In Kashmir, where apple orchards often dominate conversations about climate-driven crop losses, a quieter agricultural shift is unfolding in the wetlands of this Himalayan region. Farmers are reviving nadur, or lotus stem, a crop that once sustained families across the region and nearly disappeared under pollution, floods and erratic weather. What is bringing it back is not a program or new technology, but farmers working with water instead of trying to force it away. For generations, lotus stem was harvested in winter from the shallow marshes of lakes such as Dal and Wular. Pulled from soft silt and slow-moving water, it was woven into daily life, cooked as a vegetable, fried into the street snack nadur monji, or preserved in pickles. The crop also anchored livelihoods. Women often handled processing and sales, providing households with steady winter income. A vendor sells traditional Kashmiri street food, including fried lotus stem. Credit: Safina Nabi But this system has fallen apart over the past decade. Urban encroachment, sewage, rising temperatures and floods such as the disastrous ones that the region suffered in 2014 have clogged wetlands with debris and silt. Water levels have become erratic, aquatic life has declined and lotus cultivation has slowly faded. By the late 2010s, many families had stopped harvesting lotus altogether, turning away from the water that had long sustained them. Ghulam Nabi Dar, 68, watched this unfold along the edge of Wular Lake in Bandipora, a town on the water’s northern banks. His two-hectare patch once yielded enough lotus stem to feed his family and supply local markets. By 2020, repeated crop failures had left his lake plot unproductive. “The water changed,” Dar says. “It became thick, dark. Lotus wouldn’t grow.” Instead of waiting for large-scale restoration projects, Dar turned to knowledge passed down from his grandfather, who farmed lotus in the same waters decades earlier. In early 2021, Dar began cleaning his section of the lake himself. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] Using handmade reed nets, shovels and family labor, he spent months removing silt and waste from shallow waters. He revived an old technique of stirring the lakebed with long poles to oxygenate the soil and help roots take hold. No chemicals. No machines. Just patience and repetition. “It was slow work,” Dar says. “But the water started responding.” Aquatic plants returned first, followed by small fish. By winter, lotus roots had re-established. Dar harvested 12 quintals (a unit used in agriculture for measuring crop yields, one quintal is the equivalent of about 100kg) that season, earning about 1.5 lakh (approximately $1,600). The post Kashmir’s Lotus Stems Rise Again appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

Many couples post videos of their child's birth at the hospital, but one particular video was overly scrutinized online. In the social media post, the father-to-be is seated and drinking from a cup offered to him while his partner is actively pushing. The post drew thousands of likes on comments such as "This is a red flag" and "He legit looks like he couldn't care less." Amid all of this, a nurse came to the man's defense.Nurse Jen Hamilton explained why that moment was actually a green flag. See on Instagram "This is a nurse handing a man a cup of water while his lady is pushing," said Hamilton. "Do you think we as nurses hand out refreshments while our patients are pushing as customer service?"Hamilton further explained that the man was likely showing signs of becoming lightheaded and close to fainting after witnessing the birth and feeling growing concern for his partner. She added that nurses were probably telling him to "sit their booty cheeks down on that hard couch and drink something." If the man were to faint, she explained, nurses and doctors would have to address both his medical needs and those of the mother-to-be."So not a red flag. Actually, probably, very much a green flag because he was probably so worried about his lady that he almost fainted," Hamilton concluded. "Leave him alone!" @izzystory Dads in the delivery room and there reactions #fypシ゚viral #reel #breakingnews #news #fyp Commenters on Hamilton's video acknowledged her point, with some sharing their own near-fainting delivery room stories:“My (firefighter/paramedic) husband who has delivered more than one baby in the field did exactly this after my first round of pushing with our son…He was on the floor with his feet up on a chair while another angel on earth gave him apple juice and a cold washcloth."“Poor guy. My husband is a fainter so we prepared for this but miraculously he watched BOTH births and zero fainting! I think the excitement kept him focused.”“They go through so much emotional and mental stress watching us in pain and being helpless to help. It's hard on them and I don't blame them when their brains try to help them out by shutting down.”“My husband told me while I was pregnant with our first about how he passes out around blood. The OB was like, 'We will seat him by your head. We don't want to send him to the ER for a head injury, too.'"So what is proper delivery room etiquette for a father-to-be?So what's the role of a partner in the delivery room when their loved one is giving birth? How can they help, or should they simply stay out of the way? Nurse Juliana Parker spoke with Upworthy to offer some thoughts and guidance."Part of our job in labor and delivery is caring for the whole family, not just the mother, and that includes helping partners stay safe and upright," said Parker. "I routinely tell fathers-to-be, 'If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, please tell me right away.'""The best advice I can give is don't try to be stoic or push through warning signs," Parker added. "If you're not feeling well, say something immediately and get down—on the floor, a couch, a chair, anywhere—so you don't faint, fall, and hit your head. Partners passing out is more common than people think, and it's preventable when people speak up early." @kristan_n_williams Visit TikTok to discover videos! Parker said that partners who want to help during delivery should ask nurses what they need and listen to their guidance. Most of the time, it's best to focus on supporting your birthing partner's comfort, encouragement, and other needs. However, you should also check in with a nurse to know when to step in and when to step back, especially if they need to assess the birth or set up equipment. In short, follow the nurses' instructions, don't get in their way, and if you start to feel faint or emotionally overwhelmed, let them know."Letting the nurse know you're feeling faint is not 'being dramatic,' it's being responsible," concluded Parker.

Editor's Note: This story discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.Mental illnesses like depression don't discriminate. It can hit anyone, and not everyone survives their fight with the condition. Ben West, a man from the United Kingdom, has intimate familiarity with what happens when someone loses their battle with depression. He lost his younger brother, Sam, to suicide eight years ago. In an effort to help with his own grieving process and connect with those who may feel alone, he created a website. The video launching the site Reasons to Stay went viral due to its touching story and noble mission. It's a website that allows people from across the world to leave letters of encouragement to people who may be contemplating suicide. The hope is that someone needing a reason to stay one more day will find their reason in one of those letters. Comfort in a hug: a shared moment of empathy and support.Photo credit: CanvaThe website is simple: it displays the latest letter on the home page, offers sign ups for letters to go directly to your email in the form of a newsletter, and shares places to seek help. If someone wants to read a different letter, all they need to do is refresh the page. "This letter was written by someone in the world that cares. It was delivered to you at random when you opened this page," the Reasons to Stay website explains. The creation of this website was strictly an act of compassion for fellow humans, but recently, West received an email revealing that his site saved a life. The website's founder wept while sharing the news on his Instagram page, saying, "I got a message today, and I'm not going to share the message, but what I can share is that it worked. It worked for someone. We can be fairly confident that it really worked for someone." A comforting hug during an emotional moment.Photo credit: CanvaHe admits that the person still has a difficult journey ahead, but celebrates that they get to continue on at all. "Like I said before, social media, it can be such a bad place, but how amazing that it can be used for something like this. Like, that person, maybe it wouldn't reach them if it didn't go viral, so thank you so much, everyone, for sharing and getting involved in this over the last couple of weeks. What a special thing. What an amazing thing. It worked."According to the Centers for Disease Control, "One person dies by suicide an average of every 11 minutes. Over 49,000 people lost their lives to suicide in 2022. Every year, millions of Americans think about, plan, or attempt suicide." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben West (@iambenwest)In August 2025, JAMA Network released an article urging people to consider human connection as a form of suicide prevention. The authors of the article share that there's power in human connection, writing, "At a time when individuals experiencing suicidality often feel unseen, unheard, and burdensome, structured follow-up sends a clear message: you matter. You are not forgotten."Reasons to Stay is putting human connection at the forefront in hopes of saving lives. People are moved by his selfless gesture, with some sharing their own stories of survival. One person shares, "From someone who tried to, this is essential. Wish I had that back then. Will definitely use your site if those thoughts ever come back to me. I’m so proud of you, and so is Sam. We’re safer now." Woman seated against brick wall, covering ears with hands.Photo credit: CanvaAnother writes, "My dad took his own life. I wish he could’ve had a website like this to go to. I am sobbing happy tears to know that someone’s life was saved, and I'm also so incredibly sorry for your loss. I understand the ache— but you made something beautiful for your brother.""You may or may not be familiar with David Kessler’s “The sixth stage of grief,” but in that book he suggests that the 6th stage is: finding meaning. You’ve created meaning by saving others. Sam’s spirit and legacy lives on through you and his life and death now means, not just something to you, but something to many others around the world. What an absolutely beautiful and healing way to honour Sam, and what a gift this is to the world. Thank you Sam. Thank you Ben. So special. So powerful," someone else kindly shares.

On a January evening at a restaurant in Mexico, El Jefe patiently waited for his name to be called by the karaoke host. When it was, he gently walked to the stage in a pink baseball hat and black, thick-rimmed glasses. As he approached, the host gave him instructions on how to use the microphone. "You've got to hold it up here and just don't yell in the mic," he said, illustrating as El Jefe humbly listened.He then proceeded to sing "Jesus, Etc." almost better than its original singer, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. There's a reason for that: El Jefe, as it turns out, is Jeff Tweedy. See on Instagram The song is track five on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which was released in 2002. According to the liner notes, it was written by Tweedy and Jay Bennett, a former member of the band who passed away in 2009. Pitchfork hailed the tune as "the 61st best song of the decade," which is high praise, especially considering how much excellent indie-rock music was coming out at the time.Stereogum's Chris DeVille wrote about the album's 20th anniversary, noting that Wilco streamed it at no charge. "A bold and uncommon move at that time, and one that probably made the album sound even more experimental for those with dial-up internet connections," he wrote. DeVille added, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is THE Wilco album — the one that cemented their stature as one of the all-time great American rock bands."There's a kind of perfection to Tweedy singing his own song at karaoke, and not just because it conjures so many memories for Wilco fans. Watching Tweedy in a Clark Kent–like, plainclothed role, when most fans know he can become Superman at any given moment, is something extra special. www.youtube.com Fans in the Instagram comments agreed."You guys are the coolest famous non-famous people ever," one person wrote. "How surreal. To write a song, make a record with that song (and many more) on it, and become well known in certain circles for that song and all the other songs, have that song turned into a karaoke selection because it has become that level of popularity, then sing that song like you're an everyday schmuck just doing karaoke one night on vacation, it's just…"Another person described the scene and how lovely it all was: "My heart needed this. The children playing, palm trees swaying in the neon lights, that super fun 'Ladies' sign, a few enthusiastic 'woos' and a happy, humble El Jefe. Good stuff!"One fan loved that Tweedy seemed to go unnoticed by the karaoke host. "My favorite part is the host showing him how to use the microphone," they wrote. Another person replied, "And the 'Jeffiest' reaction of playing it totally cool, no ego, totally kind, respecting the KJ's 'authority.' The least 'Do you have any idea who I am?' energy possible." See on Instagram One comment summed up the many layers of coolness on display: "This is beautiful on so many levels. I always thought you 'made it' when your song ended up in a karaoke machine. Here it is, yet (maybe) no one knows him or the song — and that's perfectly fine with him. For that, I'm so happy for him. What a gift of a moment that must have been: to be respected, successful and famous without the bad fame part. That's the sweet spot. Just to put your hand in your pocket and sing your song for yourself and your family."Upworthy had the honor of chatting with Tweedy's wife, Susan, who provided a little context for the evening. It all happened following this year's Sky Blue Sky festival, an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico featuring a musical lineup that included Dinosaur Jr., The Jayhawks, and, of course, Wilco."So after Jeff's festival, Sky Blue Sky, we stayed in the general area at a rental house for a few days to unwind," she said. "That night we were at La Buena Vida, a restaurant that apparently does karaoke every Wednesday evening."Susan noted that she and their kids egged him on: "The kids and I told Jeff he should do it! He's never done it before, but it was all families and little kids running around, and we all thought it would be fun and funny! Our son Sammy checked to see if there were any Wilco songs available to do, and there were! We signed him up, and I think he was the last one to make it on for the night." See on Instagram When asked whether Jeff was recognized, the answer was surprising. "Nobody recognized him, although I did see a post a couple days later of someone who said they were there and that they were pretty sure it was him," she said. "But nobody said a word, and people were still talking and running around and mostly ignoring the karaoke during his whole song, just like for everybody else! It was really fun for all of us!!"

When curling became an official Olympic sport in 1998, it was met with a fair amount of curiosity and confusion, at least among people outside Canada, Scotland, and the Scandinavian countries where it has long been a winter sport tradition. Without an explanation of what's happening, curling can look downright bizarre: large stones sliding across the ice toward a target, while people vigorously sweep the ice in front of them as the person who threw the stone yells unintelligibly.It's not obvious what skills are required for curling just by watching, which initially led people to poke fun at the event. More recent Olympic Games, however, have seen interest in curling grow as people find the sport strangely riveting. Now, curling has reached even greater heights of popularity, as evidenced by satirical curling-at-home videos popping up on social media.Many of them use a combo of a Roomba and a Swiffer, which works perfectly: Why Swiffer is not the official sponsor of all Olympic curling events is a mystery.Some creators take it a little further, adding in the yelling component: @amanda_carluccio We’re now professional athletes.