Radiohead’s “Creep” has had an interesting journey during its 30+-year lifespan. The song wasn’t a big hit when it was first released in 1992, only reaching No. 78 on the U.K. Singles Chart. The BBC actually banned it for a while, basically because it was too emo for the early ’90s. (We were all about the angst in the early ’90s. Actual sadness and loneliness, not so much. It also had the f-word in it.) But after it became a hit in Israel, its popularity spread, and when it was reissued in the U.K. in 1993, it reached No. 7.
Die-hard fans of Radiohead don’t like the song much because they don’t think it reflects the band’s true sound. The band itself has some mixed feelings about playing it and in their song “My Iron Lung” even expressed resentment of the way “Creep” had pigeonholed them. But its popularity has stuck and crossed generations, spawning multiple cover versions from a wide variety of artists.
Personally, I’m a fan of the song and always have been. “Creep” came out the year I graduated from high school and makes my Gen X heart go pitter-patter. It’s also just a good song—different, yet entirely recognizable. The simple, two-beat guitar riffs just before the chorus are tidbits of genius. The lyrics explore feelings rarely expressed out loud. It has amazing contrast between the lilting verses and the grungy chorus. Here’s the original if you need a refresher:
It’s also a song that covers actually do justice to, for the most part. Here is a handful of what I think are the best versions—and definitely one of the weirdest.
Let’s start with the weird. The YouTube channel “There I Ruined It” shared a honky-tonk version of “Creep” that’s every bit as WTF as it sounds. But the video is meticulously edited to make it look like both Radiohead and some honky-tonk stars are actually singing it, so even though the song is a bit of an assault on the ears (unless you love honky-tonk, in which case more power to you), the video is worth watching purely for the wow factor.
Honky-tonk “Creep” from There I Ruined It
Amazing, right? I mean, I kind of hate it—sorry honky-tonk fans—but I’m also genuinely impressed. The matchup of the backup vocals with the video clips is perfection.
If you need to wash that out of your ears, more pleasant-to-listen-to versions are plentiful. Halle Bailey (of Chloe x Halle twin fame) recently shared a stripped-down cover version on TikTok with just her voice and an electric guitar and it’s lovely.
my version of creepppp this song was in my head all day i had to sing it to get it out ! 🥰🤣 ♬ original sound – halle
Halle Bailey is only 21, but she’s not even the youngest performer to make “Creep” her own. In 2019, sisters Mimi and Josefin, ages 15 and 13, sang the song for their blind audition on Germany’s “The Voice Kids.” The audience and judges were so impressed with their performance, they sang an encore. The harmonies are what make this rendition particularly fun to listen to.
The Voice Audition “Creep” from Mimi & Josefin
Some of the best covers are the simple acoustic versions with just a singer and a guitar, like this one from Daniela Andrade.
Mellow acoustic “Creep” from Daniela Andrade
Ever heard an entire choir sing “Creep”? Check this out:
Creepy “Creep” from the Scala & Kolacny Brothers Choir
Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian girls’ choir and their version is more haunting than anything else. It’s the creepiest of the Creeps for sure, but very cool.
My personal favorite is the Vintage Postmodern Jukebox cover featuring Haley Reinhart. The big band sound is so unexpected for the song, the vocals are stellar, and it’s just hands-down the best version I’ve come across.
Vintage big band “Creep” from Postmodern Jukebox
Sorry diehard Radiohead fans, but “Creep” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. People young and old love it and if musicians keep making it their own, it’s probably going to outlast us all.
(Final note: It seems remiss not to include the 2021 remix of “Creep” released by Thom Yorke of Radiohead himself. It’s not on my list of favorites, but it’s interesting to see how he’s interpreting the song three decades later.)
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.
Have you ever had trouble catching all of the dialogue in a TV show or movie at home? Not necessarily because you’re hard of hearing, but because you were distracted, the speakers on your television are terrible, the sound mixing is all over the place, or the characters were just talking really fast? If so, you should definitely take a cue from the younger generations.
If you’re a Gen Xer or older, one surprising habit the younger generations developed is their love of subtitles or closed-captioning while watching TV, during which every word of dialogue appears in crystal clear white text at the bottom of the screen. To older generations, closed-captioning was only for grandparents, the hearing impaired or when watching the news in a restaurant or gym.
But these days, studies show that Millennials and Gen Z are big fans of captions and regularly turn them on when watching their favorite streaming platforms.
Subtitles are becoming the new normal
A recent study found that more than half of Gen Z and Millennials prefer captions on when watching television. It’s believed that their preference for subtitles stems from the ubiquity of captioning on social media sites such as TikTok or Instagram. Think about it, most of us watch videos on their phone without the sound, so younger people in particular are used to and adept at following along this way without missing a beat. It’s comfortable for them.
This generational change perplexed TikTokker, teacher and Gen Xmother, Kelly Gibson.
“I have three daughters, and they were here. Two of them are young millennials; the other one is an older Gen Z,” Gibson explained in a video that went viral. “All of them were like, ‘Why don’t you have the captions on?’”
The mother couldn’t believe that her young kids preferred to watch TV like her grandparents. It just did not compute.
“My Gen X butt was shocked to find out that these young people have decided it’s absolutely OK to watch movies with the captions going the whole time,” she said jokingly.
Why subtitles? One reason is focus
Like a good mother, Gibson asked her girls why they preferred to watch TV with captioning, and their reason was straightforward: With subtitles, it’s easier not to lose track of the dialog if people in the room start talking.
The Today Show talks about the growing popularity of subtitles. – YouTube
“They get more out of it,” Gibson explained. “If somebody talks to them in the middle of the show, they can still read and get what’s going on even if they can’t hear clearly. Why are young people so much smarter than us?”
At the end of the video, Gibson asked her followers whether they watch TV with subtitles on or off. “How many of you out there that are Millennials actually do this? And how many of you Gen Xers are so excited that this is potentially an option?” she asked.
Gibson received over 400,000 views on her video, along with over 8,400 responses to her question. People have a lot of different reasons for preferring to watch TV with captions.
“Millennial here. I have ADHD along with the occasional audio processing issues. I love captions. Also, sometimes I like crunchy movie snacks,” Jessileemorgan wrote.
“We use the captions because I (GenX) hate the inability of the movie makers to keep sound consistent. Ex: explosions too loud conversation too quiet,” Lara Lytle added.
“My kids do this and since we can’t figure out how to turn it off when they leave, it’s become a staple. GenX here!” Kelly Piller wrote.
One user made an astute point: “GenX here. Hubby and I do this! Especially watching British shows…sometimes my American ear doesn’t hear Scottish or Welsh accents well!”
The interesting takeaway from the debate is that anti-caption people often believe that having writing on the screen distracts them from the movie. They’re too busy reading the bottom of the screen to feel the film’s emotional impact or enjoy the acting and cinematography.
“Gen X here. I hate the captions. I find I don’t watch the actual scene, I’m just reading the captions,” one user commented.
However, those who are pro-caption say that it makes the film easier to understand and helps them stay involved with the film when there are distractions.
Here’s another drawback, or con: The captions often screw up the timing of jokes and punchlines in comedies, which is a huge bummer. Watching a sitcom with the captions on, for example, can be a frustrating experience.
But here’s a pro! It’s way easier to follow convoluted plot points layered into fast paced dialogue when you can read it and never miss a name or reference.
Another pro: Turning on subtitles for young kids has been shown to help them to read!
Con: Even now, live TV closed captioning is still an absolute disaster on many programs, full of errors and inaccuracies. Surprisingly, AI captions have historically lagged behind human accuracy, though the gap is narrowing quickly.
So are captions and subtitles superior, or a pain? Who’s right? W.hoever’s holding the remote, that’s who.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
Actor Alan Rickman gave us so many memorable characters, from the terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard to the oft ill-tempered antihero Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, to the unfaithful husband who broke Emma Thompson’s heart in Love Actually.
Though he was often cast as a villain, Rickman’s distinctive voice and irresistible screen presence made audiences love him. He brought a unique human touch even to his most odious bad guy characters, a quality that makes perfect sense when you hear Thompson, his friend and co-star in seven films, talk about his character in real life.
In a moving tribute upon the release of his diaries in October 2022, Thompson shared insights into the virtues and quirks that made Rickman “blissfully contradictory.”
Alan Rickman signing autographsu00a0at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, January 2011. Photo Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons
Thompson is at the top of her award-winning writer game here, and her words about Alan Rickman are filled with heart, wit, respect, admiration and love. It’s truly a eulogy for the ages.
Watch (or read the full transcript below):
People love Thompson’s tribute to her friend and some have even shared their own stories of their encounters with Alan Rickman:
“A close friend of mine bumped into him in a theatre in London many years ago. My friend instantly recognised Mr Rickman and from nowhere, instantly found the courage to ask him for his autograph. Having neither pen nor paper for this, he asked Mr Rickman if he would mind waiting a moment whilst he collected the items from somewhere, anywhere! The moment became at least 10 minutes or so, and when my friend ran back to a now empty theatre foyer, he noticed one solitary figure. Mr Rickman had waited patiently for my friend to give him what he asked for.”
“I was lucky enough to work with him on a film. At lunchtime I joined the line for a meal and as I payed and went to turn to look for a table, someone knocked into me from behind and my drink went flying. I turned and it was Alan, he apologized put his hand on my shoulder and said let me get you another. He came back with a cup of tea and I was so overwhelmed. I was shocked how he was so down to earth and a real gentleman.”
“I meet him once in Boots and said hello, he realised it was a reflex to recognising a known face. He picked up an item we both were looking at, smiled and said “well hello there are we going to arm wrestle for this?” That deep tone rendered me mute, I realised it was Mr Rickman and instantly denied needing this forgotten thing, apologised for well nothing really, smiled and backed away. He was a giant of a fellow on and off the stage and will be missed.”
“Everything she said is true. I was fortunate to have dinner with him and his wife and his drama teacher. He was charming and friendly and shared some great ideas about directing, which I use today in my theater group. He is missed by many.”
Indeed he is.
Here’s the full transcript of Thompson’s tribute:
“The most remarkable thing about the first days after Alan died was the number of actors, poets, musicians, playwrights and directors who wanted to express their gratitude for all the help he’d given them. I don’t think I know anyone in this business who has championed more aspiring artists nor unerringly perceived so many great ones before they became great. Quite a number said, latterly, that they’d been too shy to thank him personally. They had found it hard to approach him. And of all the contradictions in my blissfully contradictory friend (hold on, Thompson), this is perhaps the greatest this combination of profoundly nurturing and imperturbably distant.
He was not, of course, distant. He was alarmingly present at all times the inscrutability was partly a protective shield. If anyone did approach him with anything like gratitude or even just a question, they would be greeted with a depth of sweetness that no one who didn’t know him could even guess at. And he was not, of course, unflappable. I could flap him like nobody’s business and when I did he was fierce with me and it did me no end of good.
He was generous and challenging, dangerous and comical, sexy and androgynous, virile and peculiar, temperamental and languid, fastidious and casual, the list could go on. I’m sure you can add to it. There was something of the sage about him, and had he had more confidence and been at all corruptible, he could probably have started his own religion.
His taste in all things from sausages to furnishings appeared to me anyway to be impeccable. His generosity of spirit was unsurpassed and he had so much time for people I used to wonder if he ever slept or ever got time for himself. A word not traditionally associated with Alan is gleeful, but when he was genuinely amused he was absolutely the essence of glee. There would be a holding back as the moment built, and then a sudden leaning forward and a swinging around of the torso as a vast, impish grin flowered, sometimes accompanied by an inarticulate shout of laughter. It was almost as if he was surprised by himself. It was my life’s mission to provide those moments. I remember Imelda Staunton nearly killing him by telling him a story about my mother and an unfortunate incident with some hashish—it’s a really good story, I won’t tell it now—I’ve never seen him laugh more before or since. It was a bit like watching someone tickling the Sphinx.
One Christmas Eve party I had a sprig of mistletoe hanging up at home, and I was loitering under it and turned to find Alan bearing down on me. I lifted up my chin hopefully. He smiled and approached. I puckered. He leaned in under the mistletoe and a sudden change came over his face. His eyes started to glitter and his nostrils to quiver. He lifted up a hand, reached in, and pulled a longish hair out of my chin. ‘Ow!’ I said. ‘That’s an incipient beard,’ he said, handing me the hair and walking off.
That was the thing about Alan—you never knew if you were going to be kissed or unsettled, but you couldn’t wait to see what would come next. And the trouble with death is that there is no next. There’s only what was, and for that, I am profoundly and heartbrokenly grateful. So the last thing we did together was change a plug on a standard lamp in his hospital room. The task went the same way as everything we have ever done together. I had a go. He told me to try something else. I tried. It didn’t work, so he had a go. I got impatient. I took it from him. I tried it again. It still wasn’t right. We both got slightly irritable, then he patiently took it all apart again and got the right lead into the right hole. I screwed it in with a screwdriver. We complained about how fiddly it was, and then we had a cup of tea. Took us at least half an hour, this thing, and he said after, ‘Well it’s a good thing I decided not to become an electrician.’
I’m still heartbroken that Alan’s gone, but these diaries bring back so much of what I remember of him. There is that sweetness I mentioned, his generosity, his champion of others, his fierce, critical eye, his intelligence, his humor. He was the ultimate ally in life, art, and politics. I trusted him absolutely. He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again.”
It turns out “the voice of a generation” isn’t just a metaphor. Different generations have different ways of speaking, and nowhere is it more obvious than in our television, commercials, and other pop culture.
Even more interestingly, the way people talk in these cultural artifacts sometimes says more about culture in general than the way real people actually speak. For example, the classic “old-timey” accent you hear in films and radio from the early 1900s—called Good American Speech or the Transatlantic accent—wasn’t exactly a reflection of how real people talked. It was adopted by actors to sound more refined and elite, but it’s how many of us often remember the period sounding.
So, too, do modern Millennials have their own distinct voice. And one voice artist says it’s all Jim Halpert’s fault.
The origins of “Millennial speak”
Voice artist Tawny Platis has lent her vocal talents to Hulu, Warner Brothers, Disney+, and many more. She also creates content on YouTube and recently took to the platform to share a fascinating bit of history from her unique industry.
“Jim from The Office is responsible for the Millennial voice,” she proclaims.
In order to explain why actor John Krasinski is the reason “Millennials talk like that,” she takes us back to the popular TV commercials of our youth. Brands like Macy’s and Revlon would feature voiceover actors with a bright, cheery, in-your-face “commercial” voice.
Platis performs them perfectly in her video because, she says, she actually starred in many commercials just like these.
But before Krasinski made it big with his role on The Office, he was a prominent voice actor for brands like Verizon and Blackberry. In those commercials, many of which aired in the early 2000s (when Millennials were coming of age), he was famous for his extraordinarily casual, conversational tone. Think his laid-back Jim Halpert vibe. It’s a stark contrast to the way commercials were performed in the ’90s.
“It was basically just like, ‘Hey, I’m just a guy. I’m not really an actor. … You can trust me. It’s like you’re talking to a friend,” Platis says.
Platis says that for years, until very recently, almost every audition and job she went out for was seeking a “conversational read” exactly like Krasinski’s performances. They became genre-defining.
Hallmarks of Millennial Voice explained
Platis isn’t the first person to identify this distinct way of speaking. For years, “Millennial speak” has been examined (and sometimes maligned) in popular media.
In 2016, NPR wrote about Millennials love of tacking on “I feel like,” to their thoughts as a way of making a point casually and avoiding confrontation. Millennials are also famous for vocal fry, which the University of Melbourne describes as “the creaky voice they often do at the end of sentences that makes them sound eternally bored, cool and relaxed, depending on the listener.”
The style of speaking reflected a powerful move away from anything that felt cheesy, artificial, or overly formal.
For example, remember the “movie trailer voice” guy? Movie trailers don’t use those big, over-the-top narrators with deep gravitas anymore, preferring to let the footage and music speak for itself. This is partly due to the death of legendary voiceover man Don LaFontaine, but the movie trailer voiceover was also becoming too cliche and predictable for the Millennial audience.
Krasinski, who’s naturally likable and “cool,” was the perfect person to bring all of this to life in his super chill but still-friendly way of speaking. It was only furthered cemented by the huge popularity of his character on The Office.
Something changed in the last four years
Platis goes on to say that the Golden Age of Millennial Voice has come and gone, and Gen Zers are taking center stage in the voiceover world.
She describes Gen Z voice as detached and apathetic, “like you’re talking to someone without looking up from your phone.”
And it’s what all the brands want now.
Interestingly, Platis says that the Gen Z voice more closely resembles the sarcasm and unbothered-ness of Gen X—or, their parents.
In other words, it all comes back around. No matter what generation you come from, it’s all but certain that the next one will want to do things their own way. It can hurt to feel like pop culture is leaving you behind, but it’s a necessary process for young people to form their own identities as they take a leading role in the world.
As far as Millennials go, though, that trademarked Jim Halpert voice will never go out of style.
Seven-year-old Ben O’Reilly was the only deaf student in his entire school district. Add the fact that New Hampshire, where Ben lives, is one of the few states in the country without a dedicated school for the deaf, and Ben was pretty alone. Apart from his aide, Cheryl Ulicny, Ben had virtually no one to talk to.
“He didn’t have relationships with his peers or teachers, for that matter,” Ulicny told CBS News. “He was very alone. And he acted very alone.”
That is until a few of Ben’s classmates at Campton Elementary took it upon themselves to start learning basic sign language to communicate with him. Pretty soon, the rest of the class joined in, then other teachers in other grades, until the entire school was in on the project.
Today, almost every member knows at least a little ASL, meaning Ben finally has a community he can communicate with.
As for why the school to this on, Ben’s classmate Reid, who helped start this sweet movement, said it best:
“He is my friend.”
The kind gesture took Ben’s adoptive mothers, Etta and Marlaina O’Reilly, completely aback. Etta shared with CBS News, “I could barely breathe. Like it was just so overwhelming.”
Down in the YouTube comments, viewers were equally moved.
“That is amazing. The first two boys decided to learn asl to communicate with a deaf child. And those three boys sparked a movement for the whole school to learn.”
“There is hope in our children. Thank you for a beautiful story.”
“All of these adults and children, such humanity.”
“Young children who have so much compassion, so beautiful to see. We grownups could learn a lot from them.”
A few folks even reflected on how much a similar act of kindness might have meant for their own deaf loved ones.
“Wow, what a beautiful story. I’m a (CODA) Child Of DEAF Adults. I would have loved to see this when I was younger. The kids in school would make fun of me and my brothers because our parents were deaf. Love this story, thank you to everyone that made this possible for this young boy,” one person wrote.
Another echoed, “My husband is deaf. Born in 1991 in Chicago. He had a great education but he hates thinking back on his school years because he was so isolated; especially in high school. I can only imagine how happy he would’ve been if those around him had done this when he was this boy’s age…”
Children often lead with curiosity and empathy, unburdened by the inhibition adults sometimes carry. This often leads to profound lessons. What started as a small effort by a few classmates became a ripple effect that transformed an entire school community. What a sweet reminder that inclusion does not always require grand gestures. Sometimes it only takes a willingness to meet someone where they are.
It also speaks to a broader shift happening across the country. In recent years, American Sign Language education has steadily expanded, appearing more frequently in school curricula and even fulfilling foreign language requirements in many districts. Online resources, apps, and social media have made learning ASL more accessible than ever, helping bridge communication gaps and normalize its use among hearing individuals.
Ultimately, Ben’s story is about what happens when people choose connection over convenience. Compassionate acts, both big and small, can bring people together in ways that truly change lives for the better.
Before there was Plato, Aristotle, or even Socrates, there was a group of Greek philosophers who imparted their wisdom onto others in the early 5th century BCE. One such scholar was Empedocles, who was said to have been influential and unique in many ways. (And that’s not just because, as rumor had it, he thrust himself into an active volcano as a sacrifice.) His use of hexameter verse, an impactful writing style which helped turn his philosophical thoughts into poetry, was especially appreciated by writers.
So when researchers in Cairo uncovered 30 unpublished poetic verses approximately 2,000 years after they were written, many took note. Until this discovery, much of his reputation had been built on the backs of historians who came after him. Finding actual additional verses from his work has been downright mind-blowing for many.
An enormous finding
In a paper edited by scientific editor Stephanie Baum for University de Liege, they share that a “2,000-year-old papyrus fragment, discovered in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, reveals 30 previously unpublished verses by Empedocles, a pre-Socratic philosopher of the fifth century BCE. This discovery offers researchers direct access to a body of thought previously known only through quotations from later authors.”
The article also eloquently notes what a huge achievement this is by comparing it to the hypothetical discovery of a more modern writer. “To grasp the significance of such a discovery, the authors offer an illuminating analogy: Imagine that in a few centuries’ time, all that remains of Victor Hugo are excerpts from Les Misérables in school textbooks, the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, and the program for a performance of the play Hernani. The discovery of a few pages from an original edition of Hugo’s work would then be a momentous event.”
Love and strife
Empedocles and his work were incredibly impactful. Britannica states that, “Although strongly influenced by Parmenides, who emphasized the unity of all things, Empedocles assumed instead that all matter was composed of four essential ingredients, fire, air, water, and earth, and that nothing either comes into being or is destroyed but that things are merely transformed, depending on the ratio of basic substances to one another.”
These ideas, centered around the basic elements, also helped shape his belief that the human struggle is centered around “love and strife.” “Like Heraclitus, he believed that two forces, Love and Strife, interact to bring together and to separate the four substances. Strife makes each of these elements withdraw itself from the others; Love makes them mingle together. The real world is at a stage in which neither force dominates.”
A famous quote thought to be attributed to Empedocles says, “The force that unites the elements to become all things is Love, also called Aphrodite; Love brings together dissimilar elements into a unity, to become a composite thing. Love is the same force that human beings find at work in themselves whenever they feel joy, love, and peace. Strife, on the other hand, is the force responsible for the dissolution of the one back into its many, the four elements of which it was composed”.
A predecessor to many great thinkers
Philosophy professor Graham Blackbourn, of the School of Philosophy and Economic Science in Edinburgh, is one of many who speak at length on the topic of Empedocles. On a podcast, he shared just how influential his work was.
“Many scholars think that Empedocles was the source of Plato’s myth of the soul’s journey in his dialogue Phaedrus, in addition to some of the themes in his Symposium, including Diotima’s teaching on love. Aristotle referenced Empedocles more often in his writings than anyone other than Plato himself.
So what do we know of Empedocles’ thinking?
Until recently, it was thought that Empedocles wrote two very different books, or poems, since he composed in hexameter verse. One poem was called “On Nature,” a bizarre but essentially materialist account of the evolution of the cosmos. The other was called “Purifications,” concerning religious ideas and practices which it was thought were rather at odds with Empedocles’s materialist cosmology. Neither poem was preserved in its entirety, being known only from quotations in later writings.”
Where can we find these uncovered verses?
Edited by Nathan Carlig, Alain Martin, and Olivier Primavesi, the works are translated with commentary in L’Empédocle du Caire.
The Liege University site directly confirms “It was at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo (IFAO) that Nathan Carlig, a papyrologist at the University of Liège, identified papyrus P.Fouad inv. 218 as an unknown fragment of the Physica, the great poem by the philosopher Empedocles of Agrigentum.”
While the text is not readily available (just yet), the university site gives a bit of insight into what the verses reveal. “The text that has come to light deals with the theory of particle effluvia and sensory perceptions, particularly vision.”
Furthermore, they explain how much the new verses seem to have influenced philosophers who came after him. “Analysis of the text has revealed unexpected connections, including the probable direct source of a passage by Plutarch (2nd century), as well as a dialogue by Plato and a text by Theophrastus, a disciple of Aristotle, both from the 4th century BCE.”
First off, audiences knew they’d instantly be in for a treat when Sagi and Rhythm recreated the band’s famous pose for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But it only got better from there in a routine that featured a mash-up of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
Roni and Rhythm performing to Queen.
The dance duo wowed judges and audiences alike with synchronized steps, turns, flips, and even a cool bridge pose trick (seriously, this was a dog owner’s dream come to life). Simon Cowell jokingly asked “How do we know the dog is a real dog?” because Rhythm was just that good. The duo went on to finish as runners-up in the Season 19 finale, with Simon Cowell calling their semifinal performance a perfect “10.”
Roni and Rhythm in the AGT semi finals.
Rhythm is a dancer
Sagi would later end up sharing that Rhythm earned his name from an early age, already tapping his little feet on her bed at only 6 weeks old. By that point, Sagi had already had experience training therapy dogs, which undoubtedly gave her a good foundation for working with her little “tornado storm.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise that Rhythm is so gifted. After all, border collies are notorious for being able to pick up skills quickly, and there have been several border collies that have broken world records—including records for intelligence, balance, and skateboarding (yes, really).
But Sagi seems to credit their chemistry less on Rhythm’s species traits, and more on his individual personality. “It’s so much fun to have a partner that wants [to perform] as much as you,” she said. “He wants to do it all, and he wants to do it now, and he wants to do it as good as he can.”
High praise in the comments section
“This was the most amazing dog act I’ve seen!” one person wrote.
“That precious dog Rhythm is SO talented and smart!!! I don’t understand how he knows what to do when his back is to her?!! This dog is truly dancing and just extremely talented!!!” added another.
Another said, “This dog is the most energetic and enthusiastic I’ve ever seen.”
Of course, Rhythm wasn’t getting all the love. One person wrote, “I don’t usually like dog acts, but this was impressive. Roni is very creative with what she does and obviously a great dancer herself and trainer.”
“Unbelievable…those steps omg.”
“It’s how the dog is ACTUALLY running around HAPPY!”
“That doggie deserves a million treats. Fantastic!”
“Yet I have to say to my dog sit 87 times before he actually sits, probably also from being tired of standing not because I said it.”
Even when they’re just rehearsing and dancing together at home, watching Rhythm and his human move together so harmoniously is truly incredible to watch:
Artemis II began its mission to orbit the Moon on April 1. The four-person crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen—has captured global attention, documenting their 10-day journey around the Moon for Earthlings back home.
Even hundreds of thousands of miles away, the crew has brought humanity to outer space. Glover delivered a moving Easter message that touched people around the world.
The crew also rallied behind Commander Wiseman in an act of kindness that brought them to tears. Wiseman, a father of two daughters, honored his late wife, Carroll, by naming a lunar crater after her.
In an emotional video shared by NASA, Hansen is surrounded by his fellow astronauts as he explains that the mission has revealed “relatively fresh craters on the Moon” that have yet to be named. He adds that there are two craters the crew would like to name.
For the first crater, Hansen says, “If you were to look at Orientale on the far side and then draw a line straight up to Ohm on the far side, relatively in the middle is an unnamed crater and we would like to suggest it be called Integrity in the future.”
But it’s the second crater that holds special significance. Hansen adds that “at certain times of the Moon’s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth.”
He continues, his voice breaking as he is overcome with emotion: “We lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katey and Ellie…[The crater is] a bright spot on the Moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”
Hansen spells it out for mission control, with Wiseman seated beside him. Wiseman is visibly emotional, wiping away tears. He reaches out to touch Hansen’s shoulder. Koch also wipes away tears, and the entire crew then embraces in a group hug.
Viewers respond
The heartwarming moment and expression of love touched many viewers, who shared their reactions in the video’s comment section:
“Sounds like Carroll was loved to the Moon and back, literally 😭.”
“The farthest from Earth humans have ever cried, grieved, and held each other. It was a privilege to witness from afar. I cried with them.”
“These are the moments from this mission people will remember forever. We will all remember Carroll now when we look up at the Moon.”
“So, we were all crying, right? 😭😭😭😭”
“In the last five days, I have heard more messages about love from these astronauts than I could have imagined. They are currently the four best humans on the planet, but off the planet!”
“This part made me tear up, beautiful crew, the best of us got sent up there ❤️🥲”
Who was Carroll Wiseman?
According to Wiseman’s official NASA biography, Carroll “dedicated her life to helping others as a newborn intensive care unit Registered Nurse.”
She passed away on May 17, 2020, after a five-year battle with cancer, according to her obituary. Carroll was born in Virginia Beach, and had two sisters and a brother. She attended James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Wiseman told Baltimore Magazine in January 2026 that his wife encouraged the family to stay in Houston and supported his role as an astronaut.
“When my wife started getting sick, I wanted to move towards family. But she said, ‘No, this is where you work and you love your job. And we should not give that up for this,’” he shared. “Also, I want my kids to know that you can still achieve and go on and pick yourself up. I think when I said, ‘This is something that I want to go do, it’s important to me, and I think I can do a good job at this,’ they were aligned very quickly.”
Antarctica has no permanent residents or Indigenous populations. The only people who live there do so temporarily, either to conduct research or to serve as support staff. And yet, even in the most isolated place in the world, an accent could be forming.
At least, that was the conclusion of a 2019 study in which 11 participants, known as “the winterers,” were recorded saying common, everyday words every few weeks. The group consisted of eight Brits, one American, one German, and one Icelandic participant. Most of the words were ones they used regularly in daily life and contained vowel sounds known to vary across English accents, including “food,” “coffee,” “hid,” and “airflow.”
The researchers found that, over their six-month stay, the winterers began shifting their vowel pronunciations, gradually sounding more similar to one another.
How the Antarctic accent came to be
Part of this phenomenon has to do with accommodation, a linguistic term describing how we adjust our speech to be as clear as possible to the person we are speaking to, often adopting their pronunciation. That person, in turn, instinctively does the same, and a new dialect can begin to take shape, often through what’s known as a vowel merger. Vowel mergers occur when two distinct vowel sounds merge into one, causing words that historically sounded different to be pronounced identically (think: “Mary,” “marry,” and “merry”—which once had slightly different pronunciations).
The study’s researchers also found that the “ou” vowel sound (as in “sew,” “flow,” and “code”) began “fronting,” meaning it was pronounced farther forward in the mouth. This finding was particularly interesting because none of the speakers’ native accents featured this trait, suggesting it did not arise from accommodation. In other words, they developed it spontaneously.
Scientists call this linguistic innovation, the process by which social interaction, technology, and cultural shifts create new language patterns. Slang falls into this category.
Why you won’t be seeing an Antarctic accent anytime soon
There are, however, a few caveats. For one, Jonathan Harrington, a professor of phonetics and speech and an author of the study, told the BBC that the accent shift was “very subtle” and couldn’t technically be heard. Instead, researchers observed the change in recorded acoustic waves.
Second, Harrington noted that “for accents to develop to the point where they are noticeable, it really takes a generational change.” Considering that people stay in Antarctica for only six months at most, any accent that forms is likely short-lived.
The bigger takeaway
Still, this experiment provides larger insight into how new accents, dialects, and even languages develop when communities grow in isolation. It also helps explain why American English has diverged so much from British English.
And if you really want to sound Antarctic, it’s all in the slang, apparently. Here are a few examples of words known among those who live on “the ice” (as dwellers call it, rather than Antarctica), courtesy of Bernadette Hince’s The Antarctic Dictionary and the Cool Antarctica website:
Picking up rubbish or debris to keep the airfield and base safe.
Big Eye
Insomnia caused by a lack of sunlight disrupting one’s circadian rhythms.
Toasty
Brain fog caused by perpetual darkness, as well as low temperatures and discombobulating altitudes. The term can also be used for other general misdemeanors committed around camp.
Ice Shock
As one Antarctica-based blogger put it, this is what happens when “you get back to the rest of the world and realize that no matter how insane Antarctica is, the real world is FAR nuttier, and that you can no longer function in it.”
Greenout
A riff on “whiteout.” As The Antarctic Dictionary defines it, “greenout” is “the overwhelming sensation induced by seeing and smelling trees and other plants after spending time in Antarctic regions.”
Beaker
Scientist. There are also nicknames for specialists, including “fuelies” (in charge of fueling equipment) and “wasties” (who deal with, well, waste).
City Mice/Country Mice
Personnel who work at main research stations, as opposed to crews who move among different camps across the continent.
Freshies
Shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables that provide a welcome culinary respite for those on the ice.
Poppy
Alcohol served over Antarctic ice, which makes a satisfying popping sound as it releases long-pressurized gas.
All of this goes to show that even at the very edges of the world, humans will continue to reshape the way they connect with one another.
