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One of the most famous anti-drug PSAs got an update, and it's brilliant.

This is your brain on drug policy.

Rachael Leigh Cook is back with the sequel to 1997's "your brain on drugs" PSA we didn't know we needed until now.

You might think that if she were going to bring back a famous character, she'd go for Laney Boggs from "She's All That" or maybe Josie from "Josie and the Pussycats," but this is even better (and honestly, much more important).

Cook in the 1997 PSA. Photo from Partnership for a Drug-Free America/YouTube.

You might remember the original ad, courtesy of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, in which Cook smashes her way through a diner with a frying pan to illustrate all the ways that doing drugs will ruin your life. It was a powerful TV spot with an effective message: Use drugs at your own peril!

But there's one issue: The original ad left out some important details about who is affected by the War on Drugs, what effect it actually had, and why we need to put an end to it.

In the new PSA, Cook again picks up a frying pan, this time to lay out a solid case for putting an end to the soul-crushing consequences of the newly revived War on Drugs.

Millions of people use drugs, but not all of them will get caught. Cook's updated PSA tells the story of the lives of two drug users: one who gets caught and one who doesn't.

A user convicted of a drug-related crime might struggle to find employment, housing, or even education. These crimes can be relatively small — such as possession of a single Oxycontin pill, possession of two joints, or trafficking — with hefty, decades-long sentences and a wrecked future.

[rebelmouse-image 19527460 dam="1" original_size="750x390" caption="Image from Green Point Creative/YouTube." expand=1]Image from Green Point Creative/YouTube.

The War on Drugs fuels mass incarceration, targets people of color, destroys communities, and costs billions of dollars. So why do we do it?

Maybe that's why Cook looks and sounds just as righteously pissed-off as she did in the '97 original, and maybe that's what we all need to do — because the War on Drugs just doesn't make sense.

[rebelmouse-image 19527461 dam="1" original_size="750x390" caption="Cook in 2017. Image from Green Point Creative/YouTube." expand=1]Cook in 2017. Image from Green Point Creative/YouTube.

Watch the updated PSA below, and learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against the War on Drugs at the Drug Policy Alliance.

Family

Korean mom has a perfect response to the teacher who called her son's lunches 'disgusting'

Good for her for standing up for her child's culture.

via Roman Harak/Flickr

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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parenting
Pop Culture

Mississippi meteorologist paused for a 'human' moment while reporting on devastating tornado

"Oh, man. Dear Jesus, please help them."

WTVA 9 News/YouTube

Meteorologist Matt Laubham prays for the people in the path of a deadly tornado.

Broadcasters who have to report on tragedies as they are happening have a tough job. On the one hand, they have to maintain their professionalism and inform the public of what's happening in a factual way. On the other hand, they're still human and sometimes humanity trumps the traditional perception of what's "professional."

Such was the case for WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan, who found himself live on the air staring at a radar scan of a deadly tornado as it moved towards the small town of Amory, Mississippi. He, more than anyone, understood the severity of the situation, and he did his best to convey that to his viewers.

"This is a strong, life-threatening tornado that's going to move either extremely close to Amory or in through the northern part of the city of Amory."

He added, "Y'all trust me too much," explaining that people sometimes take his predictions of where the tornado will go as hard fact, but the reality is that tornados can change directions at any time. "So Amory, we need to be in our tornado safe place," he said.

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humanity
Family

Dad found out his son bullied a kid at school and came up with a brilliant teaching moment

"I told him that we have the opportunity to make things right."

@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
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fatherhood
Pop Culture

Rick Astley covered Foo Fighters' 'Everlong' and it's shockingly great

Consider yourself Rick-Grohled.

Rick Astley/YouTube

Rick Astley rocking his Foo Fighters 'Everlong' cover.

Rick Astley has to be the luckiest '80s musician on the planet. The whole "Rickrolling" phenomenon has given his hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up" a reach far beyond its natural life span, and kept the guy a household name far longer than he probably would have been.

(For those who are unfamiliar, Rickrolling is when you make someone think they're being sent to a website, but the link goes to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video instead as a joke. It's a silly viral bait-and-switch gag that's been going since 2006.)

But what people may not realize, because his most famous song has become an internet joke, is that Rick Astley is actually a really freaking great musician. The man can saaaang and it seems he's only gotten better with age.

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Education

People are raving about how much easier it is to read with 'bionic reading' font

This viral tool could be a game-changer for some.

Photo via Canva, @WhattheADHD/Twitter

The 'bionic reading' font is designed to help keep you focused and read faster.

Reading is a fundamental tool of learning for most people, which is why it's one of the first things kids learn in school and why nations set literacy goals.

But even those of us who are able to read fluently might sometimes struggle with the act of reading itself. Perhaps we don't read as quickly as we wish we could or maybe our minds wander as our eyes move across the words. Sometimes we get to the end of a paragraph and realize we didn't retain anything we just read.

People with focus or attention issues can struggle with reading, despite having no actual reading disabilities. It can be extremely frustrating to want to read something and have no issues with understanding the material, yet be unable to keep your mind engaged with the text long enough to get "into" what you're reading.

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Joy

Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights

Best. Host. Ever.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

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nature
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