The 2026 FIFA World Cup has the world completely enamored with Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland. The 25-year-old striker’s personality and undeniable talent on the pitch have earned him lots of love from soccer fans everywhere. An American content creator named Emma Kate Willman is getting lots of attention for her striking resemblance to Haaland. On Instagram, Willman has been sharing a series of videos after World Cup fans noticed that she looks like the Norwegian superstar—and even Haaland himself agreed. “It’s been such an unexpected and fun moment,” Willman told Upworthy. “What started as a lighthearted post turned into something people around the world connected with, and I’ve loved seeing everyone’s reactions. You never know what’s going to resonate online, and this has definitely been one of those once-in-a-lifetime Internet moments.” View this post on Instagram Willman gets Haaland comparisons Once World Cup fever was in full swing, many of Willman’s followers began pointing out her resemblance to Haaland in one of her social media posts. Somehow, the post made its way to Haaland, who simply commented, “Hi.” In a video shared a few days ago, Willman described the staggering number of comments she had been receiving—“hundreds of thousands,” she said—and added that she had also gained thousands of followers. “In light of the World Cup, I swear if I get one more comment saying I look like Erling Haaland,” she said in jest, adding that she preferred previous comparisons to Swedish pop star Zara Larsson. View this post on Instagram Haaland comments on her post To Willman’s surprise, word reached Haaland about her. “I get notifications here and there, but then I noticed something happened. There was a lot of notifications coming through,” she said. “Finally, I open my Instagram to look at what’s going on.” She added that Haaland had apparently commented on her post, drawing the attention of his more than 50 million followers. Willman said Haaland has the “best hair” of anyone she’d ever seen and that she “likes” the comparisons. She also adds that she’s gotten comparisons to “baby” Taylor Swift and Millie Bobby Brown. View this post on Instagram Willman recreates Haaland’s hairdos Willman is a hair content creator and has also had fun recreating some of Haaland’s iconic hairstyles from throughout the World Cup. In one video recreating his Dutch braids, she broke down how to style hair just like the soccer superstar. “So apparently I’m Erling’s twin,” she said. “I’m not mad about it. The man has great hair.” View this post on Instagram She added, “I totally think that they should let me fly out and do his hair for the game. I think that would be awesome.” Willman also recreated his signature bun, satisfying countless requests from followers to copy the look. “He always has the most perfect slicked-back look, which I’m very jealous of,” Willman said. Haaland fans react Willman’s followers and Haaland’s fans are loving the look-alike comparisons and left some amazing comments under her videos: “There is nø way you two aren’t related.” “You can’t fool us!! Great game today buddy!!” “From now on, you are Haaland. This is your life now. Accept it and ride the wave .” “Someone check the family tree ASAP.” “I love this moment for you ”. “I hope you get an invitation for the next game .” “We want you to meet Haaland and make a video .” “Hairland.” The post American woman goes viral as World Cup fans say she is Norway’s Erling Haaland’s doppelgänger appeared first on Upworthy.

Sure, there are old-school commercial jingles that live in our heads rent-free. But a special few have actually gone on to become full-blown chart-toppers. “We’ve Only Just Begun,” made famous by the Carpenters, is one of those songs. Back in the early 1970s, Crocker National Bank (later acquired by Wells Fargo) sought a way to expand its brand beyond that of an institution for business moguls to regular folks, primarily young newlyweds. The ad that didn’t feel like an ad To do this, Crocker hired hotshot advertising executive Hal Riney, who wanted to make a commercial that felt more cinematic and resonated on an emotional level rather than coming across as a standard sales pitch. Today, that marketing strategy is fairly common, but at the time, it was quite novel. The story Riney wanted to tell in the commercial was that of a young couple who had just gotten married, excited about the new chapter of life they were embarking on. This narrative needed a song to match—one that captured all the warm, fuzzy feelings of young love, the promise of a life together, and, of course, the need for a new checking account. So Riney enlisted respected songwriters Roger Nichols and Paul Williams to write a jingle that fit his vision. Williams and Nichols were slightly reluctant at first, as they had their sights set on writing radio hits. But Tony Asher, the original songwriter hired for the project, had been hurt in an accident and personally reached out to ask that they replace him. The duo wanted to help. That—and the substantial “creative fee” being offered. And so, the soft, romantic anti-commercial jingle was written in a single afternoon. It was a major success. Richard Carpenter heard something special Richard Carpenter heard the jingle and thought it would be a perfect fit for Karen Carpenter’s angelic voice. By that point in their career, the Carpenters had already made a splash with their slow, melodic cover of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” as well as “Close to You.” Richard, who happened to share a record label with Williams, reached out to ask whether there was a full-length version of the jingle. There was. From there, he fleshed out the arrangement, Karen worked her magic, and the rest is music history. The Carpenters performed “We’ve Only Just Begun” at the 1971 Grammy Awards ceremony, where they won the award for Best New Artist. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. A massive hit by all accounts, it all started with a simple jingle. Famous songs that began as advertising jingles Though “We’ve Only Just Begun” is one of the biggest jingle success stories, it’s far from the only hit song that started as a commercial. “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” by the New Seekers started in 1971 as a wildly popular Coca-Cola radio jingle titled “Buy the World a Coke.” “Times of Your Life” by Paul Anka began as an emotional, nostalgic Kodak jingle in 1975 before Anka expanded it into a full-length pop song that peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even the iconic 1957 doo-wop hit “Book of Love” by the Monotones was directly inspired by a Pepsodent toothpaste jingle. Now the real question: Will the viral TikTok jingle “Dr Pepper Baby” become a chart-topping hit? If history is any indication, the chances are good. The post A song in a bank commercial was never destined to be a hit. Then the Carpenters saw the ad. appeared first on Upworthy.

Sometimes, even the people closest to us are silently struggling with an invisible issue. But the more we open up and normalize real problems, the easier they are to tackle. Such was the case for one married couple, in which the husband was secretly facing his fears and bettering his life. A Threads account called Global Echoes shares a tale from a person identified only as “Faye from Missouri.” It’s part of the Story Plugs project, “The Kindness Diary,” in which people from around the world share real, uplifting stories to inspire others. Photo credit: Threads Secret revealed Although “Faye” hasn’t been independently verified, the account claims the stories are submitted by real people. In one especially touching entry, “Faye” recounted the time she feared the worst about her marriage: “My husband’s phone buzzed on the counter with a text that said ‘Same time tomorrow? Don’t tell anyone.’ A second text. A heart. From a name I didn’t recognize, saved with no last name. Twenty-two years of marriage and I stood in my kitchen feeling the floor tilt. Didn’t confront him. I did worse. I followed him the next afternoon when he said he was running to the dump. He drove to the elementary school. Parked. Went inside. And I sat in my car in the visitor lot inventing horrors until I finally marched in after him and had the front office page him, heart pounding, ready for anything. He came around the corner holding a first-grade reading book. Behind him came a small boy, maybe six, clutching a sticker chart. My husband went white when he saw me, then red, then he introduced me. The boy is in the reading recovery program. My husband, who I’ve watched struggle to read a menu aloud our entire marriage, who orders ‘what he’s having’ in restaurants, who our kids never once saw read a bedtime story, has been secretly enrolled in an adult literacy program at the library for a year. A year. And when he got good enough, they matched him as a reading buddy with this little boy, because the program believes kids try harder for someone who’s climbing the same hill. The text was from the boy’s teacher. The secrecy was fifty-two years of shame I never knew the size of. He read to me that night. Out loud, at the kitchen table, from our daughter’s old copy of Charlotte’s Web, slow and careful, and I have never loved him more than at the words ‘Where’s Papa going with that ax.’ He didn’t stumble once.” Commenters under the post were deeply moved by his vulnerability. One Threader wrote, “Twenty-two years of marriage, and she was ready to catch him having an affair. But what she actually caught him doing was the bravest, most vulnerable thing he’d ever done.” Adult illiteracy Adult illiteracy is much more common in the United States than many people realize. According to one recent study, well over 100 million adults read below a sixth-grade level. National University reports, “About 130 million U.S. adults (54% of those aged 16–74) read below a sixth-grade level, according to modeled estimates.” According to research posted on the U.S. Department of Education’s site: “PIAAC (Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) defines literacy as ‘the ability to understand, evaluate, use and engage with written texts to participate in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.’ “They divide participants into levels and explain that they take into account people who were not born in the States or had English as their first language. That said, the site claims that “U.S.-born adults make up two-thirds of adults with low levels of English literacy skills in the United States.” Help and resources There are resources—and hope—for those who want to improve their reading and comprehension skills, like the husband in the story. The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), like many libraries around the country, offers literacy classes both online and in person. “Every day, for 40 years, we have helped adults just like you meet their literacy goals,” the LAPL shared. “Some goals include learning to vote, reading a newspaper, helping children with homework, using a computer, and getting a better job.” The post A woman feared the worst about her husband. Turns out his new passion was books. appeared first on Upworthy.

From South Florida comes the story of an intrepid teenager who’s developed a mini curriculum on hurricane preparedness to fit into school lessons. Having suffered (or perhaps been enriched) from the impact of Hurricane Irma on her community, 16-year-old Elise Raurell created Storm Smart in 2015 as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award. If […] The post Florida Teen’s ‘Storm Smart’ Program Teaches Hundreds of Students Hurricane Preparedness appeared first on Good News Network.

Gary Hewitt was beyond excited for his brother, Michael. An absolute diehard soccer fan and supporter of Leeds United, Michael was fulfilling a dream: He was on his way to Boston, via a quick stop in Barcelona, to catch a World Cup match between England and Ghana. Only Michael never made it to Boston. His family lost touch with him shortly after he arrived in Barcelona, and the situation quickly grew dire. Family reports him missing after eight days of no contact Gary posted a desperate plea to social media on June 29, about eight days after he’d last heard from his brother. “Our last contact with him was from Barcelona in the early hours of Sunday morning, 21st June. Since then, his phone has been out of service and he hasn’t posted any updates on social media. As you can imagine, we are now very worried for his safety,” Gary wrote. Michael was officially reported missing. The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office got involved. Local police in Spain were on the case. Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) launched an investigation. Concern was high, and Michael’s family began to fear the worst. Luckily, tips began pouring in, in part because Gary’s posts went viral. Law enforcement also began pursuing some promising leads: A few eagle-eyed citizens were sure they had seen Michael alive, one Facebook user commented that they’d seen him at the airport, and his bank statements indicated that someone was using his credit card. Michael Hewitt walks into a bar… On July 1, Gary shared the best possible update: Michael had been found. He was safe and completely unharmed. He’d just lost his cell phone shortly after arriving in Barcelona and wasn’t sure whether he’d be allowed to board his flight without his digital tickets. Worse, he couldn’t remember any phone numbers for friends or family. The entire time, a grand total of 10 days without any contact with the outside world, he’d simply been bar-hopping around Barcelona while watching World Cup games. Gary said his brother was “blissfully unaware” that an international search and rescue operation was happening in his name. View this post on Instagram People pay good money for the kind of unplugged adventure Michael stumbled into The story has gone viral and struck a very particular chord with people. It’s rare for any of us to be so off the grid, so disconnected, and so absorbed in what we’re doing that even our own family doesn’t know where we are. At least in Michael’s case, it sounds awesome. “Absolute Legend!” one Instagram commenter wrote. “Let the man be,” said another. “If going wherever the wind blows me was a person,” joked another. Consider that people pay thousands of dollars for cruises, with one of the biggest appeals being a complete lack of contact with the outside world. They rent remote cabins where their devices won’t work. They arrange pricey digital detox retreats that force them to lock their screens away and reconnect with nature, journaling, and their own bodies. More than a quarter of adults say one of the main things they want to do on vacation is use social media and their devices less. ‘An embarrassingly simple but happy ending’ Michael lost his phone by accident, but his decision afterward was anything but accidental. He likely weighed the hassle of trying to check in for his flight without his digital tickets or finding a cell phone shop somewhere in Barcelona, and he simply decided to carry on living his life without it. He could have visited the British embassy, but Complex reports that, since he still had his passport and money, Michael believed it was unlikely they would help him without a great deal of hassle. So he just stayed put and pivoted his plans. Instead of catching the game in Boston, he hung out in Barcelona, watched a bunch of games, and saw the city. As for his family? Eh, they’d catch up later. “As a family, we desperately wanted an embarrassingly simple but happy ending to this horrendous episode, and we now have that,” Gary wrote. “A million thanks to each and every person who has helped to bring Mick home safely, and for all the good wishes. It’s amazing what can be achieved when the good people of the world go Marching on Together.” The post Interpol went looking for a ‘missing’ World Cup fan. He was busy living his best life. appeared first on Upworthy.