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People are sharing the marriage advice that 'sounded absurd' but is actually really helpful

Here are 19 of the best responses.

man and woman in counseling behind comment
via Pexels

Work at it every single day, folks.


The best advice isn’t always obvious, or else we would have thought of it ourselves. It often comes out of left field and can be counterintuitive at the time, but it eventually sinks in. When it comes to marriage, the best advice tends to be centered around keeping a focus on the long game.

One of the best pieces of marriage advice I ever received was, “Buy her a bottle of shampoo from time to time without her asking.” Now, that doesn’t mean to get shampoo specifically, but just pick up something here and there to show you care and are thinking about her.

Marriage, if done right, is forever, so that often means taking a loss in the short-term to enjoy the long-term benefits of a happy life with someone. This is great as a concept, but as a practice it can be pretty darn hard day in and day out. Hence why about 50% of American marriages end in divorce.

Reddit user thecountnotthesaint put out a call to the AskMen forum for some of the best marriage advice that “sounded absurd” but was actually helpful.

The question was inspired by some advice the Reddit user had received from their father, who claimed that a king-sized bed is the key to a happy marriage. "I'll be damned if that wasn't one of the best decisions we made aside from getting married and having kids," they wrote.

A lot of the advice was about being careful not to escalate small disagreements into larger arguments that could turn personal and ugly. A lot of people think that to have a successful marriage means being able to compromise and to let things go quickly.

Here are some of the best responses to the question, “What random marriage advice sounded absurd but was actually spot on helpful?”

1.

"Dad said 'Be kind even if you’re not feeling it. Maybe especially if you’re not feeling it.'” — semantician

2. 

"At my wedding, my wife's Grandmother offered so[me] funny, weird, solid advice. She said, 'If you get angry with each other, go to bed naked and see if you can resolve it before you go to sleep.' So far, so good. Anniversary on Monday!" — drizzyjdracco

3. 

"The advice I’ve given people is this: if you can go grocery shopping with your person and have the best time ever, you have yourself a keeper. It’s all about making the best of the mundane things, because after years of being together, life becomes predictable. You’ll need to keep the spice going, regardless of what you’re doing. Source: married 15 years." — LemonFizzy0000

4. 

"My grandfather told me 'Never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.' What I learned is that he would always help my grandma and that is when they did their most talking." — t480

5. 

"When our kid was about to be born, someone told me to change the first diaper. If you can handle the first one, the others will be easy.' So I did. I didn't know what I was doing, so I asked the nurse at the hospital to teach me, and I changed the first several few diapers while my wife recovered from a difficult labor. The advice was correct, no other diaper was as disgusting as the first one. It got very easy and I never minded doing it, and my wife was really really grateful. And I loved that I could take on some of the parenting chores, since there was so much that she was the only one... equipped to provide." — wordserious

6. 

"Focus on tackling the problem, not each other." — bobbobbobbobbob123

7. 


"Don’t have too high of expectations. My dad told us that, but we found most of our early fights were when one or the other had unspoken expectations of the other or marriage. It is positively life changing to be married, and an amazing experience, but still life goes on."— nopants_ranchdance

8. 

"Marry him for who he is. Not his potential." — There-is-No-beyond

9. 


"My stepmom just passed away, and dad said something that has profoundly changed my attitude: 'The little things that annoyed me are the things I now miss.' So, like, yea for some reason she squeezes a massive glob of toothpaste which mostly falls into the sink basin and she doesn't wash away the toothpaste spit. If/when she's gone, that little constant annoyance that reminds me she's there will be gone too. Don't nag on the little things, rather, embrace them. (still, let her know she has made progress on other things I've pointed out, as I try to adapt to her wishes)." — drewkungfu

10. 

"Say thank you for day to day things, even taking out the trash, sweeping the floor, or folding laundry. Audibly hearing thank you reinforces the feeling of being appreciated." — BVolatte

11. 

"Randomly give your partner a cold beverage on a hot day. It's the little things that show you care." — Purple12Inchruler

12. 


"You don't just marry her, you marry her whole damn family." — crazypersn

13. 

"One of my colonels told me: 'Just buy two damn pizzas, instead of arguing over the toppings.'"— MgoBlue702

14. 

"Be honest. Don't lie to your partner." — Mikeydeeluxe

15. 

"Don’t marry a woman whose dad calls her 'princess,' because she probably believes it. Much to his regret, my brother ignored this advice from our dad." — Toadie9622

16. 

"My fiance always says that 'just because' flowers are the best kind of flowers." — agaribay1010

17. 

"My Gramps who was married for over 50 yrs said: 'tell her you love her every single day.' Kind of obvious, but I definitely took it to heart." — sorellk

18. 

"Love isn’t about having 'nice feelings for each other.' It’s about acting for the betterment of someone else, even if you don’t feel like it. Emotions will change. Your willingness to treat your spouse a certain way doesn’t have to." — sirplaind

19. 


"Bill Maher said "The three most important words in a relationship aren't 'I love you', they're 'let it go.' Oddly, this has proven to be some of the best relationship advice I've ever heard." — KrssCom


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Innovation

Ontario teen says he'll live in 'modular home' invention for a year to prove it can end homelessness

He's already invented a wooden car.

ideas, homelessness, prodigy, social work, solutions
Photo credit: @ribalzebian on Instagram

Ribal Zebian is going to test a house he designed by living in it for a year.

Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he's in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself.

Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall. With that in mind, he conjured up a blueprint for a modular home that would help address both problems.

Zebian’s version of a modular home would be made of fiberglass panels and thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam. He chose those materials because he believes they can make a sturdy dwelling in a short amount of time—specifically in just a single day.

“With fiberglass you can make extravagant molds, and you can replicate those,” Zebian told CTV News. “It can be duplicated. And for our roofing system, we’re not using the traditional truss method. We’re using actually an insulated core PET foam that supports the structure and structural integrity of the roof.”

Zebian also believes these homes don’t have to be purely utilitarian—they can also offer attractive design and customizable features to make them personal and appealing.

“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is bring a home to the public that could be built in one day, is affordable, and still carries some architecturally striking features,” he said to the London Free Press. “We don’t want to be bringing a house to Canadians that is just boxy and that not much thought was put into it.”

Beginning in May 2026, Zebian is putting his modular home prototype to the test by living inside of a unit for a full year with the hope of working out any and all kinks before approaching manufacturers.

“We want to see if we can make it through all four seasons- summer, winter, spring, and fall,” said Zebian. “But that’s not the only thing. When you live in something that long and use it, you can notice every single mistake and error, and you can optimize for the best experience.”

While Zebian knows that his modular homes aren't a long-term solution to either the homeless or housing crisis, he believes they could provide an inexpensive option to help people get the shelter they need until certain policies are reformed so the unhoused can find affordable permanent dwellings.

@hard.knock.gospel

What to buy for the homeless at the grocery store. 🛒 Most people get it wrong. After being there myself, these are the survival items that actually matter 💯 The 2nd to last one is about more than survival—it’s about DIGNITY. We are all one circumstance away from the same shoes 🙏 SAVE this for your next grocery run. 📌 IG@hardknockgospel Substack@ Outsiders_Anonymous #homelessness #helpingothers #kindness #payitforward #learnontiktok

Zebian’s proposal and experiment definitely inspires others to try to help, too. If you wish to lend a hand to the unhoused community in your area in the United States, but don’t know where to look, you can find a homeless shelter or charity near you through here. Whether it’s through volunteering or through a donation, you can help make a difference.

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Guy sparks debate by claiming he can tell you were born after 1995 if you say 'VHS player'

"Tape player, if you're nasty."

VHS, VCR, Tape player, 1970s, 1980s, Gen X, Boomer
Photo Credit: Canva

A few VHS tapes on a table.

There are certain words, expressions, and references that, when used, can absolutely give away a person's generation. If someone hears "Leave a message on my machine," they might assume they're dealing with a Boomer. On the other end of the spectrum, if someone says, "Hit me up on Snapchat," one could place bets that it's not a Boomer or even a Gen X-er talking.

So when @Bittenhand19 took to Threads to state, "If I hear a person say 'VHS player' I know for a fact that person was born after 1995," it got quite a lot of people weighing in.

But let's rewind for a quick technological history lesson.

A brief history of the VCR. www.youtube.com, 21st Century Entertainment

Way back in the 1950s (1956, to be exact), the first VCR, or Video Cassette Recorder, was released to the public. According to Christian Roemer's article on the history of the VCR, "The first widely available VCR-like device was mainly intended for television networks, and it was incredibly expensive. Its 1956 price tag was $55,000, which converts to about half a million dollars in 2022. That's right: the first VCR analogue was more expensive than a house!"

Over the decades, the price tag dropped, and by the early 1970s, the first VCRs were hitting store shelves for consumers. But here's where the confusion might come in for some. "The problem was that VCRs didn't all use the same tapes at that point," Roemer wrote. "Sony had Betamax, JVC had VHS, and a couple other stragglers bounced around too. Sort of like different video game systems, the different home video formats vied for market share and duked it out for a while. By the late 1970s, the public had spoken with their wallets, and VHS won the day. VCRs would eventually be in practically every home worldwide."

VCR, VHS, Tapes, 80s, 90s A VHS tape is pulled out of a VCR. Giphy Video VHS GIF

Interestingly, a post titled "The Rise and Fall of the VCR: A Comprehensive History" on the DiJiFi website further explains:

"Despite incorporating state-of-the-art sound and audio quality at the time, Betamax and VHS were at war. JVC developed and released the VHS in Japan in 1976, then released the product in the U.S. market a year later. While Sony's Betamax machine was the first form of videotape hardware to host home videos, it was no match for JVC for several reasons.

The VHS has a lighter build, resulting in cheaper manufacturing. The rectangular box could hold twice the amount of film tape, allowing it to play longer features that Betamax could not. While Sony's Betamax had superior picture quality, the VHS took first place in terms of cost-effectiveness and convenience, making it the preferred home videotaping format."

Which brings us back to the Threads post. With nearly 2,000 likes and more than 300 comments, people most definitely had their own takes. Some jumped in to say the correct term was "tape player," with one person specifically writing, "tape player, if you're nasty."

Betamax, Sony, 1980s, Gen X, Boomer A Betamax sits on the floor. commons.wikimedia.org, File:Sony Betamax SL-C7E.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Many seem to know that the correct term is VCR, since VHS was merely a brand name (not unlike the way "tissues" and "Kleenex" are often used interchangeably).

Another commenter went into greater detail, while also pointing out that someone born in 1995 understands the distinction: "1995 here. Wrong. All VCRs played VHS tapes, but not all VHS players were VCRs. There were dedicated VHS players that could only play tapes, but couldn't record onto those tapes."

This commenter goes deep into the weeds: "You do not know this for a fact. They could possibly be someone who thought Betamax was a superior format for video cassette recorders. Or differentiating from their regular VHS VCR and one that did S-VHS, Video8, VHS-C, Hi8, PXL-2000, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes people have to make a distinction."

Some went the humorous route: "VHS player? That's a VCR. Stands for…video…crambobulating…robot."

Perhaps even more interestingly, some claim it's not a generational thing at all, but a geographical one: "Funny, if I hear a person say 'VCR,' I know they're American."

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Another school district just shifted to a 4-day week and parents are making themselves heard

America already has fewer school days than most other countries.

kids, school, school days, school week, schedule, 4 day week
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Many school districts are moving to a 4-day week, but there are pros and cons to the approach.

American kids have fewer school days than most other major countries as it is, which poses a big challenge for families with two working parents. In a system designed for the "classic" stay-at-home mom model, it's difficult for many modern families to cover childcare and fulfill their work obligations during the many, many holidays and extra days off American children receive in school.

Some school districts, in fact, are ready to take things one step further with even fewer instructional days: for better or for worse.

Whitney Independent School District in Texas recently made news when it decided to enact a four-day week heading into the 2025 school year. That makes it one of dozens of school districts in Texas to make the change and over 900 nationally.

The thought of having the kids home from school EVERY Friday or Monday makes many parents break out in stress hives, but this four-day school week movement isn't designed to give parents a headache. It's meant to lure teachers back to work.

Yes, teachers are leaving the profession in droves and young graduates don't seem eager to replace them. Why? For starters, the pay is bad—but that's just the beginning. Teachers are burnt out, undermined and criticized relentlessly, held hostage by standardized testing, and more. It can be a grueling, demoralizing, and thankless job. The love and passion they have for shaping the youth of tomorrow can only take you so far when you feel like you're constantly getting the short end of the stick.

School districts want to pay their teachers more, in theory, but their hands are often tied. So, they're getting creative to recruit the next generation of teachers into their schools—starting with an extra day off for planning, catch-up, or family time every week.

Teachers in four-day districts often love the new schedule. Kids love it (obviously). It's the parents who, as a whole, aren't super thrilled.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

So far, the data shows that the truncated schedule perk is working. In these districts, job applications for teachers are up, retirements are down, and teachers are reporting better mental well-being. That's great news!

But these positive developments may be coming at the price of the working parents in the communities. Most early adopters of the four-day week have been rural communities with a high prevalence of stay-at-home parents. As the idea starts to take hold in other parts of the country, it's getting more pushback. Discussions on Reddit, Facebook, and other social media platforms are overrun with debate on how this is all going to shake up. Some parents, to be fair, like the idea! If they stay-at-home or have a lot of flexibility, they see it as an opportunity for more family time. But many are feeling anxious. Here's what's got those parents worried:

The effect on students' achievement is still unclear.

The execution of the four-day week varies from district to district. Some schools extend the length of each of the four days, making the total instructional time the same. That makes for a really long day, and some teachers say the students are tired and more unruly by the late afternoon. Some districts are just going with less instruction time overall, which has parents concerned that their kids might fall behind.

A study of schools in Iowa that had reduced instructional days found that five-days-a-week students performed better, on average.

Four-day school weeks put parents in a childcare bind.

Having two working parents is becoming more common and necessary with the high cost of living. Of course—"school isn't daycare!" But it is the safe, reliable, and educational place we send our kids while we we work.

Families with money and resources may be able to enroll their kids in more academics, extracurriculars, sports, or childcare, but a lot of normal families won't be able to afford that cost. Some schools running a four-day week offer a paid childcare option for the day off, but that's an added expense and for families with multiple kids in the school system, it's just not possible.

kids, school, school days, school week, schedule, 4 day week In a 4-day model, kids often (but not always) receive less instructional time. Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

This will inevitably end with some kids getting way more screentime.

With most parents still working five-day weeks, and the cost of extra activities or childcare too high, a lot of kids are going to end up sitting around on the couch with their iPad on those days off. Adding another several hours of it to a child's week seems less than ideal according to expert recommendations.

Of course there are other options other than paid childcare and iPads. There are play dates, there's getting help from family and friends. All of these options are an enormous amount of work to arrange for parents who are already at capacity.

Working four days is definitely a win for teachers that makes the job more appealing. But it doesn't address the systemic issues that are driving them to quit, retire early, or give up their dreams of teaching all together.

@5th_with_ms.y

Replying to @emory here are my thoughts on my 4day work week as a teacher✨ #foryou #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall #teachersoftiktokfyp #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #teachersbelike #teachertiktok #tik #tiktok #viralllllll #teachertoks #teaching #teacher #tok #viralvideo #teacherlife #viral #trendy #teacher #teaching #worklifebalance #worklife #publicschool #publiceducation #school #student

A Commissioner of Education from Missouri calls truncated schedules a "band-aid solution with diminishing returns." Having an extra planning day won't stop teachers from getting scapegoated by politicians or held to impossible curriculum standards, it won't keep them from having to buy their own supplies or deal with ever-worsening student behavior.

Some teachers and other experts have suggested having a modified five-day school week, where one of the days gets set aside as a teacher planning day while students are still on-site participating in clubs, music, art—you know, all the stuff that's been getting cut in recent years. Something like that could work in some places.

In any case, the debate over a shortened school week is not going away any time soon. More districts across the country are doing their research in preparation for potentially making the switch.

Many parents don't theoretically mind the idea of their busy kids having an extra day off to unwind, pursue hobbies, see friends, catch up on projects, or spend time as a family. They're also usually in favor of anything that takes pressure off of overworked teachers. But until we adopt a four-day work week as the standard, the four-day school week is always going to feel a little out of place.

This article originally appeared in February. It has been updated.

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Gen Z shares their most hilarious 'Boomer' opinions, revealing just how much they have in common

"Sometimes the music is TOO LOUD."

gen z, generation z, boomer, boomers, baby boomers
Photo credit: Canva

Gen Z is very similar to Baby Boomers and shares their most Boomer opinions.

Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is defined by many things: a love of the color yellow, "work minimalism," and the Gen Z stare. Recently, Gen Z has started to gain a reputation for behaving like Baby Boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964) in form and function.

Gen Z and Boomers have become peas in a pod, sharing many similarities. According to research from youth-focused creative agency Adolescent Content, Gen Z reports having values and outlooks similar to Boomers when it comes to marriage, family, homeownership, and more.

@four.nine

Are Gen-Z the new Boomers? #generation #generations #genz #boomers #millenials #millenial #genzvsmillenial

In a Reddit discussion, Gen Zers shared their most Boomer opinions. From technology to tipping, here are 21 takes they fully stand by:

"Sometimes the music is TOO LOUD." - User Unknown

"You don't need an Apple watch!" - DawnofMidnight7

"Cars have too many screens and too few buttons and knobs." - User Unknown

"The loss of ownership. Everything's moving to a subscription, lease, or rental model. I fear someday we'll own nothing and you'll subscribe/sign a lease/rent everything." - User Unknown

"You don't need a phone in grade school." - DEA187MDKjr

"I can't stand QR menus." - Prestigious-Ear5001

"Stop giving your kids iPads so young. My mom gave me a ds & a leap pad. DS can still have an addictive quality, but it's not the same level of 'bad' that an iPad has. I got my iPad at 13 after saving for a whole summer as well as birthday/Christmas money from that past year & I still saw things I probably didn't need to see at 13. I truly can see a difference in the emotional regulation of iPad kids vs other kids." - TheNarwhalMom

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"'Dumb' TVs need to be made for those who don't want ads and Internet connection, I just want to watch TV 😭." - yerboiboba

"Internet should be on my phone and my computer only. I barely allow my tv to have it. My fridge, my toaster oven, my washer and dryer DO NOT NEED INTERNET CONNECTION." - king-of-new_york

"Not everything needs to be a smart device. Let the fridge be a damn fridge it shouldn't need software updates." - ceejay267

"Disney was better back in our day." - User Unknown

"We really need to let kids be kids. Additionally: work is good, actually. There has never been a point in human history where work has not only not been a necessity of survival but something that human beings have actively sought out as enrichment. When people complain about work, they are more often than not describing issues with work culture under capitalism rather than the concept of work itself. You don't actually hate work. You just want to be treated humanely as a worker." - OhLookItsGeorg3

"It's much more convenient to write stuff down on paper instead of a note app." - Essen_lover

"This generation is way too comfortable putting off things they need to do because they're 'uncomfortable.' Sometimes we have to suck it up and just do what we need to do, even if we don't necessarily want to." - mssleepyhead73

gen z, generation z, gen z, notes, note taking, notebook A Gen Zer takes notes in a notebook.Photo credit: Canva

"If the burger is $10+ it comes with fries and a soda fountain cup." - SecretWasianMan

"No I'm not tipping if I see a service charge on the receipt, especially if you didn't tell me up front. I'm especially not tipping more than 10% if you just get a can out of the fridge or throw a bagel in the microwave." - SecretWasianMan

"In store shopping is better than Amazon if management actually gives a sh*t about product knowledge and customer experience." - SecretWasianMan

"Yes, you should get your drivers license even if you don't plan on driving right now. No one has a crystal ball and I haven't met a 25 year old that has their sh*t together but can't take 10 minutes to fill out an online application with the DMV." - SecretWasianMan

"People are way too obsessed with social media." - TheRealLaura789

"I miss the AUX port on my phone :( I don't like AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds, I want the wired ones!" - doguillo77

"I hate when teenagers are being teenagers in public." - Puzzleheaded-Plum192

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People keep dressing as flamboyant 'Three's Company' character on cruises and it's so delightful

A Carnival Cruise brand ambassador says the phenomenon is "getting out of control."

cruise, cruise ship, carnival, royal carribbean, three's company, mrs. roper, helen roper, roper romps, lgbtq
Public Domain & Photo credit: Canva

"Mrs. Roper Romps" are taking over cruise ships and it's the most joyous vacation trend in years.

Cruises are fertile ground for community and wholesome, silly fun. People aboard ships, free from work, news from the outside world, and other adult responsibilities, get into all kinds of joyful mischief. They hide rubber ducks around the ship for others to find, decorate their cabin doors, and leave notes of appreciation when someone's room is especially well decorated. Groups also wear matching shirts and other ridiculous outfits.

One such group tradition has made cruise ships around the world a little more colorful: people, in droves, have been dressing up as the iconic Three's Company character Mrs. Roper.

Played by Audra Lindley, Helen Roper was famous for her quick wit, sassy demeanor, and extraordinarily loud outfits. Notably, in the long-running sitcom she was usually seen wearing a caftan—a long, flowy robe or tunic—along with wide, boldly shaped glasses, chunky beaded necklaces, dangly earrings, and, of course, her signature short, curly hair.

Though the character had a popular run in the late '70s and early '80s, Mrs. Roper experienced a renaissance in the 2010s, when she became an icon in the LGBTQ community. Dressing as Mrs. Roper at Pride celebrations and other events became popular around 2013. People embraced the character's open-minded, progressive personality, as well as the way she challenged societal norms for older women on television in her era.

It's also, let's face it, just plain fun to dress up in such a wild and unencumbered outfit.

More recently, hordes of Mrs. Ropers have been spotted aboard cruise ships, with the best and brightest of these meetups known as "Mrs. Roper Romps." Parade magazine reports that nearly every Royal Caribbean sailing has featured a sizable romp over the past few years.

@kynsleesmom

#mrsroper #carnivalliberty #cruise

In social media groups and cruise forums, Ropers-in-waiting meet up to plan their romps. They might organize a bar crawl, a deck walk, or a dance party. Of course, no romp is complete without plenty of photo ops.

The dress-up meetups have been popular on land for years now, but being at sea allows fans to take the gag to a whole new level. Being on vacation, in international waters where "anything goes," and buoyed by a hint of onboard anonymity allows people to truly let loose once they don the signature muumuu.

But what is it about Mrs. Roper that inspires so much flirtatious sass? The New York Times writes:

"By 2023 standards, the show might be considered retrograde in its attitudes toward feminism and homosexuality. But when it aired, its randy suggestiveness pushed broadcast boundaries. Mrs. Roper was its progressive Pole Star: Freethinking and voluptuary, she pooh-poohed her husband’s anti-gay slights and illustrated for Janet and Chrissy how an older woman could have sexual agency. ... That attitude has made the character into something of a cult figure today, particularly among gay men and straight women, who make up most of the Mrs. Roper Romp crowds."

Planning romps with strangers allows passengers to connect with like-minded new friends and make their vacations even more memorable.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Not everyone, however, is a fan of cruise-based "Mrs. Roper Romps."

When you're on a cruise ship, it's hard to escape the crowds and constant hustle if you're not participating. That's why the romps have received some pushback from passengers annoyed by gaggles of Ropers taking over the pool deck day after day.

In fact, the "controversy" has drawn so much attention that key cruise line figures have been forced to weigh in.


Carnival's longtime brand ambassador, John Heald, recently took to social media with a simple plea.

"I'm sorry, but this Cruise phenomenon of dressing as Mrs. Roper is getting out of control and needs to be stopped now.!!!" he wrote in an Instagram post.

Of course, in the very same post, he posed in a bright orange muumuu, a curly wig, and a humongous beaded necklace.

Love it or hate it, the atmosphere on a cruise ship is special and hard to recreate anywhere else.

They're like massive, floating resorts, but being on the open ocean adds an extra nautical twist to the typical vacation experience. The rooms are small, so passengers spend all day and most of the evening out and about. And while cruise ships are big, they can't compete with the size of an open beach. The relatively close quarters have a way of fostering even more community. You run into the same people over and over and frequent the same spots on the ship.

And all the while, most passengers have little to no access to their cell phones or the internet (unless they've paid a hefty fee for spotty service). With distractions and responsibilities removed, carefree fun thrives.

In divisive times, a cruise is almost the perfect escape. In fact, in 2024, one cruise line announced plans to offer a four-year "skip ahead" voyage for anyone who wanted to more or less check out of the news cycle for the foreseeable future.

"Mrs. Roper Romps" may not be everyone's cup of tea, and getting caught in one while trying to grab a drink at the pool bar can be a hassle, but the loud, proud celebration of joy and self-confidence is something everyone can get on board with.

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