In a time where the world feels more divided than ever, we could all use a pick-me-up. With that in mind, we’ve scoured the internet to bring you five feel-good pieces of news and media that put a smile on our faces (and we bet it’ll put one on yours, too).
This week, we’re loving:
This woman’s life-saving good deed
Hockey fan Nadia Popovici was at a game in 2022 when she noticed something strange: an irregular mole on the back of Brian Hamilton, one of the team’s assistant equipment managers. Popovici had experience looking at cancerous moles during her experience volunteering in oncology wards, so she quickly flagged Hamilton down and warned him through the plexiglass that his mole looked cancerous. Hamilton had the mole biopsied—and found Popovici had been right. “She saved my life,” Hamilton said later in a press conference.
Subaru is sharing the love this holiday season
Who knew that buying a car could be an act of love? During the annual Subaru Share the Love® Event, getting a car means supporting the charities you love the most. With every new Subaru purchased or leased, Subaru and its retailers will donate at least $300 to local and national charities, including the ASPCA®, Make-A-Wish®, Meals on Wheels, and the National Park Foundation, among others. And here's another thing to celebrate: After 17 years of the Subaru Share the Love Event nearly $320 million has been donated to charity!
This dad's perfect response to anti-gay bigotry
@fitxander Some AWESOME shade from my dad 😂🌈 #gay #dad @claire_training ♬ Kings & Queens - Ava Max
Sometimes, when a person throws shade, you have to throw it right back. That’s what Xander’s dad did, when a neighbor told him that having two gay kids (Xander and his sister, Claire) meant that he “failed as a parent.” His response? To cover his entire house and yard with pride flags. Go, dad!
This perfect example of brotherly love
You’ve never seen something more heartwarming than this boy helping his little brother before school. According to a TikTok video uploaded by his mom, this amazing kid “always reassures his little brother he’s going to have a great day at school,” giving him a hug, a kiss, and some reassuring words. No, you’re crying.
This single mom who passed her bar exam on the very first try
Taking the bar exam to become a lawyer is tough—so tough that most people can’t do it on their first try, even after months of studying. Which is why this video is downright joyous to watch. In the video, single mom and TikTok user @yougonloverhi records her and her son’s reactions as they find out that she passed the California Bar Exam on the first try. Supermom!
For more reasons to smile, check out all the ways Subaru is sharing the love this holiday season, here.
- 5 things that made us smile this week ›
- Parent of LGBTQ kids has a perfectly colorful response to a neighbor who tried to shame him ›
- A hockey fan spotted a tiny detail on a stranger's neck. Her quick warning saved his life. ›
- People share the most beautiful thing someone's done for them and it's a balm for the soul ›
Photographing the path of light.
A new camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second (fps).
Compare that with a traditional movie camera which takes a mere 24fps. This new advancement in photographic technology has given scientists the ability to photograph the movement of the fastest thing in the Universe: light.
The actual event occurred in a nano second—that is one billionth of a second—but the camera has the ability to slow it down to twenty seconds.
The amazing camera.
For some perspective, according to New York Times writer John Markoff, "If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years."
In the video below, you'll see experimental footage of light photons traveling 600-million-miles-per-hour through water.
It's impossible to directly record light, so the camera takes millions of scans to recreate each image. The process has been called "femto-photography" and according to Andreas Velten, a researcher involved with the project, "There's nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera."
This article originally appeared seven years ago.
- Anyone could become an engineer with her tiny, simple set of tools ... ›
- Stare at a time-lapse of the Northern Lights for 3 fantastical minutes ... ›
- These awesome pics are what happens when a runaway star slams ... ›
- People are debating the pros and cons of 'the big light' - Upworthy ›
- The Slow Mo guys use camera to capture light as it travels - Upworthy ›
8-year-old quietly saves friend's life during lunch, finishes eating
First aid is something people learn when they're going into a position that requires them to be responsible for looking after others. It's a handy skill to have, even if you're just learning it for work. Sometimes community centers offer basic first aid skills and there are some courses children can take help them earn a Scout badge or get a babysitting certificate.
Many parents also try to prepare their children for appropriate ways to respond in an emergency situation while hoping they never need it. But sometimes those conversations come in handy when it's least expected. Thomas Conley, an 8-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, found himself at the center of a story about a hero after he casually saved his friend from choking without fanfare.
The two third graders were seated next to each other for lunch when Isaiah began to choke on a grape. At first Thomas didn't realize his friend was in trouble until he noticed him crying and looking as if he was beginning to panic. It was then that the little hero recognized his friend was choking. Without any hesitation, Thomas pulled Isaiah to him and did a quick, forceful thrust—the Heimlich maneuver—immediately dislodging the fruit.
Wants South Carolina GIFGiphy
That was the end. The entire thing happened so fast that no one even noticed what had just happened. Neither boy went to tell a teacher or another adult. In fact, the boys both turned around after the harrowing ordeal and continued to eat their lunch as if it were just another day in the cafeteria. Nobody knew what happened until after school had already been released for the day and the principal, Kathy Ray, received a call from Isaiah's mother.
The third grader was impressed by his friend's actions and told his mom all about how he choked on a grape until his friend saved him. This revelation prompted the mom to contact the school to find out exactly what happened, but the principal knew nothing of it until she went searching through the video footage. It was then that Ray saw the swift heroic act and confirmed Isaiah was telling his mom the truth.
To The Rescue Hero GIF by Sesame StreetGiphy
"I actually didn't hear about it until after school when Isaiah's mom came and said, 'Hey I heard this story that my son was choking on a grape and a kid gave him the Heimlich.' We pulled the camera and I had...I had to just keep watching it. It was incredible," Ray tells 12 News.
It turns out that Thomas' mom was just explaining the night before how easy it was to choke on grapes, likely not thinking the information would be relevant the very next day. Thankfully, the little boy was all ears and was able to put his knowledge into action without a second thought. His quick thinking act got him a certificate of appreciation by the Mesa Fire and Medical Department.
Thomas thinks saving his friend was an easy decision, telling the news station he simply didn't want his friend to die and, "You shouldn't be scared to help somebody."
Watch the entire video below: