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This man spent years doodling the things he loves about his wife.

Love is a feeling that's hard to define — so Andrew Hou found a charming way around having to define it.

The artist, who lives in Seoul, Korea, says he has never considered himself to be good with words, especially when it comes to expressing his feelings. That all became increasingly evident to him in 2010, when he was having a hard time communicating his feelings to his then-girlfriend (now wife), Kate.

So he turned to what he knew best: art.

Andrew used doodling to find just the right thing to say.

All images from Andrew Hou, used with permission.

"I was never good with words, so making silly, sappy doodles was my way to workaround the problem," Andrew told Upworthy. "During work, I'd pretend to be working and create these tiny doodles and send [them] to her via the phone."

Best text message ever? Possibly.

Andrew's doodles started off as a personal project between him and Kate, but after a friend posted some of them on Twitter, he realized how much they resonated with complete strangers. He decided to share them more widely. And in 2011, HJ-Story was born.

HJ-Story, based off of Kate's initials in Korean, is a series about the little moments of life and love.

The drawings reflect his relationship with Kate, but he hopes that they bring an extra bit of happiness to the world. Five years later, he's still going strong with them.

Here are 17 drawings (out of many!) that show their story.

1. There are times they can't be together.


2. And he's really patient about it.


3. But sometimes he's not so patient.


4. He always wants her to feel safe and protected. 

  


5. She brings him to life at just the right moment...


6. ...even when she can't be there in person.


7. He appreciates their differences.

"I always try to not create an illustration just for the sake of making a regular update, but when an idea of a genuine moment or event or thought pops up, I try to draw it," Andrew says.

8. Together, he knows they can make it through the big things.


9. But it's the little ones that really get him through.


10. There are life's proud moments.


11. And the overwhelming ones.


12. And the times he says the wrong things...


13. ...and tries to make them right.


14. But at the end of the day, he always feels lucky.

"Love stuck me like lightning. 7 billion people in the world and we found each other."

15. It's easy to forget that the little things matter a lot, like that time they saw the movie "Thor."


16. Or for all the times she lets him think he can sing.


17. HJ-Story reminds us that love isn't just one feeling or moment.

Andrew says he strives for HJ-Story to act as a reminder to both himself and Kate of the little events and memories during their years together and how they should always treasure and continue to remember the little moments of love.


Love is a collection of moments that grow over time.

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Visit Sweden
Visit Sweden
Education

Sweden makes stunning decision to trademark its name to avoid confusion

The country is taking historic steps to fix the problem.

via Visit Sweden (used with permission)

A Swedish woman taking things into her own hands.

True

Sweden has existed for over 1,000 years, but travelers across the globe are confused because other places, inspired by the country’s untouched beauty and joyously inclusive culture, have taken its name.

Seven other places in the world call themselves Sweden, so to distinguish itself from the name-alikes, the Kingdom of Sweden is taking a bold, historic step that no country has before. It’s become the first to apply to trademark its name with the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Visit Sweden likens the country’s problem to a luxury brand that has to contend with dupes, knockoffs, or bootlegs that fall short of the glory of the genuine article.

“It’s flattering that other places want to be called Sweden, but let’s be honest, there should only be one. Our Sweden. The one with the Northern Lights, endless forests, and the world’s best flat-pack furniture,” says Susanne Andersson, CEO at Visit Sweden.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

By trademarking its name, Sweden will make things much less confusing for travelers worldwide. It’d be a shame for someone looking to visit Sweden’s majestic Lapland to mistakenly wind up in a place with no reindeer, Aurora Borealis, or cloudberries to be found.

The world-class research team at Visit Sweden knew it had to act when it realized that other destinations with the same name had tripped up travelers. People looking to vacation in Portland, Oregon, have accidentally wound up in Portland, Maine. Travelers yearning to experience the fall in Manchester, New Hampshire, have been deplaning in Manchester, England. “It happens more than you think!” the researchers admitted.


sweden, visit sweden, swedish vacation The Northern Lights in Sweden. via Visit Sweden, Photographer: Jann Lipka/imagebank.sweden.se

The E.U. Intellectual Property Office must act swiftly and allow Sweden to trademark its name so that travelers worldwide don’t miss the opportunity to experience an utterly unique country known for its serene landscapes, commitment to deep relaxation and personal freedom.

No one should ever miss out on staying on one of Sweden’s 267,570 islands, more than any other country. The Swedish archipelagos offer luxurious glamping, peaceful hikes, tranquil solitude and awe-inspiring, pristine nature.

sweden, visit sweden, swedish vacation A woman camping in the Swedish archipelago.via Visit Sweden, Photographer: Anders Klapp/imagebank.sweden.se


Sweden is a beautiful place to visit all year round, with bright summers, colorful falls, vibrant springs and dark, crisp winters. It is also a place to delight your tastebuds with a cuisine centered on healthy, locally sourced produce, with some preparation methods dating back to the Viking era.

The original Sweden is a place where one can relish Old World European history while also enjoying the modern pleasures of the most progressive countries in the world. Travelers can be whisked back into history by visiting the Naval Port of Karlskona, a well-preserved European naval town from 1680. Or, enjoy cutting-edge design, delicacies, art, music and culture in hip metropolitan destinations such as Stockholm or Sweden’s “coolest city,” Gothenburg.

Did we mention Sweden has an ABBA museum? Wait till the other 7 Swedens find out about that.

As you can see, Sweden is an incredibly unique destination that cannot be duplicated. It would be a tragedy for anyone intending to visit the original Sweden to mistakenly find themselves in a name-alike place that lacks its Scandinavian charm. You can do your part to stop the confusion by signing a petition to let Sweden trademark Sweden at Visit Sweden (the original).

sweden, visit sweden, swedish vacation A Swedish Midsommar celebration. via Visit Sweden, Photographer: Stefan Berg/Folio/imagebank.sweden.se

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Joy

A toddler kept tapping a woman's arm on a plane. Her response holds a lesson for us all.

"These are the types of people we need on airplanes."

@Cosmic-Chen/Reddit

What do you do when a little hand comes out of nowhere to feel your arm?

Being locked in a metal box with 150 random people all hurtling through the air at 30,000 feet is quite the social experiment, but one many of us do willingly in this age of air travel. One of the most notable parts of that experiment is that you never know who's going to sit near you on an airplane. Will you get the quiet reader? The Chatty Cathy? The cougher who doesn't cover their mouth? The sweet-but-over-perfumed old lady? The parent with a baby who screams from takeoff to landing?

Flying can feel like a game of roulette, especially when you find yourself sitting near one of the most unpredictable forces on Earth—a toddler. Tiny tots might can for the most delightful trip ever or the most annoying one, but as one couple demonstrates, the difference sometimes comes down to our own attitude.

A video shared on Reddit reads, "We were on the plane when this baby's hand kept reaching out and touching my arm from behind…" At first, we see a zoomed in shot of a woman's next to the window as a little hand reaches around the side of her seat and taps her on the back of the arm, repeatedly and enthusiastically. Then the camera pants to the woman's face and the face of the man with her, and their expressions say it all.

Clearly, the child is enjoying the feel of the woman's skin on the back of her arm. Tap tap tap, rub rub, squeeze, tap tap. No hesitation, zero sense of decorum, just a totally oblivious toddler sensory experience. A little annoying? Probably. Pure and wholesome and worthy of a laugh? Absolutely.

This woman could have asked the parent to stop their child from touching her (and she may have eventually). Not everyone finds small children cute and some people have sensory issues of their own that make such encounters more bothersome than it would be for others. But assuming the toddler arm massage was temporary and that the parents saw what was happening and stopped it, the reaction of the couple is a perfect example of finding the joy in life and rolling with the punches.

As the post reads, "Those small hands are a sign of absolute tenderness," and people are loving the immediate mirthful reaction the pair had to the wee one's curious little fingers.

"Nothing cuter than seeing a baby flailing their arms and slapping things because they are happy. They have no control. They just know they’re happy."

'The baby slaps 'yep this is good arm' tap tap."

"My grandma had the softest bat wings in the world. I used to love to touch them. I’m sure she was self conscious about it but I loved them lol."

"As a parent I would be horrified to discover my kid was doing this but so relieved that they were such good sports about it. These are the types of people we need on airplanes."

"Same, I’m always concerned how my kid behaves on a plane ride (and he freaking loves being on a plane) but I find most people to be such good sports around him. Love when it works out that way. Though I 10/10 would have snatched that hand away soon as I noticed 😂😂😂."

"The people laughing were so kind! I can imagine some people would lose it if a child did this but they just enjoyed it. 🥰"

"Seriously! Seeing the humor in everyday life says a lot about their temperament. They seem like great folks."

Some people shared their own stories of toddlers similarly pawing at perfect strangers. It's helpful to remember that these little ones have only been on the planet for a hot minute and they barely have anything figured out yet. The nuances of what and whom to touch and not to touch takes a while, as does having the impulse control to not just reach out and feel whatever looks soft or interesting in the moment.

"Oh my gosh, that reminded me of a time when my son was small, maybe 18 months? We were in line at a restaurant and he was toddling around my legs and holding on to my finger while I chatted with my sister and mom. I felt him let go, and looked down to see where he was off to. He was standing by a lady a couple of people ahead of me who was wearing fishnet tights. He was rubbing her leg with his tiny baby hands and looked just MESMERIZED. I, on the other hand, was absolutely mortified and grabbed him up, apologizing all over the place, but luckily she was very cool about it and was just laughing.

Little kids like to just touch stuff to learn more about the world around them, but parents need to be constantly paying attention so their kid doesn't accidentally harass someone!"

"A little kid of around that age did this to me at restaurant once- he walked up to me, rubbed my bare forearm, and then gave me that same mesmerized look and tapped me with his hand a couple times. I didn't think too much of it (was more puzzled/confused than anything), but his mom had to pick him up and apologized anyway. Kids are funny haha."

"Yes this is so adorable. The last time I took a flight with a kid sitting behind me he was kicking my seat for like two hours before I politely turned around and gave a look to his mother and said 'hey my little friend. I know this flight is long and you wanna get out of this seat but do you mind not kicking my seat anymore?' Then I gave him a piece of paper and some (like 5 out of my 50) colored pencils and asked him if he could make me a secret drawing and pass it to me quietly and I’d make him one. I’m an artist and I always carry watercolors and colored pencils and sketch books on flights. We ended up passing drawing back and forth for the rest of the remaining 5 hour flight. He didn’t kick my seat again… I suspect it was the poignant look I gave mom. But so he was engaged. Every 20 minutes or so I’d feel a little tap on my arm and a folded up little drawing would appear. I still have them in the pocket of a moleskin somewhere."

Here's to grownups joyfully embracing the reality of co-existing with small children, in all their curious, sensory-driven, hands-on glory.

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Pop Culture

Gen Xers and Boomers were asked if life really used to be simpler. Ironically, it's complicated.

Turns out "simple" isn't so easily defined.

Photo credit: Canva

Did life used to be simpler or is that just nostlgia talking?

People have a tendency to look at the past through rose-colored glasses, focusing more on positive memories than negative ones (barring major traumas, which ). So when you ask a group of older people about what life was like in their younger years, you might get some less-than-accurate recollections. Nostalgia is a powerful filter, and time has a way of altering our perceptions of how things used to be.

That being said, times do change and the world has seen some dramatic shifts in our elders' lifetimes. Young folks can only imagine what life was like before the internet and smartphones and map apps that tell us step-by-step exactly how to get where we're going, while older people can look back on personal memories from those "simpler" days.

But was life really simpler then or is that just something people say out of a sense of nostalgia? A 28-year-old asked Gen Xers and Boomers that question, and ironically, the answer is a bit complicated.

In some ways, of course, life was simpler…or at least slower

The pace of everything seems to have accelerated and we find ourselves bombarded with so much stuff coming at us so fast, it's overwhelming. We're in a constant state of overstimulation, without the quiet down time we used to have built into the rhythm of daily life.

media.giphy.com

"Life was slower, which gave you time to deal with life, making it simpler."

""It was quieter. A bit slower. Less overstimulating."

"For every aspect of life made easier and sped up by technology, we're expected to do more to use the time that's been freed up. Doing boring tasks like hand laundry and washing dishes was a real chore, but it offered time to think and slow down mentally. I think this is something many of us lack at this point. Moreover, these days people would probably be watching a video on their phone or listening to a podcast while doing these tasks - that's fine, but it doesn't provide the mental down-time that was built into life much more back in the day. I think that being bored sometimes is probably good for our mental health."

"The speed of our ability to process and act is definitely out of balance with the speed of information."

"Tech evolved faster than our brains. A lot of people are suffering."

Having too many choices has made things feel more complicated

The irony of the modern age is that we have so much easy access to so many things, and those practically limitless choices are a burden on our psyches. The small stresses of so many small decisions add up mentally, making the world feel more complicated.

"Of course it was simpler. The more choices you have in any category (food, music, dating, finance), the more exponentially complicated it becomes. Millions of songs to choose from? 300 TV channels plus streaming services? Apps on my "smartphone" letting me see every available woman in a hundred mile radius? There are so many choices it's hard to make one."

media.giphy.com

"This is a great point. I clearly remember a co-worker in the early 1990s expressing frustration in going to Home Depot to buy black spray paint. He complained about too many choices and longed for the old days when life was simpler. This post made me curious, so I did a quick search, and it seems Home Depot currently offers 19 types of black spray paint."

"This is such a good point. Having only 3 cable channels (4 when fox came along!) made it so much easier to decide what to watch on tv. Now we have thousands of options. I actually get stressed when I’m choosing a new show to stream lol."

"It was simpler because we had fewer options to choose from. Did I need a new pair of steel-toe work boots? Only one store in town sold them. They carried two brands. But only one brand had my size in stock. So I "chose" the only pair available. Simple.

Nowadays, with the internet, I'm supposed to choose from 100 possibilities, do the research, read the reviews. On the one hand, it's a hassle. On the other, I'm more likely to end up with boots that better meet my priorities."

On the other hand, many things are far simpler (or easier) than they used to be

There's no denying that technology has simplified a lot of tasks that used to be much more cumbersome. Vacation planning? Submitting applications for jobs or college? Figuring out how to fix something or finding a random part for a broken item? Being able to listen to a specific song or watch a specific movie? All infinitely simpler today than in the past.

"So many things are easier now. Banking for instance. Paying bills. Finding parts for your lawn mower or dishwasher. There is a YouTube video for any repair. Planning a trip. Almost everything is easier now than when I was a kid. Is it simpler then or now? Life is as simple as you make it. If you don't unnecessarily complicate your life, the ease of things today would make for the potential for a very simple life."

"In some ways, it's WAY simpler now. I want to register for some college classes? No lineups in person, no phone registration...just a few clicks on my laptop and I'm in. I never, ever have to fight crowds to do Christmas shopping. I don't have to wait a week to watch the latest episode of Seinfeld (sub in any current TV show). I want my Costo groceries, but my car's in the shop? Boom--delivered. Oh wait, I can just grab an Evo on the street outside my apartment and drive there! I am remembering my favourite album from fifty years ago? Hey Google, play "Madman Across the Water"! I forgot to pay my Hydro bill! Open laptop...three minutes later: done! Car battery dies? Contact BCAA online, they book me a tech to replace it at my home, and send a link for a map showing the tech's progress to my home. I could go on and on because I think about this [stuff] every day and how much I love it!"

via GIPHY

"Say you wanted to go on vacation. You had to write for information on specific places. You’d then write a hotel for reservations. You could call if they had a 800 number. You get all your reservations, and a map. You get travelers checks and cash from the bank— better get there before 5:00.

You’re on your way. Shit, you got a flat, or your car overheated. You need to walk, hitchhike, or knock on a random door for help. Too bad it’s the weekend. You’ll get a new tire on Monday.

Your destination is beautiful. You have three rolls of film— 36 photos. You pay $20 to get them developed and maybe 8 are decent. That thing you really wanted to see, oof, closed for restoration. Wish you knew.

Nothing is that complicated now. I have the knowledge of the world in my hand. I can drive 8 hours at 80mph and my car is fine, and has AC. I can check my bank account and pay bills 24/7. I know where my kids are all the time and can text them to come help."

As some people pointed out, life was simpler but it was also harder. Is that better? Depends on who you ask. A lot of what makes life feel complicated today are the choices we make about how we use technology, but we also rely on technology so figuring out how to simplify that part of our lives now feels…well…complicated.

There's no putting the genie back in the bottle at this point, but forcing ourselves to slow down, unplug and limit our own choices can help us bring back at least a little bit of the simplicity of the past.

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Education

Mom shares how her first grader's homework on the second day of school broke his spirit

"It's breaking their spirit and it robs them of what little fun and family time they have when they come home after a long day of school."

Photo credit: Cassi Nelson/Facebook

How much homework is too much homework?

Debates about homework are nothing new, but the ability of parents to find support for homework woes from thousands of other parents is a fairly recent phenomenon. A mom named Cassi Nelson shared a post about her first grader's homework and it quickly went viral. Nelson shared that her son had come home from his second day of school with four pages of homework, which she showed him tearfully working on at their kitchen counter.

"He already doesn’t get home from school until 4pm," she wrote. "Then he had to sit still for another hour plus to complete more work. I had to clear out the kitchen so he could focus. His little legs kept bouncing up and down, he was bursting with so much energy just wanting to go play. Then he broke my heart when he looked up at me with his big teary doe eyes and asked…. 'Mommy when you were little did you get distracted a lot too?!' Yes sweet baby, mommy sure did too! I don’t know how ppl expect little children to sit at school all day long and then ALSO come home to sit and do MORE work too…."

Nelson tells Upworthy that she was "shocked" that kindergarteners and first graders have homework, much less the amount they were expected to do. "We didn't have homework like this when we were in these younger grades."

Expert opinion and research is somewhat mixed on the homework front, but there isn't any conclusive evidence that homework is universally beneficial for students and too much homework can actually be harmful. As a standard, the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) support a limit on homework of “10 minutes of homework per grade level."

With that as a guide, a first grader shouldn't have more than 10 minutes of homework on any given school day, but it's not unusual for young kids to have two or three times the recommended limit of homework. That can be stressful for both kids and parents, cutting into valuable family time and limiting kids' time to decompress, play and freely engage in imaginative activity.

As Nelson concluded, "It’s breaking their spirit and it robs them of what little fun and family time they have when they come home after a long day of school."

Most parents and even most teachers in the comments agreed with her that four pages of homework is too much for a first grader, especially on only the second day of school:

"Poor little man. Children below a certain grade should not be given homework! Small children have a hard time sitting still for a long period of time yet alone expected to sit and do hours of homework, for what??? They are SMALL CHILDREN! Let them snack, play, laugh and all the other fun things when they get home. You are only a child once, they don't need that taken away from them. Let them embrace their inner creativity, imagination, recipes, etc."

"This breaks my spirit. Our schools are huge scams. You're exactly right Cassi. Homework is ridiculous. Kids til the age of 10 primarily learn through real life situations and play scenarios."

"I hate that for him! My little one has ADHD and doing homework after sitting in class all day is very stressful to him and makes him hate school. They are in school for 7 hours they shouldn’t have homework. That definitely takes away any kind of family time and that’s why kids never spend time with parents anymore because they have all this homework to do after being gone all day.I feel that if it can’t be done in the 7 hours they have the kids then it should wait until the next school day."

"I don’t make them do homework at home when they are that little. It’s not fair!They are at school allllll day! And it’s already sooooo much for their little bodies and brains! I’ve never had a teacher upset about it either.. and even if I did oh well!"

"That breaks my heart. 4 pages is absolutely ridiculous for young kids. My daughter is going into 2nd grade next month, the 2 years in school it was always 1 page of homework sometimes back and front if it was math. And to read."

This article originally appeared in August "I was in this boat with my son…conversation with the principal and teachers helped dramatically!! It’s too much and we have to advocate for them."

Nelson was blown away by the response to her post, which has been shared on Facebook over 89,000 times. "I NEVER thought me sharing my thoughts openly about how my heart hurt watching my little guy struggle would connect to so many others worldwide going through the same thing," she says.

Many parents shared that excessive homework is one of the reasons they decided to homeschool their children, which Nelson took to heart. The week after sharing her viral homework post, she shared that they had had their first day of homeschooling. It was "A HUGE SUCCESS!!!!" she wrote, with her son getting far more work done in a far shorter amount of time, sitting for classes for just 1 hour and 45 minutes total.

Nelson tells Upworthy she was totally intimidated to try homeschooling. "I seriously thought there was no way," she says. "But I knew I had to set my fear aside and just take the leap for my kids. I told myself I'd figure it out one way or another. And here we are three days in and it's been the easiest and best choice I've ever made."

Homeschooling is not going to the right solution for every family, however, so the question of homework remains an important issue for kids, parents, teachers and schools to work out.


This article originally appeared in August

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Education

Why Gen Z's idea of 'financial success' is so vastly different than every other generation

A salary of nearly $600,000? Are they serious?

Photo credit: Canva

Gen Z's financial expectations are miles above the rest of us.

Have you ever thought about what threshold of income or net worth would make you feel successful financially? Not merely getting by or making ends meet, but like you've achieved a level of wealth that feels comfortable and secure? That number depends on a lot of factors, of course, depending on whether you have a family, the cost of living in your area and more. But as a survey of over 2,200 American adults shows, it also depends on your generation.

Averaging the numbers overall, Americans said a salary of $270,214 a year and a net worth north of $5.36 million would spell financial success for them, according to research from Empower. But those numbers are greatly skewed by the lofty ambitions of Gen Z, who say they'd need a whopping $587,797 a year salary to feel successful. Compared to Boomers with $99,874, Gen X with $212,321 and Millennials with $180,865, Gen Z's "financially successful" salary (as well as their response of $9.47 million for net worth) seems extraordinarily out of touch.

media.giphy.com

Keep in mind, these numbers come from Gen Zers who are 18 years and older, so it's not like it's skewed by a bunch of 13-year-olds who have zero concept of money management. But how did young adults end up having such high expectations of what financial success means?

Here are a few possibilities:

Gen Z has been bombarded with aspirational content their whole lives

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube—these social media platforms include countless accounts designed to make us drool over aesthetics. Luxury travel. Beautiful homes. Fashionistas flashing name brand everything. The kind of content that used to be confined to "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (yes, I'm dating myself) has moved into the mainstream and is now portrayed as a normalized ideal.

For older generations, "financially successful" generally meant being able to afford a nice house in a nice neighborhood, two new cars, a vacation every year and a solid retirement plan. It meant being able to send your kids to college and pay for a beautiful wedding without going into debt. It meant not worrying about money, but it didn't mean being able to afford all manner of luxury. Perhaps Gen Z sees success differently due to what they've seen on social media—and due to being the most marketed to generation in the least traditional ways.

via GIPHY

Gen Z is influenced by influencers who've gotten rich young

In past generations, wealth came with age and experience. Sure, there have always been people born into generational wealth, but if we were talking $600,000 a year salaries, we'd be talking CEOs and hedge fund managers and heart surgeons other careers that take some time to build.

But Gen Zers see YouTube creators and Twitch streamers their own age making millions doing things they believe they can do themselves. That's got to skew your perception of what's possible and what's a reasonable amount of money you can expect to make. It's entirely possible that a lot of these young adults simply don't realize what a normal salary is. Considering the fact that their "financially successful" amount is nine times the 2023 national average yearly wage, there does seem to be a disconnect between their perception and reality.

Gen Z grew up hearing repeated messages of financial uncertainty

Gen Zers are familiar with financial crises. They just started coming along when 9/11 happened, and they were still little when the housing market crashed. They've grown up hearing their parents talk about financial upheaval and hearing politicians use the economy as a weaponized talking point. The COVID-19 pandemic threw even more economic uncertainty on an already teetery foundation, right when a lot of Gen Zers were just starting to make their own money. Toss in the bonkers cost of college tuition, unaffordable housing and post-pandemic inflation and it's not hard to see why young adults just starting out might be under the impression that they need a megaton of money to feel financially secure.

media.giphy.com

Oddly enough, they're quite confident that they'll get there

One might assume that these sky high Gen Z dreams of financial success would feel out of reach for these young folks, but according to Empower, 71% of Gen Z respondents said they expected to achieve financial success in their lifetimes—more than any other generation. Is that an admirable sense of optimism or the hubris of youth? Are they setting themselves up for success or disappointment with such expectations? Hard to say.

We live in unprecedented and unpredictable times, so anything is possible. And if you're going to have high expectations, you might as well have the confidence to match them. We olders might roll our eyes at Gen Z's standard being so much higher than our own, but maybe they're onto something. (After all, a good chunk of them seem to be getting by without driver's licenses, so who knows what else they're capable of.) Dreaming big has its merits, so more power to you, Gen Z. Only time will tell if reality has other plans.

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Pop Culture

The Bee Gees’ flawless harmonies left Johnny Carson speechless in this acoustic performance

When family members harmonize, there's nothing quite like it.

via The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson/YouTube

The Bee Gees perform on "The Tonight Show" in 1973.

The Bee Gees were one of the most popular pop groups in the world from the late ‘60s to the late ‘70s. In the early years, they had big hits such as "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," "I Started a Joke," and “To Love Somebody.” In the late ‘70s, they found a new sound, disco music and made massive hits for the dance floor, including “Staying Alive” and “More Than a Woman."

However, between those booming Bee Gee eras, their career seemed to be on the way down. By 1973, their most recent album, “Life in a Tine Can,” and single, “Saw a New Morning,” had flopped, and they began to play smaller clubs. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t win people over with their incredible harmonies. Case in point was their March 23, 1973 performance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Carson introduced the band by touting its history as songwriters. “My next guests have had quite a career. Their compositions have been recorded by people like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Mandy Williams, Glen Campbell, Tom Jones and hundreds of others,” Carson said.

The band opened their set on stage performing “Wouldn't I Be Someone” and “Saw A New Morning” and then sat down for a chat with Carson, discussing why they don't like playing large arenas and how they got started performing together as children. After the break, they returned with an acoustic guitar and performed their first number 1 hit, "Massachusetts," from 1967, with Robin Gibb on lead with his brothers Barry and Maurice chiming in perfect harmony.

If you look closely in the background, Maurice is having fun goofing off when he's not on vocal duties. At the end of the performance, Carson appears to be a bit choked up as he adjusts his tie.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

“Massachusetts” was written about the great migration of young people to San Franciso in 1967, as the hippie movement began to take off in the mid-to-late ‘60s. Interestingly, the Bee Gees had never been to the state.

Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco

Gotta do the things I wanna do

And the lights all went out in Massachusetts

They brought me back to see my way with you



“There are two different memories, Robin remembers us doing it in a boat going around New York City. And I remember us checking in at the St. Regis with Robert, going to the suite, and while the bags were being brought in we were so high on being in New York, that's how 'Massachusetts' began,” Barry recalled the song’s creation in the “Horizontal” liner notes. “I think we were strumming basically the whole thing, and then I think we went on a boat round New York. I don't know if we finished it, but I think that's where the memories collide. Everybody wrote it. All three of us were there when the song was born.”

The song was initially written by the band for The Seekers, but they were unsuccessful in getting it to the band, so they recorded it themselves.

The Bee Gees would have a career turnaround in 1975 when they experimented with a new, more soulful sound with the song “Jive Talkin.” This became a big hit and propelled them into the world of disco, where they would become one of the era's most popular acts.

The Bee Gees' historic career ended when Maurice passed away in 2003 at age 53. Robin followed in 2009 at age 62. Barry, 78, is the final surviving member of the band.

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