It’s hard to explain the all-consuming adorableness of a kitten to someone who’s never had one. Yes, we all see how cute they are in photos and videos, but falling in love, in real life, with a kitten of your own is a whole other level of swoon. Every single thing they do is cute. Every yawn. Every stretch. Every pounce. Don’t even get me started on sneezes. How many times have we seen the classic “didn’t want a cat” story of a “not a cat person” falling hard and fast for a kitten? It happens. And a viral video of a man who is unable to contain himself over his new kitten’s cuteness perfectly encapsulates what that looks like. “Well, I’m just going to explode, aren’t I?” the man says to the woman behind the camera before going on and on about how he’d step in front of a bullet for the kitten. “Look at that cute little boy,” he says as the small orange tabby lies curled up in a blanket. “Yeah, that’s mine forever now. That’s mine forever. And he comes before you, now. He’s mine.” @waif8chimney So I guess I’d die for this kitty ♬ original sound – Waif The pacing around with energy to burn. The “cute patootie bobooty.” The “I’m literally going to explode” moving right into the “I’m going to eat him,” and “I would die for you.” The fact that they just met and he’s already up to his eyeballs in gushy, smushy love. It’s all so relatable to those of us who’ve gone off the deep end after adding a tiny furry feline to our family. Cat owners immediately felt seen People in the comments shared the sentiment. “I got a kitten a week ago and it literally pains me to leave her everyday. She’s all i think about “ “The overstimulated pacing is so real. “ “Every second of this was the correct response.” “I just got two and the overload of emotions is beyond words.” “12 years later and I still talk about my cat like this “ “The amount of times I tell her ‘I’d shmurder for you!!'” “The cuteness aggression is completely appropriate! ‘Cutie-patootie-bobootie, I’m gonna eat em.'” Grrrr, wook at his widdle paws and his widdle whiskers. Photo credit: Canva Cute aggression is a real thing Lots of people mentioned “cuteness aggression” in the comments, and that’s exactly what we’re witnessing in the video. When you feel so overwhelmed by the cuteness of something that you want to squish it, squeeze it, bite it, or even eat it? That’s cute aggression, a term coined by social psychologist Oriana Aragon in 2014. “Cute aggression seems to be a mechanism to manage the overload of positive feelings we can get when we interact with something too cute for us to handle,” says Associate Professor Lisa A. Williams, a social psychologist from the University of New South Wales. “In other words, to counter an overwhelming barrage of positive feelings, we seek to tamp it down, and weirdly enough, that can play out as an aggressive inclination.” It’s not actually aggression in the strictest sense, as the impulse comes along with a strong feeling of wanting to protect the cute little animal, child, or whatever is causing the explosion of feeling. Like, you might feel a strong urge to bite your baby, but you would never actually bite your baby. You might want to squish your kitten or hug your puppy as tight as you can, but you wouldn’t because you know it would harm them. It’s a weird contrast of feelings, but it’s common. And it’s hard to explain to people who don’t experience it. Interestingly, Aragon says that those who do experience cute aggression also tend to experience other dimorphous expressions of positive emotion, which includes crying when happy. “People who, you know, want to pinch the baby’s cheeks and growl at the baby are also people who are more likely to cry at the wedding or cry when the baby’s born or have nervous laughter,” she told NPR. Whatever we call it, the urge to bite the baby or squish the kitten is real for many of us who feel totally seen in these videos. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post Man’s inability to control himself over his new kitten’s cuteness is beyond relatable appeared first on Upworthy.

The term “Merry Christmas” is one of the most wholesome phrases known to man. But did you know it was once condemned as sacrilegious? And while we’re at it, why do we only say “Merry Christmas” and not “Merry Easter,” or “Merry Birthday,” and so on? And why do the Brits use “Happy Christmas” instead of “Merry Christmas”? Are the two synonymous? All these questions shall be answered below. First off, it’s important to note that “merry” and “happy” do not have the same etymology, nor do they share the exact same connotations. Merry came about first via the Germanic language around the 12th century, meaning “joyful,” “cheerful,” “pleasant” etc. Happy, on the other hand, didn’t come into the scene until the 14th century, and meant “luck,” “chance,” or “fortunate.” Both “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Christmas” were used interchangeably for Yuletide greetings all throughout history. That is, until we get to the Victorian era. It used to mean something very different As historian and host of the Who Did What Now? podcast Katie Charlwood explained, up until this point, Christmas was often a much “rowdier” affair. And by this time, merry had evolved to also describe more raucous, debaucherous, alcohol-induced behavior. Many folks didn’t exactly appreciate this association with what was seen as a sacred, holy holiday. The criticism predates Victorian times. As early as 1772, one person called the use of “Merry Christmas” “wicked,” writing, “We celebrate the festivity of our Savior, as if we were ministering the mad orgies of Bacchus.” Then, in 1864, a reverend named Gordon Calthrop called for the exclusive use of “Happy Christmas,” arguing that merriment, essentially, is but a noisy cover-up for internal turmoil. “The boisterous gaiety which many put on, is oftentimes only a mask. It covers a sad, sad face,” he said. “And if a man tries to reassure me, or to persuade himself, by extravagant demonstrations of delight, that he is exceedingly happy, I always feel disposed to take the liberty to doubt the statement. True happiness is not a noisy and boisterous, but a quiet thing.” Then Dickens settled the argument Nevertheless, “Merry Christmas” took over the era’s pop culture, including the first commercial Christmas card, multiple carols, and, of course, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol…which had around 20 “Merry Christmases,” and not one “Happy Christmas.” Even the famous last line of The Night Before Christmas was changed from its original “a Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” After that, “Merry Christmas” won the title as the go-to holiday greeting—in America, at least. Across the pond, “Merry Christmas” was often seen as a little too low-brow, especially given its popularity in America. One critic even said it had a “ridiculous amount of sentiment” (most British statement ever). Then, when King George V wished everyone a “Happy Christmas” during a radio broadcast (and George VI after that, then Elizabeth II), it was solidified as the preferred, classier option. Clearly, the conversation about whether or not Christmas should be a somber, contemplative, religious affair or a fun and festive party is not a new one. Nor is the conversation about how to properly send someone our best holiday wishes. But this certainly makes a case for “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” covering all the bases, doesn’t it? This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post The scandalous reason Americans say ‘Merry Christmas’ while Brits say ‘Happy Christmas’ appeared first on Upworthy.

You have probably eaten one without a second thought. You’re not alone. The McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich—a soft little square of breaded fish, tartar sauce, and a slice of cheese—is one of the best-selling fast-food sandwiches on the planet. Approximately 300 million are sold per year. That’s equal to about 820,000 fish sandwiches a day. But did you know it only exists because of a centuries-old religious rule, a struggling restaurant owner, and an epic showdown against a grilled pineapple sandwich?  Yes, really. Stick with us. This is one of the great origin stories in fast food. A Friday problem in a Catholic neighborhood  Rewind to Cincinnati in 1962. A franchisee named Lou Groen ran a McDonald’s on the west side of town, which was heavily Catholic, according to The Catholic Telegraph. Inside a Catholic Church. Photo credit: Canva Back then, observant Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. For a restaurant that sold almost nothing but burgers, that spelled a slow-motion disaster. Every Friday, and all through the 40 days of Lent, Groen’s customers walked right past him to a nearby Frisch’s Big Boy that served a fish sandwich. Here’s the part that matters most: Groen was Catholic himself. So he didn’t have to study his customers to understand them; he was one of them. He knew how they thought and how they behaved. He understood exactly the kind of sandwich that would bring customers back to McDonald’s on Fridays. Why fish, and not a burger?  The answer comes down to an overlooked piece of church tradition. For centuries, Catholics marked Fridays by giving up meat—the flesh of warm-blooded land animals like beef, pork, and chicken—as a small weekly sacrifice. Fish, which comes from the water, was always allowed. So a fish sandwich, for Groen, wasn’t just a clever loophole. He knew this was often the only protein a Catholic would eat all day. It let them keep the rule without skipping dinner. Groen set out to fill that gap—meatless, but still satisfying—and changed the history of fast food forever.  One sandwich, one very strange contest  Groen got to work. He tested sandwich after sandwich before finally landing on his Filet-O-Fish prototype: a filet of battered fish spread with tartar sauce, sitting on a golden bun. He drove his precious idea to headquarters to pitch Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald’s Corporation. Kroc hated it. “I don’t want my stores stunk up with the smell of fish,” he told Groen. Secretly, there was another problem. Kroc had a meatless idea of his own: the Hula Burger, a slice of grilled pineapple with cheese on a bun. (Yes, he genuinely thought this was a good idea.) So the two men made a bet. On one Good Friday, both sandwiches would go on sale, and whichever sold more would earn a permanent spot on the menu. Kroc was so sure he’d win that he wagered a new suit with his right-hand man, Fred Turner. It wasn’t close. Groen’s fish sandwich sold 350. The Hula Burger sold six. Fred got his suit, and McDonald’s got the Filet-O-Fish. From a Cincinnati fix to a global icon  That win made history. By 1965, the Filet-O-Fish had rolled out nationwide as the first new item ever added to McDonald’s original menu. It was a real milestone for a chain built on burgers and fries. The recipe shifted over the decades. Groen’s original halibut eventually gave way to more affordable, sustainably sourced Alaska pollock, which is what you’re eating in the United States today. Today’s Filet-O-Fish. Photo credit: Flickr And the sandwich never forgot where it came from. Even now, about a quarter of all Filet-O-Fish sales each year occur during Lent. More than 60 years on, that little fish square is still doing the exact job Groen built it for. The bigger story hiding between your fries  It’s easy to forget that the mainstream American menu didn’t appear out of nowhere. Everything we eat contains a story, a history. The Filet-O-Fish is a small, delicious reminder that Catholic culture shaped what millions of us eat—most of us without ever knowing it. For Groen, none of this was a gimmick. The sandwich saved his franchise and built a legacy: his family ran his Cincinnati restaurants for three generations, passing the business to his grandchildren. So next time you unwrap that unassuming little sandwich, give it a second look. You’re biting into a piece of American history, invented by a man who understood his neighbors well enough to save his business and who changed fast food by accident. The post The McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish was born from Catholic Church law appeared first on Upworthy.

For a certain subset of people, being able to fly on a private jet is the ultimate achievement. It means you’ve made it into the elite of the elite, the celebrity class, and you no longer have to deal with TSA screenings, flight delays, cancellations, and all the headaches that come with the traditional airport experience. But Conan O’Brien, beloved comedian, television host, podcaster—and multi-millionaire—says flying private really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. That’s why he avoids it as often as he can. Conan O’Brien says he almost always flies commercial Celebrities often charter private jets because, well, they can afford it. But it also has a lot to do with their level of fame. For someone as recognizable as Conan O’Brien, the attention from other passengers could easily become uncomfortable. Someone like Taylor Swift or Lebron James would simply be swarmed on a commercial flight. O’Brien was recently interviewed on John Mayer’s How’s Life? podcast, and this exact topic came up when he mentioned being too self-conscious to whip out his travel guitar for practice on a crowded plane. “My rule is I’ll fly on a private jet if someone else is paying for it. That’s my rule,” O’Brien says. “But for the most part, I would rather educate my children. So I fly commercial, and you know, I’m fortunate I get to fly in the part of the plane where I get some leg room.” He went on to mention the absurd cost, calling private jets a good way “to go broke.” Still, if he wanted to, he could likely afford it, as his net worth is estimated at around $200 million. O’Brien also noted the environmental impact of private jets as a downside. But neither of these was the main reason he prefers to fly on standard airlines: “It’s gonna sound crazy, but I really like to go through and chat up the people at the TSA. I don’t mind taking the belt off,” he says. “I like being in the world with other people that are traveling.” In the past, O’Brien has laughed off the idea he would ever own a private jet On an episode of his podcast, Conan Needs a Friend, he once talked about chartering a jet for a group of comedians doing a comedy tour. Everyone assumed that he owned it. “I fly commercial, I don’t have a jet,” he said. How much do private jets really cost? Chartering a private jet usually runs several thousand dollars per flight hour. A four hour flight on a mid-sized private plane might cost about $20,000. It’s significantly more expensive in most cases than buying a first class seat. Now, owning a private jet? That’s a stretch even for a multi-millionaire like Conan. A mid-sized private jet can cost millions of dollars to buy outright and comes with hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in maintenance and operating costs. View this post on Instagram The human cost of removing friction Few of us enjoy going through airport security or sitting in cramped coach seats, but O’Brien’s words ask us to consider the alternative. Abigail Disney once spoke of a shift she saw in her father, Roy Disney, after he began flying exclusively on private jets. She said he “lost his way in life” due to the way he utilized his extreme wealth: “You don’t have to go through an airport terminal, you don’t have to interact, you don’t have to be patient, you don’t have to be uncomfortable. These are the things that remind us we’re human,” she said. Disney has also openly spoken out about the carbon impact from private jets of the wealthy. A growing movement—called “frictionmaxxing”—aims to have people rethink striving for a life of ease and convenience. Kathryn Jezer-Morton recently wrote in a now viral essay: “Tech companies are succeeding in making us think of life itself as inconvenient and something to be continuously escaping from. Reading is boring; talking is awkward; moving is tiring; leaving the house is daunting. Thinking is hard. Interacting with strangers is scary. Risking an unexpected reaction from someone isn’t worth it. Speaking at all — overrated. These are all frictions that we can now eliminate, easily, and we do,” she wrote. Doing things that are hard, or uncomfortable, or require our patience and empathy—these things boost our social and emotional intelligence. They build resilience. And they give us a shared experience with others. Even if that experience isn’t necessarily good, there’s something valuable in the togetherness. It says a lot that even people like O’Brien, who have the money to skip out on some of the less pleasant aspects of the human experience, are choosing not to. The post Conan O’Brien says he always flies commercial, for a surprisingly human reason appeared first on Upworthy.

A Bavarian wildlife rescue organization is using thermal imaging drones to locate and rescue vulnerable fawns hidden in tall meadow grass ahead of the annual mowing season. Every spring, thousands of fawns are killed by mowing machinery across Germany. Baby deer instinctively freeze when threatened, a natural defense mechanism that protects them from predators but […] The post Drones are Saving Hundreds of Fawns From Mower Deaths in Germany (WATCH) appeared first on Good News Network.