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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
@calebrownnnnn/Instagram, Lawrence Crayton on Unsplash, Gym Tan/TikTok

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

Smiling is the universal language of joyβ€”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 collectedβ€”AND clear AND firm AND lovingβ€”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 #fypγ‚·

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.

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Science

Astronaut shares the profound 'big lie' he realized after seeing the Earth from space

This change in perspective could change humanity.

via RubΓ©n Moreno MontolΓ­u/Flickr

Our home, from space.



Sixty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make it into space and probably the first to experience what scientists now call the "overview effect." This change occurs when people see the world from far above and notice that it’s a place where β€œborders are invisible, where racial, religious and economic strife are nowhere to be seen.”

The overview effect makes man’s squabbles with one another seem incredibly petty and presents the planet as it truly is, one interconnected organism.

In a compelling interview with Big Think, astronaut, author and humanitarian Ron Garan explains how if more of us developed this planetary perspective we could fix much of what ails humanity and the planet.

Garan has spent 178 days in space and traveled more than 71 million miles in 2,842 orbits. From high above, he realized that the planet is a lot more fragile than he thought.

β€œWhen I looked out the window of the International Space Station, I saw the paparazzi-like flashes of lightning storms, I saw dancing curtains of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and touch them. And I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet's atmosphere. In that moment, I was hit with the sobering realization that that paper-thin layer keeps every living thing on our planet alive,” Garan said in the video.

β€œI saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life,” he continues. β€œI didn't see the economy. But since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vantage point of space that we're living a lie.”

It was at that moment he realized that humanity needs to reevaluate its priorities.

β€œWe need to move from thinking economy, society, planet to planet, society, economy. That's when we're going to continue our evolutionary process,” he added.

Garan says that we are paying a very β€œhigh price” as a civilization for our inability to develop a more planetary perspective and that it’s a big reason why we’re failing to solve many of our problems. Even though our economic activity may improve quality of life on one end, it’s also disasterous for the planet that sustains our lives.

It’s like cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Actor William Shatner had a similar experience to Garan's when he traveled into space.

"It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered," Shatner wrote. "The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna … things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind."

β€œWe're not going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality,” Garan said.

However dire the situation looks from the surface of Earth, the astronaut has hope that we can collectively evolve in consciousness and wake up and embrace a larger reality. β€œAnd when we can evolve beyond a two-dimensional us versus them mindset, and embrace the true multi-dimensional reality of the universe that we live in, that's when we're going to no longer be floating in darkness … and it's a future that we would all want to be a part of. That's our true calling.”


This article originally appeared on 12.16.22

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Family

Need to have a tough talk with your kid? Doctor suggests to have it in your car.

A great piece of advice for those "awkward but important" talks every parent must have.

@beachgem10/TikTok

Dr. Meghan Martin explains why tough conversations are best kept for the car.

As much as modern parents prioritize open, honest communication with their kids, there are still some talks that will always feel challenging to have.

But according to Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency room physician and mom of four with a hefty social media following, making those awkward conversations just a little smoother all comes down to location, location, location.

β€œThose awkward, but really important conversations that you need to have with your kids The birds and the bees, protection, drugs, all of that stuff: have those conversations in the car,” β€œ she says in a clip posted to her TikTok.

Martin declared that this β€œbrilliant” insight given to her by best friend, handle @teawiththeteach, is the β€œbest piece of parenting advice” she’s ever received.

Here’s why.

β€œYou have your hands on the wheel, you are looking straight ahead, you do not have to be making eye contact with anyone talking about the birds and the bees and the parts and the drugs or whatever that conversation is about that day. You also have a captive audience that is literally seat belted in behind you,” she explained.

Not having to maintain intense eye contact makes the entire conversation less embarrassing and vulnerable for everyone involved. And where there’s less embarrassment, there’s more room for things to actually be heard.

Plus, unlike having a talk at home, which already has serious undertones, cars are instantly more casual, making things less of a β€œbig deal,” Martin noted. Just think, wouldn't it be nice to instantly throw on an upbeat playlist after having one of these chats…rather than sitting in awkward silence?

Martin herself has tried this approach with her two older kids, and said the car has now become a β€œsafe place” for things to be talked about. They even bring up their own questions to discuss.


@beachgem10 Replying to @user2271606969875 The best piece parenting advice was from @teawiththeteach and she said to have uncomfortable conversations with kids in the car #parentingΒ #adviceΒ #thebirdsandthebeesΒ #conversation ♬ original sound - Beachgem10

β€œI’m starting to have these conversations with my younger kids,” she concluded, β€œand I want to emphasize how important it is to talk about these issues early so that when you get to that older teen/pre-teen time that it’s not the first time they’re hearing about it.”

Martin isn’t the only one to have tried car talk either. Many folks in the comments shared how they have successfully brought up difficult subjects on car trips.

β€œYes, my oldest is 26 and I still have big conversations with him in the car. At that age I wait until we’re on the interstate so he can’t jump out,” one person wrote.

β€œI love the car for tough conversations even with my spouse,” added another.

A few recalled having their own tough car conversations as kids.

β€œMy mom ALWAYS did this,”one viewer said, adding β€œI still get anxiety in the car with her wondering what she is going to bring up and I have my own family now. ... I am glad she did and that she cared enough to have those conversations.”

Another parent even shared how they added in one other element to make for smoother discussions, writing β€œβ€œI did this. Add an ice cream cone to connect something enjoyable for the brain to connect to. My boys would ask for ice cream drives when they had something serious they wanted to discuss.”

Other resources have pondered other factors that make conversations seem to flow easier in a car, like the close proximity, limited distractions, and the changing scenery which helps create the sense that we’re not stuck with a problem. An article posted in Symptoms of Living also surmises that having a shared destination and facing the same direction also play a big part.

Having big talks with kids might be difficult, but it’s all an integral part of being a parent. Hopefully this tidbit can make things easier for everyone involved.

Just remember to have that upbeat playlist at the ready!

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Pop Culture

People born before 1990 are sharing their now-useless but 100 percent nostalgic skills

For instance, recording songs on tape from the radio while yelling at the DJ to shut up during the intro.

Canva, Veronica Lorine on Unsplash, Julentto Photography on Unsplash

From holding the phone on your shoulder to folding a map to knowing what "cornflower" and "goldenrod" are, here are pre-Y2K skills at their finest.

Hey there, millennials! Welcome to the "Holy crapoly, I have real-life memories from 20 years ago!" club. It's a strangely disorienting milestone to reach when you find yourself starting sentences with "When I was young…" or "Back in my day…" isn't it?

Your Gen X elders have been here for a while, but even we have moments of incredulously calculating how the heck we've arrived at this place. Time is a tricky little jokester, isn't he?

To highlight how much has changed for middle-aged folks since we were young, a user on Reddit asked people born before 1990 what useless skills they possess that nobody has a need for anymore. It's both a hilarious trip down memory lane and a time capsule of life pre-Y2K. (Do kids these days even know what Y2K was? Gracious.)

If you're down for some good-old-days nostalgia, check out people's responses:

Ask Reddit Question: People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?

Making brown paper bag book covers

"I can cover a textbook with a brown paper bag." β€” sourwaterbug

Oh goodness yes. And there was always that one girl in class who had the art of the brown paper bag book cover perfected. (They're probably Pinterest influencers now.)

Folding a mapβ€”and knowing where to find a map

"I can re-fold a map correctly." β€”JungleZac

"Man remember actually using maps…I had an atlas with the road system in my car to navigate other states during road trips. Crazy." – jagua_haku

How did we ever figure out how to get anywhere before GPS and Google Maps? (Two-inch thick road atlases in our car and stopping at gas stations to buy local maps while traveling, that's how. Positively primitive.)

Memorizing phone numbers and answering the house phone

For real, though, kids these days don't even know.

"Remembering phone numbers." β€” greatmilliondog

"Not only that, having to speak to your friend's parents for a few minutes when you call their house." β€”Logical_Area_5552

"How to take a message when the person they want to talk to isn't there." β€” Amoori_A_Splooge

How about dialing on a rotary phone, using a pay phone and making (or taking) a collect call?

The skillful phone shoulder hold

"Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them." – Regular_Sample_5197

"100 ft phone cords 🀣" – mrch1ck3nn

"I got in sooooo much trouble for stretching the phone cord into the bathroom for some privacy. Accidentally clotheslined Grandma 😬 She laughed about it but Mom was pissed!" – AffectionateBite3827

Knowing the exact name of every Crayola color because we only had so many

"I know what the color β€œgoldenrod” is." β€” ImAmazedBaybee

"That and burnt sienna were the crayolas of choice." β€” Signiference

"Cornflower would like a word." β€” cps12345

The art of the mixed tapeβ€”especially from the radio

I don't think kids these days fully grasp how revolutionary Spotify and the like are for those of us who spent hours in front of the radio with our cassette tape recorder queued up at just the right spot waiting for the song we wanted to record to come one. And they will never, ever know the frustration of the DJ yapping right up until the lyrics start.

"Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh-t or an ad" – Gankstajam

"'Shut up, shut up, shut up!!! I'm trying to record my song!!!'" – tearsonurcheek

"Haha yeah and trying to tell others so they don't make random noise or knock on the door.

How about making cassette-based mix tapes, trying to figure out to the second, how many and which types of songs in which order, that would still fit perfectly on the length of tape per side.

People who make digital recordings do not have to worry about 'running out of tape.'

Having the first side be tempting enough that they'd flip the other side to continue listening. That's before continual playback machines existed. Had to flip the cassette." – CrunchyTeaTime

And there were many more, from rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil to writing in cursive to tearing the sides off of printer paper without tearing the paper itself. (Oh and of course the ability to count out change and understand what you're supposed to do if something costs $9.91 and someone hands you $10.01.)

Gotta love it when the things that used to be totally normal now sound like historic artifacts found in a museum. Kind of makes you wonder what normal things from today we'll be laughing about in another 20 or 30 years.


This article originally appeared on 6.22.23

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Joy

British guy sharing 9 new phrases he learned in Texas sounds just like Matt McConaughey

He sounds exactly like Matt McConaughey.

via Wikipedian770/Wikimedia Commons and Kevin Bidwell/Pexels

Matt McConaughey and some guys playing cowboy.

Josh and Jase are a British duo who’ve become famous on social media for documenting their travels across America and sharing what they’ve learned about each region's unique culture.

β€œOriginally, I thought we’d appeal to the British audience, and they’d find it interesting. But actually, it’s gone more the other way, and Americans say that they appreciate their country a little bit more because we go to these cool places that usually a lot of people don’t go to,” Jase told KRQE.

Recently, the pair traveled to Texas, and Jase quickly learned that the Lone Star State has its own phrases that you won’t hear often, if ever, in the UK. So, he decided to share them with his audience while trying out his American accent, which sounds a lot like Matt McConaughey.

@jaseinamerica

How did i do? πŸ˜‚

1. β€œY'all” β€”"No one says, 'you all," it's y'all."

2. β€œBigger'n Dallas” β€” A term Texans use to describe something "really big."

3. β€œBless your heart” β€” This means that someone feels "sorry for you" or it's a "hidden insult." Jase is still learning the difference.

4. β€œBroke bad” β€” A person raised by a good family but winds up becoming a "naughty individual."

5. β€œCome hell or high water” β€” A saying that means "to do something, regardless of what's in your way."

6. β€œCorn-fed” β€” This is a term to describe someone who is "really big."

7. β€œDag gum it” β€” A kinder way of saying, "Goddamn it."

8. β€œFixin’ to” β€” To plan to do something.

9. β€œMight could” β€” Basically, it's the same as saying could: "They might win the game if they had their regular quarterback fit."


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Family

How the 2024 Olympics are catering to mom athletes for the very first time

Thanks to the advocacy of trailblazing mom athletes like Allyson Felix, juggling motherhood and competition is getting easier.

Image credit: Fernando FrazΓ£o/AgΓͺncia Brasil (left), P&G (right)

Allyson Felix advocated for a nursery to be added to the Olympic village.

For much of Olympic history, women were excluded from competing. Women weren't allowed to compete in the Ancient Olympic games at all, and the first women to compete in the modern Olympics in 1900 only made up 2% of the total athletes.

That percentage has slowly increased in the decades since. The 2012 Olympics were the first games to have women competing in every sport, and the 2024 Paris gamesβ€”for the first time in Olympic historyβ€”has a 50/50 ratio of male and female athletes.

That gender parity makes a difference, not only for athletic opportunity but for how the games themselves are managed. More women competing means more mothers with babies competing, and thanks to some key advocates with experience in that area, the Olympic Committee has made two big moves at the Paris games to support those athletes.

Take breastfeeding, for example. If an elite athlete is breastfeeding a baby, there are all kinds of logistics that can make competing at the Olympics a challenge. But with proper support, it doesn't have to prohibit them from competing in top form.

One way the Olympic organizers are making competition more doable for moms is by offering breastfeeding athletes and their families hotel rooms near the Olympic village. Children have always been banned from the Olympic village with very few exceptions, and the dorm-type rooms with single, twin-sized beds are not exactly conducive to breastfeeding families' needs anyway.

According to La Leche League International, breastfeeding athletes can thank fellow Olympian Clarisse Agbegnenou for the the hotel accommodations, The French Judo champion who became a mother in June of 2022 advocated for the accommodations, saying, "To put things in perspective, I've decided to breastfeed my daughter until she's weaned. She hasn't yet, so I'm following her. I've made sure that I feel good physically, because of course there's an element of tiredness. But as a mother who needs to be very present for my daughter, I asked for the opportunity to have her with me during the Olympics."

Agbegnenou nursed her baby, Athena, while training forβ€”and subsequently winningβ€”her sixth world championship title. Clearly breastfeeding itself isn't holding her back in her sport, but not having proper accommodations would make competing in the Olympics unnecessarily harder.

French Olympic Committee secretary general Astrid Guyart told reporters of the hotel accommodations, "It's unprecedented and it's something we want to make permanent, so it's not a one-off because it's the Olympics in Paris."

Thanks to the advocacy of another Olympian mom Allyson Felixβ€”who also happens to be the most decorated track athlete in historyβ€”the Paris Olympics also has its first nursery. Felix, who is now retired from competition, approached the International Olympic Committee and her partner Pampers about supporting athletes who are competing while parenting babies and young children.

β€œI just knew how difficult it was to compete at the top level after I had my daughter, and some practical things were really hard,” Felix told CBS Mornings. β€œAnd so when I became on the athletes Commission of the IOC I really wanted to be that voice for athlete moms and just take away one less thing for them to worry about in the pressure of competition.”

The nursery, supported by Procter & Gamble, sits in the heart of the Olympic village and includes a space to breastfeed, a play area and access to Pampers products. Felix said it gives parent athletes a place to step away from the noise and have some private time with their children.

Check out one Olympic family making use of the nursery:


@thewroster

How is this the first time they thought of this πŸ₯ΉπŸ˜… #olympics #momlife #australia #oioioi πŸ“² Keesja Gofers

In the past, athletes were often made to feel that becoming a mother meant the end of their sports career, but Felix pointed out that that was just a narrative that was being placed on them. Accommodations like the nursery for athletes marks a new chapter in a new narrative.

β€œI think it really tells women that you can choose motherhood and also be at the top of your game and not have to miss a beat,” said Felix, adding, β€œIt's really a starting out place. I would love to grow this even more.”

Here's to the athletes blazing the trail for themselves and those who've come after them to ensure that moms don't have to make false choices between motherhood and being at the top of their sport.

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