Year: 2024

In honor of The Tortured Poets Department being Taylor Swift‘s 11th studio album, here are 11 initial thoughts on the album.

1. In his memoir Chronicles, Bob Dylan writes about how a new way of playing the guitar changed the way he connected to his songs. “I never used this style, didn’t see that there’d be any purpose to it. But now all of a sudden it came back to me, and I realized that this way of playing would revitalize my world,” the passage reads. It was this a-ha moment that led to late-discography masterpieces like Time Out Of Mind and Rough And Rowdy Ways.

Taylor Swift had an a-ha moment of her own during the pandemic. Lover featured some of her best-ever songs (“Cruel Summer,” ‘Cornelia Street”), but she was also reaching the limit of where her, as she put it during an interview with Zane Lowe, “diaristic” approach to songwriting could take her. So, for the first time, she began writing songs that weren’t necessarily based on her own experiences. “My world felt opened up creatively,” Swift said with relief. “There was a point that I got to as a writer who only wrote very diaristic songs that I felt was unsustainable for my future moving forward.” She called the response to folklore, which received some of the best reviews of her career, “a real breakthrough moment of excitement and happiness.”

Swift carried that excitement into evermore, Midnights, and now, The Tortured Poets Department.

2. The Tortured Poets Department is an introspective mix of both of her styles: the confessional, ripped-from-the-diary lyrics of her older albums meets the character studies of folklore and evermore, with the sleek synth-pop production of Midnights. This blending of storytelling approaches allows her to reflect on moments that she’s personally experienced, but with a poetic “based on a true story” creative license instead of straight-up autobiography. Be careful about assuming that every “I” on The Tortured Poets Department is meant to be taken as “I, Taylor Swift” (we probably would have heard if she spent time in the slammer). That being said…

3. Look, there’s going to be a lot of talk about Swift and Matty Healy, and how much of the album seems to be about their rebound fling after she dated Joe Alwyn for years and before Travis Kelce entered the picture. I get it. But it’s the songs, not the exes, that matter. And these are strong songs: “So Long, London” is a chilling addition to the track five canon, “Loml” has a wrenching last-second lyrical twist, the relatable “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” is about appearing positive on the outside when you feel miserable on the inside, and “Guilty As Sin?” is an instant favorite. Healy’s “influence,” so to speak, can mostly be felt in how the album as a whole is presented. The Tortured Poets Department is long, sincere, wordy, genre-less, and extremely personal, sometimes to the point of discomfort (“Down Bad”) — these are all descriptors that also apply to The 1975. For the record, this is a compliment. The Tortured Poets Department is a tremendously heartbreaking and deeply engrossing album.

4. To my ears, there’s no obvious hit, like “Shake It Off” or “Anti-Hero.” The album will inevitably break streaming and sales records, and at least one song will debut and stay at the top of the charts for weeks (I would put money on “But Daddy I Love Him” being all over TikTok by the weekend), but Taylor isn’t chasing radio domination like she did with “Me!” anymore. She doesn’t have to. The industry bends itself to her will.

5. Swift’s reliable collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner are back to provide an ‘80s sheen to her songs, especially in the first half (think: “Mastermind” from Midnights and the 1989 vault tracks, like “Is It Over Now?”). The only guests are Post Malone, whose voice blends nicely with Taylor’s on opener “Fortnite,” and Florence + The Machine, a powerful presence on “Florida!!!” Florence’s voice is one hell of a drug. Patti Smith, along with Charlie Puth and Dylan Thomas (and maybe Lucy Dacus?), also gets a shout out in the title track. If just one teen starts listening to Horses because of The Tortured Poets Department, the album was a success.

6. The Tortured Poets Department doesn’t follow a tidy emotional narrative. This ain’t a fairytale. Taylor is processing a breakup — and/or the end of a situationship — and that comes with a lot of tangled feelings. Feelings are messy! Sometimes it’s mourning (“Loml”) or longing (“Guilty As Sin?”); other times it’s anger (“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”), or, uh, living in Florida (“Florida!!!”). My biggest quibble with the album is how the shiny synth production occasionally overwhelms the rawness of the vivid lyrics, which includes references to alcoholism, drugs, threats of suicide, and more uses of the word “fuck” than all her previous album combined. She’s come a long way from “our song is the slamming screen door” to “I want to kill her.”

7. But The Tortured Poets Department also has moments of genuine humor. The biting “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” is a spiritual follow-up to the satirical self-analysis of “Blank Space,” while “But Daddy I Love Him” has Taylor trolling her audience by announcing she’s pregnant, no, she’s not, but you should see your faces. She’s dealing with genuine concerns (remember the New Jersey wedding?), but with humor. Sometimes you have to laugh instead of cry.

8. It wouldn’t be a Taylor Swift album without Easter egg hunts. I’d like to contribute the following galaxy-brain theory to the discourse: the final song on The Tortured Poets Department (non-bonus tracks) is “Clara Bow.” The final line on the final track: “the future’s bright, dazzling.” This is her way of confirming the rumor that she’s playing Dazzler in Deadpool & Wolverine. It wouldn’t be the first Ryan Reynolds reference on a Taylor Swift album.

9. Taylor Swift will never beat the allegations that she loves to leave her best songs off the standard editions of her albums. Bonus track “The Black Dog” is the “Is It Over Now?” / “You’re Losing Me” / “New Romantics” of The Tortured Poets Department. Forget The 1975: you can hear the Phoebe Bridgers influence with the way this highlight builds to a satisfying cathartic ending.

10. The Eras Tour resumes next month in France. Will the set be refreshed to make room for songs from The Tortured Poets Department? This is pure conjecture on my part, but I don’t think so (it would be a massive undertaking to introduce new choreography, stage design, lighting, pyrotechnics, etc.), except during the surprise songs section. I bet “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” is even more devastating on an acoustic guitar.

11. Taylor Swift has never been more popular — or successful — than she is right now. Maybe no musician has since the peak of Beatlemania. The Eras Tour took over the world in a way that I don’t think she even expected. With that nostalgic momentum, she could have released an album that leaned heavily on familiarity. It might have been good, even great, but Taylor is at her best when she’s challenging herself to subvert expectations. The Tortured Poets Department isn’t the album people thought it would be. It’s rawer. It’s funnier. It’s more poetic and unapologetically dramatic. Most of all, it’s another classic from the preeminent songwriter of her generation.

The Tortured Poets Department is out now via Republic. You can order it here.

As long as humans have endeavored to do anything great, there have been those who have tried to take them down. These are the opposite of the creators in life: the bullies, haters and naysayers who only want to bring people down to their level.

But when you have a dream and desire, its easy to tune out the voices of negativity. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better,” Theodore Roosevelt once said. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”

Some folks use the naysayers as fuel to push them to work even harder. Basketball legend Michael Jordan was infamous for letting his thirst for revenge drive him to even greater heights on the court.

---

Another Michael Jordan, “Black Panther” star, Michael B. Jordan, came face to face with someone who doubted that he could reach his dreams, and he wasn’t shy about letting her know that he remembered. What’s Upworthy about the encounter is that he did so with class and confidence.

In 2023, Jordan was on the red carpet for the premiere of “Creed III,” a film he starred in and directed. He was interviewed by “The Morning Hustle” radio show host Lore’l, who had recently admitted on the “Undressing Room” podcast that she used to make fun of him in school.

“You know what’s so crazy? I went to school with Michael B. Jordan at a point in life,” Lore’l said. “And to be honest with you, we teased him all the damn time because his name was Michael Jordan. Let’s start there, and he was no Michael Jordan.”

“He also would come to school with a headshot,” she added. “We lived in Newark. That’s the hood. We would make fun of him like, ‘What you gonna do with your stupid headshot?’ And now look at him!”

In addition, her co-host, Eva Marcille, referred to Jordan as “corny.”

Jordan had no problem discussing their past on the red carpet. “We go way back, all the way back to Chad Science [Academy] in Newark,” Lore’l told the actor. Oh yeah, I was the corny kid, right?” Jordan responded with a smirk.

“No, you did not hear me say that! I said we used to make fun of the name,” Lore’l said.

“I heard it,” Jordan said. “I heard it. It’s all good. What’s up?” he responded. “But yeah, [you are] obviously killing things out here…you’re not corny anymore,” Lore’l clarified.

After the exchange went viral, Lore’l admitted that she teased Jordan in school, but they were only classmates for one year.

“So the narrative that I bullied him all throughout high school—this was 7th grade. We were like 12 years old, and everyone made fun of each other,” Lore’l said. “That was school, you know. That was one year. And, again, I’ve never bullied him. That just sounds so outrageous to me.”

Jordan later shared some advice on how to deal with bullies.

“Just stay focused, just stay locked in,” he told a reporter from Complex. “You know, just follow your heart, try to block out the noise and distractions as much as possible and run your race. Don’t compare yourself to anybody else. Just keep going.”

There are many Millennial moms that were raised on “Unsolved Mysteries” and “America’s Most Wanted” during formative years, which may or may not have influenced the way they parent. It can be hard to think clearly when Robert Stack’s voice is echoing in your head every time your child is out of eyesight. The jokes about what is responsible for the average Millennial’s parenting style resembling more like a helicopter are endless. But sometimes additional caution is warranted where others may find it unnecessary.

At least that’s what many folks on the internet believe after one mom seemingly split parents into two camps with her revelation about children’s parties. Liv, who goes by the TikTok handle Liv SAHM, takes to social media to explain that her seven-year-old son was invited to a birthday party but when she went to RSVP, she noticed the invitation said, “drop off only.”

The mom explains, “It’s at someone’s house. I don’t know these parents. I don’t know that there’s actually going to be other adults besides this child’s parents.”

---

Liv states that she would not be dropping her young child off alone with strangers. To many parents this seems like a reasonable response. If you don’t know the parents or any other adults then how can you ensure your child will be safe. Other parents felt like Liv was completely overreacting with a helicopter parenting style.

“Little kids have been going to peoples birthday parties without clingy parents for decades,” one person declares.

“I’m a drop off kinda house. I want the parents to leave that is one less person I have to feed. I don’t wanna have to make small talk with other parents,” another says.

“That’s a big no for me too! And I always try to take my kids to classmates parties because people never show up,” someone writes.

“That’s so worrisome. I completely agree with you mama bear, same with my son,” a commenter says.

“Yeah, that would make me uncomfortable too! It’s always a little interesting to me when parents drop off their kids at parties,” someone else adds.

@livsahm

No thank you! I don’t feel comfortable with that. #mom #momsoftiktok #momlife #sahm #sahmlife #birthday #birthdayparty #celebration #controversial #parenting #parentingtips #parents #no

There’s no right or wrong way to throw a party for a kid because there’s no rulebook. Generally parents are accustomed to seeing invitations that say no siblings or the offer of parents staying or leaving. Many commenters pointed out that it seemed odd that the invitation was worded in a way that sounded like parents staying wasn’t an option.

Some parents noted that the world has changed since they were children and wouldn’t feel safe dropping their kids off either. Others found no issue with it and think fellow parents are overreacting. What do you say, odd or perfectly fine?

We are less than a month away from Billie Eilish’s much anticipated third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft. Having announced the album earlier this month, Eilish has fans abuzz regarding the sounds of her upcoming record. And she’s is remaining tight-lipped about the project, as she wants fans to experience Hit Me Hard And Soft in full.

But last weekend at Coachella, Eilish previewed a few songs for fans during a party for Do Labs, including “Lunch” and “L’Amour De Ma Vie.” She also revealed in an interview with Zane Lowe that she had filmed a video for the song “Lunch.”

Today (April 18), Eilish took to social media to reveal the tracklist for Hit Me Hard And Soft — following a momentary accidental posting by Rolling Stone. The album will consist of 10 songs. No features have been listed, however, there will likely be no features, as there have been none on Eilish’s last two projects. Her brother, Finneas, served as the album’s sole producer.

You can see the Hit Me Hard And Soft tracklist below.

1. “Skinny”
2. “Lunch”
3. “Chihiro
4. “Birds Of A Feather”
5. “Wildflower”
6. “The Greatest”
7. “L’Amour De Ma Vie”
8. “The Diner”
9. “Bittersuite”
10. “Blue”

Hit Me Hard And Soft is out 5/17 via Darkroom/Interscope Records. Find more information here.

After a thorough investigation into irregularities involving sports betting, the NBA announced its final conclusion involving Jontay Porter on Wednesday. It was swift and decisive from the league, banning Porter from the NBA for life and laying out significant details as to what led to that conclusion. In the aftermath, the decision and the investigation have been discussed in myriad ways and from every possible angle, though most seem to at least understand why Adam Silver and the NBA dropped the hammer in this instance.

On Thursday, Charles Barkley joined Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio and shed light on what he wished for in the case, including a five-year suspension for Porter.

Barkley did say, “I want to make it clear. I understand why they did it, and rightfully so.” As such, it was not as if he disagreed with the NBA’s conclusion, but his solution would have been kinder for Porter.

It is easy to see why that might be appealing on the surface, especially in a society that often values the concept of second chances. At the same time, a five-year suspension might have been functionally the same for Porter, and the NBA also was heavily incentivized to make it clear that nothing about this was acceptable.

Barkley’s voice does carry a great deal of weight, and these comments will garner attention as a result. At the same time, Porter won’t be getting back into the league, and even a different pathway from Barkley, who famously does not hold back on opinions, began with full understanding of what the league elected to do.

There’s a notion in business that if you aren’t growing, you are dying. It’s a mentality that feels easy to combat, yet everything we experience regarding capitalism, about startups and the stock market, tells us differently, and it infects every aspect of our lives. You’d think culture would be immune, but Americans treat the arts in a similarly toxic manner, building things up only to tear them back down. If something finds too much success (and “too much” is generally the precipice of people outside their target demographic becoming aware of something and feeling the need to weigh in), a camaraderie forms in villainizing it, a common enemy that feels safe to punch up at. Marvel, Taylor Swift, Drake, Shohei Ohtani, Caitlin Clark; the list could go on and on.

Coachella is very much in this boat, with the advanced narrative of Coachella’s regression stemming from lower-than-usual ticket sales, headliners that were less headline-grabbing (all of whom came from marginalized demographics, mind you), and an overall lineup that seemed as far from its initial identity as its ever been. But being out on the polo fields again, it’s clear the rumors of Coachella’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. A larger footprint and a new Quasar stage helped make the crowd feel a bit thinner despite the event selling out, though it wouldn’t be surprising to discover a lower overall attendance. Still, you could pack in a day of non-stop music as well as ever. And if a moment wasn’t stacked with conflicts, you could wander around and discover something unexpected.

And it has to be said, that beyond the printed lineup, we got Vampire Weekend and Kid Cudi added to Weekend 1 and 2, respectively. Plus, surprise appearances from Shakira, Billie Eilish (multiple times), Sky Ferreira, Mac Demarco, Katy Perry, Olivia Rodrigo, Will Smith, Childish Gambino, Metro Boomin, ASAP Rocky, Becky G, Jackson Wang, Kesha, 21 Savage, Justin Bieber, and many more. Plus, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce prowled the audience on Saturday to take in Ice Spice (and more covertly took in Bleachers from side stage). If Coachella wasn’t still the biggest music news-generating event of the year, I’d be shocked. Sure, there are rumors that Weekend 2 will be much more sparsely populated and that this seems like a bit of a regrouping year as the fest looks to continue big splashes. But if this is what an off-year for Coachella looks like, we should all be so lucky.

Below, check out an exclusive gallery of our favorite sets of Coachella Weekend 1.

Tyler The Creator

Le Sserafim

Doja Cat

ATARASHII GAKKO!

Bizarrap and Shakira

Lana Del Rey

Justice

Lil Yachty

Sabrina Carpenter

Peso Pluma

No Doubt

Ice Spice

Lil Uzi Vert

Reneé Rapp

J Balvin

Khruangbin

The Dare

Deftones

Blur

Jon Batiste

Bleachers

Jamie xx / Floating Points / Daphni

Sublime

Faye Webster

Chappell Roan

The Beths

Young Miko

Vampire Weekend

Thuy

RAYE

American Express

Young Fathers

The Last Dinner Party

Militarie Gun

Bebe Rexha

Coachella

One of the most pressing dilemmas for parents these days is how much screen time they should allow their children. Research published by the Mayo Clinic shows that excessive screen time can lead to obesity, disrupted sleep, behavioral issues, poor academic performance, exposure to violence and a significant reduction in playtime.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen time to 1 to 2 hours daily for children over 2. But American children spend far more time in front of screens than that and the situation is only worsening.

Before the pandemic, kids between the ages of 4 and 12 spent an average of 4.4 hours a day looking at screens, but since 2020, the average child’s daily screen time has increased by 1.75 hours.

---

A father in Long Beach, California, is getting some love for his TikTok video sharing what happens when you give your kid books instead of an iPhone. Armando Hart posted a video showing his 10-year-old son, Raya, reading a book in the back of a car and it’s been seen over 8 million times.

“Give them books instead of phones when they are little and this is the result,” the caption reads. “Thank me later.”

We’re so blessed with our son Raya. I think he’s read more books than I have.

@lifeinmotion08

We’re so blessed with our son Raya. I think he’s read more books than I have. #Books #Read #Fyp

Hart and his wife started reading to their son every night before bedtime, hoping to instill a love for books. “It was all about leading by example and creating a nurturing environment where reading was celebrated,” Hart told Newsweek. These days, Raya is an avid reader who enjoys just about anything.

“My son likes novels, fiction, nonfiction, and realistic fiction,” Hart told Upworthy. “He also likes informative content, such as reading the almanac and other informative magazines. He loves to build, cook from recipes, and make art.”

For Hart, reading is all about creating a sense of balance in his son’s life.

“It’s not about being against technology but about fostering a balanced approach that prioritizes meaningful experiences and hands-on learning,” he told Upworthy. “By instilling a love for reading, creativity, and exploration early on, we’re equipping Raya with the skills and mindset he needs to thrive in an ever-changing world.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Armando Hart (@armando_hart)

Hart believes that the screen time discussion isn’t just about technology but a trend that goes deeper. “It speaks to a broader societal problem: our youth’s lack of self-esteem, confidence and fundamental values. While screen time may exacerbate these issues, it is not the sole cause,” he told Upworthy.

“In contrast, physical activity, such as exercise, promotes joy and well-being. Spending hours scrolling on a phone can detract from genuine moments of happiness and fulfillment,” he continued. “Therefore, we must address the deeper underlying issues affecting our youth’s mental and emotional health rather than solely attributing them to screen time.”

Hart believes the key to fostering healthy habits in children is to be wholly present and reject the “pressures of convenience” that encourage parental complacency.

“We prioritize quality time together, whether exploring nature, sharing meals with the best available foods, or engaging in meaningful conversations. In today’s rapidly advancing technological world, staying grounded in our humanity and embodying integrity in everything we do is crucial,” he continued. “This means staying connected to our authentic selves and teaching our son the importance of honesty, kindness, and respect.”

In this super-cool video from Field Day and Cut Video, a young engaged couple is given a rare opportunity to see how they might look 30, 50, and 70 years in the future. With the help of some seriously talented makeup artists, the couple ages before each other’s eyes.

But, it’s the deep emotional impact of imagining a life shared together that is far more striking than their physical transformation.

---

Their love seems to strengthen as they see each other age, and the caring they display for one another is likely to make even the most cynical person a little emotional.

This article originally appeared on 05.15.15

Matt Diaz has worked extremely hard to lose 270 pounds over the past six years.

But his proudest moment came in March 2015 when he decided to film himself with his shirt off to prove an important point about body positivity and self-love.

---

Matt had lap-band surgery in 2009 at age 16.

Through the course of his weight-loss journey, Matt became passionate about promoting body positivity for people of all shapes and sizes.

To stay motivated, he started sharing his journey on social media, posting before-and-after photos, answering questions and giving support to followers, and even sharing his meals and favorite workouts. Six years later, Matt is down over 270 pounds and is a very active voice in the online body-positivity movement.

But in all his years of sharing his story, the one thing he’s never done is showed what his body looks like after 200+ pounds of weight loss. So he uploaded the video above to show his followers his true self.

Shortly after he posted the video online, originally to Tumblr, it quickly went viral and garnered thousands of shares and comments from people around the web. I was one of the thousands touched by the video, so I reached out to Matt to find out more about what motivated him and what he hopes others can take away from his story. Here’s what he had to say:

Why was it so important for you to post this video?

“I’m a really big advocate for self-love and body positivity. I think it’s important that we learn to love the bodies we’re in, even if we don’t necessarily like every little thing about them. However, in the time I’d been writing and talking about it, I’d never actually shown my excess skin to anyone. It felt dishonest somehow, to others and to myself. I couldn’t tell others that I wanted them to love themselves and keep myself hidden away and ashamed of my skin.”

“I know what it feels like to hate your body, and to be depressed about it, and I never want anyone to feel that way again. So, if making myself vulnerable can help one person, why not?”
— Matt Diaz

What’s the response been like? Anything particularly unexpected?

“I think that putting any opinion on the Internet will garner a certain amount of negativity and cynicism, but I haven’t seen anything like that at all. I’ve read every comment and message since the video has gone up, literally thousands, and they’re all so thoughtful.

A really surprising side-effect were the number of transgender people who’ve thanked me saying that they understood my struggle, even though their body-related insecurity grew from different roots. I’d never even begun to [think] of what that must be like, and the fact that my message could help even though my problems began somewhere else is really incredible.”

What advice or words of encouragement do you have for someone who’s struggling to love their body?

“I know it’s difficult, especially when you’re starting out. I want you to remember that you are not the problem, certain aspects of society are the problem. You’ll constantly be told that you’re too heavy or too tall to be attractive, or you’re not masculine or feminine enough, or that your skin isn’t the right tone or your hair isn’t the right color, and these people are always always always wrong.

Luckily, we’re slowly starting to see these ideas get phased out by modernity. Plus-sized, un-retouched models are getting more attention in major brands, more attention is being put on the alternative scene for high fashion, it’s becoming clear that these negative ideas are not going to last, though it’s going to take a while.”

“Understand that to love yourself is to contest the negative things that were put into your head. Every smile, tattoo, bathing suit, and crop top is a small revolution. Tell yourself you’re beautiful every day, and I promise you will be.“
— Matt Diaz

Watch video below:

Matt’s story is a personal one, but it’s one we can all learn from.

I think the most important thing to take away here is that self-love takes time and is different for everyone no matter what they look like. It’s also worth noting that for Matt, losing weight was an important part of his journey, but that might not be the case for everyone. Even so, our society has such incredibly high and unrealistic body standards that even many of those who do work to lose weight end up feeling uncomfortable or being shamed for not having “perfect bodies” once they’ve lost weight.

There’s no such thing as a “perfect body” because everyone is different, which is what makes us beautiful and great! I’m glad there are people like Matt in the world who are not only willing to share their stories but also to inspire others by showing that body confidence comes in all shapes and sizes, and that everyone deserves to feel good about who they are. Here’s hoping Matt’s inspiring words can help others begin to love and accept themselves, no matter where they’re at in their journey.

This story originally appeared on 03.18.15.

In 1997, ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs approached an orange juice company in Costa Rica with an off-the-wall idea.

In exchange for donating a portion of unspoiled, forested land to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste — a nature preserve in the country’s northwest — the park would allow the company to dump its discarded orange peels and pulp, free of charge, in a heavily grazed, largely deforested area nearby.

One year later, one thousand trucks poured into the national park, offloading over 12,000 metric tons of sticky, mealy, orange compost onto the worn-out plot.

---

The site was left untouched and largely unexamined for over a decade. A sign was placed to ensure future researchers could locate and study it.

16 years later, Janzen dispatched graduate student Timothy Treuer to look for the site where the food waste was dumped.

Treuer initially set out to locate the large placard that marked the plot — and failed.

“It’s a huge sign, bright yellow lettering. We should have been able to see it,” Treuer says. After wandering around for half an hour with no luck, he consulted Janzen, who gave him more detailed instructions on how to find the plot.

When he returned a week later and confirmed he was in the right place, Treuer was floored. Compared to the adjacent barren former pastureland, the site of the food waste deposit was “like night and day.”

“It was just hard to believe that the only difference between the two areas was a bunch of orange peels. They look like completely different ecosystems,” he explains.

The area was so thick with vegetation he still could not find the sign.

Treuer and a team of researchers from Princeton University studied the site over the course of the following three years.

The results, published in the journal “Restoration Ecology,” highlight just how completely the discarded fruit parts assisted the area’s turnaround.

The ecologists measured various qualities of the site against an area of former pastureland immediately across the access road used to dump the orange peels two decades prior. Compared to the adjacent plot, which was dominated by a single species of tree, the site of the orange peel deposit featured two dozen species of vegetation, most thriving.

In addition to greater biodiversity, richer soil, and a better-developed canopy, researchers discovered a tayra (a dog-sized weasel) and a giant fig tree three feet in diameter, on the plot.

“You could have had 20 people climbing in that tree at once and it would have supported the weight no problem,” says Jon Choi, co-author of the paper, who conducted much of the soil analysis. “That thing was massive.”

Recent evidence suggests that secondary tropical forests — those that grow after the original inhabitants are torn down — are essential to helping slow climate change.

In a 2016 study published in Nature, researchers found that such forests absorb and store atmospheric carbon at roughly 11 times the rate of old-growth forests.

Treuer believes better management of discarded produce — like orange peels — could be key to helping these forests regrow.

In many parts of the world, rates of deforestation are increasing dramatically, sapping local soil of much-needed nutrients and, with them, the ability of ecosystems to restore themselves.

Meanwhile, much of the world is awash in nutrient-rich food waste. In the United States, up to half of all produce in the United States is discarded. Most currently ends up in landfills.

“We don’t want companies to go out there will-nilly just dumping their waste all over the place, but if it’s scientifically driven and restorationists are involved in addition to companies, this is something I think has really high potential,” Treuer says.

The next step, he believes, is to examine whether other ecosystems — dry forests, cloud forests, tropical savannas — react the same way to similar deposits.

Two years after his initial survey, Treuer returned to once again try to locate the sign marking the site.

Since his first scouting mission in 2013, Treuer had visited the plot more than 15 times. Choi had visited more than 50. Neither had spotted the original sign.

In 2015, when Treuer, with the help of the paper’s senior author, David Wilcove, and Princeton Professor Rob Pringle, finally found it under a thicket of vines, the scope of the area’s transformation became truly clear.

“It’s a big honking sign,” Choi emphasizes.

19 years of waiting with crossed fingers had buried it, thanks to two scientists, a flash of inspiration, and the rind of an unassuming fruit.

This article originally appeared on 08.23.17