You’re not gonna believe this, but October 6, 2023, is World Smile Day!
A commercial artist named Harvey Ball created what we think of as the classic smiley face—yellow circle, black dot eyes and upturned smile— in 1963. Over the years, he grew concerned the smiley face was becoming over-commercialized, and he thought we should all devote one day each year to smiles and acts of kindness throughout the world. As the World Smile Day website states, “The smiley face knows no politics, no geography and no religion. Harvey’s idea was that for at least one day each year, neither should we.”
Since 1999, World Smile Day has been celebrated on the first Friday of October. The instructions for celebrating it are simple: “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile”!
We’ve got 10 smile-worthy finds for World Smile Day for ya! Enjoy!
1. Watch heavy metal singer Dan Vasc slay ‘Amazing Grace’ in the best way
So, so beautiful and powerful. Learn more about Dan Vasc’s performance here.
2. 104-year-old Dorothy Hoffner broke the world record for tandem skydiving
Dorothy is our hero. Read more about Dorothy’s skydiving experiences here.
3. People share words they’ve egregiously mispronounced and it just gets funnier and funnier
@susanmorrisontiktok2 Best trend ever! #LaughWithMe #BestTrend #Trending #Funny #FunnyVideos #MispronouncedWords #FunnyTikTok
“A VAH ca doo” got me rolling. Then “sha ma meh leh” did me in.
4. Is there anything sweeter than this Valentine’s Day card from a sweet grandpa?
That one’s a keeper.
5. 11-year-old kid got the giggles over his National Spelling Bee word and cracked everyone up
His laugh was infectious. Read all about Kennyi’s spelling hilarity here.
6. Stories of the culinary kindness of immigrant neighbors are so heartwarming
Swipe through. Just gets better and better.
7. 10,000 people spontaneously burst into song with Freddie Mercury impersonator
Marc Martel captures Freddie Mercury’s voice almost flawlessly. So beautiful. Read the full story here.
8. Entire neighborhood goes all out to create a Halloween Barbieland
@paseo_forever When the whole neighborhood likes halloween (and barbie) a lot #barbie #barbiehalloween #barbiemovie #mattel #fyp #halloween2023 #pink #foryoupage #surprise
Wow. And there’s even more. Read the whole story here.
9. This is the best pet protector story ever. Charlie was a real one.
Good boy, Charle.
10. Speaking of doggos, let’s leap through the weekend like these water-loving pups
Dog pool party.. ud83dude05— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
1696188075
At first, I thought they were trying to rescue one of them. Nope, they’re just having a ball.
How’s that for some World Smile Day celebration?
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