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Let these bits of good news and hilarious GIFs take you to your happy place.

Hey, you know what's awesome?

Cute animals. People doing nice things for each other. Scientific breakthroughs. And hilarious nonsense that has no real value except to make us laugh.

We need stories like these, now more than ever.


So without further ado, here are 13 pretty great things that will totally brighten your day.

1. The announcement that New York City will start honoring their students' chosen pronouns.

Birth certificates will no longer be the be-all and end-all in the Big Apple.

2. This video of Bill Nye putting a hurtin' on Tucker Carlson during a "debate" over climate change.

It's incredibly entertaining to watch two opponents spar over an issue when one doesn't realize he's completely overmatched.

TL;DR: Climate change is real, y'all.

3. This person who turned every character in a video game into Bob Ross.

Excellent use of coding skills, if you ask me.

4. The U-Haul franchises in the Midwest that are coming together to help tornado victims.

Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images.

Earlier this week, tornadoes caused massive damage throughout Arkansas, Iowa, and other nearby areas. Now a handful of U-Haul companies in the region are offering affected families free storage for what's left of their belongings while they try to piece their lives back together.

5. This "Viking funeral" for a pair of goldfish in Scotland.

Goldfish may be tiny, but the love these elementary school kids had for their pets was anything but. The Viking-inspired send-off was glorious and heartwarming.

6. This person's new ... pet — whatever it may be.

Whatever it is, it's actually pretty cute.

Image via guacamoles/Imgur.

7. This high school cross-country team that takes cooped-up shelter dogs running with them.

This morning me and the St. Joseph High School Cross Country Team conducted our workout at the County Animal Shelter in Santa Maria. With the help of Stacy Silva we successfully completed the first ever team Dog Run! Each team member was assigned a dog and we went out for a couple miles around the shelter. I am not sure who was more excited and having the most fun...the dogs or the kids. Either way, it was a great time and I am sure we will do it again sometime soon. Thanks Stacy Silva and Geoff Clinton

Posted by

Luis Escobar on Thursday, August 4, 2016

Stacy Silva, the volunteer coordinator for the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, just so happens to be married to Luis Escobar, the cross-country coach at the local high school, which is how she came up with the idea.

"I am not sure who was more excited and having the most fun ... the dogs or the kids," Escobar wrote on Facebook.

8. These rescued pigs who are overjoyed be outside.

9. These soccer players who are using their jerseys to inspire young girls.

Instead of their names, the Sweden women's team's jerseys will say things like, "Believe in your damn self," and "I'm not bossy, I'm the boss."

They hope to inspire young women with the messages.

10. This super clever ping-pong shot.

11. These people who found their missing cat after three long years.

The cat was found only five miles from the family's home in Scotland. Now if only it could tell us what it was doing all that time and if it knows where the Loch Ness monster is.

12. These shoes that will order a pizza to your exact location with the push of a button.

They're not actually available to the public yet, but we can dream.

Photo by Pizza Hut.

Practical and stylish!

13. And this Texas sportscaster's incredible, impassioned speech in support of the transgender boy who recently won a girls' wrestling championship.

"He’s a child, simply looking for his place in the world and a chance to compete in the world," said Dale Hansen.

"I don't understand his world...but I do understand he is a part of mine."HANSEN UNPLUGGED: http://on.wfaa.com/2lODg8p

Posted by WFAA-TV on Monday, February 27, 2017

Good news is all around us. You might have to look a little harder for it these days, but I promise you, it's worth it!

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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