Grandma always said that laughter is the best medicine. But what do scientists say? While chuckling can’t cure cancer, it does have some measurable health benefits—it’s good for your heart, your brain, your relationships, and your overall sense of well-being.

Laughing is considered a sign of happiness, but it also brings it on, triggering the brain to release feel-good neurotransmitters: dopamine, which helps the brain process emotional responses and enhances our experience of pleasure; serotonin, which buoys our mood; and endorphins, which regulate pain and stress and induce euphoria. A recent study even showed that laughing with others releases endorphins via opioid receptors, which suggests that laughter-produced euphoria is like a narcotic—but without the obvious drawbacks.

The benefits of laughing

Beyond a mood lift, laughing often may help prevent a heart event. Common daily challenges—big workloads, overdue bills or conflicts with loved ones—can cause chronic stress as they continually trigger our ancient fight-or-flight response, in turn causing our blood vessels to constrict and our blood pressure to rise. That can lead to myriad health problems, including increased risk of heart attack and stroke. But like cholesterol-lowering drugs and aerobic exercise, a good laugh can actually counteract the effect of stress. In 2005, researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center found that laughter increases blood flow by dilating the inner lining of vessels. Your heart doesn’t have to pump as hard, which reduces your blood pressure. (Find out more natural remedies for high blood pressure.)

Laughter is also an antidote to pain, and so increases our endurance. A 2011 Oxford University study showed that subjects’ pain thresholds were significantly higher after laughing, due to that endorphin-mediated opiate effect. This means that sharing a joke with a friend can help you squeeze out a few extra reps at the gym or go further on your daily walk. A good belly laugh also happens to be a bit of a workout on its own—it exercises several muscle groups, including your abdomen, back, shoulders, diaphragm and face.

Joking around is also a boon to our social life, and laughter is 30 times more likely to occur with others than when we’re alone. These shared giggles act to reinforce and maintain our sense of togetherness by way of endorphin dominoes: when someone starts laughing, others will laugh, even if they’re not sure what everyone is on about. Laughter is, quite literally, contagious.

And when you laugh, you’re accessing an ancient system that mammals have evolved to make and maintain social connection, according to Sophie Scott, a British cognitive neuroscientist. That social connection is vital to our physical and mental health—it strengthens our immune system and lengthens our life. People who feel more connected to others have higher self-esteem, lower rates of anxiety and depression and are more empathetic.

Babies inherently understand the importance of shared laughs, says Dr. Caspar Addyman, a developmental psychologist and director of the Goldsmiths InfantLab at the University of London. “Babies can make you laugh and you can make them laugh almost instantaneously, no jokes involved,” he says. “It’s all about connection.” As Scott points out, even for adults, laughter isn’t always connected to humour—we laugh to show people we understand them, that we agree with them, that we’re part of the group and that we like or even love them.

So go ahead and be silly with someone you care about—it’s the quickest and easiest way to lighten your mental load and improve your physical well-being. It’s pretty fun, too.

Next, discover 40 secrets to a happier life.

It’s easy to tell when your car wiper blades need replacing, and even easier to change them yourself. Simply press the washer button and see if your blades wipe clean. If they streak, they’re toast. The auto parts store will have lots of economy blades, but go with a name brand instead (ANCO, Trico or Bosch, for instance). They cost more than economy blades, but their higher-quality rubber wipes better, has better UV protection and lasts longer. (Here are more reasons you should never use cheap auto parts.)

What you’ll need to replace windshield wiper blades:

• Small screwdriver or needle-nose pliers
• Replacement blades

Changing wiper blades, step by step:

Step 1: Buy the proper size refills

First, measure your windshield wiper blade refills to get the exact replacement length. Go to an auto parts store with your tape measure to find the exact length refills. Tip: Don’t assume the refill inserts are the same length on the driver’s side and the passenger’s side. One is often an inch or more longer than the other.

Step 2: Slide out the old blade

Pull the wiper arm back from the glass, then double up a bath towel over your windshield just in case the wiper arm gets away from you and snaps back against the glass. Once the arm is pulled back, pivot the blade so the bottom of the blade flips up toward the top. Locate the small shiny retaining clips near the end of the refill. Pinch them together with a needle-nose pliers and start sliding out the refill. Once the clips slide under the blade clamp, set the pliers down and pull out the old refill with one hand while supporting the blade with the other. (Psst—here are 20 tools no home mechanic should be without.)

Step 3: Slide in the refill

Carefully slide the new refill into the same end you pulled the old one from. Make sure the new refill is held between each clamp (to avoid scratching your windshield) and that the retaining clip clicks into position in the last clamp. Gently pivot the arm back into position, release the arm and repeat the process for the other side. That’s it, you’ve learned how to replace windshield wiper blades! Tip: You can get more life out of your wipers and keep them working effectively if you clean your windshield every time you fill up with gas. Also wipe the entire rubber insert with a moist rag to remove grit.

Now that you know the steps involved in changing wiper blades, find out how to check windshield wiper fluid like a pro.

Family Funnies

Eugene Levy on what’s got him through the pandemic:
Food, family and TV. Not necessarily in that order.
—Eugene Levy

Dan Levy on having a famous dad:
In high school people would ask me if American Pie was based on my life. My life was not that interesting. There were no pies involved.
—Dan Levy

Kids Know Best

Dad to tween: Nobody puts baby in a corner.
Tween: Why not? Aren’t babies safer in a corner?
—@Dadmissions

I took my four-year-old son to the local park. A boy approached him and said, “I’m three.” Without hesitation, my son replied, “Hi, Three. I’m Ezra.”
—Victoria Stein, Pickering, Ont.

Mom: Do you want the baby to be a boy or a girl?
Kid: I want the baby to be Batman.
—@FoodieandFamily

Son: This song said a bad word.
Me: You know not to repeat it.
Son: I know, but I am saying it in my brain.
—@embrolear

After my daughter refused to get dressed, I lost my temper and told her she couldn’t come downstairs until she’d changed out of her pyjamas.
She then changed into another pair of pyjamas.
—@Dara_bhur_gCara

Parent: How was your first day of second grade?
Kid: I survived. And I can’t wait to get my farts out.
—@janegallagher17

After being told that it’s rude to call dinner gross, our four-year-old is finding increasingly creative ways to express himself:
“This tastes … unlucky to me.”
“This sends my mouth into outer space.”
“Cauliflower is,” as he pinches his fingers together, “this much delicious.”
—Alix E. Harrow, author

My two-year-old said she is a grownup. I told her that no she isn’t, she’s a toddler.
She replied: “No I’m a grown up. I’m going to touch knives.”
—@jessokfine

I tried to explain to my four-year-old son that it’s perfectly normal to accidentally poop your pants. He’s still making fun of me.
—Voxpop.com

Our nine-year-old conducted an experiment to prove the tooth fairy isn’t real. When he lost a tooth, he kept it under his pillow and told no one for three days. No money. Then, when he told us he lost his tooth, there was money under his pillow the following day. Eventually, he confronted us with his scientific evidence.
—@RogueDadMD

Here are more funny tweets every parent can relate to!

Recently, I was complaining that we have too much stuff in our house and need to get rid of some of it. My four-year-old looked me dead in the eye and said, “You should probably burn it in the oven like our food, Mommy.”
—@MumInBits

My daughter says every boy in the world has a penis, even Santa. So sad for her to one day learn that there’s no such thing as Santa’s penis
—Adam Scott, actor

When I was four, my dad got pulled over and I screamed, “I have to poop!” The cop then let my dad go. Later he took me to the bathroom and couldn’t stop laughing after I told him I didn’t have to poop—I just didn’t want him to get a ticket.
—@BunAndLeggings

Me: If we’re going to the store, I have to change into a cuter outfit.
My nine-year-old son: Why?
Me: Because people are going to see me.
My nine-year-old son: Nobody’s really going to be paying attention to you, though.
—@msemilymccombs

While walking in a local park with my three young kids, we passed a bench that had been donated by a family in 1992. I heard one of them say, “I wonder if that family is still alive.”
My 10-year-old daughter responded, “Probably. I’m pretty sure Dad was already born in 1992 and he’s still alive!”
—Albert Kandie, Winnipeg

I told my nephew a watermelon was going to grow in his stomach because he ate some of the seeds. He then looked me straight in the eyes and, I kid you not, said, “Nope, there’s no sunlight so you’re wrong and college has failed you.” He’s seven.
—@GracieGrayC

When I was eight, I got lost at the mall and started crying because I couldn’t find my mom. A security guard came to help me, but I punched him in the groin as hard as I could because “stranger danger.” (He still had to help me find my mom.)
—@primawesome

My five-year-old asked me to go find something downstairs. I couldn’t find it.
My five-year-old: “I’ve got an idea. This time, go back downstairs and try your best.”
—@AdamHill1212

One Sunday morning, my five-year-old son came to my bedroom, jumped into my bed and hugged me. Afterwards, he said, “Mommy, your breath smells yucky, but I still love you.”
—Ana Macias, Guelph, Ont.

My four-year-old granddaughter was pretending to enjoy a piece of make-believe cake. When her older brother, who is allergic to nuts, asked for his own pretend slice, she quickly responded, “No, you can’t have any. It has nuts in it!”
—Jennifer Khan, Vaughan, Ont.

My six-year-old, to her crying brother: It’s OK to be sad. Sometimes we need to let our feelings out. Just let yourself be sad.
Me: Oh darling, that’s so lovely. Well done. Wait, why is he crying anyway?
My six-year-old: I hit him.
—@elspells13

On the way to daycare, I gave my three-year-old some money, which he then put in his pocket. When we arrived, he immediately announced to everybody, “I have money but I’m hiding it in my pocket!”
—Kashif Shaikh, Scarborough

Here are 25 knock-knock jokes that are genuinely funny!

Parental Guidance

Parenting would be 30 per cent easier if you didn’t have to put sunscreen on your kids.
—@steventurous

Ninety per cent of parenting is saying “Wherever you left it.”
—@sofarsogud

My daughter and I accidentally busted in on my husband in the bathroom and he got mad which is funny because I haven’t peed alone in seven years.
—Busy Phillips, actor

When can I expect to stop having avocado under my fingernails at all times? When they go to college?
—Kristen Bell, actor

Parenting is missing your kids when they’re asleep—and missing your sanity when they’re awake.
—@Chhappiness

Going away on a business trip and my seven-year-old is very sad because “there won’t be anyone to reach the high things,” if you’re wondering how important I am.
—@daddygofish

Here are 100 more hilarious tweets that are guaranteed to make you grin!

Senior Moments

What do you call having your grandma on speed dial?
Instagram.
—mytowntutors.com

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.
―Ellen DeGeneres, comedian

Grandpa whispers to Grandma in church, “I’ve just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?” The grandma replies, “Put a new battery in your hearing aid.”
—juicyquotes.com

After 40 years my grandma has finally gotten my grandpa to stop biting his nails. She hid his teeth.
—Reddit.com

Don’t miss our roundup of side-splitting Modern Family quotes.

When I was a kid, my grandmother was always in her bathrobe with rollers in her hair, 24-7.
“When are you going to take those rollers out?” I thought. “Can we see that hairdo you’ve been working on for 20 years? I bet it’s a doozy.”
—Jen Grant, comedian

What’s the difference between an all-you-can-eat restaurant and your grandma’s cooking?
At an all you can eat, you get to decide when you’re full.
—mytowntutors.com

“Was there anything you needed? I gotta get off the phone and fold my socks.” (My grandma, upon picking up my phone call.)
—Andrea Jin, comedian

What did Grandma and Grandpa do for fun back in the day?
I don’t know. My 17 aunts and uncles won’t answer the question.
—Reddit.com

My grandpa just walked into a room with a guy wearing skinny jeans and eating avocado toast. I said, “Who is this guy?” He said, “my hip replacement.”
—Reddit.com

If you’ve ever had to provide tech support for your parents, you’ll relate to this hilarious story.

The Joys of Parenting, According to Ryan Reynolds

While sleeping in, not sharing your food and only caring about yourself is awesome, you know, having a kid is okay, too.

Being a dad isn’t just about eating a huge bag of gummy bears as your wife gives birth. It means being comfortable with the word “hero.”

I can’t tell if my daughter’s smashing plates all over the kitchen floor or singing the Paw Patrol theme song.

No matter which kids’ book I read to my screaming baby on an airplane, the moral of the story is always something about a vasectomy.

These bad dad jokes are sure to make you laugh out loud.

Thanks, Mom

My mom is Eastern European. How Eastern European? She once wouldn’t taste a cake because it was too colourful.
—Monica Hamburg, comedian

When my mom fries fish outside, our property tax increases and our property value decreases.
—Celeste Lampa, comedian

#YoMamaSoCanadian she sends “you’re welcome” cards in response to “thank you” notes.
—@sethshafer

These are the best comedies on Netflix right now.

Travel Advisory

We are planning a road trip through Canada. My wife is concerned that our old camper van may break down. I told her not to worry. After all we have Triple Eh.
—Anonymous

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
―George Burns, comedian

My parents were English campers, so terrible campers. What my dad ended up doing most of the time was ordering pizzas and making cups of tea… One morning he was like, “Get up, you lazy buggers.” We peered through the tent, and we can hear this low throng of an airplane engine and it came over and dropped DDT on my dad. There was a moth infestation. He just sat there with his cup of tea, and in that Liverpool way he said, alright, how fast until we can find this funny?
—Mike Myers, actor

I asked to switch seats on a plane because I was seated next to a crying baby. Apparently that’s not allowed when the baby is yours.
—Shareitsfunny.com

These funny marriage jokes are perfect for a wedding!

Two’s Company

It’s so cold in Winnipeg right now that I’m hoping for a heated argument with my wife.
—@msilvawpg

I don’t know anyone who gets as much happiness out of their kids as [my wife and I] get out of our non-kids. Like, we’re psyched all the time! We’re laying in bed on Saturday mornings smoking weed, watching movies naked. If we had kids, we could not be doing this.
—Seth Rogen, actor

Marriage is asking each other what you want for dinner every day until you die.
—Anonymous

I once walked in on my parents having sex. It was the most embarrassing 30 minutes of my life.
—Norm Macdonald, comedian

When you see the term “fun for the whole family” that’s the big tipoff that it’s fun for nobody. Nothing in life is fun for the whole family. There are no massage parlours with ice cream and free jewelry.
—Jerry Seinfeld, comedian

Eyeroll Alert

“Dad, can you explain to me what a solar eclipse is?”
“No sun.”
—@Dadsaysjokes

A kid decided to burn his house down. His dad watched, tears in his eyes. He put his arm around the mom and said, “That’s arson.”
—Anonymous

Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing? In case they get a hole in one!
—@Lamehumor

There was a dad who tried to keep his wife happy through labour by telling jokes, but she didn’t laugh once. Know why?
It was the delivery.
—Buzzfeed.com

My dad died because he couldn’t remember his blood type. He kept insisting we “be positive,” but it’s just so hard without him.
—@Dadsaysjokes

For more laughs, check out the funniest Canadian jokes of all time.

Canada’s First Family of Funny

At heart, Schitt’s Creek (streaming on CBC Gem and Netflix) is all about the strength we get from our families. The Roses—Johnny (Eugene Levy), Moira (Catherine O’Hara), Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Dan Levy)—also prove it’s possible to be extremely ridiculous and extremely lovable. Here are some of our favourite moments from the series:

“Just think of them as tiny little roommates whose tiny little poops you get to clean up.” —Alexis, explaining babies.

“Talk to the hand, son, because the ears are no longer working.” —Johnny, misusing his kids’ lingo.

“Um, I do drink red wine, but I also like white wine. And I’ve been known to sample the occasional rosé. And a couple summer back, I tried a merlot that used to be a chardonnay, which got a bit complicated. I like the wine, not the label.” —David, explaining his personal preferences.

“If airplane safety videos have taught me anything, David, it’s that a mother puts her own mask on first.” —Moira defending her parenting skills.

If you enjoyed these funny family jokes, don’t miss our roundup of hilarious Schitt’s Creek quotes.

Ten years ago, a friend gave me a box of teacups and in it was a Royal Stafford, Berkeley Rose teacup, with three white roses outlined in gold on the handle. I thought it was so unique, I researched it on the Internet and discovered it was from the 1950s. I also found out that there were many different types of floral handles from that time period. I thought I might like to have a few more. Little did I know it would turn into such a large collection.

My next cup came from the local second-hand shop, a Royal Winton that turned out to be a brocade chintz cup that only cost me five dollars—what a great find! I was hooked.

Where I find my vintage teacups

Vintage teacups can be hard to find, but over the years, I’ve collected more than 40 in all. Some I found at antique shops, others were gifts and still others I collected during my travels. The best buys were always at second-hand shops.

I received my first butterfly-handled cup and saucer as a gift from my son and daughter-in-law. It was a vintage hand-painted Japanese teacup, which I treasure. Since then, I have found four other cups with butterfly handles.

Teacups as souvenirs

I’ve come across quite a few vintage teacups on my travels. I found one at an antique store in Orville, Ontario. It was a Grindley art deco, hand-painted, poppy-handled teacup. Another I bought while visiting my brother in Prince Edward Island; that one is a rare vintage peacock-handled, hand-painted Royal Grafton teacup and saucer. While in Salamanca, New York, my husband spotted a different cup, a Franz Porcelain Camellia teacup; the cup is the flower and the handle is a stem with buds. I had to bargain hard to get that one, as I won’t pay more than $35 for vintage teacups and saucers.

I’ve collected cups featuring all types of flowers including roses, tiger lilies, pansies, geraniums and poppies. I have others featuring butterflies, a peacock, a parrot, an eagle and a mermaid.

Luckily, I only find one or two a year now as my china cabinet is pretty full. Then again, who knows what I’ll find in the coming years? I might just need a bigger china cabinet!

Next, check out the fascinating story behind Canada’s own Blue Mountain Pottery.

My husband, Leroy, and I enjoy the outdoors and taking road trips. We often have our camera accessible to capture wildlife sightings. We have taken many photos of birds, butterflies, bears and mountain goats. These encounters have always been highlights of our journeys.

In the summer of 2019, we took a weekend road trip to Kenora, Ontario. At the B&B where we stayed, we saw a variety of small wildlife but the highlight of this trip was encountering a family of wild lynx on the roadside near Kenora. As we were driving, we first spotted an adult lynx strolling across the highway—the first time we’d ever seen a wild lynx! We were very excited and quickly pulled over to watch this beautiful cat. While watching her, we heard some “cat-like” crying in the bushes on the side of the road close to where we were parked. We realized there was a baby lynx calling for its parent. On the other side of the road on the rocky hillside, there were two additional medium-size lynxes watching and waiting.

The baby lynx was peeking in and out of the bushes and at one point came within ten feet of our vehicle, which provided us with a great photo op! The adult lynx (we assume the mother) crossed the road several times in front of our vehicle to check on the baby. The mother totally ignored us and seemed unconcerned with our presence. We watched this scene for at least 30 minutes, eventually deciding to leave, so the lynxes could proceed to their destination.

It was just an amazing experience to see this wildlife interaction. We were thrilled to get a few pictures of the baby lynx—this one is our favourite.

Next, read the incredible story of one photographer’s special bond with a Canada lynx.

I was only 15 when I got my first car in 1961. My brother, who was four years older than me, decided he needed a vehicle since he was away at university, so we started looking around for something cheap. We accidentally found one at the back of a car lot and went in to inquire. The dealer said it was an NSU Prinz, brand new, but it had been sitting there for two years, so he would sell it for $600.

NSU was a German motorcycle company that had apparently decided they wanted to build cars, so in 1959 put a two-cylinder air-cooled motorcycle engine in the back of a strange little machine, dubbed the NSU Prinz. It was incredibly noisy at highway speeds, but would go 60 miles an hour and got an amazing 60 miles per gallon of gas. It only had 26 horsepower, so was very difficult to get moving from a stop. You had to release the clutch exactly right, or it stalled. That was how I learned to drive. My dad always said, “If you can drive this, you can drive anything.” He was right.

We had the NSU Prinz for two years, then saw one that had been in an accident, and decided we needed something more substantial for my brother to commute to his summer job in another city. When at a different dealership negotiating for a used car, we asked about trading in the Prinz, and after the salesman looked it up in his big book, he said, “I’m sorry boys, but I can only give you $600 for it.” We protested that it was worth more than that, but of course were delighted to be getting all our money back after driving it “free” for two years!

Glenn has only one photo of his NSU Prinz, sadly it’s of poor quality; he found a pic (above) of the exact model he owned on the website of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

Next, read the incredible story of how one man missed out on his dream car as a teenager—then found it parked in his driveway 25 years later!

Princess Grace: “You’re not sick.”

“I am,” I said. “I might die.”

“Your back hurts,” she said. “It’s not like you have cancer.”

“You swore to tend my infirmities.”

I don’t know how it happened: I woke one morning and was unable to stand fully upright. It felt as though the brisket of my lower back had been broiled too long in a still-warm oven.

I catalogued my most ambitious movements of the day before. There was the small box (lifted), the flight of stairs (climbed) and the BMX bike that I appropriated from a neighbourhood boy in order to demonstrate for the crowd of curious children how legends are made (ramped). Sensations rushed back of that moment when I launched from the homemade ramp’s zenith amid dropped jaws and willed my body and the bike into flight. Yet, just as my rear wheel left the earth, I recalled receiving a message from my lower back that indicated caution and horror, a neural communiqué hushed by the endorphins of ramp glory and the cheers of neighbourhood children—until now, the following morning, when I received a new message from my back, in the form of a letter of resignation.

I pulled myself to a hunchbacked position and dressed in great agony, the way I imagine Yoda must do. I then hobbled off to work, where a colleague sidled up to me, smiling, as though possessing a secret.

“I’ve got two words for you,” he said. “Horse liniment.”

I thanked him and limped on, until bad led to worse. It happened during my afternoon lecture while I rhapsodized to a class about Aristotle’s use of the topography metaphor in Rhetoric.

“Think of the human mind as a map,” I said, arms outstretched. Then something snapped, as though a distant bridge gave way, and it struck me that the bridge was nearby and that it was the meat and bones and cartilaginous substances of my back.

“Oh, no,” I said, falling to my knees in a dramatic, Game of Thrones-ian flourish. But nobody came to my aid, as they were all resting, studying the insides of their eyelid skin.

“What seems to be the problem?” my internist asked.

He has the build and disposition of a gentle, unassuming superhero: the broad shoulders, thick arms and trim waist of a man who would probably look entirely normal driving a Jeep without a shirt.

“It’s my back,” I said.

“Disrobe,” he said.

The next few minutes progressed like many of my best high-school dates, with a great deal of touching, bending and whimpering.

“What’s wrong with me?” I said. I hoped it was something debilitating. A simple back injury would be emasculating, but there could be great glory and riches in a disease requiring a wheelchair. Something permanent, but not terminal, a malady that might lead to a career in motivational speech making and the lucrative field of disease memoirs.

He explained, as gently as he could, that my only malady was frailty. “You need to work out,” he said. “Nothing too rigorous. I’m going to give you some exercises.”

He handed me a printout of an illustrated elderly man in various postures, mostly on his back and mostly looking dead.

“What’d he say?” my wife asked.

“It’s my muscles,” I said.

“What’s wrong with them?”

“Apparently I don’t have any.”

You could tell she did not think this was very serious, because she rolled her eyes. Princess Grace has elevated eye rolling to an art that can be practised by only the demon-possessed and dark wizards of irony. The iris goes up and all but disappears under a lid that flutters like a windblown sheet of paper pinned by a commemorative paperweight. I have tried to imitate this manoeuvre and came near to severing my optic nerve.

“I have a prescription,” I said, holding it up as evidence.

“That’s Aleve,” she said.

Later, I positioned myself on all fours on our bed, attempting to practise one of the therapeutic poses suggested by Dr. America. The wrinkled man in the picture appeared to be imitating a male dog in the act of urination, and I could not get it right.

Princess Grace, who gave no quarter to any of my disease-based fantasies, demanded to know why I was acting like a dog about to urin­ate on her bed.

“I’m strengthening my core,” I said.

In time, after I suggested having her bathe me, she assented that yes, I might be in some pain. She did her duty, opening my beers for me, assisting me into the rocking chair, as though I were a tribal elder, carrying out the bag of garbage I can no longer lift. The woman has looked 20 years old since she was 15 and still does. I have always seemed much too old for her, with my premature baldness, high Gold Toe socks and love of pudding. And now, as in all May-September marriages that last, she has become my nurse.

It’s difficult to know how long this will go on, whether my core will ever be strengthened by the Congress of the Urinating Dog. But I care not. It is pleasing to watch my bride make good on her promises. I wanted to ask her if she would fetch me a bottle of horse liniment, but I didn’t want her thinking me feeble of body and mind.

“Tell me you love me,” I said.

“You love me,” she said.

“I do, I do.”

Next, check out our all-time favourite jokes about marriage.

Here are four tips on how to deal with road rage from J. Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety:

When you assess a situation as dangerous, don’t hesitate to call it in to the police.

1. Take the high road. If a driver makes an obscene gesture, don’t respond in kind—it will only escalate the situation. In fact, avoid eye contact altogether.
2. Give them space. Let angry drivers get well ahead of you, or change lanes.
3. Don’t give them a reason to be angry. Are you driving too slowly in the left lane? Did you cut off other cars or take 15 seconds to notice the light was green? If you’re guilty, give an apologetic shrug or wave, or mouth “Sorry.” (Here are 13 driving tips you’ve probably forgotten since driver’s ed.)
4. Report it. “We’re not advocates of using cell phones if you’re behind the wheel,” Kissinger says, “but in a situation where you think there is a dangerous driver, don’t hesitate to call the police.”

Now that you know how to deal with road rage, check out these car gadgets that make driving safer.

Every driver dreads getting a flat tire, hoping it’s a fate that never befalls them (or their car). But it’s still one that smart drivers must be prepared for. Luckily, most cars come equipped with a spare tire. It comes in handy, and it’s absolutely one of the things you should always keep in your car. But, should you get a flat, how far can you drive on a spare tire?

Well, there are two types of spare tires, and you should absolutely know which type you have since that makes a big difference in answering “how far can you drive on a spare tire?” Some vehicles might include a full-size tire that matches all of your others. “Older vehicles and 4Runners commonly included a full-sized, regulation tire,” explains Jake McKenzie, Content Manager at Auto Accessories Garage. If your car has this type of tire, especially if it does, in fact, match the size and shape of your car’s other tires, you should be able to drive with it for as long as you want (or at least as long as your tires normally last). But you should still make it a priority to get the flat tire repaired so that you’re not driving without a usable spare. And McKenzie still recommends switching it out for the repaired flat sooner rather than later, so that all of your tires have a similar amount of wear—that’s just a safer way to drive. (Here’s what you can do to extend the life of your tires.)

What exactly constitutes an “older” vehicle? Well, as Richard Reina, Product Training Director at CARiD.com, puts it, “almost all cars of the last 20 years or more have gone to the ‘temporary spare tire.'” This is the type of tire you think of more commonly when you hear the words “spare tire”: a donut tire.

Today’s cars use a donut tire for a couple of reasons. According to Reina, it helps keep the overall weight of the car down, which improves fuel economy. And it’s also just less expensive. But, of course, there’s a major downside to donut tires that makes them a “spare” for a reason: You can’t drive on them for very long. Exactly how far can you drive with a donut tire?

“There should be mileage and speed limitations listed in your vehicle’s owner’s manual,” says McKenzie. So if you want to know the exact answer to “how far can you drive on a spare tire,” you should consult the manual. But there is a general range that most car experts agree on: approximately 80 to 110 kilometres, with 110 as the absolute maximum. To be as safe as possible, stick closer to 80. “The label on the temporary spare… will state to drive no more than 50 miles (80 kilometres) [on it],” Reina says.

And there’s also a speed guideline to follow as well. You should be driving fairly slowly—both McKenzie and Reina recommend not exceeding 80 kph (50 mph) with the donut tire.

The bottom line is, driving on a donut tire is definitely not ideal, and you should make an effort to have the flat repaired as soon as you can. “[The donut tire] is a different size than your other tires, [so] it will make your vehicle unbalanced and less safe,” McKenzie says.

Next, find out what it means if you see a red or yellow dot on your tires.

If you’ve recently redecorated, you’re likely basking in the glow of your handiwork… but you also probably have quite a bit of leftover carpet lying around. Wondering what, exactly, to do with it? Rather than just toss those carpet remnants in the trash, there’s a surprising use for them. (If you don’t have any, ask your local carpet store if it has any leftovers that you could nab.)

It turns out carpet remnants are great items to have in the trunk of your car if the wheels get stuck on snow or ice and you need traction in bad weather. The next time you get stuck, simply ram the carpet underneath the stuck wheels—just make sure they’re stopped and not in motion—before slowly accelerating. (Gunning it will only dig yourself deeper.)

Not only will the carpet remnant help you out of a slippery situation, but it’s an easy way to repurpose an item that would otherwise go in the garbage. Items like a rubber bathmat, old towel, or even a piece of cardboard also work wonders when you need a bit of extra traction in the winter. You can also sprinkle ordinary kitty litter or sand around the tires, too.

Next, check out a genius hack to defrost your windshield fast.