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Pop Culture

Adults who lived through the 80s share what pop culture gets wrong about the time period

"Pop culture acts like the '80s were just a sea of nothing but neon for 10 years."

80s, 80s in pop culture, 80s movies, ask reddit, 80s fashion
Representative Image from Canva

Okay, but everyone DID have big hair. Right?

Judging by Gen Z’s Y2K-inspired fashion trends, you’d think the 2000s were nothing but people walking around the mall in pleated miniskirts and bucket hats. We can mostly chalk this up to the depiction of the era in movies like “Clueless” and “13 Going on 30.” Anyone born before the 90s can tell you that life was definitely not like that. But hey, sometimes fantasy is more fun.

Same goes for other time periods as well. For those of us without a degree in history, much of how we picture other eras is influenced by pop culture. Like how we think of Victorian women being obsessed with waist cinching thanks to almost every Hollywood movie showing a woman getting bound by an excruciating tight corset. Yep, that was previously debunked.


And sure, some movies and TV series, like “Mad Men” or “Schindler’s List,” make painstaking efforts to achieve historical accuracy. But often, they are works of fiction, and creative liberties are taken. And those liberties create the world for those who did not live in it.

That can even be said of the 80s, rife with Cold War threats and colorful leggings. Or…was it?

Recently, user Jerswar asked Reddit: "People who were adults in the 1980s: What does pop culture tend to leave out?"

Here are the raddest, gnarliest, most tubular response people gave.

1."The insane amounts of smoking inside. Especially in restaurants."

"When I worked in a restaurant, the smokers (backroom dishwashers/cooks) got more chances to sit around and take breaks to smoke. Then, when I got an office job, people had ashtrays at their desks. Often, the ashtrays were hand-made by a young relative in an elementary school class."

2." Anything we wore that wasn't neon. Pop culture acts like the '80s were just a sea of nothing but neon for 10 years."

via GIPHY

“And as if every girl and woman was dressed up in tulle tutus with off-the-shoulder lace shirts and a giant bow tied atop our heads.Not all of us were lucky enough to have our parents buy us new outfits like that. My wardrobe was full of old hand-me-downs. No neon, lace or tulle in the bunch."

"I graduated high school in 1984, and never dressed like Madonna or wore neon anything. We were poor, so it was crappy jeans that never got soft and T-shirts until I got a job. Even after that, I wore cords and overalls and sweaters from Chess King."

3. "How much decor from the '70s and '60s were still in houses and offices throughout the decade."

"This is something that I thought 'Stranger Things' REALLY got right. All the kids' houses look like they were built and decorated in the 1960s–'70s, which is how it really was. Nobody was living in fancy candy-colored Memphis-style apartments except California yuppies."

4. "I was born in the early '80s. I've been totally blind since birth. In the '80s, accessibility was virtually non-existent.That new Nintendo that the kids had? Good luck. Scholastic Book Club? Not in braille or audio. Everything is in print. Nothing to see here for me or mine. Then computers finally got accessible and Windows came out and they had to start all over again. I wouldn't want to go back to the '80s. I now have my phone that I can use to access the world, read what is on my grocery labels, have pictures described to me, and basically know what's going on in the world. In the '80s, so much went by without any context, and that was in the formative years of my childhood."

nintendo, 80s nintendo, braille

We've come a long way when it comes to accessibility.

Representative Image from Canva

5. "Reading everything — literally everything — I could get my hands on. Cereal boxes, newspapers, magazines. Luckily, my library was a bike ride away but carrying those back on my bike was fun."

"OMG, you are so right. That reminds me of things I hadn't thought about in ages.I used to feel so very bored that I'd read anything that had text on it, from cans of food to cereal boxes to whatever books (however insipid) I could lay my hands on. Even the obituary notices in the newspaper were worth a read. The internet really did away with the boredom, didn't it?!"

Speaking of reading…

6. "Trying to find something to read in the bathroom to pass the time. I remember shampoo bottles and the contents of my wallet were my go-to's when a magazine or book was unavailable." "Yes! Shampoo bottles for desperate moments of boredom."


7. "Might be my own bias but being a kid in the '80s there was a lot of casual bullying and conformism. Not that bullying and conformism ever went away, but the '90s was more about counter-culture a bit."

8. "I was a child in the '80s, but something that I don't think I've ever seen in modern pop culture retellings of '80s life, which I recall witnessing, is this: people think of the weird, wacky, fun colors and hair, etc., of the 1980s — like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George styles. BUT for many people and mainstream communities, that was considered a 'weird' or 'rock and roll character' kind of presentation. People would often openly stare, laugh at, or disparage people who looked openly unique. It took a lot of courage to go out styled like that. It was acceptable to have a more 'subtle' take on the fun color trends."

via GIPHY

"I believe the best real-time representation/evidence of this is in Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time' music video, there’s a scene where she sits down in a diner with her boyfriend and his friends. She pulls off her cap to reveal her new hairstyle - half-shaved and dyed bright colors. Her boyfriend's friends start hysterically laughing, the boyfriend is quietly embarrassed, and she runs out of the diner in tears."

9. "TV was just adult shows for most of the week, especially during summer break. Just soap operas and other boring things." "Staying home sick from school and all there was to watch were game shows and soap operas until the Gilligan's Island reruns came on."

10. "The sheer sense of doom and pervasive low-key terror of nuclear war. The Soviets' nuclear arsenal pointing at us, and their nihilistic posturing in some ways remind me of the climate change dread we now have. Living with an existential threat is not something new."

"This is so completely underestimated or misunderstood. All through high school, I was convinced that the world would just end one day, and I'd have to figure out how to survive in a post-apocalyptic world afterwards. Yeah, we thought that people would survive an all-out nuclear war."

11. "The homophobia."

"It was casual, rampant, and virtually unquestioned. If you were gay or lesbian, and not living in a major city like New York or San Francisco, you were probably in the closet, at least to everyone but some close friends and (maybe) family. If you were trans, forget about it. Enjoy your life of dysphoria and misery. You don't really see that depicted so much in pop culture now."

"AIDS and '80s homophobia went hand in hand, and it's hard to overstate how much AIDS destroyed the gay community and how the dominant culture thought that was a good thing."

12. "Being a latchkey kid it was no frequent communication with your parents. I can't tell you how many times I stayed out all night as an 18-year-old and no one but who I was with knew where I was or what I was doing. My parents didn't know what I was doing all day as a 12–17-year-old, either! You only called your parents at work only if it was an emergency."

"Yes. It's almost like a 'parents didn't care' attitude that would be ascribed to that behavior now (but that wasn't right). Ma needed to work and that she didn't get home until 7 p.m. was just a reality. Oftentimes, she was gone when I got up and we had zero communication until she got home. I was just responsible for the whole shpiel of keeping myself alive."

13.The obsession people/media had about the '50s and '60s.”

via GIPHY

“Part of it was stuff like 'Back to the Future,' '50s-themed diners and baseball jackets being popular, then there was the 20th anniversary of things, like various Beatles albums. I think the boomers at that point were in positions of influence and were looking back on their teens and twenties with rose-tinted glasses, so the rest of us had to suffer these cultural echoes from the generation before."

14."Cruising. Before social media, we would drive up and down the street, see and be seen. Stop at different businesses, the cool kids hung out at the Walgreens parking lot, the jocks at the McDonald's. But it was a small town so we would stop at all of them during the evening. That was our social world along with keggers in the desert all through high school and for folks that stayed in town for years after high school.

"It was like a social network but with your car."

And lastly…

15. "What a mess it was to get cleaned up!”

via GIPHY

“That sparkle-blue eye shadow didn't come off easily and if it got in your eyes it was torture! That red lip gloss ran all over. And shampooing your hair three times to get out all the hairspray and the mousse. I loved the '80s and I had a marvelous time. But it was messy... but way worth it!"


This article originally appeared in April.

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Parenting

Retired elementary school teacher shares biggest parenting mistake she saw during long career

Few people understand kids better than elementary school teachers.

Photo by April Walker on Unsplash
Retired elementary school teacher shares biggest parenting mistake she saw during long career

Few people understand kids better than elementary school teachers. Not only do they spend all day with kids, but teachers get to know their students' parents pretty well, too. From parent-teacher conferences to field trips and snack days, it's a collaborative relationship meant to foster their child's development. (And let's be real: what parent hasn't gotten a call from their child's teacher to discuss their *questionable* behavior in the classroom?)

Teachers are full of wisdom about kids, which is why TikToker @elenanico22 interviewed her mom Lisa, a retired elementary school teacher, in an advice video. She asked her mom to share her insights on the question: "What's one thing you saw people messing up with their kids?"

And her response was simple: "They didn't enjoy them." Elena asks her mom to elaborate, and she goes on to share, "Kids are fun. You’ve got to enjoy them. They wanted them to be something that — most of us aren’t exactly what other people want us to be — so enjoy the kid you have."

@elenanico22

Lisa says it like it is #momlife #momsoftiktok #momwisdom #momtok #momhumor #parenting #parentingwisdom

Of course, Lisa fully accepted her own daughter, and turns to Elena in the video and says, "I enjoyed you."

And the comments were flooded with positive replies from parents to her response. "Kids aren’t a chore, they’re a joy. 🥰," one wrote. Another added, "Parents are stressed, and they don’t realize how quickly childhood goes by."

ParentsKids Love GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy

The post also resonated with other teachers and professionals who work with kids. "This is so true. I work in childcare and lots of parents literally cannot stand their kids. They get so angry when we close. They can’t wait to drop them off and pickup last minute. Breaks my heart," one commented. Another wrote, "Toddler teacher. Same. So heartbreaking. I saw it a lot when I worked with highly educated parents with high incomes." And another teacher chimed in with, "So true. As a elementary teacher sometimes playing Barbie Dreamhouse with my 4 y/o is the last thing I want to do but I always do because I know I'll be wishing for it one day ♥️." And another professional shared, "As a pediatrician, I agree."

The video concluded with another piece of strong advice from Lisa, who also dropped this nugget: "Never send your kid to school with carrots." The reason? She explained a story involving a prominent doctor at her school who was "super strict" with what his kids could and could not eat at school.

Carrotshamster GIFGiphy

"So of course what did the kids want? Everything they couldn't," she said. "You are bound to have kids who are going to have food issues."

And plenty of parents offered their thoughts on this. "Omg I love her! Please post more. As a mom I’m enjoying time with my kids, loving their personalities and so anti food restriction teaching them intuitive eating. Because I wasn’t taught those things," one commented. Another shared, "The food statement is so true. My son shared that a boy from his class (who has food restrictions) steals the other kids snacks at school! 🙈❤️😂"

Business

People say these 20 outdated financial myths could be hurting you in today's economy

"'That commodity prices, like gas and eggs, are controlled by the president.' False."

Photo credit: Canva

Credit is still wildly misunderstood.

The economy has changed a lot since we all took our high school Economics class. And it is certainly miles away from what our parents grew up with. And yet, many still hold on to certain money beliefs that come from these bygone eras. Or frankly, ones that never had a right to exist in the first place.

And honestly, there’s so much conflicting information out there (about all things, really, but we’ll stick to finances for the sake of the conversation) that it’s no wonder that so many people might just stick with what they know, even if certain money truisms aren’t all that true, and even they aren’t actually helping.

Recently, someone flat out asked, “What’s the biggest financial myth people still believe that’s actually hurting them in today’s economy?" Below are some of the most illuminating answers.

Right off the bat, we have some politically fueled myths to debunk:

1. "'That commodity prices, like gas and eggs, are controlled by the president.' False. They're actually priced on a trade market, bought and sold, with production controlled by large corporations."

2. "That immigrants are taking our jobs! Like seriously. If every immigrant, legal or otherwise, disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn't do a single positive thing for me personally, much less the broader economy."

"People are so ignorant about this. The trades would be hurting horribly if this happened,” one person replied.

Next up were long running myths that were also deeply entwined with our collective relationship to hustle culture.

Photo credit: Canva

3. "That hard work will lead to wealth. This simply is not correct for the vast majority of workers (read: anyone not C-level). The truth is that the US is a shareholder economy, not a labor economy. This means that even if someone is getting regular raises, they're likely barely keeping ahead of inflation."

4. "That your employer will be there for you when times are bad. Build and keep a savings. You are a liability to them, not an asset, and will ditch you the moment they can profit from it."

"^This. Always remember this,” someone replied. “You are a cog in the machine and if they can find a cheaper cog, they will. Oh, and HR is not your friend.”

Then there were the strategies many people implement in hopes to save money, which actually end up costing them in the long run, whether that’s with groceries or with housing.

Photo credit: Canva

5. "Dollar stores are generally a worse food value based on size/quantity. Sure, it's $1, but the $2.25 box at the grocery store has 500% more food by weight, therefore, is a much better value. You're paying a little less to get a lot less."

"If anyone didn't know, US grocery stores almost always put a price per unit on the price sticker (i.e., $1.23/lb or $0.0865/oz). You should be looking at these when comparing prices for exactly this reason," one person wrote.

6. "That cheapening out on your laundry doesn't impact your clothes' lifetime. You can vastly improve the life and sustained quality of your clothes by not throwing everything in the wash together. Also, most better quality laundry detergents need less to clean better, so spending a little more on a decent brand will give you better returns. I have also found they wash out better, too."

7. "'Paying rent is like throwing your money away.' The truth is renting is a better financial move than buying in a lot of markets where home prices are too high."

And yet, certain things that could definitely add value…people are afraid of, it seems.

Photo credit: Canva

8. "Not investing back into yourself. Investing doesn't always have to be some major cash return. It could be education, making your life easier so you have more time and energy, or simply relaxing. I know a lot of people who played the frugal game and are just now getting out in their 70s."

To this, someone replied, "I tell people that one of the best investments you can make early on in life is a top-tier mattress and office chair. The amount of money you'll save yourself on future medical bills is one of the best returns on investment you'll make in your life."

9. "'The stock market is just like gambling.' You are never going to accumulate enough money to retire without using the stock market. The market has always gone up in the long term. If it stops going up in the long term, society will be in pretty bad shape, and your money probably wouldn’t be worth anything anyway."

"'Time in the market beats timing the market.' The stock market can be gambling if you're into day trading and trying to achieve short-term gains. But if you're investing long term, then yes, it's a great tool for growing your wealth."

By and large, people seemed to think taxes were an elusive subject to most folks. And probably rightfully so. Along with credit cards, do any of us really ever get a basic education on this unless we actively seek it out?

Photo credit: Canva

10. "Turning down raises because 'it means a giant jump in my taxes.'"

"11. Understanding tax brackets (in the US) in general. Can't tell you how many times I heard mention that their raise/overtime/bonus will just be eaten up by taxes.Fine, I'll take your raise and pay the taxes. No one ever went broke paying taxes."

12. "People do not realize that a tax refund is their money to begin with and that they should have their deductions set up to break even or owe a little. A lot of people still think it's some kind of stimulus."

13. "That tax breaks for the wealthy will allow some of their wealth to 'trickle down' to us poors. Something is trickling down on us, but it's not money."

Speaking of credit cards, that was also a popular topic in the responses.

Photo credit: Canva

14. "Keeping a balance on your credit card DOES NOT improve your credit score. What it does do is get you comfortable having a balance on your credit card, which, when it likely gets out of control, is like napalm pouring down on your future financial hopes and dreams."

15. "Credit cards are great, but under no circumstance should you ever pay a penny of interest on your credit card. You absolutely need to pay off your entire credit card balance at the end of each month. Credit card debt is the last thing you want to have due to the ridiculous interest rates they charge."

16. "Credit cards are bad. If you use them right, you can actually come out ahead. Get a card with good cash-back rewards and use it for everything. I mean everything. If you can pay your rent, bills, and insurance with it, do it. If you can use it for work and they reimburse you, do it. Pay the balance off at the end of every month, and make sure you keep track of your ins and outs. It requires you to be responsible, but it's worth it."

There was also a lot of talk about how our mainstream views on success in general (what it looks like, how to actually achieve it, etc) are inherited myths.

Photo credit: Canva

17. "That you have the smallest of chances of becoming a billionaire. People don't understand the orders of magnitude difference between even a low-level multi-millionaire and a billionaire. At 100 million dollars, you're still 10 times closer to homelessness than you are to becoming a billionaire. Stop trying to get there. Stop voting for people and policies that promise you that opportunity. The only way these people achieve that wealth is through siphoning it away from everyone else."

"My wildly successful uncle came from true poverty and he's worth about $50 million. If you look at what it takes to get even there, it looks BARELY possible at best. He worked his ass off from his early teens, he's incredibly smart, he's incredibly good with money, AND he was lucky, and he's still only 5% of the way to a billion after a lifetime of work,"one person replied.

"18. That you need to spend big to look successful."

19. "That you deserve something you can’t afford because you work hard. Deserves has nothing to do with it."

Lastly, we have the myth of the savings account. More specifically, the myth of how helpful it really is.

20. "Just save money.' No. You need to do more. Most savings are not beating inflation. As a result your money is shrinking by doing that. One of the most insidious ways our money is effectively being stolen is just by having inflation make it worthless by the time you'll go to use it.The easiest thing I am aware of is to put it in an index fund that automatically reinvests. These are automatic funds that follow a set algorithm of stocks (an index) and do not have a human element in the decision making. They regularly outperform professionals. They typically do very well compared to inflation, and require zero maintenance."

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Pop Culture

Middle class families share how much money they have in savings and it's eye-opening

"I transfer money each paycheck but always end up needing to transfer it back."

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics/Pexels

Many middle class families are sharing that they have nothing in savings right now.

According to an April 2024 Gallup poll, 54% of Americans identify as part of the middle class, with 39% identifying as "middle class" and 15% identifying as "upper-middle class." That percentage has held fairly steady for years, but for many, what it feels like to be a middle class American has shifted.

Notably, inflation caused by the pandemic has hit middle class families hard, with incomes not keeping up with cost-of-living increases. Housing costs have skyrocketed in many areas of the country, mortgage interest rates have risen to levels not seen since the pre-Obama era and grocery bills have increased significantly. One government study found that cost of living has increased between around $800 and $1,300 a month depending on the state since 2021, putting a squeeze on everyone, including the middle class.

One woman shared that her family is just getting by and asked other people who identify as middle class to "chime in" with what they have in their savings account.

"I swear, every paycheck I am putting money into my savings, but needing to transfer it back within a few days," shared @abbyy..rosee on TikTok. "My registration is due. My husband's registration is due. He needed two new tires, even though they had a warranty. That's $300. My oldest needs braces, he needs a palate expander, that's $120 a month. Not to mention groceries are $200 more a week. Forget about feeding your family great ingredients because who has $500 a week to spend on perfect ingredients to feed your family?"


@abbyy..rosee

somethings gotta give #savings #middleclass #relatable

She explained that her husband makes enough money that they should be able to live comfortably, and that she quit her job because the cost of daycare was more than she was making.

"At some point, something has to give," she said. "What is going on? How do I save money?"

People in the comments chimed in with their savings account totals and it was quite eye-opening. Many people shared that they have $0 saved.

"We make the most money we ever have and have zero savings. We live paycheck to paycheck and every month I don’t know how we get by."

"I think the middle class is 1 personal disaster away from bankruptcy."

"Y’all got savings accounts?!?! 😂"

"I used to freak out if I had under $10k in savings, now I’m happy when I have over $150. 😫"

"We make almost 100,000 a year with no savings!!!! It's always something!!"

"I'm lucky if we have $500-$1K for an emergency. every single time we start saving something happens. the vet, the cars, the kids... something."

"Savings account? I transfer money each paycheck but always end up needing to transfer it back. My husband makes great money too but we are scraping by."

"$803 but we have to pay a $750 deductible this week b/c my Husband hit a deer soooo… back at it 😭 It’s exhausting. Constantly draining it, refilling it, transferring."

Some people shared that they do have some savings, but several said it was because they'd had an inheritance or other chunk of money come their way. Many people shared that their savings has dwindled as increased costs have taken their toll. Some people gave lifestyle advice to save money, but most agreed that just the basics have gotten so expensive it's harder to make ends meet much less put extra into savings.

Thankfully, the inflation issue appears to be waning, but even just plateauing at their current financial reality isn't ideal for many American families. Middle class is supposed to be a comfortable place to be—not rich, but well enough off to feel secure. That's not how many middle class folks feel, though. Most Americans don't have anything close to the amount of money saved that is recommended across the age spectrum, but at least hearing that others are in the same boat is somewhat comforting.

It can be vulnerable to put your financial reality out there, but it's helpful to hear what other people are doing and dealing with so we all feel less alone when we're struggling. Perhaps if people were more open about money, we'd all be able to help one another find ways to improve our financial situations rather than lamenting our empty savings accounts and wondering how to change it.


This article originally appeared last year.

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Animals & Wildlife

Turns out menopause might be an evolutionary trait to ensure the survival of a species

Only a few mammals live beyond child bearing years and human females are one of them.

Photo credit: Canva

Menopause might be evolutionary for human survival

Menopause can seem like one of those unfair things that only happen to those born with female reproductive systems. It's just one more thing to add to the list of things that those born of the opposite sex don't have to deal with. Menstrual cycles, hormonal and physical changes through pregnancy, the pain and recovery of childbirth, the pause in your career while caring for an infant, only to hit crescendo with menopause.

All those hormones that helped keep you balanced go careening off a cliff in the endocrine system. The whole process can feel unnecessary for those forced to experience it but there may be a reason menopause exists. Scientists have studied the phenomenon of menopause across different species. Turns out not every female animal goes through the process of shutting down reproductive organs.

For most animals, they reproduce until death, only experiencing menopause if there's something medically wrong or they're kept in captivity. Only three species of mammals live for a significant amount of time post reproductive years, orcas, short-finned pilot whales and humans. This revelation is what spurred "the grandmother hypothesis," which hypothesizes that these female mammal species live longer to ensure survival of the species.

blue and white whales Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

Both species of whales as well as humans assist their daughters in caring for their children. This allows the daughter to have more children, furthering the respective species. Yes, even whales help take care of their grandchildren by providing them food, which frees up their mother to reproduce sooner.

The Grandmother Effect, a 2009 study published in the National Library of Medicine shares, "women who remained vigorous beyond their fertile years may have enhanced their reproductive success by providing care for their grandchildren. This care would have enabled their daughters to resume reproduction sooner, endowing them with greater lifetime fertility. Genes of grandmothers possessing such old-age vigor would be more likely to persist in subsequent generations."

Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) | Flickrwww.flickr.com

There were studies done on chimps as well since they're the closest animal to humans and the results were surprising. The majority of chimpanzees reproduce until death but Ngogo chimps seem to go through menopause around the same age as humans, 50. Ngogo chimps live several years after reproducing but unlike humans and whales, they have no interest in helping raise their grandchildren. In fact, the daughters move away from their mothers once they reach maturity.

Though the study spanned from 1995-2016 to collect accurate data through urine analysis of reproductive hormones, scientists point out that menopause may not naturally occur in Ngogo chimps. While the chimps are technically wild, they live in the Kibale National Park in Uganda. They are not hunted by prey, have an unnatural access to quality foods including more meat. Outside of the national park, nearby chimps don't live beyond 50 while the ones within the park live into their 60s.

woman wearing multicolored blanket hugging the baby Photo by Rahul Vaidya on Unsplash

The Ngogo chimps living an unnaturally long life inside the national park may explain why their familial behavior differs from those of humans and the two whale species. One study outside of the Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees attempts to debunk the grandmother hypothesis which shows nearly all mammals living beyond child bearing years but other scientists dispute their findings as all the animals studied were living in captivity, which greatly impacts lifespan.

In the 2018 study published in Ecology and Evolution, their study of 52 mammals holds firm that only three live beyond menopause, with humans spending 40-70% of their lives post menopause. So, though the grandmother hypothesis is still just that as scientists continue to look for further evidence, it may just be true. Humans have evolved to experience menopause to help further the species and since women live longer than men on average, it doesn't seem like a far leap. No pressure or anything, grandmas. No pressure at all. Just the survival of the human race, no biggie.

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Joy

After returning a $40K engagement ring, guy with metal detector finds another diamond at the beach

He did what was right and was rewarded.

via Pixabay

A metal detector hobbyist looking for treasure on the beach.

Joseph Cook is a popular metal detectorist on social media where he shares videos of the many treasures he finds on Florida beaches. What’s even more engaging than his finds is the incredible excitement he brings to the hobby. It’s like watching Steve Irwin, but with a Florida accent.

Not only is his attitude infectious, but he also makes a point of doing good when he finds lost items. He wears a necklace around his neck with multiple rings that he’s found to remind him of his mission to return lost treasures. In 2022, he told People that he dug up "the biggest diamond I ever found” on the beach. "When I first found it I thought it would just be a nickel, but then I dug it up and it was just this big old diamond and platinum ring," he said.

Even though the diamond ring appeared to be valuable, he had no intentions of keeping or selling the sparkler. He got right to work posting about it on social media and contacted 100 jewelry stores in the area asking if anyone came in asking for a lost ring.

He kept the ring in his scooter until he had it appraised by a local jeweler and found it was worth about $40,000. "Honestly, I had no clue it was even worth that much. I literally put it in my scooter; I thought maybe a grand, two grand or something," Cook told Fox News Business. "It was in my scooter for a week until I took it to a jewelry store to get them to look at it."

Two weeks after finding the ring, Cook received some calls from an unknown number and thought it might be the ring’s owner. The calls were from a husband who claimed it was his wife’s lost engagement ring. His jeweler told him that someone had found a similar ring to the one they had lost.

The man sent Cook pictures to prove his claim was legitimate.

"They were pretty happy. The wife was on a FaceTime call, and she just said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it,’ and then she just started crying," Cook toldThe New York Post. Three weeks later, he met up with the couple to return the ring.

Based on a quote from the alleged owner of the ring, it went through a lot before it was found by Cook.

"I am still in shock that my engagement ring spent several months in the ocean, churned up by a hurricane and found by YOU!" the ring's alleged owner, Tiffany Howard, wrote on Instagram. "Even more shocking is your persistence in finding me to return it!"

"I really wasn't disappointed that I had to return it," Cook said. "Karma's always good, every time I return an item, I find something better, so I'm happy I could give it back."

Cook’s good deed was a tremendous act of generosity. He could have easily pocketed the ring, pawned it, and made himself a nice chunk of change. But instead, he decided to use his treasure-hunting talents for good and he did all that he could to track down the ring’s owner. When asked if he received a reward he said, "I got nothing."

However, Cook’s belief in metal detecting karma paid off right after he returned the treasure to its rightful owners when he found another diamond ring on the beach. "Karma is real," he wrote on Instagram.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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