A social media trend where people search Google Maps for archived photos has helped one woman take a sweet but unexpected walk down memory lane. Thanks to Google Maps, people have long been able to explore archived images that allow them to revisit their childhood neighborhood, catch glimpses of deceased loved ones or their younger selves, and even see gone-but-not-forgotten childhood pets. The photos, snapped by Google’s “Street View” feature, allow users to see zoomed in views of streets all over the world. In a sweet development, one image even momentarily reconnected a woman with her beloved childhood dog during an unrelated search. People are discovering images of loved ones they’ve never seen before via Google’s Street View archives. Photo credit: Mustafa Alkan/Pexels A surprise from the past Becky Turner turned to the archives of Google Maps Street View hoping to find an old image she knew existed on the platform. She was looking for a snapshot of her sister riding a bike in the driveway, she told People. But she didn’t find the photo she was looking for. Instead, she was completely caught off guard by a photo of her sister and their deceased cat. The surprises didn’t stop there. In a video Turner posted to her TikTok account that has gained more than nine million views, she showed off a Google Maps photo of her yard from 2011. She zooms in to reveal her childhood dog, Sonny, joyfully gamboling in the grass. @bckbcktrnr Sonny boy ♬ original sound – c.rter “And somewhere on Google Maps in 2011 my childhood dog is still prancing around the sunny front yard,” she writes in the chyron across the screen. She was shocked to find a never-before-seen photo of her beloved dog. “It was a new experience with him that I got to have, and that made it feel really special. Even after death, I’m still discovering that he finds ways to tell me he is around,” she told People. “I believe that dogs only live so long because they are here to teach us, and when the job is done, they can rest. A dog is only a portion of our life, but we are their whole life,” Turner told People. “We should try to make it as fulfilling as possible for them, and be happy for the moments we shared together, and the memories made along the way.” Other users were inspired to look for their loved ones Turner isn’t the only one to reconnect with a loved one via the map’s Street View feature. Thousands of users took to her comment section to share sweet stories of loved ones or pets they were able to see in the platform’s archives. Many added that being able to revisit these memories has helped them grieve and offered a special way to reconnect. “I can see my husband out in our driveway, he’s been gone 11 years,” one user remarked. “I love how there’s little bits of them still wherever we go and even in places we don’t look for it,” another added. “There’s a picture of my papa in 2010 doing yard work by the street on maps. I hope they never update it,” one user commented.  Another user added they “went on there to see what the color of our house used to be. ended up crying,” posted alongside a picture of their own now-deceased dog. “It’s nice to know my Old Boy is still chasing Cars away from the Old house…” one user shared with an image of their dog at the end of a driveway. “I go back every once in a while to see the only picture of my childhood dog,” added another. One user even painted the picture Turner found of Sonny, saying, “Hope you don’t mind. This was too nice not to paint.” She’s carrying on Sonny’s legacy In a somewhat serendipitous twist, Turner’s own career has long helped others keep their own beloved pets close to their hearts. View this post on Instagram Turner is a tattoo artist in New Haven, Connecticut, and sometimes tattoos portraits of pets for her clients. “It’s reassuring to know that animals impact other people so deeply, too,” she told People. “I’m so happy I can help memorialize and heal people who have lost their fur buddies.” The post Woman’s childhood dog shows up unexpectedly in Google Maps search, and millions relate appeared first on Upworthy.

Invasive species of Asian mussels have met their match in Alberta’s riverine sniffer dogs. These K9 conservationists have been employed by the provincial government for over a decade to help catch zebra and golden mussels from colonizing the rivers and lakes of Alberta. Hilo, Jane, and Winnie, 2 black labs and a black-lab cross, are […] The post Do-Good Dogs Fight Invasive Mussels as ‘Conservation Canines’ appeared first on Good News Network.

When it comes to intergenerational conflict, you tend to have you major nemeses. Gen Zers take aim at Gen Xers, while baby boomers and millennials are notoriously at odds and just can’t get on the same page. Maybe it’s because millennials were raised during the technological revolution and have to help their boomer parents log into Netflix. There’s also a political divide: Millennials are a reliable liberal voting bloc, whereas boomers are the target demographic for Fox News. Both generations also have differing views on parenting, with boomers favoring an authoritative style over the millennials’ gentler approach. Why these stories resonate across generations A Redditor asked Xennials, older millennials, and younger Gen Xers born between 1977 and 1983 to share some quirks of their boomer parents, and they created a fun list of habits that can be both endearing and frustrating. The users shared that millennials are frustrated with their parents’ abilities to use technology, but are touched when they send them a greeting card. Of course, it is reductive to reduce generations into a series of stereotypes, whether it’s millennials or baby boomers. But, for many, hearing that they aren’t the only person who gets frustrated with their boomer parents can be pretty cathartic and make them feel less alone. Here are 15 boomer parent quirks that millennials often struggle to understand. 1. They save everything “They save EVERYTHING (containers, jars, boxes, etc.) just in case they might be able to use it for something later. I feel like this habit was handed down from our grandparents’ Great Depression upbringing.” “Absolutely! Shopping bags, empty yogurt containers, boxes that some product came in…..although I love me a ‘good box!’ I have all my iPhone boxes for no reason.” 2. Scary texts Another text from the mom that cried wolf. Photo credit: Canva “Will text something foreboding like ‘we need to talk;’ then turns out she forgot a recipe.” “My dad will text me ‘You need to call me right now’ when it’s nothing. And not tell me major life events until well after the fact. Like my aunt had a heart attack and I found out a week later from her son. (And my dad did know.)” 3. Stranger death toll “My mom is ALWAYS telling me about dead people I’ve never met. I really do not care. I know that sounds awful, but I don’t have it in me to be sad for everyone on the planet when they pass.” “You remember my friend Carol? Her aunt had that above-ground swimming pool in her backyard. We swam in it a couple times one summer when you were about 9. Anyway, Carol’s mom just lost her brother-in-law. They were very close. Thought you’d want to know.” 4. They don’t travel “They act jealous of us traveling but refuse to go anywhere.” “Ooh good one. Mine act jealous of anything we do/buy that they can’t solely because they can’t get out of their own way and actually make things happen.” 5. They print everything “My Boomer FIL prints out EVERYTHING from his computer. I understand printing out instructions or recipes to help remember but do you really need a file cabinet full of forwarded emails from friends and sale adverts from 5 years ago? Oh well, at least he keeps it organized. Also, both TVs in the house run 24/7 playing reruns of ‘CSI: Who Gives a Sh*t Anymore?'” “I’m not on Facebook, but my dad is. Last year, he made a celebratory post on my birthday and all his church friends liked and commented on it. He printed up the post and all of the comments, stapled it into a little book, and MAILED me the printed Facebook comments…” 6. ‘From, dad’ texts @kaitlinm222 The text signature has returned. Signed, MY ROGUE #boomers #momhumor #fyp #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Kaitlin | NJ “My dad sends text messages with, ‘From, Dad’ at the end of them. It cracks me up every time. He also states who he is every time he calls me.” 7. Irrational fears “One quirk my dad had was that he was deathly afraid of the house burning down. Not from the standpoint of the danger of fire but when he was growing up, if your house burnt down, you were basically homeless and destitute. My mom is much more level headed about it. She always told my dad, that is why we have homeowners insurance.” 8. Expired food “My mother-in-law doesn’t throw out expired food. She has food in her pantry that is several years past their expiration dates. Same with condiments in her fridge. You just can’t trust any of the food she has on hand because more than likely than not it’s way expired. When we have brought this up, that she needs to throw some stuff out, she insists it’s absolutely fine. It’s not. “ “My grandmother is the same way. Once, she opened her refrigerator, and there was a jar of pickles with mold floating on the surface of the liquid. I pointed it out, and she said it was still good. She would just scoop the mold out at a later time. She has an incredibly strong stomach and immune system.” 9. Smartphone addiction It isn’t just the teens that get lost in the scroll. Photo credit: Canva “You always hear a kids ‘these kids always on their damn phones.’ But when it comes to phone addiction, boomers are far worse.” “My mom drives five hours to see us, then spends the whole time texting people from her church or looking at Facebook.” “I once sat in their living room for over an hour before they decided to put their phones down and speak to me, only to phub me and pick them right back up.” 10. Rigid gender roles @dirtyhistorian These barriers, however, ignited a growing desire for equality, eventually propelling movements that would transform future generations. ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design “My dad still clings to the traditional division of ‘men’s/women’s work.’ He’ll fix a car, do any outside work, clean out a clogged drain. Cooking? If it’s any more complicated than making coffee or calling in a pizza, he can’t/won’t. I don’t think he even grills anymore. Laundry? Hell no. Taking care of small children? He’ll play with them but that’s it.” 11. The TV is constantly on Nothing quite like a good rerun of “Murder, She Wrote.” Photo credit: Canva “In-laws leave the TV on for all waking hours. And FIL gets irritated if someone talks over the episode of MASH or Walker, Texas Ranger, that he’s already seen 50 times. Like clenching his teeth and stomping the floor.” “TV on 24/7. Constantly flipping between some version of Law and Order, HGTV, and Guy Fieri. Asking me ‘did you see that commercial where…’ No mom. I don’t have cable. I don’t see commercials. All of the time.” 12. They are always right “My dad…he’s has to be right about everything and doesn’t know what to do if you beat him to the point on something. He once was giving me a recipe that required cinnamon, cardamon, and clove and told me just to use Pumpkin Pie Spice! It’s the greatest thing! ‘Dad, I don’t need to. I have all those spices on hand (I bake)’ But…no! You have to use this. ‘No, I don’t. I don’t need to buy something that I already have” It happens all the time.” “My parents are always right and they are not impressed about anything.” 13. Obsessed with the weather “Yes, my dad should have been a meteorologist. He used to have a weather alert radio that would sound off in the middle of the night and he would watch the weather channel constantly. We all had to quiet down when your local weather forecast on the 8’s came on. He gets really excited about severe weather like when we might get thunderstorms or a tornado.” 14. One more thing “Without fail, every time I’m leaving my mother’s house and backing down the driveway, she comes back out of her house and stops me to say something else, even though we’d just spoken.” 15. Mail stress “My mom has an anxiety attack during the entire journey of a package or piece of mail she dispatched to me. No, she doesn’t know how to track. She will not rest until she knows that a package has arrived or a nominal check has been cashed. She calls when she is thinking about sending something, when she sent it, when it’s en route, and when it’s expected to arrive. God forbid it’s late. And if I don’t issue a prompt thank you, she will guilt me.” https://www.reddit.com/r/Xennials/comments/1d7ysjg/what_are_some_quirks_of_your_boomer_parents/ It’s about the intent These quirks are less about proving who is right and more about how families show care in different ways. We text fast, they send cards. We track packages on our phones, they call to make sure it arrived. If we meet each other with a little patience and a sense of humor, the gap starts to feel smaller. This story originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post 15 quirky boomer habits that frustrate millennials to the core appeared first on Upworthy.

There can be a lot of pressure to do what our communities and peers expect of us. Some people find absolute bliss by letting go of peer pressure. Imagine the joy in doing less of what is “required” and more of what’s right for you. A question was posed in a recent r/AskReddit thread: “What’s something you didn’t realize was optional in life until you saw someone simply not doing it?” Comments ranged from common-sense opinions to valuable life lessons. It’s a curious thought about what things we might be engaging in that aren’t actually serving us. Perhaps you will remove a few of these from your behavioral patterns. People at a demonstration rally. Photo credit Canva Letting go of what’s not required My opinion is necessary on this A few quick keystrokes, and our thoughts and opinions are easily shared on a seemingly endless stream of topics. Often with little repercussions, someone might even find themselves telling a professional how to apply their field of expertise properly. “That you don’t actually have to have an opinion on everything. Watching someone say “I don’t know enough about that to comment” made me realize silence is an option too.” Here were some clever responses to that way of thinking: “I find such peace in not forming opinions about a lot of things.” “it’s cheeky but liberating for me when people ask, ‘what do you think about […]?’ and I reply, ‘I don’t'” “Social media has been the biggest driver of people thinking they have to have an opinion on everything & it has destroyed the fabric of society.” “Some things are really, really complicated and I’m not being paid to figure them out” People at a party. Photo credit: Canva It’s important to attend the events to which I’m invited Maybe it seems like a form of rocket science to uncover the best way to excuse ourselves from something. But, perhaps it’s actually simpler to say “no thank you” than come up with an elaborate excuse. “Saying ‘thank you for the invitation, but I/we won’t be able to make it!’ to a social invite without providing a detailed explanation about WHY you can’t attend.“ These responses sum up the idea nicely: “Usually the person you’re talking to doesn’t even care that you don’t have a reason. They were just wanting to hear yes or no” “BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE YOU, KAREN!” “when I was young my mom taught me that “No.” is a complete sentence.” “Yes and this also applies to work if you’re using to or vacation. You earned that time, you don’t have to explain why you want to use it. Same with canceling appointments.” A man worried on a bench. Photo credit: Canva Worrying about everything It’s easy to get wrapped up in fear and worries. But how many things do we actually have the ability to change? On top of that, how many things are actually interfering with our lives and overall happiness? “The world doesn’t end if you burn a pizza, or if the water spills over when boiling pasta. That guy who cut you off isn’t the worst part of your day, the staff member at the store checking your ID isn’t a bad person. You can just “not” react to those things, and life gets a whole lot easier.” Redditors seemed to settle into this concept rather easily: “I was irritated that an accident on the freeway made me late for my first day of a new job. I took a step back and realized the people involved in that accident likely wished that my issue was their problem that day.” “I try and teach my little niece this – ‘whoopsie daisies!’ and ‘no big deal, we’ll clean it up! are common phrases my sis and I use.” “Growing up my dad always said ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ Used to piss me off because he usually said it when I was arguing with my sister LOL. But now I think it’s actually such an important view to have.” “I stress myself out about trying to do the best I can, trying to fight executive disfunction, being fast and efficient and right the first time. I really need to let that go and relax more.” Sipping coffee and not answering the door. Photo credit: Canva Don’t put too much pressure on yourself When you’re home, make yourself available To some, this may be a novel concept that we are not at the beck and call of people. Perhaps it’s reasonable and fair to get back to others when it’s most convenient for us. “Was casually speaking to my neighbor and she mentioned the neighborhood was getting hit hard by solicitors lately. I told her a few were selling internet plans, no name wireless, and pest control services, she looked at me like I had a horn between my eyes and asked me why I was opening my door to strangers. Made me really think about how programmed we are to answer the door, to anyone and everyone who may or may not be nefarious. So, I just stopped, because it IS weird I would open my door to someone I’m not expecting.” People responded with their own thoughts about not answering the door: “The doorbell and phone ringing are requests for your attention/time. You get to decide if you grant those requests” “And you don’t have to hide from them either! Look out your front window, realize it’s a salesperson, wave, and then ignore them til they leave.” “Years ago I realized that my door, much like my phone, is for MY convenience, not the world’s.” “My intercom is on private. I disabled my doorbell, and less than five people know my full address. I also only speak to one neighbour. Makes for a peaceful life.” Sometimes it’s about the task at hand When you start something, you must see it through to the end Sometimes it’s hard to put things down. Just because we “started” doesn’t necessarily mean “stopping” makes us a quitter. “This was a revelation to me, when a friend casually mentioned that he’d started reading a particular book, but it didn’t grab him, so he stopped. I pushed back because I’d somehow got the idea that if a book didn’t interest me, that was a fault in me for not getting it/trying hard enough/being smart enough, but he was like ‘it’s the authors job to make me want to keep reading’.” Commenters agreed that it’s worth stopping before finishing: “The same goes for TV series, movies, videogames, etc. If you’re not enjoying it or you’ve had enough you can just stop.” “And a book can be great but still not for me. Sometimes I just can’t get into it at that point in time or ever.” “Just because you invested money into it doesn’t mean you need to see it through to the end. Do something else.” “Yes! For a long time I felt this need to finish any book I picked up and I forced myself through some that truly just did not mesh with me.” Things have more value if they’re complicated There’s something to be said for having the time and patience to work through a challenge. However, filling up our lives with complicated tasks isn’t necessarily the best plan for a more enjoyable life. “I call myself a Darwinist about my belongings. If you can make it through the washer/dryer, or the dishwasher, then you get to survive. Saves a whole lotta hassle, and reduces expectations.” These were some of the opinions people had around making life less complicated: “I’ve got this great ironing hack called ‘Don’t buy clothes that need ironing.'” “For me, it’s ‘if I can’t throw it in the dishwasher, I don’t want it in my kitchen’. Gasp in horror that I don’t follow your 5-step knife care routine, but I really dgaf.” “Yup, I still remember the exact Sunday night years ago when I was ironing my dress shirts for work thinking to myself ‘Why am I wasting time outside of work doing work related stuff?’ That was the last time I wore clothes that needed ironing to work.” “I know of people who iron their sheets. It doesn’t have to be like this. We can break the cycle.” An awkward hug. Photo credit: Canva Never sacrifice your character Stay true to your friends and family, no matter what This one might be a bit more complicated than most. However, everyone has the right to determine if a friend is bringing value to the relationship. “My closest pals through me a little party and they asked who I wanted to come and I left someone off the list that we’d normally invite. They asked and I just said: unless you guys really want her here, or if it will cause an issue, I don’t want her to come. We all know how she’ll act and I just want to have a nice time. Everyone agreed though: we’re all tired of her behaviour. So we didn’t invite her and had a wonderful time.” These were some thoughts by other Redditors: “Yep my mil has a huge problem with me not wanting to see or speak to their bigoted racist family. I want nothing to do with them.” “I just hope your not dropping family because of their views / ideologies / politics, but because of how they treat you.” “Dropping toxic friends and, most especially family, out of your life. “What do you mean you’re not inviting A**hole Uncle Frank to Thanksgiving?” “Yup!” It is soooooooo good!” “But who’s going to complain about the Obamacare royalties if Uncle Frank doesn’t show up????” What’s something you didn’t realize was optional in life until you saw someone simply not doing it? byu/Objective-Treat2245 inAskReddit What the research actually says Learning how to adapt to what actually works in our lives is a valuable tool supported by science. A 2025 study in BioMed Central found that hanging out with peers who engage in problematic behaviors increases depression. Learning how to protect ourselves against adopting behaviors that don’t actually serve us strongly supports emotional growth and self-esteem. A 2025 study in the Wiley Online Library found that positive self-view protected individuals from engaging in harmful behaviors. Learning how to curb unproductive habits can lead to more happiness. A 2022 study in MDPI showed that treating yourself kindly and being mindful of your emotional state and personal needs contribute to overall well-being. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post People reveal how much happier they are after ditching these 7 so-called ‘required’ things appeared first on Upworthy.

Mark Ruffalo was 33, married about a year, and his wife was pregnant with their first child. He had just finished a run on You Can Count on Me that put him on Hollywood’s radar for the first time, and he was in the final days of shooting The Last Castle with James Gandolfini and Robert Redford. Then he woke up around 3 a.m. before a 4 a.m. call. “I just had this crazy dream,” he told Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett on their SmartLess podcast. “It wasn’t like any other dream I’d ever had. It was just like, ‘You have a brain tumor.’ It wasn’t even a voice, it was just pure knowledge. ‘You have a brain tumor, and you have to deal with it immediately.'” He had no symptoms. The only thing out of the ordinary was an ear infection the night before, in his left ear. He went to the doctor on set that day and told her about the dream. She thought he was being ridiculous, and said as much, but agreed to order a CAT scan after he wrapped for the day, largely to settle it. The scan found a mass behind his left ear roughly the size of a golf ball. A biopsy confirmed it was a vestibular schwannoma, also known as an acoustic neuroma. It’s a benign tumor that grows on the nerve running from the inner ear to the brain, and it affects roughly one person in 100,000 each year. Benign does not mean harmless. The tumor was sitting against his facial nerve, and it needed to come out. Ruffalo did not tell his wife, Sunrise Coigney. “I didn’t tell Sunny because I know she had the birth plan, she did the yoga, she had the doula,” he said. “You know, we had the hot tub ordered.” He kept it to himself for two weeks, through the birth of their son Keen, and when he finally told her she assumed he was joking. Once she understood he wasn’t, her first response was, “I always knew you were going to die young.” The surgery carried real risk to his hearing and to the facial nerve, which for a screen actor is a career. Ruffalo made his position clear to the doctors. “Take my hearing. Let me keep the face. Just let me be the father to this kid.” He woke up with the left side of his face paralyzed and unable to close his eye. The paralysis lasted about a year before movement came back. The hearing did not. He has been deaf in his left ear ever since. He also stepped away from work while he recovered, turning down the role of Merrill Hess in Signs, which went to Joaquin Phoenix. In a 2013 interview with the Acoustic Neuroma Association, Ruffalo said he told almost no one at the time. “It was scary, obviously, and I also had an odd bit of shame about it, or fear about it, and how it would be perceived, especially in my profession. So I didn’t really tell anybody. I told my best friend, my manager, and I told my family.” The post Mark Ruffalo dreamed he had a brain tumor. The next day a scan found one. appeared first on Upworthy.