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.
Brötchen the baby Pygmy hippo
If you’re even vaguely familiar with the Bright Side, you know that there’s a chance this may someday turn into an animals-only column. (Anyone remember the iconic Cute Overload blog? It was God’s gift to lovers of chonky smush-faced floofmuffins.) Adding another marshmallow to the list, meet Brötchen, a baby Pygmy hippo named after Germany’s favorite snack. [Squee!]
Meet Brötchen. That’s the name Berlin Zoo has chosen for its rare newborn pygmy hippo, and it means “bread roll” in Germanpic.twitter.com/ljXPVCb5SP
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) June 13, 2026
Born in May at Zoo Berlin, she’s about 45 pounds of love topped with perky little ears and blinky eyes. “Brötchen” comes from the German term for “bread roll,” and that’s exactly how delicious she is. She’ll grow up to be 600 pounds, which is still smaller than the average river hippo, which can weigh 3,000 pounds. Endangered Pygmies are sweet and shy, preferring to stick by a mate and their babies in the wild. Be still my heart. They’re perfect in every way.
If you feel the urge to squeeze Brötchen and every other cuddly creature, this is actually a response to extremely positive emotions. “One study … showed relatively more activity in the reward and emotions areas of the brain when viewing something cute,” social psychologist Lisa A. Williams says. “We like to view cute stimuli, even if we sometimes find it overwhelming.” Maybe this is why I have repeatedly told my French Bulldog that someday I’ll fry up his sqwoonchie ears as dip chips, while I skwoonch his little face.
A time capsule for America’s 500th birthday
It’s not going into the ground until July 4 in Philadelphia, but the America 250 Time Capsule is officially sealed. All 50 states, several U.S. territories, three branches of government, many national sports leagues, and a few iconic brands (think we’ll be able to unlock an iPhone 17 Pro Max in the year 2276?) added keepsakes to the 900-pound steel capsule collection that will be opened by aliens in the future. (Just kidding, but who knows?)
Some of the items couldn’t be more “America let’s go!” Acting cooler than it sounds, the Library of Congress came to play with a synthetic DNA device storing digital copies of Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, and an audio recording of the National Anthem from 1898. Coca-Cola contributed a contour Coke bottle holding sheet music to “I’d Like To Buy America A Coke.”
Not to name names, but a few entries seemed like, “We forgot this was for today. Here’s a flag.” (Alaska!) What would you send 250 years into the future? I feel like we might need a second capsule for McDonald’s rebooted Fried Apple Pie for America’s birthday. You know that thing will still be in pristine condition.
Why is everyone doing the “Asian squat” right now?
Either you’re looking at this going, no way in hell-o-operator am I even trying this maneuver, or you’re thinking easy, I do this all the time. If you’re the second person, chances are you grew up squatting like it’s hot, just to relax. (My hip flexors are clenching just thinking about it.)
BBC journalists try to do the ‘Asian squat’, a resting position frequently used by people in places like China, Japan, and much of Asia.
🎧 Click for more on cultural traditions around the world https://t.co/xhk2tqvQ2X pic.twitter.com/SmxXX6yGyV
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) June 16, 2026
I love random feats of strength from the internet. Tell me to jump to standing from kneeling to prove that my “bio age” is younger than it is, and I’ll do it. (Just check out the grip strength on Ann Crile Esselstyn, who broke the Guinness World Record by hanging from a pull-up bar for nearly three minutes at 90 years old!) The deep squat, or “Asian squat,” is still popular in Asia. It derives from a time before Western toilets, where we all had to rest our thighs on our calves to use a chamber pot, while steadying ourselves with flat feet. Almost every toddler still does this naturally. And as we age, mobility like this can literally save our lives by allowing us to easily get up from the floor.
Founder of Upright Health, Matt Hsu, offers three exercises to develop your deep squat muscles. If you were wondering if the talent is genetic, he confirms, “To do the Asian squat, you don’t need to wear glasses and you don’t need to be good at math.”
World Cup fever is a hot mess and America’s (finally!) here for it
According to search bots, Americans just figured out we’re currently hosting an international soccer tournament. This country’s so massive we didn’t know we invited five billion fans to a party that’s 40 times bigger than the Super Bowl. And that we actually have a U.S. team playing in it! (Face palm.) Guys. I hope we got enough snacks.
Other than the history-making happenings on the field (Argentina’s beloved Lionel Messi is now the oldest — and youngest — player from his country to score a goal in the competition, earning his first World Cup hat trick against Algeria, and already tying the record for most goals scored), the unapologetic ecstasy of global fandom is bringing the sport to life.
Cementing himself as a national treasure, Freddy the German tourist loved Buc-ee’s so much it got him a NASA tour and a concert invite from Ella Langley. We discovered that Japanese fans bag their own empty nachos trays and used drink cups post-game, and U.K. tourists taught American nuns how to chant like fútbol fanatics. We developed a new appreciation for Costco, Florida’s beaches, and baby back ribs. It was the injection of American spirit we needed.
The Scots are assimilating well to American culture. pic.twitter.com/ewRjO0XAgN
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) June 14, 2026
Just try to listen to a bunch of Scottish fans belt a flawless rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” without feeling a sense of pride for the place you belong.
Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there! (Hope you get exactly what you want!) If you’d like to openly confess your soccer-curious status, please consider the safe space of our comments section. You can email me too. As always, it’s been so much fun hanging out with you! — Lauren
