Every Gen Xer remembers a small moment in time when swing music was extremely popular in the late '90s. Swing went from nonexistent to an alt-rock radio mainstay from 1996 to 1998 and then, it was gone in a flash.During that time, young people rushed to their nearest dance studios to learn the Lindy Hop and bought up old-school, retro suits and fedoras. Swing clubs started popping up all over the country, and MTV played swing-inspired videos such as "Hell" by Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Jump Jive and Wail" by Brian Setzer Orchestra, and "You and Me (and the Bottle Makes Three)" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.Film editor Simone Smith asked Gen X to explain what the hell was going on in the late '90s that led to swing music making a huge comeback.Can a Gen X please explain why y’all got really into swing music for like 2 years in the 90’s?— Simone Smith, CCE (@simonesmithedit) November 13, 2021 It's always hard to figure out how specific trends crop up, but according to Kenneth Partridge from Billboard, it began with the formation of Royal Crown Revue in 1989 by two members of the seminal L.A. punk band Youth Brigade. Royal Crown Revue's old-school '40s tough-guy aesthetic was something punks could relate to while also bringing back the danceable '40s sound.The band had a Wednesday night residency at L.A.'s The Derby before turning it over to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who were featured in Jon Favreau's 1996 surprise hit "Swingers.""Swingers" was probably the most important moment in the swing revival. The film centered around friends who roam L.A. like a modern-day Rat Pack to a soundtrack featuring Dean Martin, Count Basie, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.Why did people get into swing music in the '90s? - YouTube www.youtube.com Others attribute swing's rise in popularity to "A League of Their Own" (1992), "Swing Kids" (1993), and "The Mask" (1994).In 1998, The Gap brought swing to the mainstream with its "Khakis Swing" commercial, featuring good-looking young people Lindy-hopping to the sounds of Louis Prima. - YouTube www.youtube.com On a psychological level, the swing craze seemed to be a pivot from the dreariness of grunge rock that began to fade from the public consciousness by around 1996. Some also think that the upbeat, fun music was a response to the return to the prosperity of Clinton-era America.At the same time, rave culture, which was also centered around dancing and had an upbeat aesthetic, was becoming popular as well. Some Gen Xers did their best to explain the phenomenon that felt like it came out of nowhere.Once the Seattle grunge scene was over, we got into anything that wasn't "mainstream" for 15 minutes. Swing, sure. Celtic, give it a listen. Latin, por que no? Mambo, dig it. Scat, sure, why not. The late 90's were a directionless musical genre blender, and it was glorious— Bill Cassidy (@offstageleft) November 14, 2021 "Because it's 150% awesome and Gen Xers have better taste in music/ dance/ culture than any other generation and we dgaf what anybody thinks of us," wrote one commenter.We were basically a generation that was raised by wolves. So, when we hit young adulthood, we looked WAY past the Boomers for models of correct adult behavior: swing dancing, cocktails, more formal clothes, etc. All processed through a punk rock lens.— DHacker615 ?? (@dhacker615) November 14, 2021 "Two more things: 1. The 90s had a broader affection for 40s/late 30s fashion, kind of like the 80s had for the 50s, and 2. The boomers would never shut up about how the 60s were the one true youth culture, which made it extra appealing to embrace their parents’ music over theirs," wrote another.Swing music? it could have been worse. — (@) Why did people listen to chant music in the '90s?Smith may be confused by the big swing craze in the '90s, but she should also know that it wasn't the only strange musical comeback of the era. What in the world was the whole Gregorian chant craze about?That's not even the strangest musical revival craze of the 90's. pic.twitter.com/URrQVU8f0B— ASKEsq (@ASK_Esq29) November 14, 2021 Yes, for those of you who weren't born by 1994, the two-disc album "Chant" by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos sold over three million copies in the United States and reached number three on the Billboard pop charts. The relaxing album recorded in a monastery had a little something for everyone. Stressed people could bump it in their cars on the way home from work, ravers could listen to it to come down after a night at the club, and hippies could meditate to its contemplative vibes. To put a button on it: if you love "all kinds" of music, the '90s were for you, especially if you liked old school music. The '90s were so obsessed with being old-school that people bumped 11th-century chant music.This article originally appeared four years ago.

In 2021, multiple tragic news stories of people being stranded in the wilderness elicited a wave of viral posts sharing some wise-sounding advice for if you're ever stuck somewhere without cell service and a low battery.The general suggestion was to update your outgoing voicemail message to include your location. One version that went viral reads:"If ever lost while hiking, stranded with a broken-down vehicle or other emergency situation, if your cell phone battery is low here is a tip that can very well save your life. Change your outgoing voicemail on your phone to a message that gives your approximate location, the time, the date, your situation; lost, out of gas, car broken down, injured, etc... plus any special instructions such as; 'You are staying with the car', 'You are walking towards a town' If your cell phone dies, stops working or loses signal your voicemail will still be working. Anyone calling your phone will hear your emergency instructions. They will know you need help and know where to find you or where to send help."The problem is, the advice isn't wise after all. Yes, it sounds smart, but a Colorado rescue team explained why it's not.The Alpine Rescue Team posted its response to the then-viral post on Facebook, writing:"1. Without a signal (connection to the cell system) YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR VOICEMAIL. The voicemail system resides with your cell provider. To change your outgoing message, you have to CALL into your voicemail and then navigate the menus, record a new greeting, confirm the new greeting, etc. YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH NO SIGNAL.2. If your battery is low do not waste its power by calling your voice mail—or a friend or relative. Call 9-1-1 for help.3. If you have no signal, text for help to 9-1-1. Many, if not most, 9-1-1 centers can receive a text.4. Text takes much less power, is far more likely to get through, will automatically retry many times if you have spotty service, leaves record others can see and can give you an indication that it got thru. BTW, because of the automatic retries, you can compose and hit send on a text and then get your phone as high as possible to improve the chances of getting the message out.5. Stay put. Okay, if you're lost or broken down and you've called for help (assuming you have signal and battery) please stay in one location—UNLESS YOU MUST MOVE FOR SAFETY REASONS. Changing your location makes our job more difficult. Trying to reach someone whose GPS location we have (within a circle, of course) is faster for us than trying to nail down a moving target. STAY PUT.6. Maximize battery life. In order to make the battery last longer, turn off everything you do not need. Close all apps. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth. Don't use your cell phone as a GPS/map device and especially do not use the compass if your phone has one -- the compass feature in some phones is a serious battery drain. Pull out your map and compass and/or use a dedicated GPS unit. You may be instructed, by text, to turn your phone off and text back at a specific time. Also, keep your phone just a little warm with some body heat or a handwarmer." - YouTube youtu.be Many people probably think of their voicemail greeting as a recording saved on their phone, but it's not. A fact-check by USA Today, which consulted the top three carriers (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile), confirmed that cell service or a data connection is needed to change an outgoing voicemail message. You can do it over Wi-Fii, but that's not helpful if you're stranded on a mountain somewhere. You could change your voicemail greeting before you leave, letting people know where you're going to be adventuring if you feel comfortable with that, but once you're stuck without cell service, there's no changing it.This is a friendly remind that it's always wise to look for what the actual experts say before passing along a social media post, even if the advice it contains sounds smart initially. nbc GIF Giphy This article originally appeared four years ago.

It may seem obvious, but takes a heck of a lot more than most of us think to keep a household moving. Dishes, laundry, groceries, general cleaning and tidying, outdoor maintenance, scheduling, doctor's appointments, and on and on and on. In most American households, mom handles most of it; the majority of the physical labor and almost all of the invisible, mental work.If it sounds like a lot, that's because it is. Though men and fathers are sharing the load more than ever, the division of labor remains pretty bad on average. And it's not just stay-at-home moms that are managing everything; it's working women, too! It's too much for any one person to handle.Practically every mom I know occasionally daydreams about quitting-doing-all-the-things. Sometimes the impulse is born of exhaustion. Sometimes it's the relentless daily tedium of cleaning, cooking, reminding, over and over and over without end. And sometimes it's the desire for someone else to notice that these things actually need to be done and someone has to actually do it.Even moms who share chores with spouses and kids often find themselves carrying the mental load of figuring out what needs to be done, monitoring whether it's getting done, and organizing who's doing what, and reminding/nagging/harassing her family members until it gets done. Sometimes moms just want to let all of that go and see what happens. - YouTube www.youtube.com One mom, who goes by Miss Potkin on Twitter/X, recently decided she had enough. She decided, just like that, that she was going to quit without saying a word.Channeling the fed-upness of mothers everywhere, she just up and stopped doing household chores to see what would happen. Two days later, she began sharing the saga in a Twitter thread that's as entertaining as it is satisfying."Who will blink first?" she wrote alongside a picture of a mountain of dirty dishes. The dirty dishes piled up extremely quickly. Photo by Martin de Arriba on Unsplash Needless to say, without Lily managing things, the state of the home unraveled extremely quickly.Letting go and letting your family sit in their own filth until they can't take it anymore takes patience and discipline. There's a reason moms generally do-all-the-things regardless of how cooperative the family is. We don't want to live in a mess any more than anyone else does. But Lily Potkin stuck to her guns.For a minute, things were looking promising with the garbage being taken out. However, the dishes still remained mysteriously undone. As did the laundry. Potkin provided up-to-the-minute updates as the state of the house went into a rapid decline.It only got worse from there. Honestly, reading through the thread is like watching the beginning of a zombie flick where the "normal world" because an apocalyptic wasteland in a matter of minutes."There is a pan on the cooker with a single sausage in it," she wrote in one update. "It's been there for two days. I can't look at it because it's turned the colour of the man that washes up in Cast Away." Dirty pans remained on the stove for untold amounts of time. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash Later, she did reveal said sausage for the camera (from a distance). It was horrifying, to say the least.Oh, and at this point, the downstairs bathroom was out of toilet paper. A harrowing prospect for all members of the house.Those who might feel judgy at this point likely live with people who are naturally neat, or just can't fathom themselves how someone could let a sausage sit for two days.But take it from a mom who let go of policing her kids' bedrooms to see how long it would take them to decide to clean on their own—some human beings are willing to overlook all manner of mess and filth before it becomes too much.And sometimes they have to learn firsthand the amount of extra work such obliviousness leads to. All the bathrooms ran out of toilet paper. Photo by Jas Min on Unsplash In one update from Potkin, she shows her partner trying to clean old hardened cereal off a bowl. It's quite a struggle. Imagine how much easier it would have been to clean it right away!Hilariously, even though the dishwasher finally did get loaded, that's basically all that happened. Potkin shared a video tour of the kitchen with the extraneous things that didn't get done or got half-done. Just when she thought things were getting better, she wrote, "Spoke too soon. [Partner] has resorted to making tea with the baby’s weaning spoon and it using the emergency cup."She shared that she went to take a hot shower for her own sanity, only to find that all the shampoo, body wash, and conditioner was empty. Why? Because she hadn't re-filled them and no one else had stepped up.It speaks to the invisible load, the mental labor. Other members of the household may be willing to lend a hand here and there, but only when they're told exactly what to do. Even just the constant To-Do Listing is exhausting for moms.Of course, the negative Nancies showed up to voice their judgmental opinions about her experiment, her home, her family, her choice of husband, and everything else because moms literally can't catch a break.It's a silly, fun exercise to make a point that millions of moms can relate to. If it doesn't apply to you, move along, Nance.Potkin took it all in stride. Though she was out to prove a point, the goal was not to vilify her husband and the rest of her family, but rather to shed light on the unfair cultural expectations and systems that lead to this inequality."We do not 'live like this,'" she wrote. "This is a lesson in wanting to be heard and respected and not having to repeat yourself when things slip. We're navigating the day-to-day in extraordinary times and for me, the past two days have been funnier than anything else. I think we're all entitled to run our own experiments, be amused, push a situation to its limit if we so choose. No one needs to be lectured by those that have failed to see the silly joy in what's happening here."And the experiment slowly started paying off as someone miraculously replaced the toilet paper.But the dishwasher, though loaded, remains firmly in the Off position. For reasons that are beyond comprehension. The dishwasher was loaded! But never started. Photo by Cemrecan Yurtman on Unsplash "We keep our homes tidy because love," Miss Potkin wrote. "We cook food and set tables and fill the air with scents of roses and fresh laundry because love. Love is patient but love is also fucking tired because she works 14 hour days.""I know we are ALL tired," she added, "but I am most tired. Me. I AM ALL THE TIRED."All the moms are all the tired.Miraculously, it only took three days of being completely hands-off for her family to take note and clean the house.Lesson learned. Mission accomplished. Let's hope it sticks.Potkin's thread was reposted over 42,000 times, which means the experiment got in front of a lot of eyeballs. Doubtless that some of them must have belonged to partners who are guilty of not quite pulling their fair share. Maybe the eye-opening and entertaining thread was enough to make a difference in households beyond just Potkin's.It truly deserves to be read in its entirety, from the very beginning: — (@) Moms are not always the ones who pick up most of the slack in a household, but they usually are.Estimates say that, on average, women spend about twice as many hours per week on chores around the house. That's probably being generous to the average man. But even still, the inequity is clear as day. Moms are doing far too much work. That work hinders their sleep, raises the stress levels, and impacts their ability to earn and advance in their careers.And when that work is taken for granted, it especially sucks.When everyone in the house pays more attention and takes the initiative to tidy, neaten, clean, replace, launder, put away, etc., moms are less stressed and tired and everyone benefits. If it take up and quitting for a while to help the family see it, so be it.This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

Menstrual taboos are as old as time and found across cultures. They've been used to separate women from men physically—menstrual huts are still a thing—and socially, by creating the perception that a natural bodily function is a sign of weakness. Even in today's world, women are deemed unfit for positions of power because some men actually believe they won't be able to handle stressful situations while menstruating."Menstruation is an opening for attack: a mark of shame, a sign of weakness, an argument to keep women out of positions of power,' Colin Schultz wrote in Popular Science in 2014. The big problem with menstrual taboos is the way that males are (or are not) educated on the subject leaves them with a patchwork of ideas that don't necessarily add up to the whole picture. First, there's the information they get from growing up with women in the house.Then, there are the cryptic descriptions of menstruation seen in advertising and the cold, scientific way the topic is taught in sex education."Boys' early learning about menstruation is haphazard," a 2011 study published in the Journal of Family Issues reads. "The mysterious nature of what happens to girls contributes to a gap in boys' knowledge about female bodies and to some negative views about girls." Over a decade on from the study, and not much has changed. Men are still woefully undereducated on women's health and periods specifically, and though there's acknowledgment that they deserve more information and education, little progress has been made. In fact, boys' and men's misunderstanding or total lack of understanding surrounding menstruation is often played for laughs.Unfortunately, the gaps in the average man's understanding of a complex female health issue can put women in a difficult position, whether it's denying them positions of power or a failure to understand their discomfort and their medical, physical, and emotional needs.That's why it's so important for men to become better educated about menstruation.Back in 2022, a group of women on TikTok decided to help the men in their lives better understand the subject by showing them how tampons work on the inside of their bodies. They called it the "Boyfriend Challenge". Some of the guys' reactions are clearly over-the-top, but it's also obvious that many of them have no idea how tampons function.A video by the Demery family went viral first, attracting nearly eight million views. It's fun to watch, but it also shows men how tampons function and what women go through during their monthly cycle.It's a bit of a facepalm moment that her man thought he had to "compete" with a tampon after he's shown how it works, but that's neither here nor there... @thedemeryfamily22 His reaction is priceless? #cutecouple #pregnant #prego #viral #InLove #couplegoals #trend #tampon ♬ original sound - Kolby&Jas❤️ In another video, Rachel's man just uttered the phrase "vagina parachute." Sure, why not. @thedemeryfamily22 His reaction is priceless? #cutecouple #pregnant #prego #viral #InLove #couplegoals #trend #tampon @mrshillery829 Of course I had to make my husband do this! I will forever call tampons “vagina parachutes”! LMAO!! #tamponchallenge #husbandpranks #funny #fyp ♬ original sound - Rachel Hillery This guy was in utter shock. @amanialzubi showing my boyfriend how a tampon works ??❤️ ( @originalisrael ) #comedy #couple #couplegoals #foryou #trend #tiktok ♬ original sound - amani Three years on, moments like the "Boyfriend Challenge" still land because the underlying issue hasn’t changed much. While more states and countries have begun treating menstrual products as essential (making them freely available in schools, shelters, and prisons), education around menstruation, especially for boys and men, remains deeply uneven. Many of the shocked reactions in these videos aren’t really a display of immaturity; they’re the result of sex education that separates students by gender, vague advertising that never shows how period products actually work, and a long-standing cultural discomfort with openly explaining female anatomy. Until menstruation is taught clearly and inclusively, misunderstandings will continue to be played for laughs…and women will keep carrying the burden of explaining their own bodies.This article originally appeared three years ago.

Sometimes worlds collide in the most magical ways. This was the case after a TikTok trend called "Drive-by Kindness" went viral, encouraging people to randomly praise complete strangers. The way it works is this: People drive around, roll down their car windows and tell strangers how lovely they look. It's that simple. And it's that beautiful. Hashtags like #Spreadlove, and #DrivebyKindness are gaining in popularity by the minute. After a woman named Melissa Hackworth posted one of the moving TikTok compilations (made by user @Aurora.aeo) on her Instagram page, she wrote in the captain, ""Gracie does this EVERY time we go somewhere. She will give the cashier or a random stranger a compliment, and they are always SO happy after." @aurora.aeo Praise passers-by?#drivebykindness#normalizekindness#speeadkindness #bekind#fyp Happy barely even begins to describe it. There's clip after clip of truly generous people giving compliments out like the law depended on it. From lines like "Do you have an inhaler? Cuz you took my breath away," and "Do y'all work at Fed Ex by any chance? Cuz y'all are delivering looks today!" the joy this trend spreads is palpable. Each time, the recipient(s) of the compliment seems surprised and then directly overwhelmed with gratitude. The tiniest words make the biggest impact. To one woman walking her dog, someone states, "I love that shirt on you. It looks really good." The woman smiles but stands a bit stunned. She shifts her body and says, "Oh damn. No one's ever said that. Well thank you!"And the compliments are given lovingly to both men and women. To one man wearing a spiffy white shirt, suspenders, and a fashionable tie, we hear a voice ask, "Is your middle name Cheddar cheese? Because your outfit is really SHARP." He smiles and says in earnest, "Oh! Thank you so much! You should see me with my coat on!" @miao11636 #spreadlove #kindness #fyp #love At the very end of one of the compilations, something miraculous happens. A man wearing an orange and white striped shirt with gorgeous flowing white hair walks by. Our kindness-giver says, "Your hair today looks so amazing."He laughs, "Haha. I can't believe this!" They tell him they love him. And he says it back with total conviction. "I love you too," he says, his positivity matching theirs perfectly.There are over 1.3 million likes on Hackwork's re-share alone, with thousands of supportive commenters who seem moved by this outpouring of positivity. But one comment in particular stood out. A woman named Raakhee Kumar wrote, "That’s my dad at the end!!!! He passed this March. This was so incredible to see. Please don’t delete it. ❤"Upworthy reached out to Kumar to find out how she stumbled upon such a precious moment captured in time and how it has affected her. She shares, "A childhood friend from NOLA sent it to me on Saturday when there were 350k views, as it popped up in his reels. He was close to my dad too so he was equally stunned!"Seeing her father smile after he passed this year was incredibly moving. She tells us, "It immediately brought me to tears seeing my dad’s radiant smile and hearing him giggling at the compliment. I was so grateful for the joyful memory that truly captured his personality and warm, vivacious spirit. But also, I was so moved by the kindness of total strangers reaching out to my dad and paying him a compliment. I know they made his day and he would have loved to see this go viral (even though he neither knew what a reel was or what going viral meant!)" @aurora.aeo #deivebykindness #normalizekindness #speeadkindness #foryoupage And what's even more serendipitous? Her father (known by most as Dr. B.) had been concerned about losing his hair after getting diagnosed with cancer. "He worried about losing his hair because that was such a part of his look and persona (unique and memorable!). It was literally his crown of glory, so I just know he really loved that comment. But I am especially so grateful for the kindness shown to my dad—I don’t know when this was filmed but he went through a lot in the last year of his life. And I can only imagine what a boost this compliment and memory gave him and continues to give me and now over a million other strangers. So a million thanks to the creators and all of the sweet sentiments of hundreds of strangers!"She lovingly adds, "My dad was larger than life: a kind, generous, and determined soul who came from nothing in India, leaving as a physician in the late 60s and becoming a brilliant physician who delivered over 3000 babies in his career. Moreover, my dad was so full of life—he was the life of the party—a jokester, an incredible singer, and quite the storyteller!"

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Knowing what people often tend to avoid will help you up your game, so you can bring dishes that will wow others at a potluck lunch or dinner.

Candace Owens goes over every single allegedly VERIFIED TPUSA and FED LIE and ODDITIES from the Charlie Kirk assassination. All they have to do is answer these questions and why they lied. But they won't. WHY? This should tell you that something is extremely wrong. It's like the… pic.twitter.com/BwQsNQ6ReA — The SCIF (@TheSCIF) December 12, […]

by Ken Macon, Reclaim The Net: The plan would turn routine border screening into a genetic census, redefining what it means to cross a friendly border in the name of security. The Trump administration is considering a dramatic expansion of data collection on foreign tourists, including a proposal that would allow authorities to collect DNA […]