Usha Vance finally put rumors to rest when she opened up about her marriage to Vice President JD Vance in a rare interview. The Second Lady has been at the center of divorce speculations since her husband was spotted hugging Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Vance, without his wedding ring. Usha has famously kept herself and her children largely out of the limelight since her family moved to Number One Observatory Circle. But after the recent negative press, she defended her relationship, claiming the ordeal has turned into “a family joke.” “I find that one of the really curious things about this life is that people really like to read the tea leaves,” she told USA Today in an interview published on Dec. 13. “And there’s a kind of an industry building stories about everything that they can imagine.” “I’d rather just sort of live in my marriage and in the real world and less in kind of the fever dreams that surround it,” she added. “So I mean, it is kind of a family joke. But also not something that I spend very much time thinking about.” Usha Vance Says ‘There Are Things That I Miss’ About Her Old Life Of course, JD’s recent appearance without his ring wasn’t the first time he and Usha fell into the “Ringgate” scandal. The couple had their first round when Usha was seen without her ring after JD said he hoped that Usha, who was raised in a Hindi family, would one day convert to Catholicism. At the time, Usha briefly commented about the situation to People, saying, “A mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.” “I wear it when I wear it, and I don’t when I don’t,” she noted while speaking to USA Today. “…Sometimes I’m wearing it, and sometimes I’ve just been to the gym and showered, and I’m not wearing it.” Overall, Usha Vance admitted that being married to the Vice President of the United States isn’t always fun and glamorous. And the former litigator sometimes misses parts of her old life. But she’s also “excited to have moved on from” other parts and is happily following her husband as he continues with his political aspirations. This story’s featured image is by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

If you look at any standard computer keyboard, you'll find a couple dozen punctuation marks, from the oft-used period and question mark to the lesser-used caret and backslash. Some lucky punctuation marks have seen a surge in usage in modern times, such as the @ (thanks to email) and the # (thanks to social media hashtags), but there are others so rarely used they won't be found on any keyboard.For instance, are you familiar with the interrobang or the snark mark? What about an asterism or an acclamation point? Most of us have never even heard of these marks, much less used them, but seeing why they exist, there's a case to be made for bringing them back from obsolescence. See on Instagram Etymology Nerd shared a post on Instagram featuring 16 rarely used punctuation marks, some old and forgotten and others newer but equally overlooked.Let's look at some of these marks in detail.Interrobang Two versions of the interrobang.Made with Canva In a magazine article in 1962, Madison Avenue executive Martin K. Speckter proposed combining the question and exclamation marks as a new symbol that combined excitement and doubt, which he called the interrobang. ("Interro" for the Latin interrogatio, meaning "questioning," and "bang" because that's what printers nicknamed the exclamation mark.) The idea took off, and for a handful of years the interrobang appeared in book titles and magazine articles; typewriter maker Remington Rand even created a replacement key featuring the mark.However, its popularity was short-lived. Less than a decade later, the interrobang had essentially disappeared. We still use the components of it together to denote incredulity: "Are you serious?!" But wouldn't it be so much cooler to have a unique mark like ‽ instead? Irony Mark and Percontation Point The irony mark and percontation point are similar, but different.Created in Canva How do you know in writing whether a question is serious or not? Sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it's not, but what if we had punctuation that told us straight up? Two punctuation marks of old would have helped with that. The irony mark, which has seen off-and-on popularity over the centuries, was meant to let readers know that what followed was intended to be ironic or sarcastic. One iteration is the elevated, backwards question mark, which goes at the beginning of the sentence, not the end.However, it appears that people rather enjoy having to decipher whether something is meant to be ironic, as none of the irony mark ideas have ever stuck around for long. A similar mark, the percontation point, has a related purpose. Placed like a normal question mark at the end of a sentence, it's meant for questions that are rhetorical in nature. It, too, is a mirrored question mark, and has been around for hundreds of years. But alas, it also has not stuck around.SarcMark™ and Snark Mark The SarcMark (left) and snark mark (right) can duke it out for relevancy.Created with Canva Sarcasm can be overt or it can be subtle, and in writing it's not always clear what a person's intent is. Similar to attempts at the irony mark, punctuation meant to denote sarcasm has been deemed necessary enough that people have tried to create it.The SarcMark (a trademarked name, apparently) was invented by Douglas Sak, who was writing an email to a friend and wanted to show that he was being sarcastic. In 2006, Sarcasm, Inc. was founded to spread the SarcMark far and wide, and there are even apps you can get to add the SarcMark to your devices. Another idea someone came up with is to type a period followed by a tilde to denote sarcasm. Not quite as cool, frankly. We also have the upside-down face emoji that basically does the same thing. Will these or any of the other rarely used punctuation marks actually make it? Time will tell. Language is always evolving. Fifty years ago, no one knew the pound sign would be called a "hashtag" by millions of youngsters and used the way it is today, so we may very well see some of these symbols used in some way we can't imagine now.

Jingles and slogans from commercials are meant to be catchy. For Boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964) and Gen Xers (those born from 1965 to 1980), hearing certain songs and phrases from back in the day can bring them right back to their childhood.These jingles (also known as earworms) never seem to fade away from memory, and that's on purpose. It's part of the marketing science behind how they're made."The way that we store music in our brains is a lot different from text, numbers, things like that. It goes a lot longer into our past and we remember music a lot longer than just a string of words," said Seth Ketron, assistant marketing professor at St. Thomas University, in an interview with CBS News. - YouTube www.youtube.com Ketron added, "We tend to pay attention to what we call peripheral cues. And so those are things like jingles, the attractiveness of a spokesmodel or just the sheer number of arguments they make. People will pay more attention to that stuff than they will the core message of the argument."And for Boomers and Gen Xers, hearing jingles from commercials and ads also triggers nostalgia."Music is inherently bound up with personal identity, and so [when people can] identify pieces of music without a lot of information, it’s often music from their youth [which can trigger] what we call the reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory," Dr. Kelly Jakubowski, assistant professor of music psychology at Durham University in the U.K, told TIME in 2022.She went on to explain that earworms are "when we get a song that pops into mind without you actually trying to recall any music," and "when we perceive or imagine music that’s quite meaningful to us, we get activation in what we call the reward centers of our brain."Simply put, these jingles really do make you feel good, too. Boomers and Gen Xers on Reddit shared 22 of the most memorable slogans and phrases from jingles that they still know and love."Ancient Chinese secret...We need more Calgon!!?" - Electronic_Pen_7161, Agathocles87"Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is! (Alka Seltzer). 'I can't believe I ate the whole thing.'" - cordialmanikin, EarlVanDorn"HeadOn apply directly to the forehead. Thank god." - sfw3015 - YouTube www.youtube.com "Raise your hand if you're Sure!!" - ActiveDinner3497"By Mennen." - danrydel"'Where's the Beef!'" - Enough_Equivalent379"I am stuck on Band-Aid because Band-Aid is stuck on me." - pinkbowsandsarcasm"Takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'." - archedhighbrow"You're not fully clean unless you're Zest-fully clean!" - ElanEclat"My bologna has a first name ..." mauispiderweb"'Could've had a V8'. I love saying this when someone does something stupid/forgets something/regrets something. The blank stares I get especially from the youngins." - JoeTurner89 - YouTube www.youtube.com "The little Burma-Shave signs with rhymes." - RunsWithPremise"Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!" - gladmoon"'Let your fingers do the walking'." - freewiffy"Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we want is that you let us serve it your way…. Burger King." - ActiveDinner3497"Sometimes you feel like a nut." - my_clever-name"Krazy Glue... used to show a construction guy with his hard hat glued to a cross beam. When I was a kid, I thought he was up really high in the air???." - Agathocles87 - YouTube www.youtube.com "Fine Corinthian leather." - Subject-Vermicelli52"Give it to Mikey- he hates everything." - legreyfox"Double-A (beep beep) M-C-O. AAMCO Transmissions." - TrifleMeNot"Certs is two, Two, TWO MINTS IN ONE!" - Fluid-Impression3993"7-up... the UNcola." - MrStrype

Working as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service opens you up to a lot of unique situations. Every day you trek up and down America’s streets, walk up to people’s front doors or into the courtyards of apartment complexes, there's the chance to see or experience something...odd. USPS employees see into houses and encounter all sorts of unique characters hanging out on their porches in the middle of a workday.Michael Morgan II, a USPS mailman, recently posted a blunt TikTok video where he admits he’s had it with the nudity he accidentally encounters on the job. Sadly, it’s the second time he’s had to tell his followers to be careful when they’re in front of their windows. Mail carriers see a lot of things they wish they didn't“So around this time last year, I came to y’all as a grown mailman and asked politely if you could close your windows,” Morgan said in a video with over 80,000 views. “You guys didn’t listen. So, to the lady in the kitchen, dancing in your undies, I saw you. You can’t dance, and I seent it.” @mailmanchronicles Y’all don’t listen #viral #trending #mailman #usps #fyp Unfortunately, it appears as though he’s going to continue to have the same shocking encounters, because the women who follow him don’t seem to care what he sees on his route. "We’re in the do not care club," Heather wrote in the comments. "So we BOTH had a good time," Morbid Knits added. "She apparently didn't see you, or she wanted you to see her," Joys wrote.Here's last year's reminder that "when the light's on, we can see you." @mailmanchronicles We can see you ? #nekkid #mailman #viral #foryoupage #fyp #trending Last year, Morgan also had to remind folks to be clothed when signing for a package. @mailmanchronicles ? Why you neaked? #mailman #viral #foryoupage #fyp #trending #usps #foryou #vlog #storytime Postal workers aren’t just revealing the salacious things they encounter at work on TikTok; many have also shared the bizarre things they’ve run across on Reddit. Here are six unforgettable stories they’ve shared.1. The great danes"An old lady on my route (who lived alone) had 2 Great Danes who would freak the F out every time I put mail in the slot and would rip it away. One day, they got TOO excited and went straight through the window above the door slot. Neither the dogs nor I were hurt. They both looked really stunned by what happened and ran away scared. Well, I felt bad because the owner wasn’t home and I was worried she’d think someone was trying to break in… so I told the next-door neighbors what happened, hoping they could say to her when she got home. WELL, fast-forward to the next day: animal control calls the PO, asking if I was okay. My boss was angry at me and said, ‘When you get attacked by dogs you’re supposed to tell me!’ I was confused, but then realized she was talking about the Danes. I told her the full story and she apologized. Turns out those neighbors were at war with the old lady because they didn’t like her dogs, and they called the police, saying I was covered in blood from those dogs attacking. I was so mad! No clue what those assholes’ end game was, did they think the police weren’t gonna come talk to me?!?! The Great Danes were very docile dogs too, they only went crazy over the door slot. I ended up having to soothe the old lady, assuring her the dogs were safe and that the police knew the truth. And I never saw those neighbors again. Gee, I wonder why."2. Rooster training"I saw a guy doing cardio training for a fighting rooster by having it run on a treadmill."3. Man in a bunny suit“Doing a SKETCHY trailer park CBU. A guy in a bunny costume comes up to me and asks me for money. Before I can say "no," a REALLY old guy comes up and yells that this is his panhandling territory (at least I think so. I couldn't really understand what he was saying). They get into a fist fight over the money I wasn't going to give them, and I drive on to the REALLY SKETCHY apartments on that route.”4. Not-so-happy birthday“Once on a delivery, I arrived right when the family started singing happy birthday, and the guy who let me in motioned that I should come over and sing, too. Right about the ‘dear kid-whose-name-i-don't-know’ part, their dog bit me. No growling or barking, it just ninja'd over, sniffed my leg, and bit me.”5. Circular delivery"I delivered Amazon packages to Jeff Bezos' house."6. Run!"Chased by a loose mule on Amazon Sunday.”

Finances are an issue with many families around the holiday season, especially in these current times. Parents of very young children want to give the best gifts and often squeeze the budget to get them. However, some parents have figured out that, for some kids, the best toy you can give them doesn’t come from a box—it is the box.Over on Reddit, parents are sharing that the best Christmas gift for your toddler could just be trash. That might sound a bit weird, extreme, and Scroogey, but it’s actually pretty wholesome. @alexandriabeard3 Give my kids some boxes and markers and they’re entertained for AWHILE! #christmas #toddlers Many young children have their imaginations to entertain them and transform things like cardboard toilet paper tubes, boxes, bubble wrap, and other packaging into fantastic toys. They blow into cardboard tubes as a horn, turn empty boxes into forts, or just allow themselves (with parental supervision) to tear it all up. For babies especially, playing with “trash” or household items help them explore shapes and textures while older toddlers go for the imagination route. Here are some examples of “trash” becoming a child’s holiday “treasure” along with other “non-toy toy” ideas:“My son loves a good box! And maybe some of that poppy wrap stuff. My mom, myself, and my son all love to pop those things lol.”“My baby loved a box filled with “confetti” saved from our three-hole punch. She loved the colourful little paper bits!”“So two decades ago when I had toddlers they looooved pulling tissues out of the box and throwing them in the air to float down. Literal hours of fun.”“We used to do a thing where ‘Santa’ hid lots of one item all over the living room and she would search for it, and the funniest one was Diet Coke cans.”“My father-in-law gave our son an empty yogurt container with a block in it. He LOVED it.”“My dad somehow got the idea to get us ALL refrigerator boxes, and we made a whole TOWN. We each got to cut up and decorate our house. It was amazing.” @alissabaileypace Why do we buy toys again?? ?? My toddler would rather play with a BOX than the million toys she owns. Santa’s elves are making cardboard this year ?? #toddlerlife #relatablemomcontent #momtok #ParentingHumor #toddlersoftiktok “One year I gave my baby a water bottle filled halfway with deer corn, the cap glued on. His favorite gift from Santa that year.”“A set of plastic nesting bowls and a wooden spoon. Easier on the ears than pots and pans.”“My daughters got silicone spatulas in their stockings when they were 18 months old. They loved to play with them, could chew on them, and they're still in use ten years later!” @moochstyle Love some sensory play for busy babies. #sensoryplay#babiesoftiktok #babyplay “When one of mine was a toddler (like three?) she got a little bag of pepperoni in her stocking because she was OBSESSED with pepperoni. So she got her own little packet that she didn’t have to share with anyone, and she was thrilled. Cost me like $3, I think?”“My grandson's favorite gift when he was one was a plastic coke bottle filled with colorful buttons and a couple of bells and the lid crazy glued shut. He'd roll it and chase it for hours and when he got big enough, kick it around.”“My son loved to build with ‘recycled’ materials. His favorite gift one year was from my mom— a year’s worth of paper towel/toilet paper rolls and two 6-roll packets of Scotch tape.”“One year, when he was about four, my now-grown son asked everyone for broken telephone and small appliances so he could dismantle them. He also asked for and got a tool box with duct tape, clothespins, rope and other things like that. He is extremely successful and still can dismantle (and reassemble) pretty much anything.”“We’re on our second child and at this point I’m fine with her sharing the dog's chew toys.” @craygardens When Christmas shopping for your younger kids think about things that are REAL vs a toy version, good quality, and open ended (meaning they can be used in multiple ways vs 1 specific way)!!! Gifts that fit those criteria will get you way more mileage than cheap plastic crap from Mr. Beast or Ryan’s World… shade intended. #inexpesivegiftideas #toddlermom #christmasgiftideas #giftsforkids #greenscreen Another budget-friendly way to get a gift for your toddler is to take some recyclable materials and make one yourself. If you’re crafty, you can surprise your child with musical instruments made from empty cans, a “car” made out of a cardboard box and paint for them to sit in and pretend to drive, or dolls made out of clay or paper. With your creativity (and maybe with some help from them to make it a family activity), you can get them their new favorite toy without spending a dime.Or, you could just get them an industrial-sized roll of bubble wrap and call it a holiday, whatever makes them happiest.