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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Bringing you the internet's most smile-worthy finds.

female friends, cheerleaders, dad and daughter making coffee

From friendship to sportsmanship to macchiato whip, this week's 10 things are smile-worthy.

Hey ho, happy humans!

It's that wonderful time of the week again, when we round up 10 of the internet's most smile-worthy finds to share with you all. And this week's list does not disappoint.

We've got celebrations of friendship, the kindness of Martin Short and Disneyland's Evil Queen, Drew Barrymore and Pink talking candidly about motherhood, U.S. presidents with mullets, the cutest barista ever and more.


The more people find reasons to smile, the better our world will be, so don't forget to share the joy. Off we go!

1. This is much, much better than the 'dirty art' people usually leave on rear windshields…

Can you imagine coming back to your car and finding this? I'd never be able to wash it. The rain would have to do it for me.

2. Woman shares the power of platonic love in a sweet celebration of friendship

There are many kinds of love, and we create unnecessary limitations if we view every close emotional bond through the lens of romance or sex. Yay for platonic love and genuine friendship.

3. Disneyland's Evil Queen shows she actually is fairest of them all, making an autistic boy feel welcome

@magicwiththomas

The not so Evil Queen offering him to feel her cape #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #asd #specialneeds #disney #disneyparks #disneyland #disneytiktok #disney100 #snowwhite #evilqueen #fyp #foryoupage

Autistic kids have different sensory needs and preferences, and this queen seems to know how to connect with Thomas by inviting him to feel her cape. Disney magic at its best. Read the full story here.

4. By chance, Chance the Rapper had a kindness run-in with the legendary Martin Short

Chance the Rapper, Martin Short

Chance the Rapper had a chance encounter with the kind Martin Short.

Upworthy/Facebook

Chance the Rapper boarded a flight with his 7-year-old daughter, Kensli, when he realized their seats weren't together. A man immediately offered up his seat so they could sit together, and then Chance realized it was the legendary comedic actor Martin Short. Chance said he didn't think Short even knew who he was—he was just being kind. Read the full story here.

5. The music cut out in the middle of a cheerleading competition, and the crowd immediately stepped in to save the routine

The counting reaction from the cheerleaders in the crowd was immediate. Talk about awesome sportsmanship.

6. Drew Barrymore and Pink had a couch chat about motherhood that was refreshingly real

So open, so sincere and so wise. Love seeing moms being honest about their fears and struggles. Read the full story here.

7. Cutest barista ever makes coffee with her patient, loving dad

@sailorkinsley

Coffee made by my mini 🫶🏽 #fyp

It's adorable, but also a masterclass in positive parenting. The family's videos demonstrate how letting kids try and letting them make mistakes and messes helps them learn. Read the full story here.

8. Kid's drawing of what 'safe' means to him is just pure 'Awwww'

Does anyone have tips for when a preschooler's drawing makes you cry all the good tears?

9. All 46 U.S. presidents looking 'cool' with a mullet is the greatest use of AI ever

U.S. presidents mulletts

Barack Obama and Abe Lincoln, but cool and with mullets

Upworthy/Facebook (Images via Cam Harless/Twitter)

As writer Tod Perry quipped, "Barack Obama looking like he played an informant on 'Starsky and Hutch' in 1976." And hello, Babe Lincoln. Check out more mulleted presidents here.

10. Third time's the charm for this adorable joey trying to climb into mama's pouch.

"If at first, you don't succeed," am I right? We've all been there. Next time you fall flat on your face, just remember this baby kangaroo's undeterred perseverance and tell yourself to keep trying.

Hope that brought you some joy! Come back next week for more.

(If you'd like to be notified of these posts each week, sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.)

Our home, from space.

Sixty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make it into space and probably the first to experience what scientists now call the "overview effect." This change occurs when people see the world from far above and notice that it’s a place where “borders are invisible, where racial, religious and economic strife are nowhere to be seen.”

The overview effect makes man’s squabbles with one another seem incredibly petty and presents the planet as it truly is, one interconnected organism.

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Health

Here’s how we can use the power of awe to make our lives more fulfilling

Being amazed by things outside ourselves is tremendous for our mental health.

A young man looking into the sky

The exhilaration of a rock concert. The feeling of deep serenity you experience during a religious ceremony. That sense of connectedness you get while walking through a dense forest. The lightness that flows through your body while dancing and the dissolution of the ego you experience on psychedelics. These are all experiences that give us the feeling of awe.

Most of us love having at least a few of these experiences and believe they help us grow. But now, a team of psychologists has explained why cultivating a sense of awe can benefit our minds and bodies and how we can create these experiences ourselves.

Maria Monroy and Dacher Keltner posit that a sense of awe can help solve the crises of individualism, excessive self-focus, loneliness and a culture of cynicism, and can even improve our physical health. They explain it in a research article titled “Awe as a Pathway to Mental and Physical Health.”

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@allbelongco/TikTok

How bizarre, how bizarre.

It should go without saying that it’s not cool to steal from your Airbnb. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen.

However, when one Airbnb host recently discovered a guest had—for some strange reason—stolen one of her paintings, then replaced it with a completely different painting, she decided to make the best out of a very uncool situation by sharing the story on TikTok.

As a result, viewers got to witness an continuously unraveling, truly bizarre modern-day art heist.

Okay, let’s get into it.

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Pop Culture

Woman flawlessly breaks down how luxury bags—and other designer brands—keep people 'poor'

"They're targeting the people who want to look rich—middle and lower class folks who don't have a lot of money or savings. That is the bread and butter of designer brands."

Cara Nicole/Youtube

Not worth it.

It feels safe to say that we are all hoping to be more mindful about how we spend our money these days, whether it’s to be kinder to the environment, align better with our values, improve our finances or simply exercise free will against the siren call of consumerism.

That’s why this video essay created by Cara Nicole (who gives all kinds of financials and sustainability education on her Youtube channel) feels so timely.

In just under twenty minutes, Nicole astutely breaks down how luxury brands like Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Rolex create the fake illusion of wealth through “manufactured exclusivity” and getting free marketing from celebrities and influencers—who often don’t even pay for the products themselves. Meanwhile, most real rich people wouldn’t be caught dead in the flashy brands, and in reality consider them "overrated." But still, the illusion persists. Because advertising.

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@keepingalfoatwiththejoneses/Instagram

Inexpensive and tranquil…what's not to like?

Saving money and living comfortably don’t always go hand in hand, but people do find ways to accomplish it. Sometimes all it takes is thinking a little outside the box—getting a job that allows you to travel the world or swapping out a traditional mortgage for more creative, less costly home ideas.

Take this couple in North Carolina, for example, who gave up living on land to move into a floating cabin and apparently saved $27,500 annually by doing so.

According to Good News Network, Sarah Spiro, 27, and her boyfriend, Brandon Jones, 40, break down the math: Their one-bedroom floating home, which they bought in March 2021, originally cost less than $30,000. The pair then spent two months and $23,000 renovating, for a total initial investment of less than $50,000. And now, they pay $2,500 a year to live on the lake. Yes, you read that right. $2,500 a year. They used to pay that much per month on their combined individual rents.

Obviously, it was a “no brainer,” said Spiro.

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@katherout/TikTok

Just another unsolved mystery

Who doesn’t like a good mystery?

A video creator known as @katherout certainly does. At the gym Kath frequents, there’s a whiteboard with a revolving prompt with simple questions like “What are you listening to?” or “What city were you born in?” Gym goers then write their responses anonymously on the board.

Kath recently became enthralled—and tickled—by a person who somehow manage to write the word “monke” (as in the word describing a group of monkeys, apparently) on every single one of their answers.

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