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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

kid designing a dress, elderly woman sharing a story, cat at a pottery wheel
@couture.to.the.max and @hunter_prosper (via Upworthy/Instagram), @CatWorkers/Instagram

This week's list brings us uniquely talented people and creatures, from a 6-year-old fashion design prodigy to a cat crafting pawttery.

Hey all! Time for another Upworthy roundup of joy!

We've got a plethora of talent in this week's 10 things, from singing South African firefighters to 6-year-old fashion designers to the world's fastest Rubik's Cube solver. We've even got a cat making pottery, for goodness sake. What could be better?

When you need a break from the heavy headlines and media melee, Upworthy's got you covered. Dive into these fun finds from this week and get your smile on!

1. South African firefighters bring their skills to Canada to help fight wildfires with the best energy ever

Is that not the greatest airport arrival ever? Canada and the smoke-affected U.S. thank you, South Africa!

2. Guy skillfully fast raps Dr. Seuss books and it's just awesome to witness

@jordansimons4

Rappin “Dr. Seuss’s ABC” by Dr. Seuss! #rappinrhymebooks #DrSeuss #FYP #fyp #foryourpage #rap #bars

Pretty sure this is how Dr. Seuss always intended his books to be read, despite his books predating rap music by more than three decades. See more of Jordan Simons' Seuss raps here.

3. Check out this 6-year-old fashion design prodigy making a custom dress for afriend

Like, what?!? Those are not easy-to-sew fabrics, either! Gorgeous dress. Way to go, Max.

4. American speed cuber Max Park breaks World Record, solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube in 3.13 seconds

Not three minutes—three seconds. What we see at first was just a warmup. Once the scrambled cube was revealed, he had 10 seconds to examine it before making any moves. Just don't blink once he starts. Absolutely bonkers.

5. Danish 'recycle artist' builds enormously endearing trolls as part of an ongoing global art project

Thomas Dambo troll sculptures

Trolls Isak Heartstone 1.0 (originally built in Breckenridge, Colorado) and Mama Mimi (built in Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

Photos courtesy of Thomas Dambo

Thomas Dambo has spent the past nine years building huge trolls all around the world to draw attention to humanity's relationship with nature. Each troll is made of recycled wood materials and each one has its own unique name and backstory. This summer he's touring the U.S. to build 10 more of these gentle giants. See where the new trolls are going to pop up here.

6. Submitting a formal request for all the cat-crafted pottery, please

Or perhaps pawttery is the correct term. Genuinely would pay good money for one of thess pawts.

7. Clever doggo plays the 'pick a cup' game with the most human-like responses

Seriously, though, those captions are exactly what that dog is thinking. There's no other explanation. And those eyes at the end? Give that pup all the treats, stat.

8. This 94-years-old's description of her marriage is a touching testimony to love's longevity

And how about being this sharp at 94! Love her and love her story.

9. Woman finds her mom's best childhood friend from 50 years ago and the reunion is adorable

Swipe through to see the reunion video. Fifty years! So much joy.

10. When someone sings 'You Are My Sunshine,' you sing along, even when you're a squeaky doggo

Is it just me or did it look like the pup was tearing up? What a reaction. Feel those feelings, friend!

Hope you found a few reasons to smile in this week's roundup! If you'd like these posts delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our free email newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.

uplifting
Science

Astronaut shares the profound 'big lie' he realized after seeing the Earth from space

This change in perspective could change humanity.

via Rubén Moreno Montolíu/Flickr

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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Internet

This viral bookshelf hack is helping people create beautiful luxury closets on a realistic budget

The closet of your dreams is only a bookshelf away.

Morgan Baiiley|TikTok

Viral bookshelf hack is creating luxury closets on a budget

Peak adulthood is being envious of rich people's closets. There's usually some sort of full length couch in them or a luxurious chaise lounge, a wall of shoes and some sort of automated rack that spins to help you pick out a tie. They are amazing and the non-rich people typically have some wire racks in a small walk-in with no where to put shoes, bags or anything else that doesn't hang.

But people have been finding a way to revamp their normal closets to look like they were custom built and it's for a price tag that will make your budget happy. The Target bookshelf hack has been going viral on TikTok for several months as new people discover the trend and post their own before and after videos.

Users on the social media app are buying the tall $40 Room Essentials bookshelves from Target and turning them into custom closet builds.

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target bookshelf hack
Science

Researchers dumped tons of coffee waste into a forest. This is what it looks like now.

30 dump truck loads and two years later, the forest looks totally different.

assets.rebelmouse.io

One of the biggest problems with coffee production is that it generates an incredible amount of waste. Once coffee beans are separated from cherries, about 45% of the entire biomass is discarded.

So for every pound of roasted coffee we enjoy, an equivalent amount of coffee pulp is discarded into massive landfills across the globe. That means that approximately 10 million tons of coffee pulp is discarded into the environment every year.

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Joy

Teen with autism makes record-breaking Jenga block tower, inspiring Hallmark holiday movie

15-year-old Auldin Maxwell, who stacked an astonishing 1,840 Jenga pieces all on one single block, says using them helps tap into his creativity.

Canva

Maxwell hold two Jenga-realted world records

At the ripe old age of fifteen, Auldin Maxwell is already breaking world records and inspiring Hallmark movies.

Maxwell landed his first spot in the Guinness World Records in November 2020, when he successfully balanced 693 Jenga blocks all on top of one vertical facing Jenga block.

Only four months later, he broke his own record by stacking 1,400 Jenga blocks onto one vertical block, more than doubling the original amount. He then broke the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks (500) stacked on top of a single vertical Jenga GIANT block.

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pop culture
Internet

Are women actually quiet quitting their marriages? Women say not so much.

Men are often blindsided by their partner filing for divorce while women prepare for months.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Women push back on claim they're quiet quitting their marriage

By now everyone's familiar with the term quiet quitting. Doing the bare minimum of your job requirements to not get fired but don't really go above an beyond to secure promotions or pay increases. The term has been applied to areas outside of the workplace as well, specifically dating relationships but in a recent Newsweek article, it's expanded to marriage.

Except, Newsweek's article and accompanying video are implying that the quiet quitting of a marriage is more prevalent for the woman in marriages. Statistics are pretty indisputable—nearly 70% of divorces are initiated by women and men, according to the article are often blindsided by the filing.

In the case of quiet quitting marriage, the wife often continues to do the daily responsibilities of a partner and continue having a sexual relationship while planning their exit. But are women actually quiet quitting because women have other opinions on the matter.

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Family

'This isn't how it's supposed to be': Family with ‘good jobs’ lives paycheck-to-paycheck

“Go to college, get a degree, work to support your family. Here we are. Did that. Now what?”

via Mackmoan1988/TikTok and Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

A mom in Pennsylvania is having a hard time getting by even though she has a good job.

There’s a specific trait that exists deep in the American collective psyche that suggests that one’s financial well-being is somehow a reflection of their moral compass. Many people assume that if someone struggles to get by, they don’t work hard enough or make poor choices.

But that knee-jerk reaction couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are countless reasons why hard-working people struggle, especially these days with historically high inflation. Just about everything costs an arm and a leg.

For many, the sharp increase and costs forced them to go from being comfortable to getting by paycheck to paycheck. In addition to the financial stress, many feel stigmatized because of their struggles.

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