"The Happiest Story about a Kid Dying of Cancer I've Ever Seen." Upworthy watched the "feedback" pour in, monitoring both the percentage of people who clicked each headline and the number who shared it with their friends. It was a perfect, dispassionate science experiment, where the feedback could show Upworthy editors exactly which packaging would have the biggest impact--before they released it to the rest of the world. In moments, the results became clear: people clicked on the third headline 20 percent more often than the original. But that wasn't the end of the test. Upworthy wrote alternate versions of the winning headline and sent it out to several other groups. It repeated the process a ruthless 18 times, for a total of 75 variations in all. Here are a few of the contenders: Headline % Lift We Lost This Kid 80 Years Too Early. I'm Glad He Went Out with a Bang 0% I Cried Through This Entire Video. That's OK Though, Because This Kid's Life Was Wonderful + 9% The Happiest Story about a Kid Dying of Cancer I've Ever Seen + 28% RIP Amazing Rock Star Teenager Who Punched Cancer in the Face with Love on the Way Out + 65% Cancer Wasn't a Death Sentence for This Kid. It Was a Wake Up Call. -22% Her Parents Asked, "Would You Date Him If He Didn't Have Cancer?" So There Ya Go. + 75% This Kid Just Died. What He Left Behind Is Wonderful. + 96% In the end, Upworthy tweaked the winning headline one more time: Headline % Lift This Kid Just Died. What He Left Behind Is Wondtacular. + 116%"