If you take it from the front pages, the world can seem like a fairly negative, cynical place. But peak beneath the fold—and beyond the headlines—and you’ll find that this big beautiful planet of ours isn’t just a haven of bad news. In fact, right now, at this very moment, we’re living in one of the most positive moments in history. Here, to prove it, are 40 random, totally happy facts that are certain to raise your spirits to stratospheric heights.
Seahorses tend to be monogamous, and will intertwine their tails to stick together while floating through the ocean. Is it because they’re cute and loving, or is it just an evolutionary aspect of their species? The truth is, seahorses are pretty bad swimmers, and spend a lot of time hiding from predators. Finding a mate for life boosts their chances of successful reproduction.
Cuddling releases oxytocin, which you may know as the happiness-boosting, stress-busting hormone. But recent research indicates that the stuff can do a lot more. One study in Neuroscience & Behavioral Reviews showed that the oxytocin released from a quick snuggle session can significantly cut back on feelings of depression. And another study in PLoS One showed that oxytocin can even have a physical effect on your body, by helping to speed up wound healing.
The best part? You don’t need to have a human to cuddle—a pet (or three!) will do just fine. Cuddling with pets can cause the release of the same hormone for love and happiness, and it even releases the same feel-good hormones in the pets being cuddled. Next, don’t miss these 50 Facts So Crazy You Won’t Believe They’re Actually True.
Chivalry isn’t dead, at least not in the canine world. Male puppies will pretend to be more vulnerable and allow female puppies to win in an effort to keep the game going longer, so they can get closer to the female. And yes, same-sex play has been studied: when female puppies play with only female puppies, or male puppies play with only male puppies, everyone plays to win. It’s only in male-female “fights” that a pup purposefully throws the match.
When you fall in love, the same part of your brain is simulated as when you take mind-altering substances like oxycodone and cocaine. Your serotonin levels increase, raising confidence; your dopamine levels increase, enhancing pleasure; and your norepinephrine levels increase, boosting energy.
But the real change that makes you feel like “love is a drug” happens in the reward circuit: the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The reward circuit controls “risk versus reward” behavior. Basically, when you fall in love—or take mind-altering substances—the receptors in the “reward” part of your brain fire on overdrive.
Night rainbows happen just like regular rainbows do: by the moon shining bright light when there are showers or storms at night. They’re less visible than daytime rainbows, but we imagine that a rainbow in the night sky would catch anyone’s eye, even if it’s a little darker.
So-called “moonbows” can only be seen when the moon is very full (or near full), and no other light source is around. The sky must be relatively clear, with just a mist in the air. They’re rare, but there are a few places—mostly waterfalls, which tend to be misty—that have documented regular occurrences, like Skógafoss, in Iceland, or Victoria Falls (pictured), in Zambia.
Every year, toward the end of the year, the Times Square Visitor Center puts up a “Wishing Wall” where people write their hopes, wishes, and dreams for the New Year on post-its and stick them on the wall. When it’s time for the ball to drop and confetti to fly, these post-its are included in the confetti that showers the city. And if you can’t make it to New York, but still want your wishes to soar, you can submit them online by the December 28th print deadline every year.
Research out of UC Davis has shown that when you look into a loved one’s eyes—specifically, a romantic partner—your heartbeat and breathing will sync up. It’s called interpersonal synchronization, and it also accounts for that whole “We finish each other’s…” “…sentences” thing: your brainwaves and thought patterns start to link up, too.
Male penguins will search for the smoothest, shiniest pebble to court a female penguin. If she accepts, she’ll use it as the first stone that builds the nest in preparation for the eggs that will lay in it. Some male penguins will even steal pebbles from other males if they have trouble finding their own. Talk about commitment!
Even if you’re down in the dumps, putting a smile on—even if you don’t feel like it—can literally trick your brain into thinking there’s something to smile about, which then will improve your mood. There’s even a study done that used Botox injections to literally keep people’s muscles from being able to frown, and they were markedly happier than the control group that did not have the injections! Smiling doesn’t just improve your mood, it also improves your heart rate, immune system, and general wellbeing. So go ahead: fake it ’til you make it, even on the worst days.
Tesla owners can now leave their dog in the car, locked, with the AC running, and a message will display on the large touchscreen saying “my owner will be back soon,” and features the temperature within the vehicle, to let all passerby know that your furry friend is safe (and not judge you…). This is especially important given the 11 states (a number which is certain to only grow) that have now passed Good Samaritan Laws to protect dogs in hot cars.
According to a study in Nature Human Behavior, people who have grown up in warmer climates tend to be friendlier than those who have had to deal with cold, harsh weather since day one. And the more people get outside in the sun at a young age, the happier and nicer they were throughout the rest of their lives. The researchers even concluded the “perfect” living temperature for maximum happiness and friendliness: 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
We’ve all seen that viral video of Kristen Bell devolving into waterworks over how insanely cute sloths are. (And if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and give it a watch.) Sure, sloths indeed look cute—but their behavior takes that cuteness to a new level: sloths literally can’t get enough cuddles.
If a baby sloth is detached from its mother, it’ll squeal until the two are reunited. If a sloth is in captivity, it’ll do the same thing if it doesn’t have something soft to cuddle. (Zoos generally use teddy bears.) And, as Der Spiegel reported, they’ll even go so far to refuse to eat until they get something to cuddle with.
Philippe Morgese became a single father when his daughter Emma was just one, without a clue of how to style her hair as it grew in. He struggled tremendously, and realized after finally mastering the styling that there were definitely plenty of other dads in his position, so he created the “Dads and Daughters” hair workshop at a local beauty school. It became a hit, and since then, he has started his Daddy Daughter Hair Factory Community: completely free nationwide workshops and tutorials for dads just like him.
South Korea clearly believes in romantic equality: Where most of us only celebrate the regular Valentine’s Day on February 14th, where men societally cater to women, South Korea also has White Day a month later. On March 14th: women give chocolates and romantic gifts to men. Then, there’s Black Day on April 14th, where singles rejoice in their singledom, most often celebrated by wearing black and eating a special noodle dish called jajangmyeon.
A group of bunnies is called a fluffle; baby bunnies are called kittens; and, when a rabbit jumps and squirms in the air, that move is called a binky. That means, at kaninhoppning events—a popular competition in Sweden about rabbit jumping—you could find a fluffle of bunnies and kittens working on their binky skills. Have you ever heard a more aww-worthy sentence?
Yes, sundaes did actually get their name from the best day of the week. In the 1890s, a few states passed laws prohibiting the sale or consumption of ice cream sodas on Sundays: it was considered immoral and improper for religious reasons. But ice cream lovers found a loophole: simply serve ice cream with toppings.
The dessert came to be known as the Sunday and, eventually, the sundae.
The Netherlands send flowers to Canada because the royal Dutch family fled to Canada during World War II, and Princes Juliana was pregnant at the time with soon-to-be Princess Margriet.
The thing is, if Margriet wasn’t born on Dutch soil, she couldn’t be considered Dutch royalty, so, the Canadian government literally declared the Ottawa Hospital to extraterritorially be considered Dutch land.
When World War II was over and the family returned to the Netherlands, Princess Juliana was forever grateful for Canada’s hospitality, sending 100,000 tulips to them to thank them—a tradition that is still carried out (though with 20,000 flowers, not 100,000) today.
Sebastião Salgado grew up in Minas Gerais, Brazil—a place full of beautiful rainforests. He left home to become a photographer, only to return to his hometown, in 2000, to discover that only 0.5% of forest remained. Salgado founded Instituto Terra in 1998, planting more than 2 million seedlings of more than 290 species of trees and plants. In 20 years, 1,500 acres of rainforest have been recovered, and 293 species of plants, 15 reptile species, 172 bird species, 15 amphibian species, and 33 mammal species have returned. Don’t let anyone tell you one person can’t change the world.
Cows have dedicated friends that they spend day in and day out with, and they get stressed when they are separated; once reunited with their bestie, their heart rates significantly drop (back to normal levels). These findings could greatly benefit the dairy industry, as it’s also been proven that happier cows really do make more—and more nutritious—milk.
Talk about soul mates! Wayne Allwine started as a mail clerk in Disney Studios and worked his way up to be Mickey’s voice in production in 1977. In 1986, Russi Taylor joined Disney Studios as Minnie’s voice, and at the time, Allwine and Taylor were both (unhappily) married. They met in passing in the halls, and slowly became great friends… and eventually left behind their previous marriages to live happily ever after, with each other.
These birds spend about half of their time out at sea each year, but when they return, they make their homes on cliff sides in burrows, where they build a nest for offspring. They even make a separate little space for bathroom use. The male and female will join and mate for life, and only one egg is born at a time—after which, both mom and dad will take turns incubating the egg for a period of about 40 days. Once born, mom and dad take turns brining it food throughout the day. (Even cuter? A baby puffin is called a puffling.)
Harvard psychologists have suggested that, when dogs dream, they dream about their owners, because their REM cycles and brain patterns are similar ours. (Meanwhile, cats probably dream about hunting prey, based on one sleep study observation where a scientist “turned off” a part of the cat’s brain that restricts movement during REM sleep. When they were dreaming and movement was not restricted, they’d get up, arch their backs, hiss, and pounce).
Pizza is literally better for you than most breakfast cereals, so go ahead and eat that slice leftover from dinner for breakfast. When we eat cereal, we tend to eat at least double the recommended portion size—and that’s if you don’t go for seconds. Standard breakfast cereals contain about 18 grams of sugar and little to no protein, while pizza has minimal sugar, protein (via the cheese), and carbs that sustain you for hours. Of course, you can choose low-sugar cereals topped with fruit and skim (or non-dairy) milk, which will be significantly healthier than pizza, but, hey, one step at a time, right?
He really was the best neighbor. Mr. Rogers began announcing that he was feeding the fish in every show because a father and his blind daughter would always tune into the show, and they wrote to him to explain that she would get very concerned that the fish were not fed on the days that he didn’t announce it.
Fountain of Youth? How about Fountain of Fine Wine! Ortona, Abruzzo, an Italian town just south of Rome, has been a wine-making town since 500 B.C.E. Recently, the town installed a fountain that dispenses red wine any time of day, for the whopping price of…. $0.00. Spain has one too at the Bodegas Irache, located in Navarre at the foot of Mount Montejurra. Sadly, unlike their Italian neighbor, it’s only open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sea otters sleep on their backs floating with the water but will hold hands so they don’t drift apart, according to The Telegraph. They’re not just cute, they’re also resourceful: they will take stringy kelp attached to the sea floor and wrap it around themselves, using it as an anchor to keep them from drifting. Also, they’re incredibly playful: otters like to juggle pebbles, and can even do it with their eyes closed.
If you’re the owner of an outdoor cat, there’s a good chance you’ve come home to find a “treat.” Among cat owners, a “treat” isn’t so much a treat as it is something foul—a small mammal, freshly executed, laying bloody on the doorstep. There are plenty of theories as to why cats love to commit rampant murder, but one prominent one is kinda sweet: Kitty is just trying to feed you.
Despite millennia of domestication, cats are still natural hunters—according to one analysis, they eliminate a human population’s worth of small bird and mammals annually—and find it tough to quell that instinct. But parent cats (generally mothers, which is why this behavior is more common with female house cats) also instinctually bring home food to newborn offspring, to teach them how to eat. So, when your kitty leaves you a “treat,” know that she’s not trying to gross you out. She just wants you to eat your dinner, dear.
The football huddle was started in 1890 at a deaf university where the players needed to be able to sign plays to each other (in American Sign Language) without the other team being able to see what was going on. From then, it caught on across teams because it provided a close-knit space where the players could speak quietly and account for all present, bolstering team spirit.
There’s a plant that grows in the shape of tiny bunnies making peace signs. The Monilaria obconica (also aptly nicknamed the bunny succulent) is a flowering succulent that grows to resemble a little rabbit that looks like it’s making peace signs, as if it’s posing for a MySpace photo. They’re easy to care for and nearly impossible to kill, making them the perfect plant for your home or office.
Scientists call them herds, but it’s cuter to think of them giant cuddle puddles, akin to the buddy system used for safety. Earthworms use touch to communicate and determine where they want to go.
As reported by the BBC, one study has shown that two earthworms placed in a dirt maze apart (one first, then the other) will not take similar paths, proving that earthworms don’t leave behind any kind of chemical trail. But, when the same two earthworms were placed in the dirt maze at the same time, they literally clung together and wiggled their way to the same path.
According to the Audubon Society, owls—specifically, eastern screech owls—will keep thread snakes around as pets. But it’s not exactly like the relationship you or I would have with a cat or dog. Instead, it’s a bit more mutual in nature. Thread snakes—which can’t see, and therefore aren’t entirely aware they’re living in a predator’s den—will eat any insects that wade into an owl’s nest. In turn, owls get bug-free nests, which promotes healthy growth for owl chicks. Setting aside genetically-entrenched strife for mutual benefit? Small wonder owls are associated with wisdom…
Two research universities in Australia have dispatched underwater robots that have been able to deliver baby coral to the Great Barrier Reef, which, in just the last two years, has decreased in size by a whopping 50 percent due to climate change. The Robot’s name is Larvalbot, and it scans the reef, sensing dead sections where it drops microscopic baby coral that has been proven to withstand harsh conditions that climate change has brought about.
Helping other people is part of human nature, and the purity of children proves it. If you drop something in front of a child and pretend you can’t get it, the child will almost always pick it up for you, for instance. But sharing is also a major part of it.
In one experiment, researchers placed children in a room with two food trays. Once the lids were lifted, one was revealed to have a sandwich on it—and the other was totally empty. Every single time the experiment was repeated, the child who ended up with the sandwich decided to share it.
Research has proven that, like humans, the brains of dogs release the “happy” neurotransmitter oxytocin when they encounter loved ones and anyone that they consider to be a friend. Studies have compared this same event between wolves and humans, only to prove that the wolves don’t have the same oxytocin effect—supporting the claim that dogs really are man’s best friend.
Finnish designer Marc Dillion wants the blind to be able to “see” Mona Lisa’s smile, experience Van Gogh’s sunflowers, and enjoy incredible historic art just as much as the sighted, so he turned his mastery of 3D printing to the Unseen Art project, which creates 3D models of the art that can be displayed directly next to the original piece at museums.
The average American IQ gain is about 3 points every 10 years, or about 9 points every generation. Worldwide, average human intelligence has increased 20 points in the last 70 years. (This is called the Flynn Effect, named after the psychologist who first observed the phenomena). Better and easier access to resources and improved living conditions in developing countries have no doubt contributed to widespread education, which has allowed us to become smarter on the whole.
Lobske Marsken, a play specialist in the children’s unit of the St James University Hospital in the United Kingdom, recognized how downright terrifying radiation masks—mummified-looking monstrosities that strap to a radiotherapy bed—are to children. Plus, they make many kids feel claustrophobic and uneasy. So Marsken came up with an idea: paint the masks to look like those of superheroes. As a result, children took to wearing them, when they were able to choose who they wanted to be.
The Kurokis have been married over 30 years, running a dairy farm. Toshiyuki discovered the shibazakura flower, a bright fuchsia flower with a wonderful smell. He wanted to explain and show this beautiful blossom to his wife Yasuko, but she had no sight, so he decided to plant the blossoms across the entire farm.
The wonderful smells drew Yasuko out of her sickness-induced recluse, and literally brightened her world. When they bloom, the entire place is covered in a bright fuchsia blanket of these blossoms, which tourists now flock to see (along with the Kurokis who still walk the grounds of their garden of love).
When you see faces in your dreams, your brain isn’t making them up. They’re faces you’ve already seen before, whether it was a fleeting second at a grocery store or a person you spend every day of your life with. You’ve seen countless faces throughout your life, so it’s no wonder that you often think such dream people are random. But think of it this way: countless people have seen your face as well, and are “randomly” dreaming about you, too!
We know that nutrients and blood are shared from mother to baby, but it’s not a one-way street. If and when a mother experiences organ stress or other inner body injuries, fetal stem cells are sent to the sites for repair. What’s more, fetal stem cells have proven to remain in the mother years after birth, and, as reported by USA Today, the scientific community is starting to think such cells are helpful in the case of stressors later in life such as stroke and heart attacks later in life. And for more happy trivia, don’t miss these 40 Random Facts So Heartwarming You Can’t Help But Smile.