Upworthy Weekly podcast: Things that made us smile
Tod and Alison do something a little different this week by discussing some of the most uplifting entries from Upworthy's "10 Things That Made Us Smile This Week" articles.
Tod and Alison do something a little different this week by discussing some of the most uplifting entries from Upworthy's "10 Things That Made Us Smile This Week" articles.
You'll meet a heartwarming British senior citizen, groove to some classical music played by South African students, laugh at the funniest cat name ever and hear a lovely tribute to John Lennon by his son.
The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?
Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.
Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.
#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.
Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!
The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise
If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.
Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.
It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.
A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.
The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.
Fifteen-year-old George Tindale and his dad, Kevin, 52, of Grantham, Lincolnshire in the U.K., made an incredible find earlier this month when they used two magnets to pull up a safe that had been submerged in the River Witham.
George has a popular magnet fishing YouTube channel called “Magnetic G.”
After the father-and-son duo pulled the safe out of the murky depths, they cracked it open with a crowbar and found about $2,500 Australian dollars (US$1,800), a shotgun certificate and credit cards that expired in 2004. The Tindales used the name found on the cards to find the safe’s owner, Rob Everett.
Everett’s safe was stolen during an office robbery in 2000 and then dumped into the river. “I remember at the time, they smashed into a cabinet to get to the safe,” Everett said, according to The Daily Mail. “I was just upset that there was a nice pen on my desk, a Montblanc that was never recovered.”
The safe was stolen in the year 2000 \n\n#magnetfishinghttps://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/teenager-finds-safe-containing-thousands-of-dollars-9250637/\u00a0\u2026
The robber, who was a teenage boy, was apprehended soon after the crime because he left behind a cap with his name stitched inside.
The father and son met up with Everett to return his stolen money and the businessman gave George a small reward for his honesty. He also offered him an internship because of the math skills he displayed in the YouTube video when he counted the Australian dollars. “What’s good about it is, I run a wealth management company and… I’d love him to work for us," Everett said.
Although the safe saga began with a robbery 22 years ago, its conclusion has left Everett with more faith in humanity.
“I was just amazed that they’d been able to track me down,” he said. “There are some really nice and good people in this world. They could have kept the money, they could have said they attempted to get hold of me.”
“There’s a big lesson there. It teaches George that doing good and being honest and giving back is actually more rewarding than taking,” Everett added.
Treasure hunting isn’t the only allure of the hobby for George. His mother says the hobby has taught him a lot about water pollution and its effects on local wildlife. “George is very environmentally conscious. He always has been since primary school,” she said. “When he first started to do this, he was after treasure. Everything ends up in the rivers and canals.”
Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew
It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.
Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.
See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.
Once the dog was in their house, they noticed that their cats started behaving strangely towards their canine sibling. The cats started attacking the dog, likely trying to get it to tell them what they did with their real dog sister. Cat slaps and a house full of strange people didn't dampen the imposter's spirit though, in fact, that's what helped reveal the switcharoo.
This dog kept handing out face kisses and had no interest in seeing her favorite neighbor. After putting all of those things together, the owners decided to hightail it to the vet's office to scan the dog's microchip. Alas, they indeed had the wrong dog.
"We just never even thought that that would happen, and of course we thought we would know right? Like we're her parents, we would know something was wrong, we would know right off the bat that it wasn't Emmy," Kebby Kelley told Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Seems both golden retrievers got to go on a really strange adventure that deserves a lifetime of delicious dog treats for the confusion.
Sandra Maria/Youtube, Official Lives & Music Videos/Youtube
You can't not sing this song.
The music of Queen has a profound visceral effect on everyone. Few pieces of art can cause complete strangers to put aside their differences and come together in song, but by golly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. It would be cheesy if it weren’t so absolutely beautiful.
This pertains even to non-English-speaking countries, it appears. Recently, thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, began cheering as those iconic beginning piano notes penetrated the air.
It wasn’t long before the entire stadium was singing along to that beloved tune and acing every single lyric. As one person commented on YouTube, even though most people in Warsaw don’t speak English, “they sing Queen.”
The passionate impromptu performance serves as a reminder of how special both Queen and the late Freddie Mercury remain today.
“No other band will ever come close to Queen. They were lightning in a bottle and Freddie was a whale in a teardrop. Once people keep singing his words, FM will live on forever,” another YouTube viewer wrote.
Indeed, seeing an entire stadium come alive with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” you can’t help but feel Mercury’s soul return to the mortal plane, as if we’ve all been transported back to that historic Live Aid concert in 1985 when he had the entirety of Wembley Stadium wrapped around his finger for 21 glorious minutes.
Watch below, and try not to sing along. Scratch that—sing your heart out.
Ask any group of sisters what it was like growing up with each other, and they will undoubtedly use the word chaos. Girlhood in itself is a bit of a delightfully feral time. Add yet another wild child (or more) into the mix, and you never know what’s going to happen.
But there’s also a beautiful loyalty. Sure, sisters can turn from friends to enemies on a dime, but in those purer moments, you’ll see them stop at nothing to help one another.
And it’s all these aspects, and everywhere in between, that were captured in a hilariousTikTok as three sisters banded together to fix a DIY haircut gone wrong…the day before school picture day, no less.
Let us set the stage. Eldest sister, Valentina, 15, was minding her own business, filming a GURWM (GEt Un-Ready With Me), when she is suddenly interrupted by her 9-year-old sister Khaleesi asking for the scissors.
Ever the responsible eldest, Valentina tells Khaleeis to be careful before handing them over and resuming her skincare regimen.
Not three seconds later, there’s a blood-curdling scream, as the youngest sister, Camelia, comes rushing in.
"Khaleesi cut my hair!" shouts Camelia. "Tomorrow is picture day!"
"You wanted it, bro!" Khaleesi shouts back.
The girls then hear mom ask what’s happening. Valentina takes charge and tells her little sisters to close her door (“now!”) as she comes up with a brilliant cover: "Nothing! I'm trying to find a new hairstyle for (Camelia).”
Trying to fix the chop job, Valentina looks on TikTok for bang cutting tutorials, wanting "If mom finds out, she's going to kill both of you."
Remember me waxing poetic about how fiercely loyal sisters are? Well, as soon as mom walks in, the accusations about whose idea it was go flying.
The delightful clip ends with Camelia and Khaleesi being told to go show their dad, and Valentina saying “pray for them.”
Enthralled viewers couldn’t help but feel like they had just watched something akin to a “coming of age movie” and a “documentary about sisterhood.” One person even dubbed it the Latina version of “Little Women.” 100% accurate.
“This is THE sisters experience. In six minutes you captured the whole thing. Amazing, ”one person wrote.
Another noted how it particularly encapsulates the eldest sister experience, writing, “older sister fixing her hair, bringing the snitch and getting blamed for it at the end.”
In the end, it all worked out. Camelia shared in a follow-up video that her big picture day was a success, bangs and all, thanks to the help of her sisters. And we all got some grade-A entertainment.
Mom shares wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a baby
Sometimes we hear a story that makes us collectively confused. Should we be offended? Laugh? Donate to a parents future bail fund for their children? It's really a toss up but the consensus on this mom's eyebrow raising story is that laughter and bail money are both appropriate responses.
Maranda Arbogast, a mom that runs the TikTok page, momma.chaos, shared a hilariously mortifying story of a time she took her three daughters grocery shopping and somehow wound up in a, "one of these things is not like the others" moment. The mom of three leads into the story by explaining that she is raising children that will likely have run ins with the law.
"Some families gotta save money for medical expenses or college funds. We gotta save money for bail because we are raising criminals, especially my middle daughter. It's always the middle child," Arbogast jokes. "She's gotta be frisked before we leave anywhere."
Arbogast explains that her middle daughter has stolen everything from her neighbor's engagement ring to a baby from Walmart. Pause. A baby? Yes, a real baby human. If you're a person that has questions about how that happens, no worries. The mom of three merry mischief makers explains exactly what happens.
"I have a rule every time we go to the store, the kids gotta keep their hands on the cart, because as long as I can see the hands, I know that I'm safe," she says.
When they were in the frozen food aisle looking for chicken nuggets, Arbogast was distracted tried to locate her kids favorite nuggets, the ones shaped like dinosaurs. It was in that moment, they executed their plan.
"My youngest daughter put two hands on the cart to trick me so that her older sister can go get a baby brother. I didn't even realize I was missing a child until another one showed up," the frazzled mom rattles off.
Now, you'd think counting that she had one too many kids would've tipped her off, but it was the fact that she and her children are white and the baby that mysteriously appeared was Black. After asking where the baby came from, her daughter, who appears to be around six, explained that she "found a chocolate baby" and asked to keep him.
Thankfully, the baby's mom had a sense of humor about the situation. When she went around the store frantically looking for her son, she found him with the little girl arguing with her confused and likely embarrassed mom. I'm sure now this mom has a six hands on the cart rule or maybe she does grocery pick-up instead, just to make sure her daughter doesn't try to "find" another sibling.
Watch the video of how the entire thing unfolded below:
Period simulators gave cis-gendered men a painful glimpse of what women go through on a monthly basis. But what about going through life with an actual human growing in their belly?
That’s where the watermelon challenge comes in.
TikTok’s watermelon challenge is a simple concept, where dads-to-be strap watermelons, weighing somewhere around 14 pounds, onto their bellies in order to simulate what it’s like for pregnant moms. Bonus point for taping mangos onto the chest because #lactation.
The results are both hilarious and illuminating.
Nurse/mom Hannah Jean, currently 32 weeks pregnant, and her husband recently tried out the trend. The couple is first seen testing out different lemon sizes to make sure their baby bellies will match.
Then it’s pure comedy as Hannah’s husband struggles to pick things up off the floors, engage in regular household chores, put on his shoes, even getting in and out of bed.
Fifteen minutes in, he is almost completely wiped out.
Thousands of moms who watched along couldn’t contain their schadenfreude.
One wrote, “That’s just the physical part, not the heartburn, soreness or not being able to breathe lol.” To which Hannah mischievously replied “I’m trying to find ways to simulate the rest.”
“He should’ve tried to get in and out of his vehicle and drive down the block,” another person added, right before commending Hannah’s hubby as a “trooper.”
Such a trooper, in fact, that he agreed to a part two—this time pitifully attempting to shave his legs and, ahem, his nether regions. All to no avail.
This time he does try to get in and out of the car, which, to no woman's surprise, is no easy task. There's getting in the car, plus dealing with the steering wheel being far away, PLUS there be nowhere comfortable to actually strap on a seatbelt.
And then on a nice, relaxing walk, one of his mangoes just completely falls out. Ah, motherhood.
Challenges like these offer lighthearted entertainment to be sure, but it also makes one wonder how different the world might be if everyone truly understood, on a visceral level, the physical challenges that women go through. Generous maternity leave might be a necessary requirement, and not just a coveted luxury. Perhaps there would be more abortion freedoms. Who knows.
Either way, this has got to be one of the best ways for couples to bond during pregnancy. Not to mention the most entertaining.
The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise