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10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

bride and groom swap outfits, halle bailey, elderly couple dancing

@rosiewheeler92/TikTok via Upworthy/Instagram, @triplejradio/TikTok, @Buitengebieden/Twitter

We've got a recovery day photo recreation, Halle Bailey's sweet humming habit, energetic elders and more in this week's list.

Hey, everyone!

It's officially June, the kickoff of summer excitement, when people's calendars fill with graduations, weddings, Pride celebrations, barbecues, longed-for vacations and more. So much fun to be had in June!

But with the good comes the not-so-good, of course. Summer also means annoying construction, pesky mosquitos, sticky hot grossness when the temp gets too high, spending a fortune on sunscreen, etc.

We can always find things to be happy about and we can always find things to complain about. That's just life. The more we shift our focus to the positive, even while we grapple our way through the tough stuff, the better off we'll be. That's not just airy-fairy fluff—there's science behind the power of positivity.

Johns Hopkins Medicine says that a positive personality may be something we're born with, but there are things we all can to do brighten our outlook on things. Their first tip? "Simply smile more."

"A University of Kansas study found that smiling—even fake smiling—reduces heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations," Johns Hopkins shares. "So try a few minutes of YouTube humor therapy when you’re stomping your feet waiting in line or fuming over a work or family situation."

We've got something better—or rather, 10 things better. Here's a roundup of smile-worthy things that crossed our path this week. Enjoy!

1. Melissa McCarthy describes Halle Bailey’s endearing humming habit on ‘The Little Mermaid’ set

@triplejradio
melissa mccarthy shares one of her favourite moments from the little mermaid set 🥹 #hallebailey #melissamccarthy #thelittlemermaid

She's like a real-life Disney princess! Love that even the boom mic guy was moved by it. Read the full story here.

2. Uber Eats driver accidentally knocks over a porch planter and what followed is just good people all around.

See on Instagram

Swipe through to see the whole story and give your faith in humanity a booster shot.

3. Woman surprises boyfriend with his beloved grandmother, and his reaction is pure elation

Some surprises are priceless and beautiful
by u/Kelmo7 in MadeMeSmile

Sound up for this one. It looks like he's about to scoop her right up off the ground in his excitement but then forces himself to be gentle with her. What a sweetheart. Read the full story here.

4. Speaking of grandmas, try not to smile at this Italian 'Happy Birthday' performance for 95-year-old Nonna Franca

See on Instagram

She was so thrilled. What a wonderful gift.

5. Couple recreates bride's parents' 'recovery day' photos by swapping bride and groom attire

See on Instagram

For those unfamiliar, "recovery day" is simply the day after the wedding, when some folks have a low-key gathering to round out the celebrations before sending the couple off for their honeymoon. What a fun pair these two are!

6. 'Hotel California' performed on traditional Chinese guzheng is gorgeously hypnotic

Seeing it done this way really highlights the beauty of the song as well as the instrument, doesn't it? Just awesome.

7. Woman squeals in delight as raccoon proves that truly everyone runs on Dunkin'

@samguptuppy
#Raccoon at #Dunkin proves that EVERYONE RUNS ON DUNKIN 🤣🦝🍩

The casual way the person at the window hands the trash panda its doughnut and the way it grabs it with both hands? Too precious. Give that cutie all the doughnuts it desires.

8. South African youth choir pays moving tribute with Nightbirde's 'It's OK' and brings Simon Cowell to tears

Nightbirde was the stage name of Jane Marczewski, a singer who touched millions with her resilience and positivity in the face of a terminal cancer diagnosis. The fact that her song reached all the way around the world to inspire young people in South Africa is just beautiful. Read the full story here.

9. Teacher wakes up to find the entire senior class sleeping in her house

See on Instagram

That initial shock followed by a quick rally! She's clearly a seasoned teacher. Impressive that they pulled the senior prank off, but even more impressive the way she responded—"This is the most beautiful sight." Three cheers for Ms. McGrath.

10. Dance your way through the weekend with the energy of these two delightful dance partners

\u201cIt\u2019s Friday! \ud83c\udf89\u201d
— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden) 1685685613

Ah, the agility and stamina a lifetime of dancing together can give! Total #aginggoals.

Hope this week's list gave you the smiles you needed! If you'd like to have these roundups delivered to your inbox, sign up for our free email newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.

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Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

True

The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

The safe was stolen 22 years ago.

via Wikimedia Commons

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.

A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.

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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.

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Video of sisters trying to fix a DIY haircut perfectly captures the chaos of sisterhood

“This is THE sisters experience…you captured the whole thing."

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Ask any group of sisters what it was like growing up with each other, and they will undoubtedly use the word chaos. Girlhood in itself is a bit of a delightfully feral time. Add yet another wild child (or more) into the mix, and you never know what’s going to happen.

But there’s also a beautiful loyalty. Sure, sisters can turn from friends to enemies on a dime, but in those purer moments, you’ll see them stop at nothing to help one another.

And it’s all these aspects, and everywhere in between, that were captured in a hilarious TikTok as three sisters banded together to fix a DIY haircut gone wrong…the day before school picture day, no less.

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Mom tells wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a 'chocolate baby' while out grocery shopping

People have a sneaking suspicion that the little girl has seen 'Corina, Corina' one too many times.

Maranda Arbogast|TikTok

Mom shares wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a baby

Sometimes we hear a story that makes us collectively confused. Should we be offended? Laugh? Donate to a parents future bail fund for their children? It's really a toss up but the consensus on this mom's eyebrow raising story is that laughter and bail money are both appropriate responses.

Maranda Arbogast, a mom that runs the TikTok page, momma.chaos, shared a hilariously mortifying story of a time she took her three daughters grocery shopping and somehow wound up in a, "one of these things is not like the others" moment. The mom of three leads into the story by explaining that she is raising children that will likely have run ins with the law.

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