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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

From preschool philosophers to peek-a-boo parrots to dancing daddies, here's this week's roundup of joy.

kids, wedding, dancing, reading

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

Here we are at the end of another year on this beautiful rock hurtling through space and, as always, it's been an eventful one.

We started the year with everyone obsessed with Wordle, then congratulated the guy who created it for his million-dollar deal with The New York Times. Russia invaded Ukraine and we witnessed the world rally behind the Ukrainian people. We said goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, the world's second-longest reigning monarch. We said hello to galaxies we'd never seen before, thanks to the James Webb telescope.

As we head into 2023, let's remind ourselves that, no matter what the people who profit off of polarization try to sell us, there is far more that unites us than divides us. Our human family may have hard problems to solve, but look how far we've come. There's so much we can do when we recognize our oneness and work together to make our world a better place.


One thing that makes the world a better place is joy. That's why we pull together these weekly roundups—there's positive power in a smile spreading from person to person.

So enjoy and share your favorites, whether it's with a stranger, a friend or a grumpy uncle. Everyone can use a little shot of wholesome joy.


1. 3-year-old Emi teaches us the real meaning of friendship.

A person you can run to who makes you laugh and makes everything better and better? That's true friendship right there. Preschoolers seriously make the best philosophers. Read the whole story and catch more of Emi's commentary about friendship here.

2. Iceland's lovely tradition of Jólabókaflóð is like holiday heaven for introverts and book lovers.

Iceland, Christmas, books, reading

The Icelandic tradition of gifting and reading books on Christmas Eve is an introvert's dream.

studioroman/Canva

Literally translating to "Christmas book flood," this Icelandic tradition dating from WWII involves everyone gifting books and then cozying up to read them together on Christmas Eve. With hot cocoa, no less. Sign me up. Read more about Jólabókaflóð here.

3. Andrés Cantor calling the winning goal for his home country of Argentina is pure joy.

The Argentine-American sports announcer has been waiting for this moment for decades. He conveyed the emotion of an entire nation and it couldn't be sweeter. Read about Andrés Cantor and the incredible World Cup final here.

4. Young Lionel Messi fan dancing before World Cup is the energy we all need.

Smooth, little man. Smooth.

5. Daughter 'pranked' her dad during their wedding dance, then he surprised everyone.

@nancylestock

When everyone thinks you’re pranking your dad….and then he joins in 🕺💃🏻 #wedding #fatherdaughter #surprisefatherdaughterdance #fatherdaughterdance #surprise

Noice. Love a fun daddy.

6. Parrot plays peek-a-boo with neighbor's cat and it's hilarious (sound up).

@tyla

This is way too cute 🥹 But we all know the cat’s real intentions 😅 #funny #petsoftiktok #parrot #cat #cattok #cosy #cutie #foryoupage #cuteanimals #fypシ

What do we think the cat is thinking here?

7. Mariah Carey celebrated a boy's joyful performance of her iconic Christmas song.

Knox is autistic and his mom shared the video with the caption "#AutisticJoy on full display! My kid is everything! I hope Mariah sees this!!" And she actually did. Read the full story here.

8. This 'Little Drummer Boy' performance is probably unlike any you've ever seen, but definitely worth watching.

Big sound. Big drums. Epic, epic version of an old classic from For King & Country. Read more about it here.

9. Check out this doggo who loves looking at Christmas lights.

Upworthy on Instagram: "Look at that face 😍😍😍🎄⠀ ⠀ (Via u/pacmaneatsfruit on Reddit) ⠀ ⠀"

Seriously, that face though.

10. Let's get ready to roll into 2023 like…

(Always helpful to have a friend to give us a nudge. :))

Hope that brought some smiles to your face and joy to your heart!

If you'd like to have these roundups and other highlights of humanity delivered right to you, sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.

Have a wonderful holiday!

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In a flurry of heavy headlines that constantly inundate our feeds, acts of good connect us back to our faith in humanity. Witnessing just one person go out of their way to make the world a better place is a powerful healing salve against apathy. It reminds us all of what we are collectively capable of creating. This is the philosophy that Upworthy wholeheartedly believes in, hence why we’re always sharing uplifting stories of people giving kindness, generosity and support to their fellow humans.

That’s also why we’re partnering with P&G, the maker of some of our favorite household products like Tide, Always and Pampers, to bring you the 2023 Acts of Good Awards, and celebrate the individuals who are giving back and strengthening their communities.

Think of it like the Oscars of kindness. Half as formal but twice as feel-good.

Besides providing the world with brands we know and trust, P&G is a company doing good acts, whether it’s supporting hygiene education, helping struggling communities gain access to basic necessities or delivering essentials for families impacted by disasters.

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This was a great moment. No cap.

What started out as a lighthearted class presentation quickly turned into a fabulous humanities lesson for all.

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Recently, Lexicon had his class rolling with his meticulously crafted PowerPoint explaining what certain Gen Z words mean.

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What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

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If you’ve always lived in a world with social media, it can be tough to truly understand how it affects your life. One of the best ways to grasp its impact is to take a break to see what life is like without being tethered to your phone and distracted by a constant stream of notifications.

Knowing when to disconnect is becoming increasingly important as younger people are becoming aware of the adverse effects screen time can have on their eyes. According to Eyesafe Nielsen, adults are now spending 13-plus hours a day on their digital devices, a 35% increase from 2019.1. Many of us now spend more time staring at screens on a given day than we do sleeping which can impact our eye health.

Normally, you blink around 15 times per minute, however, focusing your eyes on computer screens or other digital displays have been shown to reduce your blink rate by up to 60%.2 Reduced blinking can destabilize your eyes’ tear film, causing dry, tired eyes and blurred vision.3

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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

We've got a sweet little roundup of joy for you.

This week's best smile-worthy finds from around the internet

Hey, all! It's time for our weekly round-up of joy, where we gather up 10 of the happiest, funniest and most beautifully touching finds from around the internet and deliver them to you all in one spot.

This week we have some examples of particularly lovely humans going out of their way to lend a hand to others, a couple of cute puppers engaging in silly antics, some adorable baby goats dancing in slow motion, a delightful Monty Python-themed prom proposal and more. If you could use a little dose of joy—and who couldn't?—we've got you covered.

Enjoy!

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Unwritten rules poor people follow that may be surprising

Fantasizing about what it's like to be rich is something plenty of people do, especially if you'd classify yourself as poor. People make lists of the things they'd buy or businesses they'd start if they won the lottery, even if they don't play. But being poor comes with ingenuity.

Because you have little access to funds, which equates to little access to necessities, you get creative in ways to stretch a dollar. It also becomes glaringly obvious when someone didn't struggle with poverty by what they say or the things they do. Things that seem normal to them seem strange to you or vise versa.

In a compilation video posted on YouTube by TikTok News, a man wrapped in a blanket poses the question, "What's an unwritten poor person rule that rich people wouldn't understand." The replies didn't disappoint and if you grew up poor some of these will have you nodding your head in agreement. If you didn't, then you may be in for a bit of a surprise.

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via Pexels

The Emperor of the Seas.

Imagine retiring early and spending the rest of your life on a cruise ship visiting exotic locations, meeting interesting people and eating delectable food. It sounds fantastic, but surely it’s a billionaire’s fantasy, right?

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The Burks have called cruise ships their home since May 2021 and have no plans to go back to their lives as landlubbers. Angelyn took her first cruise in 1992 and it changed her goals in life forever.

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Hirsch is the author of “Why We Never Talk About Sugar,” a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Child, American Short Fiction and Time.

The interesting thing about the responses is that they weren’t the typical stereotypes about men. She didn’t get a ton of people talking about sex, sports or toxic masculinity. Instead, there were a lot of folks that mentioned very specific male behaviors as if they were talking about a bizarre species they discovered in the wild.

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