upworthy
Joy

Knitters around the world unite to finish projects left behind by people who passed away

Loved ones will be able to appreciate these items the way they were intended.

knitting, knit patterns, knit scarf
Photo by rocknwool on Unsplash

The volunteers at Loose Ends finish knitting projects and mend broken hearts.

A cold reality of death is that it cares not at all about the things we’ve yet to complete while living. It comes relentlessly, even when the home is nearly remodeled…when the vacation is but a week away…when we are this close to finishing that book that brought so much joy. It comes when it comes, no exceptions.

Though there is no negotiation with this force of nature, those with loved ones who have passed on are being given a little bit of closure—one blanket, scarf or sweater at time.

When friends and knitting enthusiasts Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan realized that they both shared the experience of frequently being asked to finish knitting items left undone by those who have died, they were inspired to create a like-minded community that expanded beyond their homes in Seattle and Falmouth. After all, this was an aspect of the hobby that both women deeply enjoyed.

“It occurred to us that there was an opportunity to let other people express that kind of generosity to each other as well, even between strangers,” Kaplan told local news outlet WMTW 8.

And thus, Loose Ends was born.

Loose Ends has over 1000 volunteers (otherwise known as “finishers”) spread across 19 countries, each of whom lends their knitting talents to finish the undone knitting projects of those who have passed, or for those who can no longer knit due to a disability. Once a “finisher” finishes an item, it is then shipped back to the owner—completed and ready to be cherished.

"It's like they're getting a piece of their loved one back to them," Kaplan told WMTW. "We get a lot of really touching and beautiful stories about things that are returned. As a knitter it's sort of mending a little bit of a broken heart."

"It takes 35,000 stitches to make a pair of socks, so that's 35,000 actions you're doing to produce this item that will hopefully take care of somebody, it's kind of like magic,” Simonic added in an interview with KING 5 News.

Knitters are a notoriously generous bunch. Much of the time they create their unique designs with the intention of spreading joy to others. Love is meticulously put into each and every stitch. Now, that love can be fully expressed into a tangible item—as the creator intended—rather than getting thrown away.

If you’d like to support Loose Ends, you can donate to their GoFundMe page, which helps with shipping costs and other expenses that keep the project going. Click here to learn more.

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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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Celebrity

Michael B. Jordan ran into his middle-school bully on the red carpet and confronted her

He didn't forget.

via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Michael B. Jordan speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Black Panther", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

As long as humans have endeavored to do anything great, there have been those who have tried to take them down. These are the opposite of the creators in life: the bullies, haters, and naysayers who only want to bring people down to their level. But when you have a dream and desire, its possible to tune out the voices of negativity.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better,” Theodore Roosevelt once said. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." Some folks use the naysayers as fuel to push them to work even harder. Basketball legend Michael Jordan was infamous for letting his thirst for revenge drive him to even greater heights on the court.

Another Michael Jordan, Black Panther star, Michael B. Jordan, came face to face with someone who doubted that he could reach his dreams, and he wasn’t shy about letting her know that he remembered. What's Upworthy about the encounter is that he did so with class and confidence.

In 2023, Jordan was on the red carpet for the premiere of Creed III, a film he starred in and directed. He was interviewed by The Morning Hustle radio show host Lore’l, who had recently admitted on the Undressing Room podcast that she used to make fun of him in school.

“You know what’s so crazy? I went to school with Michael B. Jordan at a point in life,” Lore’l said. “And to be honest with you, we teased him all the damn time because his name was Michael Jordan. Let’s start there, and he was no Michael Jordan.”

“He also would come to school with a headshot,” she added. “We lived in Newark. That’s the hood. We would make fun of him like, ‘What you gonna do with your stupid headshot?’ And now look at him!”

In addition, her co-host, Eva Marcille, referred to Jordan as “corny.”

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Jordan had no problem discussing their past on the red carpet. “We go way back, all the way back to Chad Science [Academy] in Newark,” Lore’l told the actor. Oh yeah, I was the corny kid, right?” Jordan responded with a smirk.

“No, you did not hear me say that! I said we used to make fun of the name,” Lore’l said.

“I heard it,” Jordan said. “I heard it. It’s all good. What’s up?” he responded. “But yeah, [you are] obviously killing things out here…you’re not corny anymore,” Lore’l clarified.

After the exchange went viral, Lore’l admitted that she teased Jordan in school, but they were only classmates for one year.

“So, the narrative that I bullied him all throughout high school—this was 7th grade. We were like 12 years old, and everyone made fun of each other,” Lore’l told TMZ after facing backlash from fans of Jordan. "The whole bully narrative is crazy... That was school, you know. That was one year. And, again, I’ve never bullied him. That just sounds so outrageous to me.”

Whether qualified as bullying or not, teasing someone for things they can't control like their name, appearance, or personality is extremely harmful. Usually, teasing is more lighthearted and the person being teased is in on the joke; it's not done with the intent to hurt or belittle the person. In an article for Understood—a nonprofit dedicated to providing resources and support to people around the world "who learn and think differently" in school, at work, and throughout life—editor and attorney Andrew M.I. Lee, JD writes that teasing is "a form of communication," usually between friends or even (potential) romantic partners (i.e. flirting). However, Lee notes that because some bullying begins as teasing and some teasing is indeed done with negative intent, the whole thing is complicated. In short, teasing could be experienced as bullying depending on the context and, according to Psychology Today, bullying physically harms the brain and can lead to mental health issues such as chronic anxiety and depression.

bullying, bullies, bully, social media, cyberbullyTeasing and bullying can be harmful. Canva photos.

Jordan later shared some advice on how to deal with bullies.

"Just stay focused, just stay locked in,” he told a reporter from Complex. “You know, just follow your heart, try to block out the noise and distractions as much as possible and run your race. Don't compare yourself to anybody else. Just keep going."

Sounds like good advice from someone who truly knows what he's talking about.

But remember: bullying can go both ways. In an attempt to defend Jordan, many fans of the star in turn bullied (and threatened) Lore'l pretty mercilessly. The unfortunate bottom line is that bullying is likely going to keep happening in this world, especially thanks to the Internet and social media. But when it does, we can all take a page from Jordan's book and handle it with class and truth. Who knows? If we stand up to bullies, call out bad behavior, and defend those being bullied around us, we just might be able to nip bullying in the bud.

be kind, kindness, anti-bullying, bully, kindBe Nice GIF by Microsoft StoreGiphy

This article originally appeared last year.

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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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Joy

Simple photography lesson shows why selfies distort how you really look

Don't be fooled!

via Evey Winters/Facebook

A selfie camera can distort how you look in real life.

We've all done it: You snap a selfie, look at it, say, "OMG is my nose swollen?" then try again from a different angle. "Wait, now my forehead looks weird. And what's up with my chin?" You keep trying various angles and distances, trying to get a picture that looks like how you remember yourself looking. Whether you finally land on one or not, you walk away from the experience wondering which photo actually looks like the "real" you.

I do this, even as a 40-something-year-old who is quite comfortable with the face I see in the mirror. So, it makes me cringe imagining a tween or teen, who likely take a lot more selfies than I do, questioning their facial features based on those snapshots. When I'm wondering why my facial features look weird in selfies it's because I know my face well enough to know that's not what it looks like. However, when a young person whose face is changing rapidly sees their facial features distorted in a photo, they may come to all kinds of wrong conclusions about what they actually look like.

via GIPHY


Not that it should matter, of course. But we're talking about people living in a society obsessed with personal appearance. It's going to matter to a lot of people, and if they get the wrong impression of their face, some people will go to all sorts of lengths to change it. That's why understanding a bit about how focal lengths on cameras can impact what we see in photographs is vital.

Why do I look different in selfies?

Writer Evey Winters shared some of that education in a post on Facebook. She writes about this topic through a trans and dysmorphia lens, but it applies to everyone.

Winters points out that if someone is thinking of doing surgery to change their bodies, they should seek sources outside of themselves and a cellphone camera.


"I have dysmorphia and recognize that in myself," she wrote, "but even if I didn’t, there’s not a selfie I’ve ever taken that would accurately help me make choices about my face. Mirrors are slightly better only for their minimal distortions."

Why do people look different in selfies?

"Almost any photo taken of you with a commonly available cell phone without additional equipment will not display anything approaching an accurate summation of you but an artistic rendering of what the camera is able to capture," she continued. "Cameras are not people. People don’t freeze frames of time for all eternity down to the pixel and automatically enhance certain features like the darkness of pores and fine lines in your skin."

"If you want the best chance at getting good feedback pre-op about what you might want to change," she added, "I’d recommend a skilled photographer take a series of photos of you at different focal lengths and even then none of these will be entirely accurate as none of these employ humans binocular vision and filtering."

selfies, photography, friends in photos, camera phone, smartphone, good selfies, bad selfiesA group of friends taking a selfie.via Canva/Photos

Winters shared a collage of photos of the same girl's face at different focal lengths to show the significant difference it makes. "Notice how in different photos this child’s eyes may appear to be slightly hooded," she wrote. "The nose appears enlarged disproportionately. Hairline seems to shift with every snap. So does jaw shape, face shape, and even the width and size of the ears."

The difference between each of these photos is significant, but the difference between the first and the last is stunning. Cellphone selfie cameras usually have an even smaller focal length than the 40 mm shown here (Winters points out that the iPhone 13 Pro Max selfie camera has the equivalent of a 23 mm focal length), so they distort facial features even more. It also depends on how far away from the camera you are—the closer you are, the more distortion you'll see. Lighting matters, too, but even the best lighting can't cancel out what the focal length is doing.

Vox shared a video specifically about the "big nose" phenomenon with selfies, showing how drastic the distortion can be.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The difference between each of these photos is significant, but the difference between the first and the last is stunning. Cellphone selfie cameras usually have an even smaller focal length than the 40 mm shown here (Winters points out that the iPhone 13 Pro Max selfie camera has the equivalent of a 23 mm focal length), so they distort facial features even more. It also depends on how far away from the camera you are—the closer you are, the more distortion you'll see. Lighting matters, too, but even the best lighting can't cancel out what the focal length is doing.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Barilla has Spotify playlists perfectly timed to cook each of their pasta shapes al dente

This is so clever.

Screenshot via Spotify, Photo credit: Canva

Cue up some Mixtape Spaghetti and get your al dente on.

A pasta brand having a Spotify account is unexpected to begin with, but a pasta brand creating Spotify playlists specifically to help people cook their noodles perfectly al dente is exactly the kind of unexpected the world needs more of.

Barilla, the famous Italian pasta brand, is cleverly using Spotify as a kitchen timer for its various styles of pasta. Say you're planning on cooking up some penne pasta tonight. All you have to do is boil some water, pour the pasta in, turn on Barilla's "Pleasant Melancholy Penne" playlist, and dance around your kitchen (or make your sauce or whatever) until the music stops. Then you know it's time to drain and serve.

The playlists are pasta shape specific. For instance, Mixtape Spaghetti is exactly 9 minutes long for perfectly cooked spaghetti noodles while Boom Bap Fusilli is 11 minutes because those little corkscrews take a bit longer to cook. Look at those playlist names. Timeless Emotion Fusilli? Moody Day Linguine? Someone in Barilla's marketing department has been having some fun.

barilla, pasta, spotify, al denta pasta, cooking pastaWho would think Barilla would have nearly 500,000 listeners on Spotify? Screenshots via Spotify

What kinds of songs are on these playlists, you ask? It's a mixed bag. There's some Italian music, of course. But they've also got some Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, The Beatles, The Smiths and others as well. (Interestingly, a lot of the playlists have songs marked with an "E" for Explicit Content, so listen with discernment if you've got small kiddos who might embarrass you by singing out profanities in the grocery store.)

barilla, pasta, spotify, al denta pasta, cooking pastaBarilla's playlists are timed to cook each variety of pasta.Screenshots via Spotify


People have been utterly tickled to find out that Barilla is using Spotify in this way.

"This is an amazing random fun fact."

"Very cool! What a great marketing idea."

"This might be one of the best pieces of info I’ve ever received re cooking."

"That’s actually genius, cooking and vibing all in one."

"This is *chefs kiss* perfect! Thank you!!!"


How Its Made Food GIFGiphy

What does al dente mean?

In Italian, al dente literally translates as "to the tooth," which doesn't help much with understanding what it means, except that the pasta should have a slight bit of resistance when you bite into it. Essentially, the ideal texture of cooked pasta should be soft but also slightly firm. Soft but firm but still soft—you know it when you bit into it. There's no gumminess and no chalkiness to al dente pasta. It's the perfect consistency for soaking up sauce without being mushy.

Most of the time, that means cooking pasta slightly less than the cook time indicated on the box. But Barilla pasta is known for being "always al dente"—at least that's how they've advertised their pasta for decades.

- YouTubeyoutu.be


What are the Italian rules for cooking pasta?

Wait, there are rules? Apparently so. Here are 5 rules of pasta cooking according to Eataly's Italian code of conduct:

1. Pair the right shape with the right pasta sauce.

"Fine delicate strands work best with light, smooth sauces while twisted shapes and wider ribbons can support chunkier sauces."

2. Never break pasta before cooking.

"It may be tempting to break long pasta shapes in half in order to fit them in the pot, but be warned: this is considered sacrilege in the Italian kitchen!"

spaghetti, pasta, barilla, al denteDo NOT break spaghetti anywhere near an Italian.Photo credit: Canva

3. The only utensil you need is a fork.

"Italians never cut their pasta so leave the knives for your secondo, per favore."

4. Master the twirling technique.

"If you're having difficulty, try this: ground the fork on the bottom of the plate and gently twirl to capture a forkful of pasta, making sure there aren't too many loose ends."

5. Avoid cheese with seafood pastas.

"In most cases, Italians never put grated cheese on pasta dishes that contain seafood. Instead, use a little bit of sautéed breadcrumbs with olive oil to garnish the dish."

There you go. All you need to make yourself a delicious bowl of Timeless Emotion Fusilli or Moody Day Linguine. Thanks, Barilla! (You can find their playlists here.)

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