In this issue of The Upworthiest, Evan Porter tests a 3-2-1 trick that a study skills expert swears can unlock hours of deep focus. Plus, the study linking new Taylor Swift albums to a spike in car wrecks, the teacher who accepted an 8th grader's dance-off challenge, and the Wheel of Fortune guess so wrong it became legend.
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A study skills expert shares the 3-2-1 technique that can set you up for hours of intense focus. | ||
Easy ‘3-2-1 method’ uses neuroscience to trick your brain into incredible concentration | ||
“I followed it and had one of the most productive 3 hour blocks of my life.” | ||
By Evan Porter | ||
We’re more distracted than ever, but it’s not necessarily our fault. Research reports that the sheer number of distractions vying for our attention at any given moment may be at an all-time high. | ||
The reasons are many, from social media, to phones in general, to the rapid news cycle, to a workday that never ends. | ||
Ironically, with unlimited tools and information at our fingertips, it can be hard to actually buckle down and get things done when intense focus is required. But the good news is that many studies agree our underlying attention spans are still OK. We just need the right environment to activate their full powers. | ||
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Study finds Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ and nine other albums are linked to a 15% rise in car wrecks | ||
Buckle up for a potentially life-saving new rule of the road. | ||
By Patrick Hamilton | ||
What’s more fun than streaming your fave artist’s new album the second it drops? Will it live up to the hype? Which new track will be your favorite? The anticipation is almost intoxicating—and that might be the problem, especially if you’re behind the wheel when you press play. | ||
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NICE BIKE ZEN!
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An 8th grader challenged his teacher to a dance-off. Her response made her famous. | ||
The boy knew immediately he had bitten off more than he could chew. | ||
By Annie Reneau | ||
Teachers deserve all the kudos, high fives, raises, accolades, prizes and thanks for everything they do. Even if they just stuck to academics alone, they’d be worth far more than they get, but so many teachers go above and beyond to teach the whole child, from balancing equations to building character qualities. It’s impossible to overrate the importance of a truly great teacher. They make a permanent, positive mark on the students they care for. | ||
One way dedicated educators do that is by developing relationships and building rapport with their students. And one surefire way to build rapport is to dance with them. Or against them. | ||
A viral video shared in December 2022 by an assistant principal at Sumner High School & Academy in Riverview, Florida shows a group of students gathered around one of their peers as he challenges a teacher to a dance-off. | ||
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An Upworthiest Quiz
Before it aired, Merv Griffin's working title for Wheel of Fortune was what?
Yesterday’s Results
In yesterday's issue, we shared the story of Daniel Stern's bronze "Marv by Marv" statue at the restored Home Alone house.
And we asked: Why did the "Home Alone" burglars call themselves the Wet Bandits? Nearly 73% of you remembered this better than some mothers remember their kids when it’s vacation time. (KEVIN!) Marv insisted on leaving the water running in every house they hit and the flooded kitchens were how the cops knew which crew to pin the whole spree on.
It was Harry's old nickname (6.3%)
They only worked in the rain (2.8%)
Marv flooded every house they robbed (72.6%) 🏆
They targeted houses with pools (18.3%)
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Woman’s whimsical ‘Wheel of Fortune’ guess is so bad it made her an instant legend | ||
People prefer her guess to the actual answer. | ||
By Tod Perry | ||
Watching a game show from the comfort of home is easy. Being on one is a totally different ball game. The lights, the cameras, the pressure. It’s enough to make anyone’s brain freeze up. And is there any game show that allows contestants to royally embarrass themselves on national TV quite like Wheel of Fortune? There’s always someone going viral for taking a big swing and missing on a phrase that seemed pretty apparent to the casual viewer. And when you take a big loss on a WOF word puzzle, there are a lot of folks shaking their heads at home. More than 8 million people watch the game show every night. Yikes. | ||
One rather notorious victim of the wheel was Gishma Tabari from Encino, California, whose fantasy-inspired whiff of a common phrase back in 2023 earned her a lot of groans and some support from those who thought her imagination was inspiring. The 3-word puzzle read: “TH _ _ RITI _ S _ GR _ E,” and Tabari offered the answer, “The British Ogre.” The guess surprised host Pat Sajak, who responded, “Uh, no.” Tabari must have missed that there was a space between the R and the E in the puzzle, so ogre would have had to be spelled with 2 Rs. | ||
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