Jessie Dean Altman returns to one of journalism’s richest natural resources: the completely reasonable questions of a 5-year-old. Today’s installment includes, “Why do people congratulate you when Mom is making the baby?” From there, we’ve got a strange sign of a happy marriage, an ’80s pop star making one cop’s entire year, and why “quarterback” hasn’t made literal sense for a very long time.
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Dad shares the hilarious conversations he has with 5-year-old daughter and folks are cracking up | ||
“Why do people congratulate you when Mom is making the baby? | ||
By Jessie Dean Altman | ||
Raising kids is tough, but there’s a lot of laughs along the way. Especially when actual conversations start, as kids begin trying to make sense out of the world around them, ask questions, and test mommy and daddy’s resolve. | ||
Back in 2018, comedy writer and children’s book author James Breakwell, with four daughters who were all under the age of eight at the time, shared their hilarious conversations on X. From these tweets, it looks like comedy runs in the family. Here’s a sampling of some Breakwell’s funniest kid-inspired tweets. | ||
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Philosophy expert shares the ‘weird’ sign that someone is happily married | ||
It’s not the way we were taught to see love. | ||
By Tod Perry | ||
There are many ways to evaluate your marriage to determine whether you’re truly happy. Does it mean that you don’t fight very often? Does it mean that it’s filled with passion? Does it mean that you have no desire to be with anyone else? Is it because you have all of your business affairs in order, or is that the marriage is safe and predictable? | ||
Further, like any relationship, there’s an ebb and flow to marriage where even the most perfect relationship has its ups and downs. Popular TikTok philosopher and Substack writer Julian de Medeiros recently shared an easy way to figure out if you, your spouse, or someone you know is in a happy marriage. He says it goes back to a quote by French author Michel de Montaigne: “If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love.” | ||
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Pause the doomscrolling!
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Kansas police pulled over an '80s pop star, and it led to a wholesome moment. | ||
Kansas police pulled over an ’80s pop icon for speeding and it turned into a hilarious photo shoot | ||
“It’s not every day our Deputies get to pull over cool guys!!” | ||
By Ryan Reed | ||
Being pulled over by the police is always nerve-racking, and it’s probably even more awkward when the driver is a pop star with multiple chart-topping singles. In July 2025, one such encounter went viral after sheriff’s deputies in Kiowa County, Kansas, stopped a vehicle transporting British ’80s hitmaker John Waite. But instead of leading to tension, the traffic stop resulted in a genuinely wholesome moment. | ||
Waite and his band were en route to their concert at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City when they were pulled over for speeding. Sergeant Justin Rugg just happened to be a longtime fan. “I’m not even on cloud nine; I’m on like cloud 12,” he said after making the stop, according to the Kiowa County Sheriff Office’s Facebook page. The post continued: “It’s not every day our Deputies get to pull over cool guys!!” | ||
Everyone was a good sport about the whole thing. Waite took a photo with the officer and even had his band pose for another, leaning over the hood of the patrol car and looking back at the camera in mock confusion. The band eventually made it to the show, and both Waite and the sheriff’s office shared the photos. The KCSO wrote to Waite, “Have a rockin’ time and check out that beautiful Kansas sky!” On his own account, the musician added, “Pulled over for speeding. Good guy cop!” | ||
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An Upworthiest Quiz
What was the first music video ever played on MTV?
Yesterday’s Results
In yesterday's issue, we shared Tod Perry's story about neuroscientists finding that some memories we thought were gone forever may still be hiding in there somewhere.
And we asked: Your brain offers to restore one lost file. What are you recovering? 56% of you chose a favorite childhood day, making it the thing our collective brains would most like back.
A favorite childhood day (56%)
Every forgotten name (28%)
Every password I’ve ever created (7%)
Where I put things five minutes ago (9%)
Upworthiest reader Svivita would get back a favorite childhood memory, but it seems to me they already have it. “It was a friend's first concert and everyone in the neighborhood including the church helped in some way to make sure it was a success. The debut CD listed nearly a 100 names in the credits.” That’s an Upworthiest story if I’ve ever read one!
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Woman explains why the 1800s terms ‘quarterback’ and ‘halfback’ in football make no sense today | ||
Sometimes words just stick even when they no longer have meaning. | ||
By Cecily Knobler | ||
“Hut, hut!” If you’re a fan of American football, you’ve heard these words yelled by the quarterback to give the center the “okay” to snap the ball. The term used to be “hike,” (thanks to John Heisman) but with time, words and their meanings change. However, sometimes they simply stay the same, even when they no longer apply. | ||
Just in time for the latest NLF season, Kate Shelor hosts the online Fansplainme Sports page, where she shares the “wildest stories in sports.” On a recent Reel, she digs deep into the reason football players have their position names. And the surprising reason many of those names no longer apply today. | ||
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