The Week in Uppers

Unnerved by nuclear anxiety? Check out these heartwarming headlines

Published April 3, 2011 4:04PM (EDT)

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the female giant panda "Xiannu" strolls in the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Chengdu, southwest of Beijing, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Two 5-year-old pandas are due to arrive at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Monday. They'll be the zoo's first since the 2008 death of its beloved giant panda Ling Ling. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Jiang Hongjing) NO SALES  (AP)
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the female giant panda "Xiannu" strolls in the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Chengdu, southwest of Beijing, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Two 5-year-old pandas are due to arrive at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Monday. They'll be the zoo's first since the 2008 death of its beloved giant panda Ling Ling. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Jiang Hongjing) NO SALES (AP)

The news these days is wrought with headlines guaranteed to bring you down. But the world isn't all doom-and-gloom. The following stories may not have been the most prominently featured in the media this past week, but they're guaranteed to make you smile.

  • An estimated 300 people displaced from their homes were on hand at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Friday for the debut of two new panda bears. (Reuters)

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  • A University of Maine professor and student have teamed up to create a more eco-friendly golf ball out of recycled lobster shells. (AOL News)
  • James Gronseth may be 84, but he still thinks he can give back -- which is why he's joined the Peace Corps, and is headed to Botswana to help HIV patients. (Huffington Post)
  • When a Florida women fell into a sink hole in her backyard last Monday, sharp thinking may have saved her life. After several failed calls, she tossed her cell phone above ground with 911 dialed, prompting a quick response. (AOL News)
  • Since Blair Griffith was crowned Miss Colorado in October, she's faced one hardship after another, and even wound up homeless. Now a Chicago designer has decided to personally create pageant gowns for Griffith, pro bono. (Huffington Post)
  • A Florida photographer is snapping shots of abandoned dogs to help find the animals new homes. (NBC News

  • Thousands of people in more than 130 cities across the globe took part in International Pillow Fight Day yesterday. (AP)
  • One charitable parishioner dropped a winning scratch-off lottery ticket worth $30,000 into the donation plate at a Baltimore church last week. (AOL News
  • Cee Lo Green has modified his famously dirty hit song as part of a Proctor & Gamble charity effort to donate batteries to volunteer fire departments. The new track is titled "Thank You." (AOL News)

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By Peter Finocchiaro

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