Month: December 2023

The Detroit Lions came into Sunday afternoon with a chance to win their first division title since 1993 (back when they were in the NFC Central) if they could beat the Nick Mullens-led Vikings in Minnesota.

Early on it looked like they might cruise, as Mullens had a dreadful start to the game with a number of turnovers, but he would lead the Vikings back to the lead in the second half with some big time throws and help in the form of incredible catches by Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn. Detroit would reclaim the lead and make it a 6-point game in the fourth quarter, but Mullens had a chance to play the hero on the final drive.

A strip sack almost ended the drive before it ever really got started, but instead of falling on the ball, Lions lineman John Cominsky opted to try and scoop the ball up, only to kick it into Jefferson’s hands to keep Minnesota’s hopes alive. On the very next play, Mullens just threw it up to Jefferson in double coverage on third and a mile, and the All-Pro somehow brought the ball in for a first down.

It really was an unbelievable catch and, when followed by a long pass to Brandon Powell, the Vikings were well into Lions territory with a minute to play.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, the bad version of Mullens reappeared at that point, as he stepped up to try and hit an open Jefferson running across the middle and threw up an absolute duck that got picked off to seal the Lions win and a division crown.

It’s about as bad of a pass as you’ll see from an NFL quarterback not being pressured, as it just fluttered out of his hand, well behind Jefferson and into the waiting arms of the safety. It was Mullens’ fourth pick of the day, as he had 411 yards and two touchdowns, but the turnover problems were just too much to overcome. The win moves Detroit to 11-4 and clinches them a playoff berth, where they’ll look to get their first postseason win since 1991.

The dominating force at the theaters this year was concert movies. Both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s respective documentary pieces cleaned up at the box office. In 2024, musicals are some of the most anticipated works (coughs, Mean Girls). Another feature film theatergoers are excited to see is Wicked, starring Ariana Grande.

Yesterday (December 23), the picture’s co-star, Cynthia Erivo, dropped by The Late Show starring Jimmy Fallon to tease viewers with what’s in store for the two-part adaptation. When the host asked Erivo about working with Grande, she replied, “The connection we’ve made is really special. She’s got a family member [in me] for life now.”

Erivo continued to gush over her soon-to-be onscreen nemesis: “I don’t know that we realized that our voices would fit so well together. Our voices are very, very different, but when we sing together, it just works. [Ariana] calls it worming. I don’t know why. I guess [because] we sort of find each other.”

Despite the strikes that eventually shut down production, Ervio told Fallon that her time on set has been amazing. “I’m so excited. We’ve had a really good time on set, and it just is a wonderful, wonderful vibe. We’re working really hard,” said the entertainer.

Watch the full interview above.

Wicked is slated to hit theaters on November 27, 2024. Find more information here.

Chance The Rapper has been riding on the high of celebrating the tenth anniversary of his groundbreaking mixtape, Acid Rap. However, the “Yah Know” musician isn’t ignoring fans’ requests for new music. Yesterday (December 23), Chance revealed that his long-teased sophomore album, Star Line Gallery, has a tentative release date.

“My album’s coming out next spring,” yelled the entertainer during his Instagram Live broadcast.

When asked by his friend in the room if it was an exclusive announcement, Chance joked that there weren’t many people to share the news with. “It’s cool; there are only 500 people in here. No one logs on when I’m doing good work,” laughed the rapper.

In June, Chance discussed the forthcoming project with Audacy’s Check In podcast host, Julia. “It’s one of my proudest projects in terms of writing and artistic vision. There’s an immense amount of work to be done with it,” said Chance.

He went on to add, “But it’s cool ’cause I feel like with the love and intentionality that goes into making each physical art piece gives me an opportunity to show people in these museum spaces what I’m working on as I go, the highs and the lows, kind of like a preview to the project.”

Chance The Rapper’s debut album, The Big Day, was released in 2019.

In this hilarious and enlightening new animated video from Blue Seat Studios, consensual sex is explained in a way that everyone can understand.

By replacing sex with a cup of tea, this crudely drawn short offers a clear picture of what “saying yes” looks like.

---

The script for this video came from blogger Rockstar Dinosaur Pirate Princess, previously reported here.

You’ll never look at a cup of oolong the same way again.

This article originally appeared on 05.12.15

Adult twins interacting with babies is pretty hilarious.

Thankfully, a dad shot some footage of his young son meeting his twin, and our lives are better because of it.

---

Stephen Ratpojanakul (he’s in the sweater … I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

Stephen Ratpojanakul (he’s in the sweater … I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

And finally, they both took their glasses off. Baby Reed returned to the previous station.

True story: Parenting will crush you if you don’t bring your sense of humor along.

Parents know how mentally and physically exhausting the job can be. It’s also a job where many of us spend an inordinate amount of time second-guessing ourselves for the decisions we make.

The immense power of laughter is a great way to relax, boost our immune systems, and relieve stress. Sometimes, we laugh to keep from crying. And other times, we just laugh because our kids are absolutely hilarious.

Judging by the laughter and giggles, it’s easy to tell that the twins truly love this little boy — and it’s heartwarming to see all three of them enjoying some good times together.

All it takes is a smile for parents to know “you’ve got this.”

The video is going viral — and don’t be surprised if this becomes a twin trend.

With almost 34 twins per 1,000 live births in the U.S. today, there are more genetic lookalikes in the U.S. than ever before. Be warned, tiny babies — somewhere there are some adult twins plotting to have some innocent fun at your expense.

Without further ado, here’s the video.

This article was written by Doyin Richards and originally appeared on 02.10.16.

There’s an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There’s no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

---

A team of researchers at UCI had been experimenting with nanowires for potential use in batteries, but found that over time the thin, fragile wires would break down and crack after too many charging cycles. A charge cycle is when a battery goes from completely full to completely empty and back to full again.

But one day, on a whim, Thai coated a set of gold nanowires in manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel.

“She started to cycle these gel capacitors, and that’s when we got the surprise,” said Reginald Penner, chair of the university’s chemistry department. “She said, ‘this thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going.’ She came back a few days later and said ‘it’s been cycling for 30,000 cycles.’ That kept going on for a month.”

This discovery is mind-blowing because the average laptop battery lasts 300 to 500 charge cycles. The nanobattery developed at UCI made it though 200,000 cycles in three months. That would extend the life of the average laptop battery by about 400 years. The rest of the device would have probably gone kaput decades before the battery, but the implications for a battery that that lasts hundreds of years are pretty startling.

“The big picture is that there may be a very simple way to stabilize nanowires of the type that we studied,” Penner said. “If this turns out to be generally true, it would be a great advance for the community.” Not bad for just fooling around in the laboratory.

This article originally appeared 12.22.22

Everyone’s childhood is different. But there are common objects, sights, sounds, smells, and memories from elementary school that most Gen Xers and Millenials share.

Personally, when i think back to being in elementary school in the ’80s, I remember the taste of the chocolate ship cookie we got on Fridays (with the pizza). The humiliation of getting nailed in the back during nation ball. And the grumbling, grinding sound that happened when you slipped a disk into the drive on an Apple IIe computer.

---

Nowadays, in a world where most kids would have no idea how to even turn on an Apple IIe or have never felt the sting of a rubber nation ball hitting them square between the shoulders, I get a bittersweet feeling when I think back to my elementary school days.

Mel Madara stirred the nostalgia pot on Twitter this week when she posted a series of photos of things she remembers from elementary school that anyone from 50 to 25 probably recollect, too.

via Daniel Bagel / Flickr

She started up with a series of objects and experiences you may have forgotten that were a daily part of elementary school life.

She inspired countless followers to share the things they remember from elementary school in the ’80s and ’90s.

Heads-up 7-up!

Can you remember the anxiety as someone walked slowly though the room and you hoped and prayed they touched your thumb?

That clock you can wind up from behind.

Do you remember dying on Oregon trail repeatedly?

Four square!

Was that a state-mandated fitness exam or a test for scoliosis?

M.A.S.H.! Did you wind up in a mansion, apartment, shack or a house? What kind of job did you get? Who did you marry? What kind of car do you drive?

Before Michelle Obama it was acceptable to feed a kid a taquito filled with pizza.

Tether ball was fun until one of those rock hard balls hit you in the face.

The stool that helped you grab that Judy Blume book just out of reach. It aw also a rgeat place to sit and read if the tables were filled up or you just wanted some privacy.

Is the VCR bolted down? Check! TV strapped in? Check. It’s time for a rainy day movie.

… or if you’re older, you got “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” or some other Disney nature film on 16mm film in the school cafeteria.

My skin is peeling off!

This brutal contraption isn’t a Medieval torture device but a way to sarpen your pencil.

Finally, if more of us listened to this guy, the country would be in a much better place.

If you grew up in the ’90s then you were part of the last generation of kids who lived without being constantly connected to the internet. You lived during that last gasp of the analog era where most of your entertainment came on tape and if you wanted a new pair of Guess jeans or LA Gear shoes, you had to drive to the mall.

Also, if you wore parachute pant, aka “Hammer Pants,” people actually thought you were cool.

---

Families mattered on Friday nights.

People listened to rock ‘n’ roll because it was important.

Hip-hop was at its peak.

People spent time talking to each other instead of staring at their phones.

It was a time of hope and optimism.

Some folks over at Reddit have been sharing funny memes that explain exactly what life was like in the ’90s. From the terrible pastel-colored designs that were everywhere to the charming, but antiquated, technology kids today will never understand.

Here are 19 of the best memes from r/90s/.

1. 1992 was 30 years ago

Sorry, if that made you feel old.

2. “Go! Go!” (Fill in the blank)

This person is living the Gen X dream.

3. Oh snap!

There was no greater diss in 1991.

4. Make a run for the border

Does this picture make you instinctively think “You quiero Taco Bell”?

5. In the ’90s, every night was a Blockbuster night

It’s like looking back in time.

6. We’ll always have Chuck E. Cheese’s

Our immune systems were forged through miles of sweaty PVC.

7. Don’t touch the ‘purple stuff’ 

Ingredients: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup and 2% or Less of: Concentrated Orange Juice, Concentrated Tangerine Juice, Concentrated Apple Juice, Concentrated Lime Juice, Concentrated Grapefruit Juice, Concentrated Pear Juice, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Natural Flavor, Modified Cornstarch, Canola Oil, Sodium Citrate, Cellulose Gum, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Neotame, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Potassium Sorbate to Protect Flavor, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.

8. These actually existed

How in the world did they cram 25 different colored pens into one super writing utensil?

9. Nu metal didn’t last long

A.D.I.D.A.S.

10. People aged quickly in the ’90s

This is what happens when you have children.

11. This weighed 25 pounds and went everywhere you went 

I can still hear the sound of the rumpling plastic as I flip through the pages.

12. They got ‘Jerry Maguire’? 

Of course they have “Jerry Maguire.” In fact, they have 500 copies of “Jerry Maguire.”

13. The hippest computer lab ever

After the iMac dropped, only vertified dorks used an IBM.

14. Just looking at this hurts

This may have hurt your fingers, but was probably safer than licking the battery to see if it still had “juice.”

15. It’s like they didn’t want you to play solitaire

Solitaire wasted more people’s time in 1998 than Instagram does in 2022.

16. In 1993 this could cure anything

Stomach ache? Flu? Munchausen’s syndrome? This unique combination would have you back on your feet in no time.

17. Synergy

To quote a popular philosopher from the ’90s, they went together like “peas and carrots.”

18. This cup went perfect with pizza

If the joint had all-you-can-drink refills, you drank ’em out of this cup. It held tokens, too.

19. The only pattern that mattered in the ’90s

Throw on those shorts, then hop in your Miata and get yourself some action!

This article originally appeared on 01.06.22

“Love” is one of the most powerful words in the English language, yet it’s also one of the most broadly defined. We use the word “love” for so many things that are neither the same nor equal—our families, our friends, our romantic partners, our hobbies—even our favorite foods.

When we think of a “love story,” we almost exclusively imagine a tale of romance, but that’s not the only kind of love story there is. Sometimes the strongest, most meaningful loves of our lives aren’t romantic at all.

David Shane creates videos in which he approaches couples in public and asks them to share three things they love about each other, resulting in some major #couplegoals moments. But one “couple” he approached had a surprising answer to that question, one that moved both them and the people watching the video afterward to tears.

---

Blane approached a man and woman sitting on a bench at a mall and asked his signature question—”Excuse me, could you give me three things you love about each other?” The woman responded, “Well, this is my brother,” and proceeded to share that she loved that they were related and that they care about each other—typical family stuff. But as she started elaborating, the beautiful bond they share became more and more apparent.

This is one you just have to watch:

See on Instagram

People were understandably moved seeing this brother and sister express their love for one another through serious life challenges.

“This is what love looks like. 🥹 What a truly beautiful sibling relationship, 😭🫶🏽” wrote one commenter.

“I gotta stop watching these right after I do my makeup,” wrote another.

“Gosh, I love questions like this that remind us to SEE two people sitting in a mall as the true, precious humans they are,” shared another. “We walk past people every day, all day long and never get to know their story. There must be so many stories we miss. This is the beauty of social media. I wish both of these sweet souls the very best. So glad they have each other.”

Many of us have people with whom we share a deep connection but may not always share our feelings freely. This video is a good reminder to let our loved ones know what they mean to us and to treasure all the love stories in our lives, whether romantic, platonic or familial.

This article originally appeared on 9.29.23

At Upworthy, we’ve shared a lot of memorable “America’s Got Talent” auditions, from physics-defying dance performances to jaw-dropping magic acts to heart-wrenching singer-songwriter stories. Now we’re adding Angelina Jordan’s “AGT: The Champions” audition to the list because wow.

Jordan came to “AGT: The Champions” in 2020 as the winner of Norway’s Got Talent, which she won in 2014 at the mere age of 7 with her impressive ability to seemingly channel Billie Holiday. For the 2020 audition, she sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but a version that no one had ever heard before.

With just her Amy Winehouse-ish voice, a guitar and a piano, Jordan brought the fan-favorite Queen anthem down to a smooth, melancholy ballad that’s simply riveting to listen to.

---

Especially considering that Jordan was only 13 years old when she did this.

Watch:

What this video doesn’t show is Heidi Klum hitting the Golden Buzzer faster than you can say, “Nothing really matters to me.” The judges were blown away by Jordan’s performance, as were the people in the comments.

“That’s a ONE in A BILLION voice right there. Just amazing,” wrote one commenter.

“I am typically not a fan of songs being redone particular to such a magnitude,” shared another. “They almost always fall short of the original. But to completely rearrange a song in the manner that she has, from a legend, and then make you forget about how the original even sounded because her rendition is so good is utterly amazing.”

“As Freddie once said, ‘Do whatever you want with my music as long as you don’t make it boring.’ I think he’d really like this,” shared another.

Though Queen’s lead vocalist Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, the band did offer words of praise for Jordan’s performance, retweeting her audition video with the comment, “Wow! What a rendition of #BohemianRhapsody.”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is such an iconic song, it’s hard for anyone to do a cover of it justice. But 13-year-old Angelina Jordan managed it masterfully.

Jordan would move on to the Top 10 in “AGT: The Champions,” and though she didn’t take home the top prize, she did impress the audience with another classic rock tune, Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” You can enjoy that performance below, and you can follow Angelina Jordan—who is now 17 and still singing her heart out—on YouTube and TikTok.

Become Angelina’s patron at Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/angelinajordanThis performance on Angelina Jordan’s TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@angelinajor…

This article originally appeared on 9.30.23