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Sadly, the inventor of the Trapper Keeper passed away. Do you remember these iconic '80s folders?

Now, you can relive the '80s for under $11.

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via Amazon

One of the most iconic Trapper Keeper designs.

E. Bryant Crutchfield died in Marietta, Georgia, on August 21 at the age of 85. His son told The New York Times his cause of death was bone cancer. Crutchfield will forever be known for creating an invention that helped kids in the ’80s and early ’90s show off their personalities while keeping their schoolwork in order.

In 1978, according to a profile by Mental Floss, he invented Gen X’s most iconic back-to-school must-have, the Trapper Keeper.

The Trapper Keeper consisted of two parts. The Trapper, a folder with angled pockets to hold your papers and the Keeper, a notebook that holds multiple Trappers. Together, secured by a strip of Velcro and adorned with a radical graphic on the front, they made up the iconic Trapper Keeper.

The idea for the Trapper Keeper came out of a brainstorming session with Crutchfield’s team where they pondered “How to make a binder like a pet,” “How to get a double purchase” and “How to have a knapsack file drawer.” Incredibly, the Trapper Keeper was the answer to all three questions.

One of the main selling points of the Trapper Keeper was the amazing graphics on the front cover. They allowed students to show off their personalities whether they bought one featuring puppies, a Hawaiian sunset, neon ’80s graphics, horses, animal print or a red Lamborghini.

If you changed your mind after buying one, no problem. The Trapper Keeper’s plastic binding usually broke by the end of the school year so your parents would have to buy you a new one in the fall.

Trapper Keepers lost their popularity in the mid ’90s after the internet meant kids carried fewer pieces of paper. So why are they such an important part of Gen X’s childhood?

“It was fun to be able to show your personality through the binder that you had,” Peter Bartlett, former director of product innovation at ACCO Brands, told Mental Floss. “You don’t really remember a notebook or the pens and pencils you used. But maybe you remember your [Trapper Keeper].”

The great thing is, just in time for back-to-school, you can get a retro Trapper Keeper with awesome ’80s designs delivered the next day (in some cases) from Amazon. They’re a fun back-to-school gift to show the students in your family how cool it was to go to school in the ’80s and ’90s with a Trapper Keeper.

Classic '80s Geometric Shapes 1" Binder was $16.99, now just $10.87

(Next day delivery available through Prime.)

This Trapper Keeper epitomizes everything ’80s. For some reason, the default design in that era was geometrical shapes laid on top of a grid. Kids back then had to be sure to write their name in this particular design because everyone had it.

Order yours now >>

Classic '80s Animal Print 1" Binder was $16.99, now just $10.87

(Next-day delivery available through Prime.)

Ever wanted to carry a Trapper Keeper to school that looks like it was modeled after David Lee Roth from Van Halen’s tights? This is for you, my gnarly friend.

Order yours now >>

Classic '80s Palm Trees at Sunset 1" Binder was $16.99, now just $13.75

(Next-day delivery available through Prime.)

This Trapper Keeper features a graphic that perfectly encapsulates the ’80s dream. It’s what you see after you spent all day in a halfpipe or just got out of the water after a long day of surfing.

Order yours now >>

Classic '80s Laser Beam Sunset 1" Binder 24.59

This Trapper Keeper puts one in the mindset of the average person in 1984. Yes, they had their sights on a beautiful sunset. But they were also completely consumed by laser beams, neon and geometric grids.

Order yours now >>

Classic '80s Funky-Looking 1" Binder $10.90

This Trapper Keeper may be retro, but it's clear that even in 1982 this wasn’t cool. Yes, it has checker print, which was always radical. However, the streak of Andy Warhol pink mixed with the clown-dog prints is a little extreme even for an era defined by excess.

Order yours now >>

Upworthy may earn a portion of proceeds from the sales of these items

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Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

The safe was stolen 22 years ago.

via Wikimedia Commons

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.



Fifteen-year-old George Tindale and his dad, Kevin, 52, of Grantham, Lincolnshire in the U.K., made an incredible find earlier this month when they used two magnets to pull up a safe that had been submerged in the River Witham.

George has a popular magnet fishing YouTube channel called “Magnetic G.”

After the father-and-son duo pulled the safe out of the murky depths, they cracked it open with a crowbar and found about $2,500 Australian dollars (US$1,800), a shotgun certificate and credit cards that expired in 2004. The Tindales used the name found on the cards to find the safe’s owner, Rob Everett.

Everett’s safe was stolen during an office robbery in 2000 and then dumped into the river. “I remember at the time, they smashed into a cabinet to get to the safe,” Everett said, according to The Daily Mail. “I was just upset that there was a nice pen on my desk, a Montblanc that was never recovered.”

The robber, who was a teenage boy, was apprehended soon after the crime because he left behind a cap with his name stitched inside.

The father and son met up with Everett to return his stolen money and the businessman gave George a small reward for his honesty. He also offered him an internship because of the math skills he displayed in the YouTube video when he counted the Australian dollars. “What’s good about it is, I run a wealth management company and… I’d love him to work for us," Everett said.

Although the safe saga began with a robbery 22 years ago, its conclusion has left Everett with more faith in humanity.

“I was just amazed that they’d been able to track me down,” he said. “There are some really nice and good people in this world. They could have kept the money, they could have said they attempted to get hold of me.”

“There’s a big lesson there. It teaches George that doing good and being honest and giving back is actually more rewarding than taking,” Everett added.

Treasure hunting isn’t the only allure of the hobby for George. His mother says the hobby has taught him a lot about water pollution and its effects on local wildlife. “George is very environmentally conscious. He always has been since primary school,” she said. “When he first started to do this, he was after treasure. Everything ends up in the rivers and canals.”


This article originally appeared on 04.25.22

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How young should kids start paying rent? Mom charges teenage son to have his own room.

Is he learning a lesson or getting taken advantage of?

via Alexander Grey/Unsplash and CottonBro Studio/Pexels

A mom counting her teenage son's rent money.

A single mother of 5, 4 boys and 1 girl, found herself in a bind. Her 16-year-old son was tired of sharing a room with his 14-year-old brother and wanted some privacy. The family lives in a 3-bedroom house, where mom gets a room and the youngest 3 siblings share one as well.

"Two months ago, my son and I were discussing his distaste for sharing a room with his brother and he said he'd drop out of school now if it meant he could move out into his own space," the mother wrote on Reddit's AITA forum. The teenager has a job and enough money to buy extras such as clothes, shoes and plenty of junk food.

"I told him I had looked at 4-bedroom rentals in our area, but they were just too expensive," the mom continued. "He asked if he could pay the difference if we did move. I told him no because during the school year all his money would be going to rent not his savings and his spending money. That obviously wouldn't sit right with me."

Eventually, the two came to a compromise. For $50 a month, he could have his mother's room. The mother would sleep on the pull-out couch and the other two rooms would be split among the other four siblings.

teen sleeping, rent, redditA teenage boy sleepingvia John-Mark Smith/Pexels

The mother is putting the money towards her Christmas fund, which will be used to pay for a summer trip after the holidays.

However, after talking to some of her friends, the mother began to have second thoughts about the arrangement. "They think I'm wrong for taking any amount of money from my kids, and a couple of them said I should have just given him the room without making him pay for it. They make some good points, and I don't totally disagree," she wrote.

So she asked the Reddit forum if she was in the wrong for charging her son.

mom, upset mom, mom on computerA distressed mom looks at her laptop.via Alexander Dummer/Pexels

The responses were pretty divided on the issue, but most thought the mother was right.

"There is a wild difference between charging your underage kids rent and accepting $50 a month (that is going back to the kids) so a growing teenager can have privacy. No other children are getting less, and no one is abused by any means. Not exactly an ideal solution, but tricky problems require unconventional solutions," one commenter wrote. "I like the life lesson you are imparting. For the people saying that it's so terrible that you are charging him rent, I don't see it that way. Your son wants his own room to which he is not entitled. He works, he earns his own money, and wants something which he values. You're making him do what all of us have to do to get the things we want in life: PAY FOR IT!"

However, a vocal group of people thought the mother was in the wrong, not for charging her teenage son, but for not giving the room to her daughter, who is 9 and shares a room with her 7-year-old brother.

mom, reddit, rentA young girl wearing a scarf.via Janko Ferlic/Pexels

"Why is she not the priority when it comes to having a separate bedroom or at least sharing with you? At 9, she is at an age where it may seem like she is okay sharing a room with her brothers but she probably isn't. Girls are starting puberty and becoming self-conscious of their bodies at that age. They shouldn't have to worry about sharing a bedroom with their brothers," a commenter wrote. "So your 9 yo daughter is sharing a room with her brother? It’s time to find a better solution for your family. Your daughter is of the age that she shouldn’t be sharing anymore with boys," another added.

Plenty of people also judged the mother for having 5 children in a 3-bedroom house, but since they don't know the story surrounding her family's circumstances, that critique should be off limits.

Ultimately, the commenters agreed that the mother is doing her best in a challenging circumstance. It has to be incredibly hard raising 5 children as a single parent. Keeping them all happy in such close quarters must constantly stress everyone. Further, it seems that the 16-year-old son has his own job and can’t wait to leave the house so that the tight situation will loosen up in a few years.

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Couple in their 30s live permanently on cruise ships for a little over $10K a year

“I’m not a millionaire ... I just live full-time on cruise ships.”

via Matthew Barra/Pexels

A magnificent cruise ship on the ocean.

Giving it all up and retiring to live on a cruise ship at 32 seems like a lifestyle choice only available to the ultra-wealthy. However, two financially savvy retired school teachers from Tennessee have managed to do just that, spending under $10,000 for the first eight months at sea.

Monica Brzoska, 32, and Jorrell Conley, 36, met in 2015 while teaching in Memphis, Tennessee. The following year, they booked a week-long cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Grand Cayman. After that, they were hooked on cruising together.

Eight years later, in March 2023, they booked a week-long Caribbean cruise. When it was over, instead of returning home to Memphis, they had a wild idea: Why not continue to book consecutive cruises? So, they did just that.

Monica was inspired to start living the life she always wanted after her father fell ill and her mother told her: "Don't wait for retirement. Follow your dreams."



The couple crunched the numbers and found that if they chose the cheapest cabins and used the deals they’ve received from Carnival Cruises, they could book the first 8 months for just under $10,000. “It sounds mad, but the numbers made sense. Accommodation, food and entertainment would be included – we’d only need spending money,” Brzoska told The Sun. “And because we’d been on so many Carnival cruises, we’d earned access to some amazing offers.”

Hopping from ship to ship isn’t difficult for the couple because many disembark from the same ports. But they sometimes have to fly when they can’t walk to the next ocean liner.

The couple then quit their jobs, sold their possessions, and started a new life on the high seas. They rent out their 3-bedroom home in Memphis to maintain steady cash flow. The average 3-bedroom home in the area rents somewhere between $1200 to $1900 a month.



Over the first year of their new life, the couple completed 36 consecutive cruises. They have already visited countless destinations across the globe, but they can’t choose a favorite. "For a cultural experience, we loved Japan," Brzoska told a Carnival Cruise director on Instagram. The couple also loved Greece for its “history” and Iceland because it was the "closest to being on Mars."

One of the most incredible benefits of loving on a cruise ship is that so many things are taken care of for you. The couple never has to cook any meals, do any laundry or drive. Every night, there is something to do, whether it’s checking out a comedy show or enjoying drinks and dancing in the nightclub.



Plus, on cruises, just about all the costs are covered, so you rarely have to open your wallet. It’s a stress-free, all-inclusive lifestyle. Brzoska says that when you remove the everyday stresses from life, it’s great for your marriage. “Without the daily stresses of life, we rarely argued, but always told each other if we needed space or more time together,” she said.

The couple also makes sure to have one date night a week, during which they dress up and have a nice meal together.

Most people may be unable to give it all up and live their lives hopping from ocean liner to ocean liner. But there’s a great lesson in the story of Brzoska and Conley: You never know how much time you have left, so don’t wait for retirement to live the life of your dreams.

Upworthy has reached out to Brzoska for comment and is still awaiting a response.









Joy

95-year-old British Gran has powerful advice for dealing with depression

A gem of wisdom made even better with a delightfully charming accent.

Photo credit: Canva

This is advice we could all use from time to time.

We know how important it is to stay in the present moment. And we know that having grounding tools, such as simple breathing exercises, are crucial to keep us in the present moment during times of stress. But sometimes, when the intrusive thoughts become too loud, we forget how healing the present moment can be, or how to access it.

And that’s when a kind word from a loved one can make all the difference.

It certainly did for 29-year-old Christina Symes, an artist living with her 95-year-old grandmother, aka “gran,” in London. Gran’s advice was so powerful that Symes shared it in a TikTok, which has since gone viral at 3 million views.

Symes told Newsweek that even as a child, before social media, Gran would send her “comforting” tapes of her talking or reading stories out loud. And Symes routinely records whatever advice Gran gives to listen to in the future because “what she says can be so poignant.”

A few years ago, Symes moved in with Gran after she became housebound, leading to more insightful chats.

Symes, who had been struggling with depression and anxiety, also developed agoraphobia after experiencing the death of a close relative and the breakdown of a 10-year relationship.

depression, agoraphobia, anxietyAll you have to do is take it one step at a time. Photo credit: Canva

Understandably, she was having a hard time navigating this difficult chapter, and sought Gran’s advice once more. And here’s what Gran had to say:

"Look at yourself in the mirror, wash your face, put your makeup on, put your clothes on and then say, What must I do next? I must have a little breakfast, or I must have a cup of tea, and then I will start to do this little thing that needs doing.”

Once that little thing is done, even if it took a couple of hours to get done, gran says to give yourself a reward for having done it. Her reward of choice: another cup of tea.

"I deserve it because I've done those things, and I can take pride in the fact you've done them. Never mind about what else has happened years ago, what's going to happen in the future.”

Did we mention that this advice is made all the more wholesome with Gran’s british accent? It really does hit the spot like a nice cuppa tea.

Watch below:


@cjsymes_ One step at a time ❤️ #motivation #advice #wisdom #inspiration #grandma #mentalhealth #anxiety #depression #agoraphobia ♬ where is my mind (piano version) - your movie soundtrack

The advice seemed to resonate with Symes, who told Newsweek "Often, when I think of everything as a whole, it feels far too overwhelming, and I end up not being able to do anything," she said.

"Whereas if it's broken down into small steps with little rewards afterwards, as my gran mentions, it can feel more manageable. Then, the little steps in turn lead to bigger steps, and more progress can be made. Sometimes the most important advice can be the most simple advice.”

The clip, appropriately captioned “one step at a time,” definitely resonated with others as well, who shared truly lovely comments.

“As a psychiatric nurse, she’s right, take it slow, hour by hour. Be compassionate [to] yourself and set attainable goals.”

“When she said ‘I deserve it’ I broke because not one part of me believes I do, no matter how much I do or how hard I work,I’m not sure I ever will.”

“I am almost 10 years in recovery of my agoraphobia and this resonated with me so much. Am in tears. We DO deserve that reward. Thank you.”

“I feel like writing ‘what must I do next?’ on my mirror now.”

“I cried at this. I’m going to get up and have a bath, and then I’m going to do my hair and makeup for the first time in months.”

No matter what you might be struggling with, take it from gran: take it slow, give yourself grace, and please, have that tea.

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The 14 'harshest truths' people had to learn that ultimately made their lives better

"Don’t fall in love with potential."

via Liza Summer/Pexels

A woman comes to terms with some harsh truths.

As the old saying goes, whatever doesn't kill you will only make you stronger and in many ways, that holds true when life teaches harsh lessons. It can be painful to learn things are more complicated than we thought and that people will disappoint us. But when we accept the ugly truths of life, we appreciate the beautiful things even more.

Taking these realizations to heart can also prevent us from having to learn them a second time. The sad thing is that many of the most challenging life lessons have to be learned through experience. Someone can tell you who to avoid or that life comes at you fast, but most of us have to learn these things first-hand.

A Redditor who goes by Professional-Can8235 asked the AskReddit forum, “What is the harshest truth you’ve ever learned?” and people shared how they realized that life wasn’t all lollipops and rainbows. However, they also discussed how coming to these lessons helped them become stronger people.

Here are 14 of the best responses to “What is the harshest truth you’ve ever learned?”

1. Love doesn't conquer all

"Even if you treat someone really well and you both love each other, it doesn’t always end like a Hollywood movie. Sometimes there are too many obstacles."

2. Sometimes you can't win

"You can do everything right, give something 100% effort, follow all the rules and still fail."

3. Hard work isn't always rewarded

"Being the hardest worker will not always equate to you being the one rewarded or recognized for accomplishments."

"I was always warned by my grandfather that from a corporate point of view that to make yourself irreplaceable could oftentimes make you unpromotable... Because the powers that be would rather have you keep going than wait for someone else to learn a role already being filled."



4. Don't fall in love with potential

"Learned this the hard way. I crossed my own personal boundaries just because I was holding on to a person’s potential. Never again."

"It kind of goes back to the saying, 'When someone shows you who they really are, believe them.'"

5. You can't make someone love you

"Loving someone unconditionally and being willing to do anything for them doesn't mean that they will feel the same way about you."

"You can’t love someone into loving you back."



6. Organizations are made of people

"Every organization, no matter how lauded, how aspirational, how trusted, is still at the end of the day comprised of very fallible humans."

"And in the end, they almost always end up subverting the purpose for which they were formed."

7. Life is short

"You grow up hearing this over and over again but until you reach a certain age you don’t have the perspective to fully grasp this."

"The age that I felt the oldest was 25. After that, it just became a number. The number changes, but inside, the person's self-image does not. Throughout life, old is always 10 years older than you are now."

8. Nice guys finish last

"Sometimes the nicest people just seem to get fu**ed over by the universe through no fault of their own."

"Conversely, sometimes the a**holes inherit the earth and you can't do anything about it."



9. You never realize a "last" when it's happening

"A big one for me is how many 'last times' you'll have, and how often you won't realize it's a last time. Things can change so fast. Go bowling every Monday? Have a convention you and your friends go to yearly? Hang out regularly with the same people? One day is going to be the last time it happens, and almost without fail, you will not know. Then you go days without talking to someone, then weeks, then months, then one day you realize that you aren't really friends anymore. No major fallout, just your lives are no longer compatible."

10. Everyone is forgotten

"No matter what you have or what you do, you will be essentially forgotten after a few generations."

11. Nobody is worrying about you

"Stop worrying what others think, most people are so caught up in themselves they barely know anyone else exists. Don't let your ego convince you that anyone gives a rat's ass about what you're doing. Of the few out there that do care, even fewer of them can do anything to either help or harm you."


12. Always someone better

"No matter how talented you are at something, there will always be someone way better than you."

"Talent just gets you a seat at the table. Too many people think being talented is all you need and the opportunities will come rolling in, but that’s not the case. It’s the people who couple talent with gumption that get the opportunities. Hell, I’ve seen guys with barely any talent but strong work ethics and willingness to do 'whatever it takes' run all over guys with obscene amounts of talent but no gumption."

13. Some people aren't special

"I'm not at all special."

"That's actually a freeing thought if you let it be. If you think that you are special, there's pressure and entitlement and fear of failure. If you are just as special as everyone else, it takes a large weight off your shoulders and you can be free to try things, some of which you're pretty sure might fail, with far less fear of failure. You're not special, so who cares if it takes you a while to get it right?"

14. Things aren't black and white

"We grow up thinking that the side of evil will be clearly defined, and the villains will be super obvious, mustache-twirling Lex Luthor, while the good guys are purely righteous supermen. Turns out, right and wrong is very challenging to define."

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it was necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"


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