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10 things that made us smile this week

10 things that made us smile this week

10 tidbits of joy to round out the week.

It's a new year, y'all! Cue the fireworks, the resolutions, the confusion parents are feeling over pandemic schooling in the midst of the omicron wave and the continued uncertainty of American democracy. Weeeee!!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a little light-hearted content to balance out the existential angst of the era. While we work on solutions where and how we can, we also need mental breaks sometimes to keep ourselves sane.

In that spirit, I offer these 10 sweet and silly things to lighten your load and brighten your day.


Enjoy!

Ever seen penguins get weighed? And where can I get a job weighing penguins? 

They're like adorable little toddlers who honk. Why are they soooooo cute?

Classic slapstick comedy that just gets funnier and funnier.

The poor guy in the bear suit keeps slipping and falling as they try to film the commercial—but the faceplant at the 0:42 mark is worth waiting for.

This toddler has the cutest reaction to her dad shaving his beard.

Some kids freak out when their dads shave for the first time, but this kiddo had the best reaction ever.

This baby is a 25-year-old man from 1970 in a baby's body.

Where did this baby's 'do come from? I feel like he's about to try to sell me a used car or some life insurance or something.

People shared their most embarrassing moments and it's painfully funny.

Imagine someone you have a crush on holds their fist out for a fist bump, but you mistake it for a pretend microphone, so you lean over and say "hi" into it. GAH, the hilarious, vicarious embarrassment of this collection of stories has people rolling.

Grandpa learns to bake at age 90 and makes a cake for every visit.

We all deserve a grandpa like this in our lives.

We can all appreciate this woman's boyfriend's reaction to his first pair of lefty scissors.

Sometimes we don't appreciate the simple joys and conveniences in life until we see what it's like not to have them.

People are discovering Elmo's decades-long beef with Zoe's pet rock, and it's hilarious.

Elmo has been feuding with Rocco, his best friend Zoe's pet rock, since 1999, and every time he loses it over a rock it's pure comedy. This clip prompted people to share other Elmo vs. Rocco moments and discuss the ongoing drama, which you can check out here.

Wordle the simple, wholesome and addictive daily word game. 

Wordle is a simple word game with a sweet origin story.

Most word games are wholesome, but this one has a particularly pure origin story. Josh Wardle created Wordle for his partner who loves word games. There are no ads, there's no data collection and you can only play it once a day, so even though you'll want to play more, it's not a huge time suck. Wardle just wants people to enjoy it. Mission accomplished. Learn more about it here.

Sweet baby being so gentle with another sweet baby.

I don't actually know what this is—a gosling? A duckling? Definitely a big baby bird of some sort, and the little baby human with it is so dang precious.

Hope that brought some joy to your day! Tune back in next week for another roundup of smile-worthy finds from around the internet.

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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Family

Mom’s blistering rant on how men are responsible for all unwanted pregnancies is on the nose

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

Mom has something to say... strongly say.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, are a conservative group who aren't known for being vocal about sex.

But best selling author, blogger, and mother of six, Gabrielle Blair, has kicked that stereotype to the curb with a pointed thread on reducing unwanted pregnancies. And her sights are set directly at men.

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Family

Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids. It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons, confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

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Images via Alan Taylor/Flickr, used with permission.

Updating the kitchen.


Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

Books from when you were a kid?

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Education

Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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