International Happiness Day: 5 one-in-a-million moments that will raise a smile
A celebration of persistence
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Today is International Happiness Day, or if you're reading this at a later date, one of the 364 General Underwhelment Days we get the rest of the year, hooray!
In honour of this most prestigious of PR-approved days, we have decided to bring you not cute dogs, not beautiful landscapes but that most smile-inducing of things – one in a million shots.
1. Cyclist gets soft landing during road accident from mattress thrown by truck that hit him (incident at 0:20)
The stars really had to align for this one to take place. Not only did the object fall at just the right angle at precisely the right time, but it was a flipping mattress.
Admittedly though, 'Cyclist gets soft landing during road accident from box of watermelons thrown by truck that hit him' would have been an even better story.
2. The golf shot assist
Pedants might suggest this isn't a 'one in a million' so much as a 'one in hundreds of thousands' but whatever, the average human would have long since burnt through all their money at Top Golf before successfully completing this trick shot.
He strikes the ball in mid-air. Mid-air.
3. Wheel of Fortune contestant guesses 'NEW BABY BUGGY' from just the letters 'NE'
Seriously, how did he arrive at this phrase? Could they have chosen a more random, less commonly-used phrase?
Host Pat Sajak described it as the "most amazing solve in my 30+ years on the show".
4. Two shot trap catch
Clay pigeon shooting requires a steady hand and the eyes of a hawk.
But nail both discs before catching one of their broken halves and you may as well retire from the sport on a high.
5. Trampoline basketball trick shot (w/ flips)
The arrival of YouTube kickstarted an unofficial competition for anyone with too much time on their hands to concoct the most difficult basketball trick shot imaginable.
This one surely took thousands of attempts, and particular dedication given that it looks bloody freezing there.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments