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Well Being

10 things that made us smile this week

10 things that made us smile this week

At Upworthy, we strive to bring you the best of humanity and this week there was a lot to be happy about. We had ear-to-ear grins after learning about Wally the Walrus, a huge drop in the child hunger rate, and a mom of six who got a million-dollar scone order.

1. Belgian Olympic marathoner breaks down in tears of disbelief upon hearing she finished 28th

Mieke Gorissen, a 38-year-old math and physics teacher from Diepenbeek, Belgium, came in 28th out of 88 world-class runners in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. Her feat was inspiring because she just started running three years ago. When a reporter told her that she came in in the top third of the pack, she was astonished. "No," she said. "That's not possible."


Read the whole story at Upworthy.


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2. Child hunger rates dropped 24% after just one round of Child Tax Credit payment

The first wave of $250 to $300 direct payments to families with children from the American Rescue plan has had a positive impact on child hunger. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after the money was distributed, the rate dropped by nearly 24%.

3. Mom of six who turned her Irish pub into a hub of pandemic service gets $1 million surprise

Mary O'Halloran's Irish pub in New York City's east side was shut down just before St. Patrick's Day in 2020 and her husband, a longshoreman, got and got stuck in the Aleutian Islands for nine months. The mother of six struggled as she raised her kids alone while trying to make ends meet during the pandemic. After Humans of New York shared her story and included a link to purchase her scones, she received over $1 million in orders.

Read the whole story at Upworthy.


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4. Wally the Walrus appears to drive a boat he 'stole' off the coast of Ireland

Wally the Wondering Walrus from Norway was captured on video appearing to steer a boat he jumped in on the Irish coast. The walrus has been on a 2,500-mile solo trip for months and has recently been seen in Wales, England, and France.


This funny video shows Wally the Walrus appearing to drive a boat! | SWNSwww.youtube.com


5. Wrestling gold medalist Tamyra Mensah to buy her mom a food truck with prize money

Early last week, wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock won gold in the Olympics women's freestyle match and was granted a $37,500 cash prize. She said she plans to use her winnings to help her mother purchase a food truck.

"It is her dream," she said. "I told her five years ago, 'I'll get you your food truck, but you have got to be responsible.' She was like, 'Thank you, baby.' So my mom is getting her food truck!"

Read the whole story at Upworthy.

6. Kevin Costner returned to the 'Field of Dreams'

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox squared off on Thursday in a specially-built stadium in Dyersville, Iowa near the cornfield where the 1989 classic "Field of Dreams" was filmed. The film's star, Kevin Costner, started off the night by walking through the cornfield surrounding the stadium.

7. Research shows that AI could diagnose dementia in a day

Currently, it can take several scans and tests to diagnose dementia. However, scientists are testing an artificial intelligence system thought to be capable of diagnosing dementia after a single brain scan. It may also be able to predict how quickly the condition will remain stable.


8. The average pay for supermarket and restaurant workers tops $15 an hour for the first time

For over a decade the Fight for $15 movement has worked to push governments and companies to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Recently, the average wage for workers in restaurants and supermarkets hit that magic number as wages have risen during a resurgent economy.

9. Dog urges mom: 'Keep your paws off my baby!'

A dog in Fort Worth, Texas, is so protective of the family's three-month-old baby girl that even her mother's arm gets pushed away.



10. Alabama is turning to TikTok to help convince returning students to get vaccinated

A group of educators in the Birmingham City Schools launched a TikTok contest aimed at young people from 13 to 29 to create videos around the theme "This is why I got vaccinated." A panel of judges will select four winners who will receive $250 Visa gift cards.

Read the whole story at Upworthy.

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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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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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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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Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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@SopheAlice/TikTok

Best way to travel, really.

As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

TikToker @SophAlice posted a video of the pair realizing their mix-up, which went viral and set them off on an impromptu adventure based entirely on the comments they received.
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