The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, July 23, 2015. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, U.S. astronaut Kjell Lindgen and Japan astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

A dancer performs before a judging panel during the World Irish Dancing Championships in Dublin, Ireland on April 11, 2017. The April 9-16 event draws some 5,000 performers from Ireland and overseas, including from both the Irish diaspora in places like the United States and Australia as well as less likely countries such as Russia and Japan. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A stewardess holding a lightsabre poses for photos with visitors during a tour of the Star Wars themed All Nippon Airways ANA R2D2 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at Singapore's Changi Airport November 12, 2015. The aircraft was opened to the media on Thursday as it makes its first Asian stop outside Japan. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

With more than 40,000 followers on Twitter and 26,400 fans on Vine, it looks like Marutaro the hedgehog from Japan is one of the most popular hedgehogs on the Internet. And as his owner keeps on posting Marutaro’s pictures online daily, Marutaro’s popularity continues to grow. There are hundreds of cute photographs and videos of this little fellow, but the ones with little paper cut-out faces are probably the cutest. As Marutaro lies on his back, his owner gives him a variety of silly expressions and smiles. The 20 best of them will definitely boost your mood!

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

Wrestler known as Gio Malkriado (top) fights with a fluorescent tube with wrestler Ciclope during an extreme wrestling fight at a temporary wrestling ring inside a car wash in Tulancingo Hidalgo, Mexico October 8, 2016. When the time comes for the so-called Extreme Star Fight, six wrestlers climb into the ring. Once the fighting begins, anything goes. They bash each other with chairs and long neon lights, causing small explosions and scattering tiny pieces of glass everywhere. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

Mohammed El-Dahshan, 38-year-old “Mesaharati”, or dawn caller, accompanies his donkey wrapped with colored led lights to wake Muslims up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Delta city of Dikernis, about 93 miles (150 km) North of Cairo, Egypt early Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Each night, El-Dahshan, sets out after midnight with his donkey banging his drum, chanting traditional religious phrases and calling out on residents by name to wake them in time for the vital pre-dawn meal known as “Suhour”. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)

Mayon Volcano spews ash and lava in the town of Daraga, Albay province, Philippines, 25 January 2018. Mayon volcano located in eastern Philippines and active over the last 10 days spewed fresh lava and ash while the number of evacuees exceeded 60 thousand in the face of the threat of an even more potent explosion. The Philippines, which currently has 23 active volcanoes, is situated on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an area known for its intense seismic activity which extends from the west coast of the American continent to New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA/EFE)