After a 20-inch snowstorm hit Boston, a homeowner (u/merrymisandrist) found himself doing what he always had to do when his neighbor’s teenage kid parked illegally next to his driveway: figure it out himself. The problem had been going on for a while. The kid would park in a no-parking zone right at the end of the driveway, which wasn’t just inconvenient, it caused the neighborhood snow removal truck to skip the driveway entirely during storms. The homeowner had talked to the kid about it directly, politely, more than once. Nothing changed. So when about 20 inches fell one Sunday and the plow truck bypassed his driveway again because of the illegally parked car, he grabbed his snowblower and made a decision. At first, he wrote on Reddit, it was almost accidental, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and some snow landed on the car naturally. Then he decided to stop fighting the wind. “I then said ‘screw it’ and just had the chute directed at their car at all times,” he wrote. By the time he finished clearing the street around his driveway, the car was buried. Driver’s side, passenger’s side, all the way up to the sidewalk. The plow coming back through the other way added to the effect. AITAH for snowing in my neighbors illegally parked car? byu/MerryMisandrist inAITAH The next morning, he went out for some cleanup and found the kid trying to shovel his way out. When the kid asked to borrow the snowblower, the answer was no. The kid’s mother came over later, threatening damage to the homeowner’s belongings. He told her to call the police and closed the door. “I know she’s not going to call them,” he wrote, “as they were parked illegally, and they would probably give the kid a big fine for both the parking and being there in a storm.” Parked car completely buried in snow. Photo credit: Canva He wasn’t wrong to anticipate that dynamic. Boston has some of the most charged parking politics in the country, especially after a storm. The city officially permits residents to reserve shoveled street spots for up to 48 hours after a snow emergency ends, and as NPR reported in January, locals take that tradition seriously, sometimes very seriously. Parking in a spot someone worked to clear is considered, by a significant portion of the city, a matter of honor and consequence. Blocking a neighbor’s driveway outright is a different category entirely, and under Massachusetts law, it’s ticketable. Reddit was largely on his side. “Maybe a little bit of a jerk for blowing the snow directly on the car,” one commenter acknowledged, “but it was also the car that caused you to be blocked in to begin with.” This article originally appeared earlier this year. The post His neighbor’s kid kept parking illegally in front of his driveway. After 20 inches of snow, he found the perfect response. appeared first on Upworthy.

It was a Tuesday morning, and author and speaker Carlos Whittaker had just done something most married people have done a hundred times: dropped his wife off at the airport at 6:30 AM and driven home. By 7:30, he was on the porch with his coffee, already thinking about the day. Then his phone buzzed. “I’m flying over you right now.” What his home security camera captured next is the part that got the internet. Whittaker ran into the yard, phone in one hand, waving at the sky with everything he had, jumping, looking up, trying to make himself visible from 30,000 feet. The video, which he shared on Instagram, has the slightly blurry, slightly absurd quality of security footage, and that’s exactly what makes it land. He’s not performing for the camera. He didn’t know the camera was there. View this post on Instagram Watching it back, Whittaker said he felt a flicker of embarrassment at first. “A grown man, running around like a 10-year-old.” But that feeling passed quickly. “That little boy is still in there,” he wrote. “And he’s not a problem. He’s a gift.” An awe-struck boy looks up at the sky. Photo credit: Canva The reaction he describes, that sudden, unguarded surge of wanting to connect with someone you love across an impossible distance, turns out to have real backing in psychology. Research published in Scientific Reports found that deliberate experiences of awe are linked to meaningful improvements in mental health, including reductions in stress and depressive symptoms and increases in overall wellbeing. The instinct Whittaker followed without thinking, running toward wonder instead of away from it, is something researchers say most adults suppress. “We spend so much of our lives trying to act like we have it all together that we forget how to feel wonder in the small things,” he wrote. “Wonder isn’t childish. It’s sacred.” An airplane flies over an excited man. Photo credit: Canva The comments filled up fast with people who recognized themselves in the video. One wrote that her 19-year-old son is in aviation school and flies past the family home sometimes. “We all run out just like that,” she said, “and watch with awe as my baby flies through the air.” Another described texting a friend every time she drives past her office, both of them waving even though neither can see the other. “Little things like that are the best.” The plane was gone in seconds. His wife couldn’t see him. None of that was the point. This article originally appeared earlier this year. The post His wife texted from 30,000 feet that she was flying over him. His security camera caught the whole embarrassing, romantic thing. appeared first on Upworthy.

Episode Description: This week, Arielle and Karissa cover a tiny African island paying locals to protect its rainforest, the lion DNA case that just sent two poachers to prison, and new research on music, overthinking, and quitting smoking. Oh, and the hummingbirds are on their way. If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Transcript: Karissa  Hey everyone, I’m Karissa.  Arielle  And I’m Arielle. And welcome to this week’s Optimist Daily weekly roundup.  Karissa  Yeah, excited to share all the good news that was on The Optimist Daily this week. Make sure to sign up for our free daily newsletter if you want these updates every day.  Arielle  Or you could also follow us on our socials. We are @OptimistDaily on everything except for X. There we are @OdeToOptimism. And since we’re new to this kind of iteration of the podcast, we would love it if you could comment, rate, subscribe, share.  Karissa  Yeah, we want to hear from you. Speaking of hearing from you, we want to say thank you to our Emissaries of the Optimist Daily and let you know that next week you should be getting an e-mail to fill out a form if you want to give a shout out to someone in your life who is making a difference.  Arielle  That’s for all of the Emissaries, but also if you wanted to sign up and become an Emissary and give us a little bit of a donation, then you would also get the shout out, which I think we’re just going to pick a few every week or, depending on how many we get, we’ll pick some and then read them out on the podcast so that you can… Yeah, shine some light on maybe a charity that you really appreciate or just someone in your life who is doing good for you and the community.   Karissa  Yeah.   Arielle  But how about we dive into the solutions that we had this week?  Karissa  All right, so I’m going to dive into the first one. It’s called How paying people to protect a rainforest is rewriting colonial history on a tiny African island. So, there’s a tiny island off the coast of West Africa that scientists call the African Galapagos. And I didn’t even know about this island before this article. But it’s so biodiverse that new species are still being found there.  Arielle  I was quite interested in seeing this article because I have actually been here.  Karissa  Really? How was it like to visit?  Arielle  It was amazing. It was in 2024, my partner and I went to Ghana, and then we went to this little island called Sao Tome. And actually, the article is about Principe, but the country itself is Sao Tome and Principe, these two islands. So, I guess technically I haven’t been to Principe, but these two islands are right next to each other and they have a lot of the same biodiversity and everything. It felt… every beach was a private beach. There are vegetables and fruit that grow there that don’t grow anywhere else. So as an adult, putting a vegetable in your mouth that looks like, say, a cucumber, and then you taste it and it tastes… like nothing you’ve ever tasted before was quite the experience.  Karissa  Yeah, that sounds amazing. It sounds like such a diverse island and a very cool experience. And unfortunately, this island was built on the cacao slave economy. But the industry collapsed after independence in 1975, and it’s left descendants of Angolan and Cabo Verdean laborers to subsist by forging and farming. The Faya Foundation has signed up nearly 3,000 islanders and 60 plus percent of adults to an environmental protection code in exchange for quarterly cash dividends to them. One thing to note is it’s funded by a billionaire. So, I mean, it’s kind of conditional, I guess, that was something that was mentioned in the article, to his funding. And so, it was Mark Shuttleworth, who is the South African billionaire who famously bought a ticket to space not too long ago. And he’s committed roughly about $110 million total to this project. So that’s an important thing to note. But these dividends have been going out and it’s kind of life-changing to the people there, so…  Arielle  It’s a really interesting method, like a conservation method. And I do like this idea that the locals who are there are helping to steward the land properly instead of like having this weird fenced off area that’s supposed to be protected, but then it’s really separate from all of humanity.  Karissa  Exactly.  Arielle  Yeah, that just seems like a waste to me. And that’s not really a natural way to live. We need to figure out how to live with nature, without harming it so much. So yeah, it’s a cool idea. We’ll see how it goes.  Karissa  This article talks about how one resident who used to have to just forage in the forest for survival is now being able to, you know, lead scientific expeditions to where new species are being discovered and really have like educational and financial benefits. So, check out the article if you want to learn some more, but it’s an interesting idea.   So, another solution we had this week is How to find your personal aesthetic when the internet keeps showing you everyone else’s. Personal style is just always changing as you change, and this made me reflect on some of my personal aesthetic choices over the years. What are some highlights of your personal aesthetic, either now or throughout your lifetime?  Arielle  Ooh, highlights. I was not the most fashionable girl growing up, and then I lived a long time on a beach where, like, a bikini was a whole outfit. So, I had a very beachy look when I came to Amsterdam, and it was really here that I had to build a sense of personal style. I think lately, I’ve realized that I’m not really one to play with color, but I like bigger shapes and texture. So, I’m still in the process of developing this personal style, but like oversized, textured, but like black most of the time, if I’m being honest. That’s kind of what we’re doing right now.  Karissa  I love it.  Arielle  How about you?  Karissa  Well, I would say maybe it’s more like California cowboy coastal something.  Arielle  Yeah, like coastal grandmother.  Karissa  Yes, coastal grandmother, coastal cowboy, which was like kind of a trending buzzword, I feel like a couple of years ago. But I think I was on that way before it was trending because I mean, California has a beach and I live in a very like country-ish area. So, lots of cowboy influence being from the cowboy capital of the world is my town’s name. This quote that was in the article from Leandra Medine Cohen said, “You can’t know your style until you know yourself.” There was another quote that stood out in this article too from Lydia Okello, and she says, “It’s okay to gradually morph into the next iteration of your personal style, like an Animorphs cover,” which is funny. And true, but I mean, I mean, we’re always gradually evolving and different seasons and chapters of our lives may have different personal styles.   So, this article has a lot of good pointers, such as, you know, finding reference points or making a mood board. So go check it out if you need some help on finding out your personal style.   We had a solution called Why 24 minutes of music may help reduce anxiety according to research. And this stood out to me because I was like 24 minutes, why exactly 24 minutes, which we’ll get into in just a second.   So, two studies in 2022 and 2025, both published in PLOS journals, looked at music and anxiety, and both found benefits from music paired with auditory beat stimulation, ABS. And ABS, or binaural beats, is where two slightly different sound frequencies are played in each ear, but the brain perceives a third rhythmic pulse during this, which can nudge brainwave activity toward calmer states, and it’s called brainwave entrainment.   And these kinds of beats are found in music like lo-fi playlists. I don’t know if you’re into listening to that, Arielle, but I know when I was in college, I actually enjoyed listening to lo-fi study music. And that’s had a big moment recently, especially amongst the youngsters, I would say.  Arielle  The youngsters is such a funny way to put it (laughs), but yeah, I get what you mean. It makes you sound way older than you are.  Karissa  I know, exactly. Even though I used it… (laughs)  Arielle  Playlists like this that are super easily accessible and already categorized and organized —that’s a fairly new thing.  Karissa  Well, exactly, yeah, because things like Spotify or Apple Music weren’t around. I would say it is a newer trend, but it is helpful.  Arielle  Karissa, I’m just wondering why 24 minutes exactly?  Karissa  So, this article says that the brain needs a few minutes to settle in, kind of like the beginning of a meditation session where you’re just, you know, grounding and getting into your space. But after that adjustment, there’s enough time left for the calming effects to build. 36 minutes worked too in these studies. But 24 minutes is more practical for every day.  Arielle  All right. Well, I mean, I read this article and then I YouTubed this like ABS thing and it is really calming. I think I do recognize like the general sound of it in some study playlists that I’ve played for myself before.  Karissa  Yeah.  Arielle  Also, my dog is chewing. So, if any listeners can hear that, I’m sorry.  Karissa  It might just be her way to relieve anxiety. So, I can’t blame her. Okay, so I’m going to move on to another solution called Scotland legalizes water cremation, giving families a greener third option. And I won’t get too much into the process because with cremation and end of life, it can get a little morbid, I suppose. But just know that it is more environmentally friendly. And it’s worth noting that Archbishop Desmond Tutu chose water cremation as well. So, I kind of liked that it went with a theme, I guess, in the Optimist Daily that we’ve written about before of green burials.   We had an article last year that ended up in our top of 2025 solutions that was about a mushroom casket that biodegrades. And that was pretty interesting. So, there’s a lot of cool, environmentally friendly ways to be buried or laid to rest that are out there.   And on a different note, You can’t spot reduce belly fat, but you can lose it. Here’s what the science says works. Spot reduction is a myth. We can’t just target our belly or any other area on our body to lose weight from. We had to just do it all together. There’s two types of fat. Subcutaneous fat, which is the kind you can pinch, not particularly dangerous. So that’s, even though cosmetically we might be concerned about it, it’s not too much of a worry.   But there’s visceral fat, which is deep inside the abdomen. And that’s highly inflammatory and medically significant because it could be associated with risks for cardiovascular disease, liver disease, insulin resistance, even dementia. There are some tips in this article on how to reduce belly fat. They had a couple of studies that were tracking men over 12 years, and it says how strength training is an effective method to reduce the waistline more so than any other exercise. And we kind of know that that’s been a huge discussion over the years in the health and fitness industry and strength training will help just overall your entire body and just a whole bunch of different kinds of exercises as well. Keeping a pretty good rotation of different types of exercise is the best.  Arielle  Yeah, and like, this article is not really supposed to be; we’re not like shaming any types of bodies. It’s just, I think it’s also… there’s a lot of medication-fueled weight loss talk going on right now. And this piece is more about what you can do to address that with just lifestyle changes. And of course, there’s a growing pushback against extreme diet culture. And this is a piece that’s more about none of that toxic mindset behind weight loss, but more about a holistic change. And it’s framing it around metabolic health rather than like just an aesthetic lens.  Karissa  Exactly.  Arielle  All right. Well, I guess I will take over from here. I was really excited to see this article because it kind of tickled my true crime addiction. I’m really, like, into true crime podcasts right now, which I know is kind of basic and cliché, but here I am.   The article title is The DNA database built to protect lions just helped convict the people who killed one. A pair of poachers in Zimbabwe were just convicted using the lion’s own DNA, and that’s the first time this has ever happened anywhere in the world. The twist is that the evidence was collected years before the crime when conservationists were just doing routine field work. And that same database that tracked the lion’s movements ultimately helped put his killers in prison, which actually kind of mirrors a lot of cold cases that are getting solved today because there’s all this like 23andMe or like advancements in DNA. science or the science, behind it, I don’t know I’m not a scientist.   But in the 60s people collected genetic material from a crime scene and they couldn’t really do anything with it at that time with the technological limitations. But now they’re like able to identify exactly who the culprit was. So, I just think it’s really cool. And it’s great that it’s now spreading towards the wildlife trafficking, or just wildlife crime in general, because it just seems really hard to pinpoint specific poachers who are responsible for killing these magnificent and endangered species.  Karissa  Yeah, exactly. Cracking down on poaching is an incredibly important issue going on across the world right now. So, this is pretty interesting that they could use a DNA base to track them down just like… how it’s used in humans. Really interesting.  Arielle  Yeah, it’s so cool. CSI-style forensics for wildlife.  Karissa  Wildlife edition. Maybe that needs to be the next iteration of the show. We’re in the wildlife field. That could be a good spin-off.  Arielle  I mean, this stuff can be used not just for lions but for other, basically any trafficked species with a DNA database. So, I’m excited to see what happens here, but I’m not going to give away too much of the article because it’s a really interesting read.   The next one is A single dose of psilocybin gave smokers 6 times better odds of quitting than the patch. So, there’s this new study out of Johns Hopkins, and it found that a single dose of psilocybin gave smokers more than six times better odds of quitting than nicotine patches. And this wasn’t over a course of like, a long treatment. It was just one dose.   This kind of therapy doesn’t target nicotine receptors. It works through neuroplasticity and it shifts your perspective. So, it’s not really a substitution, but it’s kind of shifting how you’re thinking about the habit altogether, which I think ultimately leads to you… “you” being the smoker, if you’re out there, having to exert less willpower over not smoking.   So yeah, this is definitely worth a read. So go check it out, especially if you’re a smoker and you really want to quit, because quitting smoking is one of the hardest health goals to achieve.   All right, the next article is also about habits. It’s called Overthinking is a learned habit and therapists say you can unlearn it. Maybe through mushrooms as well (laughs), but that’s not what they’re talking about.  Karissa  So, we don’t know if there’s any scientific studies on that yet, but maybe in the future.  Arielle  This article is about, you know, how you can just get into your head about, like, someone not texting you back because, I don’t know, you make up this whole story. Maybe they’re mad at you, or they hate you, or, you know, it’s just all of this unwarranted negative self-talk. And that’s not necessarily anxiety. It’s this coping strategy that the brain has learned to just like overthink and overthink and overthink. And when someone just tells you to stop overthinking, first of all, that’s annoying. And secondly, it just doesn’t work because it doesn’t address any of the root of the problem. And this piece, does.  Karissa  This one was interesting to read because I mean, I am guilty of overthinking quite a lot. And like you said, it’s just annoying to hear, “Well, just stop overthinking.” You can’t just stop overthinking unless you take some of these tips.  Arielle  Yeah. I’m not going to go through all of them, but one of them that I liked that I think I can apply, well, all of them I can apply, but this one stood out to me, was the facts versus stories. So, for instance, going along with the texting example, they haven’t texted is a fact, but they’re mad at me, they hate me, they don’t like me anymore. That’s just a story you’re telling yourself and you just have to learn how to separate them. And I think that would be very helpful for whenever I’m in one of these spirals, which inevitably happens at least once in a while. So yeah, I would definitely recommend checking it out if overthinking is also something you struggle with.   The next article is called How robots and drones are cleaning the ocean floor across Europe.  Karissa  Very cool and interesting.  Arielle  Yeah, very futuristic, right? Most ocean cleanup efforts focus on what’s floating on the surface, but the majority of marine litter actually sinks and disappears into the seabed. The EU has been funding a fleet of AI-powered robots to go after what everyone else has been missing. And there’s a surprising bonus application at the end that has nothing to do with plastic. But again, I will let you read that.  Karissa  This one kind of surprised me because I didn’t even realize that a lot of sea litter ends up at the bottom of the sea, but it makes sense. But I just think of any like ocean litter and that’s kind of what’s portrayed in the media and stuff is just like a floating plastic island out there and plastic floating around, but there’s so much more that can just sink.  Arielle  Out of sight, out of mind. If you can’t really see it, then you’re not really thinking about solving the problem. So, I think that this is really cool that they are sending robots and drones down to places that actually aren’t even safe for humans to go to. The pressure down there, like it’s just not sustainable or feasible to have people diving down to like search for all of this litter at the bottom. So yeah, it’s a really, it’s a really cool solution for a problem that I wasn’t even really thinking about.   And the last solution that we are going to be sharing with you today is a very spring-like solution. It’s called Hummingbird migration 2026, when they’ll reach your garden and how to get ready.  Karissa  I love it. I love hummingbirds and I’m so excited to see them.  Arielle  Read this article and you’ll know exactly when to prepare to see these hummingbirds. Right now, hummingbirds are already making their way north from Mexico and Central America. Some are crossing open water completely alone, running on stored fat they spent weeks building up. This week we looked at when to expect them by region and what you can do to make your yard a real pit stop on one of nature’s most demanding journeys.  Karissa  I’m going to have to make sure my grandma saw this article because she loves the hummingbirds in her backyard. And I know she mentioned the other day how she has to prepare for them and go get a new hummingbird feeder. So, I’ll make sure she sees these tips.  Arielle  Cute. We don’t have hummingbirds in Europe. I actually just looked it up. And it was kind of scary what I found. We don’t have hummingbirds, but there is something that is often mistaken for a hummingbird here in Europe, and it’s called the hummingbird hawk moth. And I highly suggest looking it up because it looks like a hummingbird, but it’s an insect. It’s huge. And I think I can convince myself that it’s cute after a while, but when it first popped up on my Google image search, I was like, whoa, oh my gosh.  Karissa  Oh my gosh, whoa.  Arielle  But yeah, that’s what we have to look forward to, the hummingbird hawk moth here on this side of the pond. But you guys go ahead, get your yards and gardens ready.  Karissa  Over here in the Americas, we can see these cute little hummingbirds. So, get ready.  Arielle  Well, that was it for our roundup this week. We do have a really nice quote that we’re going to end off on. Karissa, take it away.  Karissa  Well, on the note of hummingbirds, I had to choose this quote to share. And it says, “Like the hummingbirds sipping nectar from every flower, I fly joyfully through my days, seeing beauty in everything.” And that is from Amethyst Wyldfyre. So as always, we thank you for tuning into the solutions from The Optimist Daily and finding that positivity out there in the world.  Arielle  Yes! Thank you so much for joining us this week, and we will see you next week with more solutions.  Karissa  Bye, everyone.   Arielle  Bye.   The post Podcast Transcript March 20, 2026— From psilocybin to ocean robots: 10 solutions you’ll actually want to hear about first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

The Spice Girls hold a dear place in the hearts of Millennials and older generations who lived through the 1990s. The five-member group, known for its “Girl Power” ethos, formed in 1994 and has remained relevant and beloved for its iconic fashion, talent, and fierce attitude. Sadly, a much-anticipated 30th anniversary reunion for the group recently fell through. It was set to celebrate the Spice Girls’ debut single, “Wannabe,” which premiered in July 1996. The song’s legendary music video featured all five members—Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton), Scary Spice (Mel B), Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell-Horner), and Sporty Spice (Mel C)—frolicking through London’s St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. The video is now going viral again for a dubbed spoof that fans are calling comedic gold. Spicy pic.twitter.com/aQuMwCuzKH— Todo Casi Bien (@todocasibien) March 17, 2026 The videos On X, a series of videos featuring a mock voiceover of the original music video is blowing up. Shared by user @todocasibien, the clips replace the “Wannabe” track with shrill voices and stomping feet that imitate each Spice Girl as they face the camera. Each one utters nonsensical phrases that seemingly match what they’re doing in the video. In one scene, Scary Spice begins the song’s famed line, “Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want”—but instead of her voice, the dub cuts in, setting the silly tone for the rest of the clip. Power run pic.twitter.com/xyOdgdAM5e— Todo Casi Bien (@todocasibien) March 19, 2026 Ginger Spice’s verse is up next: “So tell me what you want, what you really really want!” It quickly becomes clear that multiple voices are in play, and as the Spice Girls run to the next room, Ginger Spice’s cheeky butt grab of Baby Spice results in a hilarious dubbed comment. “Haha, she touched my butt!” Baby Spice says, when in the original song she’s actually singing, “You gotta get with my friends!” The girls move into a dining room scene, where Sporty Spice jumps onto a table and does a back handspring. A butler in the room is dubbed saying, “Don’t do that!” Added sounds of glasses and dishes breaking follow, ending with a perfectly timed scream. The hilarity continues in another clip, striking a major funny bone with viewers. Viewers respond Many viewers shared the joy the videos brought them: “The quick cutaway and clattering noises just before Sporty lands that backflip f*cking kills me.” “This is the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever seen, but I am crying laughing!” “Absolute tears running down my face. This is pure gold.” “Contrary to what we were taught in the 90’s, if you wanna be my lover, please do not get with my friends.” “The end killed me .” “Omg this is brilliant. The sound of dishes breaking on the table backflip …” The post A dubbed-over spoof of the Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’ video is comedic gold appeared first on Upworthy.

The majority of parents today have never known the pain of losing a child. Sadly, that was not the case throughout history. Before the 20th century, many parents could expect one or more of their children to die before reaching adulthood, usually due to infectious disease. As in the book it was based on, the film adaptation of Hamnet centers on parental grief. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the tear-streaked aftermath of others who have. Jessie Buckley’s Oscar-winning performance as a grieving mother wrecked audiences far and wide. Her improvised, guttural scream after her child’s death went straight to the heart. Her calling the scream “ancient” couldn’t feel more accurate. @screenplayed Jessie Buckley talks about this moment in Hamnet wasn’t in the script. It came up on the day. Buckley is nominated for an Academy Award for her performance. What do you think of the film? #hamnet #jessiebuckley #academyawards #oscars #filmtok ♬ original sound – Screenplayed However, some people have questioned whether the film’s intense portrayal of grief is realistic for the time period. Naturally, we would expect a child’s death to devastate a parent today. But was that the case historically? Did parents mourn the loss of a child as hard or as long when nearly half of children died? Would knowing you were likely to lose a child, or multiple children, make their deaths easier to handle? The idea that parents hundreds of years ago weren’t as emotionally attached to their kids isn’t new, even in academic circles. Dr. Julia Martins, a historian, explored the debate in a YouTube video titled “Did They Love Their Children? The History of Grief.” It began with French historian Philippe Ariès, who published a book in 1960 about childhood through the centuries. “Ariès argued that the concept of childhood as a distinct, protected phase of life is a modern invention that only emerged around the 17th century,” Martins said. “Children were understood as mini adults and, from the time they were around seven, they mixed with the adult world. He suggested that, because of the incredibly high infant mortality, parents were forced to be emotionally distant and not get too attached to their children, who might not live to see their first birthday. This indifference would be a defense mechanism. Expecting to lose half the children you had would make you not as emotionally invested in them.” In his 1977 book The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500–1800, historian Lawrence Stone also posited that colder, more pragmatic family relationships were the norm. In his assessment, the affectionate, loving bonds we associate with family today developed late in our history. ‘Hail! Potita was the sweetest and most gentle child. She lived 3 years.’(Ave Potita dulcissima et humanissima annorum III )Gravestone of a young girl named Potita, 1st-2nd century AD pic.twitter.com/mGPpFgO7E0— Gareth Harney (@OptimoPrincipi) February 28, 2025 However, by the 1980s, historians began to question this idea. Martins pointed out that Ariès relied on paintings from the past to draw his conclusions. For her 1983 book Forgotten Children, historian Linda Pollock focused her research on diaries and autobiographies from the 16th to 19th centuries. She argued that parents have always had intense love for their children and felt a deep sense of loss when they died. Martins’ own examination of the historical record has led her to the same conclusion. The difference, she suggested, lies in how parents coped with the pain of losing a child. “We forget how deeply religious early modern Europe was,” Martins said. “Could this indifference be religious resignation, instead of lack of affection? In a world where people understood death as God’s will, parents might console themselves thinking things like ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.’ That doesn’t mean they weren’t grieving, but rather that they were focusing on the child being in heaven and accepting God’s will. Ariès interpreted this as a lack of feeling. But you could argue that this was a coping strategy for deep pain. The grief was real; the cultural script for expressing it was different.” Hamnet is a tidal wave of grief and beauty at its stillest. There’s something enchanting in how stories transcend time, finding us in loss to anchor us in the present. A lush world inviting cathartic release, where emotion flows deep, asking you to surrender to feel it all pic.twitter.com/GQc9MlOiuT— Jillian (@JillianChili) October 6, 2025 And of course, grief is and has always been an individual experience. Even in Hamnet, the parents express their grief differently, despite losing the same child. People in the comments on Martins’ video reiterated how historical artifacts demonstrate expressions of parental grief: “Sometimes I find myself thinking of the skull of the ancient Greek child with the crown of painted ceramic flowers on her head. Someone loved that child to the point that they couldn’t bear the thought of those flowers wilting.” “Whenever I hear the claim that people didn’t grieve their children, I think of the ancient graves we find where children are so carefully prepared for burial, with a toy (obviously made by hand, so carrying a time cost and not quickly replaceable) buried with them. That doesn’t seem like the actions of a parent who doesn’t care.” “My favorite example about children always being children are ancient Egyptian ‘hot wheels’: toys shaped like a tiny chariot or wagon with wheels on it, and holes to put a string through… I can’t erase the mental image I got of an ancient Egyptian child thousands of years ago running around lugging A TOY CAR around, forgetting or breaking it and crying to parents, or being happy about getting a new one as a holiday gift, nothing really changed.” “Cicero was inconsolable when his daughter Tullia died. Julius Caesar, who had also lost his daughter Julia, his only child, wrote to him to offer sympathy. They had a whole correspondence on grief. Cicero built a temple (lost today) to the memory of his daughter. The idea that parents from the past did not care is ludicrous.” “It always felt to me so strange to figure that people in the past ‘wouldn’t care so much’ for their kids because a lot of children died. Two things can be true at the same time. People surely knew that lots of people died in a very early age AND that doesn’t diminish any kind of bond or attachment. Ironically, it’s this theory itself that IS detached (from reality): humans are social creatures!” The post Historian debunks the notion that grief in ‘Hamnet’ was portrayed unrealistically for the time appeared first on Upworthy.