A reporter asked people to describe the taste of Dr Pepper. He got some really creative answers.
An innocent tweet by sports reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques erupted into a great discussion where people tried to describe the indescribable. “There’s an unnamed media member in here who has never had a Dr. Pepper and asked what it tastes like,” he tweeted. “I have no idea how to describe it — how would y’all do…
An innocent tweet by sports reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques erupted into a great discussion where people tried to describe the indescribable. “There’s an unnamed media member in here who has never had a Dr. Pepper and asked what it tastes like,” he tweeted.
“I have no idea how to describe it — how would y’all do it?” he asked.
Marcel Louis-Jacques covers the Miami Dolphins for ESPN and appears on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and more.
The question feels like a Zen koan such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “What do you call the world?”
There's an unnamed media member in here who has never had a Dr. Pepper and asked what it tastes like.
I have no idea how to describe it — how would y'all do it?— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 24, 2021
The taste of Dr Pepper is hard to describe because there’s nothing quite like it. It has a hint of cherry. Maybe a little licorice. There’s definitely some allspice in there. It’s tough to describe because it’s a combination of 23 different flavors.
It’s believed that the actual 23 flavors are a trade secret and the recipe is kept as two halves in safe deposit boxes in two separate Dallas banks.
It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas and was introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition as a new kind of soda pop. Dr Pepper has been around for over 130 years and the flavor has yet to be duplicated. Mr. Pibb comes close, but it doesn’t quite have the same magic.
There are a lot of creative responses to the tweet with people doing their best to put flavor into words.
It's a Pepper spiced cola. You get an initial sugary/sweet taste with a pepper finish.
(Yes, I am a Dr.Pepper lifer)— Alfredo Arteaga (@Alf_Arteaga) September 24, 2021
The nectar of the gods.— Bruce Nolan (@BruceExclusive) September 24, 2021
it tastes like cigarettes and spice— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) September 24, 2021
Pepsi with a hint of prune juice— Burner Burnside (@BurnerBurnside) September 24, 2021
Like a coke or Pepsi with an infusion of the crispest Cherry you have had— MANIAC (@ZachSheldon) September 24, 2021
You know how Root Beer tastes different than cola? It's like that, but even differenter— Nick Van Wagenen (@MKEnick) September 24, 2021
If Cherry coke and Root beer had a lovechild— JawnOlerud (@JawnOlerud) September 24, 2021
Only one answer, barbecue water — Matt Webster (@Lets_go_webster) September 24, 2021
"The 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper are cola, cherry, licorice, amaretto, almond, vanilla, blackberry, apricot, caramel, pepper, anise, sarsaparilla, ginger, molasses, lemon, plum, orange, nutmeg, cardamon, all spice, coriander juniper, birch and prickly ash." — Jarret (@ADarkenedShroud) September 24, 2021
Evidently, there are a lot of people who can't stand the taste of Dr Pepper. It's kinda like black licorice or cilantro. You love it or you hate it.
I know this may get be blocked ?? but good for that person - it tastes awful ?— Michelle ?❤️? (@malden104) September 24, 2021
Agree with you 100%. Hands down the nastiest soda I've ever tasted in my life ??— Renaissance Man (@Billsfandiehard) September 24, 2021
If you’ve ever killed a palmetto bug…there’s a smell they have. Dr. Pepper tastes like that smell. It’s disgusting.— J Christensen-Sharpe (@Snowbird_Killer) September 24, 2021
My grandma describes it as tasting like the smell of ants when you smash them — Jeremy Sanders (@jeremy_lonavi) September 24, 2021
So, in the end, what does Dr Pepper taste like? The best answer should be: Dr Pepper. Much like how an orange has an orange flavor or a cherry has a cherry flavor. Dr pepper has a Dr Pepper flavor.
In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin.
It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest.
The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn?
Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.
MEDEA Screening Audience in Tanzania. Captured by James Roh for Pura
Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world.
Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends.
Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.
A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission
Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education.
But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities.
The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere.
You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.
Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil
Julia with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country.
“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says.
But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.
Ayomidês with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine, works at UNICEF, helping train the next generation of adolescent leaders. And Julia has already set her sights on becoming a math teacher or a model.
“These are generations of Black women who did not have access to a school,” Naiara says. “These are generations of Black women robbed daily of their dreams. And we’re telling them that they could be the generation in their family to write a new story.”
Mama Habiba is reframing the conversation in Nigeria
Centre for Girls' Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
In Mama Habiba’s home country of Nigeria, the scents of starfruit, ylang ylang and pineapple, all incorporated into the Pura x Malala Collection’s “Nigeria: Hope for Tomorrow,” can be found throughout the vibrant markets. Like these native scents, Mama Habiba says that the Nigerian girls are also bright and passionate, but too often they are forced to leave school long before their potential fully blooms.
“Some of these schools are very far, and there is an issue of quality, too,” Mama Habiba says. “Most parents find out when their children are in school, the girls are not learning. So why allow them to continue?”
When girls drop out of secondary school, marriage is often the alternative. In Nigeria, one in three girls is married before the age of 18. When this happens, girls are unable to fulfill their potential, and their families and communities lose out on the social, health and economic benefits.
Completing secondary school delays marriage, and according to UNESCO, educated girls become women who raise healthier children, lift their families out of poverty and contribute to more peaceful, resilient communities.
Centre for Girls’ Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
To encourage young girls to stay in school, the Centre for Girls’ Education, a nonprofit in Nigeria founded by Mama Habiba and supported by Malala Fund and Pura, has pioneered an initiative that’s similar to the Ayomidê workshops in Brazil: safe spaces. Here, girls meet regularly to learn literacy, numeracy, and other issues like reproductive health. These safe spaces also provide an opportunity for the girls to role-play and learn to advocate for themselves, develop their self-image, and practice conversations with others about their values, education being one of them. In safe spaces, Mama Habiba says, girls start to understand “who she is, and that she is a girl who has value. She has the right to negotiate with her parents on what she really feels or wants.”
“When girls are educated, they can unlock so many opportunities,” Mama Habiba says. “It will help the economy of the country. It will boost so many opportunities for the country. If they are given the opportunity, I think the sky is not the limit. It is the starting point for every girl.”
From parades, film screenings to safe spaces and educational programs, girls and local leaders are working hard to strengthen the quality, safety and accessibility of education and overcome systemic challenges. They are encouraging courageous behavior and reminding us all that education is freedom.
Experience the Pura x Malala Fund Collection here, and connect with the stories of real girls leading change across the globe.
When Mats Janzon found Leya, she was just a tiny baby curled up alone in the grass near his home in Sweden. Janzon was out on a quiet walk in the woods when he heard a soft peeping sound and saw it was a baby otter. He kept his distance for several hours, hoping her mother would return. When no one came, he searched the area and found that her mother had been killed on a major road nearby. Leya appeared to be starving and barely breathing, and he knew she wouldn’t make it without help.
Janzon had volunteered with animal rescues while working as a pilot in Cyprus, but after moving back to Sweden several years ago, he felt a pull to leave his job and spend more time in nature. “This shift led me to focus on helping wildlife,” Janzon tells Upworthy. “I’ve cared for various animals, mostly birds, that seemed to find me. Huginn, a crow I rescued, stayed with me for three years before he was ready to join his own flock in the wild.”
However, Janzon had never raised an otter before and didn’t know what to do. He was scared, as Leya needed care around the clock, but she began to thrive and quickly bonded with him. She would cry when he left the room and curl up in his lap to feel safe.
“The first time she let me pet her, I remember thinking this can’t be real,” Janzon told the TikTok account SoulPaws Tails. “It felt like a dream, this wild, free otter choosing to trust me.”
Still, Janzon kept second-guessing himself, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Otters are wild animals, and he knew Leya couldn’t stay indoors forever. So, starting with a plastic kiddie pool in the backyard, Janzon helped Leya learn to swim. She was awkward in the water at first, but little by little, day by day, she grew more confident.
Two years ago, our sweet otter pup Leya took her very first splash in a cozy baby pool, a moment that still melts our hearts! At just a few weeks old, tiny Leya was all curiosity and wobbly paws as she explored the shallow water filled with colorful floating toys. ?✨ Her first cautious pats at the surface turned into excited splashes as she chased the toys. Watching her dive and twirl, already showing off her natural otter grace, was pure magic. Now, at 2 years old, Leya’s likely out in the wild, thriving and possibly finding a safe territory for her own pups. ? We’re so proud of the strong, playful otter she’s become, and we’ll always cherish those early days of her splashing adventures in that little pool. ? Here’s to Leya, ruling the rivers and raising her own little swimmers! ?? #Throwback#FirstSwim#OtterMemories#WildAndFree#fyp#foryourpage
Leya followed Janzon everywhere. Soon she became part of the family, which included another rescued crow and a cat. The animals would play hide and seek, chasing one another around the bushes. Janzon says it was like something out of a children’s storybook.
Once Leya was totally comfortable in the water, he took her down to the lake. She looked up at Janzon as if to ask, “What now?” He nodded at her, and she jumped into the water. He realized that in some way he’d become a father to her.
“I named Leya while sitting with her on my lap, gazing out over the lake in a near-meditative state,” Janzon tells Upworthy. “I quietly asked her, ‘Who are you? What should I call you?’ The name Leya popped into my mind, and when I said it aloud, she instantly looked up at me. That’s when I knew it was the name meant for her.”
But as Leya grew, so did her wild instincts. She began to wander farther and stay out longer, and Janzon knew it was time to let her go. He describes it as “a strange kind of love—part pride, part heartbreak” but she started living the life she was meant to live.
“Leya is an old soul, brimming with energy and positivity, always finding opportunities in everything,” Janzon says. “Nothing seems impossible for her. She’s been a true inspiration and a dear friend during my transition from a conventional career to a life focused on something greater, not just working to pay bills, but making a difference by helping all living beings in our community.”
At some point, Leya started staying away for days at a time. But even then, when Janzon was out for a morning kayak ride on the lake, he’d see her nose pop out of the water and start moving towards him. Leya knew he was there and would swim up and climb into the kayak for cuddles and a ride.
Mats says Leya is officially living her wild life now.
“I last saw Leya at the end of May,” Janzon tells Upworthy. “Initially, we thought she’d find her own territory before winter, but after several long trips, she chose to stay under the house while the lake was frozen. When spring arrived, she resumed her search, staying away for up to 10 days before returning for brief visits, lasting a few hours to a day. Her last visit was unusually long, over a week. I suspect she may have been pregnant, eating heartily to prepare for a longer stay in a new territory farther away.”
Janzon wants people to know that as much as he loves Leya, she’s not a pet. “When an animal trusts you, it creates a bond deeper than words can explain,” he told SoulPaws Tails. “If you’re thinking of adopting or rescuing an animal, especially a wild one, please do it with your whole heart and full responsibility. Do your homework, talk to professionals, ask questions, learn everything you can about animals like Leya. They aren’t pets. They’re living, feeling souls that deserve to be loved and respected for who they are.”
You can follow Mats Janzon and see more videos of Leya on TikTok.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
When you see a list of the year’s most popular baby names, what you’re really looking at are the most common baby names in a specific country or culture. If you live in the U.S., you likely know a whole lot of kids named Olivia, Emma, Liam, and Noah, but if you live in Thailand or Kyrgyzstan or Botswana, you probably don’t.
Simply saying common names in different countries can sometimes result in hilarity. A name that sounds beautiful and has a lovely meaning in one language might sound odd and mean something very different in another. For instance, Odd is a common name in Norway, but it sounds…well, odd to and English ear. The former president of Vietnam had the last name Phuc, which surely led to some awkward moments for Americans who had to address “President Phuc.” (The “u” is pronounced more like the “oo” sound, but if you’d never heard it said, you wouldn’t know.)
Chinese language and culture instructor Dr. Candise Lin is sharing American names that sound funny to Mandarin speakers because of what they mean when pronounced with Chinese phonetics, and it’s a hoot.
1. Robin (pronounced Luo ben) = Running Naked
2. Robinson (pronounced Luo ben shen) = God of Running Naked
3. Nelson (pronounced Niao shen) = God of Pee
4. Benson (pronounced Ben shen) = God of Dumb
5. Mason (pronounced Mei shen) = God of Beauty
6. Nicholas (pronounced Ni kou si le) = You Are So Stingy
7. Isabella (pronounced Yi sheng bei la) = The Doctor Got Arrested
8. Dylan (pronounced Di neng) = Low IQ
9. Nancy (pronounced Nan si) = Difficult to Die
10. Robert (pronounced Luo bo) = Carrot
11. Ashley (pronounced Ao si ni) = Wear You Down to Death
12. Logan (pronounced Nao geng) = Brain Stroke
13. Tiffany (pronounced Ti fa ni) = Kick Your Ass
Tiffany Darwish GIF by New Kids On The Block Giphy
14. Martha (pronounced Ma hua) = Fried Dough Twist
15. Jeff (pronounced Jie fu) = Brother-in-law
16. Daniel (pronounced Da niu) = Big Shot
17. Gordon (pronounced Gou dan) = Dog Balls
18. Melanie (pronounce Mei ren li) = Nobody Cares
A few of these names actually seem pretty rockstar in Mandarin. Mason as “God of Beauty’? Nothing wrong with that. Nancy being “Difficult to Die?” Heck yeah. But some are particularly unfortunate. God of Pee? Yeesh. Low IQ? Ouch.
Of course, the names in Chinese are based on transliterations that aren’t exact. English and Mandarin have different sounds, so many of them are just the closest approximations that there are in terms of pronunciation. (But then along comes Tiffany, kicking ass as clear as day.)
Chinese characters aren’t phonetic in the way that English letters are. Photo credit: Canva
Naturally, people who have some beef with people who bear some of these names are having a heyday, with comments like “Ashley actually makes a lot of sense,” or “Not Gordon Ramsay actually being called Dog Ballz Ramsay.” But mostly people are just delighted to see how names they see as totally “normal” mean hilarious things in Chinese.
As one person wrote, “This was awesome and about time! Chinese names get a lot of humor attention in English circles. It’s nice to know English names can also be a bit ridiculous in Chinese.” It’s likely that many of us have never thought about how American names might sound in other countries.
But names not translating well is truly a universal phenomenon, and as long as we’re all laughing about it together, finding the funny when things—even our names—get lost in translation can be a fun way to connect across cultures.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
Generation X occupies an interesting time in history, for those who care to recognize that they actually exist. They were born between 1965 and 1980 and came into this world at an interesting inflection point: women were becoming a larger part of the workplace and divorce was at the highest point in history. This left Gen X to be the least parented generation in recent history.
Gen X was overlooked in their domestic lives and culturally were overshadowed by Baby Boomers with their overpowering nostalgia for Woodstock, The Beatles, and every cultural moment celebrated in Forest Gump. Once Boomer navel-gazing nostalgia began to wane, a much larger and over-parented generation, the Millennials, came on the scene.
“Whereas Boomers were the ‘me generation’ and millennials were the ‘me me me generation,’ Gen X has become the ‘meh’ generation,” Emily Stewart writes at Business Insider. But even if Gen X is a little aloof, that doesn’t mean they aren’t totally rad, awesome, trippindicular, and that it’d be bogus to define them any other way. To explain the unique history of Gen X and why they’re often overlooked, history teacher Lauren Cella created a timeline on TikTok to explain them to her Gen Z students.
A love letter to Gen X from your millennial cousin? Gen X didn’t start the fire, so after this I will just leave them alone because they do not care ? But seriously for a generation that sometimes gets “forgotten” and stuck between the larger boomer or millennial cohorts, the genres they created paved the way for pop culture as we know it. I’m still not sure who let kids watch “The Day After” on TV or play on those hot metal playgrounds, but Gen X survived to tell the tale. Today, the so called “latchkey” kids, born 1965-1980 are actually super involved as parents, aunts, uncles, teachers (or maybe even grandparents)?. Kids today want to say they are “built different” but I think Gen X is the one holding down that title because they grew up tough, they saw too much, they made it out, and they know exactly who they are and wouldn’t have it any other way.✌️ g#genx
In Cella’s video, she divides Gen X into three distinct phases.
Phase 1: 1970s stagflation and changing families
“Gas shortages meant stagflation. So parents either both had to work or maybe they were divorced. So that meant microwave TV dinners and kids that sort of raised themselves,” Cella explains. “There was no parenting blogs, there was no after-school travel sports, emailing. Like, none of that existed. Bored? Go outside.”
Phase 2: The neon ‘80s
“But then came the 1980s, where everything was big and loud. The hair, the bangs, the Reaganomics, mass consumerism (because now we can trade with China). The whole media just exploded,” Cella says. “But now we have TV, we have movies, we have TV, movies, home movies, TV movies, favorite TV movies, music, music, Videos, music, video, television. All these different genres and all these different cliques and all these different ways that you can express yourself.”
Phase 3: 1990s post-Cold War Skepticism
“Gen X sort of comes into the 1990s more sarcastic and skeptical,” Cella continues. “The Cold War ending meant that they rejected the excess of the eighties. And there’s the shift. Grunge, indie, alternative, flannels, Docs [Doc Martins]. At this point, the technology is also exploding, but not like fun home media, but like corporate media. So there’s this resistance to sell-out culture.”
Cella has a theory on why Gen X seems forgotten, and it’s not just because CBS News famously denied its existence. She believes that it comes down to Gen X’s inability to call attention to itself. “So Gen X is a bridge between these two larger, more storied generations. So it’s not necessarily that they get forgotten. They don’t really want the attention. They’re kind of fine to just like, fly under the radar like they always have, because honestly, it’s whatever.”
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
For whatever reason, we love a good survival story. Whether it’s a Hollywood film about Tom Hanks stranded on a desert island or a reality TV show about a former special forces soldier foraging for food and shelter in the jungle, we can’t get enough.
Unfortunately, for many of us, our knowledge of survival and emergency situations doesn’t go much further than what we’ve seen on television. Worse, much of what we’ve learned and come to accept as good advice is actually wrong. Many of the techniques in question are either ineffective, dangerous, or exaggerated for entertainment value.
If you ever find yourself stranded, lost, or in a life-threatening situation, here are a few popular survival myths to be aware of:
1. Sucking venom out of a snakebite
If you get bitten by a venomous snake, the smart move is to get the venom out of the wound as soon as possible. The only problem? This doesn’t actually work. And neither do devices that claim to extract the venom.
“Snake venom rapidly diffuses into deep tissue—it’s not just pooled up under the skin ready to be suctioned out,” prepper Sean Gold tells Upworthy. “Being able to suck the venom back through the snake’s bite is also impossible, since the bite tracks immediately collapse when the fangs are removed.”
What to do instead: You need medical attention and antivenom. If you can’t get help, immobilize the wound and keep it below heart level.
2. Drinking cactus water
We all know that cacti thrive in the desert due to their incredible ability to store water. That makes the idea of cutting one open to quench your thirst pretty appealing. Unfortunately, the water stored in a cactus isn’t suitable for drinking.
“Most cactus species further protect their spongy flesh with acids and potent alkaloids. These chemicals are usually too acrid for most humans to tolerate and are taxing on the kidneys if ingested. The flesh of some cactus species can also cause vomiting, diarrhea, or temporary paralysis—none of which is conducive to your survival in an emergency situation.”
What to do instead: Your best bet is digging in a dry riverbed to find water, or following birds, bees, and trees to a better source. More importantly, don’t overexert yourself in the heat of the day in order to conserve hydration.
3. Counting on moss to navigate
Ever heard the old rule that moss only grows on the north side of a tree? The idea comes from the fact that moss prefers shady areas, which are more likely to face north. Some people believe you can use this concept to navigate your way out of being lost.
Sadly, moss will grow just about anywhere. It’s often found on north-facing surfaces, but not reliably enough to use as a compass.
What to do instead: Serious survivalists learn how to navigate using the stars and the sun. The easiest thing to remember is that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, though not precisely.
“By drinking urine with higher concentrations of waste products (and/or if your kidneys are impaired), urea and other metabolic waste products can accumulate in your body. This can become toxic to cells, particularly those in the nervous system. This can lead to symptoms such as vomiting, muscle cramps, itching and changes in consciousness. Without treatment, this toxic state (known as uraemia) can be life-threatening.”
What to do instead: Finding fresh drinking water is one of the most difficult aspects of survival. Studying the topography of the area and heading downhill are usually your best bets for finding a stream.
5. Hiding in a tunnel from a tornado
A lot of people believe that if they encounter a tornado while driving, a highway overpass or tunnel is a good place to take shelter from flying debris.
On the contrary, a bridge or overpass can act as a wind tunnel, accelerating the force of the wind and flying debris. That’s even more dangerous. Depending on your head start and which direction the tornado is moving, you may be able to drive away from it, but it’s not usually recommended, as tornadoes can reach forward speeds of 75 miles per hour.
What to do instead: Missouri’s Storm Awarewebsite notes, “If you are in your vehicle and a tornado is approaching, you should pull your vehicle to the side of the road immediately, get out, and lay flat in a nearby ditch covering your neck and head.”
6. Drinking alcohol to warm up
It’s not out of the realm of possibility to imagine yourself in a broken-down car on the side of the road during a blizzard with nothing but an old bottle of whiskey that’s been rolling around in the back for months.
As tempting as it might be to drink it, experts say don’t do it. Drinking hard liquor can temporarily make your body feel warm, but it actually makes the situation worse.
Outdoor Life explains: “Although you may feel warmer, alcohol actually dilates skin-surface blood vessels and capillaries, which will chill your core even faster.”
What to do instead: Save the celebratory drink for after you’re rescued.
There are many survival techniques and myths that would require years of learning and practice to master. But a good general rule is that real survival is boring, not flashy. In most situations, the best thing to do is stay calm, seek shelter, and try to signal for help.
Gen X stylist Jennine Jacob posts a lot of content encouraging women not to fall victim to ageism and instead find confidence in their self-expression. But in a recent video, she got candid about how freeing it’s been to reject society’s norms in her own life.
In the clip, Jacob referenced a woman on Instagram who shared that “no one prepares you for mid-forties ugly.” The video appears to come from content creator Susie Trigg Tucker, who got candid about the natural “grieving process” that comes with “your physical beauty changing.”
Addressing her own gray hair and textured skin, Tucker urged other women to “lean into acceptance” and “work on redefining what makes us beautiful.”
But for Jacob, the experience hasn’t been quite so painful. In fact, it’s been rather liberating.
“No one prepared me for how little I would care about what people think about my looks,” she said. “Nobody prepared me for how comfortable I would feel about my looks at this age.”
“And yes, I have wrinkles, I have thinning hair, I have gray hair…I have all of the things that are like conventionally bad, but I literally could not care less,” she added.
Her reason for this laissez-faire attitude is simple. “I did my time in the patriarchy, and my time is done,” she shared.
“I have never felt more free being so ‘ugly’…I am so grateful for it,” Jacob concluded.
Judging by the comments, she’s not the only one who has felt this way.
“100000000000%!!!! I feel the best ever!!!!❤️”
“I couldn’t agree more! Aging out of the male gaze is the best part! Now there’s an inner peace like I have never known. I wish this gift for all women.”
Granted, it seems that Jacob did spend some time, as Tucker put it, “redefining what beauty looks like.” In previous videos, she shared that when she first turned 40, she used Botox, face tape, and filters in hopes of looking younger. Now she doesn’t use any of those things and says she feels “1,000x better.”
Really, these two women aren’t arguing two different points of view. It’s perfectly natural for women (or anyone, really) to grieve a physical way of being that no longer exists one moment, and the next appreciate the wisdom and confidence that come with growing older. That’s pretty much adult life in a nutshell.
Their conversation arrives at a moment when aging, beauty standards, and cosmetic procedures are being talked about more openly than ever. Social media feeds are filled with discussions about Botox, fillers, preventative treatments, and whether embracing natural aging is empowering or simply another unrealistic expectation placed on women.
For some people, cosmetic procedures feel like a form of self-expression and autonomy. For others, rejecting those options can feel equally empowering. Increasingly, women are speaking honestly about the complicated emotions that come with getting older in a culture that has long prioritized youth.
What voices like Tucker’s and Jacob’s show is that there isn’t just one correct way to navigate that experience. Some people grieve the changes that come with age. Others feel an unexpected sense of freedom when they realize they no longer feel pressured to perform beauty for anyone else.
And, sometimes, those two feelings can exist at the very same time.
What matters most, as both women suggest in their own ways, is giving people the space to define beauty and self-worth on their own terms. For many women entering their 40s and beyond, that definition is finally becoming something they get to write themselves.
Kids of all ages can be cruel, but middle schoolers have a particularly savage sense of humor. Unfortunately, teachers often end up on the receiving end of it.
Thankfully, teachers are quite resilient and have their own sense of humor.
Insults turned inspo
Take middle-school teacher Amy McKinzie, who decided to take some of the ahem, questionable things her students have said to her and make faux inspirational posters out of them.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you humble,” quipped McKinzie in her Instagram caption. In the video, dreamy landscape photos serve as the backdrop for these gems:
“You look like you cry watching Hallmark movies.”
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“It gives me the ick when you tell us to read our books.”
“You’re older than my grandma.”
“Will there be any math problems on our English test?”
“Did you mean to wear your hair like that?”
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Ouch!
The format alone is comedy gold. Pairing brutally honest middle-school commentary with soft-focus sunsets and mountain vistas feels almost poetic. If you’ve ever spent time around 12- and 13-year-olds, you know that their observations come out fast, unfiltered, and usually with impeccable timing (not to mention zero mercy). Sometimes they mean it as a joke, but often they truly do not realize how devastating the comment might sound. Either way, the result is often unintentionally hilarious.
And sure enough, tons of viewers could instantly clock the insults as distinctly middle-school shade-throwing:
“Lol… my daughter is that age & i can totally hear her saying some of these to me! 😮😂”
“You teach middle school don’t you? Those kids are vicious hahaha.”
It prompted many other teachers to share their favorite jokes hurled at them by their students:
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“My favorite- were you alive during the attack at Pearl Harbor? I’m in my 30s.”
“My favorite is, ‘frankly, don’t you think you’re a little old to be dating?’😮”
“Brings back great memories teaching high school English. ‘It’s time to touch up your roots.’”
“I wore a really cute blue and white horizontal shirt or so I thought .. the girls said ‘why do you have your pajamas on.’”
“I had a student tell me ‘You look nice today. You just need to get that hair under control.’ Yeah, still trying to figure it (my hair) out. 🤷♀️”
“After showing a photo of a telegraph: ‘Is this what you used?’”
“‘Why do you look so tired today?’ on a day I didn’t wear makeup or mascara.”
“What was it like watching black and white tv?”
This proves once again that teachers are made of stronger stuff.
Teachers, of course, develop a thick skin pretty quickly. When you spend your days with students who are still figuring out how the world works and where the line between observation and roast actually lies, you learn to laugh. And sometimes, the best way to survive the burn is to frame it—literally—and turn it into content. Because let’s face it, the burns are just gonna keep comin’.
As one of the first iconic villains to hit the big screen, the Wicked Witch of the West lives in our collective memory. Those who’ve seen the original 1939 film The Wizard of Oz can hear the witch’s high-pitched cackle. We can recite her menacing line: “I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too!”
Margaret Hamilton played the role in the film when she was 35 years old. Even though she was only on screen for 12 minutes, her performance was unforgettable. While speaking to a live audience in her later years (exact time and place unknown), Hamilton shared the story of how she was cast, showcasing her delightful personality in the process.
Hamilton said she had done about six pictures for MGM before the opportunity to appear in The Wizard of Oz came along. Then she shared the details of that conversation with the audience:
“One day, my agent called and said, ‘Maggie, they’re really kind of interested in you for a part in The Wizard of Oz.’ And I said, ‘Oh gosh. Think of that,’ I said, ‘I loved that story from the time I was four years old. What is it?’ And he said, ‘Well, the Witch.’ And I said, ‘The Witch?!’ Then he said the final thing, he said, ‘Yes, what else?'”
The audience burst out laughing.
“I thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of an exciting part.’ But jeez, I had my, you know, my eyes on something else. I don’t know what it was exactly, but I didn’t think about the Witch. However, I ought to because I’d had that nose quite a long while.”
The audience busted up again.
Margaret Hamilton wore a prosthetic nose tip and a prosthetic chin in the film. Photo credit: Public domain
The fact that she totally owned her prominent nose, a signature feature few in Hollywood would embrace today, is so refreshing. It’s especially notable considering the Wicked Witch was originally conceived as a bit more glamorous and beautiful in the film. Producer Mervyn LeRoy said he didn’t want the character to be hideous, as he didn’t want to “scare children away from the theatre.”
Hamilton is by no means hideous. But when LeRoy changed his mind about the character’s look, she fit it perfectly. When she tested for the role, she wore “the oldest, crummiest-looking clothes I could find, some dirty things that sort of hung on me like a Mother Hubbard, and then a little shawl.”
“There was no witch’s hat,” she said, “and I really looked more like an old hag. And I cackled and screamed and said a few lines from the script.”
The Wicked Witch of the West was born.
Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939) didn’t just play a villain, she created the template. Every witch after her is either copying or reacting to what she did first. An entire archetype born from one performance. pic.twitter.com/nYXj6sbFeqhttps://t.co/NLAjPZ6vUw
And scare children she did. People in the comments shared how terrified they were of her when they were kids:
“This woman scared the absolute s__t out of me when I was a child.”
“Gave me nightmares. Her and those flying monkeys. Yow!”
“Her witch scared the hell out of me as a child, and even as a man I still found her frightening.”
“That scene in the tornado where she turns from Almira Gulch on the bicycle, into the witch on the broomstick was absolutely terrifying when I was 6 years old.”
“She made the witch utterly terrifying! Job well done no doubt.”
“She scared me so much as a little kid. I was amazed to discover later that she had been, of all things, a *kindergarten teacher*!”
That’s right, this terrifying witch was a kindergarten teacher when she wasn’t acting.
She frightened audiences for generations. In fact, Hamilton’s appearance as the Wicked Witch on Sesame Street in 1976 was prohibited from airing after parents complained that their children were frightened. (Though Hamilton’s appearance wasn’t nearly as scary as her character in the film, the Sesame Street audience was very young.)
However, she also appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as herself. Talking to Fred Rogers, she explained how she viewed the character of the Wicked Witch of the West:
“Sometimes the children feel she’s a very mean witch, and she does seem that way. But I always think two things about her: She does enjoy everything she does, whether it’s good or bad, she does enjoy it. She also is what we sometimes refer to as ‘frustrated.’ She’s very unhappy because she never gets what she wants, Mr. Rogers. Most of us get something we want along the line, but as far as we know that witch has never got what she wanted…”
She also dressed up as the Witch, but without the green makeup, showing kids that it was really just a nice lady in a costume all along.
Despite the fear she evoked with her most famous role, people loved Hamilton’s real-life character. Patty Duke, who worked with her on The Patty Duke Show in the 1960s, called Hamilton “the gentlest soul you could ever meet” in her memoir.
Folks in the comments on her casting story shared the same sentiment:
“A friend of mine had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Mrs. Hamilton in Manhattan in the mid – 70’s after she had retired. He told me she was one most humble, kind, and sweetest lady you could ever meet….and insisted on picking up the check for their meal.”
“My mother met her in the late 60’s. She said she was nicest, sweetest person she had ever met.”
“She was my mother’s kindergarten teacher.”
Margaret Hamilton in 1929 (left) and in 1973 (right). Photo credit: Public domain
“I met Margaret Hamilton while I was working at a drug store in Beverly Hills as a teenager in the early 1970s. The other young staff and I crouched down and marched around her chanting the Wicked Witch theme from the movie. Ms. Hamilton laughed and was so kind to us.”
“She’s so naturally charismatic. Not even acting, just being herself and telling a story and I was captivated. No wonder her performance was so mesmerizing. She’s just an awesome lady.”
“I remember her when I was a child and not just from the film. She was on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood as herself to show everyone she was a nice person and that the witch was just a character she played. She seemed like such a kind person.”
Hamilton died in 1985 at age 82. She is remembered today both for the characters she portrayed on screen and for the character she exemplified in real life.
Throughout human history, we have had a lot of gods, at least 18,000, to be specific. Most people believe in just one and forget about the other 17,999 that have fallen in and out of favor over the millennia. If we focus on the major god of the Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—we, as mortal…
Throughout human history, we have had a lot of gods, at least 18,000, to be specific. Most people believe in just one and forget about the other 17,999 that have fallen in and out of favor over the millennia. If we focus on the major god of the Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—we, as mortal humans, still have many questions that remain unanswered in their holy books.
The problem is that humans can ask all the questions we like, and the big answer we usually get is: “God works in mysterious ways.”
Well, a group of folks on Reddit wouldn’t accept that as an answer, so they got together and listed all the questions they would ask God if they had the chance. Many people questioned whether we truly have free will, while others wondered where God is when tragedies happen. It’s great food for thought, and just maybe God will one day pop into the comments section and sort things out.
1. The question of evil
“Are you willing to stop evil, but unable? Or are you able to stop evil, but unwilling?”
2. Can I have a do-over?
“Can I start all over again and retain my memories, please?”
3. Where did you come from?
“How were you created if you’re the creator?”
This is a big question, and for many religious people the answer is simple: God is eternal and the “uncaused cause” of everything else. This rubs determinists the wrong way because they believe that everything must have a prior cause.
4. The Fieri conundrum
“Why did you allow Guy Fieri to create Donkey Sauce?”
For the uninitiated, Donkey Sauce was popularized by Guy Fieri on his TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Although it may have a bizarre name, it’s basically a mayo-and-garlic sauce that often features Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.
5. The big three
“I have no singular question, I have three that are combined…
How can we have free will if you’re omniscient (all-knowing). You knew what colour my pajama pants were before I put them on tonight, yet I’m supposed to have made that decision myself with my own free will? That doesn’t make sense if you already knew.
If you’re omnipotent (all powerful) then how could you make a stone so powerful that you couldn’t lift it… if you couldn’t, you’re not all powerful, if you can… then you’re not all powerful.
If you’re all-loving then why is there so much pointless suffering?”
6. Why such a poor communicator?
“Why do you make yourself in a way that makes it so humanity has to follow a thousand-year-old book. Why can’t you just give us monthly updates or some sh*t via our phones. Seems a lot more effective.”
7. The pizza predicament
“Why is pizza such an unhealthy food? It should be something you consume all the time to stay in shape and fight cancer.”
“Why don’t you just give us a clear evidence, before blaming us for not believing in you?”
“If you have a plan for us and know everything that will ever happen, why do you blame us and condemn people to suffer forever for the crime of not doing what you wanted us to do when you already knew everyone who was going to was going to do that and counted on it?”
10. A corgi question
“Did you just put all the creation points in cuteness and herding skills when you made the corgi, or was there another plan for this dog?”
“Could you microwave a burrito so hot that you yourself could not eat it?”
It seems that God would probably be able to eat a burrito cooked as hot as it can get, because that would only reach 212°F, the boiling point of water. Microwaves cook food by making water molecules vibrate, so once the temperature reaches the boiling point, the water turns into steam rather than getting any hotter.
13. Why are we here?
“It’s one of life’s great mysteries isn’t it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don’t know, man, but it keeps me up at night.”
14. Is it all about suffering?
“The weird thing about this for me is wondering what I’d do next. like if god really answers ‘to suffer, it’s fun for me to watch you all be miserable’ do you just … go to work the next day”
15. Reincarnation
“What’s my soul’s goal so I can stop reincarnating already?”
