+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
Joy

Trader Joe's fans cannot contain their joy as the store brings back free samples

They're back, baby!

trader joes
Wikipedia

People have clearly missed their free treats.

The COVID-19 pandemic had us waving a sad farewell to many of life’s modern conveniences. And where it certainly hasn’t been the worst loss, not having free samples at grocery stores has undoubtedly been a buzzkill. Sure, one can shop around without the enticing scent of hot, fresh artisan pizza cut into tiny slices or testing out the latest fancy ice cream … but is it as joyful? Not so much.

Trader Joe’s, famous for its prepandemic sampling stations, has recently brought the tradition back to life, and customers are practically dancing through the aisles.


On the big comeback weekend, people flocked to social media to share images and videos of their free treats, including festive Halloween cookies (because who doesn’t love TJ’s holiday themed items?) along with hopeful messages for the future.

“Apparently the COVID pandemic is really over,” one person tweeted.

“The end of the pandemic is nigh!!!!!!,” another added, right next to a picture of their free granola sample.

Some even got genuinely emotional. “The sample station is officially BACK after the last several years at Trader Joe’s and I am not kidding when I say that I shed a genuine tear. One of life’s greatest pleasures,” commented one person.

Trader Joe’s is certainly not the first to bring back free samples. Costco, Sam’s Club and Whole Foods have previously brought them back using different COVID precautions. But Trader Joe’s fanatics are just a different breed—the store has its own cult-like following, so of course the response to seeing its quirky snacks laid out again is going to get an overwhelmingly positive response.

As CNN pointed out, sampling is a major sales strategy not only for retailers, but for small, up-and-coming brands trying to raise awareness (as a former demo girl, I can also attest to this). The return of this beloved staple also signals opportunities for startup food companies to recover. Basically—a win for TJ’s, a win for startups and a win for sample-hungry shoppers yearning for simple comforts. Win, win, win.

Sometimes the best news is bite-sized.

From Your Site Articles
internet
Family

Husband shares how he used to think of himself as the 'main character' of his marriage

"I had to unlearn it because it never was okay."

@jfisher62/TikTok

"I had to unlearn it because it never was okay."

There is certainly no shortage of stories from women highlighting the glaring disparity between society’s expected responsibilities of husbands vs. wives. Some are a bit more lighthearted, poking fun at the absurdity. Others reflect utter frustration and had-it-up-to-here-edness with partners not doing their share of the work.

However, self-proclaimed “Clueless Husband” J Fisher’s honest, thoughtful retrospection on the subject shows that it’s not just female partners noticing that things need to change.

In a now-viral TikTok video, Fisher describes how he used to consider himself the “main character” of his relationship.

Keep ReadingShow less
life
Internet

People investigating noises under their house awaken a bear in their crawl space

“It’s a raccoon. Oh, IT’S A BEAR!”

@badthingswithfunnypeople|TikTok

Couple investigating noises accidentally awaken a bear.

It's not uncommon to hear something outside of your house, especially if it's close to trash pick-up day. Raccoons and stray cats treat an overflowing trashcan like a holiday dinner, and even if you weren't sure if you heard something or not, the torn trash bags confirm your suspicion.

This is a pretty universal experience in America, so hearing a rustle under your house typically conjures images of a trash panda that got stuck. But for one family, the noises weren't coming from a raccoon at all. In a viral video on TikTok that has over 10 million views, a couple is outside looking for the source of the noises they've been hearing. The woman is filming at a fairly safe distance, while the guy investigates their crawl space.

Everything is going well. They hear what sounds like a hiss and with relief exclaim that it's a raccoon.

They were wrong. Like pee your pants, everyone for themselves, wrong.

Keep ReadingShow less
bear sighting
Pop Culture

Comedy rock band use 38 songs to prove how 'every pop song' uses the same four chords

The Beatles, U2 and Maroon 5 are all guilty of the same crime.

random804/YouTube

Australian comedy group Axis Of Awesome

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was found not liable on April 4 in a lawsuit where he was accused of stealing elements of the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud."

The case called attention to the fact that there are motifs and musical structures common in pop music that no one owns, and all are free to use. When it comes to chord progressions, the 12-bar blues and basic I, IV, V, I progressions you hear in country and folk have been used and reused since people first picked up the guitar.

In the wrong hands, the progressions can result in music that is boring and formulaic, but in the right hands, they can be a springboard for fresh ideas.

Keep ReadingShow less
music
Pop Culture

What Hollywood gets wrong about corsets, and how the Victorians actually got a tiny waist

Bernadette Banner, a content creator focused of fashion history, breaks down how Victorians were "masters of illusion."

Bernadette Banner/Youtube

You'll never look at a corset with disdain again.

Usually when we think of corsets, the words suffocation, fainting and shifting organs probably come to mind.

This is certainly what Bernadette Banner has come across in the comments section of her Youtube channel, where she shares all kinds of fashion history education. The general consensus is that Victorian women were either all incredibly tiny or that they went to extremely dangerous lengths to achieve the highly exaggerated signature silhouette of the era, which was to have the bust 10 inches larger than the waist, with the hips 15 inches larger. 34-26-36, for example.

This notion is certainly backed by Hollywood, where we normally see women of that time period being laced up so tightly they can barely breathe, suffering under the crushing weight of whalebone and the patriarchy.

Keep ReadingShow less
history
Joy

A cat on TikTok is setting an example for human dads as he intuitively cares for his partner

What a lucky mama cat.

Santos & Poppy|TikTok

A cat named Santos is an adorably supportive dad and partner.

You don't often hear about male cats hanging around much after kittens are born, but maybe it's because they don't live with the mama cat. It could also be because most indoor cats are fixed, so cat dads don't get to flex their parental abilities. But there's a cat family on TikTok that has been shattering the tomcat stereotype, because Santos, who recently welcomed kittens with his partner, Poppy, is showing people how it's done.

In the first video, Poppy is in labor, and Santos, the black cat, is right by her side. He climbs into the box and offers support through gentle touches with his paws. His attentiveness to the laboring mother of his kittens is making humans take notes. Santos looks to not only rub the orange tabby cat's back while she's laboring but give her snuggles when the babies are born.

If they weren't cats it would look like a supportive soon-to-be dad taking care of his laboring wife. The fact that they're cats just ups the "aww" factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
animal videos
Pop Culture

Video breaks down why early humans had naturally straight teeth and we don't

Thanks, innovation!

Ted-Ed/Youtube

Technology isn't everything.

Crooked teeth is a very, very common occurrence in our modern world. Nine out of ten people have at least some misalignment going on in their mouths. Over 4 million people wear braces in the United States alone. I don’t know about you, but I can still feel the utter sticker shock from my own teeth-straightening journey. (I call it a “journey” so it feels a little more whimsical and less devastating.)

And yet, this is not something our ancestors dealt with. Like…at all. How could it be that no one experienced this normal modern-day conundrum in a time when we had exponentially less technological advancement?

As it turns out, technology might be the culprit, and a video from Ted-Ed explains it all.
Keep ReadingShow less
science
Trending Stories