The Voice just added a new addition to its all-star cast and fans can’t wait to see him in action. On May 10th, Riley and the famed showed announced in a joint Instagram post that he would be joining Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine later this year. In it, they posted a photo of the singer with a “Team Riley” banner along with a video that shows Riley listening to a voicemail from Kelly Clarkson. In her message, Kelly sparks some playful competition, telling him he better be prepared for her to “whoop that a**.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riley Green (@rileyduckman) Another video shows Riley Green testing out the spin on his new red chair. And the final slide of the post gives a full view of the country star relaxing in the chair with full confidence that he can coach the next winner of The Voice. “I guess y’all can start calling me coach… see ya this fall,” he captioned. Riley Green Joining ‘The Voice’ is “Gonna Make Ratings Skyrocket’ Fans are absolutely besides themselves after heard the news, and they went straight to the comment section, “I might try out again in my old age in this case ,” a former would-be contestant wrote. “Wasnt watching the voice guess I’ll start again his coaching will probably phenomenal ,” someone added. “Ratings are gonna skyrocket—-lol,” another fan added. Season 30 of The Voice will debut this fall on NBC, however, the network has yet to announce an official premiere date. This story’s featured image is by Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images.

Janai Norman (@janai) was about to go on-air with her ABC News co-host Kenneth Moton when she felt something poke her pregnant belly. Hard. She spun around at full speed, ready to smack Moton for messing with her. Then she realized he was standing several feet away, completely innocent, and had no idea what was happening. “Oh… I am sorry, I got kicked, and I thought you poked me. I was ready to swat you,” Norman said, seconds before dissolving into laughter. @janai #pregnancy #mom #throwback @KennethMoton ♬ original sound – Janai Norman The baby had kicked so hard it felt exactly like someone pressing a finger into her belly. Moton cracked up. “The baby is like, ‘Watch this,'” he joked. Norman shared the throwback moment on TikTok on March 30, and the video has been viewed 5.8 million times. The comments are full of other pregnant people confirming that yes, some kicks absolutely feel like someone jabbing you from the outside. “I know exactly which kind of ‘poke’ kick she felt! It’s not a normal baby kick! It legit feels like a big finger poke,” one person wrote. Another said, “I know exactly what that kick felt like lol. I don’t even know if it’s a kick or some weird placenta movement, but it happens sometimes when I yawn or stretch. It feels like something poked you hard as f**k. It makes me jump every time.” Someone else confessed, “Every time my baby would kick me, I always thought my phone was getting a notification, lol.” One commenter pointed out that Norman’s instant protective reaction was actually kind of sweet: “She’s going to be a great mom; she went right into protector mode.” The whole thing happened in the span of maybe three seconds, but it perfectly captures one of the weirder parts of being pregnant. Your body does things you have zero control over, and sometimes those things are so startling you almost clock your coworker on live television. Moton dodged a bullet. The baby, meanwhile, was probably just stretching. Follow Janai Norman (@janai) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.  The post Pregnant journalist spun around to smack her co-host. But he wasn’t the one who poked her. appeared first on Upworthy.

Jumbo, a Dutch supermarket chain with over 700 locations, noticed a problem. A lot of their older customers were lonely. So in the summer of 2019, they created something called a Kletskassa, which translates to “chat checkout.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. A checkout lane specifically for people who are not in a rush and would like to have a conversation with the cashier. No pressure to scan quickly, no annoyed sighs from the person behind you. Just a place where taking your time is the whole point. The first Kletskassa opened in Vlijmen, a town in the North Brabant province. The response was so positive that Jumbo rolled out 200 of these lanes across the country. They also added “chat corners” in their stores where people can grab a cup of coffee and talk with neighbors. The initiative was part of the Dutch government’s “One Against Loneliness” campaign, which makes sense when you look at the numbers. Statistics Netherlands found that nearly 1 in 10 people in the country reported feeling lonely frequently. Among people 75 and older, around one-third said they feel at least somewhat lonely. And that loneliness tends to stick around, especially for seniors living independently. Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, the CCO of Jumbo and one of the people behind the National Coalition Against Loneliness, explained the thinking: “Many people, especially the elderly, sometimes feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain, we are at the heart of society.” She added that Jumbo wants to be more than just a place where people shop. “We help our stores by means of a manual to signal loneliness among customers and to set up local initiatives. Several stores also have a chat corner where customers can grab a nice cup of coffee and chat with neighbors.” Vandaag opende Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd een nieuwe Kletskassa bij de Jumbo winkel in Udenhout. Tevens het startschot voor het openen van 200 Kletskassa’s door heel Nederland. Meer lezen: https://t.co/gv6Q6xd2Ni pic.twitter.com/NfT7tBdk1Q— Jumbo Supermarkten (@JumboSupermarkt) September 27, 2021 The “Alles voor Mekaar” Foundation (which translates to “All Together”) runs the coffee corners with local volunteers. They connect lonely seniors with people who can help with things like gardening and grocery shopping, but mostly they just provide a place for people to show up and talk. This is all happening while the grocery industry is moving in the exact opposite direction. Self-checkout lanes, automated systems, less human interaction. Jumbo looked at that trend and said no thanks, we’re going to do the thing that actually helps people. The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport has supported local coalitions in all 355 municipalities across the Netherlands to fight loneliness through home visits, hotlines, and activity directories for seniors. The chat checkouts are one piece of a much larger national effort. It’s a pretty simple idea. Some people just want to talk while they’re buying their groceries. So you give them a place to do that. The post Dutch grocery store add slow lane for elderly customers who want to chat appeared first on Upworthy.

The beloved sculptor Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Some have taken this idea and applied it to our psychological sense of self and to those around us. The idea is that when someone in our lives (a friend, family member, or romantic partner) sees our greatest potential, it can have an immeasurable impact on who we become. It’s called the “Michelangelo Effect,” or the “Michelangelo Phenomenon.” In a clip from the Modern Wisdom podcast that has been making the rounds on social media, Chris Williamson explains the theory to his guest, Matthew McConaughey: “The Michelangelo Effect describes a situation in a relationship, friendship, or intimate partnership where each partner sees the best in the other—and tries to help bring that out. So the sum of the parts is greater than it is individually. I think in life, you want to be finding people who believe in you more than you believe in you. That holds you to higher standards.” McConaughey agrees McConaughey, ever the philosopher, agrees: “I think that’s a definition of a good friend. I think that’s the definition of a good partner. A good husband. Wife. They remind us of the best of ourselves.” One Facebook user asked a question that many were perhaps thinking: “What does Michelangelo have to do with it?” The answer came quickly: “Because, as a sculptor, he was able to see his subject inside of the marble before he sculpted.” We sculpt one another In a research paper co-authored by Caryl E. Rusbult, Eli J. Finkel, and Madoka Kumashiro, the authors note that those closest to us can help “sculpt” us: “The Michelangelo model suggests that close partners sculpt one another’s selves, shaping one another’s skills and traits and promoting versus inhibiting one another’s goal pursuits. As a result of the manner in which partners perceive and behave toward one another, each person enjoys greater or lesser success at attaining his or her ideal-self goals. Affirmation of one another’s ideal-self goals yields diverse benefits, both personal and relational.” View this post on Instagram In a piece for Psychology Today, Sara Eckel also explains the phenomenon using the example of a couple, Wendy and James, who saw the best potential in one another and were open to seeing themselves as they were seen. “By acknowledging and accepting each other’s help, Wendy and James experienced what University of Pittsburgh psychologist Edward Orehek calls ‘mutual perceived instrumentality,'” Eckel wrote. “Orehek’s research, with Amanda Forest, indicates that when partners feel instrumental to each other, they are more satisfied with their relationship—though he admits that the word instrumental can sound off-putting.” Romantic relationships Essentially, it’s suggested that who we surround ourselves with can change the way we see ourselves. Eckel notes another author who explains how this can manifest in romantic relationships: “Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, a professor at the University of Haifa and the author of The Arc of Love: How Our Romantic Lives Change Over Time, says that our partner’s beliefs and behavior toward us can bring us closer to the person we would like to become—the ‘ideal self’—in a process called the Michelangelo Phenomenon. ‘Just as Michelangelo saw his process of sculpting as releasing the ideal forms hidden in the marble,’ says Ben-Ze’ev, ‘close partners sculpt one another to bring each individual nearer to the ideal self, thus bringing out the best in each other. In such relationships, we see personal growth and flourishing reflected in statements like: ‘I’m a better person when I’m with her.'” On the Armani Talks podcast, the idea is summed up quite poetically: “The Michelangelo Phenomenon is a psychological principle that human beings are sculpted by those who we deem important.” The post The ‘Michelangelo Effect’ is a phenomenon that can positively strengthen all relationships appeared first on Upworthy.

Cat owners’ relationships with their cats run the gamut from “Fine, I’ll reluctantly feed you and clean your litter box” to “You are my favorite living creature on Earth, and I would die for you nine times over.” But even those of us who adore our kitties might playfully annoy them sometimes, not to be mean, but because cats are fun to mess around with.  People have been sharing videos of “rage baiting” their cats, a tongue-in-cheek term for intentionally annoying them in some way. For instance, a cat owner might pet a cat where it just cleaned itself, gently but repeatedly poke it, put it down really, really slowly, or whatever this is: @halokyte have an old draft because idk what else to post today and I didnt schedule enough lol #cat #truckingcat #blackcat #bopit #ragebaitmypet ♬ BOP IT BETCH – BradyinSeattle Obviously, actually enraging a cat is neither kind nor wise. But where is the line between playful interaction and actual torment? Some cats inexplicably enjoy the most random things, after all. So when does banter turn into bullying, and what are the signs that you’ve taken it too far with your feline friend? Julia Specht, cat behavior consultant and founder of Park Slope Paws, tells Upworthy that a cat owner’s intent matters a lot less than the impact. “I think every human can remember a time when someone was good-naturedly teasing them, but it made them feel afraid or angry or alone,” she said. “Cats can’t know what your intention is; they’re not capable of that tertiary-level thought. All they know is that you’re doing something unpleasant that they don’t like.” @peanutchutneyy It’s the eye twitch for me #gingercatsoftiktok #gingergirlcat #gingergirlcatsofinstagram #peanutthegingercat ♬ QKThr – Aphex Twin Often, cats will walk away if you do something they don’t like. But not always. Specht advises paying attention to a cat’s body language to determine whether it is stressed. “Are their ears back? Is their tail swishing? If so, they’re not happy. Maybe they’re not lashing out at you, but you’re not helping your relationship,” Specht said. “If they do lash out (by biting or swatting), hide from you, or avoid you, then you’re doing some serious damage to your relationship.”  Cats can get overstimulated, even from fun play, but especially from things we might do to “rage bait” them. PetMD writes that a sudden change in demeanor can signify overstimulation and is a sign to stop what you’re doing. So what can you do to entertain both yourself and your cat in a way that doesn’t cause it stress? “Fortunately for us humans, cats have incredible comedic timing,” said Specht. “There are all kinds of things you can do with your cat that will be both hilarious for you and enjoyable for them. Think about ways you can play with them, or give them fun enrichment activities like boxes or tissue paper. (Have you ever seen a cat attack a sheet of bubble wrap? I highly recommend it.) These activities also help make your relationship with your cat better in the long run.” Other ideas for playing with your cat in ways that are both fun and engaging include toys on poles that you can drag around for it to chase, giving it catnip, or buying or building puzzle toys or structures that hide treats, like the ones featured in this video from Cats Protection: Cats provide plenty of humor simply by being cats and doing cat-friendly things. As Specht tells Upworthy, “You don’t have to annoy your cat to get them to do something funny. They’ll do that on their own, if you give them the opportunity to.” The post When does ‘rage baiting’ your cat cross the line from playful fun to torment? Experts weigh in. appeared first on Upworthy.