See the funniest pets in the world.
Winners of the Comedy Pet Photo Awards.
Seven years ago, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards started highlighting some of the funniest photos of the animal kingdom, and after its runaway success, its founders created the Comedy Pet Photo Awards. The goal of the annual competition is to "promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives.”
The competition's organizers, with the help of Animal Friends Pet Insurance, backed up that pledge this year by donating £10,000 ($11,270) each to three separate charities to help improve the lives of pets and promote their work.
This year's winner is Kenichi Morinaga of Japan with his brilliant photo of two cats sitting on a fence, cheek to cheek—or neck and neck. The photo, entitled "Boom Boom," beat out more than 2,000 entries to win the top prize, £2,000 ($2,250) cash and a £5,000 ($5635) donation from Animal Friends Pet Insurance to go toward the animal welfare or conservation charity of the winner's choice.
Morinaga fell in love with photographing street cats while on a backpacking trip to Europe.
“Suddenly, I became fascinated by the antics of cats out in the streets and had to photograph them,” he said in a statement. “When I returned to Japan, I continued to seek them out, they really cheer me up, especially after the last two years of the pandemic—they are so funny, even when they are doing something serious. This amazing competition reminded me that such gestures from all animals are recognized as being hilarious, cute and heart-warming not only in Japan but all over the world."
Here are 15 of the best photos from the 2022 Comedy Pet Photo Awards.
© Kenichi Morinaga/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Cats are bumped on the wall suddenly. It was like a cartoon. Such a funny moment." — Kenichi MorinagaDog Category: Jose Bayon "Nilo's Love for Water" (dog, Spain) © Jose Bayon/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Nilo is an adopted puppy about 10 months old. He was hit by a car and was barely saved. Now recovered, he has just discovered water for the first time. His capers and pirouettes show his passion for water. Love at first sight." — Jose BayonAll Other Creatures: Stefan Brusius "Smokin' Alpaca" (alpaca, Germany)© Stefan Brusius/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "He looks like he is smoking a cigar." — Stefan BrusiusThe Mighty Horse: Radim Filipek "Happy Borses" (mare and foal, Czech Republic)© Radim Filipek/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Happy mother and her 3 day old son Monty." — Radim FilipekPeople's Choice Award: Marko Jovanovic "Dashing Through the Snow" (dog, U.S.A.)© Marko Jovanovic/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Carter was on a Euth list in California. We flew from Chicago to Cali to rescue him. This was his first time experiencing snow. As you can see he could believe was missing out all these years!" — Marko Jovanovic Junior Category: Freya Sharpe "Jack the Cat Stuck in the Hedge" (cat, U.K.)© Freya Sharpe/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "We had gone out for the day and came home to find our kitten Jack had got stuck in the hedge!" — Freya SharpePets Who Look Like Their Owners: Judy Nussenblatt "Dave and Dudley" (dog, U.S.A.)© Judy Nussenblatt/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "This is my friend, David and his dog Dudley. During the early days of Covid, David and I took advantage of a beautiful day and we were out shooting pictures. Dudley was so excited when we got back that he threw his front paws around David's shoulders and I snapped this picture. They both look like they could use a good haircut, but it was Covid....so who cares." — Judy NussenblattComedy Pet Team Favorite: Mehmet Aslan "Chauffeur Dog" (dog, Turkey)© Mehmet Aslan/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "This is what I saw when I stopped at the traffic lights. At first I thought the dog was really driving!" — Mehmet Aslan Highly Commended: Beth Noble "OMG What Is That?" (cat, U.K.)© Beth Noble/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "CK shows his surprised face." — Beth NobleHighly Commended: Christopher Johnson "Revenge of the Tennis Ball" (dog, U.K.)© Christopher Johnson/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "This is Star playing in the snow in a local field and getting surprised by a passing tennis ball." — Christopher JohnsonHighly Commended: Jonathan Casey "Grandmistress Candy" (cat, U.K.)© Jonathan Casey/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "My tabby cat Candy is ranked East Anglia #1. — Jonathan CaseyHighly Commended: Karl Goldhamer "Werewolf 2.0" (dog, Germany)© Karl Goldhamer/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Even a werewolf needs to relax sometimes." — Karl Goldhamer Highly Commended: Kazutoshi Ono "Too Desperate" (cat, Japan)© Kazutoshi Ono/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "She is my lovely kitty that is rescued from my local cat care facility. This is just a door that continued to a corridor. Sometimes she jumps up and holds a door when she is too desperate to go out." — Kazutoshi Ono Highly Commended: Kenichi Morinaga "Now, How Do I Upload My Pics?" (cat, Japan)© Kenichi Morinaga/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "I gotta smartphone so I want to upload my pics for my SNS. But I don't know how to use it. Please someone tell me how to use it." — Kenichi Morinaga Highly Commended: Lucy Sellors-Duval "Mine, Not Yours" (dogs, U.K.)© Lucy Sellors-Duval/Animal Friends Comedy Pets "Benji was determined to be the one to get all the yummy treats during his photo shoot even if it meant stopping his older brother Doug." — Lucy Sellors-Duval
© Kenichi Morinaga/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Cats are bumped on the wall suddenly. It was like a cartoon. Such a funny moment." — Kenichi Morinaga
© Jose Bayon/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Nilo is an adopted puppy about 10 months old. He was hit by a car and was barely saved. Now recovered, he has just discovered water for the first time. His capers and pirouettes show his passion for water. Love at first sight." — Jose Bayon
© Stefan Brusius/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"He looks like he is smoking a cigar." — Stefan Brusius
© Radim Filipek/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Happy mother and her 3 day old son Monty." — Radim Filipek
© Marko Jovanovic/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Carter was on a Euth list in California. We flew from Chicago to Cali to rescue him. This was his first time experiencing snow. As you can see he could believe was missing out all these years!" — Marko Jovanovic
© Freya Sharpe/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"We had gone out for the day and came home to find our kitten Jack had got stuck in the hedge!" — Freya Sharpe
© Judy Nussenblatt/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"This is my friend, David and his dog Dudley. During the early days of Covid, David and I took advantage of a beautiful day and we were out shooting pictures. Dudley was so excited when we got back that he threw his front paws around David's shoulders and I snapped this picture. They both look like they could use a good haircut, but it was Covid....so who cares." — Judy Nussenblatt
© Mehmet Aslan/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"This is what I saw when I stopped at the traffic lights. At first I thought the dog was really driving!" — Mehmet Aslan
© Beth Noble/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"CK shows his surprised face." — Beth Noble
© Christopher Johnson/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"This is Star playing in the snow in a local field and getting surprised by a passing tennis ball." — Christopher Johnson
© Jonathan Casey/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"My tabby cat Candy is ranked East Anglia #1. — Jonathan Casey
© Karl Goldhamer/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Even a werewolf needs to relax sometimes." — Karl Goldhamer
© Kazutoshi Ono/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"She is my lovely kitty that is rescued from my local cat care facility. This is just a door that continued to a corridor. Sometimes she jumps up and holds a door when she is too desperate to go out." — Kazutoshi Ono
© Kenichi Morinaga/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"I gotta smartphone so I want to upload my pics for my SNS. But I don't know how to use it. Please someone tell me how to use it." — Kenichi Morinaga
© Lucy Sellors-Duval/Animal Friends Comedy Pets
"Benji was determined to be the one to get all the yummy treats during his photo shoot even if it meant stopping his older brother Doug." — Lucy Sellors-Duval
Romance doesn't always come easily, does it?
As the saying goes, "You have to kiss a few frogs..."
Dating has certainly evolved over the years—we’ve gone from courtship being purely a financial arrangement (not that this trend has ever truly died) to knights jousting for a lady’s favor, to casual hookups … and now, romance is primarily found through an app more than anything else.
Technology used for meeting that special someone has become so advanced that you can base your search entirely upon specific interests. Like … oddly specific interests. Think a fellow cat person would be the purrfect match? There’s an app for that. Wish to “love long and prosper” with a fellow Trekkie? There’s an app for that too.
No matter the changes, one thing remains the same—dating is awkward. It’s got all the unspoken formalities of a job interview, disguised as innocent fun. The balance between playing it too cool and too eager is hard to find even for the smoothest among us, and usually results in total embarrassment. Even if we aren’t the ones committing those embarrassing acts ourselves, we are often the reluctant witness to them.
Terrible dates might not always be fun in the moment, but they can be just as important as the good ones. They can teach us a lot about ourselves and what qualities we want in a partner. And at the very least, they can teach us to embrace social clumsiness with a sense of humor.
Jimmy Fallon recently asked his “Tonight Show” audience on Twitter to share a “funny or embarrassing first date story” for his ever popular #Hashtags segment. The best part—some of these awful first dates ended in marriage. There’s hope for us all.
Below, find 15 stories that are truly the the best of the worst. How do some of your first dates compare?
1. "After a nice dinner, she invited me to her house. On the way up, inside the elevator, I decided to push the button to stop between floors and give her a kiss... She had a phobia of closed spaces and she smacked my face as a reflex, two punches after we were kissing and laughing.” – @PanqueAlgarvio 2. “His jeans were so tight he couldn’t sit down. Stood at a bar stool the whole time.” – @onlyintheozarks 3. “Waiting 4 my date when an older couple asked me for a ride. my date came up and said sure! We drove them home & they asked us to come in. Date said “sure”. I pulled him back & asked why he wanted to hang w/strangers. He said ‘sh@t! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!?’ We bolted!” – @natashaham75 Talk about a fashion faux pas.Giphy 4. “Before the date, we had been chatting about books we liked and I talked about a great book I just read. We went on the date. I loaned her the book. She ghosted me.” – @thenextbarstool 5. “The worst first date I ever had was when my date locked his keys in the car and I had a curfew so he had to break his car window out to get me home on time. Didn’t think I’d ever see him again but we wound up married.” – @csleblan 6. “First date movie ‘Basic Instinct’ not realizing how suggestive it was. We just thought it was a mystery thriller! We left the movie discussing how each character could have actually murdered someone. We're married now.” – @Southrnbell_Amy There are worse first date movies tbh.Giphy 7. “First date with my ex husband was a double date with his parents. The preview for ‘Speed Racer’ came on, and she leaned over me to say to her son, ‘You know what your dad's nickname in the bedroom is?’" – @theostoria 8. “A friend asked me on a double date as a blind date with his date's friend. I went to the bathroom and came back just in time to hear my date say to her friend, ‘why do I get the ugly one?’ I said good night to all three and headed home, leaving her w/the bill.” – @StevenTrustum 9. “He loved cheese. I was subjected to a 2 hour conversation/lecture about cheese, and why cottage cheese is not cheese!” – @Optimist_Eeyore I'd like to see this two-hour cheese lecture.Giphy 10. “He took me to an Asian fish market. We walked around looking at live & dead fish for a while. I don’t like seeing dead animals & I don’t eat seafood. Then we sat on a curb & he pulled out a ziplock bag of pineapple for us to share. I don’t like pineapple.” – @markayhali 11. “My cousin set up a first date for me with a family friend. During a break from dinner, Mr. Man follows me into the ladies’ room, comes up close and says in a low voice, ‘I shave my butt.’ Can’t remember what I said in response but the evening ended abruptly.” – @carli_zarzana 12. “I once took out my high school crush to a sports bar and ordered the spiciest wings there in an attempt to impress her. Not only was she not impressed. The next morning I woke up with heartburn.” –@Dmonster38 Talk about a hot date. GIF 13. “My date showed up with his bestie and girlfriend, and they talked through dinner about people I don’t know. Walking to the car, he gave me a wedgie because he thought he hadn’t been paying enough attention to me.” – @surrealDazey 14. “I was taking my date home and was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the cop came to my car, she jumped out and told him she had to get home. She walked home and I never heard from her again. I'm not sure who's #WorstFirstDate it was mine or hers!” – @eastriverbear 15. “After an evening of dancing with a first date, leaving the dance hall, I had to take a quick pee break. Rushing out to the parking lot, I see a lady, I grab her and swoop her around, and plant a big wet kiss on the lips. She was another guy's wife. Oops!” – @seadogskamore Only Gomez could have gotten away with it. Giphy
1. "After a nice dinner, she invited me to her house. On the way up, inside the elevator, I decided to push the button to stop between floors and give her a kiss... She had a phobia of closed spaces and she smacked my face as a reflex, two punches after we were kissing and laughing.” – @PanqueAlgarvio
2. “His jeans were so tight he couldn’t sit down. Stood at a bar stool the whole time.” – @onlyintheozarks
3. “Waiting 4 my date when an older couple asked me for a ride. my date came up and said sure! We drove them home & they asked us to come in. Date said “sure”. I pulled him back & asked why he wanted to hang w/strangers. He said ‘sh@t! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!?’ We bolted!” – @natashaham75
Talk about a fashion faux pas.
4. “Before the date, we had been chatting about books we liked and I talked about a great book I just read. We went on the date. I loaned her the book. She ghosted me.” – @thenextbarstool
5. “The worst first date I ever had was when my date locked his keys in the car and I had a curfew so he had to break his car window out to get me home on time. Didn’t think I’d ever see him again but we wound up married.” – @csleblan
6. “First date movie ‘Basic Instinct’ not realizing how suggestive it was. We just thought it was a mystery thriller! We left the movie discussing how each character could have actually murdered someone. We're married now.” – @Southrnbell_Amy
There are worse first date movies tbh.
7. “First date with my ex husband was a double date with his parents. The preview for ‘Speed Racer’ came on, and she leaned over me to say to her son, ‘You know what your dad's nickname in the bedroom is?’" – @theostoria
8. “A friend asked me on a double date as a blind date with his date's friend. I went to the bathroom and came back just in time to hear my date say to her friend, ‘why do I get the ugly one?’ I said good night to all three and headed home, leaving her w/the bill.” – @StevenTrustum
9. “He loved cheese. I was subjected to a 2 hour conversation/lecture about cheese, and why cottage cheese is not cheese!” – @Optimist_Eeyore
I'd like to see this two-hour cheese lecture.
10. “He took me to an Asian fish market. We walked around looking at live & dead fish for a while. I don’t like seeing dead animals & I don’t eat seafood. Then we sat on a curb & he pulled out a ziplock bag of pineapple for us to share. I don’t like pineapple.” – @markayhali
11. “My cousin set up a first date for me with a family friend. During a break from dinner, Mr. Man follows me into the ladies’ room, comes up close and says in a low voice, ‘I shave my butt.’ Can’t remember what I said in response but the evening ended abruptly.” – @carli_zarzana
12. “I once took out my high school crush to a sports bar and ordered the spiciest wings there in an attempt to impress her. Not only was she not impressed. The next morning I woke up with heartburn.” –@Dmonster38
Talk about a hot date.
13. “My date showed up with his bestie and girlfriend, and they talked through dinner about people I don’t know. Walking to the car, he gave me a wedgie because he thought he hadn’t been paying enough attention to me.” – @surrealDazey
14. “I was taking my date home and was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the cop came to my car, she jumped out and told him she had to get home. She walked home and I never heard from her again. I'm not sure who's #WorstFirstDate it was mine or hers!” – @eastriverbear
15. “After an evening of dancing with a first date, leaving the dance hall, I had to take a quick pee break. Rushing out to the parking lot, I see a lady, I grab her and swoop her around, and plant a big wet kiss on the lips. She was another guy's wife. Oops!” – @seadogskamore
Only Gomez could have gotten away with it.
Sometimes the best way to fight hate is with kindness coupled with a little bit of petty.
Lil Nas X gives protesters pizza.
Lil Naz X really is a gift to this world, but that obviously depends on who you ask because for some people his existence seems to chafe some uncomfortable places. Recently people decided they just couldn't allow the singer to live his best life without him knowing that they did not approve, so they protested outside of his concert. Lil Nas X could've been pretty upset about the protest and let it ruin his show but he did the complete opposite. The "Old Town Road" singer decided to respond with an unexpected gesture of kindness by ordering the group pizza.
Depending on the topping, the gesture could've been seen as hostile. Did it have pineapples or anchovies? Those toppings are so controversial, pizzas could've been launched back into the venue out of sheer spite. Alas, there was no launching of pizzas or even eating of pizzas as the protesters declined the offer and sent them back with his team. Interestingly enough, the singer didn't even know the protesters were there until his fans repeatedly tagged him on Twitter with videos of the protest. But who protests outside of a concert venue when you can enjoy the free parking lot music?
No, it's not the people from "Footloose," but that was a valid guess. It was actually a group of people who just don't like that the singer is gay, even if his music makes you involuntarily move your booty. The protesters were holding up signs that contained biblical wording like "repent and believe." This isn't the first time Lil Nas X has run into vocal naysayers, and he usually responds with a cheeky clap back.
The rapper partnered with MSCHF to make Satan Shoes and gave the red man downstairs a lap dance in his music video for "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" because people supposedly told him to go to hell. If there were ever a petty contest, Lil Nas X would be crowned Petty King, so the change-up seemed a bit surprising. Instead of clapping back, he sent food, which probably confused the protesters more than anything else.
No worries though, if you live for the pettiness level that the singer consistently delivers, he took a trip back to Pettyville when the group returned his pizzas. The unapologetic singer wrote in a tweet "update: they didn't want the pizza but I accidentally fell in love with one of the homophobic protesters." I'm sure that tweet is keeping this particular protester up at night thinking the star is interested in him romantically, and just to solidify it, Lil Nas X tweeted the next day lamenting about the love that got away.
I must admit, I'm fully invested in this faux romance. Will they ever cross paths again? Will they fall in love during conversations over pizza? I guess the world will never know. But what we do know is, Lil Nas X is just trying to make music he enjoys and love whoever he wants and that shouldn't be controversial.
Meeting a new sibling can go either way, but this big brother's reaction was the sweetest.
We've all seen our fair share of older-sibling-meets-new-baby videos, which are generally pretty darn adorable. But once in a while, one comes along that socks us square in the heart and has us desperately reaching for a tissue.
Brace yourselves, friends, because this is one video that truly requires a tissue warning.
Shared by @brianaarielle89 on TikTok, the video shows a preschooler dressed up in a dinosaur costume entering a hospital room to meet his newborn sibling for the first time. He asks, "Mommy, where is Hudson?" and is guided over to the cot where his baby brother is bundled.
At first, he walks right past him. But then he turns, sees him and simply stares for a few seconds.
A man's voice asks, "What do you think?" and oh, the emotion in his little voice as he breaks into tears.
"Hudsooooon!" he wails. "Hiiii!" And then he cries out the sweetest BFF declaration you'll ever hear.
#fyp #viral #heartwarming #siblings #brothers #babiesoftiktok
Oof, right? This is the purest love there is. What a little sweetheart and what a lucky little brother Hudson is.
I regret to inform you that there is a part two, which is also adorable.
#fyp #babiesoftiktok #brothers #feelings #happycry
"I'm happy crying, okay?" Okay, kiddo. So is everyone else now.
Of course, not all young children are overcome with happiness when they get to meet their younger siblings. In fact, some kids can be downright hostile about it, asking the parents if they can send the baby back or acting out in anger and jealousy. Depending on their age, older siblings might demand more attention than usual or regress in certain developmental milestones, such as potty training.
For parents whose young children didn't gush with love when they met a new sibling, don't worry. Jealousy of babies is totally normal and doesn't mean your kids won't get along eventually. It just takes time to adjust to a new reality and a new dynamic in the household. Dr. Hindie M. Klein recommends tips like referring to the new baby as "our baby," letting the older sibling help in caring for the baby (in ways that are age-appropriate, of course) and providing some special parental one-on-one time with the older child to help kids more easily adjust to a new baby in the house.
Even baby Hudson and his big-hearted bro here will surely have sibling spats of their own over the years. Sibling love is complicated, but it's great to see it start off on such a beautiful note.