You will never be more good-looking than you are today.
Put your phone down and enjoy your life.
Don't change for anybody.
Don't worry about making mistakes.
Laugh at yourself.
If somebody shows you their true colors, believe them.
Travel.
You end up dating the people you think you deserve. Usually, you deserve better.
Don’t forget to always wear your sunscreen.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties. #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp dont be an asshat in the comments if you are older, its not helpful.
She followed up the video with a sequel with even more sage advice.
Know who's on your side and who you can ask for help.
Don't smoke.
Don't spend longer than one year with the wrong person.
Find your own style.
Don't stress over the small stuff.
Good manners don't go out of style.
Do the work that it takes to be really good at something.
Your happiness is more important than other people's disappointment.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties part 2 #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp
"75% of adults with anxiety actually have ADHD as the cause of their anxiety."
Doctor breaks down how to recognize ADHD in adults
If it seems that everyone is being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), there may be a reason and it's likely not the reason people think. Diagnostic criteria were initially based off of how ADHD presented in white children who were mostly male, so if you fell outside of that box your diagnosis was often overlooked. This is especially true in girls who then turned into undiagnosed or misdiagnosed women.
But it's not just women who were undiagnosed since the criteria mostly included ways in which hyperactivity showed up—you know, the "H" in ADHD. But not everyone with ADHD presents with the stereotypical hyperactivity bit. Dr. Heather Brannon breaks down ways in which ADHD is missed and how to identify it in adults.
In the first few minutes of the video, Brannon drops a statistic that feels mind-boggling: "75% of adults with anxiety actually have ADHD as the cause of their anxiety." Even though I fit into that category, consider my mind completely boggled because I thought I was a rarity and my psychiatrist was a magician. Turns out, he was probably just up to date on his continuing education credits.
Brannon talks about how people who may express feelings of overwhelm, anxiousness, and tiredness and who are easily frustrated may actually have undiagnosed ADHD. Turns out, it's pretty easy to overlook ADHD that presents with more of the attention deficit part of the diagnosis than the hyperactivity part. When someone is having difficulty sitting still, talking so fast that you can barely keep up and is constantly on the go, it's pretty easy to pinpoint there may be an issue.
But when the person is quiet, sits still but misses large chunks of conversations or is chronically forgetful and sleepy, it's much easier to miss the signs, according to Brannon.
Brannon says many people feel bad about themselves without knowing why, so having an answer for why you're feeling this way can be helpful. The video is really fascinating and may help others recognize signs within themselves or with loved ones.
Give it a gander below:
Silent touchdowns still count!
He scored bonus points for creativity.
When a newborn comes in, parents have to make adaptations to their lives. And to be certain, it’s a whole lot more than just baby-proofing the house. Even once beloved hobbies might have to evolve. But where there’s creativity, there’s a way.
Case and point—this brilliant dad hack for watching sports during naptime.
Makenzie Waters, aka @makwaters on TikTok, shared an adorable video of her husband—clearly, a Cowboys fan, as indicated by his shorts—avidly watching a football game while Coop, their little one, stayed fast asleep.
How was he able to pull it off? With oven mitts, of course.
As the game plays at a low volume, the clever dad can be seen cheering silently. The oven mitts come into play when he gingerly picks up his beer to take a covert swig, or when he simply must clap emphatically for his team—which is often.
@makwaters One half down and baby Coop is still asleep 👍🏼 #cowboys♬ original sound - Makenzie Waters
“He learned his lesson,” Waters wrote in the video’s caption, indicating that maybe her husband picked up this hack the hard way.
The hilarious video quickly went viral, and ignited a variety of comments online. Many were applauding the unconventional parenting strategy.
“Respect for that. Find a way to do it," a commenter wrote.
“This is so much better than the videos of the dad just doing it and getting irritated when baby cries. He’s adapting!" another added.
Others felt like the opposite approach might have been better. One person wrote, “This is why you train your baby to be around lots of noise and different sounds especially when asleep!”
While this might be true to some degree, experts do say that exposure to loud noise (above 80 decibels) can be potentially harmful. And in this case—given that even the mildest sports viewing can get quite loud—the oven mitt method might have been the safest.
Perhaps the best takeaway from this is that parenting doesn’t always have to mean total sacrifice of the other things that bring you joy. All in all, this seems like a win-win. Or a win-win-win, if you count the Cowboys' victory.
With the Dallas Cowboys successfully making it to another round of the playoffs, it seems this dad will have a few more silent games to enjoy. And hopefully, those will also be filmed, giving us even more wholesome TikTok content to enjoy.
From amazing artists to helpful humans, this week's roundup is full of awesomeness.
Hey all!
We're back with another roundup of joy this week and we've got some sweet, sweet finds. Enjoy!
Delta flight attendant Floyd Dean-Shannon explained to the woman what all the different sounds and movements of the plane were to help ease her anxiety. And when it all got to be too much for her, he sat down in the aisle and held her hand. Incredible customer service and simply beautiful human-to-human understanding. Love to see it. Read the full story here.
@robertsquirrel From an interview on Newsner who has 30 million followers in 11 languages
Robert T. Squirrel (the "T" stands for "The") has quite the life! He has his own squirrel family now as well—his "wife" Barbara Ann and four youngsters named Peepers, Jeepers, Creepers and Sneekers—who live in his backyard squirrel house. (I know. My heart can't take it, either.)
People are in love with Hannah Bullen-Ryner's ephemeral animal images.
Hannah Bullen-Ryner creates one of these creatures each day in the fields near her apartment in the U.K. and each one seems miraculous. They don't last—they are left shortly after being made to be blown away by the elements—but she does capture them on camera before they return to nature. See more of Bullen-Ryner's ephemeral animal portraits and learn more about her process here.
Abraham gained recognition playing Antonio Salieri in the 1984 film "Amadeus," a role for which he won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, but he's not exactly a "household name" kind of actor. He is a prolific film, television and stage performer, however, and it's so sweet to see a career actor like him be so excited for fans to cheer him on.
\u201cHopkins, Minnesota: \n\nGlen Lake Elementary.\n\nMaybe take a moment\u2026\u201d— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1673659745
Dang it, where is that box of tissues? What a wonderful story of support and inclusivity. Read the full story here.
Such a special gift from Tom Higgenson. The power of music truly can't be underestimated.
Swipe through to see the dollar bill framed. Awww. Anyone else want to see this rom-com?
Erin Gallagher's post on LinkedIn about women hyping women has gone viral all over social media.
"Ladies, this is your vibe for 2023: unabashed hype woman," wrote Erin Gallagher as the opening of an empowering post about women supporting other women's successes instead of seeing one another as competition. It's an awesome read inspired by an awesome moment. Check it out here.
These guys are too fun. And that voice! Dang. See more of Adam and the Metal Hawks on Instagram.
\u201cA mother and her child \nhttps://t.co/eDOH1ZrAnk\u201d— Science girl (@Science girl) 1673871290
That's just pure oxytocin right there.
Hope that brought you some much-needed joy!
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