In this issue of The Upworthiest, Heather Wake explains why a mustachioed villain, a length of rope, and an oncoming train became one of the most recognizable images in movie history. Vote on the cliché you're happiest to be rid of. Also, 15 parenting trends people are ready to bury, and a dog whose strange new habit turned out to be a warning.
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Culture expert reveals historic reason why so many women in old movies got tied to railroad tracks | ||
It dates back further than you think. | ||
By Heather Wake | ||
Unless you’re one of those sad younger folks who’s done away with all forms of scripted media, we’ve all seen some form of this trope: an innocent, attractive young woman is tied to a train track by a dastardly villain sporting a ‘stache. Then, just in the nick of time, she is rescued by the dashing hero. | ||
But why is this odd image such a cinematic classic? When did it first appear? Were railroads and rope actually popular murder weapons in olden times? | ||
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For nearly a decade, Shelby's care team at Shriners Children's™ has worked to customize her prosthetic arm to match whatever she wants to try next. When one device wasn't the right fit, they went back to the drawing board until it was.
Now 15, Shelby is finding her own way to support the team that's been by her side for nearly a decade.
Read her story and see how donor support helps Shriners Children's build what kids like Shelby dream up next.
What if your next “eh, why not?” moment changed your entire life? 👀
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People are admitting that these 15 parenting trends need to end ‘immediately’ | ||
“Your kids aren’t your best friends. They are your kids.” | ||
By Tod Perry | ||
After politics and religion, parenting might be one of the most hotly-debated topics online. Parents get super passionate about the differences between gentle and authoritative parenting or how parents interact with teachers. It’s not hard to find people with strong opinions about parents sharing photos of their children on social media, allowing them to use screens at a young age, or their diets. | ||
Parenting touches on many social, political, and cultural issues, so it makes sense that people are passionate about the topic. Further, our kids all have to play together at school, so we have to live with the consequences of other people’s parenting decisions. | ||
A Redditor posed a question on the AskReddit subforum: What’s a modern parenting trend that needs to die immediately? And over 2400 people responded with the contemporary trends they’d prefer to end sooner rather than later. Many of them are concerned about how children are affected by technology, including social media, AI, and tablets. Others are concerned that modern children are far too sheltered and need to be challenged so they aren’t eaten alive when they enter the adult world. | ||
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An Upworthiest Quiz
Which old movie cliché are you most glad we left behind?
Yesterday’s Results
We asked you: Where do you land on the rinse? A commanding 59% of you are scrape-only diplomats, clearing the chunks and letting the machine earn its keep.
Straight in, gunk and all. It has a job. (7.7%)
Scrape only, no water. The compromise candidate. (58.1%)
Rinse until it sparkles. I don't trust that thing. (27.4%)
I wash it, then let the machine wash it again. (6.9%)
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Her dog wouldn’t stop sniffing her breath. She thought it was weird but it saved her life. | ||
Dogs can be weird. | ||
By Jacalyn Wetzel | ||
Dogs can be weird. Any dog owner will tell you that, but typically their shenanigans are just personality quirks. Unfortunately for Colleen Ferguson of Kent, England, her dog’s weird behavior wasn’t just a silly personality thing. | ||
For several weeks, Ferguson’s German Shepherd was obsessively sniffing her mouth. This was a new behavior that she found quite odd. The dog, Inca, was only two years old, but she seemed to know something was wrong with her owner and was doing her best to let her know. Inca constantly sniffed around Ferguson’s mouth and frowned. | ||
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