Shop
 Explore 

Top Splash

10 things that made us smile this week

10 things that made us smile this week

@toachieveyou/TikTok, Maxiradio/Facebook

Welcome to Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy and delight.

Um, how is it February already? Despite January feeling like it had 172 days, February feels like it arrived all of a sudden. Pandemic time is so trippy. (Is the pandemic still happening? The data certainly says so, but a whole lot of people have decided "no," which is probably why we've all become obsessed with a simple word game. Weeeee!)

It's also Friday, which means it's time for another roundup of delights from around ye ol' interwebs. Woohoo! Each week, we pull together a list of things that we all can enjoy no matter who we are, where we live, what we ate for breakfast or how we feel about people sharing their Wordle results. Just tiny packages of pure, happy things to boost our endorphins.

This week we have epic dance moves, hilarious kids, heartwarming reunions and awesome animals to lift our spirits. Isn't it funny how reliable arts and kids and animals are for bringing us joy?

So if you've got the winter doldrums, are stuck in COVID quarantine or could just use a little pick-me-up, we've got you covered. Buckle up and enjoy!

Watch this dance troupe get funky to James Brown on Lunar New Year.

@danceon
We’re feeling good and ready to have a funky time 🎶💃🕺 #Moga_almeri

We kicked off the week celebrating Lunar New Year with this awesome video. The formation, the outfits, the moves—it's all here. Year of the tiger, bring it on.

Speaking of dance moves, this little girl has 'em—and the spunk to match.

Oh my goodness, that face and those moves. This little girl at a Chinese dance competition seems to have the spirit of Latin dance flowing right through her veins. She's feeling it and it shows.

Speaking of feeling it in competition, this doggo was just supposed to come over and sit.

Puppers had one job, but decided that job needed some flair. Give this doggo all the prizes, please.

A dad filmed his daughter every week for two decades to create a 5-minute time lapse.

This sounds like such a simple idea on paper, but to actually carry it out is an incredible feat. It's also incredibly moving to watch for any parent. A wonderful gift from Dutch filmmaker Frans Hofmeester to his daughter, Lotte. Read the full story here.

An 8-year-old snuck his handmade book onto the library shelf and now it has a huge waiting list.

Dillon Helbig wanted his book in the library, so he just made it happen.

Dillon Helbig had wanted to have a book in the library since he was 5, so he left his homemade graphic novel on the shelf. The librarians found it and put it into circulation, and now it has a years-long waiting list. Such a great example of adults supporting kids in their creativity. Read the full story here.

Mom films daughter asking if she lived in colonial times, and every parent has been there.

See on Instagram

Kids don't have a good grasp of time when they're young, which can make for some hilarious inquiries and assumptions. The innocence of this kid's questions is just classic.

Jimmy Kimmel made Quinta Brunson cry by surprising her with her beloved sixth-grade teacher.

Jimmy surprises @QuintaBrunson with the 6th grade teacher she named #AbbottElementary after! pic.twitter.com/Z7vZXanZqL
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@Jimmy Kimmel Live) 1643780760

The teachers who make an impact in our lives are never forgotten. This exchange between "Abbott Elementary" creator Quinta Brunson and the teacher she named the show after is just pure love. Read the full story here.

Speaking of love, these guys offered people $5 to call someone and tell them they love them.

@toachieveyou
Why do you guys think they turned down the money? | idea from @areyoukiddingtv ❤️ | @ledariusjoshua @brandnrode @kye_man

The challenge was sweet, but the responses afterward were even better. Read the full story here.

Watch Hector the hummingbird land on a man's finger to eat.

See on Instagram

Hector the hummingbird. That's just too much. There's something so magical about hummingbirds, and we don't often get to see them this close to a human. (Side note: Have you ever had a hummingbird fly right by your ear? It's so loud. That wing flapping is no joke.)

Penguin groups meet up and one of them gets confused. But don't worry—his friend's got his back.

See on Instagram

What a muppet, indeed. You can practically narrate this entire video in your head as you're watching it, can't you? "Um, Chuck? We're going this way, pal." So hilarious.

Hope you enjoyed this week's roundup of happy things! Come back next week to share more snippets of goodness and joy. :)

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

Meet the 18-year-old advocating for teen mental health, one inspiring podcast at a time

All images provided by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

Collins after being selected by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

True

A changemaker is anyone who takes creative action to solve an ongoing problem—be it in one’s own community or throughout the world.

And when it comes to creating positive change, enthusiasm and a fresh perspective can hold just as much power as years of experience. That’s why, every year, Prudential Emerging Visionaries celebrates young people for their innovative solutions to financial and societal challenges in their communities.

This national program awards 25 young leaders (ages 14-18) up to $15,000 to devote to their passion projects. Additionally, winners receive a trip to Prudential’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, where they receive coaching, skills development, and networking opportunities with mentors to help take their innovative solutions to the next level.

For 18-year-old Sydnie Collins, one of the 2023 winners, this meant being able to take her podcast, “Perfect Timing,” to the next level.

Since 2020, the Maryland-based teen has provided a safe platform that promotes youth positivity by giving young people the space to celebrate their achievements and combat mental health stigmas. The idea came during the height of Covid-19, when Collins recalled social media “becoming a dark space flooded with news,” which greatly affected her own anxiety and depression.

Knowing that she couldn’t be the only one feeling this way, “Perfect Timing” seemed like a valuable way to give back to her community. Over the course of 109 episodes, Collins has interviewed a wide range of guests—from other young influencers to celebrities, from innovators to nonprofit leaders—all to remind Gen Z that “their dreams are tangible.”

That mission statement has since evolved beyond creating inspiring content and has expanded to hosting events and speaking publicly at summits and workshops. One of Collins’ favorite moments so far has been raising $7,000 to take 200 underserved girls to see “The Little Mermaid” on its opening weekend, to “let them know they are enough” and that there’s an “older sister” in their corner.

Of course, as with most new projects, funding for “Perfect Timing” has come entirely out of Collins’ pocket. Thankfully, the funding she earned from being selected as a Prudential Emerging Visionary is going toward upgraded recording equipment, the support of expert producers, and skill-building classes to help her become a better host and public speaker. She’ll even be able to lease an office space that allows for a live audience.

Plus, after meeting with the 24 other Prudential Emerging Visionaries and her Prudential employee coach, who is helping her develop specific action steps to connect with her target audience, Collins has more confidence in a “grander path” for her work.

“I learned that my network could extend to multiple spaces beyond my realm of podcasting and journalism when industry leaders are willing to share their expertise, time, and financial support,” she told Upworthy. “It only takes one person to change, and two people to expand that change.”

See on Instagram

Prudential Emerging Visionaries is currently seeking applicants for 2024. Winners may receive up to $15,000 in awards and an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential’s headquarters with a parent or guardian, as well as ongoing coaching and skills development to grow their projects.

If you or someone you know between the ages of 14 -18 not only displays a bold vision for the future but is taking action to bring that vision to life, click here to learn more. Applications are due by Nov. 2, 2023.

From Your Site Articles

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul|YouTube

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

Keep ReadingShow less

switched at dog daycare

Shocked girl asks older people how they looked 'trivial' things up before Google

To no one's surprise Adelman did not like these answers.

Sarah Adelman|TikTok

Gen Zer asks what older generations did before Google

Google and smart phones have been around so long that Gen Z doesn't know a time before those things existed. They may have Googled what a card catalog was used for but plenty of them don't know the pressure we all felt having to learn the dewy decimal system while walking around the library with a card with numbers scribbled on it.

They've never experienced the frustration of having an out of date Encyclopedia collection from the thrift store that was missing books "D" and "X-Z" when you had a research assignment due. Oh, sweet tech savvy - we not me generation, doesn't understand that riding shot gun on a road trip meant you were suddenly a pirate with an Atlas map bigger than the dashboard.

Even as someone that was alive when having a rotary phone was the norm, I sometimes forget what life was like before all of the technological luxuries. It's not surprising that Gen Z is confused on how we survived back then without knowledge at our fingertips, so when one of them asked, Gen X, Xennials and elder Millennials entered the chat.

Keep ReadingShow less

life before google

Mother of 7 stunned to learn the ‘Alphabet Song’ has been changed to get with the times

There's a good reason for the update. But it's jarring, to say the least.

via Pixabay/Pexels and JessFamOfficial/TikTok

Jessica Skube can't believe that they changed the 'Alphabet Song.'

The oldest published version of the melody to the “Alphabet Song” was in 1761. However, because it’s the same melody as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” it's hard to trace it to its original composer.

The “Alphabet Song” is so deeply entrenched in American culture that it almost seems sacrilegious to change a piece of music that’s one of the first most of us ever learned. But after all these years, some educators are altering the classic melody so that there is a variation when the letters L-M-N-O-P are sung.

This change shocked popular TikTokker Jessica Skube, who documents life raising 7 children with her 2.6 million followers. Nearly 10 million people have watched her video revealing the significant change, and it’s received over 56,000 comments since first being published in late 2020.

Keep ReadingShow less

Doting husband serves as stylist for his wife of 25 years and it's the sweetest thing

The way he talks about "Flower"—his nickname for his wife—is a testament to lasting love.

Photo by Alekon pictures on Unsplash

Talk about an adorable couple

If there's one thing pretty much all humans love, it's love—love that works, love that lasts, love that inspires. Literature is full of love stories filled with heartache and heartbreak, but we always hold out hope that a relationship will not only endure but blossom.

Such a love feels rare enough that we marvel when we see it, which is why the Motivat family has gained a loyal following on Instagram. The elder Motivats (Dr. Jones and Dr. Beatrice) have been married for 25 years, and their daughter shares their sweet interactions on the Instagram account @queenmotivat.

One of the hallmarks of the couple's long-time love story is that Dr. Jones loves to pick out clothes for his wife. And not just any clothes—beautiful dresses and gowns, along with jewelry to go with them—and his enthusiasm for seeing "Flower" (his nickname for her) dressed up is incredibly sweet.

Keep ReadingShow less