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10 things that made us smile this week

Four-year-olds doing cute things, animals making epic comebacks, and music, music, music.

happiness

Joy can be found high in the sky or low on the ground.

Happiness is not something our survival-centered brains naturally gravitate towards. We all need help once in a while to shift our mindset with reminders of just how wonderful, hilarious, magical, endearing and truly awesome life on this blue planet can be.

Luckily, there are countless sources of joyful inspiration out there, both IRL and in the virtual realm. At Upworthy, we like to make collecting those uplifting gems just a little bit easier for you with these weekly round-ups. And the funny thing is: week after week, the world provides.

Here are 10 smile-inducing things we've discovered this week. Enjoy!

1. Life is beautiful. Just take it from Scooter, "The World's Ugliest Dog."

If Scooter, a bald 7-year-old Chinese Crested dog with backwards facing hind legs can not only escape certain death to be in a loving home, but make an epic comeback by winning the "World's Ugliest Dog" competition…then perhaps there's hope for us all.

2. Her name is Van Van. She likes to rap. At 2 o'clock, she takes a nap.

See on Instagram

Can you believe this impressive word play is being effortlessly spewed by a four-year-old?! The adorable march and dad's hype up take it to next level sweetness too. Van Van has way more raps where that came from.

3. Wild buffalo returning to their natural habitat on Blackfeet tribal land is a breathtaking sight.

'Absolutely epic': Blackfeet Nation releases wild buffalo on tribal land, returning free-roaming buffalo to their native habitat https://t.co/79S1RiUFbC
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) June 28, 2023

A win for nature. And a win for Indigenous groups. Huzzah.

4. As it turns out, Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is the perfect Blink-182 song

It's the Blink style "na na na"s in lieu of Beyoncé's "oh oh oh"s for me. This diddy is brought to you by Alex Melton, who has all kids of Blink-182 covers. And they're all bangers.

5. May we all enjoy life as much as this 41-year-old at her first ever hip-hop class

It's never too late to try something new.

6. Guy ends up being the only one on his flight, so he decides to party with the crew

@phil.stringer
18-hour delay turned this flight into a private party! ✈️🥳 Watch how the amazing crew and I made the most of it! #americanairlines #flightattendant #airplanetiktok #privateparty #FlightFun #delayedflight #fyp #viral

After a near 18 hours delay, everybody except for Phil Stringer had given up on a flight heading from Oklahoma City to Charlotte. Did that stop him from having the time of his life? Hell no. you can read the full wholesome story here.

7. Gorillas, lemurs and more beat the heat with Pride-themed rainbow ice pops

Happy Pride to humans and animals everywhere. Stay cool, y'all.

8. The family that sings together, stays together.

New Jersey's Sharpe Family Singers wowed the "America's Got Talent" crowd with a sensational cover of "How far i'll Go" from Disney's Moana. But even more inspiring than their talent is the sheer amount of fun they have together on stage.

9. Friends come in all shapes and sizes…including hummingbird size.

You know how they say you attract more bees with honey? The same could be said for nectar and hummingbirds. That's why this clever 4-year-old girl hid herself in a nectar suit to get up close and personal with some bird friends. The sweet experiment proved a success.

10. And last but not least: when anxiety levels are too high, follow this dog's lead and take a chill pill

@barstoolsports Little man is somewhere else 😭 @Son of a Boy Dad ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports

Of course, in this pup's case…there can be too much of a good thing. But even his hilarious "melting face" is enough to put a smile on ours. How about you?

Wonder how volunteering can change your life? Ask a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Those who give back get so much in return.

True

Larissa Gummy was first introduced to the work of the Peace Corps in high school. All it took was seeing a few photos shared by her ninth-grade teacher, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, to know that one day, she would follow in those footsteps.

This inspiration eventually led Larissa away from her home in Minnesota to Rwanda in East Africa, to give back to her family’s country of origin and pursue her passion for international development. Though her decision confused her parents at first, they’re now proud and excited to see what their daughter has accomplished through her volunteer work.

And just what was that work? Well, it changed from day to day, but it all had to do with health.

Mostly, Larissa worked for Rwanda’s First 1,000 Days Health project, which aims to improve the conditions that affect the mortality rate of kids within the first 1,000 days of being born (or almost three years old). These conditions include hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of childhood diseases like malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI). Addressing malnutrition was a particular focus, as it continues to cause stunted growth in 33% of Rwandan children under the age of five.

In partnership with the local health center, Larissa helped with vaccination education, led nutrition classes, offered prenatal care to expecting mothers, and helped support health education in surrounding communities. Needless to say—she stayed busy with a variety of tasks.

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13 side-by-side portraits of people over 100 with their younger selves

These powerful before-and-after photos reveal just how beautiful aging can be.

Centenarians — people 100 years or older — are a rarity. Their lives are often scrutinized as holding the key to aging.

Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time.

In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.

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Woman goes viral walking the streets of New York holding a sign looking for a husband

"You know what... This might just work."

Karolina Geits|TIkTok

Woman holds new signs walking in New York causing laughter

There's the old cliché, desperate times call for desperate measures and one woman decided it was time to pull out all the stops. Well, sort of. Karolina Geits was annoyed with dating sites when she and her friends came up with the joke of walking around New York City with a sign that reads, "looking for a husband."

The sign isn't something fancy that they printed up at Office Depot or something. It's just a piece of cardboard with black sharpie writing. Geits, who is a model, debuted the sign in July, racking up more than 6.4 million views on TikTok. Since striking virility, she's taken to filming herself with some pretty eyebrow raising signs.

People walking along the streets seem to be a mixture of confused and amused by these silly signs, which sometimes actually result in money. One of her signs, "need money for a Birkin" had onlookers giggling and some folks forgetting they were in New York traffic while craning their necks to...read her sign. I'm sure.

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looking for husband sign

Mom notices the boy she adopted looks a lot like her biological son, so she gets a DNA test

She had to know the truth.

via Liza Summer/Pexels and ANIRUDH/Unsplash

A concerned woman gets a DNA test.

A woman, 35, and her husband, 38, had been married for 10 years and during that time became good friends with a neighbor in her 20s. Two years after they met the neighbor she had a son. She said the father wasn’t in the son’s life because he was a one-night fling.

The woman had health issues, so the couple happily took care of the child when she was in the hospital. Sadly, the woman died when the child was young, so the couple became his foster parents and legally adopted him at the age of 7.

Years later, when their adopted son was 10, and their biological child was 5, the mother noticed that both children looked a lot alike. “Now that they are 10 and 5 years old and they looked so much like each other that I begin to have suspicions,” the woman wrote on the Reddit Relationship Advice subforum.

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Matthew McConaughey avoids being labeled 'anti-gun' during tense moment on 'The View'

"His response is exactly what we need in politics today."

All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia/ Wikipedia

That was not alright, alright , alright

People are applauding the way Matthew McConaughey refused to be reduced down to the partisan label of “anti-gun” during a recent guest appearance on “The View.”

McConaughey had initially been brought on the show to discuss his new children’s book, “Just Because,” but host Sunny Hostin later praised the actor for being “so outspoken against violence, and gun violence in particular,” referencing his previous impassioned speech in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Hostin then asked McConaughey if he had given any more thought to holding a political office. Previously in 2021 the actor publicly announced considering running for governor of the state of Texas, but then decided to focus on his family.

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To celebrate Fiona Apple's birthday, here's her epic 1997 takedown of celebrity culture

Her "career suicide" moment was brilliantly ahead of its time.

via Long Day Closes/X

Fiona Apple speaking at the 1997 MTV Video Music awards.

In 1997, singer-songwriter 19-year-old Fiona Apple was a massive breakthrough artist on MTV, having recently scored big hits with “Shadowboxer,” “Criminal” and “Sleep to Dream” from her debut album, “Tidal.”

However, even though she was still a teenager, she was already suspicious of celebrity culture.

When accepting the award for the single "Sleep to Dream" at the MTV Video Music Awards, she gave an impromptu speech taking dead aim at the music industry. She asked the young people watching to stop emulating the stars they see in music videos and to be themselves.

Her speech was a bold move by a young woman in a room full of celebrities, rock stars and industry people. At the time, it looked like she was committing career suicide in front of the world. Twenty-six years later, it seems even more audacious in a world where the notion of being sellout is a Gen X relic and the entire culture is dominated by influencers.

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