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upworthy
Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

huskies, a boy dancing, a toddler making a tall woman

From dogs to dancers, we've got a whole list of smile-worthy finds.

Have you ever wondered if laughter counts as exercise? After all, your heart rate increases, your muscles seize up and sometimes you can't even breathe. That sure sounds like exercise.

Actually, laughter does burn extra calories. If you can keep the giggles going for 10-15 minutes, you can burn 40 calories. Do that a few times a day, and you've not only gotten in a decent burn for not a lot of work, but you've also given your immune system a boost and lowered your blood sugar levels.

If you're looking for a laugh, we've got a few things here that ought to do the trick. And we've got a bunch of other things that are definitely worth smiling about, so if you could use a mood boost, we've got you.

Enjoy!


1. Watch this papa singing to his baby boy during a 'Ragtime' rehearsal

Pardon me, but my ovaries just exploded. Next.

2. Dad proudly shows off his yo-yo moves and it's seriously impressive

The ski lift? Are you kidding me?

3. Owner of three huskies realizes she's the problem as they escalate into full husky mode

@tikanni.kita.n.tehya

When you finally realize you’re the problem #fypシ #huskylife #foryoupage #funnydogs #siren #howling #howl #dogcomedy #dogsvideo #cutedog #howlingwolf #viral #dog #husky #humor #doghumor #chaos #imtheproblem

How dare she ask such a question! Fluff outta here, Karen. (Also, why are huskies so very extra?)

4. Woman mistakes a stranger for someone she knows in the most epically embarrassing way possible

@mustlovedogskc

This is what happens when you’re a hugger! #Mybad #whoopsieDaisies #comedy #laughing #fyp

"Who does that? Me." Can you even imagine? Read the full story here.

5. Speaking of embarrassment, check out this kid's awesome response to his mom trying to embarrass him at school pickup

That kid's gonna go far in life. Love it.

6. Andy Grammer shares how he 'goes on offense' against grief and it's utterly heartwarming

@podcrushed

Go on offense with grief 🖤 #grief #loss #lossofaparent

Such a beautiful approach to navigating grief. Read the full story here.

7. People are having a chuckle over the notes a previous homeowner left during a bathroom remodel

"What's wrong with the way we did it?!?!?" HA. Swipe to see the bunny, too! Gotta love a couple with a sense of humor. Read the full story here.

8. Baby becomes 'tall woman' and her facial expressions are on point

@messijross

She living her best life

Adorable. Read the full story here.

9. This kid's got smooth dance moves for days

He's so serious about it, too. So good.

10. Heyyyy, introverts who let their freak flag fly around their select few, we see you

"If only people could see you now." We all know—or perhaps are—one of these people. Reserved in public, goofballs in private. Gotta love it.

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Keep smiling, everyone!

The funny thing about love is that the person we fall in love with, more often than not, we run into by accident. Another strange twist is that the love of our life is likely to show up when we least expect it.

The following story, which feels like the promise of a hit rom-com, comes courtesy of a twist of fate created by the World Cup and an Airbnb.

In 2013, after six years of battling an illness, Ana was living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Having been financially drained by years of being sick, she invested the last of her money to buy two bunk beds and convert one of her bedrooms into an Airbnb for small groups of friends.

The Airbnb was a last-ditch effort to pay her rent and medical bills. A year later, the modest investment grew into a success, Ana’s health began to return, and the World Cup, one of the largest sporting events in the world, was coming to Rio.

To take advantage of the soccer fanatics flocking to the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City), Ana and her roommate, Fabio, turned a half room in their apartment into an Airbnb rental to give tired soccer fans a place to sleep.

“Though it was a small (pantry!) room, we added a bunk bed and listed two beds on Airbnb. One day after the listing went live, we had tons of requests for ‘Fabio’s Pantry,’” she shared. “It was fully booked for the entire World Cup period except for one week in July.”

Around this time, Ana was feeling well enough to go on her first vacation in years and took a quick trip to Uruguay. Just before she left, Ana received a reservation from a man named "Darko B." for the only unbooked days in July.

“I have always been a big fan of the movie ‘Donnie Darko’ and thought it was a strange coincidence, but didn't think anything of it,” Ana wrote. “I accepted the request, let him know I would not be there for check-in and Fabio would care for him until I was back the following week.”

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Tolstoy's sign that someone is highly intelligent.

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist known for epic works such as"War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina.” His life experiences—from witnessing war to spiritual quests—profoundly influenced his writings and gave him profound insights into the human soul.

His understanding of emotions, motivations and moral dilemmas has made his work stand the test of time, and it still resonates with people today.

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Photo by Karlo Tottoc on Unsplash

Blood draws can be nerve-racking for everyone, dogs and humans alike.

The fear of needles—technically known as trypanophobia—is an extremely common fear that can range from "Eh, I'm not so comfy with the idea a needle going into my body" to full-on fainting at the sight of a syringe. For some, the idea of having blood drawn adds another layer to the fear of needles ("Wait, you mean you're taking some of the life-sustaining blood OUT of my body?") and can the fear can be so strong that it leads to people avoiding lab work altogether.

Perhaps that's one reason a video of vets and/or vet techs dancing for a dog who was nervous while getting a blood draw is resonating with so many people.

The video, shared by Hawaii Kai Vet Clinic on Instagram, is delightful on its face—the music, the dancing, the commitment, the random woman in the background, the good doggo, all of it. But it's the desire to have that kind of distraction as a human in a phlebotomist's chair that really got people.

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How often should you wash your jeans?

Social media has become a fertile breeding ground for conversations about hygiene. Whether it’s celebrities bragging about how little their family bathes or battles over how often people should wash their sheets or bras.

One of the debates that gets the most diverse responses is how often people wash their denim jeans.

Denim atelier Benjamin Talley Smith tells Today that jeans should be washed "as little as possible, if at all.” Laundry expert Patric Richardson adds they should be cleaned “after nine or 10 wearings, like to me, that is the ideal." At that point, they probably have stains and are "a little sweaty by that point, so you need to wash 'em," Richardson says.

Still, some people wash and dry them after every wear while others will hand wash and never hang dry. With all these significant differences of opinion, there must be a correct answer somewhere, right?

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Paul Simon and George Harrison perform "Here Comes the Sun."

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon turned 82 on Friday, October 13. Even though he has suffered significant hearing loss in his left ear, he’s still recording new music. Earlier this year, he released “Seven Psalms,” an all-acoustic song cycle meant to be listened to from front to back.

To celebrate his birthday, some folks on X (formerly known as Twitter) celebrated by sharing a beautiful performance by Simon and ex-Beatle George Harrison of “Here Comes the Sun” on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976. The two traded verses on the song and displayed a natural harmony with their voices and finger-picking. Later that night, they would duet on Simon’s “Homeward Bound.”

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Health

Artist beautifully illustrates the transformative power of turning toward fear

In just six images, Cécile Carre captures what therapy for fear and anxiety can do.

Fear is a finicky beast.

When my oldest daughter was in the deepest throes of a clinical phobia, her fear overtook everything. She practically became a hermit at 16, afraid to go anywhere. Thankfully, we found an excellent therapist who taught her how to tame her fear, to gently manage it, to approach it in such a way that allowed it to dissipate instead of continuing to dominate her every thought.

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Pop Culture

Someone questioned the Costco cake ordering system. You do not question the Costco cake system.

Lucy Huber was confronted by the Costco cake brigade when she posted about the antiquated way you have to order.

Photo by Annie Reneau

Costco cakes are huge, cheap and delicious. Every time.

Costco is known for many things—their employee satisfaction and retention, their amazing Kirkland Signature generic brand, their massive (and addictive) $4.99 rotisserie chickens, their never-going-to-raise-the-price $1.50 hot dog and soda meal and more.

But one favorite Costco feature that might just top them all? The Costco cake.

Costco cakes are legendary. If you've never had a Costco cake, I'm so sorry. If you have, then you know. They are the trifecta of awesome—huge, cheap and utterly delicious. I don't even like cake that much and I can't stop eating a Costco cake. Like, if you ordered a fancy cake from a fancy patisserie and it tasted like a Costco cake, you'd say, "Oh yeah, that was worth the $ I just paid." Only at Costco, you'd get that delicious of a cake that would feed a thousand people for just $25. (Okay, 50 people, but still—cake for days.)

This is why people have a serious loyalty to Costco cakes, which writer Lucy Huber discovered when she dared to question the Costco cake ordering process on Twitter.

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