Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE, now available - take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

health

Health

A man in India was declared dead until his ambulance hit a speed bump and he came back to life

He was being sent back home to be given his last rites.

Photo credit: Canva

A man in India was considered deceased until his ambulance hit a speed breaker.

A 65-year-old man was declared dead but news of his passing hit a speed bump— literally!

Reported by India Today, Pandurang Ulpe, a senior citizen of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India, suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. It was there where he was declared dead by his doctors. When Ulpe’s family got the news of his passing, they arranged for his lifeless body to be transported home to be given last rites. That’s when it happened.

As the ambulance drove over a speed breaker on the road, his family looked at the body and noticed something— Ulpe’s fingers moved! Upon noticing this, they alerted the driver and had the ambulance redirect towards the nearest hospital.

At the second hospital, Ulpe received an angioplasty operation and was sent home after a 15-day stay for recovery and observation.

An older man sleeping in a hospital bed A speed bump changed a trip to the morgue to a trip back to a hospitalPhoto credit: Canva

“I had come home from a walk and was sitting after sipping tea. I felt dizzy and breathless,” said Ulpe. “I went to the bathroom and vomited. I don’t remember what happened afterwards, including who took me to the hospital."

Thanks to the alertness of his family, the glimmer of hope upon seeing his fingers twitch, and quick action, Pandurang Ulpe was saved from an early grave. Hope is in short supply, depending on who you talk to. Per recent Gallup polls, just a little over half of Americans see hope in the near future. Thinking negatively is understandable and, for some, instinctual. It helps prevent disappointment or can help better prepare people for legitimate concerns or danger. That’s why insurance was invented, right?

You may think that hope is just wishing for the best or blanket optimism, but according to professor of psychology, Dr. Chan Hellman of the Hope Research Center, that’s just not true. “We often use the word ‘hope’ in place of wishing, like you hope it rains today or you hope someone’s well. But wishing is passive toward a goal and hope is about taking action toward it,” says Hellman.

Remember, Ulpe’s family didn’t just see his fingers move and did nothing while hoping he was still alive. They took action and had the ambulance driver go to another hospital.

Hope doesn’t just provide some spiritual benefits to life but has science to back it up. Per a study posted by Science Direct, hope effectively helped offset anxiety, depression, and despair during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are also studies provided by the National Library of Medicine and the American Psychological Association that suggest that hope can improve a person’s mental health and even create new neural pathways in their mind. These neural pathways not only lead to more resilience to stress in your mind but also access new ways of thinking along with a mentality that welcomes other possible solutions. In short, hope could make you not just feel better, but think better, too.

Scientific studies show that being hopeful makes you think better.Photo credit: Canva

Having hope isn’t just a lightswitch that you can turn on or off. Hope is a skill that needs to be practiced and honed before it shows its more tangible positive effects. If you’re new to it, don’t be discouraged. Have hope in your hope.

For hope can possibly save lives. That and a second opinion at a different hospital.

A hand holding a note that says "hope" It's better to act with hope, rather than be passive with despair.Photo credit: Canva

From Your Site Articles

health

Engineer writes bulletproof rant on why 'over' is the optimal toilet paper position

Tensile strength? Alignment stability? I'm convinced.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

The great toilet paper debate refuses to die. Whether to hang the loose end of the roll "over" or "under" has been inspiring heated disagreements for years. Some years, one faction or the other gains ground, but the opposing view never really gets snuffed out. It quietly regroups and comes back with a vengeance when we least expect it, and the toilet paper wars continue on.

Over the decades, many different kinds of experts have been enlisted into the conflict. Psychologists, anthropologists, marriage counselors, and doctors have been asked to weigh in on this debate repeatedly, each bringing a different perspective into why we all have such a strong preference on this topic, and the pros and cons of each.

Now the physical science experts are weighing in. An engineer from BFW Marcum recently unleashed an epic, totally unnecessary, and quite convincing rant about why there's definitively one correct way to orient your TP.

Elya, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Here's what the engineer had to say about the toilet paper over vs under debate.

"You—the dregs of society that put toilet paper with the flap situated under—you know what you’re doing is wrong," the screed begins. "You must feel it in your bones—some kind of primitive instinctual whispering in your ear. Just look at it—flapping in the breeze of your bathroom like some kind of sad white flag of surrender."

Then we get into the technical, engineer-y reasons that over is supposedly best.

1. Friction Coefficient: The coefficient of friction between the paper and the user’s hand is significantly lower when the paper is hanging over.
2. Tensile Strength: The tensile strength of the paper is optimized when it is hanging over, as the weight of the roll pulls the paper taut. This reduces the risk of tearing and provides a more consistent wipe.
We’ve all fallen victim to pulling off a ragged, possibly too-long length of toilet paper. Not only is it wasteful, but it could also very well ruin your plumbing.
3. Optimal Dispensing Angle: Studies have shown the optimal angle for dispensing toilet paper is between 10 and 15 degrees from horizontal, which is only achievable when the paper is hanging over. This ensures that the user can easily grab the paper and tear it off without awkward twisting or bending.
How do you explain to your peers that your carpal tunnel is not from your desk job, but from the terrible and unnatural way in which you hang your toilet paper?
4. Alignment Stability: When the paper is hanging over, the roll’s natural tendency is to unroll smoothly, reducing the risk of misalignment or uneven dispensing. This results in more efficient use of paper and less waste.

In short, you're more like to get a clean tear, less likely to waste paper, and less likely to get the roll all tangled up with the over method.

Is this all a bunch of gobbledygook, or is this real science? I'm not sure, but either way, it's pretty convincing. It definitely feels like hanging the flap over makes it easier to grab and tear without the roll spinning endlessly, and now I understand (kind of) why that might be.

Lest we actually settle the matter for good, it's worth noting that one physicist interviewed by Vice disagrees and says that, at least when it comes to mechanics, over or under toilet paper is exactly the same.

“Whether you hang toilet paper facing against the wall or facing forward, the rotational kinetic energy you impart on the roll is the same, and it requires the same amount of torque. They’re mirror images of each other, which means the amount of energy you have to expend is the same.” Brian Wecht said. Another physics professor interviewed in the piece more or less agreed, but added that the human element that comes into play is a wild card. The way people approach the roll, whether they're right or left handed, and how much force they apply when they pull and tear, it all factors in.

(I love the idea of highly educated scientists spending their time thinking about problems like this. Did you know that a nuclear physicist once shared a hilarious complex formula to determine if it's better to fold or wad or your toilet paper before wiping?)

Health experts have agreed for years that "over" is also the more hygienic alignment.

Apparently when the flap hangs behind or under the roll, it's harder to grab without accidentally rubbing your hand against the wall. And let's not even talk about the different kinds of bacteria and germs that live on bathroom walls.

Of course, with good hand-washing, this shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it's still a little icky.

The final piece of evidence lies in the original patent for the toilet paper roll, submitted in 1891 by a Mr. Seth Wheeler. You can clearly see that the inventor intended the free end to hang in the front where it would be easy to see and grab.

toilet paper patent image Public Domain

Ultimately, even if the physicists and engineers and NASA scientists all agree that hanging the toilet paper "over" is slightly better, we're talking about a very small difference in efficiency here. If you like the under method because it looks cleaner or keeps your kids from pulling at the roll, you probably aren't worried about a 1% differential in tensile strength and coefficient of friction.

The scientists might know physics, but they know little of the human heart. If hanging your toilet paper rolls under just feels right to you, don't let these nerds tell you otherwise.

From Your Site Articles

health

Health

Doctor explains those annoying eye twitches we all get (and when to seek help for it)

It's called "myokymia" and the causes range from totally benign to potentially serious.

Photo credit: Canva

What causes those tiny throbs in your eyelid?

You're just sitting there living your life when all of a sudden your eyelid starts going haywire. It's kind of a twitch, but more like a rapid pulsing or a fluttering—almost as if a tiny creature were trying to pound its way through the skin around your eye.

Not the most appealing visual, I know, but most of us have experienced those annoying eye twitches at some time and been baffled by them. Some of us may even have them on a regularly basis due to causes we either haven't pinned down or addressed. (I recently tried out monovision contact lenses for the first time and my eyelids twitched like mad for a week, which my optometrist confirmed was due to eye strain from my vision trying to adjust.)

Those pulsing twitches are known as facial myokymia, and the primary reasons for it were broken down by Dr. Joe, MD, an ER doctor who shares health information on his social media channels.

See on Instagram

"Have you ever had this?" he asked, showing a video of someone's lower eyelid pulsing. "This is something called facial myokymia and it's a persistent twitching of one of the muscles around your eye. The common causes associated with this include too much caffeine, stress, anxiety, poor sleep, dehydration, and some electrolyte problems." According to the Mayo Clinic, other common causes of eye spasms include alcohol intake, bright light, fatigue, nicotine, wind or air pollution, dry eyes, or other irritation of the eyes.

Dr. Joe said that the condition is usually harmless, which is true. However, on rare occasions eye twitching can be a symptom of a potentially serious condition. If eye spasms are persistent, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about it.

How do you know when it's time to see a doctor about an eyelid twitch?

What does "persistent" mean when it comes to eyelid spasms? Are we talking hours, days, weeks, months?

The Mayo Clinic says eye twitching usually goes away on its own within a few days or weeks with enough rest, stress relief and decreased caffeine, but you should schedule an appointment to consult with your doctor if:

The twitching doesn't go away within a few weeks.
The affected area feels weak or stiff.
Your eyelid completely closes with each twitch.
You have difficulty opening the eye.
Twitching happens in other parts of your face or body as well.
Your eye is red or swollen or has discharge.
Your eyelids are drooping.

Many people shared that stress is the biggest and clearest trigger for their eye twitches. Others had success with changing their diet or supplementing to balance their electrolytes. A few shared that their eye twitches were early signs of a chronic condition, such as Bell's palsy or multiple sclerosis. (But again, most eye twitches are benign and most serious causes are accompanied by other symptoms.)

Some cultures assign meaning to eye twitches

People have tried to explain the unexplainable for millennia, which has resulted in various meanings being assigned to random eye twitches across different cultures.

According to All About Vision, in many cultures, a twitch in the left eye is often said to mean something bad is going to happen, while a right eye twitch indicates something positive will. For instance, in the Caribbean, a left eye twitch means someone is talking badly about you or that a friend is in trouble. A right eye twitch means someone is talking positively about your or that you might reunite with an old friend soon. However, the opposite is true in China—left means good and right means bad (except it might depend on the time of day as the meaning gets calculated with the Chinese zodiac and almanac).

In some parts of Africa, a spasm in your upper lid might mean an unexpected arrival and twitching in the lower lid means something will happen to make you cry. n India, a twitch might mean good or bad news, losing or gaining money or even a child being born, depending on where the twitching takes place.

What can you do to stop eye twitches?

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much you can do once a spasm starts. One recommendation is to apply a warm compress to the eye to relax the muscles, but most of the tips for stopping myokymia come down to prevention.

Reduce stress and engage in more stress-relieving activities. Avoid drinking too much caffeine. Get enough sleep—even napping can help minimize eye twitches. Stay hydrated. Keep your eyes lubricated with drops if they tend to get dry. Basically, all of the things that contribute to overall health can help prevent eye twitches along with caring for your dry eyes.

So if your eyelid starts wigging out on occasion, don't be alarmed, but do see it as a sign that you may want to adjust some of your health habits. (And, of course, consult a doctor if they truly become problematic in your life.)

From Your Site Articles

health

1796. That's when we invented vaccines.

Photo by Social History Archive on Unsplash

Lifespans were shorter a century ago. Why?

An English doctor named Edward Jenner took incredible risks to try to rid his world of smallpox. Because of his efforts and the efforts of scientists like him, the only thing now standing between deadly diseases like the ones below and extinction are people who refuse to vaccinate their kids.

Unfortunately, because of the misinformation from the anti-vaccination movement, some of these diseases have trended up in a really bad way over the past several years.

Wellness involves a lot of personal choices and the tradeoff between personal liberty and shared public good.

Measles is the starkest example. In 2014, there were over 600 cases of measles in America during the first seven months of the year. According to the CDC, ten years later in 2024 there were 284 cases of measles nationwide. Though the numbers have improved in a decade, 89% of 2024's cases came from people who are unvaccinated or refused to share their vaccine status.

Anti-vaccination movements aren't new. Controversy, fear, and anti-vaccination rhetoric has plagued immunization efforts as far back as the early 1800s. Despite research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) showing that vaccines and immunization research has had a positive impact on global health, the anti-vaccination movements don't seem to be facing eradication any time soon.

The chart below was made by graphic designer Leon Farrant and uses data from the CDC and JAMA to show that vaccines have real public health benefits. Paired with decades of improved medical care, vaccines have nearly eradicated many formerly fatal illness like Polio, Measles, Malaria, and Diphtheria. The impact of one's personal health choices can have a significant impact on the population around them, in their communities, and even on a national level. It makes that trade-off all the more complicated and one not easily distilled into one convenient political or religious ideology.

image illustrated vaccines facing each other

Infographic by designer Leon Farrant based on 2012/13 data.

image from Leon Farrant

Obviously, the topic of vaccinations has become immensely more complicated and controversial over the years, especially since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. But history teaches us valuable lessons and information is power. No matter how you feel about vaccines today, this chart is a reminder that medical science can be used for incredible good. Without breakthrough vaccinations in the past, many of us would likely not be here to have the debate about our personal choices now and in the future.

This article originally appeared eleven years ago.

From Your Site Articles

Health

These two tricks will clear your stuffy nose instantly

Both take less than two minutes

via Prevention Magazine/YouTube)

How to clear a stuffy nose instantly.

Cold and Flu season typically starts in the fall and lasts through the spring. Add in COVID-19 and RSV, and we've got a number of respiratory illness to dodge this time of year. If you do fall ill and experience the dreaded stuffy nose associated with these diseases, we're here to help with a couple of awesome and easy tricks that will clear a stopped nose in minutes.

Prevention Magazine created a short video showing two easy ways to get you breathing free again no matter how stuffed up you might be.

Both tricks take less than two minutes and are certainly worth trying out when it feels like that runny nose might never go away.

Watch the YouTube video below:

These tricks are useful, so be sure to try them out when you're in need! Of course, not having a stuffy nose is better than a 60-second solution, so check out these tips on how you can stay healthy this viral season.

This article first appeared eight years ago.

From Your Site Articles

health

Pop Culture

Ryan Reynolds filmed his colonoscopy after losing a bet—it turned out to be 'lifesaving'

If anyone can motivate people to get this medical procedure done, it's Reynolds.

Ryan Reynolds/YouTube

Sometimes when you lose, you win.

Cancer is serious. Ryan Reynolds is not. Luckily his characteristic sense of humor—along with being true to his word—has helped shine a light on a sobering topic in a fun way. After apparently losing a bet to friend and “Welcome to Wrexham” co-star Rob McElhenney of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Reynolds agreed to get a colonoscopy … while broadcasting it to the entire world, of course.

Reynolds is an actor famous for hilarious hijinks. From his intense fictional feud with Hugh Jackman to performing epic pranks on talk shows, he is often the best thing on the internet for a good laugh. However, he is also not one to shy away from difficult conversations, particularly when it comes to health. So raising awareness about the importance of colonoscopies was, as he quipped, “enough motivation for me to let you in on a camera being shoved up my ass.”

Reynolds might have lost the bet, but his actions paid off. The procedure turned out to be lifesaving.

The video shows the “Free Guy” actor getting the news that an “extremely subtle” polyp was discovered and cut out. Reynolds had previously shown no symptoms.

“I’m not being dramatic,” his doctor told him. “This is exactly why you do this. You are interrupting the natural history of a disease, of something of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems. Instead, you are not only diagnosing the polyp, you are taking it out.”

Ever the expert marketer, Reynolds smoothly slid in a quick plug for his alcohol brand, joking that “I can’t believe you pumped all that Aviation Gin into my IV. I was out like a light” before thanking the doctor.

Reynolds got his colonoscopy at 45, which is the recommended age to begin routine screenings. Though it’s a preventable cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths for men and women combined, and it is predicted to be the top cancer killer for people under 50 by the year 2030.

Because of the inherent invasiveness of the procedure, many people feel uncomfortable even talking about colonoscopies, let alone getting one, despite early detection being so vital. But now, thanks to Reynolds hilariously riffing on his experience, the whole thing might not seem so daunting after all.

Thanks for the delightfully silly PSA, Ryan.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

From Your Site Articles

health

Joy

A husband took these photos of his wife and captured love and loss beautifully.

I feel as if I were right there with them as I looked through the photos.

Snuggles.

When I saw these incredible photos Angelo Merendino took of his wife, Jennifer, as she battled breast cancer, I felt that I shouldn't be seeing this snapshot of their intimate, private lives. The photos humanize the face of cancer and capture the difficulty, fear, and pain that they experienced during the difficult time.

But as Angelo commented: "These photographs do not define us, but they are us."