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It doesn't matter if John McEnroe or any man could beat Serena Williams. Here's why.

John McEnroe's decree that Serena Williams would "be like 700 in the world," on the men's tennis circuit predictably set the internet on fire.

The former seven-time Grand Slam champion told NPR in a June 25 interview that while he thinks Williams is an incredible player, it would be "an entirely different story," if she had to compete against men.

Photo by Greg Wood/Getty Images.

Whether McEnroe is right or wrong, many saw the comment from the famously loose cannon as unfairly dismissive of one of the most dominant athletes of her generation.

We're all human; we all say misguided things from time to time. Growing and learning and owning up to mistakes are all a part of running on this crazy hamster wheel we call life and so on and so forth.

Unfortunately, last night, when Stephen Colbert tried to give McEnroe an out, he ... didn't exactly take it.

When pressed by "The Late Show" host, the former world #1 doubled down on his assertion that Williams would have a hard time beating most men.

McEnroe unequivocally credited Williams for being the "best thing that's happened to American tennis in the last 15 years" and praised her as "one of the greatest athletes of the last 100 years."

Unfortunately, he also said some other things:

"Do they say that about girl basketball players? That they're as good as Michael Jordan?"

"My girls don't think I could beat her now. I thought I could beat her. She's pregnant, so maybe I should play her now."

If you've ever wondered what getting about 80% of the way to an apology before spinning around and slamming a deep corner shot to that apology's backhand looks like, now you know.

Athletes are competitive, and no one wants to willingly relinquish the title of "greatest," especially not a notoriously prideful player like McEnroe.

Photo by Rob Taggart/Getty Images.

As an all-time great tennis player, McEnroe has certainly earned the right to consider himself a member of the sport's elite. And his comments likely resonate, in part, because people actually want to know what would happen if Williams went head-to-head with the top men of her era.

I'm curious. You're probably curious. No doubt McEnroe himself is curious.

But to dismiss William's claim to greatest-of-all-time status on the basis of her gender is particularly gross.

Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images.

It's true that women are, on average, smaller than men. But sports — particularly individual sports like tennis — have always categorized players by physical stature.

Take boxing. Floyd Mayweather and Evander Holyfield are both among the greatest fighters of all time. Mayweather presently competes as a welterweight. Holyfield, however, is a former heavyweight champion. If they fought each other in their primes, Mayweather would probably dance around Holyfield for about 30 seconds, at which point Holyfield would punch Mayweather full on in in the face and Mayweather would die.

It is self-evident that Mayweather would get creamed (though I'm sure Mayweather would insist otherwise). That's why boxing has weight classes in the first place.

And yet, there's little public debate about that scenario, likely because they're both men who dominate in their respective rings. It's simply accepted that their innate physical differences prevent them from engaging in a fair fight.

Meanwhile, former male tennis greats and fans can't stop asserting Williams' inferiority.

Williams is by far the most dominant player of her era — perhaps any era.

She has exceeded her opponents in wins, points, championships, you name it. That's where her greatness lies. Beating or losing to a bunch of men wouldn't change that.

Would Serena Williams succeed on the men's circuit? It's possible she wouldn't. But McEnroe truly has no idea. Like everyone else, he's speculating.

McEnroe on the court in 1982. Photo via Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

Such speculation from a figurehead of the sport sends a poor message to young girls and women involved in tennis.

It's the message that tells aspiring female players that "you can be good, but all the biggest trophies are reserved for boys." A message that suggests their abilities and strengths as a tennis player are somehow considered less than because of their gender.

McEnroe is entitled to his opinion, but Williams' accomplishments speak for themselves.

Grand Slam singles titles: 23.

Doubles titles: 14.

Four Olympic gold medals.

Over $80 million in prize money.

Any athlete, male or female, would envy a G.O.A.T.-worthy stat line like that, as they should also envy Williams' record of leadership on and off the court.

Such towering achievement might, understandably, make a woman uninterested in dwelling on hypotheticals.

How would Williams fare against the top men in tennis today? We'll probably never know.

And that's a good thing.

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Joy

5 small things that made us smile this week

Your weekly cheat sheet to the best of the Internet

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Life can be bleak, so we’re going to be celebrating the small joys while we can—whether that’s a sweet snack that boosts your mood (courtesy of our friends at All In), or a tweet so perfectly timed it restores your faith in the algorithm (even if only for a second). These momentary mood boosters are everywhere you look—you just have to be able to find them underneath all the noise. And that’s where we come in.

Consider this weekly web series your cheat sheet to the best of the Internet—not just random memes to make you laugh, but examples of people truly finding something extraordinary in the mundane. Each Friday we'll be delivering five pieces of media that allow you to stop for a second, take a breath, and feel just a little bit brighter among the daily stress. (Think of us as your chronically online bestie who knows exactly how to make you smile, exactly when you need it the most.)

Ready to smile? Here we go.

1. Babies (mis)pronouncing foods 

@gdun

safe to say he likes apples 🤷🏻‍♂️

♬ original sound - gdun

There are few things more precious than a baby learning how to pronounce words (usually incorrectly), and TikTok creator gdun knows it. In a viral, multi-part series, this creator has captured his toddler trying to pronounce the names of different foods, and it’s almost impossible not to smile while you’re watching these. Peas are “peeeth,” pizza is “more this!” and pancakes are simply a terrified “no.” We could listen to these all day.

2. This tiny, lip-syncing diva 

@backyardchickendiaries 🐓🪞✨ #backyardchickens #midwest #fypシ #minnesota #coop #bokbok #eggs #poultry #birds #mybabies #chickens #mealworms #peckingorder #herechickychicky #weekend #treats #bean #millie #girdy #violet #five #australarp #barredrock #cuckoomaran #orpington #lavender #egger #silverlacedwyandotte #trend #viral #blowthisup #chickencrazy #mybabies #cluckcluck #featheredfriends#blowthisup #iwasjustthinkingaboutit #viral #trend #chickencrazy #chickencommunity #homestead #futurefarmer #gardening #sourdough #chickens #polish #followme #views #silkie ♬ original sound - FEEL GOOD SONGS

TikTok is known for creators who lip-sync along to their favorite tunes, but the star of these videos blows them all away. Brace yourselves–he’s a rooster.

You heard that right. TikTok creator backyardchickendiaries has managed to create several videos of his rooster lip-syncing to songs extremely convincingly, the rooster’s actions perfectly coordinated with the inflection of each individual note. The transitions, the close-ups—it’s a verifiable masterpiece. The entire video deserves a watch (and a standing ovation) but skip to 0:57 for the best part.

3. This small (but brilliant) shift in perspective 

This week in Central Park, our friends at All In are asking people “What brought you out here in the park today?” One of the answers they captured has us totally rethinking our perspective on life.

When posed with the question, Jessica Harrison (@howdyjess on Instagram) answered that as she and her friend were sitting and people-watching, they noticed that no matter how interesting or strange or quirky anyone was acting in a given moment, they were ultimately doing “the right thing for them.” This is a fantastic way to view the world, if you ask us—reserving judgement and just assuming that everyone is trying their best. Harrison calls this “aggressive benefit of the doubt,” or ABOD, and says in the video she’s going to “take that reframe and apply it to other areas of my life.” And you know what? Same.

4. David Attenborough's biggest (smallest) fan

Max Evans-Browning and a homemade birthday present for his hero, David Attenborough

ichef.bbci.co.uk

If you’ve ever seen the famous Life documentary series, you’re already familiar with the great David Attenborough—an English biologist who’s worked more than seventy years (70!) creating films that celebrate the natural world. Attenborough has been making documentaries about animals and nature since the early 1950s, and since then he’s used his platform to educate the masses about climate change and other environmental issues, hoping to protect Earth and the species who call it home. Last month, Attenborough turned 99, and to celebrate, fellow nature lover Max Evans-Browning made him a birthday present—an eight-page mural that features 99 of Attenborough’s favorite animals.

Evans-Browning’s mother, Samantha, said in an interview with the BBC that Max not only loves animals, he’s been a fan of Attenborough and his work “from the moment he could talk,” watching his documentaries and even dressing up like him for World Book Day. Max “spent hours” researching Attenborough’s favorite animals and is now hoping his pictures will reach the man himself. No word on whether that’s happened yet, but either way, this has to be the best birthday present he’s ever received.

5. The sacabambaspis is trending again

i.kym-cdn.com

Speaking of animals: this handsome fella is making a reappearance on social media—and, yes, he’s real. Feast your eyes on the sacabambaspis, a jawless, prehistoric fish that looks like a Pokemon and lived more than 450 million years ago.

According to Know Your Meme, the sacabambaspis started becoming widely known in August 2022, when Twitter user Kat Turk posted a picture of a reconstructed model of the fish on display at the Natural History Museum in Helsinki, Finland. The animal’s bizarre appearance not only caused Turk’s tweet to go viral, it also spawned a huge interest among internet users in China and Japan, who immediately started turning the sacabambaspis into merchandise, including stickers, t-shirts, and more. It’s been a meme ever since.

We’re not exactly sure why the sacabambaspis is going viral now, in June 2025, but you know what? We’re here for it.

For even more “extra”-ordinary moments, come find us on social media (@upworthy) or on upworthy.com!

For scrumptious snacks that add an extra boost of joy to your day, be sure to check out All In.

Education

American English includes one of the rarest sounds on Earth, but we use it all the time

Er…this is odd.

Photo credit: Canva

Learning to make sounds we didn't grow up with can be tricky.

When (or if) kids learn phonics at school, they're taught the symbols that go with sounds of their country's native language or languages. People all around the world grow up learning to make specific sounds with their mouths by imitating the language(s) they are immersed in, which can leave us completely unaware of how many other sounds there are until we hear a language that's far different from our own.

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Even the common foreign languages that American school kids learn have sounds that can be tricky to get down. The rolled "r" in Spanish. The nuances of French vowel pronunciations. The glottal stops in German. The sound that's a mix between "r" and "l" in Japanese. And for people learning English, one of the trickiest sounds to get down is "er," as in the American pronunciation of "bird," "world," "summer," or "percent."

Oddly enough, for as common as the "er" sound is in English, it's linguistically rare. According to the Linguistics Channel @human1011, the "er" sound is found in less than 1% of the world's languages, rarer than the click consonants found in some languages in East and Southern Africa.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

As rare as the sound is, there are a lot of people in the world who use it, mainly because it's also used in Mandarin Chinese, or at least many variations of it. So, while there aren't many languages that use it, by sheer numbers of people, it's not that uncommon.

"So, a sound that's so rare that it's in less than 1% of the world's languages just happens to exist in the two most spoken languages on Earth? Can that really be a coincidence?" the @human1011 video asks. Well, yes. English and Chinese don't share a common linguistic root, so those sounds just happened to evolve in very different parts of the planet. According to some people in the comments of the video, there are regional dialects in Brazil where the "er" sound is used and in certain parts of the Netherlands as well.

Pronouncing the "er" sound is hard if you don't grow up with it, largely because it's all about the placement and shape of the tongue inside the mouth combined with the way the lips are positioned. That combination is physically tricky to show someone. This video, from a non-native-English-speaker does a good job of explaining the mouth movements that create the sound.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

What's particularly interesting about the "er" sound in American English is that it functions as a vowel sound. Most of us learned that the vowels in English are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y, and that's true as far as written vowels go, but vowel sounds are different. In the word "bird," the letter "i" is a vowel, but doesn't make any of the "i" sounds that we learned in school. Instead, the "ir" combine to make the "er" vowel sound. It's called an r-controlled vowel, and we see it in tons of words like "work," "were," "burn," "skirt," etc.

Learn something new every day, right?

Here's another video that explains the physical aspects of articulating the r-controlled vowel sound.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Most of us don't think about the fact that sounds we pronounce without even thinking about it have to be specifically learned and practiced by people who didn't grow up with them. It's not until we start trying to learn a language that's different from our own that we see how many sounds we have to work hard to make, sometimes even having to train our mouth muscles in ways they've never been used before.

It's also a good reminder to be patient and kind with people who are learning a language. It's not easy, and anyone making an effort to communicate in someone else's language deserves our grace and kudos.

You can follow @human1011 on YouTube for more interesting linguistics trivia.

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Culture

People from Generation Jones explain their major cultural differences with Boomers

"Think of us as a generation that got the tail end of the party but had to clean up the mess."

Image via Canva

Generation Jones points out the biggest cultural differences between them and Boomers.

Generation Jones, people born from 1954-1964, is considered a 'micro-generation' between Boomers and Generation X. Though typically lumped in with Boomers, there are some pretty distinct differences between them.

In an online community of Generation Jones-ers, a member named @WalkingHorse, prompted those in Generation Jones to discuss how their upbringing differed from Boomers in a post titled "What is and who are Generation Jones. Step inside...".

"We're often described as pragmatic idealists—raised on big dreams but tempered by economic recessions and a sense of lowered expectations compared to the Boomers’ post-war prosperity," they wrote. "Think of us a generation that got the tail end of the party but had to clean up the mess."

It inspired many Generation Jones members to share their thoughts and opinions. These are some of the major cultural differences those in Generation Jones have with Boomers:

"We were too young to fully participate in the counterculture of the '60s but old enough to feel its aftershocks." —@WalkingHorse

"Gen Jones men also signed up for the selective service, but were not drafted as the Vietnam war had ended." —@tedshreddon

"Boomers had Elvis and The Beatles. We had Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd." —@Scr33ble

"First teenage generation to experience the Space Shuttle launch. First teen generation to watch music videos in between movies on cable TV then the birth of MTV. We laughed when hearing that golf obsessed President Gerald Ford would routinely slice or hook a ball into a crowd of spectators. Then laugh at Chevy Chase for mimicking our clumsy commander in Chief. We watched our parents go through the fuel rationing days where you could only buy gas for you car if the last digit on the plate was an odd or even number. We counted days along with the media on how long the Iran hostages were being held. We lost John Lennon while not in that sweet spot age to have experienced the musical British Invasion of the 60’s. Instead, MTV opened to floodgates to the Brit-pop invasion of Duran Duran followed closely by big hair, neon clothing and wondering why saying ‘too hip’ was all that and a bag of chips. Best part was that college tuition was sorta affordable." —@contrivancedevice

"Not mentioned yet, but we were present for the rise of gay rights. Went to my first gay bar at 19. Music, especially Disco, was infused with pride and acceptance and coming out. 'We are Family', 'I’m Coming Out'. Queen and the Village People, etc. The rise of 'women’s music' like Holly Near and Chris Williamson. Activists like Harvey Milk and later ACT UP. We were young adults when AIDS hit and the fight for treatment led to a huge wave of coming out. We lost a whole generation of gay men to that plague. 😢" —@BldrJanet

"Boomers remember where they were when President Kennedy died. We remember where we were when John Lennon died." —@KJPratt

"Musically speaking, I think we were blessed. Our musical heyday had everything. Our moms played Elvis the king on the radio, and we had Elvis Costello. The Stones and The Who transverse generations. We are old enough to remember Joan Baez and Bob Dylan pre-Chalamet, not to mention Freddie and Elton before their bio-pics. And Johnny Cash too. And shout out to the poster girl of the 80’s Cyndi Lauper (I got special love for her as a race tracker cause she walked hots at Belmont Park.)" —@Binky-Answer896

"We gave a hoot, and didn’t pollute!" —@Awkwardimplemet698

"We are the generation that got to see the war every evening at dinner 'live via satellite'. —@blurtlebaby

"Think: 45s—albums—-8 tracks—cassettes—-CDs—-Streaming! I’ve had the Rolling Stones on all!" —@NOLALaura

"I always said that I experienced it all...born in 1957. I listened to my older siblings music. I stole my sisters Woodstock album when she went off to college. I still have it. I recall all the assassinations from JFK and MLK.I saw RFK being killed on live tv.(at least I think I did), I remember the chaos of the Vietnam war, the Chicago riots, the Nixon mess. I recall the beginning of the environmental fight, Sesame Street and the moon launch. Computers, and floppy discs, cell phones that came in small cases that would plug into the car. So much good stuff. So much chaos." —@mammaV55

"There’s a sure way to know if you’re Gen J. Were you deadly afraid of quicksand?!" —@NOLALaura

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Teachers

Entire graduating class shows up at their kindergarten teacher's house for a surprise thanks

Now THAT is a sweet high school reunion.

Photo credit: Canva

Letting teachers know they made a difference is a gift they'll never forget.


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Kindergarten is one of the most formative experiences in a child's life. Not only do they learn there how to navigate the tricky world of friendships and the seeds of independence, they also start their education journey. All of that is made extra special if they have a teacher who really loves them. When you're a kindergarten teacher, you know that you have the power to make a serious impact, and that shouldn't be taken lightly. A retired kindergarten teacher warmed hearts on TikTok as people learn just how great that impact is.

In the video shared by user Kim Hamilton (the daughter of said teacher) in 2022, a woman, who is identified in the comments as Mrs. Pearson, is sitting on her porch when a girl in a cap and gown shows up at the gate. "Congratulations!" Mrs. Pearson calls out, waving. Soon, she realizes that the young girl isn't alone.

@kimhamilton15

#kindergartentograduation

"What's happening?" she asks her daughter, who can be heard chuckling behind the camera.

"They're your kindergarteners," Hamilton replies, as kids in caps and gowns start filing through the gate.

"Did you know this was happening?!" Pearson asks, the shock and joy clearly evident on her face.

"Oh my gosh, I love you all! Look at you!" she exclaims as she runs over to the kids.

graduates, graduation, cap and gownHigh school graduation is a pivotal milestone for teens.Giphy GIF by Kelsea Ballerini

Hamilton explains to her that these kids, clearly high school graduates, are the last group of kindergarten students Pearson taught before retiring. As each one of them comes into the gate, the joy on Pearson's face grows exponentially. It's clear that these kids were her babies, and even though now they're all grown up and going off to college, they'll always have that special place in her heart.

"Oh my god, you're all just gorgeous!" she says, giving each one a hug.

graduation, graduate, cap and gown, hugging graduateTeachers love to see their students succeeding, no matter how long it's been.Photo credit: Canva

The kids are just as happy to see their beloved Mrs. Pearson as she is to see them. They eagerly shuffle together to pose for a picture as she just stops and looks at them, taking it all in. Presumably, she hasn't seen them much in the approximately 12 years since she retired. Maybe they've seen each other around—as a kid, I loved running into my teachers outside of school. I still do. But the fact that these kids showed up to see her, to allow her to celebrate her integral role in their lives, that's really special. And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Here are just a handful of the comments people left on Hamilton's video:

"Proof they never stop being our kids after they leave us."

"The love she showed and was shown, she must have been one heck of a teacher 💕"

"I started crying when your mom did."

woman tearing up, getting emotionalBig Brother Omg GIF by Global TVGiphy

"Love this! ❤ I teach kindergarten and only hope my students will remember me like this! She must have been extraordinary!"

"Literally teachers like HER are the reasons I still talk to my teachers from middle school, HS & college🥺 good teachers are so special."

"The best gift a teacher can receive is seeing her former students bloom."

Teachers can truly make a lifelong impression on us, for better or for worse. When you get a good teacher at any age, it's never too late to offer them your gratitude and appreciation.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Motherhood

Ultramarathoner stopped to breastfeed her baby three times during her race—and still won

Stephanie Case had zero expectation of winning the 61-mile race—she just wanted to feel like an athlete again.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Case/Facebook

Stephanie Case won the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia race in Northern Wales in May of 2025.

Running an ultramarathon is a feat most humans won't ever even attempt, much less successfully complete. Far more taxing than a regular marathon, ultramarathons not only exceed 26.2 miles—often doubling or tripling those miles—but they frequently wind through rugged terrain with steep elevation changes. It takes an elite level of fitness, athleticism, and mental fortitude to compete in ultramarathons, much less to win one.

So imagine the practically superhuman level of all of the above it would take to win an ultramarathon six months after having a baby and while breastfeeding—which is exactly what 42-year-old mom Stephanie Case did, to everyone's surprise.

Case ran the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia race in Northern Wales in May of 2025 with zero expectations of winning it. She hadn't competed in three years, and after navigating two miscarriages, two egg retrievals, and three rounds of IVF treatments to have her daughter, Pepper, she wasn't sure if she would ever return to it. But as her pregnancy progressed, so did her desire to be an athlete, so she began the meticulous training process of getting her body ready to run 61 miles (100 km), while also preparing to give birth.

"My goals were to enjoy myself and make sure Pepper was fed at aid stations," Case wrote in an Instagram post. "As I no longer have a UTMB index, I started in the last wave, 30 min after the leaders. Sure, I had hundreds of runners in front of me, but I could go at my own pace in blissful ignorance of my placing."

That blissful ignorance turned to delighted surprise when she was informed that she had won. The human rights lawyer and mom had breastfed her six-month-old three times at aid stations during the race, and she had no idea where she stood among the competitors until the race was over.

"It truly was like riding a bike - every kilometre that passed reminded me that I hadn’t lost a thing over these past three years," she wrote. "In fact, I have gained way more joy and strength from this sport as a mom than I ever did before. While it broke my heart to leave little Pepper at the aid stations, I wanted to show her - both of us - how amazing mom runners can be."

However, Case is also clear about how difficult it was to train for and to complete the race, especially after receiving some negative feedback from people who says she's setting the bar too high.

"The response has been so positive, but there has been a negative cohort,” she told The Guardian. “Part of those are just misogynists, but the others are exhausted mums who look at this story and think, oh my God, I could never do that. Now there’s even more pressure on us to be able to have a baby and work and run races and now breastfeed during races.

“I don’t want anyone to feel badly about themselves out of a story like this. I’m quite open about how hard it is and how much support I have, and the messy parts of it. At 95k I was done, dry heaving and peeing all over myself. I ran with devices internally. It’s not all rainbows and bunnies and a lot of things have to come together for something like that to happen.”

One of those things was pelvic floor training. In France, where Case lives and gave birth, it's standard practice for postpartum mothers to have 10 sessions with a midwife for pelvic floor therapy. (American moms, take note.) That was one of many steps and supports that helped prepare her body for the ultramarathon.

Case wants moms to know that having a baby doesn't mean you have to put your goals or dreams aside.

"Whether you are thinking of being a mom, are pregnant, or are a new mom yourself, don’t be afraid to keep setting big goals for yourself," she writes. "Everyone has an opinion about what new moms should or shouldn’t be doing, and that doesn’t open up a lot of space for 'out there' ideas like running an ultra. Should I spend this much time away from my baby? Is it harmful to my body? What about my milk supply? My coach helped me navigate these questions and the social pressures that come with being a new mom runner, but we need to work together to remove the pressure in the first place and provide more support."

Support is definitely key, but let's give credit where it's due to Case herself. Even with all the support in the world, winning an ultramarathon while breastfeeding a six-month-old is an incredible physical and mental feat. Kudos to this mama for making it happen.

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Humor

Anderson Cooper can't stop giggling telling Colbert about 'embarrassing' childhood interest

"I can't even bring myself to say it. It's so lame."

YouTube, CBS

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen discuss their childhoods on Colbert.

When it comes to reporting the news, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is usually quite serious. After decades of reporting on everything from hurricanes to elections to wars, Cooper has earned 18 Emmys and two Peabody Awards.

But if you get so much as a thimble of alcohol in him (as his friend and New Years Eve co-host Andy Cohen likes to do)—Anderson is known to get what can only be described as a big old case of the giggles.

@colbertlateshow

When you have a laugh attack with your bestie. 😂 Tag the @andycohen to your #AndersonCooper! #Colbert

On a recent episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Cooper and Cohen appear by each other's sides. Cooper says, "I was a very strange kid, clearly." But when Cooper begins to attempt to share what he was interested in as a child, he starts laughing in his trademark high-pitched, quick-fire giggle. Cohen pipes in with "He's drunk," which Cooper denies. Colbert tries to get the train back on the tracks and asks, "What were you interested in?" And now all bets are off. Cooper literally can't stop laughing, and the more he laughs, the more the audience laughs.

Again, Cohen says, "He's drunk, he's gone. One shot!" (Which may or may not have been true.) Colbert continues asking for the answer, and finally Anderson can get four words out. "I was interested in…" and again, a fit of laughter overwhelms him. Trying his best, he says, "I can't even bring myself to say it. I was…" and then again–uncontrollable laughter.

Anderson Cooper, laughing fits, giggle fits, CNNAnderson Cooper laughs.Giphy

Colbert finally asks, "What as a child could you have possibly been so interested in that would make you giggle?" Fighting back tears of joy, Cooper says, "It's so lame." And the laughter returns. He finally pulls himself together, red-faced and amped up, and states, "As a child, I was interested in 'The Zulu Wars.'" (He is referring to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.) He can't get the word "Wars" out before bursting back into the giggles, and as Cohen says, "What?" and Colbert repeats, "Zulu Wars," Cooper has now physically slid down in his seat, arms crossed, laughter dialed up to 11.

Now Colbert knows how to have fun with it. He eggs him on, asking, "Like the Battle of Rorke's Drift? And Isandlwana and stuff like that?" To which Cooper laughs, nods, and says, "Yes," and then is immediately impressed by Colbert's knowledge on the topic.

What led up to that moment was equally charming, as Colbert pushed Cohen and Cooper to discuss what they were like as kids.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com, CBS

It's pretty adorable to see anyone laugh that hard, but what's even quirkier is the embarrassment Cooper seemed to feel about his childhood interest. He's not alone. Kids and teens can be into the darndest things for the most random of reasons. (At 14, I was really into Jungian psychology and made everyone discuss it ad nauseum.)

On a Reddit thread, someone asks, "What were your weird or bizarre childhood obsessions/interests?" And the comments most definitely didn't disappoint. The OP continues, "Mine were buoys. Yeah, buoys. My uncle was in the Coast Guard at the time (I was about 7), and he arranged a visit for me and my dad to go down to a shipyard. I remember spending hours wandering around these massive iron buoys."

A few people answered the more typical "dinosaurs" and "sharks." But this Redditor's brother had a more unique interest: "My brother was completely and utterly obsessed with those National Emergency Broadcast tests. Mainly just the electronic beeps it would make in the beginning. He would sit on YouTube and listen to them for hours on end. Whenever they came on TV, he would scream for everyone to be quiet and would turn on every single TV in the house. The sound now creeps me out pretty bad."

FCC, television, emergency broadcast system, testing, broadcastEmergency Broadcast System at KPTV Portland tests in 1988.en.m.wikipedia.org

Now this one is even stranger: ""Paths. I can't really explain it. Especially two paths near each other." (That sounds like more of a spiritual pursuit than an interest, but cool nonetheless.)

This commenter bravely shares what was less of an interest and perhaps more of a strange compulsion: "I've heard that I used to bite the heads off Barbie dolls at my daycare."

Had that been the case for Cooper, I'm not sure he'd ever have gotten through the sentence without complete laughter-implosion.


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