It's hump day, and even on a short week, we need a little positive pick-me-up. Let's start with: it's nice to know the universe isn't always working against us.
There is good out there. if we are willing to allow ourselves to focus on it, it may change our lives.
u/cukatie2983 asked:
What's the happiest fact you know?
Here were some of those answers.
50. Every Villain Is Lemons (E.V.I.L.)
GiphyThe fact that we are still here and have progressed as far as we have is evidence that humanity's capacity for good has so far outpaced humanity's capacity for evil.
49. That Sloth Life
Young sloths are so dopey and incompetent that while climbing, sometimes they will grab hold of their own arm or leg instead of a branch, and fall out of the tree.
48. Oh!....M.
My work colleagues and I love collective nouns and we make them up for things if one doesn't exist. My team of engineers is called an Ohm.
The ohm is defined as an electrical resistance between two points of a conductor.
One member of my Ohm is an actual train conductor in his spare time. This makes me incredibly happy.
47. It's Time To Reverse Climate Change
Scientists estimate about 5 more years until we'll be able to harness power from fusion nuclear reactors that can provide a lot of cheap and clean energy. So that picture on Reddit's popular page about the iceberg melting? We can reverse that damage.
46. A Drop More Energy, Optimism, And Perseverance
One of the happiest facts I learned was in the book The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch, that all problems are solvable, within the laws of physics. That there aren't any physical limitations between one state and another, and the only thing keeping you from solving any problem is knowing how to.
45. My Life
Life is like a "choose your adventure" book. You get to pick if you stay in bed all day or go out and seize the day.
44. AWWWWWWWWW
I asked my wife to marry me. She said yes.
She showed up to the wedding, walked down the aisle, spoke her vows and said "I DO".
Every day I wake up in the morning and she's sleeping next to me. I breathe a little easier. Super happy it wasn't all a dream.
I know that sh*t sounds sappy but it's the fact of my life.
43. YAYAYAYAY
When mammals are happy they do these things behavioural scientists call "joy jumps" which is just like straight leg bounces. They have seen that behaviour in rats a lot and use it to make sure that the tests they are doing are not harmful. Humans do joy jumps as well, more commonly as young children.
42. Honestly The Best Fact
My 9 year old son likes it when I pick him up and spin him around a bunch, hang him upside down by his ankles, flip him over my back, etc before putting him down on the couch.
My 7 year old daughter likes scissors and glue and dinosaurs and birds.
Both children are special needs, and cannot walk or talk. For the first several years, we weren't sure if my son would make it. The fact that they can now communicate what they like (and dislike) is a very happy thing.
41. The Happiest Happy Metal
There's a metal band called Freedom Call, and they're the happiest metal band you've ever heard. In pretty much every instance where they could be singing "heavy metal" in their lyrics, they sing "happy metal."
40. I'm Worthy Of This Love
GiphyThis isn't really a fact but more so a thought. Think about all the times you've fallen in love with a stranger for 5 seconds, that feeling of love for even a brief moment is something that brings you joy. Now, think about how often that happens to you and you'll realize at some point, you've been that stranger to countless people who you don't even know. Makes me smile.
39. Star Stuff
You are composed of the same stuff that stars create. You are 1;1 the same ratio of elements as what is created in most stars, and we're composed of all of that material. It makes me feel really connected to the universe when I think of that.
38. The New Renaissance
That humankind advanced more in the past 130 years than any time before that. In like the equivalent of a second, if a day was human existence. Chances are pretty good this will happen again as we continue developing. Pretty amazing, inspiring.
37. Growing On Me
That people who are given their second choice of something rather than their first end up happier with what they have than those who think they got the perfect thing off the bat. In other words, you can grow to love something, sometimes even more than the thing you thought you originally wanted.
36. Nom Nom Nom
A baby Seahorse will make a high pitch, excited squee after finding its first meal.
35. Life Mates
Albratrosses mate for life. Typically, an Albatross will be alone for long journeys through 7-10 months of the year, mostly living off of fish caught in the open sea and small islands they stop by on their journey. Each year, the Female and Male Albatrosses return to their home island to see each other. They click their beaks together and nuzzle, recognizing each other as a symbol of their love.
34. 143
Mr. Rogers always weighed 143 pounds throughout his adulthood. He equated it with I (1 letter) Love (4 letters) You (3 letters). 143.
33. Happiness At All Costs
Scientists say that if you're having a panic attack or just anxious fake a smile or laugh and your brain will think you're not stressed anymore and the panic will stop.
32. Neo With A Heart
Keanu Reeves donates millions to children's hospitals without telling the world about what a good deed he's doing. He's genuine such a nice guy and I respect his personality as much as his acting career. It's also nice to know he genuinely loves his profession. It's amazing what he's done considering all the tragedy in his life.
31. This Is Why We Don't Deserve Dogs
Dogs can smell your feelings and learn to respond accordingly.
My dog is super supportive of anyone who is crying in her vicinity. She goes over and cuddles them and tries to get her head on their chest and whatnot. Everyone, except me. If I start to cry, she goes and hides under the bed. She's lucky I love her so much, the damn mutt.
30. This Is For U, Hooman
GiphyCats only meow to humans and not other cats, because humans talk they think meowing is a similar way of communicating so humans understand.
29. Bye Bye Bad Games
EA is probably going to lose their rights to Star Wars very soon.
28. The 90s Didn't Kill Us
The hole in the Ozone Layer is healing, and is expected to completely disappear in 2050 <3
27. Bb
My wife is 8.5 months pregnant. I saw my baby's face (not just profile) from the sonogram yesterday. Seeing your child's face (especially for the first time) is an amazingly beautiful moment. But it's also very hard to put into words.
26. Our Alien Friends
Milky way and andromeda galaxies will collide in the future. Just imagine seeing a night sky when those two connect to each other.
25. Universal Donors
O+ blood type helps people with A+, B+. AB+, O+ blood types.
O- blood type helps people with A-/A+,B-/B+, AB-/AB+, O+/O- blood types.
SPREAD THE WORD!!!
24. Tourist Dream
There is a post office at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, because every citizen is entitled to receive mail via the USPS.
They get junk mail and Amazon packages, just like everyone else, and it's frequently taken down by mule, since vehicles can't go down there (easily). Sometimes it's flown in via helicopter.
If you go there, you can send yourself a post card from the post office down there and it will be stamped "sent from the bottom of the Grand Canyon" or something similar (I forget the actual stamp).
23. Keep Smiling
"Otters hold hands to keep from drifting apart,"
"Elephants react to us like we react to puppies,"
And "Swans can be gay,"
Are the three biggest responses in this thread. If you're just checking in, prepare for that.
But! Someone, somewhere, even if it's a stranger whose eye you happened to catch, is hoping you're happy right now. Even if it's just me, not knowing you or your life, I hope you're smiling. :)
22. Big Libra Energy
That the good always comes with the bad and vice versa. Learn to enjoy the negative times for they are what make you appreciate the good times.
21. Oh Mister Grape
Grape the Humboldt Penguin who lived in the Tobu zoo in Japan fell in love with a cardboard cutout of an anthropomorphic Humboldt Penguin that was installed in his habitat as a cross promotional event for an educational children's wildlife show. https://imgur.com/a/UcazouO
Grape would offer Hululu (the name of the character of the cutout) rocks and fish, and would spend all his time near her. When the promotion ended and all the cutouts from the show were to be removed from the zoo Grape was allowed to keep Hululu in his habitat.
Late in 2017 Grape's health began to deteriorate due to his advanced age. Grape kun was sent to a local animal hospital when it became clear there was nothing more the zoo could do for him, the zoo sent Hululu with him. Grape the Humboldt Penguin would peacefully pass away in his sleep of old age next to his fictional penguin wife.
There exists fanart of Grape-kun and Hululu. https://imgur.com/a/u4rURqP
20. Are We The Next Dinosaurs?
GiphyThat regardless of how badly we might fuck the Earth up with our selfish, short-sighted bullsh*t, life will go on. We're barely a speck on the planetary time scale, and that really needs to be more widely acknowledged and embraced.
Sometimes I wonder if the best legacy that we can hope for is to be the next fuel source that the new civilizations will fight over once they start digging underground.
If we wipe ourselves out, I sincerely hope that whatever species rises to dominance examines our moldering foundations and says: "Damn! Those guys really fucked things up! Let's not do that, okay?!"
19. Whoop!
Honeybees make a "whoop" noise when they bonk into each other. If that isn't the cutest sh*t you ever heard, I don't know what is!
My girlfriend and I love bees. I bought her a bumblebee stuffed animal when we first started dating a few years ago and we went bee crazy ever since. So much so that when we bump into each other, we both go "whoop" and laugh.
18. The Exponential Rise
Since the first animation was created to now has been a span of 200 years. However, it took us 20 years to go from 2-D hand drawn games to the Virtual reality games we have today, and spatial (3-d area movement) games were created in only about 10 years of that time. Makes me happy because you can just imagine how games in 20 years will be way better than what we even have.
17. Communication
Deaf babies will sign gibberish to their deaf parents at about the same time that a normal baby starts doing baby talk. It's really well documented that they are developing communication skills, just in a totally different way. It's adorable.
16. Dilation
That the pupils in the eyes get bigger when we gaze at someone we love.
I had to test this out for myself, so I went over to my dog Levi, and stared into his eyes in bright daylight and sure enough they widened, as I'm sure mine did too. :)
15. The Creys
When The Office employees sing 9,986,000 minutes to Michael Scott for his goodbye, that was an actual surprise for Steve Carell. His reaction was genuine.
14. People Having A Better Life
Every year for the last 20 years, more and more people around the world are being lifted from abject poverty.
And each it seems to compound.
This is why I donate to Wikipedia.
13. MOAR ENERGY
All of the solar energy the entire Earth receives comes from a spot on the sun the size of a postage stamp. Happy? Yes! Maybe eventually we'll be able to harness moar!!!
12. The Best Ewok Roles
It may be fiction, but it's still great. In Star Wars episode VI, after everything was finished and the Death Star went boom; a lot of the rebels were given an emotional support Ewok.
11. A Good Señor Woofer
My dog always pick up on my mood and will sit with his back in front of me to protect me. He doesn't even know from what. He also protects me when he is scared himself. Like new years eve. He shows me if he is annoyed or in pain. I pick up on his mood in seconds. He sleeps in front of the bedroom entrance or door to the balcony. This is also for protection. He is a mental guard dog and I love him so much.
10. We Aren't Killing Everything
Some of the animals removed from the endangered species list in the last few years due to population increases
- American Alligator
- Southern White Rhino
- Siberian Tiger
- Panda
- American Grizzly Bear
- Gray Whale
- Stellar Sea Lion
- Gray Wolf
and there's more. :)
9. Natural Eradication
The New Guinea worm, which burrows into the skin and needs to be slowly pulled out by twisting it around a small stick, is on track to be the second human disease in history to be eradicated thanks in part to the Carter Center. Cases went from 3.5 million per year in 1986 to 28 cases in 2018. This will be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first to be eradicated without medication (as there's no cure) but pure education and water filtration.
8. Little Bunny FooFoo
In rabbit culture, it is considered extremely rude to pass directly in front of a relaxing rabbit without booping it on the nose. Rabbits passing each other will touch their noses together, it's how they say hello.
Rabbit social behaviors are a fascinating part of what makes them such good pets.
7. The Final Frontier
GiphyI guess it is not inherently happy but it makes me happy thinking about it: both voyager 1 and 2 now as of 2018 are flying in interstellar space. No matter what happens to humanity now, no matter if we all perish tomorrow in a nuclear holocaust, there is still those two pieces of us floating through the stars just waiting to be discovered.
Who knows, maybe someday billions of years in the future, long since humanity has reached its end, some space faring race will come across a silly little robot looking thing the size of a school bus carrying with it a shiny little golden disk with drawings etched on the exterior of the disc showing how to play it.
Playing it, the aliens will be greeted with Bach, Beethoven, Chuck Berry, and different music from around the world. Also, they will have a small assortment of pictures showing our long dead little world. They will have soundbytes of different human greetings, and samples of our mathematics. It isn't really a lot, but it is still a small snippet of humanity floating through the vast emptiness of space just waiting for someone to find it and learn just the smallest bit of our story. We made our mark, and as small of a mark as it is, it still could very well outlast us by eons.
6. Taking Life Into Our Own Hands
A man named Jarrett Adams spent 10 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He spent that decade researching his case and studying the law in the prison library and was able to have his conviction successfully overturned in 2007. He then went to college to earn a Bachelor's degree and attend law school, which he graduated from in 2015.
He went on to take a case for a man wrongfully convicted 1990 and was able to get his sentence overturned as well based off wrongfully identified DNA from a hair sample the FBI gathered at the scene of the crime.
Adams now continues to find cases similar to his and uses everything in his ability to prove wrongfully convicted individuals innocent.
5. Cats Have A Staff
GiphyCats also domesticated themselves! They saw rodents were mostly around humans because of food storage like grains. So cats basically moved in to get to the rodents.
4. The youngest
When you were born, you were, for a moment, the youngest person on earth.
[deleted]
2. You Are My One And Only Albatross
GiphyAlbratrosses mate for life. Typically, an Albatross will be alone for long journeys through 7-10 months of the year, mostly living off of fish caught in the open sea and small islands they stop by on their journey. Each year, the Female and Male Albatrosses return to their home island to see each other. They click their beaks together and nuzzle, recognizing each other as a symbol of their love.
1. Birds Are People Too
GiphyGreen-rumped parrotlets actually give unique names to their children that they keep for their entire lives. In cases where the chicks were replaced and given to another set of parents, names given to those chicks were more reminiscent of their adopted parents than their birth parents. This indicates that different families have unique ways of giving names with slightly different sounds. All this meaning that the naming process is a learned behavior rather than being something biologically instilled, thus the parents are literally naming their children.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.
