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Buzz Feed
9 hours ago
- Health
- Buzz Feed
How ADHD Affects Driving Skills: What To Know
For people who are easily distracted, driving can feel like a stressful endeavor. From stoplights to traffic jams to honking horns, there's lots to consider when buckling your seat belt and hitting the gas. But while distracted driving is a danger for absolutely everyone, people with ADHD may have more to contend with when it comes to operating a vehicle. Research says that people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to get in a car crash that's their fault — and to get traffic tickets. There are a number of reasons this happens, and a lot of it has to do with the sheer number of distractions that can occur while driving. But experts say this research shouldn't discourage folks with ADHD, particularly those who manage their diagnosis well. Below, experts share what you should know about this research and what drivers who have trouble focusing should do to stay safe on the road. People with ADHD are at a higher risk of car accidents because of increased distractions. 'If you do a research study where you look at 1,000 people with ADHD, and you compare them to 1,000 people who are perfectly matched in every way except they don't have the ADHD diagnosis and then you follow them, and you look at the rate of car accidents, you'll see that the rate of car accidents, most likely, is increased in the people with ADHD in that group of 1,000 people a little bit,' said Dr. Will Cronenwett, the vice chair for clinical affairs in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University in Illinois. Research in teenagers found that those with ADHD had a 9% higher chance of getting into a car accident that was their fault. Inattentive behavior was the top reason for accidents, while another reason was driving at an unsafe speed. Why might this be? According to Jackie Morrison, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Minnesota, the ADHD brain filters information in a different manner than a neurotypical brain. ADHD is known to cause trouble focusing and inattention in folks with the disorder, which can, of course, also lead to trouble on the road. 'There is, in a lot of cases, a truly different amount of information that is coming in. And your brain isn't filtering out as many distractions,' explained Morrison. 'And so things that an ADHD brain is picking up on might be significantly more than a neurotypical brain, and so there are literally more distractions sometimes for an ADHD brain,' she said. With an ADHD brain, you need more stimulation and engagement to get your brain in the 'task-positive network,' said Morrison. 'The task-positive network is the grouping of your brain systems that turn on and activate when you're engaged in a task and helps you focus,' she added. If there isn't enough stimulation, which can happen when you're driving, your brain isn't going to go in this network. Both experts stressed that these research findings don't mean that individual ADHD drivers are any worse than other drivers on the road. 'You can say on a population level that ... having a disorder that impairs your attention does increase the risk for driving accidents in that population, but you can't say anything about a particular individual,' Cronenwett noted. Meaning, someone with an ADHD diagnosis who manages their ADHD properly can be a safer driver than someone without ADHD. 'I would caution against people looking at the ADHD label as either a flag for 'now I'm at risk' versus not at risk,' he added. 'Because people with ADHD can be very well-treated, and their symptoms can be under control, and they can be quite safe,' explained Cronenwett. Distracted driving, in general, can lead to traffic incidents. Just because someone doesn't have ADHD doesn't mean they're a safe driver by default. There are plenty of other distractions — cellphones, other passengers, day-to-day stress, exhaustion, and more — that can put anyone at a higher risk of an accident. For example, 'people won't be able to pay as good attention to the road when they are fatigued,' said Cronenwett. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 633 car crashes happened as a result of drowsy driving in 2023. 'So, I wouldn't want people to just look at the [ADHD] diagnosis as if that determines whether they are at risk at any particular given moment,' noted Cronenwett. Instead of focusing on your diagnosis before you start driving, focus on how you feel. Before getting in your car, take note of how you're feeling. Are you tired? Are you distracted because of an argument with your partner? This way, you can decide if you have the faculties to safely operate your car. And this is true for anyone — not just those with ADHD, said Cronenwett. 'Any number of things influence somebody's risk more than just the strict presence or absence of a label,' he said. If you don't feel focused enough to drive, don't do it. 'I think we can all agree that distracted drivers, or inattentive drivers, are at risk for having car crashes, and they should certainly be very, very careful in their own driving habits,' said Cronenwett. Once again, people can be distracted because they're tired, because of stressful social situations or even from depression and anxiety, he added. 'So, any type of inattentive or distracted driving puts somebody at risk,' he said. If you don't have an ADHD diagnosis and want one, Morrison said it could be a good idea to find a doctor or therapist in the field who has an understanding of ADHD and can help you learn more about how your brain works so you can efficiently and safely move through the world. For people who can't get diagnosed because of a lack of insurance coverage, long appointment wait times or for whatever reason, Morrison recommends mindfulness as a way to combat distractions. 'Be aware of your body in space and your breath for a few minutes at a time, and let thoughts move in and out ... you're just experiencing what it's like to be in your body at that moment in time. [It] can be really helpful because it gives your brain a chance to run around off its leash, if you will, and it also gives you practice being present without distracting yourself and without stimulation,' Morrison noted. 'And when you're driving, it can be boring — so, basically you're practicing getting bored,' she said. It can also be helpful to train your brain to move slower, said Morrison — 'because the ADHD brain wants to go fast and it wants to be efficient, even though, arguably, it can be very inefficient at times.' Instead of rushing to prep food or unpack your groceries, take your time while doing it, said Morrison. '[This] can be helpful just to help your body become more comfortable with that inefficiency or that slowness,' Morrison noted. 'Your body and brain want to move fast, and that's not always the safest option when driving, so you're literally helping your body to practice being slow and inefficient, to just get used to that discomfort,' she said. When you're driving, Morrison said it's a good idea to avoid audiobooks or music that you hyper-focus on, and instead turn on options that hold your attention, but don't totally distract you from the road. And it goes without saying, you should not be looking at your phone while driving (this goes for everyone — ADHD or not), said Morrison. HuffPost.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Penny for your thoughts as coin heads to the great piggy bank in the sky; ‘There's a certain nostalgia about it'
Check under the couch cushions and dig through your coat pockets because the era of America's one-cent coin, colloquially known as the penny, is coming to a close. The Treasury Department recently confirmed production of the penny will end next year, almost 240 years after the first U.S. pennies were minted. Few are decrying the move, perhaps a sign of its long overdue retirement. It turns out that pennies are more expensive to mint than they're actually worth, and there have been calls for their demise going back decades. The saying 'a penny for your thoughts,' which traces its origins to the 16th century — if adjusted for inflation from 1909 when the first modern American penny was minted — would be closer to two quarters, although no one is paying that kind of money for thoughts these days. The penny is not the first coin to go to the great piggy bank in the sky. Among the discontinued is the half-cent coin, which ended production in 1857, and the two- and three-cent coins were stopped in 1873 and 1889, respectively. There was even a 20-cent coin, although it was only produced from 1875 to 1878. While there aren't many penny defenders calling for its continuation, there's still some nostalgia for the diminutive coin. Dan Smith, president of the Wauconda Township historical society, recalled collecting pennies during the summers of his childhood. They were the easiest, or more accurately cheapest, coins to collect for a young boy, he said. Smith talked about his summers in the late '50s and early '60s, riding his bike to the bank, buying $50 worth of pennies and taking them home in a big bag. 'I could barely steer my bike holding the stupid thing,' he said. He'd go through the thousands of coins, pulling out the ones he wanted for his collection, replacing them with less-interesting pennies and returning the bag to the bank. Back then, Smith said, you could still find 'Indian head' pennies, which had been produced from 1858 to 1909 and featured Lady Liberty in a Native American headdress. Several of the Depression-era coins were also very rare, as was a variation of the 1960 penny with a small '6' that was later redesigned to avoid confusion with a zero. 'You could buy these little folders, and they would have a little slot for each year,' he said. 'The 1960 small-date penny, somewhere in this room, I probably have a roll of those.' But the rarest of all was the 1909-S VDB Abraham Lincoln penny, the first year the president's face appeared on the one-cent coin. 'S' was for San Francisco, where it was minted, and 'VDB' were the initials of the designer, Victor David Brenner. This specific design, with Brenner's initials on the back, was only produced for a few days, and relatively few of these pennies were minted. Carola Frydman, a professor of finance at Northwestern University, said the whole point of money is to more easily facilitate transactions, something the penny has increasingly failed to do. 'Civilizations before that were something close to barter, and that makes transactions really difficult,' Frydman said. At one point, even salt was used as currency. Gold, silver and other metal coins were used because their material was considered intrinsically valuable. But while metal coins were more convenient than bartering, they were limited by the ability to mine precious metals. 'So, through time, we came to trust our government to issue 'fiat money,'' Frydman said. 'These are pieces of paper that don't really have any intrinsic value on their own, but we trust the U.S. government in keeping the value of these pieces of paper.' Coins are a 'remnant of that long history,' she said. Today, most people use credit and debit cards or digital wallets, and physical cash in general is experiencing a decline in use. Coins, and pennies especially, are bulky and can be 'annoying.' And, as inflation reduces their purchasing power, certain denominations of coins become more and more pointless to carry around. A receipt in the collection of the Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove shows just how far the penny has fallen. On June 25, 1920, someone bought two packages of yeast from the general store, Firnbach & Raupp, for 6 cents. Debbie Fandrei, the museum's curator, said local farmers could even pay with eggs. It was 'a reminder that how we pay for things continues to change … even how we value some things continues to change.' Fandrei, who often works with young children at the museum, noted how even as times change and objects disappear from use, language can remain the same. 'Even the first, second and third graders I work with get what 'a penny for your thoughts' means, even if they've never had to count out pennies,' she said. 'It's kind of fascinating how something will stay in the language, even after the physical thing itself has left.' But the penny will likely go the way of other items that were once ubiquitous in American life, as Fandrei has seen in her line of work. She recalled a presentation showing an elementary class an old camera. When the kids asked how it worked, Fandrei explained by putting film into the camera. 'Twenty-six faces turned to me and said, 'What's film?'' Fandrei said. 'And I thought … 'Wow I feel old.'' Another example was bottle caps. Few of the children knew how to use a bottle opener, since they are used to screw-off caps. These were minor instances, she said, but still gave her pause. 'Nothing is the end of the world or anything,' Fandrei said. 'But … you stop for a moment when you have to explain something that used to not really be a thing you had to think about.' Although he still uses coins regularly, Smith wasn't particularly torn up by the news of the penny's upcoming demise. Billions have been minted every year, meaning they'll be around 'somewhere' for a long time, from old coin jars to piggy banks, he said. 'I've been thinking for years that it should go away,' Smith said. 'I probably regret when they stopped making the half-dollar more than I care about the penny.' It's a sentiment many today share. The penny can become 'just an annoyance' in the modern era, Smith said. But he still picks up every penny he sees on the ground. 'It's the coin collector in me,' Smit said. 'It might be valuable. It never is, but it might be. There's a certain nostalgia about it.'
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Northwestern University scientists develop possible replacement for PFAS, common "forever chemicals"
They're in cookware, cosmetic products, clothing, tap water, and even detectable in human bodies – PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they resist breaking down and can stay in the body for prolonged periods of time. However, a new nontoxic material developed by Northwestern University scientists could replace these harmful chemicals in paper-based food and beverage packaging. Professor of Chemistry SonBinh Nguyen and Professor of Engineering Tim Wei have developed a graphene oxide solution that is water- and oil-resistant, more compostable, and recyclable than the current average paper plate or take-out cup. The patient-pending product is being commercialized by Go-Eco, a subsidiary of Chang Robotics, where Wei is chief scientist, and a resident startup at Northwestern's Querrey InQbation Lab. Twenty years into Nguyen's research on graphene oxide, Wei came to Northwestern to give a talk about the engineering of food manufacturing before he had worked there. They remained in touch and formed a partnership over the last decade. The team has successfully tested the material on cardboard boxes, plastic produce bags, plates, cups, and straws. What are PFAS? PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These chemicals resist grease, oil, water, and heat. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, PFAS do not degrade easily in the environment because their molecules have one of the strongest bonds. Because of this, PFAS break down slowly, if at all. If you grabbed a cup of coffee at your local convenience store not so terribly long ago, that cup would have contained PFAS. "Even 10 years ago, if you remember a paper cup, the outside of the cup was paper, but the inside had this sort of plasticky coating to it, and so that literally would be like a plastic, or it could be a PFAS, and that was essential to make sure your cup of coffee didn't disintegrate in your hand while you're still trying to drink it," explained Wei. A study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. There are over 15,000 types of PFAS, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Although not all of them are in use, many are hard to detect. The EPA says it will require public water systems to monitor the level of 6 PFAS by 2027. PFAS arealso detected in food, soil and air, in addition to the consumer Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says that PFAS can last thousands of years. How the graphene oxide material works Graphite — a naturally occurring crystalline form of carbon — is a common everyday substance best known as pencil "lead" (actual lead was never used in pencils despite the name). Graphene is a single, two-dimensional layer of graphite — simply a sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure. Nguyen called it "hexagonal chicken wire." Graphene oxide is synthesized when graphene is exposed to oxygen. This process causes the substance to form functional groups — that is, structures that are responsible for reactions. Importantly, graphene oxide with its functional groups is water soluble, while pure graphene is a solid and is not soluble in anything. "So it becomes a solution that we can use to spray, to coat, to integrate it with paper making," explained Nguyen. Specifically, an oxygen function group in the graphene oxide binds onto the fiber of the paper and changes its properties — making it hydrophobic, or resistant to water. Graphene oxide also makes paper more resistant to oil, and reduces the amount of water vapor and gases that make contact with the paper, Wei explained. In other words, graphene creates a barrier when applied to paper. Studies also showed that graphene increases the strength of the substance to which it is applied. In Nguyen's early research, adding graphene oxide to a synthetic polymer, or plastic, dramatically increases its Young's modulus — a measurement of how strong a material is under compression or tension. Graphene oxide also increases the polymer's tensile strength — essentially, the force required to pull it apart. When graphene oxide is used on paper, such as a to-go cup, data likewise document a 30% to 40% increase in strength, Wei said. Better for the environment and health Graphene oxide is safer than PFAS because it is derived from carbon, according to Nguyen. "It resembles a carbohydrate," he said. "Graphene oxide will degrade in the environment the same way wood does biologically." Because graphene oxide is also water soluble, the theory is that it would not stick or stay inside the body the same way microplastics and PFAS do. The team said they are not yet at the step of getting FDA approval and will test this and verify their theories. "This material would be a lot safer for the environment, and a consumer could know that their disposable cup of coffee can safely go in the dumpster or to the compost without spreading harmful chemicals," Nguyen said. Graphene oxide has been shown to be able to filter out heavy metals from tap water, according to research done at MIT in 2021. Northwestern estimates that the U.S. produces approximately 14 million metric tons of paper-based food packaging and corrugated cardboard every year, many of which are coated with PFAS. Next steps "The problem is PFAS work really well and are really inexpensive, but as we learn as a society, that those are really problematic materials, they have to be removed," Wei said. Nguyen said the scientists are trying to "solve a little bit at a time," while pushing ahead in search of an even better alternative. Their long-term goal is to create a paper-based material that replaces plastic for food packaging for produce and meat, paper bags and tableware. The team received funding from a major national tableware manufacturer and is in talks with several companies to try pilot testing. "We work on this to make an impact on our future, our children, grandchildren, and for the whole earth," Nguyen said.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Scientists Find A Market Ready Replacement For PFAS
A new substitute for forever chemicals is non-toxic material is water- and oil-resistant, ... More sustainable and affordable. It's one of those quiet realities of modern life: we unwrap our sandwich or sip from a paper cup, unaware that the packaging protecting our food might be leaching harmful chemicals. For decades, food packaging has relied on PFAS — a family of so-called 'forever chemicals' — to keep oil and water from soaking through paper products. But as we now know, PFAS don't stay neatly in the packaging. They linger in our environment, our water, and even our bloodstreams, with growing links to serious health risks. On Tuesday, scientists at Northwestern University announced what they hope will be a safe replacement for forever chemicals. They've developed a new material derived from graphene oxide, which they believe may offer the first truly safe, sustainable, and effective alternative to PFAS in food packaging. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals used to repel oil and water. First used in the 1930s and 40s with the invention of teflon, they are now everywhere: in fast food wrappers, takeout boxes, candy wrappers, sandwhich bags and even compostable-looking plates. Quite simply, PFAS are highly effective and to date industry has not been able to find a substitute. These forever chemicals can and do migrate into our food, even when kept at cold temperatures. And they don't break down in the environment or the human body. In fact, they may accumulate in vulnerable tissues like the brain, where scientists have found PFAS have neurotoxic effects. (Brown-Leung 2022) They've been linked to hormone disruption, immune system effects, and even certain cancers. According to a 2022 report from the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine, biomonitoring surveys have found that over 98% of Americans have detectable amounts of forever chemicals in their blood and tissues. Meanwhile, parents and pediatricians like myself, find forever chemicals a constant source of worry. How are we supposed to protect our children when they are closer to the floor, being exposed to PFAS loaded stain resistant carpets and house dust? Children are at greater risk to negative effects from forever chemicals because they are smaller, spend more time close to the floor and have differences in food and water intake from adults. Most importantly, they are growing and developing, which means they are being exposed at a vulnerable time and have a lot more years to develop problems. The NASEM report found an association between chronic PFAS exposure in children and multiple health concerns. These included slightly lowered weight at birth, elevated blood cholesterol levels, and reduced antibody response to certain vaccines/infections. In another study, maternal exposure to forever chemicals was associated with child neurodevelopmental difficulties. (England-Mason 2024) PFAS exposures in early life can act as endocrine-disruptors, effecting thyroid, steroid hormones and even testerone and estrogen levels. (Ames 2025) That's where graphene oxide comes in. In a collaboration led by Timothy Wei, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, and SonBinh Nguyen, professor of chemistry, the Northwestern team created a coating made from oxidized carbon sheets just one atom thick. The result? A material that the study authors consider: Better still, it doesn't just work in the lab. Their startup, GO-Eco, has moved the material through third-party testing at Western Michigan University, and is now preparing for full-scale production with a national tableware manufacturer. It's not just innovation — it's a market-ready solution. One of the problems with adding new chemicals to food packaging is that we don't know what we don't know. While the researchers behind this breakthrough may consider their product non toxic, its worth noting that the people who discovered the forever chemicals thought the same thing. Indeed, graphene oxide is already used in biomedicine and cosmetics, yet it is known to have a potential toxic effect on living cells and organs. Graphene oxide can be toxic, or minimally toxic, or potentially non toxic depending on what chemical form it is in and what dose the body is exposed to. (Rhazouani 2021) It's clear we need more testing, especially in children, of this exciting new material. As a mother and a pediatrician, I really hope this new material is the breakthrough we've been waiting for. And I am struck by the way it reflects a quiet revolution in how we think about safety. Because this isn't just about takeout containers and plastic forks. It's about reimagining how we live — and refusing to accept that the price of convenience should be hidden toxins and long-term risk. GO-Eco's material may never make headlines the way PFAS bans have. But if they succeed, it could mean a world where parents don't need to wonder what's in the sippy cup their toddler is chewing. A world where sustainability doesn't mean sacrificing quality. A world where science earns trust by solving the problems it once helped create. As the graphene oxide project moves forward — seeking FDA approval and expanding production — I'm reminded of what progress really looks like. Not a single heroic cure, but a steady, evidence-based shift toward something safer, smarter, and more human. Sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs start with something as small as taking PFAS our of a child's candy wrapper.
Elle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Knew ‘Almost Immediately' Brad Hall Was the One When She Met Him in College
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall may have the perfect love story. The pair met when they were both college students pursuing comedy, going on to work on Saturday Night Live together. The Seinfeld star has admitted she knew 'almost immediately' that Hall was the one, and she seems to appreciate him more every year, if her Instagrams are any indication. They've been married now for almost four decades and share two children. Here is Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall's complete relationship timeline so far. In 2013, Louis-Dreyfus told Craig Ferguson that she first met Hall when they were both students at Northwestern University in the early 1980s. Hall was producing a show with the Practical Theatre Company, and she auditioned. She joined PTC, and the group had a run at their campus in Evanston, Illinois, and in Chicago. 'There were a couple of moments, some of which I will not share,' she said of connecting with Hall. 'But I would say that I knew almost immediately [he was the one]. It's really the truth.' The couple did an interview with Grist in 2003 and talked more about the early days of their relationship. 'In our skits, we parodied the problems of the day—oil dependency, environmental negligence, a lot of the issues we're now seeing reemerge on the public radar,' Hall said of that time. Louis-Dreyfus laughed and replied, 'I don't even remember those skits. I was about 19 at the time and had fallen head over heels in love with Brad. He was a senior with a big old beard and Jesus hair. I may have been just taking his word for it at that point.' All four members of the Practical Theatre Company found success at Saturday Night Live after being hired for the sketch show by producers Dick Ebersol and Bob Tischler. Louis-Dreyfus was only 21 years old at the time, making her the youngest female cast member. June 1987 On June 25, 1987, the couple married in Santa Barbara, California, close to where Hall grew up. They were married by Hall's father, an actual minister, per The New Yorker. June 1992 The couple welcomed a son in 1992, Henry Hall. During her pregnancy, Louis-Dreyfus was starring in Seinfeld. She told Vogue in 2019, 'This [oversize] clothing was very helpful to me as a pregnant person. Both getting more and more pregnant and then becoming less and less pregnant after giving birth.' May 1997 Their second son, Charles Hall, arrived in 1997. In a 2008 interview with Harper's Bazaar, the actress had a different perspective on hiding pregnancy while on TV, saying it was challenging. 'I went through two pregnancies over a nine-year period on Seinfeld, and I gained 45 pounds both times. Maybe it was 40 pounds, but not less than that, and I'm 5'3',' she said. 'I really tried not to put those 40 pounds on, but I was hungry, man. I craved red meat and lemonade, and I cannot believe the amount of food I could take in. And it's really documented on TV. I was trying to hide the weight.' April 2013 Hall accompanied Louis-Dreyfus to the season 2 premiere of Veep. They attended the premiere of season 4 of Veep together. They went with their son Charlie to a basketball game that same month. Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy Award her role as Selina Meyer on Veep. She and Hall celebrated her win with a sweet kiss. Louis-Dreyfus is fairly consistent about celebrating their wedding anniversary every year on Instagram, often showing throwback photos from their wedding. In 2016, she wrote in the caption, '29 years ago today. A good choice.' March 2017 The couple's son, Charlie, became a basketball player at Northwestern. In 2019, the pair watched him play for the Northwestern Wildcats against Rutgers's Scarlet Knights. In September 2017, Louis-Dreyfus made Emmys history by winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series six years in a row for Veep. That same month, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She shared the news on Twitter at the time, writing, '1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one. The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.' Sharing another throwback pic for their 31st wedding anniversary, Louis-Dreyfus wrote, '31,000 years ago today, I married my current boyfriend.' The couple created a PSA for the 2018 midterm elections to spur voting, with Hall directing. 'A corrupt, self-obsessed, inept moron who somehow becomes president of the United States? That's the character that I play on HBO's Veep,' Louis-Dreyfus said in the production. 'But when I'm off of TV, I'm not a politician, I'm not an expert, I'm a citizen. And I know that the midterm election on November 6 is beyond important. It is vital.' The couple attended the 2019 InStyle Awards with their two sons, Henry and Charlie. In April 2020, Louis-Dreyfus shared more about her cancer battle with People, explaining how important her friends and family were during treatment. 'You hear it all the time, but the people that I relied on the most, besides the very capable doctors and nurses who took care of me, were my family and my close friends,' she said. 'I was surrounded by people who were supporting me. That was hugely meaningful, and I needed it. It helped me to believe I was going to get through. It was like they had their hands underneath me holding me up.' She continued, 'I think whenever a family goes through a crisis and comes out the other end, you're bound to have an intimacy that, perhaps, wasn't quite there like it was before. I mean, we were very close before, but I know how precious life is.' The star shared some more recent pics for their 34th anniversary, writing, '34 years in, keeping our head above water. Love and love to the love of my life.' In the photos, they're in the ocean, and she kisses his cheek. On the red carpet at NRDC's Night of Comedy event, she revealed the secret to a long marriage: 'You gotta marry Brad Hall, that's what you gotta do,' she told Extra. That same month, for their 35th wedding anniversary, Louis-Dreyfus shared another pic from their ceremony, writing, 'What in the living hell? How did that happen so quick?' During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark, Louis-Dreyfus discussed her wedding dress, noting it looked very similar to Princess Diana's. 'Look at that wedding dress,' the Veep star said of a photo of the event. 'You'll see I fashioned my dress after Princess Diana.' She also shared a bit about working with Hall on comedy, saying, 'We are honest with one another so that if he doesn't think it quite works or something, he'll tell me why. And I'll do the same with his work.' She said more about the dress during an episode of her podcast, Wiser Than Me. Though Louis-Dreyfus joked about the look, the actress said she still thought that the late royal's 'wedding dress kicked ass.' 'Lady Di's dress had these poofy sleeves with two layers of lace that came off the cuff,' she explained. 'And I totally stole that from my dress, which was a sort of study of everything awful in the '80s. Well, I mean, that's not fair. It was fine, but it was so '80s.' She added that 'one of the great things about clothes' is that they 'identify with an era,' and that she felt like 'Cinderella at the ball' in her wedding dress. 'Maybe I'm a tiny bit embarrassed when I look at that dress now, but it was a statement of a particular moment,' she continued. 'The huge sleeves, the sweetheart neckline, the fabric flowered wreath in my hair. I'm pretty sure Brad wore a suit. Anyways, man, it was romantic, and I was getting married. And for that, okay, I admit it. It was perfect.' There were more special details as well. 'I had this tiny little dolphin that was hand carved out of stone, sort of a charm, like a little talisman,' Louis-Dreyfus shared. 'And I had them sew it into my dress because I thought it was a good symbol of joy. You know, dolphins are so joyful.' She continued, 'And I still don't know where it is in the dress, which I think is kind of fabulous. It's in there somewhere. Fortunes whisper sewn in with lucky threads of grace.' They walked the red carpet together at the Fourth Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 19. The couple attended SNL50, a celebration of Saturday Night Live's 50th season.
