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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

joy smile

10 snippets of joy to bring a smile to your face.

There are so many ways humans experience and express joy.

Smiling is one way, of course. But joy can also cause us to giggle gently or laugh out loud. It might make us sigh with contentment or cry when our heart starts to overflow. We might jump for joy or dance when we're delighted.

But no matter how we share it, joy is arguably the most desirable human emotion. Is it possible to experience too much joy? Naturally, we can't expect to be in a constant, unshakable state of joy—nor would that even be healthy—but most of us want to infuse our lives with as much joy as possible.


And there are a million ways for us to do that. We might find joy in quality time with our families and friends. We might find it in nature as we soak in the wonders of our world. We might find it in the arts—painting, pottery, plays or poetry. We might find it in a baby's giggle or a child's curiosity or our favorite person's smile.

We might even find it in silly memes and adorable dog videos on the internet. It's all good. Joy comes in all shapes and sizes, and unless it's causing someone hurt or harm, joy should not be judged.

So kick back, relax and enjoy these 10 things that made us smile this week.

The energy and enthusiasm of this Texas A&M physics professor are absolutely infectious.

Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova teaches at Texas A&M University and she clearly loves her subject. See more of Dr. Erukhimova's educational and entertaining demonstrations here.

Watch how these two took the traditional father-daughter dance to a whole other level.

@bnrevell

Reason number 1838329194920 why I love my dad. 🫶🏼🥹 #thatdougietho #fatherdaughter #weddingtok

Oh. My. Goodness. Could not love this more. Read the full story here.

This decades-old outtake from 'The Carol Burnett Show' is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

It's always funny when the actors themselves can't keep it together. But what's even funnier here is that Carol Burnett had specifically told everyone to stay in character—then she was the first one to lose it. Vicki Lawrence's perfectly timed a-bomb knocking them flat was just icing on the cake. Read the details of how this scene came about here.

Grandpa's candid reaction to his first FaceTime call with his grandchild was so wholesome.

Aw, gotta love a good Gramps.

Seeing little Black girls see themselves in Halle Bailey as 'The Little Mermaid' is everything.

“https://t.co/zR9QLNuSkG”

Representation really does matter. See a whole roundup of these sweet reactions here.

Best doggo politely wipes his face after drinking water.

The most brilliant dog training idea ever.

Cat really, really wants to bite something, but mommy says no.

Such a good kitty!

Patagonia founder just gave away his $3 billion company to help fight climate change.

patagonia

Patagonia founder is giving the company away to help save the planet.

Wikipedia/Patagonia

Patagonia was already known for doing good. But now Yvon Chouinard, the 83-year-old founder of the outdoor clothing and camping gear company Patagonia, has given the $3 billion company away to a charitable trust and environmental nonprofit so that all of its profits will go toward fighting climate change. Amazing. Read more about the hows and whys of this move here.

Random New Yorkers stop to help a woman with a baby put together a new stroller.

New York gets a bad rap for being unfriendly, but those who've lived there know that kindness trumps surface manners. Love seeing humans show up for perfect strangers.

Let's leap into the weekend with the confidence and grace of this floofball.

Hope that brought a grin to your chin and a yay to your day! (Wow, that's a bit yikes, isn't it. Sorry, friends. I'm running out of ways to say I hope this post made you happy. I really hope it did.)

Keep finding joy wherever you go, and come back next week for another roundup of delights from around the internet.

via Chewy

Adorable Dexter and his new chew toy. Thanks Chewy Claus.

True

Every holiday season, millions of kids send letters asking for everything from a new bike to a pony. Some even make altruistic requests such as peace on Earth or helping struggling families around the holidays.

But wouldn’t the holiday season be even more magical if our pets had their wishes granted, too? That’s why Chewy Claus is stepping up to spread holiday cheer to America’s pets.

Does your dog dream of a month’s supply of treats or chew toys? Would your cat love a new tree complete with a stylish condo? How about giving your betta fish some fresh decor that’ll really tie its tank together?

Or do your pets need something more than mere creature comforts such as life-saving surgery?

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Celebrity

U.S. Soccer star expertly handles an Iranian reporter’s loaded questions about race.

Tyler Adams’s response proves exactly why he’s the captain of the US soccer team.

Tyler Adams expertly handles Iranian reporter's question

Reporters are supposed to ask the right questions to get to the truth but sometimes it seems sports reporters ask questions to throw you off your game. There's no doubt that this Iranian reporter who was questioning Tyler Adams, the US soccer team captain at the press conference during the World Cup had an agenda that didn't involve getting to the truth.

It's not clear if the questions were designed to throw the young player off of his game or if the goal was embarrassment. It really is hard to tell, but Adams handled the unexpectedly harsh encounter with intelligence and poise when some may have found it justified for him to get angry.

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Pets

Idaho pet squirrel amazingly thwarts a would-be burglar in resurfaced viral video

The suspect was identified by the scratches the squirrel left.

Idaho pet squirrel thwarts a would-be burglar.

Ahhh, yes! The attack squirrel. Every home should have one, or at least, that's what an Idaho man whose home was protected by his rescue-squirrel-turned-pet might think. Adam Pearl found Joey, his pet squirrel, in his yard, abandoned as a baby and unable to fend for himself. Pearl took him in and bottle-fed him until he was big enough to eat on his own.

The unique pairing continued for 10 months until a man looking to burglarize Pearl's home got the surprise of a lifetime. He was attacked by the squirrel! The fluffy-tailed critter thwarted the man's plan to rummage through Pearl's belongings.

One can only imagine the confusion and terror of being attacked by something that would've gently eaten out of Snow White's hands. The burglar was apparently after the homeowner's guns and likely wasn't expecting a squirrel to go, well, nuts on him. It gets even better though.

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This article originally appeared on 07.22.21


As if a Canada goose named Arnold isn't endearing enough, his partner who came looking for him when he was injured is warming hearts and having us root for this sweet feathered couple.

Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Massachusetts shared the story on its Facebook page, in what they called "a first" for their animal hospital.


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via Pexels

Three different types of blood donations.

The AIDS epidemic that began in the early '80s cast a stigma on all men who have sex with men, regardless of their HIV status. The idea that gay and bisexual men were somehow dangerous to the general public because of a health crisis in their community added to the stigmatization that already came with being LGBTQ.

In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned all men who have sex with men from donating blood. This rule stood until 2015 when the FDA lifted the lifetime ban for gay and bisexual males and limited it to men who had homosexual sex within the past year.

In 2020, the FDA eased restrictions on men who have sex with men again, due to a blood shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The abstinence period was shortened from a year to three months.

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