People Share Loved Ones Quirks In Viral Twitter Thread

modeled by Ella Gorenstein; photographed by Erin Yamagata; modeled by Jenny Gorenstein; produced by Sam Nodelman.

It's difficult not to have mixed feelings about Twitter. It can be a place where people, especially women and other marginalised groups, face some truly disgusting online abuse.

At times, Twitter can also feel like a slightly exhausting echo chamber where likeminded folks share the same views on issues as varied as Br***t and Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" music video.

But sometimes Twitter is, well, actually quite lovely. And so it proved earlier this week when young adult author Rachel Griffin asked her followers to "tell me something random about a person you love that makes you smile every time you think about it".

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Griffin kicked off the thread by writing: "Mine is that whenever my husband sees a dragonfly, he watches in amazement and says in a tone of respect, 'they're such accomplished fliers.'"

Twitter, tell me something random about a person you love that makes you smile every time you think of it.

Mine is that whenever my husband sees a dragonfly, he watches in amazement and says in a tone of respect, "they're such accomplished fliers."
— Rachel Griffin (@TimesNewRachel) December 5, 2018

And then Twitter really rose to the occasion. At the time of writing, Griffin's thread has attracted nearly 2,000 responses, ranging from the cute to the quirky, and the funny to the surprisingly poignant. Check out a selection of responses below.

my boyfriend is colorblind but he still compliments my nails, even though he doesn't know what color they are.

a few weeks ago he said "I like your nails! they're...light blue?"

they were magenta

https://t.co/fzAiuIAZ3P
— Sammy St. Nickalls ? (@sammynickalls) December 7, 2018

My dad used to be a train conductor and operator so now every time someone in my immediate family sees a train, we all say "train!" Because he does. Even mid sentence. Even when he isn't there.
— ? Sam ? (@samrpo1) December 6, 2018

My mum gets the names of common brands mixed up - she refers to Mozilla Firefox as mozzarella Firefox
— Alyssa G. Lobo (@filmibaby) December 7, 2018

My nan used to always duck down in the car when I drove her under road bridges...
— Matt Faulkner (@Matt_Faulkner) December 7, 2018

When ever my mum cleans the hallway, she has a conversation with the spider that lives there (also never kills spiders). ?
— My Cinnamon Phoe (@trojanphoenix) December 7, 2018

We foster kittens for the local humane society, and usually take the sick kittens that need the most help. My boyfriend always gives them a nice warm bath on their first day with us and then wraps them up like tiny kitten burritos while they dry off. pic.twitter.com/D0ALWuKO6a
— Tiffany Ann (@kittenladykc) December 7, 2018

I love this! My son called the living room the "wig room".
— Bobbi Horvath (@BobbiHorvath) December 7, 2018

Oh, and one or two responses in particular might just make you a bit emotional.

My mum broke her back 6 months before the olympics she'd qualified for...and started her career over as an instructor.

The level of...dignity and survival and strength that must have taken is incredible to me!
— Holly March ( Quaintrelle) (@marcherwitch) December 6, 2018

Mine is when my mum died 5 years ago

I woke up in the middle of the night to find my son, aged 8 sitting on my bed watching me.

I asked if he was OK & he said, "I'm staying awake in case you wake up really sad & need an emergency hug from me"
— Antonia (@Flaminhaystack) December 7, 2018

No, you are dabbing your eyes with a tissue right now.

Griffin herself said the stories "have totally brightened my day", adding: "Friends, if you need some cheering up, read through the replies of this thread!"

And if you're looking for another reason to feel better about Twitter, it's great to hear that the platform has recently clamped down on anti-trans activity by banning misgendering and deadnaming, among other forms of abuse.