Even in below freezing temperatures, babies still nap outside.

America has some interesting unspoken rules surrounding caring for children, making cultural differences difficult to navigate. What might be normal in one person's country or culture may be considered dangerous in America. With that in mind, it may be surprising to learn that in Scandinavian countries parents often put their babies outside to nap. Even when they're away from the house, babies get bundled up and set outside oftentimes without their parent or caregiver.

I can feel the shock through the screen.

Yes, these babies are placed outside in the summer or winter to catch their midday nap while their parents check in on them from time to time. It may seem strange to people who aren't from Scandinavia and doing so in America may warrant an investigation by child protective services.

But now that Scandinavia-style forest schools are on the rise in America, we could be in for a shift. Maybe this type of child-rearing will be normalized in America eventually.

Photo by Sina Katirachi on Unsplash Just like forest schools are a little "out there" here in America, they have been the norm in other countries for years. So perhaps outdoor napping will become a thing here, too. But why do Scandinavian parents give their infants the boot when it's time to catch some Z's? Parents and researchers believe that napping outside lowers a child's risk of being exposed to germs, makes them happier and they sleep longer. Sleeping in freezing cold weather, even if properly bundled, doesn't seem like a relaxing experience to me, but I'm not a baby so what do I know? A Finnish study found that babies sleep longer when they nap outdoors, so maybe these parents are on to something after all. See on Instagram In 2020, Danish musician Amalie Bruun shared a photo on Instagram revealing that she places her baby outside to sleep. Commenters informed the star that they also put their babies outside or that they themselves slept outside as infants. Of course, there are risks to an infant sleeping outside like sudden bad weather or someone who may mean the child harm. But most parents who allow their infants to sleep outdoors stay close by and check on them frequently. Scandinavian parents seem to truly feel that this practice is best and a good way to make sure their child is getting fresh air. But before Americans go bundling up little Joey and tossing him on the patio for a nap, keep in mind that not everyone will understand. In 1997, a Danish actor living in New York was famously arrested and strip searched for placing her baby on the patio of a local restaurant to nap while she and the baby's father had drinks inside. While there are definitely some cultural differences between Scandinavian and American parenting styles, most parents are just looking for the best way to get their kids to sleep. If outside is the key to long naps so an exhausted parent can get a few minutes of quiet, put on your parka and enjoy the baby snores.

Just like forest schools are a little "out there" here in America, they have been the norm in other countries for years. So perhaps outdoor napping will become a thing here, too. But why do Scandinavian parents give their infants the boot when it's time to catch some Z's? Parents and researchers believe that napping outside lowers a child's risk of being exposed to germs, makes them happier and they sleep longer.

Sleeping in freezing cold weather, even if properly bundled, doesn't seem like a relaxing experience to me, but I'm not a baby so what do I know? A Finnish study found that babies sleep longer when they nap outdoors, so maybe these parents are on to something after all.

In 2020, Danish musician Amalie Bruun shared a photo on Instagram revealing that she places her baby outside to sleep. Commenters informed the star that they also put their babies outside or that they themselves slept outside as infants. Of course, there are risks to an infant sleeping outside like sudden bad weather or someone who may mean the child harm. But most parents who allow their infants to sleep outdoors stay close by and check on them frequently.

Scandinavian parents seem to truly feel that this practice is best and a good way to make sure their child is getting fresh air. But before Americans go bundling up little Joey and tossing him on the patio for a nap, keep in mind that not everyone will understand. In 1997, a Danish actor living in New York was famously arrested and strip searched for placing her baby on the patio of a local restaurant to nap while she and the baby's father had drinks inside.

While there are definitely some cultural differences between Scandinavian and American parenting styles, most parents are just looking for the best way to get their kids to sleep. If outside is the key to long naps so an exhausted parent can get a few minutes of quiet, put on your parka and enjoy the baby snores.

Romance doesn't always come easily, does it?

As the saying goes, "You have to kiss a few frogs..."

Dating has certainly evolved over the years—we’ve gone from courtship being purely a financial arrangement (not that this trend has ever truly died) to knights jousting for a lady’s favor, to casual hookups … and now, romance is primarily found through an app more than anything else.

Technology used for meeting that special someone has become so advanced that you can base your search entirely upon specific interests. Like … oddly specific interests. Think a fellow cat person would be the purrfect match? There’s an app for that. Wish to “love long and prosper” with a fellow Trekkie? There’s an app for that too.

No matter the changes, one thing remains the same—dating is awkward. It’s got all the unspoken formalities of a job interview, disguised as innocent fun. The balance between playing it too cool and too eager is hard to find even for the smoothest among us, and usually results in total embarrassment. Even if we aren’t the ones committing those embarrassing acts ourselves, we are often the reluctant witness to them.

Terrible dates might not always be fun in the moment, but they can be just as important as the good ones. They can teach us a lot about ourselves and what qualities we want in a partner. And at the very least, they can teach us to embrace social clumsiness with a sense of humor.

Jimmy Fallon recently asked his “Tonight Show” audience on Twitter to share a “funny or embarrassing first date story” for his ever popular #Hashtags segment. The best part—some of these awful first dates ended in marriage. There’s hope for us all.

Below, find 15 stories that are truly the the best of the worst. How do some of your first dates compare?

1. "After a nice dinner, she invited me to her house. On the way up, inside the elevator, I decided to push the button to stop between floors and give her a kiss... She had a phobia of closed spaces and she smacked my face as a reflex, two punches after we were kissing and laughing.” – @PanqueAlgarvio 2. “His jeans were so tight he couldn’t sit down. Stood at a bar stool the whole time.” – @onlyintheozarks 3. “Waiting 4 my date when an older couple asked me for a ride. my date came up and said sure! We drove them home & they asked us to come in. Date said “sure”. I pulled him back & asked why he wanted to hang w/strangers. He said ‘sh@t! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!?’ We bolted!” – @natashaham75 Talk about a fashion faux pas.Giphy 4. “Before the date, we had been chatting about books we liked and I talked about a great book I just read. We went on the date. I loaned her the book. She ghosted me.” – @thenextbarstool 5. “The worst first date I ever had was when my date locked his keys in the car and I had a curfew so he had to break his car window out to get me home on time. Didn’t think I’d ever see him again but we wound up married.” – @csleblan 6. “First date movie ‘Basic Instinct’ not realizing how suggestive it was. We just thought it was a mystery thriller! We left the movie discussing how each character could have actually murdered someone. We're married now.” – @Southrnbell_Amy There are worse first date movies tbh.Giphy 7. “First date with my ex husband was a double date with his parents. The preview for ‘Speed Racer’ came on, and she leaned over me to say to her son, ‘You know what your dad's nickname in the bedroom is?’" – @theostoria 8. “A friend asked me on a double date as a blind date with his date's friend. I went to the bathroom and came back just in time to hear my date say to her friend, ‘why do I get the ugly one?’ I said good night to all three and headed home, leaving her w/the bill.” – @StevenTrustum 9. “He loved cheese. I was subjected to a 2 hour conversation/lecture about cheese, and why cottage cheese is not cheese!” – @Optimist_Eeyore I'd like to see this two-hour cheese lecture.Giphy 10. “He took me to an Asian fish market. We walked around looking at live & dead fish for a while. I don’t like seeing dead animals & I don’t eat seafood. Then we sat on a curb & he pulled out a ziplock bag of pineapple for us to share. I don’t like pineapple.” – @markayhali 11. “My cousin set up a first date for me with a family friend. During a break from dinner, Mr. Man follows me into the ladies’ room, comes up close and says in a low voice, ‘I shave my butt.’ Can’t remember what I said in response but the evening ended abruptly.” – @carli_zarzana 12. “I once took out my high school crush to a sports bar and ordered the spiciest wings there in an attempt to impress her. Not only was she not impressed. The next morning I woke up with heartburn.” –@Dmonster38 Talk about a hot date. GIF 13. “My date showed up with his bestie and girlfriend, and they talked through dinner about people I don’t know. Walking to the car, he gave me a wedgie because he thought he hadn’t been paying enough attention to me.” – @surrealDazey 14. “I was taking my date home and was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the cop came to my car, she jumped out and told him she had to get home. She walked home and I never heard from her again. I'm not sure who's #WorstFirstDate it was mine or hers!” – @eastriverbear 15. “After an evening of dancing with a first date, leaving the dance hall, I had to take a quick pee break. Rushing out to the parking lot, I see a lady, I grab her and swoop her around, and plant a big wet kiss on the lips. She was another guy's wife. Oops!” – @seadogskamore Only Gomez could have gotten away with it. Giphy

1. "After a nice dinner, she invited me to her house. On the way up, inside the elevator, I decided to push the button to stop between floors and give her a kiss... She had a phobia of closed spaces and she smacked my face as a reflex, two punches after we were kissing and laughing.” – @PanqueAlgarvio

2. “His jeans were so tight he couldn’t sit down. Stood at a bar stool the whole time.” – @onlyintheozarks

3. “Waiting 4 my date when an older couple asked me for a ride. my date came up and said sure! We drove them home & they asked us to come in. Date said “sure”. I pulled him back & asked why he wanted to hang w/strangers. He said ‘sh@t! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!?’ We bolted!” – @natashaham75

Talk about a fashion faux pas.

4. “Before the date, we had been chatting about books we liked and I talked about a great book I just read. We went on the date. I loaned her the book. She ghosted me.” – @thenextbarstool

5. “The worst first date I ever had was when my date locked his keys in the car and I had a curfew so he had to break his car window out to get me home on time. Didn’t think I’d ever see him again but we wound up married.” – @csleblan

6. “First date movie ‘Basic Instinct’ not realizing how suggestive it was. We just thought it was a mystery thriller! We left the movie discussing how each character could have actually murdered someone. We're married now.” – @Southrnbell_Amy

There are worse first date movies tbh.

7. “First date with my ex husband was a double date with his parents. The preview for ‘Speed Racer’ came on, and she leaned over me to say to her son, ‘You know what your dad's nickname in the bedroom is?’" – @theostoria

8. “A friend asked me on a double date as a blind date with his date's friend. I went to the bathroom and came back just in time to hear my date say to her friend, ‘why do I get the ugly one?’ I said good night to all three and headed home, leaving her w/the bill.” – @StevenTrustum

9. “He loved cheese. I was subjected to a 2 hour conversation/lecture about cheese, and why cottage cheese is not cheese!” – @Optimist_Eeyore

I'd like to see this two-hour cheese lecture.

10. “He took me to an Asian fish market. We walked around looking at live & dead fish for a while. I don’t like seeing dead animals & I don’t eat seafood. Then we sat on a curb & he pulled out a ziplock bag of pineapple for us to share. I don’t like pineapple.” – @markayhali

11. “My cousin set up a first date for me with a family friend. During a break from dinner, Mr. Man follows me into the ladies’ room, comes up close and says in a low voice, ‘I shave my butt.’ Can’t remember what I said in response but the evening ended abruptly.” – @carli_zarzana

12. “I once took out my high school crush to a sports bar and ordered the spiciest wings there in an attempt to impress her. Not only was she not impressed. The next morning I woke up with heartburn.” –@Dmonster38

Talk about a hot date.

13. “My date showed up with his bestie and girlfriend, and they talked through dinner about people I don’t know. Walking to the car, he gave me a wedgie because he thought he hadn’t been paying enough attention to me.” – @surrealDazey

14. “I was taking my date home and was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the cop came to my car, she jumped out and told him she had to get home. She walked home and I never heard from her again. I'm not sure who's #WorstFirstDate it was mine or hers!” – @eastriverbear

15. “After an evening of dancing with a first date, leaving the dance hall, I had to take a quick pee break. Rushing out to the parking lot, I see a lady, I grab her and swoop her around, and plant a big wet kiss on the lips. She was another guy's wife. Oops!” – @seadogskamore

Only Gomez could have gotten away with it.

How we can create equity for all communities?

It begins with more inclusive conversations at a patient level

Adewole Adamson, MD, of the University of Texas, Austin, aims to create more equity in health care by gathering data from more diverse populations by using artificial intelligence (AI), a type of machine learning. Dr. Adamson’s work is funded by the American Cancer Society (ACS), an organization committed to advancing health equity through research priorities, programs and services for groups who have been marginalized.

Melanoma became a particular focus for Dr. Adamson after meeting Avery Smith, who lost his wife—a Black woman—to the deadly disease.

Avery Smith (left) and Adamson (sidenote)

This personal encounter, coupled with multiple conversations with Black dermatology patients, drove Dr. Adamson to a concerning discovery: as advanced as AI is at detecting possible skin cancers, it is heavily biased.

To understand this bias, it helps to first know how AI works in the early detection of skin cancer, which Dr. Adamson explains in his paper for the New England Journal of Medicine (paywall). The process uses computers that rely on sets of accumulated data to learn what healthy or unhealthy skin looks like and then create an algorithm to predict diagnoses based on those data sets.

This process, known as supervised learning, could lead to huge benefits in preventive care.

After all, early detection is key to better outcomes. The problem is that the data sets don’t include enough information about darker skin tones. As Adamson put it, “everything is viewed through a ‘white lens.’”

“If you don’t teach the algorithm with a diverse set of images, then that algorithm won’t work out in the public that is diverse,” writes Adamson in a study he co-wrote with Smith (according to a story in The Atlantic). “So there’s risk, then, for people with skin of color to fall through the cracks.”

Tragically, Smith’s wife was diagnosed with melanoma too late and paid the ultimate price for it. And she was not an anomaly—though the disease is more common for White patients, Black cancer patients are far more likely to be diagnosed at later stages, causing a notable disparity in survival rates between non-Hispanics whites (90%) and non-Hispanic blacks (66%).

As a computer scientist, Smith suspected this racial bias and reached out to Adamson, hoping a Black dermatologist would have more diverse data sets. Though Adamson didn’t have what Smith was initially looking for, this realization ignited a personal mission to investigate and reduce disparities.

Now, Adamson uses the knowledge gained through his years of research to help advance the fight for health equity. To him, that means not only gaining a wider array of data sets, but also having more conversations with patients to understand how socioeconomic status impacts the level and efficiency of care.

“At the end of the day, what matters most is how we help patients at the patient level,” Adamson told Upworthy. “And how can you do that without knowing exactly what barriers they face?”

"What matters most is how we help patients at the patient level."https://www.kellydavidsonstudio.com/

The American Cancer Society believes everyone deserves a fair and just opportunity to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer—regardless of how much money they make, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, gender identity, their disability status, or where they live. Inclusive tools and resources on the Health Equity section of their website can be found here. For more information about skin cancer, visit cancer.org/skincancer.

Kale is a different story.

Maybe they'll like kale chips?

Lovers of babies and haters of kale, have we got a fun and fascinating science-based story for you.

A new study posted in Psychological Science shows rare up-close-and-personal photos of babies in the womb making different facial reactions to different food their mothers eat. Previous studies with infants and breastmilk have shown that flavors carry from mother to child through amniotic fluid, but this is the first time unborn babies have been examined.

One hundred pregnant women from the U.K. were given powder with either carrot or kale flavoring or neither flavor. After 20 minutes, 4D ultrasound scans revealed undeniably different—and kind of hilarious—facial reactions. It was very telling which flavor was smile inducing and which one wasn’t.

As the picture below shows, the carrot flavor induced a smiling “laugh face,” as the study called it.

My face when I eat a donut.

As the study suggests, it could be that this natural instinct develops long before infancy. And for some of us (me) that sweet tooth never really goes away.

Meanwhile, babes who experienced the kale flavoring made disgusted grimaces, or “cry faces.”

Kale wasn’t just a hard sell to the fetuses—one of the other reasons why researchers used capsules instead of raw kale or kale juice was because the mothers couldn’t stand the taste, and had such a negative disposition toward it that scientists feared it would influence their babies.

We feel you, bitter baby face.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, I’d say this one just says “yuck” over and over and over.

To be fair, those scowls "might be just the muscle movements which are reacting to a bitter flavor," Reissland noted, rather than any real showing of emotion, adding that expressions became more complex over time during gestation.

The major takeaway from this study (other than a wholesome giggle) is seeing how early humans can be influenced by flavors. If they are exposed to certain foods early on during pregnancy, they might embrace them and instill better eating habits once they're born.

Nearly everyone has at least one vegetable that they absolutely love. However those tend to lean toward the sweeter side like carrots and corn. Rarely do kids—or adults for that matter—go ga-ga for bitter-tasting ones. Brussels sprouts alone are the target of much hate.

Sprouts get a bad rap.

If we could learn to welcome a wider variety of veggies into our palette from an early age (in this case, a very early age), maybe as adults we wouldn’t grimace over greens.

What would certain icons look like if nothing had happened to them?

Some icons have truly left this world too early. It’s a tragedy when anyone doesn’t make it to see old age, but when it happens to a well-known public figure, it’s like a bit of their art and legacy dies with them. What might Freddie Mercury have created if he were granted the gift of long life? Bruce Lee? Princess Diana?

Their futures might be mere musings of our imagination, but thanks to a lot of creativity (and a little tech) we can now get a glimpse into what these celebrities might have looked like when they were older.

Alper Yesiltas, an Istanbul-based lawyer and photographer, created a photography series titled “As If Nothing Happened,” which features eerily realistic portraits of long gone celebrities in their golden years. To make the images as real looking as possible, Yesiltas incorporated various photo editing programs such as Adobe Lightroom and VSCO, as well as the AI photo-enhancing software Remini.

“The hardest part of the creative process for me is making the image feel ‘real’ to me,” Yesiltas wrote about his passion project. “The moment I like the most is when I think the image in front of me looks as if it was taken by a photographer.”

Yesiltas’ meticulousness paid off, because the results are uncanny.

“I wish he hadn't got that disease.”

There are plenty of amazing Freddie Mercury tributes and impersonators out there, but there will only ever be ONE Freddie Mercury.

“I wish he hadn't been affected by the exhaustion of his role.”

One of Ledger's most notable roles is queer cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Ang Lee's iconic 2005 romantic western drama "Brokeback Mountain." In a time when queer storytelling was still taboo, Ledger's honest and compassionate portrayal broke down a lot of barriers for future stories.

“I wish she hadn't sought the inspiration she needed elsewhere.”

The powerful singer with electric stage presence is still one of the greatest female rock stars of all time. Scratch that—one of the greatest rock stars of all time, period.

“I wish he hadn't sought the inspiration he needed elsewhere.”

Like Joplin and Ledger, Hendrix died due to an overdose—though many have speculated that it was instead the result of foul play.

“I wish he hadn't faced vitiligo.”

However questionable his personal life was, the King of Pop made some of the biggest contributions to music of all time. People continue to sing his songs, and likely will for a very, very long time.

“I wish he had decided to stay.”

The insightful, poetic and troubled Cobain took his life at 27. His story is a cautionary tale that success does not necessarily help thwart struggles with mental health.

“I wish he hadn't taken that painkiller that day.”

The actor and martial-arts expert died at 32, officially due to a harmful reaction to a painkiller. His philosophies around kung fu, however, are eternal.

“I wish he hadn't been in New York that day.”

Legendary artist and activist John Lennon was fatally wounded by a gunshot in December 1980. The last thing he talked about, revealed ex-wife Yoko Ono in an interview, was the desire to see his son before he went to sleep.

“I wish he decided to live a life where he paid more attention to the health of his heart.”

Had Presley not died of cardiac arrest, he would be 87 this year.

“I wish he hadn't been involved in that event that would cause him to face the mafia.”

The cause of Tupac’s untimely death is also one of debate and speculation. According to some, he never died at all. What we can all agree on—he was one of hip-hop's most iconic figures.

This one seems to be a new addition to the collection, so no wistful message. Although I’m sure the general sentiment is “I wish she were still here.”

AI-generated art is a controversial topic, to be sure. Some consider it a new, innovative medium. Others see it as devoid of any real creativity at all, as it’s produced by a machine, rather than a human. Many are concerned that, as is the case with many jobs that get machine automated, it will threaten the livelihood of actual illustrators.

Those concerns are certainly valid, but perhaps there’s a balance to be found here, as Yesiltas seems to have accomplished. Previously, another artist similarly created stunningly lifelike portraits of cartoon characters from “Encanto” and ”The Simpsons.” These works still required the human touch, and were carefully crafted over time rather than cracked out in mere seconds, as is the case with a lot of AI art.

At its best, AI art helps remind us, as Yesiltas puts it, that "anything imaginable can be shown in reality.” Which, at the end of the day, could be said for any art.