+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Enjoy this week's collection of smile-worthy delights.

happy joy smile
Alexas_Fotos/Canva

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

Have you ever pondered the simple power of a smile?

Research shows that smiling is contagious. We tend to mimic the facial expressions of those around us, so if someone around you is smiling, you'll probably feel a natural urge to smile as well. And even if you were feeling grumpy at the time, that act of smiling can actually positively influence your own emotions and make you feel happier.

In other words, "Smile and the world smiles with you" actually has some truth to it. And the more reasons we can find to smile, the better everyone around us will feel.

That's one reason why we pull together these roundups of smile-worthy delights each week. Not only are they uplifting and entertaining, but they have the potential, however small, to make the world a better, brighter, happier place for everyone around us.

Here are 10 things that made us smile this week. Hope they make you and those around you smile, too.

1. Adorable baby has the world's cutest reaction to her mom finally understanding her.

That final breathless "Ses!" Seriously, give that baby alllll the strawberries, plus anything else she wants, forever and ever, amen.

2. This strangely moving time-lapse of a Eurasian blue tit mama raising her family

Did not expect to get emotional at watching birds fly the nest in two minutes flat, yet here we are. The way the mama got her nest all cozy for her surprisingly large family. And those tiny little yellow mouths! Man, they grow fast, and then one day [gulp] they leave. Phew, all the feels.

3. Desperate mom asking to borrow an orange cat for her Garfield-loving kiddos is so pure.

Ah, the things we do for our offspring. I'd pay money to see this lasagna dinner actually happen. "Cat will not be required to eat lasagna if contraindicated" is my favorite part. Definitely need a follow-up on this one.

4. Dog freezes in the middle of a bunch of fake Halloween cats and it's hilariously impressive.

At first, it's hard to tell if this dog is even real. How can he hold so perfectly still for so long, right down to his tail? Good boy Maverick here appears to be a lab pointer mix, and pointers do this as part of their hunting behavior. He doesn't even twitch until his owner comes close and reassures him. Totally hilarious among a bunch of fake cats.

5. Monkey meticulously picking every string off a banana is soooo relatable.

Banana strings are disgusting, but I'd never have guessed that monkeys would be finicky about them. The way it picks the string off the baby's head and then tosses another string off the tree stump, like, "Ew, get away, gross banana string!" is so relatable. I'm feeling that common ancestor here, monkey.

6. Dog's Halloween costume looks like two people struggling to carry a pumpkin.

How do humans come up with such clever things? This is just nonstop entertainment. (Check out more hilarious dog costume ideas here.)

7. Wee one doing his sister's cheer routine alongside her is all kinds of awwww.

That kick at the end! He's got the moves, and how sweet that they gave him poms so he could participate.

Speaking of little brothers…

8. The way this baby looks at big sis would be enough, but then the little head snuggle.

Why is everyone trying to make me want a baby?!? Why???

OK, one more brother and sister thing…

9. You know you're a mom when finding the 115th "butt" in your house is a sweet, touching moment.

First of all, hilarious. Second of all, how sweet is it that a brother would go to such lengths just to make his sister laugh? These are the kinds of things families remember forever. So silly, but so memorable.

10. Let's fly into the weekend with the verve and humor of this flight attendant who makes it impossible to ignore the flight safety presentation.

Someone was a drama kid. Gotta love it. But in all seriousness, he probably made all of those passengers safer with his comedy routine. Read the full story of why here.

That's it, folks! Hope you enjoyed this week's list and come back next week for another roundup of joy. (And if you'd like to get these posts in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free email newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.)

From Your Site Articles
uplifting
Badge
The Coca-Cola Company
Recycled Records
Sponsored

Spin your own sustainable music with the Recycled Records beat machine

All photos courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company

Behind the Scenes Making Recycled Records with Mark Ronson

True

You’re walking down the sidewalk, earbuds in, listening to your favorite hip-hop beats. As your head bobs to the sounds, the sun warms your back. It’s a perfect day.

When the chorus hits, the empty Sprite bottle in your hand becomes a drumstick, passing traffic becomes a sea of concertgoers, and the concrete beneath your feet is suddenly a stage. Spinning on your heels, you close out the song with your face to the sky and hands in the air.

Keep ReadingShow less
recycling
Joy

Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights

Best. Host. Ever.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less
nature
Education

Germany's most famous castle isn't a real castle. It's an elaborate 'work of fan fiction.'

Though it looks medieval, it was built in the 19th century by an eccentric "fairy tale king" who spent much of his life constructing his own elaborate fantasy world.

Public Domain

Neuschwanstein Castle sits atop a rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps.

Even if you haven't heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, there's a good chance you've at least seen pictures of it. Set atop a tree-covered rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps, the picturesque castle looks like it was conjured straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it served as inspiration for Disney Imagineers as they designed "Sleeping Beauty's Castle" in Disneyland, and it's regularly named the top castle to visit in Germany.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 castles in Germany, but Neuschwanstein is unique among them. Most notably, it's not a real castle and never was. While it bears the look and feel of a well-preserved medieval castle, it was actually built in the 19th century, and rather than serving as a fortress, it served as the fantasy castle of an eccentric king obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas and medieval mythology.

Ludwig II came to the Bavarian throne in 1864 at age 18 with no experience in government or politics. Two years later, Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria, and Ludwig's powerful status as king was greatly diminished. Not that he was particularly interested in governance anyway; he was more drawn to the romantic idea of having his own kingdom.

Keep ReadingShow less
interesting history
Pop Culture

People are loving this Amazon delivery driver for warning a woman that her house is 'unsafe'

Great info, even better delivery.

TikTok

Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

Keep ReadingShow less
acts of kindness
Science

Conjoined twins with fused brains separated; surgeons practiced for months in virtual reality

Arthur and Bernardo finally get to see each other face to face.

Image by sasint/Canva

Surgeons prepared to separate 3-year-old conjoined twins in Brazil using virtual reality.

The things human beings have figured out how to do boggles the mind sometimes, especially in the realm of medicine.

It wasn't terribly long ago that people with a severe injury had to liquor up, bite a stick, have a body part sewn up or sawed off and hope for the best. (Sorry for the visual, but it's true.) The discoveries of antibiotics and anesthesia alone have completely revolutionized human existence, but we've gone well beyond that with what our best surgeons can accomplish.

Surgeries can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but few surgeries are more complicated than separating conjoined twins with combined major organs. That's why the recent surgical separation of conjoined twin boys with fused brains in Brazil is so incredible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart

"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way."

via PixaBay

Albert Einstein

One of the strangest things about being human is that people of lesser intelligence tend to overestimate how smart they are and people who are highly intelligent tend to underestimate how smart they are.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it’s proven every time you log onto Facebook and see someone from high school who thinks they know more about vaccines than a doctor.

The interesting thing is that even though people are poor judges of their own smarts, we’ve evolved to be pretty good at judging the intelligence of others.

Keep ReadingShow less
intelligence
Family

Dad can't believe it when his 9-year-old son gives him a dress shirt he sewed all by himself

"You made that?"

via Daddy Files/TikTok

A father tries on a shirt that his 9-year-old son sewed for him.

There's always something very touching about receiving a gift from your child, especially when you know it's something that they really put their heart into creating. A video posted to TikTok by Aaron Gouveia shows that sometimes a child can give a gift that’s so surprising it’s almost too much to handle.

Gouveia, 43, is a Massachusetts father of three who posts videos as “Daddy Files” on TikTok about the joys and challenges of family life. On March 26, he posted a video featuring his son Sam, 9, that was so heartwarming it has received over 12.4 million views.

Keep ReadingShow less
dads
Trending Stories