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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

dancing, dad and baby, woman in dress

Fabulous dancing, the joys of parenting, ageless fashionistas and more

Smiling is the universal language of joy—an involuntary response and innate human behavior that starts when we are wee babes, long before we're able to talk.

Research shows that children smile on average 400 times a day, but that dwindles to only 20 times a day for an average adult. Even particularly happy adults only smile around 40 times a day, so it seems we could all use a few more reasons to smile!

We've got 10 rounded up here for you, from a sweet love story between two lonely geese, a hilarious hammerhead shark prank, a mom with the patience of a saint and more.

So take a few minutes to revel in the joy and share with some other smile-deprived grown-ups in your life.


1. Professor's grad students surprised him with a silly response to his 'irrational fear' of hammerhead sharks.

Usually, it would be considered unkind to taunt someone with their fears, but this kind of hilarious exposure therapy might just be healing. At the very least, it's heartwarmingly entertaining. Clearly, these students love their teacher.

2. A soon-to-be dad asked parents to share their favorite parts of parenting. The responses were beautiful.

All Harris Fanaroff was hearing was horror stories of parenting, so he asked for the brighter side. Parents delivered, big time. Scroll through to see some of the sweetest responses and see more of what parents shared here.

3. Ever seen a bunch of parrots get tucked into bed with kisses and a bedtime story?

"I love you, my bebeees!!!" Talk about a bond. Read more about Johan Devenier and his macaw babies here.

4. Two lonely geese found a second chance at love through a singles ad.

two geese swimming

What's good for the good is good for the gander…

Upworthy

Geese mate for life, so what happens when they lose their mates? You gotta read this one to see how Frankie and Blossom met and how they took to one another after a blind date. Read their full love story here.

5. This tattoo is proof of the power of tea at grandma's house.

Sometimes the simplest things turn out to be the most meaningful. What a sweet way to honor Grandma.

6. People are loving the way this mom handled her son's bedtime meltdown.

Every parent has been there, and it's so hard to stay calm, cool and collected—AND clear AND firm AND loving—all at the same time. But this mama pulls it off beautifully, and the fact that the little guy is able to articulate his feelings so clearly is a testament to his parents.

7. A 62-year-old fashionista is inspiring older women on TikTok with her sense of style.

@californiaistoocasual

#stitch with @oliviaamcdowell can’t wait for us to twin when I visit nyc 🫶 #abercrombie @Abercrombie and Fitch #abecrombiefind #abecrombiehaul

As she says, "Style has no age." Love it. See more of Gym Tan and her fabulous fashion sense here.

8. Friends threw an epic party for their friend who got her U.S. citizenship.

@mias_memories

2.25.23. Congrats on getting your citizenship @sharonlin118 #fyp #usa #costumeparty #merica #fypシ

What a fun way to welcome someone to officially becoming an American citizen. Read the full story here.

9. Watching foxes hunt in the snow is as fascinating as it is entertaining.

The fact that they can hear the creatures burrowing under the snow is pretty sweet, but watching them do their leap and dive is hilariously impressive.

10. Dance your way through the weekend with the smooth moves of this guy and…himself.

No idea how he did it, but it's impressive!

Hope that gave you a few reasons to smile! Come back next week for more, and if you'd like to get these posts delivered to your inbox, subscribe to our free email newsletter here.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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The Cure at Southside Festival 2019

Robert Smith of The Cure was already a hero to five decades of disaffected youth, including the creators of “South Park,” but now everyone has a reason to love the “Close to Me” singer. He got Ticketmaster to admit it was gouging customers and got them a refund.

The Cure went out of its way to ensure that ticket prices to its upcoming North American tour were affordable to the average fan by selling them as low as $20. The band also used Ticketmaster’s “verified fan” process to cut down on scalpers and prevent fans from having to pay inflated prices on resale sites.

But the band had no power over the egregious fees that Ticketmaster tacks on to every sale. The band wouldn't agree to dynamic pricing—where ticket prices fluctuate based on demand—so it appears as though Ticketmaster simply raised its fees per ticket.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Two northern cardinals captured on Carla Rhodes' bird-feeder camera.

The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their surroundings. When you’re stuck at home more often than you’d like, you start to pay a lot more attention to what goes on in your own backyard.

This type of introspection inspired wildlife photographer Carla Rhodes to get a closer look at the furry friends that live near her home in the Catskill mountains of New York.

What she found was magical.

“The winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal to humankind. After months of enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, we were now collectively slogging through winter. As a result of being stuck at home, I focused on my immediate surroundings like never before,” Rhodes said in a statement.

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Identity

57-year-old former model Paulina Porizkova had the perfect response to ageist comment online

"We have earned our beauty, we understand what it is, and we can see it so much better."

Photo by Malin K. on Unsplash

Paulina Porizkova took on a commenter who said she was in "pain" being "old and ugly."

Aging is a weird thing. From one perspective, it's something we should be grateful for. Few people would wish for the kind of short, uneventful life that would remove aging from the equation completely. The longer we live, the more we grow and learn and experience life, and "aging" is simply the mathematical sum of those experiences. All good, right?

On the other hand, our society does everything in its power to hide the fact that aging happens. Especially when it comes to women. According to Statista, the global anti-aging beauty market is estimated to be worth $58.8 billion. People will try all manner of creams, serums, masks, acids, lights, technologies and surgeries to try to prevent wrinkles, lines, sagginess, spots and other signs that our bodies are changing with time.

Most of us live our daily lives somewhere in the middle of these two realities, wanting to embrace our aging selves but also hoping to stave off some of the more obvious signs that we're getting older. It's natural to resist it in some ways, since the older we get, the closer we get to the end of our lives, which we certainly don't want to hasten—especially if we actually love living.

It can be helpful to see people who are embracing their age, which is why it can be inspiring to see someone like former supermodel Paulina Porizkova confidently sharing photos of her 57-year-old self.

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via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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