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Comedian Josh Johnson perfectly describes what it's like to be broke in today's America

"My friend turns to me and says, 'Josh, you must not mind the rain.'"

Josh Johnson, comedian, money, stand up, routine, broke
commons.wikimedia.org

Josh Johnson.

Income inequality isn't exactly new. However, it seems more people are aware of it than ever. In fact, according to a Pew Research poll that surveyed 36 countries, a "median of 54% of adults across the nations surveyed say the gap between the rich and the poor is a very big problem in their country."

Money, hundred dollars, hundred dollar bills, wealth, richWealth Inequality is a rampant problem. Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

The good news is people are learning to educate themselves—from financial planning to paying attention to where special interest money goes in terms of political leaders. But still, for many of us, it's hard to understand what it must be like to be wealthy when we've never had real wealth. Without having a lived-in experience, even the concept of money itself can be difficult to grasp.

Comedian Josh Johnson, who is also a correspondent and writer on The Daily Show, is an expert at taking complex notions and putting them into hilarious context through his long-form comedic storytelling. In a TikTok clip labeled "That Time I Almost Drowned," Josh begins by talking about the literal fabric of money. "We look at money as paper, right? At least when it's in its physical form, it's this paper thing. But it's more than paper. There's fabric that weaves into it. There's linen, there's cotton."

@joshjohnsoncomedy

I Almost Drowned At A Party

Josh likens the actual fabric of money to society. "It works the same way that society works. There's fabric that weaves all of us together." He adds, "But there are people who have not been able to participate in the opportunities of making money...so when you tell them a recession is coming, they're like, 'What? Okay. I was already broke.'"

He proceeds to illustrate with a story. "One time, I was at a party with my friends, and I fell in the pool." He makes sure to note that it wasn't a "pool party" and, therefore, deeply embarrassing. But more than that, "terrifying," because he reveals, "I can't swim. And when you don't swim, being surrounded by water out of nowhere is very concerning."

swim, pool, water, party, story, Summer Fall GIF by Mark RoberGiphy

He describes the sudden shock of the water. "I feel like I turned around, and water surrounded me." What he did next was not so much swim, but rather "drown," and he hilariously describes his friend fishing him out of the pool like a cat picking up its kitten. Wet and still in shock, Josh understandably wanted to leave immediately. But "the dude who saved me was my ride... and now has 'mack points' and begins to use them to hit on people."

When they finally try to leave, alongside a few other friends, his car won't start. "Luckily, he did live close enough to the party that we could walk. It was maybe a mile and some change. And as we start walking, it starts drizzling... and then really starts raining." After describing how his various friends responded to the rain (one hunched into "turtle" position and another put one hand over his head), Josh has an epiphany: "My friend turns to me and says, 'Josh, you must not mind the rain.' And I was like, I almost drowned 20 minutes ago. And THAT'S what it's like when you're broke. You're almost drowning all the time. So when people try to scare you with talks of a recession, you're like, 'Why would I... what?'” He puts a hand over his head. "You're doing this... I'm already WET!"

rain, drowning, drown, downpour, metaphorRaining Stick Figure GIF by State ChampsGiphy

Many in the comment section truly empathize, and there seems to be comfort in being "seen." One fan wrote, "This is incredible. You're the Kendrick Lamar of comedy." Another said, "This is such a good way to explain it."

One top commenter perfectly sums it up: "What is loss to a man who has nothing? What's a little rain to a drowning man?"

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Joy

Teacher goes above and beyond for a biology lesson by wearing an anatomically correct suit

That's one way to keep students engaged!

@mikemoratinos/X

Veronica Duque wearing her famous anatomy suit

Being an educator in the American public school system is one of the hardest jobs in our nation. Not only is the work itself challenging, but with constant battles for educational funding and a student body increasingly tethered to their electronic devices, most teachers in America and around the world are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to finding ways to keep their students engaged in their studies.

And that's why when Verónica Duque came across a form-fitting, anatomical bodysuit while doing some online shopping, she thought it would be perfect visual aid to convey vital information (pun intended) to her students in Spain, in a way they'd actually remember.

Turns out, the entire internet would remember it too.

Duque's husband tweeted a collage of images from the classroom lesson, which quickly went viral, with nearly 70,000 likes. Loosely translated, the tweet from her husband Michael reads: "Very proud of this volcano of ideas that I am lucky to have as a wife. Today she explained the human body to her students in a very original way. Great Veronica !!!"

In an interview with Bored Panda, Duque explained the thought process that led her to presenting her third-grade-class with a unique approach to learning.

"I was surfing the internet when an ad of an AliExpress swimsuit popped up," she said. "Knowing how hard it is for kids this young to visualize the disposition of internal organs, I thought it was worth giving it a try."

anatomy, anatomical suit, teachers, science, cool teachers, science class, amazonThis is a teacher who cares. assets.rebelmouse.io

Online retailers like Amazon have a number of similar anatomical bodysuits for sale. While most people apparently purchase them for Halloween costumes or as gag gifts, it's now likely that Duque's viral moment will inspire some other educators around the world to take a similar approach to teaching the body basics to their students.

anatomy, anatomical suit, teachers, science, cool teachers, science class, amazonHalloween costume, check. Amazon

While some on Twitter were critical of the suit, the vast majority have praised Duque for her innovative approach to teaching. And the anatomical bodysuit is reportedly far from her first creative endeavor in the classroom.

"I decided long ago to use disguises for history lessons," she told Bored Panda. "I'm also using cardboard crowns for my students to learn grammatical categories such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Different grammar kingdoms, so to say."

And when it comes to the inevitable, made-up controversy that tends to latch itself onto virtually anyone that goes viral, Duque said she says there's another far more controversial stereotype she hopes her brief moment of fame will help address.

"I'd like society to stop considering teachers to be lazy bureaucratic public servants," she said. "We're certainly not." Get this teacher a raise!

What really works about Duque's presentation is that it engages students in a sensorial experiences, which helps lessons stick (and let's face it, anything that engages he sense nowadays is a godsend). But there are other methods teachers/parents can try that don't involve wearing a suit with guts on 'em.

Here are some suggestions for hands-on "DIY experiments", courtesy of the Little Medical School website:

1. Building the respiratory system by creating a model lung with straws, balloons, bottles, and duct tape

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

2. Sculpting Body parts with Play Doh

(Grab free printable mats on 123Homeschool4Me)

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

3. Build a functioning heart model

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Of course, these lessons are a little more geared towards younger students, but at the same time, it could provide some inspiration for how to get students more involved in their own learning, just like Duque did.

This article originally appeared six years ago.

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Pets

Doggy daycare separates dogs by this one personality trait, and it works wonders

Is your dog a Side A or Side B?

via Canva/Photos

Dogs having fun at the dog park.

When you take your dog to a dog park or a doggy care, they are often divided by size. It makes sense; we don’t want our little chihuahua to defend itself if a giant Bull Mastiff gets angry at them. The rule of thumb is usually that dogs that are 35 pounds and under go to one side of the park, and those 36 and over head to the other. This helps to ease the friction between animals and owners as well.

However, Red Rover doggy daycare in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, takes a different approach to dividing the pooches at its facility, where pets can spend the day at doggy day care, spend a few nights in the boarding rooms, or get the "spaw" treatment. At Red Rover, they divide the dogs by energy levels so that the chill dogs don’t have to deal with a yappy pup hopping all over them or trying to get them to play. Its website says that Red Rover offers a “Temperament assessment of all dogs; small-sized play groups are assigned daily and contain only dogs of similar age, size and/or energy.”

The temperament assessment is working, evidenced by a recent TikTok post juxtaposing Side A, where the low-energy dogs chill, and Side B, where the high-energy pups play until they are entirely zonked. The video was a massive hit on TikTok, receiving over 1.1 million views.

@redroverhhi

Can you tell the difference 😂? #dogsoftiktok #doggydaycare #dog #dogtok copied @Barkcollective

As you can see, the experiment has worked with both sides becoming a place to relax after the high-energy dogs completely wear themselves out."One group will usually be much higher energy with lots of various play going on, and the other will be pretty quiet and slow," Paige Grisette, the owner of Red Rover, told Newsweek. "The group sizes will vary widely, but it's also important to have a good person-to-dog ratio, which keeps groups (and management) safe."

"So A side it's actually B side after a few hours," Dani wrote in the comments, to which Grisette responded, "Yes." Another commenter wasn’t sure where her dog would fit. “My wee chihuahua cross is energy level B but would get flattened," Charlotte wrote. "We have a different group we call the “littles” for xsmall dogs that are hyper!" Grisette responded.

@redroverhhi

some more good fur babies ❤️ #doggydaycare #dogsoftiktok #dog #dogtok #gooddog #fyp #fypシ

"Introverts vs extroverts," Damian wrote.

"Side A is for the dogs that made their owners think getting a second dog was a good idea, side B is full of the second dogs," Robert wrote.

"My dog is definitely a side B. Unfortunately, I am a side A," Miss Leonard wrote.

"This is honestly looking like the most effective sorting I've ever seen," Smart Idiot wrote.

"If daycares did that, my kids would be side B. So if i learnt anything is to never accept job offer for side B, it's exhausting," Serli wrote.

dog, happy dog, labrador, smiling dog, dog at attention, cute dog, dog photos, good boy dog,A happy dog.via Canva/Photos

Ultimately, the heartwarming takeaway from this story is that every dog, like every human, has their place in the world, and we will all feel and do our best when in the right environment to thrive. For some, that means hanging in the shade with the chill folks; for others, it means mixing it up and going hard with the fast crowd. But, in the end, we all eventually need to hang back and relax in the shade.

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Education

American English includes one of the rarest sounds on Earth, but we use it all the time

Er…this is odd.

Photo credit: Canva

Learning to make sounds we didn't grow up with can be tricky.

When (or if) kids learn phonics at school, they're taught the symbols that go with sounds of their country's native language or languages. People all around the world grow up learning to make specific sounds with their mouths by imitating the language(s) they are immersed in, which can leave us completely unaware of how many other sounds there are until we hear a language that's far different from our own.

Even the common foreign languages that American school kids learn have sounds that can be tricky to get down. The rolled "r" in Spanish. The nuances of French vowel pronunciations. The glottal stops in German. The sound that's a mix between "r" and "l" in Japanese. And for people learning English, one of the trickiest sounds to get down is "er," as in the American pronunciation of "bird," "world," "summer," or "percent."

Oddly enough, for as common as the "er" sound is in English, it's linguistically rare. According to the Linguistics Channel @human1011, the "er" sound is found in less than 1% of the world's languages, rarer than the click consonants found in some languages in East and Southern Africa.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

As rare as the sound is, there are a lot of people in the world who use it, mainly because it's also used in Mandarin Chinese, or at least many variations of it. So, while there aren't many languages that use it, by sheer numbers of people, it's not that uncommon.

"So, a sound that's so rare that it's in less than 1% of the world's languages just happens to exist in the two most spoken languages on Earth? Can that really be a coincidence?" the @human1011 video asks. Well, yes. English and Chinese don't share a common linguistic root, so those sounds just happened to evolve in very different parts of the planet. According to some people in the comments of the video, there are regional dialects in Brazil where the "er" sound is used and in certain parts of the Netherlands as well.

Pronouncing the "er" sound is hard if you don't grow up with it, largely because it's all about the placement and shape of the tongue inside the mouth combined with the way the lips are positioned. That combination is physically tricky to show someone. This video, from a non-native-English-speaker does a good job of explaining the mouth movements that create the sound.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

What's particularly interesting about the "er" sound in American English is that it functions as a vowel sound. Most of us learned that the vowels in English are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y, and that's true as far as written vowels go, but vowel sounds are different. In the word "bird," the letter "i" is a vowel, but doesn't make any of the "i" sounds that we learned in school. Instead, the "ir" combine to make the "er" vowel sound. It's called an r-controlled vowel, and we see it in tons of words like "work," "were," "burn," "skirt," etc.

Learn something new every day, right?

Here's another video that explains the physical aspects of articulating the r-controlled vowel sound.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Most of us don't think about the fact that sounds we pronounce without even thinking about it have to be specifically learned and practiced by people who didn't grow up with them. It's not until we start trying to learn a language that's different from our own that we see how many sounds we have to work hard to make, sometimes even having to train our mouth muscles in ways they've never been used before.

It's also a good reminder to be patient and kind with people who are learning a language. It's not easy, and anyone making an effort to communicate in someone else's language deserves our grace and kudos.

You can follow @human1011 on YouTube for more interesting linguistics trivia.

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Parenting

Shocked mom reveals her toddler ate his grandfather's ashes. Somehow, parents can relate.

“He never met him but now they are always together!”

Photo credit: Canva

Didn't have this on our bingo card for today

Nearly every parent on the planet can recall turning their back for literally two seconds and finding their toddler with something bizarre in their mouth. Little ones often engage in their curiosity by eating what they see—it’s just an innocent, albeit worrisome, way of learning more about the world around them.

And this is why literally millions of viewers couldn’t help but tune in as one mom, Natasha Emeny (@palominolil), showed the aftermath of walking in on her toddler Koah eating her father’s ashes. Yep, straight from the urn.

Emeny told DailyMailshe had just gone upstairs to put some laundry away when she returned to discover the cremation catastrophe. This was especially mortifying, considering she had placed the ashes on a shelf well out of reach of her son, and it had been there for his entire life. Still toddlers are gonna toddler.

Hence, why we can hear Emeny screaming “Oh my God. When your son eats your dad.” We can also see a whimpering Koah, clearly aware he had done a bad, bad thing.

@palominolil #omg ♬ original sound - Tashjade


Hopefully, after the shock subsided, Emeny was able to take solace in some of the grade-A jokes bestowed upon her by folks who witnessed the whole thing on TikTok.

"Let us know if he starts acting like [your] dad."

“I don't think this is how reincarnation is supposed to work.”

"'When your son eats your dad' I hate when that happens."

“Well now you can also say to him when he's older, 'I can see a lot of your grandfather in you!'”

“‘I ate my grandfather’s ashes" is a killer opener to a college essay”

"Imagine how funny your speech at his wedding will be.”

Considering the video was posted on April 1st a few even wondered if this was a prank of some sort. To which Emeny replied, “I wish.”

Thankfully, she told DailyMail that Koah was “completely fine” after some water, and her father, who had a 'great' sense of humor, would have found the whole thing hilarious. So in a way, it was a bizarre source of connection.

“He never met him but now they are always together!”

A few days later, Emeny shared multiple selfies of her and her son, alive and well, and wrote in the caption: "Morning selfies from me and coco been a crazy 48 hours since this little one opened up my dads ashes 🙈"

TikTok · Tashjadewww.tiktok.com

It might be worth noting that Koah’s interest in the ashes could be related to pica, which causes kids and adults to crave non-food items like dirt, clay, paint chips, hair ,etc. It’s a serious issue, as it can cause a slew of health problems, and might be an indicator of developmental problems. That said, putting strange things in one’s mouth usually isn’t something related to pic for kids under two. Just something to be aware of.


For now, let’s just assume all is well, that it’ll never happen again, and thank our lucky stars it didn’t happen to us!

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Parenting

Researcher says parents who have strong relationships with their adult children do 7 things

The relationship you form when they're little has ripple effects much later on.

Canva Photos

Parenting coach urges parents who want a good relationship with their adult children to do these 7 things

My wife and I really love our kids. OK, that sounds obvious. But I guess what I really mean is that we like them. We always joke that we'd be totally OK if our kids lived with us forever, mooching off of our money and food and and hanging out with us forever and forever. Doesn't sound too bad to me!

We're mostly joking, of course. Obviously I want them to flourish in their own lives, find spouses and/or have children if that's what they want, seek success in their careers and have rich friendships and adventures all over the world. So I will probably have to settle for just having a good relationship with them, one that straddles the line between parent and friend just right.

will ferrell, meatloaf, wedding crashers, parenting, moms, motherhood, kids, adult chidlrenI guess there's a downside to your kids living at home forever.Giphy

When your kids are grown, you're not really their buddy or bestie, but you also have to take a step back from your full-time role as protector and teacher. You have to land in the sweet spot in between, and a lot of parents get this wrong, falling too far to one side or the other. Conflict can come from anywhere, from the adult children feeling overly criticized or controlled, to poor boundaries, to disagreements about modern vs old-school parenting/marriage/values.

Navigating these conflicts well is crucial, but the real work is done much, much earlier.

Reem Raouda, a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach and researcher, recently wrote about her observations after working with over 200 different families. She says the foundation for a good parent-adult child relationship begins in the early years.

Parents who are successful in this area do seven things early on when their kids are young. They're actually much harder than they sound.

parenting, motherhood, fatherhood, moms, dads, babies, family, loveA good relationship with your adult children starts here. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Let them know their feelings matter

You know the classic "husband mistake" where he wants to fix all his wife's problems instead of just letting her vent? Yeah, parents do that, too. As protectors and teachers, we rush to fix or offer solutions but often fail to acknowledge our kids' feelings. Raouda says making your children feel understood is a key building block to your relationship several years down the road.

Choose connection over control

Fear can be useful if your goal is to make sure your children do all their chores and never misbehave in front of you. But it's not going to serve your relationship into their adult years. A gentler approach based on listening and empathy, and one that deprioritizes obedience, is the better longterm strategy.

"When kids feel emotionally secure, they continue seeking your support well into adulthood," she writes.

Give them a voice in their own life

We try to do this as often as we can, so I know exactly how hard it is. Take summer camps — what I want to do is sign my kids up for the things I think will be good for them and the camps that will work well for my schedule. But they may have totally different ideas. Making space for what they want is time-consuming and annoying (they don't want to go to camp at all, or they want to go to a camp that doesn't exist), but is hugely important in giving them agency.


kids, sports, dads, fatherhood, fathers, children, teens, familyDon't force your son to play football just because you love it.Giphy

Own your mistakes

This is a huge one, but very difficult to do! A lot of parents are too proud to apologize to their own children or they think it undermines them. It's difficult because when you treat another adult badly or say or do something you regret, you know you're going to have to apologize — but children can't hold you accountable in the same way. You have all the power and no one is going to make you say that you're sorry. But it's such an important lesson for them and it helps them see that your relationship isn't just about power.

"Children raised in homes where accountability is the norm don't fear making mistakes. Instead of hiding their struggles, they trust they can come to you without shame," Raouda says.

Make quality time together a daily habit

In one of my favorite articles, The Myth of Quality Time, Frank Bruni argues that it is impossible to create quality time. You can't schedule a big heart-to-heart or map out exactly when and where you and your child will open up to each other and share a moment. These things happen naturally and organically to people who spend a large quantity of time together. Get used to actually spending time together and it will pay off down the road with stronger connection.

Let them be themselves without judgment

We've all heard of the dad who forces his kids to play sports because that's what he wants them to do, or the mom who makes her daughter follow in her gymnastics footsteps. As you can imagine, your children will be much more comfortable around you as adults if you encourage their uniqueness and support them as they follow their own paths.

"When kids grow up feeling accepted," Raouda writes, "they won't have to choose between being themselves and staying close to you.

Protect the relationship over being right


kids, parenting, parents, moms, hug, love, family, relationshipsIt's OK to admit when you're wrong. In fact, it's critical. Photo by Xavier Mouton Photographie on Unsplash

It's hard for adults to admit, but sometimes kids are right! You can probably bulldoze over them when they're young, but you're much better off allowing them to have a somewhat equal voice in your relationship. As Raouda says, "When kids know they can express themselves and still be loved and respected, they grow into adults who trust the relationship rather than fear it."

Other experts have written about this conundrum at length. One of the most counterintuitive pieces of advice is to not center your whole world around your children.

For all the effort that we want and need to pour into our relationships with out kids, it's ironically incredibly important that we have other things going on. After all, if we don't show them what a full life is supposed to look like, how are they supposed to create one?

Psychologist Henry Cloud writes: "A child needs to internalize a model of someone who has a life of her own. The parent whose life is centered around her children is influencing them to think that life is about either becoming a parent or being forever served by a parent. Let your child know you have interests and relationships that don’t involve her. Take trips without her. Show her that you take active responsibility in meeting your own needs and solving your own problems."

Unless, of course, you really do want them living at home and mooching off of you forever. But let's be real, that's probably not as great as it sounds.


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