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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy and delight.

joy, uplifting, animals, dance
@phil_wright_/Instagram, @knucklebumpfarms/TikTok,

From delightful dancers to obstinate emus, here are 10 snippets of joy from around the internet.

Phew! Is it reallyfrigginhot where you live right now?

This time of year, we in the northern hemisphere develop a love-hate relationship with the sun. That glorious, lifegiving ball in the sky can feel oh so good, right up to the point where we become convinced it's trying to light us on fire.

Summer is still loads of fun, though, with the long light in the evenings, the sprinklers and swimming pools, the smell of freshly cut grass and somebody in the neighborhood barbecuing something yummy. There's something deeply nostalgic about summer, with distinct smells and sounds and sensations that take us back to our childhoods.

That's why I put the first video in this list first. It's reallyfrigginadorable, for one, but also the simple joy of water coming from a hose is such a sweet symbol of summer.


So whether you're sweltering at the moment or lucky enough to be enjoying some perfect weather (or cold—is that a thing anywhere right now?), I hope you're able to bask in some of summer's delights.

And if you're not able to, here are 10 things to tickle your smile trigger.

1. The only thing better than baby giggles are baby giggles plus a good doggo.

@jensonbluesky

😂 100% will make anyone smile. #babytiktoker #toddlersoftiktok #dogsoftiktok #doguedebordeaux #babygiggles #babylaughs #babyanddogs #infectiouslaugh

So perfectly summer, right? What a cutie pie. Baby laughs just never get old.

2. Strangers showed up to give the coolest birthday party of all time to 8-year-old girl who only got one RSVP.

@chloebluffcakes

Replying to @chloebluffcakes thank you, from deep in my heart. Thank you alyssa, taylor, abby, cindy, libby and wveryone else who helped make this possible. You didnt just save a little girl from heartbreak, you saved something in me ♥️ #birthdayparty.

Charlotte started at a new school this year and her mom sadly passed away from brain cancer just three months ago. So when only one invitee responded to an invitation to her party, her sister shared in a TikTok how she was heartbroken for her and pleaded with people to just go to kids' parties. The video went viral, and then strangers' kindness started pouring in. Amazing. Read the full story here.

3. Famous street barber gives Kingston (aka The Best Kid Ever) a free haircut and some wise life advice.

@vicblends

He was so excited to meet me, I had to bless him! 💙✊🏼 #vicblends #barber #motivation #UnsealTheMeal #OscarsAtHome #InstaxChallenge #WomenOwnedBusiness #BridgertonScandal #inspiration #love

What. A. Sweetheart. Oh my gosh. Kudos to Kingston's parents for raising such a wonderful young man.

4. Drew Barrymore's zest for life is infectious—and inspiring, considering what she's been through.

People may think that being rich and famous makes it easy to enjoy simple things, but Barrymore has had to overcome an incredibly traumatic childhood to get where she is today. (As in, she was blacklisted in Hollywood at age 12 due to her cocaine addiction—not a typo, age 12.) Read more about her impressive journey to joy here.

5. These tiny frogs who can jump but absolutely cannot land are entirely too relatable.

Oh, I feel you little froggy. The inner ear systems of these pumpkin toadlets are so tiny that they lose balance midair, resulting in their graceless tumbling. (Shout out to all my peeps who are great at starting things but struggle to finish!)

6. Emmanuel the Emu is out here stealing everyone's hearts with his silly shenanigans.

Emmanuel Todd Lopez—that's the infamous emu's government name—took the internet by storm this week, highlighting the delightful account of Taylor Blake from South Florida's Knuckle Bump Farms. There's so much more Emmanuel where this came from. Get the full story here.

7. Ever seen a silverback gorilla gently petting a groundhog? Now you have, and it's probably made you a better person.

If a 400-lb gorilla can be so curious and gentle, any of us can.

8. Umm, puppy yoga is a thing? If this is what exercise entails, sign me up yesterday.

I don't think you can really get in shape this way, but who cares? This is bliss. No one needs six-pack abs when you have bliss.

9. Watch this young dancer totally blow away the professional choreographer she danced with.

Seriously, dang. She's just so good. Read the full story here.

10. May we all have the self-confidence of this cat who will not be deterred.

Ah, the cattiest cat that ever catted. More power to ya, buddy.

That's a wrap! Come back next Friday for another roundup of smiles. (And in the meantime, stay hydrated, stay sunscreened and stay cool, friends!)

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

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Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

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via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

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Joy

A major UCLA study says that at least 65 species of animals laugh

If you've never seen a fox giggle, you're in for a treat.

Foxes giggle like children on helium.

Laughter is one of the most natural impulses in humans. Most babies start to laugh out loud at around 3 to 4 months, far earlier than they are able to speak or walk. Expressing enjoyment or delight comes naturally to us, but we're not the only creatures who communicate with giggles.

Researchers at UCLA have identified 65 species of animals who make "play vocalizations," or what we would consider laughter. Some of those vocalizations were already well documented—we've known for a while that apes and rats laugh—but others may come as a surprise. Along with a long list of primate species, domestic cows and dogs, foxes, seals, mongooses and three bird species are prone to laughter as well. (Many bird species can mimic human laughter, but that's not the same as making their own play vocalizations.)

Primatologist and UCLA anthropology graduate student Sasha Winkler and UCLA professor of communication Greg Bryant shared their findings in an article in the journal Bioacoustics.

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Joy

People are sharing the weirdest, most unforgettable art they've found in thrift stores

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

A few of the rare finds at Thrift Store Art's Instagram page

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

Even though people can easily buy used items on eBay, the thrift store business thrives in America, bringing in an estimated $10 billion annually. At a time when the economy is shaky, thrift stores are a recession-proof business. When times are tough, people love to find a deal, and there's never any end to the fashionistas who roam thrift stores looking for a rare find.

San Francisco surfer and self-proclaimed thrift store junkie Bryan Dickerson has turned his passion for rare treasures into an Instagram page with over 246,000 followers. Thrift Store Art showcases the most bizarre things that thrifters find in stores and leans heavily into strange-looking works of art and clothing with questionable sayings. His crowds of followers send him countless strange finds every day, and he rewards them by calling them rude names in the comments.

But for Dickerson, it's all in fun.

He told Bored Panda that the idea of Thrift Store Art is “not to bash art but to expand what can be considered as art—clothing, album art, book graphics, vacation souvenirs.” Dickerson's foray into thrift store content was a much-needed break from his job as the editor of a news website.

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Guy shares the reason viral gym videos need to end, and it's so spot on

"If you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all.”

“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand."

Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being.

However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame.

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