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Woman with unfortunate initials upset she can never wear monogrammed clothing

Some other folks responded that they have it worse.

via Canva/Photos

A woman who is frustrated with her name.

It’s fair to blame parents if they give their child a name and the initials spell out something unseemly or embarrassing. They should have considered this before giving the child the name. However, you can’t blame someone with funny initials after getting married because no one will reject the love of their life for having a last name that starts with the wrong letter.

A woman shared that she can’t stand her initials because she can’t wear monogrammed clothing. "[My initials] are the bane of my existence, and I can never have traditional monogramming (first, last, middle) without it being a sandwich." Yes, her initials, in the traditional monogram form, are BLT. They are a tasty option for lunch but probably not something you’d want on a fancy necklace or bathrobe. She also refuses to eat the sandwich. "Raw tomatoes are disgusting to me personally,” she adds.

Why is it that in traditional monogram form, a married woman’s initials are different than if she was writing them first, middle, and last? “A monogrammed gift for a woman should include her first, middle, and last initial or, if she is married, her first, maiden name, and married name initials. Traditionally, a woman's monogram is presented in first, last, and middle initial order,” The Monogram merchant writes.

For example, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy would have a traditional monogram of JKB.



Some commenters shared their initials, and many were worse than BLT.

"My friend's is AIDS, so dont worry, i remember in secondary school having to sew our initials on pillows for home economics. I felt bad for her."

"I’m D.M.B. - all I’m missing is the U."

"Mine are TB.... just as unappealing haha."

"My initials are BS, so don't feel bad. I get cracked on all the time."

"Hubs initials are ET. Cue 'ET phone home,' circa the '80s from all his so called friends at work."



"My initials are RAD, lol."

"I knew a girl with the initials PMS, I think food is better than that."

"Mine happen to spell 'ELF', and I hated it as a kid. Now I embrace it, lol."

"My brother’s are R.A.T. He kinda embraced it, an animal lover and all."

"I'm APE lol."



It was once believed that having unfortunate initials meant more than suffering the occasional embarrassment—they could take years off your life. In 1999, a study found that men with positive initials, such as WOW or JOY, lived 4.5 years longer than those with neutral initials, while those with negative initials, such as DIE or ROT, died 2.8 years later.

The idea was that people with negative initials subconsciously think less of themselves, which could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle compared to someone with positive initials. However, six years later, that study was debunked by a subsequent study that found there is “no persuasive biological theory of how longevity should be significantly affected by initials."

Pamela Redmond Satran, author of "Baby Names Now," says we should still consider initials when naming children.

"Every conventional naming book gives the guideline, 'Don't forget to look at the initials,'" Satran said, according to CBS News. "Even if the second study contradicts the first, and having bad initials is not going to shorten your life span, it could make what there is of your life less pleasant. And who wants to foist that on innocent children?"

This article originally appeared in January.

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Heroes

Woman who gets all her food from supermarket dumpsters only spends $100 a year on groceries

"I've only been sick one time because I ate a bad apple."

via Vanessa Hernandez/Flickr

An abundance of food taken from a dumpster.

In the United States, we have two big problems that should help solve each other, but unfortunately, the problems persist. According to the USDA, it's estimated that between 30 to 40% of the food supply in the U.S. is wasted. So, wholesome food that could help feed families instead winds up in landfills. At the same time, about 18 million households, or 13.5% of the population, are food insecure.

Five years ago, Sofie Juel-Andersen, 30, of Denmark, who was living in Sydney, Australia, was told by her sister that she could save a lot of money and prevent food from being wasted by diving into dumpsters at her local supermarket. Initially, Juel-Andersen was skeptical about her sister’s idea. “My sister sent me a photo of some hidden treasures she’d found dumpster diving. I knew about it, but I’d never seen it as an option to put food on the table,” she told SWNS.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

After Juel-Andersen made a few successful hauls and saw the amount of money she was saving, she was hooked. “What I found was insane. It was filled with food—some of it had expired, but a lot hadn’t,” she said. “It was like a treasure hunt for me. I quickly realized that there was so much good food in the dumpsters I didn’t need to go shopping anymore.”

After moving back to Denmark in 2022, she continued dumpster diving and has been so successful that she hardly ever has to shop at the grocery store. She estimates she only spent $100 in supermarkets in 2024, primarily on toiletries such as toilet paper and toothpaste. This allowed the restaurant manager to have a lot more money for traveling.

Her success as a dumpster diver has made her popular on TikTok, where she can share an important message about food waste.


Why do grocery stores throw out good food?

Why are grocery stores throwing away so much good food? “I believe grocery stores throw out food because of the following reasons; the first is there's a small mark on the product or it's in a bag where one item is rotten,” she told Newsweek. “The second is they have a new shipment of a product, so they throw away the old ones which are closer to their sell-by or best-before dates. Thirdly, grocery stores may get rid of one product in a large container where another has been damaged.”

So how does Juel-Andersen avoid getting sick eating food she finds in dumpsters, a lot of it close to or past its expiration dates? "My main source of food is food from the dumpsters, and I've only been sick one time because I ate a bad apple,” she shared on TikTok. “Which was completely my own fault." She added that she avoids eating food that is "moldy, looks bad, or smells bad. I am very cautious of what I take."

Even though dumpster diving should never be the solution to the problems of food waste and insecurity, Juel-Andersen’s brave and creative approach to the problem has inspired an important discussion about sustainability and resourcefulness. Let’s hope that in the future, we can bridge the gap between surplus and need so no food is wasted, and no one goes hungry.

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Humor

People are bonding over these supposedly weird food combos

It's way more than pineapple pizza—and a lot of it's down to geography

Photo credit: Canva

A prompt asking for people's favorite "weird" food combos yielded some fascinating results.

It’s become an Internet rite of passage: perplexing strangers with your unusual food takes. Last year, Upworthy stirred up one such conversation on Instagram, asking people to share their "favorite 'weird' food combo." The results ranged from "yeah, we’ve heard that one before" (pineapple on pizza) to "wait…what?"

Granted, I’m a man of somewhat "conventional" food tastes—the most adventurous I get with my burger is adding bacon to it, and I have no interest in startling my palate with peanut butter in this context. That said, I express no judgment toward any of these responses. if anything, I admire the willingness to live one’s truth. Here are the food combos that surprised me the most:

Surprise Seinfeld GIFGiphy

  • Macaroni and cheese with ketchup
  • Tuna fish sandwich with mustard
  • Refried beans and fried plantains
  • Steamed broccoli and mayonnaise
  • Sugar and mustard sandwich
  • Chocolate ice cream and Cool Ranch Doritos
  • Cold dill pickles and cold milk
  • Peanut butter, mayo, and tomato sandwich

It’s fine—take a minute to regroup.

Welcome back! One interesting thing about these food debates is that they make you reassess why certain combos sound "weird" in the first place. It’s might not be because the flavor profiles don't mesh; there's a good chance we just can’t imagine these foods on the same plate. One reason, as illustrated in the Instagram comments, might be geography. The example "French fries dipped in malt vinegar" also struck me as quirky, but other people clarified that it’s a common combo in both the U.K. and Canada. ("Clearly not been to England," one user wrote. Another: "How my Canadian family eats them!")

Someone else suggested "Apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese," but lots of people noted that it’s common where they grew up. "There’s an ice cream shop where I live that makes a cheddar apple pie [flavor] every September," one user wrote. "It’s incredible, and I wait all year for it!" Another called it "a classic [old-fashioned] treat, in New England anyway." Finally: "Growing up in Hawaii, I thought everyone ate apple pie this way. Got mocked for it when we moved to the mainland."

Thanksgiving Eating GIF by BuzzFeedGiphy

It was actually difficult to find any food combos that weirded people out. But one in particular ("corn flakes with orange juice") did rise to the occasion, especially after Upworthy clarified that the OJ is indeed being subbed in for milk. (It’s with no pulp, by the way.) Two favorite responses to culinary confusion: "I’m calling the police" and "I’ve dialed the 9 and the 1…"

Take a look at the full Instagram post and see which combos spark your curiosity. For me, it’s definitely "Louisiana hot sauce on popcorn"—I will definitely be trying this out next time, and I'm a little mad that I hadn't thought of it.

In other Internet food news: Last year, Upworthy rounded up 29 controversial food takes, as initiated by an X thread. Naturally, "pineapple on pizza" made an appearance, but there were also debates centered around sweet potatoes, candy corn, coffee, boneless chicken wings, and staple fast-food restaurants like Burger King, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s.

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Science

Permaculture expert shares how he transformed his average yard into a 'food paradise'

It's amazing how much you can grow on 1/3 of an acre.

Andrew Millison/YouTube

Andrew Millison's yard went from average lawn to abundant garden.

Fifteen years ago, Andrew Millison's yard looked like most average suburban American yards with a row rose bushes, a few trees, and a basic green lawn that had to be mowed and watered—good for running around and picnicking on, but not much else.

Today, it couldn't be more different or more productive. Where there used to be grass, now there's a "multi-layered permaculture food forest" that serves both Millison's family and their neighbors. In a video tour of his property in Oregon's Willamette Valley, the permaculture expert shares the five strategies he used to design his edible landscape.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

But first, what does permaculture mean?

Permaculture refers to sustainable agricultural and design practices that work with nature rather than against it. Permaculture practices include observing and learning from natural ecosystems and creating purposeful systems that emulate them.

For instance, huge fields filled with neat rows of all one kind of crop might make planting and harvesting more efficient, but nothing in nature actually grows that way on its own. Agriculture that goes against nature means having to work hard to keep away pests, manage water distribution carefully, etc. Permaculture aligns human action with the diversity, stability and resilience that make healthy landscapes productive and self-sustaining long-term.

Here are the five strategies Millison used to do that right in his own yard:

1. Create productive edges

Edges of yards and gardens are usually decorative, but Millison's yard edges are almost entirely made of trees and shrubs that produce fruit or other food. From cherries to blackberries to fennel to grapes and more, he created "a solid corridor of food" for him and his community to enjoy. He even has an apple tree that grew out of a crack in the sidewalk. As neighbors walk by, they can partake of the abundance.

Andrew Millison at the edge of his yardThe community benefits from the food growing at the edges of Andrew Millison's sidewalk.Andrew Millison/YouTube

His cherry tree is grafted with four different varieties so they ripen at different times throughout the season. He also has a fig tree that he planted in the south-facing part of the yard to take advantage of the increased heat reflected off the sidewalk.

2. Plant food everywhere

We're used to thinking of a gardens as a distinct part of a yard, not the whole thing, but why? Millison makes use of the land he has by planting food literally everywhere—front yard, side yard, back yard, all of it.

Millison has perennial plants like his artichokes, which means he doesn't have to replant them every year. He also has an annual garden patch, growing things like lettuce, zucchini, broccoli and more, which he harvests from every day during growing season.

flower gardenFood and flowers and native foliage fill the landscape.Andrew Millison/YouTube

3. Diversity of plants

Hyperdiversity is an important strategy, says Millison. Flowers and native plants are a big part of the food-bearing ecosystem, not only attracting pollinators but also supporting insect predator and prey relationships, keeping pests at bay in the garden.

"So I not only have the cultivated ecosystem of exotic food and flowering plants, but I have the ecological matrix of a native, intact system as well," says Millison.


bees on a honeycombMillison's bees help pollinate the whole neighborhood.Andrew Millison/YouTube

Along with the diversity of flowers, Millison also keeps bee hives. The bees pollinate the garden and provide honey (which he puts in his tea he makes with the overabundance of fresh mint he has growing). And because their range is about a mile, the bees from Millison's hives help pollinate his neighbor's gardens as well.

4. Chicken rotation system

Bees aren't the only animal Millison tends to in his permaculture garden. His chickens also play a big role in fertilization, weeding and tilling of the soil, thanks to a rotation system he uses season to season. During the summer, they stay in a paddock where their activity prepares the soil for a winter crop that will be planted there. After the harvest in the fall, they move to the main garden area where they do the same thing, preparing the soil for the next summer's planting.

"Having the chickens move back and forth between these gardens creates a wonderful synergy where the chickens take care of a lot of the important garden work so I don't need to do it," he says.


Chicken paddockChickens take a lot of the work out of soil preparation.Andrew Millison/YouTube

The chickens have a coop that can be accessed from either area and which is also connected to the greenhouse, which is part of Millison's final strategy.

5. Create microclimates

Millison's small lot has about 50 trees planted on it, but it's designed as a "solar bowl" so that all of the plants get the amount of sunlight they need.

A microclimate element familiar to most of us is the greenhouse, and Millison's greenhouse is made from mostly recycled materials. It stays much warmer than the outside, enabling him to keep citrus trees, desert foliage and other plants that don't do well with prolonged below-freezing temperatures. (His greenhouse even has a jade plant from a cutting he got from Jerry Garcia(of The Grateful Dead.)


inside a greenhouseThe chicken nesting boxes open up into the greenhouse.Andrew Millison/YouTube

In an example of the whole permaculture design working together, the chickens' nesting boxes in their coop are attached to and open up into the greenhouse for easy collection.

"You know, your quality of life really goes up when you surround yourself with gardens, with nature," says Millison. "I find my peace in going out here and gardening. It's my hobby. I have a lot of creative energy out here as well. It's a wholesome feeling and it's a secure feeling."

Millison says the garden does help with their grocery bill and there's nothing like eating something fresh that literally just been picked. But it's also about sharing, he says.

"I've got a school down the block. The kids are always walking by, they're eating all the berries and fruits on the sidewalk. I've got neighbors coming over—I'm always sharing my surplus. It's a really good way to build community with your neighbors."

Imagine if everyone's yards were used to grow food this way. You can learn more about Millison's expertise and other permaculture projects around the world on his YouTube channel as well as his website at andrewmillison.com.

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