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23 photos from the '30s and '40s that prove your grandparents were so much more badass than you.

It's not even a contest.

Your grandparents went hard.

A light day at work for your grandpa in Pittsburgh, 1938. Photo by Arthur Rothstein/Farm Security Administration.

And now, there's photographic evidence to prove it.

Yale University recently released 170,000 photos from the Great Depression and World War II-era America: some classic, some obscure, many taken by New Deal government photographers, and all of them proving what bad MF'ers your grandparents were.

From California, to the Bronx, to Alabama, the parents of your parents did nothing but demonstrate their strength, hard work, and good ol' fashioned American can-do know-how just-try-coming-at-me-and-you'll-see-what-happens, time and time again.

Here are 23 of those times.

1. Your grandma, doing her laundry by hand in a metal bucket on top of a rickety wooden barrel

Imperial Valley, CA, 1937. Photo by Dorothea Lange/Farm Security Administration.

Oh, it's so hard to schlep your clothes all the way down to the basement? Well, here's your grandma in Dust Bowl-era California washing your dirty socks by hand in the middle of the street.

So, you know. Keep complaining.

Most likely, your grandma stuck it out in the cabbage fields until the beginning of World War II, when she and your grandpa found better paying industrial work that allowed them to move to the big city. Though if she was one of the thousands of the mostly Latino and Asian migrant workers who stuck around, there's a good chance she was part of one of the biggest workers' rights victories of all time two decades later, when many of California's agriculture laborers successfully agitated for their rights to unionize behind Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers.

Either way, total badass.

2. Your grandparents, dominating the dance floor so hard that everyone else just flat-out left

Birney, Montana, 1939. Photo by Arthur Rothstein/Farm Security Administration.

Little known fact: "The Club" was invented in Birney, Montana, in 1939, by your grandparents. There they are. Look at them go.

3. Your grandma, obviously knowing what's up

Imperial Valley, California, 1937. Photo by Dorothea Lange/Farm Security Administration.

That's her in the middle. Her parents left their home, most likely in Oklahoma — or Texas, or Arkansas, or Missouri — and dragged her halfway across the country so they could find work picking vegetables.

Her friend on the left is jazzed, but your grandma knows the deal. She knows this is going to be some John Steinbeck ish. She's not here for any B.S.

4. Your grandpa, cutting these logs in half all by himself with nothing but an old rusty handsaw

Bradford, Vermont, 1939. Photo by Russell Lee/Farm Security Administration.

How do you heat your home in winter when you live in rural Vermont and you've been waiting decades for the gas company to give you an activation date?

You burn wood. Lots of it.

Who volunteered to cut it? Your grandpa, that's who.

5. Your grandparents, working together to make humongous guns

Erie, Pennsylvania, 1941. Photo by Unknown/Office for Emergency Management.

Even though the United States didn't officially enter World War II until 1941, mobilization efforts began significantly ramping up the previous year.

The period between 1940 and 1945 saw a larger percentage increase of women in the labor force than at any other time in the 20th century, and right in the thick of it was your grandma, seen here in the top middle, making sure these giant guns were good 'n' killy.

6. Your grandpa, chilling on a stump

Iron, Michigan, 1937. Photo by Russell Lee/Farm Security Administration.

That beard. That is all.

7. Your grandma, straight-up carrying a chicken on her shoulder

Manning, South Carolina, 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott/Farm Security Administration.

That's your grandma, one of a small number of black farmers who received a loan from the Farm Security Administration. Like many New Deal programs, white farmers fared far better under the FSA, which provided much-needed financial assistance to struggling farmers. Not coincidentally, the resulting poverty, along with the persistence of socially sanctioned terrorism, prompted many black families from places like Manning, South Carolina, to join the Great Migration to northern cities that began several decades earlier, and would last until around 1970.

In the meantime, your grandma is happy just casually hanging onto this chicken that could peck her eyes out at literally any moment.

8. Your grandpa, manually cranking up his jamz on a radio rigged to the top of his tractor

Jasper, Iowa, 1939. Photo by Arthur Rothstein/Farm Security Administration.

This is how your grandpa did work — driving that farm machine real slow, bumping "Nice Work if You Can Get It" all around that Iowa cornfield.

9. Your 6-year-old grandma, babysitting your baby great-uncle by herself

Hudson, Colorado, 1938. Photo by Jack Allison/Farm Security Administration.

Here's your grandma as a 6-year-old making sure her baby brother stays out of trouble. Her parents are hard at work at a nearby beet sugar farm in Hudson, Colorado, and she's on child care duty, despite being ... 6. Already more mature and responsible than you'll ever be.

10. Your grandma with the giant tree she just cut down while building a farm from scratch with her bare hands

Thurston, Washington, 1939. Photo by Dorothea Lange/Farm Security Administration.

There she is, clearing her own land in Thurston, Washington, leaning against the stump of a giant pine tree she probably just owned, looking suitably pleased with herself.

11. Your grandpa, rolling 200-pound barrels full of potatoes down the street

Presque Isle, Maine, 1940. Photo by Jack Delano/Farm Security Administration.

Or, as your grandpa called it, "the gym."

12. Your grandma, carrying heavy buckets full of water to thirsty farm workers

Belle Glade, Florida, 1937. Photo by Arthur Rothstein/Farm Security Administration.

Migrant worker camps sprouted up all over agricultural areas during the Great Depression — not just out west. Here's one in Belle Glade, Florida, and there's your grandma, being a goddamn hero, and getting swole in the process.

13. Your grandpa, single-handedly dragging a car across the river on some old wooden planks


Gees Bend, Alabama, 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott/Farm Security Administration.

One morning in 1939, your grandpa was just hanging out, looking amazing in his hat somewhere in Gees Bend, Alabama, when a government agent and photographer rolled up and said, "Howdy, sir! You wouldn't mind taking our heavy-ass car across the river on your tiny ferry, would you?" And your grandpa was like, "Oh great. Sure. Yes. Love to. Totally..." while giving them the world's hardest side-eye.

But he did it. He freaking did it. All by himself.

14. Your grandma, churning butter with one hand basically tied behind her back like it's NBD

Gees Bend, Alabama, 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott/Farm Security Administration.

The most ridiculous part? Your grandma was a lefty.

15. Your grandpa, having the time of his life literally playing in the gutter.

Bronx, 1936. Photo by Russell Lee/Farm Security Administration.

Every time you feel a secret twinge of shame scrolling through Twitter in front of your grandpa, this is why.

16. Your grandpa, looking stone-cold in the world's dopest shades

Ansonia, Connecticut, 1940. Photo by Jack Delano/Farm Security Administration.

As you sit at your desk, worried to the point of actual emotional distress that you might have to settle for the "bad" sandwich place for lunch today, here's a reminder that your grandpa worked in a factory in Ansonia, Connecticut, making metalworking equipment in 7-bazillion-degree heat, looking like the villain from a sci-fi horror film.

There he is holding onto some kind of rod, thinking a thought that will alter the universe as we know it.

17. Your grandpa ... actually, not sure about this one

Shelbyville, Kentucky, 1940. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott/Farm Security Administration.

Polishing the wheels of a go-kart? Checking the axles of a wheeled dogsled? I don't know. No idea what your grandpa is doing here. But whatever it is, it's obviously serious as all hell.

18. Your grandpa wrestling a cow, delighting the neighborhood children

Marshalltown, Iowa, 1939. Photo by Arthur Rothstein/Farm Security Administration.

These days, we try to amuse our kids by giving them free run of the iPad or plopping them in front of "Dolphin Tale 2" — yet somehow, they never seem satisfied. Your grandpa, on the other hand, understood that nothing entertains children more than watching man and beast locked in a physical struggle for supremacy.

The site of these events is now probably a Panera.

19. Your grandpa, watching the trains go by from on the actual train tracks

Minneapolis, 1939. Photo by John Vachon/Farm Security Administration.

Your grandpa laughs in the face of danger.

20. Your grandpa, taking a nap on top of some dead fish

Baltimore, 1938. Photo by Sheldon Dick/Farm Security Administration.

Oh, you stayed at the office 'til 9 p.m. last night putting together the pitch deck for the new clients?

Here's your grandpa sleeping on some fish barrels in Baltimore. By all means, feel sorry for yourself.

21. Your grandma, rocking out on a giant guitar

San Francisco, 1939. Photo by Dorothea Lange/Farm Security Administration.

Here she is in her Salvation Army bonnet, bringing much-needed relief to the poor and needy in San Francisco. Though the Salvation Army hasn't looked quite so good recently, leading up to — and during — the Depression, the organization was omnipresent, feeding and housing what is technically referred to on the American West Coast as "hella" people. The Salvation Army also tried extra hard to make them Methodist, which, depending on your perspective, was likely either miracle balm for their eternal souls or annoying as hell.

These boys are all like, "Yo! Play that Woody Guthrie, Miss!" But your grandma just frowns and keeps rolling with the church music. Eventually, they like it. They always do.

22. Your grandpa, tolerating a ridiculous amount of racism just to get a drink of water

Oklahoma City, 1939. Photo by Russell Lee/Farm Security Administration.

This is some B.S. your grandpa had to put up with on a daily basis.

Your daily reminder that racism ruins everything.

23. Your grandma, posing for the world's first viral interspecies friendship photo

Weslaco, Texas, 1939. Photo by Russell Lee/Farm Security Administration.

If this photo were taken today, it would launch a thousand Internet posts with titles like "This little girl and this calf are the best of friends and my heart just exploded." Some intrepid web reporters would somehow dig up a half-dozen more shots, and before too long, they'd have a book deal. As it is, we only have the one.

Let's just be glad we do.

Whether they're still alive or long passed on, your grandparents deserve our thanks, on behalf of America, for being the slam.

For more photos of your grandparents, check out the full archive here. You'll be glad you did.

And your grandparents will be like, "Told you so."

Family

Dad camping with his kids shared the handwritten note left on his car from a fellow camper

More of this, please.

Photo credit: Canva, Note image via RCampR6/Reddit

A dad got a sweet note from a fellow father after camping with his kids.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent is never being sure whether you're doing a good job or totally bombing it. If you're conscientious enough to even wonder if you're a good parent, you probably are, but parenting entails a million little choices and interactions, and there's always a lingering voice in your head saying, "What if you're really screwing this whole thing up?"

Reassurance and encouragement are always appreciated by parents, but not always received, which is why a note from one camping dad to another has people celebrating the kindness of anonymous strangers.

"You are killing it as a dad."

Someone on Yosemite Reddit thread shared a photo of a handwritten note with the caption, "To the man who left this thoughtful note on my windshield at Lower Pines Campground this weekend, I extend my heartfelt gratitude; your acknowledgment of my efforts to be a good father means a great deal to me."


Windshield Note.
byu/RCampR6 inYosemite

The note reads:

"Bro,

I camped in the spot behind you last night. Let me just say, you are killing it as a dad. First off, I watched your wife guide you in as you backed up your trailer and nailed it on the first try without any yelling. Then your kids unloaded from the truck and were mild-mannered and well behaved. You told stories around the campfire and I had the pleasure of listening to the sounds of giggles and laughter.

From one dad to another, you are killing it. Keep it up.

P.S. Whatever you cooked for dinner smelled delicious!"

How often do we share these thoughts with strangers, even if we have them? And who wouldn't love to get a surprise bit of praise with specific examples of things we did right?

Everyone needs to hear a compliment once in a while.

So many people found the note to be a breath of fresh air and a good reminder to compliment people when we feel the urge:

"That would make any daddy's eyes water."

"It’s always nice, as a guy, to get a compliment."

"I complimented a guy's glasses at work (I'm also a guy, and btw they were really cool glasses, I wasn't just being nice) and now he keeps trying to tell me where he got his glasses and how I should get some. But I'm just having to be polite because I already have glasses and I'm not in the market. I finally had to tell him I'm not going to buy them lmao I just like them on him.

Made me feel like that's the first compliment he's had in years because he can't stop talking about it. Also I mainly liked the glasses because I think he's cute but he really thinks it's just the glasses haha jokes on him that cute bastard."

via GIPHY

"I was in the store with my wife and one of our 'adopted nephews' yesterday (we’re close friends with his parents and we’ve known him and his brother since they were newborns and 2yo, respectively). A woman came up to me at checkout while my wife was running out to the car and said 'I’m not sure what your family relationship is here, but I just have to tell you how nice and refreshing it is to hear all the laughter and joy from the 3 of you. You both seem like such a good influence on him and it warms my heart.' It’s such a small thing but as a dude, I can’t remember the last time someone gave me a compliment in public and it made my freaking day."

"10/10 letter. The and not yelling part gave me a good chuckle lol."

"We need so much more of men getting such heartfelt and sincere compliments. Thanks for sharing. ❤️"

"I’ve never considered leaving a note, but when I see a harmonious family with good parenting, it’s healing for me. My childhood was awful."

"Such an awesome compliment! Even though I don't have children myself, I like to remind my friends too that they're doing great & it brings them happy tears."

via GIPHY

"This made me cry. I love that you are getting your 'flowers.' My dad sucked, I’m so glad you are one of the good ones."

"This made me cry too. It’s so hard to be a human. Let alone a parent. Getting a good job sticker every now and then really means a lot these days."

"I'm a big bearded guy and I would cry if I got this note. More people like this, please."

The best part of this story is that no one knows who the dad who wrote the note is, not even the dad who shared it. It wasn't written for clout or notoriety, it wasn't to get attention or make himself look good. No name or signature, just an anonymous act of kindness to uplift a stranger whether he needed it or not.

We all need to hear or read kind things said about us, and sometimes it means even more coming from an anonymous stranger who has nothing to gain by sharing. A good reminder to share it when you feel it—you never know how many people you may move and inspire.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Joy

Young woman surprised grandma for her birthday by dressing up like her and recreating her old photos

TikTok

All screenshots from @lakynbowman on TikTok.

It was Grandma’s 71st birthday, and granddaughter Lakyn Bowman came up with the cutest, cleverest and most thoughtful way to honor the occasion.

Bowman (@lakynbowman) shared in a TikTok video that after going through old photos, she realized just how much they both looked alike. And so, to thank grandma for passing down the good genes, she decided to recreate each signature look. After a few rounds with a curling iron, some pale blue eyeshadow, and throwing on some charming floral prints (plus some filter wizardry to give the pics that retro look) the resemblance is just uncanny.

People were delighted to see such a loving tribute. The video quickly racked up over 8 million views, with more than a few comments talking about how emotional the tribute made them. Can’t say I blame 'em.

Screenshot of a comment

Such a heartwarming tribute obviously moved some to tears.

TikTok

But how did grandma feel about it? Well, in a follow-up video, we see a genuine ear-to-ear smile. Suffice it to say, the idea was a hit.

As one person wrote to Bowman, “you’ll never be able to top this gift.”

It certainly helps that Bowman is vintage savvy. She even helps others find amazing secondhand items through her company Nine Oh Six. So getting the clothes and accessories was a piece of old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake. And the results were just as sweet. Take a look below:

@lakynbowman Happy birthday, Grandma! Thanks for the good genes. 💕 #recreate#photoshoot #birthdayphotoshoot #vintage #grandma ♬ What Once Was - Her's
@lakynbowman

Reply to @katemason06 The audio didn’t save. 😭 But here’s her reaction. I love her so much! 💕

These videos are not only an instant dash of joy, it’s also a heartwarming reminder that our elders provide the prologue to our life stories. Honoring them can be as simple or creative as we want them to be, but be sure to include them. As we can see with this grandma-granddaughter duo, it’ll mean the world to them.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Culture

Dad’s 5-year-old daughter's hilarious answers to his questions have the internet screaming

“Do I have to change my name if I get married? Call me Shredder.”

via James Breakwell / Twitter

Raising kids is tough, but there's a lot of laughs along the way. Comedy writer James Breakwell has four daughters under the age of eight and shares their hilarious conversations on Twitter. And, from Breakwell's tweets, it looks like his five year old has a future in comedy. Here's a sampling of some Breakwell's funniest kid-inspired tweets.


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His 5-year-old isn't the only (often unintentionally) hilarious child in the house; the 7-year-old and 3-year-old turn up from time to time. There's also a 2-year-old, but she hasn't been the subject of many tweets yet.


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This article originally appeared four years ago.

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Man praised for refusing to switch seats with a dad who was traveling alone with his daughter

He made the right decision.

Photo credit: Canva

Man praised for not switching seats with dad traveling with daughter

Airlines charge for everything but breathing nowadays so people tend to be protective of their seat assignments. They picked them with their own hands with their needs and preferences in mind before paying the extra money to confirm the seating. Choosing your own seat can range from $5-$80 extra per ticket depending on where in the cabin you choose to sit, barring first class options.

It's for this reason that people aren't keen on trading their seats with someone who chose to let the airline auto-assign a seat for them. This doesn't stop people from asking unsuspecting fellow travelers to swap seats with them, likely relying on the social pressure of the situation to coax a yes. But one man refused to be swayed, even when the other passenger points out that he would like to sit next to his minor daughter which may have been enough to encourage others to oblige the request.

The passenger who was being asked to move had already paid additional money to sit in an aisle seat he explains, "I always book an aisle seat. My company allows me to add the small surcharge for an aisle seat (it was $18). I sat early and this guy comes with his daughter. His daughter had the middle seat next to me. He had another middle seat elsewhere. He asked to switch with me. I said I would if he had an aisle seat. He said he has a middle seat."

Season 9 Ugh GIF by Curb Your EnthusiasmGiphy

The middle seat is typically the least desirable seat due to being stuck between two other passengers, no designated armrest and nothing to comfortably lean your head on should you fall asleep. Waking up only to realize you've been asleep on a stranger's shoulder can make for an awkward interaction, so there's no surprise the man didn't want to trade seats with the dad on those details alone. But the man didn't choose the aisle seat because he was afraid of drooling on the shoulder of a fellow passenger.

"I said sorry, I am a big guy (6 feet, 260+ pounds), I am [un]comfortable in middle seat. It's a 4.5 hour flight," the befuddled passenger shares before adding. "I explained I am physically uncomfortable in the middle. The aisle gives me more room."

Giphy

One might think the interaction would end there but it didn't. According to the six-foot-tall man, the dad then involved a flight attendant to encourage him to give up his seat so the dad could sit next to his child. But the man continued to refuse the dad's request which resulted in the dad having to sit in his original seat and the teenage girl being seated next to the original man. He had no desire to be uncomfortable for a fairly long flight and while he was expecting for people to disagree with his actions, they were overwhelmingly on his side.

"You paid extra for that aisle seat, and it’s your comfort on a long flight. The guy should've booked better seats if he wanted to sit next to his daughter. Plus, it’s not your job to accommodate his poor planning," one person writes.

No Way Beer GIF by BuschGiphy

"If you want to sit together, pay for the seats. Good for you, people like that need to learn they cant have their cake and eat it too," someone else says.

"I hate it when a FA asks you to move one you've already said no. They should stand by their company who sold you the seat and reiterate that to the person asking," another chimes in.

pushing air travel GIFGiphy

"I’ve been in the situation traveling, when my kids were small and flights were canceled, etc. that we were seated separately. When you REALLY do NEED compassion, people are generally OK with it and they are understanding and will likely move if able. I’ve also raised my kids to be independent and as teenagers they would have been just fine. In a case where it really is a need (like a special needs teen), the airline owes its passengers some sort of a solution like upgrading an inconvenienced traveller," someone else adds.

The man does admit that maybe the dad assumed the solo traveler would be inappropriate with his daughter saying, "Maybe he thought I was some creeper? I AM NOT. I popped a prescription muscle relaxer, put on relaxing music on my earphones and zoned out." In the end the man did not give up his seat and the teen girl and her father were both fine sitting in the seats assigned to them.

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33-year-old American expat shares how he lives a lavish life in Bali on less than $75 a day

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Life is bigger than the U.S.!

Dreaming about moving to another country and starting over is no longer just a dream for some people. A growing number of millennial expats are finding their American dream in another country. And they're taking to social media to invite us to follow their journeys. Living comfortably in America is merely a dream for most people, so seeing expats doing it in other countries is inspiring more people than ever to seek a better life than they can achieve in the United States elsewhere.

Influencer and educator Olumide Gbenro has made a life in Bali that would be unattainable to most Americans. When Gbenro was around 13, his family immigrated to Columbus, Ohio after living in London. Gberno spent the first six years of his life in his home country of Nigeria, so relocating was not new to him. Before deciding to leave it all behind as an adult, Olumide was on a different path. A path his parents had set before him, but one he didn't want to follow.

In 2016, Gberno graduated with two master’s degrees from San Diego State University. One master’s was in epidemiology and the other in behavioral sciences. The new graduate was primed to go on for his PhD just as his parents wanted, but enrolling in a PhD program meant traveling the world would be off the table and the soon to be expat wasn’t ready to give up on it. The choice then became to become a doctor or travel, and since traveling was in his blood it was a no-brainer.

Gberno told CNBC Make It, “All of my life, I just followed the rules, whether it was from my parents, religion or society,” he says. “But deep down I knew that if I took the position in the PhD program, I could never go back, I could never travel abroad...I’d be stuck to a lab, so I decided to say ‘no.’” Shortly after coming to the conclusion that a PhD wasn’t for him, he packed up his belongings and headed out of the country.

Olumide took some time in a few other locations before settling in Bali; the new expat first stopped in Berlin on a three month tourist visa, staying in hostels and couch surfing at friends' houses. Gberno didn’t have much savings when he left America, so not working wasn’t an option, and eventually he struck success with his online business in social media marketing. He was able to grow his Instagram following fairly quickly by posting photos of his adventures and dance videos. With a larger following, he started reaching out to other creators and businesses offering to help improve their social media strategy for the small fee of $250. Eventually, it enabled him to turn it into a lucrative business that helps sustain his lifestyle.

After Olumide’s three months in Berlin were up, he traveled to Mexico and then back to San Diego where he launched his business, Olumide Gbenro PR & Brand Monetization, in 2018. While scrolling through Instagram he saw a post from a friend visiting Bali at the time. The scenery appealed to him, so he decided to go. After many flights back and forth to Singapore and Malaysia to extend his visa 30 days at a time, he was granted an investors visa.

Gberno earns about $140,000 a year and his biggest expense is his rent and utilities which total $1,010 a month. He spends about $600 a month on take out and eating at restaurants and continues to travel at least once a month. Gberno told CNBC “I’m probably spending about the same amount of money I would each month if I was living in San Diego, but my quality of living is much higher,” he says. “I’m living a life of luxury.”

These expats make living abroad look like a feasible goal and for some it is. Be warned that following these adventurous souls on social media may make you want to pack a few bags and never look back.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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