Bright Side: Kiss Your Mama

Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.

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It’s still a million degrees outside, but I’m busting out the Dutch oven this weekend to slow cook a meaty stew. I’m planning to scroll my New York Times cooking app like a Vegas slot machine and go for whatever looks the most cozy and delicious. Last Saturday, I turned my little apartment into a test kitchen while I baked some amazing sugar-free homemade Pop-Tarts (promise they still taste like dessert!), so now I’m feeling that savory vibe. I’ll text you about what time to come over for dinner. 

I also recently covered one of my planter pots in tiny metallic gold squares like a disco ball. For the 10 minutes the setting sun shines straight onto my kitchen counter, my apartment lights up like a retro roller rink for a slow skate. It took me way too long to glue those things on there (like the kind of crafting that makes you wonder why you agreed to do this to yourself), but it was worth it just because it brings me a little joy every day. We can never have too much of that in our lives, right? Here’s a little more. 

Mom’s Favorite School Drop-Off Routine

Freshmen at this high school endure a first day hazing ritual that ruffles their personal boundaries while entertaining the entire school. Before they can get out of the car and blend into the crowd, they have to do one thing: kiss their moms goodbye.

For incoming freshmen at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it’s hard to imagine a more mortifying tradition on first-day dropoff: All the seniors surround their cars and don’t let them out until they do one specific thing – give their mothers a goodbye kiss.… pic.twitter.com/HoDiEukHk2

— CBS Sunday Morning ???? (@CBSSunday) August 16, 2026

It’s been a tradition for decades at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Bishop High School. Seniors swarm the drop-off lane on the first day of school, literally holding car doors closed until the assignment is completed, and erupting in chaotic cheers once mom (or dad!) gets their peck on the cheek. Just about everyone looks forward to this except the incoming students, who all look appropriately mortified. But hey, if this is the most embarrassing thing that happens to you during your freshman year of high school, you’re doing great, kid. 

You Guys Could Be Twins

I remember a specific summer family vacation to Myrtle Beach where a cute boy asked my sister and me which of us was older. “I’m three years older,” I said. His next question was, “Are you guys twins?” Bless his heart, he tried … maybe not hard enough in math class. We all have our gifts. But this festival celebrates actual twins. And just like those old Doublemint Gum ads where identical twins chewed sticks of gum like it was the best part of their day, it’s double the fun.

 

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For over half a century, Twinsburg, Ohio, has been hosting Twin Days where twins, triplets, and even quadruplets can show off their mirror images (or fraternal status, but in matching outfits). It started back in 1976 as part of America’s bicentennial celebration, and everyone loved it so much, it just kept getting bigger. This year’s theme — Totally Two-bular — featured 2,000 sets of twins. One pair, Linda Harold and Lorie Loyacona, had previously attended as fraternal twins. But their whole lives, they had an odd sense that they were identical. So they tested their DNA and finally found out the truth: “It was a 100 percent match,” Linda said. #Twinning. 

This Dummy’s Got Game

Ever wonder where ventriloquist dummies actually come from? If you guessed “nightmares,” think again! These bespoke puppets are made in an incredible workshop in Portland, Maine.

 

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One of a rare breed of ventriloquist puppet craftsmen still on the job in the U.S., Austin Phillips is making dummies cool again — all by hand. Seeing all the moveable parts organized on a table makes the human-looking puppets seem less like they’ll come to life while you’re sleeping. But I legitimately may have fallen in love with this white Pekin duck puppet that gives that Aflac insurance duck a run for its money. New emotional support animal unlocked. Think it’ll get past TSA? 

Do You Use The Most Popular Emoji? [Nerd Face Emoji Here]

It’s official. We’ve all been feeling a similar vibe, and it seems only one emoji could capture the essence of our collective bleh. Or does it mean we’re sobbing? Or laughing so hard we’re uncontrollably crying? Whatever it means to you, the most popular emoji is the cry face.

 

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Versions of the laughing-so-hard-we’re-crying emojis have held the top spot over the last few years. But in 2026, we’ve clearly been reduced to tears. The skull emoji topped teen girl usage for when something’s so funny you’re now deceased. I’ve also used the coffin emoji for this. But someone better take my phone if I ever use the coffin emoji to send my actual condolences. Think another emoji deserves our attention? (Eggplants, keep it to yourself.) 

The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest

Some people think my French Bulldog Lemmy’s googly eyes and smushed nose make him “so ugly he’s cute.” (For the record, he is of course the cutest cutie on earth.) But for 50 years, the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest has celebrated floppy tongues, underbites, and patchy fur, awarding the most perfectly imperfect dog $5,000. This year’s winner was a 6-year-old rescue pug named Jinny Lu whose tongue stole the show.

 

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The contest serves as an entertaining platform for pet adoptions, but it also highlights the unique qualities that make these dogs so special. I’ll never forget the first champ to go viral from the competition — Scooter — a crazy-haired Chinese Crested with a droopy tongue and “reversed hind legs” who looked like a mythological creature from another planet. As Judge Catherine Liange described him, “In the cutest way possible, he kind of reminds me of a hairy hippopotamus.”

Don’t forget to share something fun with us in the comments (or email me here)! If we can’t have random billy goats riding the bus with us, at least we have each other. Have a wonderful weekend! — Lauren