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Humor

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Seriously, what were our forefathers thinking with our measuring system?

Ever stop to think how bizarre it is that the United States is one of the only countries to not use the metric system? Or how it uses the word “football” to describe a sport that, unlike fútbol, barely uses the feet at all?

What must our forefathers have been thinking as they were creating this brave new world? Wonder no further. All this and more is explored in a Saturday Night Live sketch that folks are hailing as an “instant classic.”

The hilarious clip takes place during the American Revolution, where George Washington rallies his troops with an impassioned speech about his future hopes for their fledgling country…all the while poking fun at America’s nonsensical measurements and language rules.

george washington, george washington's dream, snl sketch, nate bargatze"Washington Crossing the Delaware" by George Caleb BinghamPublic domain

Like seriously, liters and milliliters for soda, wine and alcohol but gallons, pints, and quarters for milk and paint? And no “u” after “o” in words like “armor” and “color” but “glamour” is okay?

The inherent humor in the scene is only amplified by comedian and host Nate Bargatze’s understated, deadpan delivery of Washington. Bargatze had quite a few hits during his hosting stint—including an opening monologue that acted as a mini comedy set—but this performance takes the cake.

Watch:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

All in all, people have been applauding the sketch, noting that it harkened back to what “SNL” does best, having fun with the simple things.

“This skit is an instant classic. I think people will be referencing it as one of the all time best SNL skits for years.”

“Dear SNL, whoever wrote this sketch, PLEASE let them write many many MANY more!”

“Instantly one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time!!!”

“I’m not lying when I say I have watched this sketch about 10 times and laughed just as hard every time.”

“This may be my favorite sketch ever. This is absolutely brilliant.”

Kenan Thompson Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

The sketch was so popular, they did another one when Nate Bargatze returned to SNL in October of 2024, and it's every bit as hilarious as the first one. Again, the comedy focused on the idiosyncrasies of America, including our names for animal food products, the way we count grades in school, and the design of our currency.

"A real American would never want to know what's in a hot dog, just as they will never know why our money is called the 'dollar'…" says Bargatze as Washington. "And if you think I'm worthy, put my portrait on the front of it."

"And what shall be on the back, sir?" asks Kenan Thompson's character.

"Everything, all of it," Washington replies. "Crazy stuff, squiggles, Latin words, a pyramid with a floating eye on top."

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The sketches became so popular, people wanted to know more about how the idea for them came about and what the process of creating the original sketch was like. Jesse David Fox, the host of Good One: A Podcast About Jokes,sat down with Bargatze and SNL writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell to talk about the origins of the sketch and what it was like to co-create it in the week leading up to the live show. It's a fascinating insight into the SNL writing process, which is largely done within that week.

According to Day and Seidell, there had been an idea for a George Washington sketch in the vault of ideas that hadn't seen daylight yet, but it was just a vague idea without the focus of the weights and measurements and other things. Bargatze was on board with playing Washington, but apparently, the sketch was kind of a flop in rehearsals as the week went on, coming in dead last on the list of sketches they had prepared for the show. But Bargatze said he really liked the sketch, and once he was in costume and in front of a live audience for dress rehearsal, everything came together to make the magic of a classic SNL bit.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


Bargatze has rocketed into the comedy world with his clean stand-up routines that the whole family can enjoy. You can catch even more of Bargatze’s “SNL” episodes here and here.

This article originally appeared two years ago and has been updated.

Man breaks down 50 Cent's '21 Questions revealing 21 red flags

Have you ever actually listened to the lyrics of some of your favorite club hits? Not the songs you can recite by heart because they're constantly in your playlist rotation, but the ones you were dropping it like it was hot to in your early 20s before your knees started to sound like someone poured milk on Rice Krispies.

Yeah, those songs. The ones you know the chorus to but you only really heard them played in the club or on the radio weekend mix on your way to said club. Well someone decided they were going to have another listen to 50 Cent's "21 Questions" and it left him with a list of questions of his own. Andrew, who goes by Andrew the Hedgehog on social media surmised that the rappers song should've been named "21 Red Flags" given the question 50 was asking.

"Am I the only one who thinks that 50 Cent was being pretty unreasonable on '21 Questions?,'" Andrew starts to explain. "Like it starts off innocent enough, 'if I fell off tomorrow would you still love me? If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me?' You know, like cute valid questions about whether she just likes him for his fame and his nice cologne or she's really in it for the long haul."

50 cent laughing GIFGiphy

That's when Andrew notes that it starts taking a pretty drastic turn that has him questioning what exactly the famous rapper is trying to get his love interest to commit to. The line where 50 Cent asks if he got sentenced to a quarter century if his girlfriend would still stick around is where Andrew pauses for reflection.

"Like, I don't know 50 that's a pretty big ask. If you get convicted by a jury of your peers of a crime that carries a 25 year sentence, you must've done something pretty heinous. Like, the worst of the worst white collar crimes get like 10 years," Andrew surmises before adding that in order to receive such a long sentence someone would've had to commit a violent assault or possibly manslaughter.

50 Cent Smh GIFGiphy

Honestly, he's got a really good point. Now we all have questions, Mr. Cent, why exactly are you going to jail for a quarter of a century? That's a long time to ask someone to hold out hope for reunification without knowing the details. But Andrew wasn't done with his own set of questions for the hit-maker.

There's a line in the song where 50 Cent asks if he went from driving a Mercedes to a hoopty if the girl would still stay with him. Andrew raised some financial concerns that might constitute a reason for someone to leave over the vehicle downgrade.

"If you drove a Mercedes Benz and had to return to driving a hoopty, you didn't just fall off, you were extremely irresponsible with your money over a period of time. Which again, I think is a very valid deal breaker. Like, my wife doesn't even drive a hoopty. She makes a teacher's salary, she can still afford a Volkswagen Tiguan. I mean, like 50 Cent be more responsible with your finances, this is ridiculous," the man says.

Andrew's randomly concerned video about a song older than most Gen Zers has other people agreeing with his cautious analysis of the fictional relationship. One person demanded that Andrew make his own version of the song, writing "Now you need to make a remix, 21 reasonable questions."

50 Cent GIFGiphy

Another says, "This relationship sounds draining."

Someone thought it was a good idea to remind Andrew about 50 Cent's propensity to hold grudges, saying, "Sir 50 cent holds the craziest grudges and you felt confident enough to dissect his lyrics from the early 2000’s???"

One person writes, "I agree with you sir… 21 Red flags 🚩 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩Run ladies!"

"13 year old me sung that song at the top of my lungs to my crush. 34 year old me realizing that song is the epitome of toxic relationships. 😂" someone else shares and they just may have a point.

Who knows if the actual 50 Cent will ever see this logical adult breakdown of his early 2000s hit. But if he doesn't, Andrew has made us all take a step back to evaluate the song that's embedded into the soundtrack of the lives of Millennials and we're all better for it.

Joy

A writer shared how he alters song lyrics to make chores fun. Scores of people chimed in.

It's impossible NOT to sing along to people's delightful alternative lyrics.

Good luck not singing this every time you do laundry now.

Music is such an ubiquitous part of our lives that we often don't notice how frequently it enters our consciousness. (All the more reason to support arts education and pay working musicians what they're worth, but that's a whole other article.) One perfect example of the big role music plays is how often we sing to ourselves, sometimes in the most delightful and hilarious ways.

Writer Jonathan Edward Durham shared that he sings "La-un-dry" to the tune of The Cranberries' "Zombie" every time he does the wash, and that admission launched a chorus of people sharing how they, too, sing to themselves with altered song lyrics to make chores or mundane life tasks more interesting or fun.

Try to read through these "silly little song" responses and NOT sing along.

"When I take my dogs outside, sometimes I sing 'Come on doggies, let's go potty' to the tune of 'Barbie Girl.'" – Lindsay

"I sing 'I've got to shower' to the tune of the 90s Snap song '(I've Got) the Power.'" – Tracy

"'Simply haaaving a wonderful breakfast time' to my dog as I get his breakfast ready." – Candice

"When making mojitos (or similar non-alcoholic lime-based beverages), I like to sing, 'Macerate good limes, come on.'" – Marion

squeezing limes, mojitos, drinks, making drinks, fun songs, singing Sung to the tune of "Celebrate."Photo credit: Canva

"As I drive past a delivery driver standing on the pavement, I sing 'Stand. By. Your vaaaaan…'" – Lara

"Coffee coffee, you're the one. You make morning somewhat fun. (Sung to rubber ducky tune.)" – Charell

"I sing 'Med-i-cate the dog' to the tune of 'Celebrate' twice a day when…medicating the dog. There are verses. It's a work of genius." – Anna

"Instead of 'Rock the Casbah' I sing 'Sift the Catbox.'" – Heather

"C is for coffee, that's good enough for me. Coffee coffee coffee starts with C." – Judy

"My laundry song is to the tune of All of Me…'Laaauuuundery, I'll laaauunder you…then I'll take you to the dryer, like a warm and cozy fire.'" – Ruthie

laundry, washer, dryer, fun songs, singingSung to the tune of "All of Me" by John Legend.Photo credit: Canva

"1) Every time I put on sweatpants, I sing 'Sweat-Pants' like David Bowie sings, 'Let's Dance.' 2) When my cat Jasper has climbed up somewhere I don't want him to be, I sing, 'Get down, get down, get down, get down, get down' from the end of KC and the Sunshine Band's 'Get Down Tonight.'" – Jen

There were more. People on Instagram chimed in with even more examples, and it's apparently something so may of us do it's nearly universal, but most of us do these things when we're alone, so who knew?

"When my kids were little and I was giving them baths, I would sing 'Everybody (yeah), Wash you body (yeah), Everybody, Wash your body right, Bath time's back alright!' to Backstreet Boys' 'Everybody.' My daughter thought I made up the song and was shocked when she heard the real version on the radio one day not too long ago."

"'Pruning my hydrangea' to the tune of Losing my Religion."

hydrangea, gardening, pruning, R.E.M., fun songs Sung to the tune of "Losing My Religion" by REM.Photo credit: Canva

"Every time I realize I have forgotten to drink water, I always (mostly in my head) sing 'Why’d you have to go and make me so de-hy-drated?' like Avril Lavigne’s 'Complicated.'"

"I sing 'I have to go pee-ee' to Queen’s I Want to Break Free."

"When I have to go to the bathroom but I have to wait until I finish doing whatever I'm doing or for someone to get out of the bathroom, I sing 'I'm about to pee my pants, up in here, up in HERE' like DMX."

"Anything that has the right syllables to the Muppets Manamana. 'Banana bread... doot do de do do.'"

"Every time I say 'Pasadena' I have to stop myself from singing, 'Passss A Den Yaaaa' like I'm in The Lion King. Often, I am not successful."

In all seriousness, though, making up song lyrics to make boring tasks more fun or simply to add a little humor to your day is a super solid coping mechanism. Life isn't easy. Finding ways to eke more joy out of life, even in small ways, can add up to big shifts in our well-being.

Humans are delightfully quirky, especially when no one's looking. We need to share these things more with one another so we know we're not alone in our silly little sing-songy habits.

Danielle Marie Carolan/Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Fallon asked his fans to share stories of being caught in the act.

There is nothing worse than being caught in the act when you're up to no good. You can't lie about it, you can't take it back, all you can do is pray for forgiveness. Some people unfortunately have to learn that lesson the hard way, which makes for some pretty epic life stories, hopefully without too much lasting damage or embarrassment along the way.

While laughing at another's misfortune isn't cool, when someone brings it upon themselves and shares their misdeeds in a spirit of solidarity, it's fair game. So when "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon asked his viewers on X if they had ever been caught red-handed, asking them to tag stories with #IGotCaught, people's responses were too embarrassing, cringeworthy, and hilarious not to share.

Here are 11 of the funniest and/or most embarrassing Tweets of people being caught red-handed:

The teacher who ditched class only to run into one of his students doing the exact same thing.

"Called in sick to work one day. Saw one of my students at the beach. We nodded as we both realized we were skipping my class."

How do you explain this one?

"I googled a guy before meeting him. Later I pulled out my phone to show him a picture of my dog and he saw the picture of him."

And sexting your husband when your mother-in-law's in the chat? Mortifying.

"Sent a sext to my husband…forgot his mom was in a group chat."

When your crush catches you looking him up…

"#IGotCaught looking up a guy's info on a college computer. Heard his voice behind me telling me how to correctly spell his last name."

Life lesson: If you're going to try calling out sick from work, don't get caught on television at a rock concert.

"I called off sick to go to a music festival. The next day my boss said, 'Next time don't stand in the front row.' I was on TV."

Ah, the innocence of youth caught being not so innocent.

"I snuck out at age 15 to go to a drinking party. The doorbell rang, I answered the door, there stood my mom."


If you're going to fall asleep at work, at least make it entertaining for the boss.

"#igotcaught when my boss caught me dozing off at my desk. I raised my head slowly and said, 'Amen.'"

Oh, this is one that will stick for a long time. Ouch.

"On a first date and sent a text to what I thought was my buddy saying 'this date is awful SOS'…sent it to her."

At least this one was a compliment:

"I was telling my friend about a guy that had a cute butt. The guy heard me and said Thanks."

When you think your parents are noobs:

"Parents found out my bro threw a house party after finding the wifi password pinned up everywhere. His excuse, 'I forgot it…a lot.'"

Or, when your dad is already one step ahead of you…

"Once I tried to sneak out my window and it was dark so I put my hand on something for balance…it was my Dad."

Thanks for all the vicarious, second-hand embarrassment, Jimmy Fallon. Yeesh.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.