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5 things that will make you smile this week

If you're looking for a little sunshine, we've got you covered.

Things to make you smile.

Are you looking for something to make you smile? Well, you've come to the right place. Starting off on a positive note can set the tone for the rest of the week. For those who enjoy our weekly 10 things that made you smile this week article, here's an extra dose coming at the start of each week. Now you can find some bright spots to look forward with each passing day!


Mondays can be a drag for a lot of us. Unless you're starting your week on vacation, of course. For the rest of us, we're just trying to get through the work week while keeping our sanity intact. If you're looking for a little sunshine, we've got you covered. Read on…

National Relaxation Day.

Photo by Vu Thu Giang on Unsplash
1. Throw on your most comfortable pajama pants and call your boss.

August 15 is National Relaxation Day. Yes, you heard me right. It's a day dedicated to relaxing and as it's a national day, it should be paid time off right? Well, I'm not sure if that's how it works but it should. In the event that you don't have any PTO days saved and are terrible at faking a cough, you can set your day up to be as relaxing as possible for when you get home from work. Grab some ready-made margaritas from your local grocery store on your way home and do your best to become a human burrito for the rest of the day.

2. Beauty, brains and an uncontrollable tendency to turn green.

"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" premiers on Disney+ August 18. I love everything Marvel so sign me up. This trailer is amazing. Who wouldn't want a hulk for their attorney? Mark Ruffalo is still The Hulk so no need to get all huffy about the studio changing things. The series looks pretty entertaining, especially if you're a Marvel fan.

Harry Styles

www.flickr.com
3. Music brings people together.

How many of us remember screaming at the top of our lungs at our favorite artist's concerts as teens? Heck, some of us still do this as adults. Well, you're in luck if you're a Harry Styles fan. Styles is touring from August 15 through November 15. Now, he may not be everyone's cup of tea but I'm sure there are teen and young adult girls and nonbinary people who would be thrilled to get their hands on some tickets. That's if the shows aren't already sold out.

Photo by Marty O’Neill on Unsplash
4. Roses are red, violets are smelly and no matter what you try, they won't taste like jelly.

I'm sure someone appreciated the bad poetry, and August 18 is the day you should read some of yours out loud. You may be wondering why someone would read bad poetry out loud. It's because it's National Bad Poetry Day! Look, I'm sure someone sits around trying to think of the most ridiculous things to celebrate and through a petition or I don't know, putting it on a super-official-looking website, it becomes a thing. Let's not ask questions. It's the little things in life that bring us joy. Now gather some friends, grab some wine and have a bad poetry reading event in your living room. Some towns even have events just for bad poetry, so see if your town has one. Someone's bound to make you laugh hard enough to pee a little.

5. This one's for the thriller movie fans.

Many people enjoy being scared. They go to haunted houses, prepare for Halloween like it's a year-round event and, of course, watch horror movies. Within the horror genre there are thrillers to really mess with your head to keep you on edge long after the movie has ended, such as "Orphan." The movie is still on enough people's minds after the original was released 13 years ago, so the creepy child looking murderer is returning on August 19. This movie will keep you in suspense and make you walk around filled with anxiety long after. If that's your thing, you'll appreciate the late sequel.

via Reddit

Common sense rules of the road suggest drivers maintain a three-second following distance between themselves and the car ahead of them on a highway. You can calculate this distance by using a fixed object on the road to see if there is enough distance between your car and the motorist in front of you.

As all drivers know, not every one leaves a safe distance between themselves and the car in front of them and this puts both in danger. The tailgater in an especially precarious position because they can't see what's happening ahead of them.


The following video posted to Reddit shows what happens when a tailgating driver has no idea what's happening on the road ahead. The footage is great because the driver of what appears to be a Jeep has a front and back dash cams that show the situation from two angles.

The front cam shows a ladder falling off a truck, the back camera shows a car riding the driver's tail.

The driver slows down and puts on their hazard lights to move out of the way of the ladder in time, while alerting other drivers of the hazard. The Jeep then swerves out of the way of the ladder in the middle of their lane.

Unfortunately, the tailgater behind him, who had no idea what was happening, drives over the ladder which gets lodged onto his wheel.

Let's hope that the tailgater was able to get out of the incident safely. And hopefully they learned a lesson about tailgating. Like, don't tailgate, maybe?

via Chris Scarlette / YouTube

Chris Scarlette is an amateur filmmaker who, according to his YouTube page, blows up his "neighborhood with special effects." But he may find real work in movies soon, because he has a viral hit with an action film he made during the pandemic starring his dog, Winnie.

"Winnie!" a five-minute "Rambo"-style shoot 'em up is about three guys who find themselves in a fight for their lives after one of them steals the wrong dog's carrots.


Warning: This video contains cartoonish violence and tons of fake blood.


Winnie!www.youtube.com


Scarlette shared the video on Reddit where it's become a sensation.


"I did not expect this many people to enjoy this. I'm beyond happy!" Scarlette wrote on Reddit.

He also shared that he didn't make the movie to generate ad revenue, but for the pure joy of the craft.

"Making movies is fun, and it allows quality time with friends, especially when you get to blow shit up," he wrote. "And also Winnie is a girl! She is my princess. And she deserves all the carrots."

Now, the question remains: Will Scarlette and Winnie make multiple sequels in true "Rambo" style? Or will they quit while they're ahead? If they do move forward, all we ask is that they name the sequel: "The Carrot and the Stick."

No one likes to rake leaves. When something gets in the way of you accomplishing such a task, it is even more annoying. Unless it is this video of baby pandas trying to prevent a caretaker from tackling the yard work in their panda sanctuary. In the cutest viral video this week, we can see the adorable fluffball troublemakers rolling and tumbling, trying to "help" the zookeeper in Sichuan, China.

Some of you might have read the piece about Tuscan, the stray dog who had the persistence to hang around a car dealership until he got a job greeting customers. Now he's positioned to star in a national car commercial. But these are baby pandas just trying to rake a yard—or look cute while doing it.

It could very well be the caretaker does not realize that the pandas think she's been working too hard and deserves a break. Or they actually want to be the next stars of their own commercial. Either way, they are certainly getting all the attention lately.


Cute!What did panda do when zookeeper cleaning the leaveswww.youtube.com

Perhaps people should recognize that pandas do not rake the yard the same way as we do. Look no further than the viral video called The Honor of the Opportunity where a father talks about how his son mows the lawn in his own way.

It kind of feels like the pandas had the rake taken away from them before they had sufficient time to start a task— one they don't know they are supposed to be doing with a tool they have never used before.

Of course, I jest. But perhaps instead of focusing on the pandas' tenacious work ethic (or lack thereof), the zookeeper should trade in the bright pink broom for an actual rake.