Our Joy List: Pocket Team

“This link brings me a tremendous amount of joy. A new puppy gif appears every time you hit the spacebar. I don’t think further description is needed.” -Jonathan, Backend Developer

“I derive a lot of joy from articles that make me think differently about movies that I already love—pieces that show just how creative some people are, how they think about things at a whole different level. This Grantland investigation is a great example.” -Matt, General Manager

“Two hundred people were accidentally cc’ed instead of bcc’ed on an email and the result is one of the funniest, most heart-warming quick-reads I’ve come across in a long time. I devoured it and immediately sent it to multiple people. Candy.” -Mary, Brand Voice Lead

“I’ve probably reread this essay a dozen times over the years, and it always makes me want to call a friend. In particular, I love the message here about gratitude—how there are unexpected moments in life that provide a little light when you are feeling low, and how saying thanks for those moments, even years later, are their own powerful reward.” -Carolyn, Director of Editorial

“A good hard boiled egg always makes me happy. But I, without fail, always forget how to properly hard boil that egg to my heart’s desire. But fear no more! This piece reminds me of just how long to boil an egg to my preferred consistency.” -David, Senior iOS Engineer

“This video is a pathway to joy for me—it clears the fog and lets me be conscious of where I am at any given moment. It helps me step back from the minutiae of my perceived problems and find opportunities in them.” -Joel, Front End Engineer

“I usually feel embarrassed admitting this, but I like bad beer. So when I came across a cocktail recipe that elevated my beloved and humble Miller High Life, I was immediately in love. I keep this in my Pocket because people usually think the cocktail sounds goofy until they see its a Bon Appétit recommendation. Then they try it and fall in love.” -Jack, Audience Development Manager

“Is there a more iconic scene of comedic chaos? As much as I wish my serotonin boosts could come from watching The Office daily, I’ve only managed to rewatch the series 47 times since it ended. Playing this scene holds me over between binges and feeds my soul the Schrute shenanigans I require to exist.” -Corrie, Syndication Coordinator

“A big part of my job is to read what everybody else is reading, which has often been pretty dark over the past year (unsurprisingly, the Internet has been in a grim mood!) So when I read stuff online for pleasure, I find myself going back to stuff that really makes me laugh. This piece from The Toast really does it for me, and not just because I remember reading the Lord of the Rings as a kid and wondering how I would cram it into a 30-minute Wishbone episode. Also, pretty obvious, but Wishbone is Frodo.” -Alex, Recommendations Editor

“This podcast episode was my original introduction to Naval and his work. He has an ability to say things about the human experience that everyone kind of ‘knows’ but doesn’t know how to talk about. Plus, their conversation is chock full of Easter eggs. The book titles and other references throughout have led me down a number of rewarding rabbit holes.” -Audie, QA Engineer

“As an 80’s kid, the Choose Your Own Adventure books were canonical reading. It’s hard to disentangle the impact that these and early text adventure (interactive fiction) games had on modern video game narrative design, but if you’re looking for grandma and grandpa (at the very least, uncle and auntie), there they are. It’s fascinating then to look back at the design of these books through a new lens and truly appreciate the structural complexity that was required to give meaning to the simplest prompts: ‘If you choose to do A, turn to page X; if you choose to do B, turn to page Y.’” -Nik, iOS Lead

“I don’t know exactly why, but I return to this video whenever I’m feeling down. The juxtaposition of absurd lyrics, a soaring chorus, and classical dancers is so pleasantly nonsensical; it never fails to make me smile. The production value alone is worth the watch.” -Kat, Backend Software Engineer

“I come back to this advice column from 2010 at least a couple times a month. Sometimes for myself, sometimes when a friend is going through something impossible and I can’t find the words to help. Of course Cheryl Strayed has the right words. Just try not to cry when you get to the ‘Meow.’” -Amy, Recommendations Editor

“This is probably too nerdy, but for me, this lightning talk about Ruby and JavaScript is five minutes of pure joy. It’s just the perfect intersection of a tech talk and a stand-up routine—and memes. And I don’t even know Ruby and JavaScript!” -Marcin, Android Developer

Read on for more Joy Lists, from Roman Mars, Zeke Smith, and more.