Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE, now available - take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

paris

Family

The wholesome moment when a dad convinced his daughter she turned on the Eiffel Tower’s lights

He brought a light switch and everything.

via Redheadresidence/TikTok

Esmae turns the lights on the Eiffel Tower.

There are few things more magical for a young girl than spending a warm summer night in Paris in front of the lights of the Eiffel Tower. But Joel Redhead, 29, took things up a notch recently when he convinced his daughter, Esmae, that she turned on the lights all by herself.

The father and daughter duo were in Paris celebrating Esmae’s 8th birthday. Sadly, her mother couldn’t be there for health reasons.

Joel, from Yorkshire, England, told his daughter they were going to Liverpool for the weekend, but after spending a night in the city, that next morning, he surprised her with a trip to the City of Light.

"When we woke her up in the hotel the morning of our trip at 5 am and broke the news to her, she was completely overjoyed, but the excitement didn’t end there,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

@redheadresidence
She asked who made it sparkle so Daddy gave her the job ✨🇫🇷 #eiffeltower #paris #wholesome #tourist #emotionalmoments #loveyou #fypシ

Joel packed a light switch for the trip, and when they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, he told his daughter that she was responsible for turning the lights on that night. He handed her the switch, and she turned her back to the tower. When the lights came on, she flipped the switch, turned around and countless sparkling lights illuminated the city.

Later, the dad told his daughter that the switch wasn’t connected to the tower, but she loved the experience anyway.

"She said she felt magical, and though now she knows that daddy set this up to give her a memory of a lifetime and how the lights really worked, she finds it hilarious that we pranked the people around us who believed she turned them on,” he said.

From Your Site Articles

paris

Someone plastered The Louvre with 2,000 sheets of paper and it looks cool AF.

If you and I (in this fantasy we are best friends fulfilling our lifelong dream of visiting Paris) decided to see what The Louvre's glass pyramid looked like covered in paper, we would likely spend the majority of our trip becoming intimately acquainted with France's legal system.

I know it sounds unfair but the reality is that you (best friend) and I are not famous artists. And while the french government may not trust us to cover one of its most famous landmarks in paper, I have some excellent news: We can still see what it looks like.

Spoiler alert: It is very, very cool.

Here's one pic of the thing to tempt you before we get into the backstory:

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Mar 30, 2019 at 1:39am PDT

The illusion, which makes it look like The Louvre's pyramid belongs in Winterfell (or whichever Game of Thrones location where the rocks and ice are the most dangerous) was created by street artist JR for the pyramid's 30th anniversary.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Mar 28, 2019 at 6:49am PDT

This isn't JR's first living exhibit for the museum. Three years ago, the artist made it appear as if the pyramid had faded into the facade of the main building itself. Like magic!

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on May 25, 2016 at 4:55am PDT

For the current project, JR enlisted the help of 400 volunteers who, under the cover of night (an assumption on my part because it just sounds cooler) pasted 2,000 specially-designed strips of paper on and around the pyramid to give it that "wow, I'm going to fall right through the ground and die, get my pic for the gram" look.

Needless to say, people were loving it:

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Mar 31, 2019 at 3:59am PDT

Even if they were maybe a little apprehensive about going too far in lest the illusion be an actual trap.

Here's what it looks like all lit up and waiting for couples to propose to each other:

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Mar 31, 2019 at 12:25pm PDT

If the installation has inspired you to book your own tickets to Paris (and, hopefully, one for me, because, for the purposes of this story we are still best friends), it's important to note that the installation only lasted one day. Its temporary nature was meant to stir up reflections on how fleeting life is.

From JR's description of the piece:

The images, like life, are ephemeral. Once pasted, the art piece lives on its own. The sun dries the light glue and with every step, people tear pieces of the fragile paper. The process is all about participation of volunteers, visitors, and souvenir catchers. This project is also about presence and absence, about reality and memories, about impermanence.

Oh, well. At least we'll always have these beautiful photos (that we can shop ourselves into). However, this is also a friendly reminder that the entire Louvre is full of art. So maybe plan your trip anyway!

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Mar 29, 2019 at 3:24pm PDT

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by JR (@jr) on Apr 3, 2019 at 1:26pm PDT

Paris is banning cars. Here's why U.S. cities need to follow suit — basically now.

Paris' romantic air just got more breathable, and its world-famous streets more stroll-able.

The city's government unveiled an ambitious plan to ban gas-powered cars from the city by the end of the next decade.

"We have planned the end of thermic vehicle use, and therefore of fossil energies, by 2030," Christophe Nadjovski, Paris deputy mayor in charge of transportation, told France Info radio.

The city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, had already announced a plan to ban diesel-powered vehicles from the city by 2024.

The French capital is the latest in a string of European cities cracking down on cars.

Oslo recently announced plans to ban parking spaces by 2019. Madrid plans to ban gas-powered cars from the bulk of its city center by 2020.

These moves may seem drastic, but recent research suggests many more similarly extreme steps could be necessary to avert climate catastrophe.

A University of Michigan study recently released estimates the U.S. automotive and electricity industries have fewer than nine years to take large-scale emission-limiting action before runaway warming becomes the most probable outcome.

The Los Angeles skyline in 2015. Photo by Mark Ralston/Getty Images.

"If we do not act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions forcefully prior to the 2020 election, costs to reduce emissions at a magnitude and timing consistent with averting dangerous human interference with the climate will skyrocket," Steven Skerlos, University of Michigan professor of mechanical engineering, said in a news release announcing the results. "That will only make the inevitable shift to renewable energy less effective in maintaining a stable climate system throughout the lives of children already born."

Some U.S. cities and states are taking steps to reduce vehicle emissions within their borders.

In May, California regulators announced stringent targets for reducing carbon emissions over the next eight years, including a requirement that automakers sell a higher percentage of low-emission vehicles in the state. A month later, a coalition of 30 mayors, three state governors, and over 100 businesses petitioned the United Nations to join the Paris Climate Accord, in the wake of the Trump administration's announced decision to withdraw from the agreement.

In August, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his administration was exploring congestion pricing — a toll on cars that enter certain central regions of New York City, though similar proposals have previously floundered in the state's legislature.

Could an enterprising American metropolis follow Paris' lead and banish gas-powered motor vehicles entirely?

With 218 million licensed drivers in the U.S., it's a tall political order.

But, to save the planet, they might have to go the extra mile.

From Your Site Articles

Jameela Jamil Instagram post about ambition - Upworthy ›

Heroes

A story about a man who swims to work went viral. Here's what makes his commute possible.

Benjamin David lives in Munich, and he swims to work.

Every morning, David checks the speed and temperature of the water...

[rebelmouse-image 19530356 dam="1" original_size="400x201" caption="All GIFs via BBC Capital/Facebook." expand=1]All GIFs via BBC Capital/Facebook.

...puts on his swim trunks and packs his dry bag with the clothes and gear he needs for the day...

...and swims 2,000 meters, or about 1.25 miles, down the Isar River to work.

Thanks to a great video from BBC Capital, David's story went viral last week. But lost in the surprising and delightful nature of his morning commute is what's making it possible: efforts in major cities to clean up polluted urban rivers and return them to swimmers.

Cities like Paris, New York, Boston, and London have all made an effort to return their rivers to swimmers and beachgoers.

Local governments are partnering with civic nonprofits to raise funds for cleanup, natural pools, and marketing efforts. Why focus on swimming? It's affordable, safe, and fun for residents of all ages, and public access to rivers and lakes is a great way to build community and inspire people to care about their waterways.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has made cleaning up the River Seine a priority and hopes to have open-water swimming events in the waterway for the 2024 Olympics. In July, she opened canal water pools in a section of the Bassin de la Villette canal in northern Paris. These clean swimming zones are sectioned off and filtered to ensure a safe dip.

Photos by Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images.

American cities are pushing for river pools too. For seven years, a nonprofit in New York City has been working on +POOL, a floating swimming pool in the shape of a plus sign that can filter impurities through its walls. They have a bevy of backers and great designs but are currently in a holding pattern with the city, waiting for a site to install it.

An artist's rendering of +POOL, the idea of am NYC nonprofit. Image via +POOL.

One city that's seeing the benefits of returning the river to swimmers is Portland, Oregon.

The city is split in half by the Willamette River, a thoroughfare still used to export grain and dry-dock ships. But despite Portland's eco-friendly persona, the river was long neglected and prone to sewage overflows. With the completion of the Big Pipe, a sewage infrastructure project, the Willamette has been remarkably clean and safe for swimming. Yet it was still hard to persuade residents to dive in.

[rebelmouse-image 19530361 dam="1" original_size="750x562" caption="Photo by Ian Sane/Flickr." expand=1]Photo by Ian Sane/Flickr.

That's where local nonprofit group Human Access Project comes in. The group of volunteers pursues its mission of transforming Portland's relationship with the river by creating public spaces like access points and beaches, supporting education and conservation efforts, and, of course, jumping in for a dip. The HAP hosts the Big Float — a floating party in the river — an annual river swim with Mayor Ted Wheeler, and even has a swim team called the River Huggers. Yeah, seriously.

"For us, swimability is a platform for hope," says HAP Founder and Ringleader Willie Levenson. "Our hope is that if we can reconnect people with the river through their own self-interest, through something that will benefit them — being able to get into the water and swim — they will naturally care more about the outcomes of what's happening in the watershed. They'll naturally be more inclined to fight for this thing that they love and enjoy."

[rebelmouse-image 19530362 dam="1" original_size="750x562" caption="The River Huggers take to the water. Photo via Human Access Project, used with permission." expand=1]The River Huggers take to the water. Photo via Human Access Project, used with permission.

Are swimmable rivers and lakes not on your city's radar? There's still a lot you can do.

While most people don't have the time to found and organize their own nonprofit like Levenson, there are similar groups like the Waterkeepers or your local watershed council that are already doing this work. Donate your time or make a contribution to keep the good going.

You can also start using the body of water to swim, kayak, or relax. It's fun, affordable, and close to home. Check the water quality test results online before jumping in, and bring a friend or swim buddy. Let your local elected officials know you want safe access to your water and support candidates that make it a priority.

You may not use it to commute, like David, or create a float party with thousands of your closest friends, like Willie Levenson, but it's your community and your water, and you deserve a clean, safe place to enjoy it.

Beachgoers enjoy Portland's newest river access point, Poet's Beach. Photo via Human Access Project, used with permission.

From Your Site Articles

Student commutes form L.A. to Cal Berkeley by plane - Upworthy ›

'I'm doing it to prove that at 105 years old, you can still ride a bike.'

Although he loved cycling, Robert Marchand stopped participating in the sport when he was just 22 years old.

His coach told him that, because of his small stature, Marchand would never become a cycling champion, CNN reported. So, Marchand figured, what's the point?

Marchand, who was born in France in 1911, went on to do other exciting things with his life after locking his bike away all those years ago. But his passion for cycling never truly subsided.