+
“A balm for the soul”
  review on Goodreads
GOOD PEOPLE Book
upworthy
Pop Culture

People are sharing the weirdest things we accept as 'normal’ and it has people questioning reality

What will people say about us 50 years from now?

ask reddit, things that won't age well, healthcare
via Pexels

People living to work, not working to live.

If we looked 60 years into the past, there are a lot of things that were accepted as “normal” that today most people find abhorrent. For example, people used to smoke cigarettes everywhere. They’d light up in hospitals, schools and even churches.

People also used to litter like crazy. It’s socially unacceptable now, but if you lived in the ’70s and finished your meal at McDonald’s, you’d chuck your empty styrofoam container (remember those?) and soda cup right out of the window of your car and onto the street.


It’s hard to imagine that just 60 years ago spousal abuse was considered family business and wasn't the concern of law enforcement.

It makes me wonder when people in the future look back on the year 2022, which things will they see as barbaric? Almost certainly, the way we treat the animals we use for food will be seen as cruel. The racial divides in the criminal justice system will be seen as a moral abomination. And I’m sure that people will also look at our continued reliance on fossil fuels as a major mistake.

A Reddit user by the name u/MEMELORD_JESUS asked the AskReddit subforum “What’s the weirdest thing society accepts as normal?” and the responses exposed a lot of today’s practices that are worth questioning.

A lot of the responses revolved around American work ethic and how we are taught to live to work and not to work to live. We seem to always be chasing some magical reward that’s just around the corner instead of enjoying our everyday lives. “I’ll get to that when I retire,” we say and then don’t have the energy or the inclination to do so when the time comes.

There are also a lot of people who think that our healthcare system will be looked at with utter confusion by people in the future.

Here are 17 of the best responses to the question, “What’s the weirdest thing society accepts as normal?”

1. Work-life balance

"Working until you're old, greying, and broken then using whatever time you have left for all the things you wish you could have done when you were younger." — Excited_Avocado_8492

2. Rest in comfort

"That dead people need pillows in caskets." — Qfn4g02016

3. I.R.S. mystery

"Guessing how much you owe the IRS in taxes." — SheWentThruMyPhone

4. You get the leaders you deserve

"Politicians blatantly lying to the people. We accept it so readily, it's as though it's supposed to be that way." — BlackLetyterLies

5. The booze-drugs separation

"Alcohol is so normalized but drugs are not. It's so weird. I say this as an alcohol loving Belgian, beer is half of our culture and I'm proud of it too but like... that's fucking weird man." — onions_cutting_ninja

6. Stage-parent syndrome

"People having kids and trying to live their lives again through them, vicariously, forcing the kids to do things that the parents never got to do, even when the kids show no inclination, and even have an active dislike, for those things." — macaronsforeveryone

7. Priorities

"Living to work vs working to live." — Food-at-last

8. 'The Man' is everywhere

"Being on camera or recorded any time you are in public." — Existing-barely

9. Tragic positivity 

"'Feel-good' news stories about how a kid makes a lemonade stand or something to pay for her mom's cancer treatment because no one can afford healthcare in America." — GotaLuvit35

10. Credit score

"As a non-American, I am amazed at their credit score system. As a third-world citizen, credit cards are usually for rich (and slightly less rich) people who have more disposable money than the rest of us and could pay off their debt.

The way I see people on Reddit talk about it is strange and somewhat scary. Everyone should have a card of his own as soon as he becomes an adult, you should always buy things with it and pay back to actively build your score. You're basically doomed if you don't have a good score, and living your life peacefully without a card is not an option, and lastly, you'll be seen as an idiot if you know nothing about it." — BizarroCullen

11. The retirement trap

"Spending 5/7ths of your life waiting for 2/7ths of it to come. We hate like 70% of our life, how is that considered fine?" — Deltext3rity

12. Yes, yes and yes

"Child beauty pageants." — throwa_way682

13. That's not justice

"The rape of male prisoners. It's almost considered a part of the sentence. People love to joke about it all the time." — visicircle

14. Customers aren't employers

"Tipping culture in the US. Everyone thinks that it's totally OK for employers not to pay the employees, and the customers are expected to pay extra to pay the employees wages. I don't understand it." — Lysdexiic

15. Staring at your phone

"Having smartphones in our faces all day. This shit isn't normal...imma do it anyway...but it is not normal." — Off_Brand_Barbie_OBB

16. Homework on weekends

"Students being assigned homework over weekends and only having a two-day weekend. The whole point of a weekend is to take a break from life, and then you have one day to recover from sleep deprivation then one day to relax which you can’t because of thinking about the next day being Monday. And the two days still having work to do anyways." — MrPers0n3O

17. Kids on social media

"Children/young teens posting on social media sites. I’m not necessarily talking about posting on a private Instagram followed by friends, I’m talking about when kids post on tiktok publicly without parental consent." — thottxy


This article originally appeared on 03.11.22

From Your Site Articles
the future
Joy

Hunger in affluent communities: How a Silicon Valley food bank is fighting food insecurity

We can all help fight hunger nationwide with one simple shift in the way we grocery shop.

Photo credit: Canva

Food insecurity is an issue in communities across the United States.

When people hear “Silicon Valley,” hunger isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, most think “global tech hub” and “wealth.” Named after the silicon used in computer chips, this renowned region is home to nearly 3 million residents and is famous for offering some of the highest salaries in the United States.

Given Silicon Valley’s association with wealth, it’s easy to overlook that not everyone living there is affluent. The high cost of living in the area makes it challenging for those without high-paying jobs to make ends meet. Many residents, including those who work full-time, struggle with basic living expenses.

That’s why Second Harvest of Silicon Valley helps provide food to more than 500,000 people across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent inflation have prevented many families from getting ahead, making the food bank’s role crucial in providing access to nutritious food.

However, the high cost of living in Silicon Valley is also affecting Second Harvest. Despite the evident need in the community, the food bank had to close its largest warehouse in June 2024 due to rising rent costs.

donationsVolunteers help sort food bank donations.Photo credit: Canva

"Every single week, we receive more than 85 tractor-trailer loads of food. All of that food gets handled at our warehouses and goes back into the community," Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Leslie Bacho told NBC. "Unfortunately, this is our largest facility that we are closing, so we're having to just figure out how we can have that work get done other places."

To help maintain the flow of food, the Albertsons Companies Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Program and O Organics gave Second Harvest of Silicon Valley a $200,000 grant. And they weren’t the only organization to receive funding. Thirty nonprofits received a total of $30,000 in grants during the O Organics $30K in 30 days campaign this past summer to help ease food insecurity. Hunger is an ongoing issue that requires continuous funding, and initiatives like these help ensure that food reaches those in need.

How can we all help make sure people get the food they need?

There are so many worthy organizations that need support to fight hunger, and there are numerous ways to help, from making direct donations and organizing food drives to volunteering. Enhancing these efforts, O Organics provides an easy way for everyone to contribute consistently by simply changing how we grocery shop.

Every time you choose an O Organics product, you not only provide nutritious food for your own family but also help someone facing food insecurity. Through the “Fight Hunger. Serve Hope” program, O Organics has contributed nearly $14 million over the past two years to reduce food insecurity, enabling 56M meals and counting to help fight hunger in local communities.

O Organics helps fight food insecurity.images.albertsons-media.com

Doesn’t organic food cost more than non-organic?

People often assume that organic food is more expensive, but that’s not always true. Many organic products cost the same or even lower than their non-organic equivalents, especially when comparing private label brands like O Organics to national products.

O Organics has products in every aisle of the store, making it easier than ever to find organic products that suit your family’s needs. Purchasing O Organics products also helps support organic agriculture. Small changes that benefit both the planet and its people can add up, and simply choosing one product instead of another can make a significant difference.

No matter where people face food insecurity, whether in Silicon Valley or communities across the U.S., we can all find ways to help. Learn more about how O Organics is helping fight hunger here and look for the O Organics brand at your local Albertsons Companies grocery store, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, ACME, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco and Tom Thumb.
Pop Culture

Parents who grew up in the '70s and '80s remember the experiences that blow their kids' minds

Kids were tougher then for a reason.

via Wikimedia Commons

Island School Class, circa 1970s.

Parents, do you think your child would be able to survive if they were transported back to the '70s or '80s? Could they live at a time before the digital revolution put a huge chunk of our lives online?

These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket, but before then, if you were in public and needed to call someone, you used a pay phone. Can you remember the last time you stuck 50 cents into one and grabbed the grubby handset?

According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, roughly 100,000 pay phones remain in the U.S., down from 2 million in 1999.

Do you think a 10-year-old kid would have any idea how to use a payphone in 2022? Would they be able to use a Thomas Guide map to find out how to get somewhere? If they stepped into a time warp and wound up in 1975, could they throw a Led Zeppelin album on the record player at a party?

Another big difference between now and life in the '70s and '80s has been public attitudes toward smoking cigarettes. In 1965, 42.4% of Americans smoked and now, it’s just 12.5%. This sea change in public opinion about smoking means there are fewer places where smoking is deemed acceptable.

But in the early '80s, you could smoke on a bus, on a plane, in a movie theater, in restaurants, in the classroom and even in hospitals. How would a child of today react if their third grade teacher lit up a heater in the middle of math class?

Dan Wuori, senior director of early learning at the Hunt Institute, tweeted that his high school had a smoking area “for the kids.” He then asked his followers to share “something you experienced as a kid that would blow your children’s minds.”


A lot of folks responded with stories of how ubiquitous smoking was when they were in school. While others explained that life was perilous for a kid, whether it was the school playground equipment or questionable car seats.

Here are a few responses that’ll show today’s kids just how crazy life used to be in the '70s and '80s.

First of all, let’s talk about smoking.

Want to call someone? Need to get picked up from baseball practice? You can’t text mom or dad, you’ll have to grab a quarter and use a pay phone.

People had little regard for their kids’ safety or health.

You could buy a soda in school.

Things were a lot different before the internet.

Remember pen pals?

A lot of people bemoan the fact that the children of today aren’t as tough as they were a few decades back. But that’s probably because the parents of today are better attuned to their kids’ needs so they don't have to cheat death to make it through the day.

But just imagine how easy parenting would be if all you had to do was throw your kids a bag of Doritos and a Coke for lunch and you never worried about strapping them into a car seat?


This article originally appeared on 06.08.22

From Your Site Articles
parenting
Motherhood

Mom swears by this buy-nothing trick for 10 minutes of quiet in the mornings

Morning Baskets are a gamechanger for fighting morning chaos.

abigaellanai/TikTok

Working parents, stay-at-home parents, parents of all ilks — we all need a few minutes in the morning to get ourselves together. Unfortunately, young children don't always cooperate with that plan.

My 4-year-old, for example, is a tornado in the morning. She might wake up at 5:30 ready to party or sleep until her alarm goes off. Anything goes. On those early mornings, it can be really tough to roll into the day when we're trying to juggle getting her set up with breakfast before we're even dressed ourselves, let alone caffeinated!

Apparently, we're not the only one who has this problem.

Morning Baskets are the solution to morning chaos currently taking the parenting world by storm.

What is a Morning Basket?

It's a basket full of toys, games, activities, or books that you set out for your kids the night before.

When they wake up the next day, they excitedly look through the basket to see what you've added, and then enjoy playing by themselves for a little bit while you get dressed, drink coffee, make breakfast, or tend to other responsibilities.

(Or just stare into the abyss until your brain wakes up.)

girl in white shirt playing with blue and red car toy Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash

Morning Baskets seem to be an adaptation of a popular idea from the homeschooling world, where the first lessons and readings of the day are placed in a basket the night before. Now the basic concept has been adapted to fit the needs of working parents, work-from-home parents, stay-at-home parents, and everyone inbetween.

Working mom Abigael Lanai recently made a TikTok explaining her approach to Morning Baskets.

Abby says her almost 3-year-old daughter always has free reign over all of her toys, but narrowing down the choices helps focus.

"I feel like first thing in the morning, specifically, she has a little bit of decision fatigue. She doesn't know where to start or really where to go. And having this basket with just a couple of items has really helped kind of focus her and lead her to having some independent play without me having to facilitate it."

Without having to facilitate it being the key phrase here.

"To me, that's the whole point of the morning basket," Abby says. "I need 10 minutes to myself, to drink my coffee while it's hot and let my brain fully wake up."

The baskets may not buy you a ton of time, but sometimes just a few minutes can make a world of difference.

Some parents worry that filling Morning Baskets with a never-ending rotation of new games and toys sounds expensive. Abby says — not so!

"I didn't buy anything new," she says. "I found this basket in my house and everything in it, we already own."

Abby recommends filling with items your kids used to love or have lost interest in, things they haven't played with in a while. Just as long as you keep it fresh so the kids are always curious to see what they'll find inside.

Watch Abby's full video for an amazing breakdown and FAQ on using Morning Baskets.

@abigaellanai

Replying to @nicolebasi.13 i change things out every weekend, would that be helpful to see what i include in tue basket each week? 👀 #momsoftiktok #morningbasket #toddlersoftiktok #toddlermom

People in the comments loved the idea — even if they don't have kids!

Though Abby didn't invent the idea of Morning Baskets, her excellent explainer went viral to the tune of nearly half a million views and counting.

Clearly, parents were resonating with the challenge of hectic mornings, and this unique solution.

child playing with lego blocks Photo by Aedrian Salazar on Unsplash

"Morning baskets have saved my LIFE with my toddler while I feed my twins in the morning," wrote Alyssa M.

"Heavy on the 'drink my coffee while it’s still hot' It’s a struggle over here," said petitecrevette04.

A lot of adults with no kids even chimed in that they wanted someone to set up a morning basket for them. (Honestly, same.)

Crucially, Abby adds that Morning Baskets are not anti-screen time. They're just a judgment-free alternative.

We use screentime in the morning in my house sometimes. But it's sometimes more trouble than it's worth, to be honest. I have to set up the show, skip around to find the right episode, and help change to a new show when my daughter inevitably gets restless.

The beauty of the Morning Box is that it's set up the night before and ready to go to work the second your child opens their eyes in the morning.

Morning routines are hard to get right, and hard to stick to, but that doesn't mean they're not important. Having a rushed, chaotic morning in your household stresses everyone out, including the kids.

Kids with a peaceful and calm morning routine show better attentiveness in school and develop a positive association with going to school each day.

And us parents? We're just barely holding it together a lot of the time. A few minutes to wake up and enjoy our coffee can go a long way to making us feel human in the morning.

From Your Site Articles
parenting
Pets

Research shows why you should always pet your dog before leaving the house

via Pixabay

One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.

That's why whenever I leave the house and can't take Scout with me, I wonder, "Does he miss me? Is he sad that he's alone?"

Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a "plateau of melancholy." That's why the longer you're away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.

The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who's miles away. It's like, "Dude, I'm 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk."

Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they'll have less anxiety while you're away.

They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.

Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog's heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.

In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.

In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn't smell them.

After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs' levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.

The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed " behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner's return."

Next time I'm ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, "Sorry bud, you can't go with me on this trip," I'll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.

Maybe that way he won't howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.

From Your Site Articles
dogs
Music

Two elderly British men have become genuine hip hop stars in their 70s

Their sound isn't just a gimmick.

Photo credit: Canva

Two elderly UK men are taking over hiphop, people love them

When you think of hiphop music a distinct image comes to mind and while there are a few anomalies in the world of rap, it's mostly a genre dominated by Black rappers. Traditionally, many of them grew up in inner cities and used hiphop to not only get out of dire circumstances but as a way to process their feelings around what they were exposed to while growing up.

As things do, rap music evolved becoming popular with a wider audience causing people of different backgrounds to give rapping a try. As rappers age so does their audience, but the artistry continues to extend beyond their target audience. This is exactly how the rap duo Pete & Bas came to be.

While spending time with his granddaughter, Pete would get frustrated when she would change the station in his car to drill music, a subgenre of hiphop that comes from the south side of Chicago. According to Underground Sound, Pete eventually got tired of fighting with his granddaughter about the radio station and began to listen to the music that discussed the dangers of crime. That was it for the grandpa. The music struck him so after introducing it to his friend Bas, the two decided to try the style themselves, with a little help from their grandchildren.


@peteandbas Where should we play a show next? #newmusic #rap ♬ original sound - Peteandbas

America may just be getting introduced to the pair that hail from the UK but they've been around since 2017. In fact, they released their first album "Shut Ya Mouth" the same year and have gone on several tours, though they're both in their 70s. The duo may not be from the south side of Chicago but they are from the south of London so they may know a thing or two about the streets that they rap about.

@peteandbas Gloves are truly off this Friday. Something special coming your way. #newmusic #rap ♬ T Pain - Pete & Bas

Recently the two went viral for their song T-Pain on TikTok. In the video the two are in a recording studio holding their pretty snazzy walking sticks rapping about being so cool that birds whistle when they walk and heads bob when they talk. Their dancing skills are exactly what you'd expect a grandfather's dance skills to be and it's beyond adorable, which kinda softens the aggressive nature of the songs the produce. Some people say the elderly grandpas bring comedy to the rap genre but they're bringing nothing but fire.

So much fire that American rapper, T-Pain decided to collaborate with the two, adding his own verse to the men's single named after the rapper. When Pete received the news that T-Pain sent in his verse, he calls Bas which results in the most subdued excited calls you'll ever see. Something about their thick English accents makes the call feel that much cuter between the rap duo.


@peteandbas T Pain remix featuring @T-Pain is officially out tomorrow at 6pm sharp #rap #newmusic #tpain ♬ original sound - Peteandbas

As for Americans just discovering the UK rapping granddads, they have a lot to say.

"Proud of the senior citizens,showing the young generation that it's never too late to follow your career," one person says.

"Eminem in 30 years," another writes.

"These two granddaddies got flow," someone else chimes in.

"It’s criminal how fire this song is," a commenter shares.

"Why can't I stop watching this they got bars," another person says.


@peteandbas Let’s go people! T Pain remix featuring @T-Pain OUT RIGHT NOW! #rap #newmusic ♬ T Pain Remix (Feat. T-Pain) - Pete & Bas

The compliments seem to be never ending for these two rapping grandpas but if Americans want to see them in concert, they'll have to hop across the pond. They've got their tour dates listed and their audience is full of people young enough to be their grandchildren but they don't care. They're living out their late in life dream proving to everyone it's never too late to dream big and go after it.

From Your Site Articles
pete & bas
Identity

Over 800 LGBTQ troops kicked out under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ get upgraded to honorable discharges

The Pentagon is trying to right the wrongs of the discriminatory policy.

via Ted Eytan/Flickr

Protestors with a Pride flag outside of the White House.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday, October 15, that it has restored the honor of more than 800 LGBTQ veterans discharged from the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. "Under President Biden's leadership, the Department of Defense has taken extraordinary steps to redress the harms done by ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ and other policies on these former Service members," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin announced in a statement.

The Pentagon's discharge status upgrades from dishonorable to honorable are a way to atone for the discriminatory policies it has enacted in the past. However, they also unlock access to veterans benefits for those affected by the policy.

For decades, many who bravely served their country couldn't access military benefits, including health care, college tuition, VA loan programs and some jobs. A defense official said that veterans affected by the upgrade will be sent information on how to get copies of their new, honorable discharge certification.

“We will continue to honor the service and the sacrifice of all our troops—including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of whom they love,” Austin said. The restoration of these veterans' honor comes a year after the Pentagon launched a review of military records of LGBTQ people discharged with a less-than-honorable status.



The “Don't Ask, Don’t Tell Policy” came as a compromise between the Bill Clinton Administration and the Pentagon that began as an attempt to end 8 decades of LGBTQ discrimination in the military. Up to that point, over 100,000 LGBTQ veterans had been kicked out of the armed services due to their sexuality.

The Clinton Administration promised to overturn the discriminatory policies until a Military Working Group determined that homosexuality was “inconsistent” with military service. These findings resulted in a compromise: Gay people could serve in the military as long as their sexuality remained a secret.

The "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy was in place between 1994 and 2011, and during that time, 13,500 military members were forced out of service. The majority were given honorary discharges; however, about 2,000 were separated with less-than-honorary distinctions.

“It’s really hard to truly wrap your head around the fear of living under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ The possibility that if someone found out about you, your entire life in the military could go away – that fear was a constant. That is sometimes lost when we talk about this policy, how it drains on you … you have to act for your personal sanity,” Gina Ortiz Jones, Under Secretary of the Air Force, reflected on the 10th anniversary of its repeal.

“The military is known for its bonds,” Jones continued. “But you can’t have those bonds when you can’t share your life or talk about your family with those you serve alongside. And when you’re in the military, your entire family serves – it’s hard to have seen how that would happen if the policy didn’t change.”

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was repealed on September 20, 2011, and service members discharged for their sexuality were allowed to re-enroll. Future recruits who joined the military were now free to do so without fear of facing discrimination for their sexuality.

From Your Site Articles
lgbtq rights
Trending Stories