
From puppies riding roosters to puppy panda costumes, here are 10 reasons to smile this week.
I don't know about you, but all of this [gestures widely at the general state of things] has been getting to me a bit lately. And when that happens, I've learned that the best way to pull myself out of the funk is to find joy in simple things. The fleeting colors of a beautiful sunrise. The hilarious quirkiness of my cats. The sound of my kids' laughter.
Big happiness can be found in little things, especially when you add a bunch of them together.
So without further ado, here are 10 things that can bring us all some joy as we head into our weekend.
A puppy riding a rooster is the unexpected therapy we all need.
Bonito viernespic.twitter.com/oRvadZQinY— Stephanie Mireles (@Stephanie Mireles) 1634905713
What is even happening here? How did these puppies and roosters meet? When did they become friends? Who knew a rooster would ever do anything like this? So many questions, but honestly, who cares. It's friggin' adorable.
You can see the exact moment this cat says, "Oh crap," and it's just perfection.
This is Luna. In her defense, that is her bed. 14/10 she did nothing wrongpic.twitter.com/09C4znnauJ— WeRateDogs\u00ae (@WeRateDogs\u00ae) 1635011086
It's the cat's Jim Halpert stare at the camera at the 10-second mark that pushes this video over the edge. Hilarious.
Spanx founder surprised her 500 employees with two first-class plane tickets and $10,000.
Sara Blakely sold fax machines door-to-door and started Spanx with $5,000 in savings & no experience.\n\nShe never raised money & has now sold a majority stake in the brand at a $1.2 billion valuation.\n\nThe best part?\n\nThe gift she gave her 500+ employees to celebrate.\n\nAmazing pic.twitter.com/JvdpbgVWX5— Joe Pompliano (@Joe Pompliano) 1634947987
After selling the majority share of her company, Sara Blakely shared the wealth with her workers in the form of two first-class plane tickets and $10,000 to spend wherever they went. An awesome example of taking care of the people who help you build success. Rock on, Sara Blakely. Read the story here.
A dad of an autistic boy shared how a U.K. football club made him feel at home.
Emirates Stadium has a sensory room for autistic spectators and others with sensory sensitivities.
Arsenal/Twitter, @TheresYourDC/Twitter
A dad took his autistic son to an Arsenal football game, and when he became overstimulated, he was going to take him home. But a kind employee intervened and took them to the club's sensory room, which is set up for people who might experience sensory overload at the game. Read about this beautiful example of inclusion here.
Every parent has experienced the planking baby vs. carseat fiasco. Too familiar, and too funny.
@benandlex Light as a feather, stiff as a board! #TargetHalloween #carseat #uppababy
Seriously, when they do this it's nearly impossible to get them to bend without feeling like you're going to break them. It's like a superhuman ability all babies are born with.
Awesome teacher wrote an official letter to the tooth fairy on behalf of a student who threw away their tooth.
It's even on official school letterhead! Gotta love a grown-up dedicated to keeping magic alive for kids.
Chris Evans' giddiness over playing Buzz Lightyear is the most delightful thing ever.
Chris Evans can't contain his delight at getting to play his dream role.
You'd think playing the studly superhero Captain America would be the pinnacle of an actor's career, but Chris Evans has never gushed over that role like he has over getting to play Buzz Lightyear in Pixar's upcoming film, "Lightyear." Check out how he talks about playing his dream role here.
These twin toddlers giggling their way through their first Target experience are all of us.
@savyjane It’s @target right? 🎯 #myheros #preemiestrong #micropreemie #medicalmom #thattwinlife #twins #laughter #smiletoday #foryourpage #fyp
This is the soundtrack in my head every time I get to peruse the perfectly organized aisles of Target by myself. Target is magical.
A kid wanted her "most precious" rock to be put on display at the museum. Mission accomplished.
Good morning to Bethan and Bethan onlypic.twitter.com/1U5iyXm1xV— Ian B (@Ian B) 1635317064
The plaque reads, "On 23rd August 2019, Bethan visited Poole Museum. After talking with her mum about what museums do, Bethan decided she wanted to donate her 'most precious' rock to the museum. She asked that we put it behind glass and look after it, so that everyone could see and enjoy it."
This is the way. Well done, Poole Museum.
Puppy pandas. I REPEAT. PUPPY. PANDAS.
Who is ready for puppy pandas?\n\nCredit Imgur/SusanaTerrorpic.twitter.com/Mz00uMnfzY— Danny Deraney (@Danny Deraney) 1635460304
And just when you think it can't get better, puppy lions show up. This is seriously the greatest thing I've ever seen.
If that last video alone didn't make you smile, please seek help.
Hope that brought a little sunshine to your day. Come back next week for another roundup of joy and delight!
- 10 things that brought us joy this week - Upworthy ›
- Puppy goes on first family walk and digs up gold coins - Upworthy ›
- 'Tooth Fairy' writes a funny letter to girl with messy room - Upworthy ›
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."