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Ryan Reynolds trolled Hugh Jackman on the opening night of his Broadway show 'The Music Man'

These antics just never get old.

ryan reynolds hugh jackman, hugh jackman music man
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We never want them to become friends.

Ah, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. No 'celebrity feud' has been this entertaining since the days of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Unlike Davis and Crawford, however, the war between Jackman and Reynolds is nothing but friendly fire.

Before starring together in the billion dollar cinematic hit Deadpool and Wolverine, the pair spent years playing jokes on each other and having a good-natured series of laughs at each other's expense.

Who could forget their People’s Sexiest Man Alive shenanigans? Or their fake political ads against one another in 2018? I mean, these are some grade A, next-level types of pranks here.

So is it any surprise really, that on opening night of “The Music Man,” where Hugh Jackman would star as the titular character, that Ryan Reynolds wouldn’t behave himself? I think not. And we’d all be disappointed if he did, anyway.

Cut to opening night, as Jackman prepares to take the stage as con man Harold Hill. Jackman reveals in a hilarious tongue-in-cheek Instagram post that among the blessings of “gorgeous flowers, champagne and heartfelt wishes,” he also received Ryan’s gift … if you can call it that.

In Jackman's dressing room are two black-and-white portraits of Reynolds, one a sketch of him looking dapper while leering with arms crossed and the other a photo while he leaps in the air, sort of the same move Jackman does in the show. Perhaps one to intimidate, and the other mock? Who knows why mad men do what they do.

Attached is a note, with a passive aggressive pep talk from Reynolds.

“Hugh, good luck with your little show. I’ll be watching.”

Despite the jabs, however, Reynolds gave nothing but glowing reviews, calling the show “actually perfect.” But what he had to say about Jackman in particular was even more noteworthy.

“I don’t generally like to speak about @thehughjackman. Particularly in a positive light,” Reynolds wrote. “But his performance in @musicmanbway is one of the most electric things I’ve ever seen him do. The chemistry between [him] and @suttonlenore is off the charts.”

ryan reynolds hugh jackman

The only review of "The Music Man" that you really need.

Instagram

I mean, if even Jackman’s infamous nemesis enjoyed it, this show has to be really something, right?

During an interview in 2020, Jackman told The Daily Beast, "It's gone back so long now … God, this is a classic sign where your feud has gone too long, where you don't even know why or how it started," regarding the playfully tumultuous relationship he shared with Reynolds.

But ask anyone, and I think they’ll tell you that we never want this delightful trolling to end.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Ask kids this basic question to instantly make them more cooperative — the answer doesn't matter

Just by asking and listening, you've already won.

via Hunter Johnson/Unsplash

This trick can fix any attitude.

Raising kids can be a frustrating experience, no matter how rewarding you also find it. Sometimes, it can feel like half of parenting is repeating yourself over and over again, asking your child to brush their teeth or take a dish from the living room to the sink. It’s exhausting and makes you feel like a nag. Don't you wish there was a simple way to make your kids listen the first time?

Dr. Rebecca Kennedy, aka “Dr. Becky,” is a clinical psychologist and founder and CEO of Good Inside who says she has a quick way to make your kids more cooperative and less rude. Talk about killing two soul-crushing birds with one parenting stone. Dr. Becky got into psychology after struggling with anorexia as a teenager.

“Okay, no matter how old your kid is, you can use this 15-second tip to decrease rudeness and increase cooperation,” she says in a TikTok video with over 32,000 views. “Find your child today and ask them this question. 'Hey, I was just wondering, what could I do better as your parent?'”

parents, children, child, parenting, trick, communication A mom and son talk on the couch.Canva Photos

The psychologist says that even if the child has a random or impractical answer such as “Let me stay up ‘til midnight” or “I’d like to eat macaroni and cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” just to listen. Simply by listening, you can change your child’s behavior.

She says we should also ask more questions to further the conversation: “Tell me more. What would that be like?”

@drbeckyatgoodinside

Want to improve your relationship with your kid in less than 15 seconds? Watch this reel for a quick-win strategy. The best part: When we use strategies like this in calm moments, we reduce the frequency of difficult moments with our kids. Of course, I’m a realist… I know you need in-the-moment strategies too! Cue: My Conquering Problem Behaviors Workshop. You’ll get an entire toolbox of in-the-moment and outside-the-moment strategies for reducing outbursts and strengthening your bond with your kid. Learn more in the link in bio!

“I mean, imagine your boss coming to you randomly and asking how they could be a better manager to you. Just by asking the question and listening,” she continued. Dr. Becky says that asking our kids how we’re doing as parents communicates three essential ideas: “I care about you. I respect you. I'm invested in this relationship.”

This type of questioning builds a connection with a child that can spill over into other behaviors. “You're building connection. And with more connection always comes more cooperation,” she ends the video.

The big takeaway from the video is that when we enhance our connection with our kids, they will be less likely to disobey or be rude because they feel heard and respected, so there’s no need to act out. They will also return that respect by listening to you when you have a request, such as taking out the trash or putting down their phone and coming to dinner.

Some people in the comments got funny responses when they asked their kids what they could improve. “I asked my 5yr old. I got a mildly scathing look and she said ‘erm, maybe try and burn dinner less next time?’” one parent wrote. “My 5 yo told me to look better and get a haircut,” another added.

Dr. Becky’s quick question is a great way for parents to strengthen their relationships when things are going well instead of trying to forge connections during conflict. It’s a great reminder that even when parenting, an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.

family, parents, kids, parenting, bonding A happy family.Canva Photos

Dr. Becky sums up the importance of prevention in her TikTok caption: “When we use strategies like this in calm moments, we reduce the frequency of difficult moments with our kids,” she wrote.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Money-hack expert reveals the exact words she uses to lower her  internet bill

"I have a 100% success rate doing this."

@savingmoneysabrina/TikTok, used with permission

A chronic money saver shares how she keep her monthly internet bill down.

Saving money is the name of the game for most people right now. And doing so requires at least some form of stepping out of your comfort zone. Not going out as much, making the effort of researching budget-friendly swaps, cancelling all those unused emotional support subscriptions, and maybe even the worst scenario of all, calling customer service.

But perhaps if you knew with certainty that making a quick call would be successful in lowering a monthly bill, it wouldn't be quite so painful. And that’s where this hack comes in. “I have the exact script that I use to get my internet down every single year,” said a woman named Sabrina, who shares all kinds of money-saving tips on TikTok.

How to lower your internet bill

Essentially, Sabrina says that if you notice your bill has gone up (which is, like everyone at this point, right?), then you should call to say that you won’t be able to continue affording it and will have to cancel. Now, this concept in and of itself isn’t all that new, but it’s the way in which Sabrina says it that makes it a little more effective.

“Hi, my name is [insert name]. I saw that my internet went up about $25 this month. Unfortunately, I’m not able to afford that. So if I can’t get it down to the rate that it was last month, I’m gonna have to cancel. Is this something you can help me with?”

Even if the response you initially get is “no,” Sabrina advises to keep (nicely) reiterating that you can’t afford it and will have to cancel. That way, they’ll “pass you along until somebody does it.”

“Sometimes you’ll have to get close to cancelling for anything to happen. Trust the process!” Sabrina warned. But still, it’s a strategy with a “100% success rate.”

@savingmoneysabrina I hope this helps you save some money on your bill! Important note tho: when I say that I will “have to cancel,” I actually do mean it. Sometimes you’ll have to get close to cancelling for anything to happen. Trust the process! #howtosavemoney ♬ original sound - savingmoneysabrina


Notice that there’s zero hostility in Sabrina’s tone, making the exchange a negotiation, rather than a threat. If anything else, this is a good reminder that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

And you don’t have to take Sabrina’s word for it. Quite a few folks chimed in (both in the comments section and on Reddit), sharing how the method worked for them as well. And for what it’s worth, quite a few did, in fact, have to keep getting passed along to someone else, or get really close to cancelling.

“I asked to speak to the loyalty department, and when they didn’t do as low as I wanted, I asked how to cancel, and all of a sudden, there was another department I could speak to," one person said. "Knocked $30 off my bill with better internet speed. I think it depends on who you talk to."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

“Xfinity has a retention department that always calls me back with their cheapest offering," another person said. "The trick is to cancel your service but set the cancellation date 3 weeks out, and don’t accept any offers from the rep who is canceling your service. I’ve done this for years without fail and have only ever paid $20-30/month for internet."

A few even added their own bits of advice:

“Also, don’t be afraid to hang up and call back! One agent wouldn’t help me, but another got me back to my old rate but with better service.”

“I told Optimum I was switching to Verizon because it was cheaper, and after saying no 3 times, they offered to lower my bill $20/month and gave me two months free. Only annoying part is having to call once a year to do it all over again!”

“Also, always check that you're getting the speed you’re paying for. I wasn’t and didn’t realize it til a few months later. I asked for a refund, and they basically said no; the best they could do was offer a $60 coupon. Until I said I was gonna file a complaint with the FCC, then they got the manager, and I got six months of free internet.”

“Go into the store if you can. Some kid at Xfinity somehow gave me internet for $35 a month lol.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

“If you get the sense they’re really desperate to keep you, also say you’ll switch unless they give you a bill credit. I got a $250 credit once.”

Nobody likes calling customer service. However, if it truly offers this kind of ROI, it might at least be worth a try.

Follow Sabrina on TikTok for even more money-saving tips.

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These 4 words can keep a conversation flowing forever no matter how bad you are at small talk

There's literally no way to screw this up.

Credit: Canva

A couple talking over coffee.

Many people find making small talk to be an excruciating experience. They think it’s boring to talk with a stranger about the weather, sports, or weekend plans. They may also feel like they don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, or they don’t understand the point of having one in the first place.

However, those who excel at making small talk have a tremendous advantage in their professional and romantic relationships, as well as forming new friendships. Most importantly, small talk is a window to transition into medium talk or, eventually, deep, meaningful conversations. The problem is that many people get stuck in small talk, and things stall before progressing to something beneficial.

conversation, friends, small talk, chatting Two women chatting in front of a fire. Credit: Atlantic Ambience/Pexels

How to get better at small talk

The great thing is that, like anything, making small talk is a skill that we can all improve by learning some simple conversation techniques. One technique that is great for keeping a conversation going, like hitting a ball back and forth past a net in tennis, is a simple statement:

"It reminds me of…”

A Redditor recently shared some great examples of how the phrase can be used to turn a mundane topic, such as the weather, into something much more fun:

Them: "It's been really rainy, huh?"

You:

Option 1 (Personal Story): "Yeah, it reminds me of a time I went on a run in the rain and nearly got hit by a car."

Option 2 (Music / Pop Culture): "It reminds me of every Adele song. When I'm driving, I feel like I'm in a music video."

Option 3 (Family): "It reminds me of my dad, he used to love playing with us in the rain as kids."

Option 4 (Thing you watched / World News): "It reminds me of this documentary I saw where they're trying to make it rain in the Sahara Desert.”

Option 5 (Place you lived): “It reminds me of when I lived in Australia, it barely ever rained there. I actually love this weather.”


- YouTube www.youtube.com

You see in this example that using “It reminds me of…” opened up the conversation to five potential new and more exciting topics. The “You” in the story could have responded with, “Yeah, it sure is rainy,” and the conversation would have ended right there. But instead, branching off the topic of rain into something a bit deeper took the conversation to the next level. You get extra points if you can take the “reminds me of” into a topic that you assume the other person will be interested in.

What’s a polite way to change the topic in a conversation?

Using “this reminds me of…” is also a polite way to move the topics in another direction, especially when it's a topic that you don’t want to discuss or one that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. Or, if it’s a situation where the other person is monologuing on one topic for a very long time, this makes it easy to transition away from their diatribe.

conversation, small talk, chatting, cafe Two guys chat at a cafe. Credit: Helena Lopes/Pexels

Ultimately, the phrase is an excellent way for you to save the person you’re talking to from being stuck in the small talk rut as well. It shows you understand that when someone brings up the weather, they are merely getting things started with something both of you have in common. They probably don’t want to talk about the weather for 30 minutes, unless they are a meteorologist. “It reminds me of…” is an invitation to go a bit deeper and shows the other person that you’d like to learn more about them.

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


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Guy uses a Ziploc bag to show why some things look backwards in mirrors while others don't

We get it now!

Photo credit: Canva

Why is text reversed in mirrors?

Have you ever wondered why text shows up backwards in a mirror? It's confusing to our brains because it doesn't seem like anything else is flipped like that. If we turn our head, it doesn't move the opposite direction in a mirror. Or does it? After all, right-handed you is actually left-handed you in the mirror. Right? (Wait, is that right?)

Mirrors can be confusing, despite not being very complicated. A mirror image is simply a reflection of what's before it. But when someone else is looking at us head on, they don't see text in reverse, so why don't we see what other people see when we see ourselves in a mirror?

mirrors, mirror, reflection, mirror image, science, how mirrors work Beyonce Mirror GIF Giphy

(If you think this is a super stupid question with a super obvious answer, congratulations. Pat yourself on the back and scootch along so the folks who don't fully grasp the physics of mirrors can enjoy a demonstration that makes it a little easier to understand.)

"Why do mirrors reverse text?" asks the creator behind @humanteneleven on YouTube. "You might think it's just a property of mirrors—they flip things from left to right—but that's not true." He then picks up a metal arrow to show that it points the same direction in the mirror as it does in real life. So why is the text flipped when the arrow isn't?

- YouTube youtu.be

He then holds up a book to show how the text on the book cover appears backwards, just like the shirt. But when he holds up a Ziploc bag with the word "HELLO" written on it, the word shows up properly.

That's because he had to flip the book over to see the cover text in the mirror. The baggy he could just hold up and see the letters through the transparent plastic, just as we see them in real life. If he flips the baggy over like he did the book, the text shows up backwards in the mirror, just like it does in real life.

"So it's actually not the mirror that's flipping anything from left to right," he says. "It's the human."

People appreciated the simple, straightforward explanation and demonstrations.

"One of the most insightful demonstrations I've seen. It's simple and explains the phenomenon. Well done!"

"While I've heard this explanation many times before, I've only recently seen it demonstrated with text-on-transparency, which is what really makes it click. Great video!"

"Love these sorts of demonstrations. It’s a bit of a complicated one, but I love seeing how different people's minds work when explaining simple things like this. My kid explains it with “left is on the left, right is on the right, things aren’t flipped, they are mirrored” but it’s true that you are the one who flips things and I’ve never thought of it that way before."

"Oh my God, I haven't understood explanations from physics videos about why mirrors flip but this, gosh this helps."

Mirrors have been hilariously befuddling people in other videos as they try to figure out how the mirror knows what's behind a barrier placed in front of objects.

@sarahcoome

this is kinda creepy 👀 #mirror #relatable #creepy

Is this something all of us should probably have learned in high school? Yes. Do all of us remember everything we learned in high school? No. Does the scientific explanation make perfect sense to everyone even if it's explained in detail? Um, no.

Like the reversed text question, having a simplified explanation that doesn't fully get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work is helpful for some folks.

- YouTube youtu.be

For those who do want a bit more scientific substance to their explanations, this next video does a good job of giving a bit more detail while still keeping the explanation simple. It even uses a visual diagram to explain:

- YouTube youtu.be

And for those who say, "This is so basic! How do people not understand this?" here's a video that really does get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work, diving into ray and wave optics, photons, wave functions, probability, and quantum mechanics. It's only 12 minutes, and it manages to entertain while explaining, but it certainly blows the notion that understanding mirrors is super simple.

- YouTube youtu.be

As one commenter wrote, "I thought I understood mirrors. I understand mirrors even less now. And that's a compliment."

Isn't science fun?

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

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A scared passenger was shaking, so this flight attendant stopped everything to hold her hand

"His tone was so kind and soothing."

Courtesy of Molly Simonson Lee
Flight attendant sits on floor to comfort passenger

It may just a slight understatement to ay that 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.


Delta; flight attendant; anxiety; fear; flying; airports; airplanes; kindness Being on an airplane is unpleasant at best, but can be a nightmare for people with aerophobia Photo by John McArthur on Unsplash

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."

Lee started a GoFundMe in Shannon-Dean's name, in order to show some love for his above-and-beyond kindness. Sadly, as of this wrriting the fundraiser did not reach its full goal; but the outpouring of love and support has been extremely powerful.

"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.

This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.

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