The Bright Side: The Viral Wildlife Awards Stealing America’s Heart

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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

Soft-launching sentimental summer 

Autumn’s got a reputation for being the most nostalgic of the seasons. But sweater weather, crunchy leaves, and hot cocoa can’t hold a pumpkin spice candle to the playful sentimentality of summer.

I was teleported to my childhood in Pennsylvania the other day after seeing a lightning bug for the first time in 15 years. (I recently moved from Los Angeles to Nashville. Even though fireflies reportedly exist west of the Rocky Mountains, they’re not as into the bioluminescent thing, so who knows where they are in the dark.) The memory was so vivid, I could almost hear the soft hiss of lawn sprinklers and my Huffy bike chain jangling with every jumped curb. As kids, we also loved decorating smooth rocks from the creek behind my grandparents’ house and “selling” them to neighbors. If only we could have painted them like Junior Mints and McDonald’s hash browns, à la Elizabeth Saloka’s odd-sized-brick art, we could have made a fortune.

 

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A post shared by Elizabeth Saloka (@bettyrubblenyc)

Feeling seasonally snacky? This summer’s viral “dot cake” trend brings “candy caviar” energy with its throwback topping of analog nonpareils. But for lovers of frozen cherries and grapes in warmer weather, sweet and salty frozen grapes feature a sweet lemon dressing pepped up by chili flakes and salt. Shake everything together in a zip-top bag, freeze, and bank a brand-new summer memory.

Okay, but is this really the best decade of music?

The 52nd American Music Awards happened in Las Vegas on Monday. But before the Artist of the Year trophy went to BTS and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” won best album, a few industry icons revealed their opinions on “the best decade of music.” Wu-Tang may be “Forever,” but playlists featuring Britney, *NSYNC, Nirvana, and Snoop Dogg make the ’90s the top choice every day of the week. Sorry not sorry, we’re never letting go of our obsession with this decade.

The ’80s and early 2000s followed close behind. As early ’90s choreography queen Paula Abdul declared, “The ’80s was great for music, but not fashion and not hairdos.” She obviously has no idea what she’s talking about. Pass the hairspray — these frosted wings aren’t gonna feather themselves over the shoulder pads of my color-block windbreaker. 

Human life in 60 seconds

Just before the neighborhood affair-slash-crime of passion was solved on “20/20,” my delulu Hulu court proceedings were interrupted by an Etsy commercial creatively ticking off mile markers of the average human life. I was gently smacked into reality by the emotional swell of handmade crafts. 

According to the ad, we get 76 summers. And most of us probably barely remember the first 20. Pour me a frosé and slather me in Hawaiian Tropic; it’s time to start appreciating the moment!

But there were other calculations to math. How many of us will work the average 12 jobs in a lifetime or experience 10 “fresh starts”? Can you already count more than six best friends, four “best dog friends,” and 15 “great loves” across your closest relationships? There’s something bittersweet about “three broken hearts” and “1,205 firsts.” As each of us gently marches toward our estimated 2.5 billionth heartbeat, fingers crossed, we all land above average on the things that matter most.

America’s soft spot for cheese

Doing the Lord’s work, vital research sponsored by Undeniably Dairy has revealed that 52% of America is “cheese-obsessed.” (FYI, it’s 100% if we’re just surveying my apartment.) And out of all the stinky, melty, crumbly options out there, our national favorite cheese is cheddar, followed by mozzarella and Parmesan.

Clearly training for National Cheese Day on June 4, Wyoming, Illinois, and Alaska make up the top three cheese-eating states (even though the top cheese-producing states are Wisconsin, California, and Idaho). And the cheesiest demo is Gen Z. Of course, everyone’s invited to the cheese party, no matter your age or emotional support dairy of choice. But someone please tell me where to sign up for Cheese Survey ’27 because I’m gunning for Gruyère.

The comic genius of wildlife

I should confess that I’m a lifetime “America’s Funniest Home Videos” fan. Original host Bob Saget seemed like he could be everyone’s dad, and the corny jokes felt wholesome and perfect for Sunday night TV. Almost four decades into the series, I’d trade all of TikTok for the old VHS footage of the little boy who was scared of a life-size Eeyore. Bless his heart, that kid’s probably a grandpa by now.

Having recently spent five uninterrupted minutes filming a squirrel hauling a slice of pizza up an electrical pole (follow me for more inspirational cinematography), I was delighted to discover that there’s an actual award for funny wildlife videos. (Real ones, not Temu pizza rats.)

In the comic animal kingdom, it’s just another day in the wild as a grey heron surfs a hippo, a penguin ditches his friends when the water’s too cold, and two lions bro out like synchronized swimmers on land. All captured by lucky onlookers.

 

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If you’re wondering why we think it’s hilarious to watch a kangaroo scratch its chest like it’s playing air guitar, founder Tom Sullam says, “This ability that we have to recognize either ourselves in the images, or our friends or loved ones, is why these pictures are so intriguing.” Founded over a decade ago as part of a conservation effort, the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards are open for submissions through June. But the chipmunk shoving peanuts into its mouth already won my heart.

So glad you’re here! I always love reading your comments (you can email me too). I hope lighter news like this brings some sunshine to your day! — Lauren