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Even for the parents who prioritize showing up for their kids, missing an event now and then might be unavoidable. But certain occasions are more painful than others when a parent can’t show up, and fatherless father-daughter dances undoubtedly fall into this category. Earlier this year, six-year-old Harper was nearly put in this situation when her dad couldn’t show up to her dance studio's annual summer showcase—which normally includes a father-daughter dance—because of a work commitment.Thankfully, her 14-year-old brother Micah is the coolest brother in the world, and stepped up to take her dad’s place so she wouldn’t miss out.In a now-viral video posted to Instagram by Harper and Micah’s mom, Patrice Thompson, we see the duo have a blast as they twirl in circles, fist bump and end with an adorable lift for their “Barbie and Ken” themed routine. “Core memory for the team today,” Thompson wrote in the caption. “I don't know if he knows what an impact he's making as her big brother, but she'll never forget this.” See on Instagram Micah didn’t just have an impact on Harper. So many people left comments sharing how impressed and moved they were by the kindness he showed.“In a world of boys he is a gentleman,” one person wrote, referencing a Taylor Swift lyric. Here’s a few more: “As a man whose dad walked away from me, this makes me so emotional. You are raising your son to be the cycle breaker. He won’t end up repeating cycles of toxic masculinity like so many of the men we see today. he will be a better man. And his little sister will grow up knowing what a real man should be like, because she has her big brother to show her.”“Bless his sweet heart. I know how big that is for a 14 year old to put himself out there. Major props!”“Watching him lift her up at the end got me i can’t lie i teared up ??”“As a girl who had my older brother participate in my “father-daughter” dances for drill team in high school, this made me soo emotional! ? this is a special moment they will remember forever.”“Does your son know he's a legend?” See on Instagram In an interview with Newsweek, Thompson shared that while she is “so proud” of her son, especially since most boys his age “would rather do anything else than perform a routine in front of their peers and during summer when he could be off with friends,” she is “not super surprised” that he what he did. “That's the young man he is!" she exclaimed, adding “he truly understands the meaning of being selfless.To all the brothers who would show up for their siblings in this way—thank you. Your generosity and compassion really do help make the world a better place, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.This article originally appeared in August.

The evolution of candles from lighting necessity to scented ambience creator is kind of funny. For thousands of years, people relied on candles and oil lamps for light, but with the invention of the light bulb in 1879, fire was no longer needed for light. At that time, people were probably relieved to not have to set something on fire every time they wanted to see in the dark, and now here we are spending tons of money to do it just for funsies.We love lighting candles for coziness and romance, relishing their warm, soft light as we shrink from the fluorescent bulb craze of the early 2000s. Many people use candles for adding scent to a room, and there are entire candle companies just for this purpose (Yankee Candles, anyone?). As of 2022, candles were an $11 billion business. With their widespread use, you'd think we'd know a thing or two about candles, but as a thread on X makes clear, a whole bunch of us have been burning candles wrong our entire lives without knowing it.A post from @kktweetshaha started the education session: "Just learned that my fiancé, who buys candles all the time and we literally always have candles burning, did not actually know how they work and blew out a medium first burn candle 30 minutes after I lit it when I wasn’t paying attention and ruined it." Many people had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained. — (@) "If a candle is not burned for long enough on first burn to melt edge to edge it will create a 'memory ring.' Once a candle has a memory ring, it will continue to tunnel and never burn all the way across." This is why you should not light a large candle at night, which is unlikely to burn all the way across before you need to blow out to go to bed. Allow at least one hour per inch of candle width — (@) "This is why you should not light a large candle at night, which is unlikely to burn all the way across before you need to blow out to go to bed. Allow at least one hour per inch of candle width," she went on.So that's why candles always end up with a hole in the middle, making us think the candle companies are just running a scam to make us go through candles faster. Nope. It's user error, and many people were flabbergasted by this realization. "This is the most useful information I’ve been given my entire adult life," wrote one person."This skill should be taught in schools," shared another. "The amount I’ve wasted on half burnt candles is outrageous, the amount of times I’ve used Algebra since leaving school = 0." "When I worked at Pier 1 in the 90s I got to go to some candle workshop that taught us the correct way to use (and therefore sell) candles and that is probably some of the most useful knowledge I've carried in my head this long life," shared another.Some people suggested wrapping aluminum foil around the rim of the candle to help recover a candle that's been tunneled or to speed the process of melting the wax across the entire candle. Other suggested melting the candle down in the oven to even it back out again. The original poster pointed out that sometimes candles aren't wicked properly. According to Lone Star Candle Supply, if a candle is more than 4 inches in diameter it may become necessary to have two wicks. @CompostTraining There are a few things you can try to improve it even if not fixing entirely. The popular fix is wrapping the candle in tin foil to increase the temperature across the surface. — (@) The candle posts also prompted a separate discussion about candles and indoor air quality and the volatile organic compounds that are released when they are burned. Some people equated burning candles with having a small engine running in your living room, though according to the Cleveland Clinic, there's scant evidence that the amount of toxins released by burning candles is actually hazardous to your health, especially if you use high quality candles in a well-ventilated area. How do you know if a candle is "high quality"? First, check the wick for metal. Lead in wicks is not nearly as common as it used to be, but best not to risk it if you find metal in the wick. Second, choose soy, beeswax, palm or coconut wax candles instead of paraffin, which is petroleum-based product and more likely to put off soot and smoke particles. Everyone reacts differently to different amounts of particulates in the air, so if you find yourself getting headaches or respiratory symptoms when using candles, it's probably best to avoid them. But if you tolerate them, feel free to enjoy as recommended,—just make sure that first burn melts the wax all the way to the edges to avoid the dreaded tunneling.This article originally appeared in March.

Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future. NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.The test is pretty simple. Go from standing to sitting cross-legged, and then go back to standing without using any parts of your body besides your legs and core to help you get up and down. The test measures multiple longevity factors, including heart health, balance, agility, core and leg strength and flexibility.You begin the test with a score of 10 and subtract points on your way up and down for doing the following:Hand used for support: -1 pointKnee used for support: -1 pointForearm used for support: -1 pointOne hand on knee or thigh: -1 pointSide of leg used for support: -1 point None — (@) A 2012 study published by the European Society of Cardiology found a correlation between the SRT score and how long people live. The study was conducted on 2002 people, 68% of whom were men, who performed the SRT test and were followed by researchers in the coming years. The study found that “Musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by SRT, was a significant predictor of mortality in 51–80-year-old subjects.”Those who scored in the lowest range, 0 to 3, had up to a 6 times greater chance of dying than those in the highest scores (8 to 10). About 40% of those in the 0 to 3 range died within 11 years of the study.Azar distilled the study on "Today," saying: "The study found that the lower the score, you were seven times more likely to die in the next six years.”"Eight points or higher is what you want," Azar said. "As we get older, we spend time talking cardiovascular health and aerobic fitness, but balance, flexibility and agility are also really important," she stressed.One should note that the people who scored lowest on the test were the oldest, giving them an elevated risk of death.Dr. Greg Hartley, Board Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist and associate professor at the University of Miami, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that we should take the study with a grain of salt. “Frailty, strength, muscle mass, physical performance—those things are all correlated to mortality, but I would caution everybody that correlation doesn’t mean causation,” he said.And of course, the test doesn't take into account injuries or disabilities that may make doing the test impossible. But one of the study's authors says that the study is a call to take our mobility seriously.“The more active we are the better we can accommodate stressors, the more likely we are to handle something bad that happens down the road,” Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo, told USA Today.This article originally appeared a year ago.