In this issue of The Upworthiest, Tod Perry explains the "Home Shoes" hack helping people with ADHD finally get off the couch. Plus, U.K. heatwaves are revealing 300-year-old secret gardens, and parents share the most unhinged sentences they never expected to say.

People with ADHD and those who have difficulty starting tasks swear by the ‘Home Shoes’ hack

A man laces up his shoes to do the dishes.

People with ADHD and those who have difficulty starting tasks swear by the ‘Home Shoes’ hack

The foot-brain connection is real.

By Tod Perry

One of the most frustrating things for people with ADHD is task paralysis. People with the disorder know they should get up off the couch and do the dishes, but they can’t seem to get started. Instead, they freeze up: their body won’t move, and their brain can’t function. It’s not laziness; it’s executive dysfunction, which makes simple tasks feel impossible.

Psychologists say that one of the most effective ways for people with ADHD, and those who find it hard to get motivated to do household chores, is to put on a pair of shoes in their home. When it’s time for you to take on a series of tasks, lace up a cheap pair of running shoes and your brain is more likely to kick into motivation mode.

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Sickle cell disease affects around 100,000 people in the U.S., and most people still can’t say what it does. Ari’Yanna and Ariyah live it every day.

On any given day, 11-year-old Ari'Yanna is on the basketball court and her 9-year-old sister Ariyah is at majorette practice or running track. So most people are surprised to learn they both have sickle cell disease. When a pain crisis hits, the sisters take care of each other. Ari'Yanna wraps Ariyah's legs in warm blankets. Ariyah puts pressure on her sister's arms.

For more than a decade, their care team at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has helped them handle the rest and keep being kids.

For anyone who might need to hear this today. 🥹

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An aerial view of a historic garden.

U.K. heatwaves are baking the grass and revealing 300-year-old secret gardens

“The heat has had, I suppose you’d call it, a kind of X-ray effect on the ground.”

By Adam Albright-Hanna

The severe heatwaves baking the United Kingdom are causing plenty of frustration for residents, but the scorching temperatures are providing an incredible silver lining for historians. As water levels recede and lawns bake under the sun, traces of long-lost historical sites are suddenly becoming visible.

Lisa Dowd of Sky News recently reported on the phenomenon, describing the newly exposed sites as “a time capsule that’s been opened by this scorching summer.”

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An Upworthiest Quiz

How many decisions does the average adult make in a single day?

And you thought picking a Netflix show was hard.

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Yesterday’s Results

And we asked: The Rocky Horror Picture Show holds a record no other movie can touch. What is it? 55.7% of you knew the midnight classic has been playing somewhere on Earth since 1975.

  • Most costumes worn by a single character (4.8%)

  • First film to sell out a midnight premiere (30.6%)

  • It has never left theaters (55.7%)

  • Most audience walkouts at a premiere (8.9%)

A reader sums up why the crazy movie has done so well. “Just a wonderful, weird and off the wall movie. The good stuff never dies.”

Parents share 24 unhinged sentences they never imagined saying before having kids

Parents share funny and unhinged things they've had to say to their kids since becoming parents.

Parents share 24 unhinged sentences they never imagined saying before having kids

“Please stop licking the shopping cart.”

By Emily Shiffer

Being a parent brings unexpected surprises everyday. From sudden unexpected talent show appearances to their hilarious locker decor and expert roasting quips, kids are always keeping parents on their toes. And their antics have required a number of unhinged parenting sentences to be uttered. In an online parenting community, member @Plomaster69 posed the question to fellow parents: “What’s a sentence you never thought you’d say until you had kids?”

They went on to explain, “‘Please stop licking the shopping cart.’ I said this to my 4-year-old at Target last week and had to pause for a moment. Like, where do you even begin with that conversation? How did we get to a point where I needed to explain why metal shopping cart handles aren’t meant to be tasted?”

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