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A grandma shows her granddaughter 'shorthand' and it blows the internet away

'I’m literally losing my mind trying to understand this.'

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Grandma shows granddaughter shorthand

Grandparents can be a wealth of history and knowledge. But one TikTok user, Reagan Jones, was blown away by her grandmother's ability to write in shorthand, so she did what a lot of people do in this century—uploaded it to TikTok. Not surprisingly, most people who viewed the video had no idea what shorthand was and some thought the whole thing was made up. The reaction to it certainly makes you question if it's more than a lost art, but a forgotten part of history.


Shorthand is a method of quickly writing that has been around for a centuries.

The first recorded history of a form of shorthand being used was in the 4th century B.C.. In the 1800s, two different types of shorthand became popular, Pitman in 1837 and Gregg in 1888. Looking at the shorthand alphabet may make you furrow your eyebrows because a lot of the symbols look ridiculously similar. It's full of lines that are straight, slightly curled or partially looped and some that just look like a squiggle. It's something to behold and resembles a super secret language.

Judging by the comments on the video, other people feel the same way. One commenter, Jamie wrote, "I've heard the term shorthand but I think my brain always took it as abbreviations not this 😳😅"

Another commenter, Samantha said, "Nah this has to be a glitch in the timeline I’ve never heard of this from any of my family member."

@reaganjones176

This is called “short hand” and its a real form of old-style note-taking. She uses this to write herself notes daily. 😂#coolgrandma #funwithgrandma #grandparents #handwriting #shorthand

In a reply to a commenter, Jones revealed, "My grandma was a legal secretary for the railroad :) She won a lot of awards for her work and shorthand in school."

Now, that's just cool. Sure there are still professions like court reporters and such that use shorthand, but it's not as common as it was back when most people's grandparents and great-grandparents were young adults. This was such a neat blast from the past. It's clear that Jones' grandma could probably still take home some awards for her unique skill.


This article originally appeared on 09.13.22

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5 things that people view as signs of 'stupidity' that are actually signs of intelligence

It's time to stop thinking of these as weaknesses.

Photo credit: Canva

5 things people think show stupidity but are actually intelligence

There are some people that are just inherently intelligent while others have to work at it. As we age we run into more people that have varying degrees of intelligence whether it be from post graduate degrees or just life experiences. But there are sometimes instances where we may find ourselves questioning if someone is as smart as they are letting on.

It can be due to something they said, did or just from observing their general behaviors. Is this always a fair assessment though or are we making snap judgements based on what we personally perceive as markers of a person's intelligence? Well, it seems this is a question that has been on the minds of a few individuals.

People have been asking what are signs of intelligence that are often mistaken for stupidity. The answers just might surprise you.

Knowing what people view as signs of intelligence may also serve as a means to satisfy people's curiosity on whether they appear to be smart to other people. This could be a reason this question is so popular when someone dares to release the thought into the metaphorical void of the internet. Between two posts, one shared on Reddit and the other on X, here are the top 5 things people mistake for ignorance but are actually signs of intelligence.

Confused Dogs GIF by MOODMANGiphy

1. Asking questions

Sometimes people mistake asking a lot of questions as a sign of unintelligence when the opposite may be true. People who are smart know when they aren't well informed on a topic so they don't shy away from asking questions to gain clarity or to learn about resources to obtain more information on the topic.

"Asking questions. people love to act like it makes you look dumb, but honestly, the smartest ppl are the ones who aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know everything. Like, if you’re always questioning stuff, you’re actually trying to learn, while everyone else is just faking it lol," someone shares.


Amy Poehler Question GIF by NBCGiphy

2. Being quiet

It seems that the consensus is that everything doesn't require one's opinion, especially if they aren't well versed in the area being discussed. Quietly listening instead of interjecting can also show confidence in your knowledge of the topic at hand. If it's being adequately covered by others in the conversation, your voice may not be needed–knowing the difference seems to be key in someone deemed as intelligent.

Being quiet also gives you the opportunity to learn about others, another user points out, "That phrase as well as 'You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that ratio.' Ring through my head regularly. These days, far more about others than to myself."

3. Mispronouncing a word

This may be surprising to some people but mispronouncing words can be seen as a sign of intelligence. The logic behind this is that you must be hitting the books more than engaging in mindless scrolling or consuming some other form of visual media outside of books.

"Mispronouncing a word. Just means that you have read the word somewhere and have not heard it," someone points out in a reply on X.

Elon Musk Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

4. Having an accent

There's oftentimes a misconception that people who don't speak the dominant language well or speak it with an accent are not as intelligent. This can be immigrants who have moved to the country or people simply visiting on vacation. In some situations immigrants hold advanced degrees or owned businesses in their home countries before relocating, which alone is impressive but one person adds this reminder.

"Having an accent seems to make people think you’re stupid. Reality is this person speaks more than one language, they’re not dumb."

5. Changing your mind

Some people see changing your mind as a sign of being uncertain or fickle but in actuality, it can be a sign of intelligence. When someone learns new information that conflicts with previous information and adjusts accordingly, this is seen as a positive attribute. For others, the changing of one's mind may be seen as something someone unintelligent would do.

Someone chimes in saying, "the uneducated call it flip-flopping, while some of us are willing to change our views in light of new evidence." While another clarified that they view "flip-flopping" differently, "I would only call it flip-flopping if they publicly change back and forth multiple times. I think this is often because they're trying to appeal to whomever they're speaking to rather than showing their true opinions."

Changed My Mind Hbo GIF by SuccessionHBOGiphy

Intelligence can be measured by many different standards and there's no true way for someone to immediately pick up on someone else's level of intelligence in all areas. Some people are well versed in certain topics while being clueless in another. Intelligence runs the gambit because no two people are exactly alike and no singular person can know everything with the depth of expert level research.

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Dog refuses to walk with her mom, but miraculously, her legs 'work with Grandma'

She doesn't care if her mom knows it.

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Dog refuses to walk with Mom, but her legs work with Grandma.

What gives dogs the right to have such big and hilarious personalities? It seems like these dogs have found a way to make their humans laugh while also annoying them until they're ready to come apart. It's truly a skill that only dogs and toddlers seem to possess in great quantities.

Zoe is a pit bull with a bombastic side-eye that makes it clear that she only tolerates her mother, Raven, but adores her grandmother, Yonika. There is no confusion about who her favorite person is, and Zoe's grandmother only seems to encourage the behavior. The two of them are the best of friends, and Mom...well, she's the third wheel.

Sure, Zoe likes her mom a little—she does feed her, after all—but the verdict is still being determined if love can be claimed. Raven can't even convince the sassy pittie to go on a walk with her.

Zoe lays on the ground like a chubby little pancake any time her mom tries to take her for a walk. Raven has even pulled on her leash, slowly dragging the dog down the hallway, but Zoe insists that her legs do not remember how to work. But as soon as Grandma takes the leash, a miracle occurs. Suddenly Zoe is a spry whippersnapper with four working legs and a happy tail.

"She refuses to walk whenever I take her outside," Raven explains. But that's just not the case for Grandma, and there really doesn't seem to be an explanation for it other than preference.

"When I'm around, she is an absolute angel. She listens," Yonika says.

In fact, Raven says when Grandma is around, Zoe completely ignores her so she can continue getting Grandma cuddles.

This dog has mastered the side-eye, and Grandma is only assisting in her snubbing her mom in the cutest way. It's something you have to witness for yourself to fully appreciate, so check out the video below.

This article originally appeared on 7.19.23

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Little girl's viral pink chair costume finally gets an explanation and it's perfect

"This little lady is going places."

Photo by Lindsay McGrath on Unsplash
woman sitting on white padded seat

Kids are interesting, especially between the ages of early toddlerhood and first grade. They can literally fall over laughing because you ripping paper is suddenly hilarious or develop a deep connection with a mixing spoon that they insist on taking everywhere. You really never know what they're going to do and as parents we just learn to go with it.

As long as it's not hurting them or anyone else, go for it. For nearly two years my daughter dressed up as Snow White every day, complete with plastic heels, only taking a break for wash days when all three costumes were dirty. So it's not a surprise when one little girl decided she wanted to be a pink chair for Halloween.

Recently, her parents posted a compilation video on their TikTok page, Toy Story Dad, partially captioned, "This is her world and we are all just living in it," giving an explanation on her viral chair costume.

The best part of the explanation is that it didn't need to be explained. They just compiled videos of all of the times they asked their daughter, Scarlet, what she wanted to be for Halloween, likely thinking she would change her mind. But she didn't, in fact, she started to look a bit miffed at them constantly asking. Every time they would ask, the little girl who looks to be about three replies, "a pink chair."

No further explanation is needed. She was a pink chair for Halloween last year simply because she was persistent in her request and she just happened to be the cutest little pink chair out there. Commenters loved her adorable insistence and some included their own interesting costume choices their kids have had.

"The request, the persistence, the delivery, the execution (chef's hand inserted) this little lady is going places," one person writes.

"HER LEGS BEING THE BACK LEGS OF THE CHAIR IS SO CUTE," another commenter writes.

"My friend has twin girls. One was a princess and the other was a crouton as per their requests," someone says.

There were some revelations of unique costume choices in the comments.

Kids dressed up as an oven, air conditioner, water bottle and even a recycling bin. Little ones are so creative but so are their parents because I'm going to assume it's unlikely to come across an oven or chair at your local Target. But you can see her adorable costume below:

@toystorydad_

This is her world and we are all just living in it. 💕What is the funniest thing your kid has dressed up as? Or wanted to dress up as?

This article originally appeared on 10.9.23

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