Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

woman with dog, teacher in classroom, twins in crib

Upworthy/Instagram , @primrosetheband/TikTok, @thattwinmama_/TikTok

10 reasons to smile

Did you know that August 26 was National Dog Day? I'm more of a cat person, but I do appreciate other people's good doggos, and we have a whole collection of sweet pupper videos as just one of our 10 things that made us smile this week!

We also have a hilarious wedding album mishap, an adorable twin baby reunion, a mom's delightful prank on her college freshman, a try-not-to-laugh Magic Flute Challenge and more.

We could all use more reasons to smile, so kick back, relax and enjoy this week's roundup of joy!

1. Mom's mishap with her daughter's wedding album has everyone in stitches

@niki_nibs
Our mother is single handedly the most hilarious person we know, and its usually completely on accident. Favorite wedding gift EVER!!! @shutterfly #shutterfly

This will be hilarious for as long as they both shall live. Check out the full story here.

2. Dapper British man offers strangers "devastatingly effective' compliments

@troy_hawke
Complimenting strangers in Notting Hill. Try it for yourself with Compliments on @Bumble #troyhawke #nottinghill #bumble #ad #compliments

What if we all perfected the art of the compliment? Read more about Troy Hawke here.

3. Scroll through some pupworthy adorableness from our National Dog Day roundup

See on Instagram

So much doggo love.

4. Baby twins were separated for the first time ever and their nighttime reunion was so sweet

@thattwinmama_
Will forever make me😭… cant think of anything stronger than the #twinbond ❤️ #twinsoftiktok #twins #twinsisters #babylife #twinlove #sisterlove #feelgood #babiesoftiktok #sharethelove #newmom #4u #sistersforever

There's no bond like a twin bond. Read the full story here.

5. Mom pranks her college freshman son with a full-size cutout of her for his dorm room

@jillwagner81
@Hakin Wagner Dad and i are always with you😂 #maryville #moveinday #college

I mean, he did say he wanted posters. Tee hee. Read the full story here .

6. Someone felt guilty that their birth played a role in their mom's passing, and a mom offered the best response

See on Instagram

Speaking as a mom, YES. Exactly that.

7. Try not to laugh at this Magic Flute Challenge video (sound up from the beginning)

How long would you last? I lost it at the strangled rooster 😆
by u/enacheionut1991 in ContagiousLaughter

Watch each person's face. So dang funny. See more Magic Flute Challenge fun here.

8. Teacher gets his students' attention with the most awesome call-and-response prompts

@primrosetheband
Gotta find creative ways to get them to listen! #teacher #musicschool #teacher #primrose

WRESTLE WITH JIMMY! Weezer simply has to be part of a well-rounded education. Read the full story here.

9. She was about to go live when a kid interrupted for the cutest reason

See on Instagram

Aw, kids are the best. Everybody needs a hug sometimes.

10. Glide your way through the weekend like this loon landing on a lake

— (@)

Seriously, that's one of the most satisfying videos I've ever seen in my life.

If you loved this roundup, I have some fabulous news. You can get these posts delivered to your inbox each week simply by signing up for The Upworthiest, our free newsletter, here.

Keep smiling, everyone!

uplifting

Planet

The Carbon Savings Account™ is the key to a greener and wealthier future

True

Implementing simple energy- and water-efficiency upgrades in US households would save nearly $200B per year in residential utility bills.

Unfortunately, these upgrades are often unaffordable or inaccessible for the average US home.

Growing up in West Virginia, my community was largely part of the 1/3 of Americans who can’t afford their energy bills, let alone the efficient home tech upgrades that would make these bills affordable.

This is why Kaitlin Highstreet and I founded Scope Zero , where we created the Carbon Savings Account™, or CSA. The CSA is similar to a health savings account, where employers and employees both contribute funds to the account. With the CSA, the employees use the money for home technology and personal transportation upgrades that reduce their utility bills, fuel spend, and carbon footprint.

CSA-eligible upgrades include everything from Energy Star refrigerators, low-flow showerheads, smart thermostats, and LEDs, to home solar and EVs.

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environment

Family

Woman with an unfortunate name is a warning for parents to consider before naming their kids

Evidently, this is a big problem.

via TheSam_SHow/TikTok and Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

Samantha has trouble every time she gets a new work email.

The recent trend of parents going out of their way to give their children unique names has brought up a lot of discussion on social media. Some of these names sound cute when a child is 5 years old. But will Caeleigh, Zoomer or Rhyedyr look like a serious adult on a job application in a few years?

A recent viral video on TikTok is a unique twist on the current discussion surrounding names. Samantha Hart has a name that doesn’t seem like it would draw any negative attention in professional circles. However, her parents didn’t consider email conventions when they named her back in the late ‘90s when email was new.

“My name is Samantha Hart,” the 27-year-old said. “Most companies use the email designation of first initial, last name, meaning my email would be shart.” For the uninitiated, a shart is an unintentional release when one thinks they only have gas.

Keep Reading Show less

funny names

Pop Culture

People are sharing the things we'll be nostalgic for in 50 years. Here are the best responses.

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

via Pixabay

What will the future look like?

A Reddit user asked an innocent question about the future and it exposed a lot of the issues that people worry about today. It also highlighted the things we should appreciate while they are still around.

Klausbrusselssprouts asked the AskReddit forum, “In 50 years, what will people be nostalgic for?” and the responses went two ways. Some people mentioned the things they fear will get a lot worse in the future such as the role that technology plays in our lives and climate change .

Others saw the question as a way of appreciating the things we have now that may not survive over the next few decades.

Keep Reading Show less

nostalgia

Pop Culture

Here’s a paycheck for a McDonald’s worker. And here's my jaw dropping to the floor.

So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, full-time wages. Woo.

Making a little over 10,000 for a yearly salary.

I've written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it.

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Family

Father takes daughter's bullying victim on a shopping trip to teach her a lesson

When Randy Smalls of South Carolina discovered that his teenage daughter was making fun of a classmate over her clothes and makeup, he took swift action.

via Youtube/Strahan, Sara and Keke

Randy Smalls of South Carolina

Bullying is a huge problem. According to DoSomething.org , 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 in the United States are bullied during the school year, and approximately 160,000 teens have skipped school because of bullying.

So when Randy Smalls of South Carolina discovered that his teenage daughter was making fun of a classmate over her clothes and makeup, he took swift action.

Smalls instantly felt sympathy for Ryan Reese, a seventh-grader at Berkeley Middle School, having been bullied in his youth. So he took money meant for his daughter and went on a shopping spree with Ryan to get some new clothes and a makeover.

Keep Reading Show less

parenting advice

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

1. Mom's mishap with her daughter's wedding album has everyone in stitches

2. Dapper British man offers strangers "devastatingly effective' compliments

3. Scroll through some pupworthy adorableness from our National Dog Day roundup

4. Baby twins were separated for the first time ever and their nighttime reunion was so sweet

5. Mom pranks her college freshman son with a full-size cutout of her for his dorm room

6. Someone felt guilty that their birth played a role in their mom's passing, and a mom offered the best response

7. Try not to laugh at this Magic Flute Challenge video (sound up from the beginning)

8. Teacher gets his students' attention with the most awesome call-and-response prompts

9. She was about to go live when a kid interrupted for the cutest reason

10. Glide your way through the weekend like this loon landing on a lake

Evidently, this is a big problem.

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

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So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, *full-time* wages. Woo.

His teaching style totally slaps.

When Randy Smalls of South Carolina discovered that his teenage daughter was making fun of a classmate over her clothes and makeup, he took swift action.

There's community and there's commuting. Let's not confuse the two.

With the population growing and most of it happening in cities, these Canadian journalists wanted to take a closer look at whether our sprawling modern villages are up to the task of housing more humans.

So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, full-time wages. Woo.