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Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

labrador retriever, french bulldog, american kennel club
via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

The French Bulldog’s popularity has grown exponentially over the past decade. They were the #14 most popular breed in 2012, and since then, registrations have gone up 1,000%, bringing them to the top of the breed popularity rankings.

The AKC says that the American Hairless Terrier, Gordon Setter, Italian Greyhound and Anatolian Shepherd Dog also grew in popularity between 2021 and 2022.

The French Bulldog was famous among America’s upper class around the turn of the 20th century but then fell out of favor. Their resurgence is partly based on several celebrities who have gone public with their Frenchie love. Leonardo DiCaprio, Megan Thee Stallion, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Reese Witherspoon and Lady Gaga all own French Bulldogs.

The breed earned a lot of attention as show dogs last year when a Frenchie named Winston took second place at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and first in the National Dog Show.

The breed made national news in early 2021 when Gaga’s dog walker was shot in the chest while walking two of her Frenchies in a dog heist. He recovered from his injuries, and the dogs were later returned.

They’ve also become popular because of their unique look and personalities.

“They’re comical, friendly, loving little dogs,” French Bull Dog Club of America spokesperson Patty Sosa told the AP. She said they are city-friendly with modest grooming needs and “they offer a lot in a small package.”

They are also popular with people who live in apartments. According to the AKC, Frenchies don’t bark much and do not require a lot of outdoor exercise.

The French Bulldog stands out among other breeds because it looks like a miniature bulldog but has large, expressive bat-like ears that are its trademark feature. However, their popularity isn’t without controversy. “French bulldogs can be a polarizing topic,” veterinarian Dr. Carrie Stefaniak told the AP.

american kennel club, french bulldog, most popular dog

An adorable French Bulldog

via Pixabay

French Bulldogs have been bred to have abnormally large heads, which means that large litters usually need to be delivered by C-section, an expensive procedure that can be dangerous for the mother. They are also prone to multiple health problems, including skin, ear, and eye infections. Their flat face means they often suffer from respiratory problems and heat intolerance.

Frenchies are also more prone to spine deformations and nerve pain as they age.

Here are the AKC’s top ten most popular dog breeds for 2022.

1 French Bulldogs

2 Labrador Retrievers

3 Golden Retrievers

4 German Shepherd Dogs

5 Poodles

6 Bulldogs

7 Rottweilers

8 Beagles

9 Dachshunds

10 German Shorthaired Pointers


This article originally appeared on 03.17.23

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Parenting

Psychologist shares the 5 'core' memories your child will cherish from their childhood

A lot of parents will be surprised by her answers.

via Julia Kuzenkov/Pexels

A young girl relaxing in an inner tube.


There’s a popular trend where parents often share they are creating “core memories” for their children on social media posts, whether it’s planning an elaborate vacation or creating an extra-special holiday moment.

While it’s important for parents to want their kids to have happy childhoods, sometimes it feels presumptuous when they believe they can manufacture a core memory. Especially when a child’s inner world is so much different than an adult's.

Carol Kim, a mother of 3 and licensed Marriage and family Therapist, known as ParentingResilience on Instagram, recently shared the “5 Things Kids Will Remember from Their Childhood” on her page. The fascinating insight is that none of the entries had to do with extravagant vacations, over-the-top birthday parties, or Christmas gifts that kids could only dream about.

According to Kim, the five things that kids will remember all revolve around their parents' presence and support. "Notice how creating good memories doesn’t require expensive toys or lavish family trips. Your presence is the most valuable present you can give to your child,” Kim wrote in the post’s description.

1. Quality time together

"Taking some time to focus only on your child is very special. Playing games, reading books, or just talking can create strong, happy memories. These moments show your child that you are present with them."

2. Words of encouragement

"Encouraging words can greatly impact your child during both good times and tough times. Kids often seek approval from their parents and your positive words can be a strong motivator and source of comfort.... It can help kids believe in themselves, giving them the confidence to take on new challenges and keep going when things get tough."

parenting, core memories, quality time

A mother and child riding a small bike.

via Gustavo Fring/Pexels

3. Family traditions

“It creates a feeling of stability and togetherness … Family traditions make children feel like they belong and are part of a larger story, deepening their sense of security and understanding of family identity and values.”

4. Acts of kindness

“Seeing and doing kind things leaves a strong impression on children. It shows them the importance of being kind and caring. They remember how good it feels to help others and to see their parents helping too.”

5. Comfort during tough times

"Knowing they can rely on you during tough times makes them feel secure and build trust. … Comforting them when they're struggling shows them they are loved no matter what, helping them feel emotionally secure and strong."

parenting, core memories, quality time

A family making a meal together.

via Elina Fairytale/Pexels

Kim’s strategies are all beautiful ways to be present in our children’s lives and to communicate our support. However, these seemingly simple behaviors can be challenging for some parents who are dealing with issues stemming from their pasts.

“If you find barriers to providing these things, it’s important to reflect on why,” Kim writes in the post. “There could be several reasons, such as parenting in isolation (we’re not meant to parent alone), feeling overstimulated, dealing with past trauma, or struggling with mental health. Recognizing these challenges is the first step to addressing them and finding support.”


This article originally appeared on 6.10.24

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Joy

German toddler schools his dad on driving—and the rest of us on the origins of English

A hilarious viral video demonstrates why English is considered a Germanic language.

Photo by Helena Jankovičová Kováčová/Pexels

Out of the mouths of babes…

Tiny humans talking is cute in any language, but sometimes a video comes along that take adorable to a whole new level. Remember the little girl who was passionate about pencil justice? Or the Italian preschooler who did a full Italian rant about a miniskirt? Kids say the darnedest things, and when the darned things they say are caught on video, virality almost inevitable.

Now there's the German toddler who sternly gives his father a road rules lesson, literally side-seat driving and chastising him for accelerating too fast. His "Oh, mein Gott!" has people rolling, as does his ingrained respect for the rules of proper driving.

Watch:

Not only is the video a hilarious viral moment on its own merit, but it's also a pretty solid demonstration of how the English language originated.

English is considered a Germanic language, which is sometimes confusing because most of the words we use don't actually come from German. Some people mistakenly think English is a romance language like Spanish or French, but it's not. More than half of our vocabulary comes from French and Latin, though, hence a lot of the confusion.

Around a quarter of our vocabulary comes from German, but where our Germanic roots really come through is in our grammar and syntax. The order in which we say words is the same, such as putting adjectives in front of nouns (which is the opposite of romance languages). And our grammatical structure is very similar, with only a handful of somewhat minor differences.

As we see in the video, the German sentences are almost understandable without even having the translations on the screen. In the beginning, it almost sounds exactly like he's saying "Wait! Stop! Halt!" just with a German accent, even though he's actually speaking German. "Papa, da ist rot!" is so close to "Papa, that is red!" And "Oh, mein Gott!" is very clearly, "Oh, my God!" which is part of why English-speakers are finding the video so entertaining and also educational.

Check out these comments:

"We need an entire channel with this kid teaching us to speak German."

"Need my GPS to go 'aaaah! Mein gott, das ist zu viel' when I go over the speed limit."

"I just learned so much German.. this baby is more effective than Duolingo lol."

"MY German instructor. I'd so learn how to speak German from this baby 😭💕 I just learned like 5 words already!"

"How is it I can't understand toddlers that speak English but I can understand a German toddler without even knowing the language 😂"

"Americans are so much more used to hearing Spanish and French that we forget that our own language has nothing to do with them, and is actually much more closely related to what this little boy is saying. That's why it sounds so familiar to American ear ! :-)"

People also joked about his adult-like adherence to rules and regulations, as the German culture is known for such things.

"He's between 3 and 75 years old."

"This ain't kids first life on earth."

"Did he learn that somewhere or is that factory settings?"

"Lil bro has a decent credit score already and he isn't even fully out of the diaper stage of his life😂"

"That’s not a kid, that’s a full grown driving instructor 🤣🤣"

Thanks to the wee German lad for the fabulous driving and language lesson.

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Joy

15 hard truths that once people accepted them, their lives got so much better

"Not all friendships last."

via Liza Summer/Pexels

A woman learns a harsh truth about her friends.

A significant part of adulthood is realizing that many uncomfortable truths are indeed real, even if we wish they weren’t. At first, these harsh truths may dampen our spirits and make us feel that the world is a bit colder.

However, understanding some of life's hard lessons opens us up to greater possibilities and can help us overcome the obstacles holding us back.

Harsh truths help us realize when relationships aren’t as great as they can be. They also prevent us from having too much faith in people and institutions that will ultimately disappoint us. Knowing dark truths can also help us appreciate the things that are truly beautiful, honest and good.

A Redditor named Rare_Can_5418 asked the AskReddit forum, “What difficult truths, the sooner you accept them, the better your life will be?” and received over 6,500 responses. Many of them were centered around harsh truths about relationships and the fact that even if we do our best in life, we can still end up with the short end of the stick.



The key is to keep going and never let failure get you down.

Here are 15 of the “difficult truths” that made people’s lives a lot better.

1. Stop comparing yourself

"There will always be someone better looking, better educated, younger, more experienced, more intelligent or wealthier than you. Do your best, live without regret, have empathy and kindness, give when you can, expecting nothing in return. Focus on your heart value more than what others have."

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

2. Some people won't like you

"You can be sweetest, juiciest peach on the tree. But some people don't like peaches."

"In Spanish, there's a saying: 'Nadie es moneda de oro para que lo quiera todo el mundo,' which translates to something like nobody is a gold coin to be liked/wanted by everyone else."

3. Things are just things

"They don’t have feelings. They don’t care if you give them away or sell them or throw them out. If a thing is useful, keep it. If not, get rid of it."

Psychologists refer to perceiving that inanimate objects have feelings as anthropomorphizing. Psych Central says that humans project feelings onto objects to relate to them more deeply. "People generally anthropomorphize to make sense of events and behaviors they experience. Further, attributing emotions, attitudes, mental states, faces, and values to non-human things can help you feel connected to something," Sarah Barkley writes in a PhD-reviewed article.



4. Not all friendships last

"Surprisingly though, the ones that last are not necessarily the best (or even good) ones."

"Most friendships are based on convenience, I've found. Unless two people are willing to put in a lot of effort, time and distance will do more to end a friendship than any disagreement."

5. You may be the bad guy

"You can do your best with someone and still be the villain in their story."

"One of my current favourite memes is: I don't care if I'm the villain in your story, you're the clown in mine."

6. You can't change people

"You can only help people who actually want it. If they’re not ready to change or put in the effort, there’s not much you can do. Realizing this can save you a lot of frustration and help you focus on people who actually appreciate your help."

"It’s always tough having those friends who are constantly complaining but doing nothing to address what they are complaining about. But as an adult, you just have to sit there and listen. No point in offering help to someone who isn’t asking for it. Kinda like how it’s really tough to teach someone who isn’t interested in being taught."

7. How we judge

"We judge ourselves by our intentions. We judge others by their actions."

"In psychology, this is called fundamental attribution error."

The Fundamental Attribution Error is a psychological phenomenon where we assume someone's actions reflect their personality without considering the situation. It's like when we blame someone's driving skills for being in an accident instead of the curvy road.



8. Depending on people

"Once you're an adult, there really isn't anyone you can 100% depend on except yourself. There will still be people in your life to lean on, but everyone has their limits in how they can help you."

9. Nice doesn't equal good

"Nice people aren't always good people."

"One of my bosses doesn't greet/make small talk and is known for being quite firm. He's been the most helpful throughout my most difficult period dealing with tragedy. Some people with that personality type simply get things done when you need them done without the chattering."

10. Everything is temporary

"You can suddenly lose anything and anyone at any time...and maybe all at once or in quick succession without so much warning."

11. Nobody is thinking about you

"In general, people in the real world are oblivious to you. You're not even a blip on their radar. If you're insecure about something you wear or how you look, remember: nobody cares."



12. No one is coming to save you

"No one is coming to save you, so you have to do it all yourself."

"And once you internalize this and do it, your self-esteem will be through the roof."

13. Nobody knows what they're doing

"Before i graduated high school I thought, thank god, I finally won’t have to deal with annoying obnoxious kids and I’ll be treated like an adult, I come to find out 95% of adults are worse then the actual kids, nobody knows what they’re actually doing and life is actually a big joke."

14. Love is reciprocal

"If a romantic interest is not giving you the same attention/respect you give them, they don't really care about or want you, and you're in for a world of hurt if you keep telling yourself otherwise."

15. Who's good for you?

"People who are good for you will make you feel happy, joyful, accepted, cared for, and filled with fun times, despite any differences. People who are not good for you will make you feel anxious, sad, down, slighted, judged, and never check in on you if you're not okay, and won't even bother noticing when you're not okay. Genuine people will never let you suffer in silence or watch you suffer. Stay away from those who make you feel negative emotions and thoughts."

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Internet

The surprising and inspiring reason so many nail salons are Vietnamese owned

20 women and a movie star started it all.

Tippi Hedren/Wikimedia and Tippi Hedren with Vietnamese women/Vietnamese Heritage Museum

The surprising history behind Vietnamese owned nail salons

One of the most frequently seen buildings in any town is a nail salon. It seems you can't go more than a few blocks without seeing one in most cities and if you frequent them, you've probably noticed that many of them are owned and operated by Vietnamese-Americans. There may have been some curiosity about this floating around or maybe people simply assumed it was always this way so they didn't ask.

But it turns out, Vietnamese owned nail shops boomed after the Vietnam War when America had an influx of refugees from the small country. Soogia, a small business owner and social media creator took to the internet to explain exactly why so many nail salons are owned by Vietnamese people after several followers asked her the question.

The surprising history involved a movies star, Tippi Hedren, and 20 young Vietnamese refugee women. Soogia explains that Hedren was working as a relief coordinator for Food for The Hungry in 1975 after the Vietnam war ended to help the women assimilate into American culture.

"Tippi Hedren was working with 20 Vietnamese women and she couldn't help but notice how much they were paying attention to her manicure, and they were so interested in how clean and pretty her nails were. And so she had the idea to have her manicurist and other people in the industry come up and teach these women how to do nails," Soogia shares.

The actress' manicurist came to visit the women weekly to do these classes and when they were ready she helped them get their licenses and jobs. After the women completed the impromptu apprenticeship and were licensed and ready to work, they took their new found skill to their community to teach other refugees.

Soogia points to the popularity of nail salons with the influence of Black culture, specifically Black women saying, "and though Vietnamese people drove the industry of the nail salon Black women really drove the culture. People like Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Florence Griffith Joyner, and now of course we have women like Meg Thee Stallion, and you of course cannot talk about nails and not mention Cardi B."


@soogia1 Many of you wanted to know: Why are so many nail salons run by Vietnamese people? @Soogia (SOO-jee-yah) #nailsalon #manicure #manipedi #tippihedren #dianaross #cardib #megtheestallion #acrylics #gelx ♬ original sound - Soogia (SOO-jee-yah)


So the cause of the rise of the nail industry was really full of serendipitous moments starting with just 20 determined women and an actress who saw an opportunity for the new refugees and the influence of famous Black women. Thanks to her role in catapulting Vietnamese people into nail salon history, Tippi Hedren is known as the Godmother of the Vietnamese nail industry. The documentary "Nailed It" explores the relationship between Vietnamese nail salons and Tippi Hedren as well as how the salons spread across America and can be found on Tubi.

People were surprised at the quick history lesson while others shared their connection with the story, with one writing, "Tippi Hedren was QUITE a unique person leading a very interesting life. I never heard this story before, wow, thank you!"

"My mom is Vietnamese & lost a lot during the war, but her nail skills are amazing," someone shares.

"Thank you for the history lesson! What an amazing and beautiful story," another says.

Another person admits, "I have been genuinely wondering this for ages. Thank you for educating me."

One man found himself getting emotional from her own family history, "this made me tear up. As a Vietnamese person who's mom and aunt did nails it hit home."

What an amazing little piece of history that people can take with them and share with others, and if you're curious about a more in depth explanation, check out the documentary.

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Health

Professor and skeptic found that there’s one proven way to make yourself luckier

Turn the odds in your favor.

via Pavel Danilyuk/Pexels

A man wins at a slot machine.

Are you the type of person who always gets the short end of the stick? Or do seemingly random events always work out in your favor? The interesting thing is that, according to research, whether you think you are lucky or unlucky, you're right.

The good news is that if you have bad luck, you can do some things to improve it.

Richard Wiseman studied 400 people over 10 years and found that people can control what seems uncontrollable: their luck.

Wiseman is the author of “The Luck Factor” and holds Britain’s only professorship in the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He is also a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a “Skeptical Inquirer” consulting editor.

In his research, Wiseman determined that one big thing separated the lucky from the unlucky: Lucky people consider themselves lucky.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

At first glance, this may seem like a simple psychological trick. People who’ve experienced a lot of misfortune will eventually consider themselves unlucky and vice versa. But that’s not the case. People who consider themselves lucky see the world differently than those who do not, giving them more opportunities for something positive to happen.

“Lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles,” Wiseman wrote. “They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.”

By contrast, Wiseman found that people who considered themselves unlucky experienced more anxiety. “Personality tests revealed that unlucky people are generally much more tense than lucky people, and research has shown that anxiety disrupts people's ability to notice the unexpected,” he wrote.


How can I improve my luck?

If you consider yourself among the unlucky, Wiseman has 3 ways to develop a mindset that can bring more luck.

1. Write in a luck diary

Before you go to bed each night, spend about 30 seconds jotting down why you are lucky in a dairy. Take the time to list the things you’re grateful for, such as your friends, family, or health. You can also list some of the good things that happened during the day.

2. Be flexible

When you drive to work or college, take a different route occasionally. When you go to a party, start talking to the types of people you would normally avoid. Making yourself open to new experiences increases your chances of seeing new opportunities.

3. Trust your gut

People who consider themselves unlucky often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice. Whereas lucky people tend to put a lot of faith in their hunches. Unlucky people tend to focus on the rational part of a question, whereas lucky people follow their feelings. Wiseman believes this gives lucky people an advantage because gut feelings act as an alarm bell—a reason to consider a decision carefully.

Ultimately, Wiseman’s work shows that luck isn’t affected by supernatural beliefs or by holding onto a rabbit's foot. It’s the product of an optimistic view of the world that opens people up to greater possibilities. “Instead, it is about encouraging people to move away from a magical way of thinking and toward a more rational view of luck,” Wiseman wrote. “Perhaps most important of all, it is about using science and skepticism to increase the level of luck, happiness, and success in people’s lives.”

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