+
upworthy
Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

An update on the 'corn kid,' a powerful airport haka, some moving mama-baby reunions and more in this week's roundup of joy.

happy joy smile
Image by Robert Vincent from Pixabay

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

Thanksgiving week in the U.S. is a time for practicing gratitude, and we want to take just a moment to give thanks to you.

You, dear readers, are a big part of Upworthy's mission to celebrate the best of humanity and to show how people can be a force for good. Every time you share our stories, drop a positive comment on a post or tell a friend about something you saw here, you help create the world we all want to live in. A world where kindness and compassion are the norm, where humanity flourishes in all its beautiful diversity and where genuine joy and laughter abound.

Without you, we'd just be throwing all this good stuff into the ether, so we are so very grateful you are here.


However you're celebrating and whoever you're gathering with this week, we hope you're being stuffed full of joy. And if you need an extra serving or two, here's our weekly collection of happy finds to fill you up.

1. The absolute best—and cutest—example of thoughtfulness and caring.

I assume they are brother and sister, although a lot of siblings would have fought to the pain over that dumpling. Such selflessness and love on display here.

2. People are feeling emotional over this teen haka send-off at the airport.

The Māori haka is always powerful, but seeing these young people carrying their culture forward is really something. As one commenter wrote, "I love how they transform from modern teens to timeless warriors, in spirit with their ancestors. So incredibly moving and significant." Read the full story here.

3. Tariq the 'corn kid' is still the most delightful interviewee ever.

@nolanhansen_

Another corntastic interview #corn

Is it even possible for Tariq to answer a question without being unintentionally fabulous? Tariq has been making the most of his unexpected virality and has even partnered with Green Giant. Get it, kiddo. Read the full story here.

4. Mahale the mama chimp reuniting with her newborn baby moved people to tears.

Baby Kucheza had to get oxygen for a couple of days after his C-section birth, so Mahale wasn't able to be with him. That moment he put his hand up and she scooped him right up—gracious. Every mama felt that.

5. Speaking of mamas and babies, watch these tiger cubs nuzzle up to their mom.

Cutest cuddle puddle ever.

6. This mama greeting her baby who just had her own baby … oof.

It's the way she went straight to her own daughter first to see how she was doing before meeting the grandbaby. Mamas gonna mama. Such a sweet moment.

7. Pink nailed 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' in Olivia Newton-John tribute.

Pink can pretty much sing anything, but I don't think I've ever truly appreciated Olivia Newton-John's effortless range on this song. Dang. Beautiful job from Pink here. Read the full story here.

8. Speaking of hopelessly devoted, the way this doggo gazes at its human is everything.

If "Find someone who looks at you like…" were a dog video.

9. The giggle on this little guy as he's being mildly water tortured is too cute.

How can he be that good-natured first thing in the morning? And while having water rubbed all over his face? That laugh is too precious.

10. The way this toddler runs to daddy every time he comes home is pure love.

@shuhadaasyikinn

Assalamualaikum Sayang ❤️❤️❤️ Selamat hari lahir yang ke 29. Semoga you sentiasa diberikan kesihatan yang baik, panjang umur dan dirahmati selaluu. I doakan jugak semoga Allah murahkan dan limpahkan rezeki you. Semoga Allah makbulkan segala doa dan impian you. I nak ucapkan terima kasih untuk segala pengorbanan yang you dah buat untuk i and Liam. Eventhough sometimes i rasa nak kick you dari belakang, but youre also the most lovely person that i want to hug and kiss everyday 😚 You are the BEST BEST BEST husband and daddy!!! Look at our son. He grow up to be such a sweet and lovely boy. He really takes it from you 🥹 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, HUSBAND ❤️❤️❤️ #birthdayboy #daddyandson #fyp

That dad must so look forward to opening that door every single day. Dang these onions!

Thank you for being here, everyone. If you'd like to receive these roundups in your inbox each week, sign up for our Upworthiest email newsletter here.


True

After over a thousand years of peaceful relations, European semi-superpowers Sweden and Switzerland may finally address a lingering issue between the two nations. But the problem isn’t either country’s fault. The point is that the rest of the world can’t tell them apart. They simply don’t know their kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumpling) from their birchermüesli (a Swiss breakfast dish).

This confusion on the European continent has played out in countless ways.

Swedish people who move to the United States often complain of being introduced as Swiss. The New York Stock Exchange has fallen victim to the confusion, and a French hockey team once greeted their Swiss opponents, SC Bern, by playing the Swedish National Anthem and raising the Swedish flag.

Skämtar du med mig? (“Are you kidding me?” in Swedish)

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash

The MC Hammer dance though.

Father and daughter dances are a traditional staple of weddings. They tend to range somewhere between tearfully sweet and hilariously cringey. But sometimes, as was the case of Brittany Revell and her dad Kelly, they can be so freakin’ cool that millions of people become captivated.

Brittany and Kelly’s video, which amassed, I kid you not, more than 40 million views on TikTok, shows the pair grooving in sneakers (Brittany’s were white because, hello, wedding dress) to their “dance through the decades.”

It all began with Young MC’s “Bust a Move,” to give you a clear picture. And bust a move, they did.

Though the duo did a handful of iconic moves—the tootsie roll, the MC Hammer dance, the Carlton, just to name a few—“the dougie,” made famous by Cali Swag District, was the obvious fan favorite.
Keep ReadingShow less

Fowl Language by Brian Gordon


Brian Gordon is a cartoonist. He's also a dad, which means he's got plenty of inspiration for the parenting comics he creates for his website, Fowl Language (not all of which actually feature profanity).

He covers many topics, but it's his hilarious parenting comics that are resonating with parents everywhere.

"My comics are largely autobiographical," Gordon tells me. "I've got two kids who are 4 and 7, and often, what I'm writing happened as recently as that very same day."

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

75-year-old ‘hip-hop granny’ impresses and inspires with her dance moves

Ms. Stephanie didn’t even start formal dance lessons until she was almost 30.

Ms. Stephanie bringing it at her hip-hop class.

Stephanie Walsh isn't your average hip-hop dancer. At 75, "Ms. Stephanie" is still able to hold her own on the dance floor, popping and locking with people a third her age, and she loves it.

When you see her dance—and her enviable muscle tone—you might think she'd been a trained dancer all her life. But she actually didn't take any formal dance lessons until she was almost 30.

Walsh told Growing Bolder that she had wanted her daughter to dance when she was little, so she got her ballet lessons, which the daughter hated. Realizing that dancing was her dream and not her daughter's, Walsh took her kiddo out of ballet and started classes herself right away.

She had always loved to dance and developing her skills only led to more and more dancing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

A teacher asked a great question about superintendent pay. Then, all hell broke loose.

Her earnest question about inequality in our education system was met with a grotesque abuse of power.


Why should a superintendent get a raise while teachers in the same district struggling to make ends meet see their paychecks flatline — year after year after year?

Teacher Deyshia Hargrave begged the question. Minutes later, she was handcuffed and placed in the backseat of a cop car.

The scene was captured below by YouTube user Chris Rosa, who attended a board meeting for Vermilion Parish Schools in Louisiana.

You can watch Hargrave begin speaking about 33 seconds in. The situation starts becoming contentious around 6:35 minutes. Hargrave is arrested at 8:35, and then walked outside in handcuffs and placed in the back of police vehicle.


Keep ReadingShow less



Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered dozens of different ways. But you've never seen it performed like this.

As one of the most iconic songs in rock music, Bohemian Rhapsody is recognizable no matter how it's done. As children, my brother and I used to belt out Galileos and Figaros in the backseat of our parents' Volkswagon whenever the song came on (yes, just like in Wayne's World). While other kids learned about Beelzebub in Sunday School, I learned about him from Queen's perfect harmonies. If there were an anthem from my classic rock-filled childhood, it would be Bohemian Rhapsody.

It's one of those songs that is hard to cover well, though it hasn't stopped people from trying. I've enjoyed some renditions, but nothing has caught my attention or delight more than this kapa haka version from New Zealand.

Keep ReadingShow less
via TheEllenShow / YouTube

Mark Wahlberg on "The Ellen Show."

Actor Mark Wahlberg recently attended a daddy-daughter dance with his 10-year-old, Grace. Sadly, Grace had no interest in seeing her father strutting his stuff on the dance floor.

"I didn't get one dance," Wahlberg told Ellen DeGeneres. "And I told her we were going to do the whole big circle and I was going to go off. And she said, 'Dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again.' But what she did do is she hung out with me."

No matter who your dad is, especially if you're a 10-year-old-girl, you have zero desire to see him dance in front of your friends.

But the parents at the dance probably would have had a blast seeing Wahlberg bust out some of his old-school '90s Marky Mark moves.

However, Wahlberg couldn't help but leave his mark on the music being played at the dance.

Keep ReadingShow less