Brent Cabahug moved from the Philippines to Minnesota with his mom and sister. He’s a high school senior at Stillwater Area High School, and Walmart is his first job. He’s been saving up to buy a car. During a shift in late January, an elderly woman came through his checkout line and her card kept declining. The line grew restless. Cabahug walked around the register and paid her $80 grocery bill himself. Then he went back to work. Another customer in line, a mom of four named Dani Dircks, watched the whole thing happen, as reported by WCCO. “I watched this cashier, knowing nothing about him, walk around, knowing nothing about that lady, and he didn’t care,” she said. “He didn’t care in that moment who she was, who she loved, who she voted for.” A young cashier rings up an item at the store. Photo credit: Canva Dircks wanted to do something. She learned Cabahug was saving for a car, planned to help his family buy a house after graduation, and intended to become a nurse. A leg injury had ended his volleyball career, and he’d redirected his ambitions toward healthcare. She started a GoFundMe. It has raised over $12,000 toward a $14,000 goal. Cabahug didn’t pay $80 expecting anything back. He paid it because that’s apparently just who he is. The rest took care of itself. The story brings to mine this viral classic: The post An elderly woman’s card kept declining at Walmart. The teen cashier didn’t hesitate for a second. appeared first on Upworthy.

Lisa Jakub was 15 years old and filming Mrs. Doubtfire when her high school sent her a letter saying not to come back. She’d been a 9th grader at a Canadian school when production started. With no internet to submit work digitally, she’d set up a system to mail her assignments back and forth. It worked … until it didn’t. A few months in, the school decided the arrangement wasn’t working for them, and Jakub was out. At 15, she was devastated. Robin Williams noticed she was upset, and did what Robin Williams apparently just did: he wrote a letter to the principal asking them to support her education and her career. Jakub shared the story during a Mrs. Doubtfire cast reunion on the Brotherly Love podcast, and the punchline is perfect: “The principal got the letter, framed the letter, put it up in the office, and didn’t ask me to come back.” She got into the University of Virginia anyway. When she did, a teaching assistant handed back a statistics assignment with the note: “Dear Doubtfire Girl, you got a B-.” View this post on Instagram What she also got, from her time on set with Williams, was something harder to grade. She described working with him as a crash course in presence and spontaneity, which was a total departure from the scripted rhythms she’d learned as a child actor. “We had always used a script, so I knew when it was my turn to speak, I could say my line. Then you go on set with Robin, and it’s like, who the f*ck knows what’s going to happen now?” He also later wrote her a recommendation letter for college. The school never did ask her back. She turned out fine. The post A child star from ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ got expelled while filming. The principal framed the letter Robin Williams wrote in response. appeared first on Upworthy.

A large Stanford University study paid roughly 36,000 Facebook and Instagram users to log off in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election and found that the people who stayed off felt measurably better. The study split participants into groups: about 275 were paid to deactivate their accounts for six weeks, while others logged off for just one week. Both groups showed improved emotional well-being compared to those who kept scrolling, but the effect was more pronounced for Facebook users who went longer without it. The results broke down along some interesting lines. Facebook users over 35 showed the biggest mood improvements, along with undecided voters and people without college degrees. Among Instagram users, the 18-to-24 group benefited most. None of this is entirely shocking in the abstract since most people have a pretty good intuition that less time doomscrolling means more mental breathing room. What makes this study notable is its scale. This wasn’t a self-selected group of digital detox enthusiasts. These were ordinary users, many of whom presumably went back to their feeds afterward, and the boost showed up clearly in the data. Young people staring at their phones. Photo credit: Canva The comment section on ABC News’s video coverage said it more plainly: “Getting rid of my Facebook and Instagram accounts was the best thing I’ve ever done.” Another: “The worst thing about social media is that people are in it for hours and they don’t even realize it.” The study doesn’t argue that everyone should quit. It does suggest the relationship between habitual social media use and emotional well-being is real, measurable, and probably worth paying attention to. The post A Stanford study paid 36,000 people to stay off Facebook. The results were hard to argue with. appeared first on Upworthy.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Bondi Beach on April 17, they were surrounded by the usual circus: paparazzi, crowds, bodyguards in matching uniforms, the whole production. One woman lay on her mat in the middle of it all, scribbling in her notebook, wearing sunglasses, and apparently not giving a single thought to any of it. A TikTok clip posted by News.com.au captured the moment as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walked the beach during the final day of their Australian tour. Their entourage had to navigate around her. She did not look up. The royal couple’s eyes tracked her as they passed. She continued writing. News.com.au summed it up in their caption: “One woman’s complete indifference is peak Bondi attitude.” @news.com.au One woman’s complete indifference is peak Bondi attitude. #princeharry #meghanmarkle #bondibeach #sydney #royals ♬ original sound – News.com.au The internet agreed enthusiastically. “The level of not giving a f* I dream of achieving,” one commenter wrote. “Peak unbothered,” said another. “Well done to that lady for not giving a damn,” a Facebook commenter added. The coda that made the story perfect: a TikTok commenter recognized the woman as her sister and revealed she thought the crowd had gathered around an actor. Aerial view of Bondi Beach in Australia. Photo credit: Canva The visit itself was a quieter affair than Harry and Meghan’s 2018 Australian tour, when they were still working royals and the reception was considerably more ceremonial. This trip included stops to support volunteer first responders at the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club, a Masterchef Australia appearance, and promotion of Meghan’s As Ever lifestyle brand. The Guardian described it as less a royal tour than something else entirely. One woman on a beach mat seems to have agreed. The post Sunbather doesn’t budge when Harry and Meghan’s entourage has to walk around her. She’s the internet’s new hero. appeared first on Upworthy.

The true rock and roll legends. The post The punk band Dave Grohl said were “the epitome of cool” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

by John Nolte, Breitbart: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced an inquiry this week into a TV ratings system that is required to warn parents about adult content in children’s shows, but has not addressed all the LGBT propaganda pushed at kids these days. The FCC’s Media Bureau is seeking comment by May 22 from the general […]