Fires and Fire Deaths from Almost All Causes Fall by Two-Thirds Since 1980

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Oct 13, 2025

fire rescuers pubdomain Issy Bailey — File photo by Issy Bailey

One of the big problems with measuring progress in averting accidents is that you’re looking for nothing—because nothing happened.

But determined to show how nothing is a big something indeed, Vox’s Bryan Walsh set out to measure America’s progress in preventing fires and fireproofing homes after he himself heard of a fire ripping through a Brooklyn artist’s warehouse.

Deaths by fires have fallen by two-thirds since 1980, lead in part by advances in safety awareness and product safety.

Decades of updated building codes and public safety campaigns have led to the majority of US homes and apartments having smoke detectors—the single best defense against small room fires turning into conflagrations.

About 60% fewer deaths per recorded house fire occur when the house in question has a working smoke detector. Many buildings now have detectors that work as a part of a multi-room system, but battery-operated ones still work exceptionally well.

That 60% becomes 90% when talking about automatic sprinkler systems, which more buildings than ever in the United States now come equipped with. They have also made the leap from commercial, office, or parking buildings to multifamily homes and apartments.

In 2021, the Consumer Product Safety Commission passed a federal regulation that mandated furniture manufacturers to comply with code on smolder-resistant upholstered furniture. This is a major cause of house fires, often in conjunction with cigarettes and wood stoves, and representative of around 17% of the deaths from house fires—according to the CPSC.

In addition to aiding the falling rates of lung cancer, the reduction in smoking habits among Americans have also led to fewer house fires.

“In 1980 there were an estimated 70,800 smoking-related cigarette home fires leading to 1,820 deaths,” Walsh wrote. “By 2016, the number of smoking-related fires had fallen to 16,500.”

According to FEMA, heating and electrical malfunctions, like circuits arcing behind walls, are the least common of the leading causes of home fires, and that’s a result of many products and building code adding failsafe triggers and other features that cause heating to shut off if temperatures get too hot, or currents to cease if arcing is detected.

Heating and electrical-related fires fell by a third between 2010 and 2019.

Cooking is still far and away the most common cause of house fires. If a home or apartment has sprinklers, and smoke detectors, and some of the other features mentioned in Walsh’s article, then the best thing you can do to avoid home fires is to pay attention in the kitchen.

Common causes of fires in kitchens include grease fires, which can explode if you intuitively throw water on them. That explosion can set fire to surrounding objects, and turn a flash in a pan into a room fire.

FIRE SAFETY: California Developer Builds First Neighborhood Where All the Homes Are Resistant to Wildfires

But even here, there is improvement. Between 2019 and 2023, there were 11% fewer fires and 50% fewer deaths as a result, due to cooking fires.

It pays to be aware. The National Fire Protection Association writes that while ranges and stovetops were responsible a little over half of all cooking-related house fires, those fires led to 88% of the resulting deaths. This would be as opposed to ovens, toasters, or other appliances.

CONSUMER PROGRESS: Bite-Proof Wetsuit Fabric Almost Entirely Prevents Shark Bite Flesh Wounds

Counterintuitively, gas ranges were less-prone to causing fires than electric ranges. Unattended cooking was by far the leading factor in cooking fires and cooking fire casualties, while combustible materials left near cooking areas, such as wrappers, towels, paper, potholders, or clothing, was the second leading factor.

In other words, if there’s one place in the house you should put a fire extinguisher, it’s the kitchen.

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“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” – Gertrude Jekyll

Quote of the Day

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Oct 13, 2025

Quote of the Day: “The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” – Gertrude Jekyll

Photo by: Carles Rabada

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, October 13

This Day In History

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Oct 13, 2025

Christ the Redeemer above Rio de Janeiro - credit Artyominc, CC 3.0.

94 years ago today, Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer, opened to the public in the hills above Rio de Janeiro. Standing 98 feet high, and with arms stretching 92 feet wide, the statue was built on top of Mount Corcovado by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. Christ the Redeemer differs considerably from its original design, as the initial plan was a large Christ with a globe in one hand and a cross in the other. Although the project organizers originally accepted the design, it later changed to the statue of today, with the arms spread out wide. READ more about the famous statue… (1931)

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3D Printed Aluminum Alloy Sets Strength Record on Path to Lighter Aircraft Systems

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Oct 12, 2025

Aluminum (in brown) vs alloy with small particles (in blue and green) that impart exceptional strength when 3D printed- Credit Felice Frankel for MIT

Incorporating machine learning, MIT engineers have developed a way to 3D print alloys that are much stronger.

The new printable metal can withstand high temperatures and is five times stronger than traditionally manufactured aluminum.

It’s made from a mix of aluminum and other elements that the team identified using a combination of simulations and machine learning, which significantly pruned the number of possible combinations of materials to consider to 40—before identifying an ideal mix.

The team then printed the alloy and tested the resulting material, soon confirming that, as predicted, the aluminum alloy was as strong as any manufactured today.

The researchers envision that the new printable aluminum could be made into stronger, more lightweight and temperature-resistant products, such as fan blades in jet engines. Fan blades are traditionally cast from titanium — a material that is more than 50 percent heavier and up to 10 times costlier than traditional aluminum.

“If we can use lighter, high-strength material, this would save a considerable amount of energy for the transportation industry,” says Assistant Carnegie Mellon University Professor Mohadeseh Taheri-Mousavi, who led the work at MIT.

“Because 3D printing can produce complex geometries, save material, and enable unique designs, we see this printable alloy as something that could also be used in advanced vacuum pumps, high-end automobiles, and cooling devices for data centers,” adds John Hart, who was head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

AND GORGEOUS TOO: Wood Scraps Turned into Bulletproof, Fire-Resistant Superwood That’s ‘Stronger Than Steel’

Hart and Taheri-Mousavi provide details on the new printable aluminum design in a paper published in the journal Advanced Materials.

Micro-sizing

The new work grew out of an MIT class Taheri-Mousavi took in 2020 in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering where he learned to use computational simulations to design high-performance alloys using a mix of different elements.

His professor, Greg Olson, challenged the class to design an aluminum alloy that would be stronger than the strongest printable aluminum alloy, keeping in mind the smaller and more densely packed its microscopic constituents, the stronger the alloy would be.

Although the exercise failed to produce a winner in the class, it made Taheri-Mousavi wonder: Could machine learning do better?

“At some point, there are a lot of things that contribute nonlinearly to a material’s properties, and you are lost,” Taheri-Mousavi says. “With machine-learning tools, they can point you to where you need to focus, and tell you for example, these two elements are controlling this feature. It lets you explore the design space more efficiently.”

In the new study, she continued where Olson’s class left off.

The machine-learning approach revealed a recipe containing aluminum and five other elements that resulted in higher strength—even higher than what they could identify after simulating over 1 million possibilities without using machine learning.

MATERIAL GENIUS: World’s First All-Timber Wind Turbine Blades are Cheaper, Recyclable, Fire-Resistant and Stronger than Carbon Fiber

To physically produce this new strong, small-particle alloy, the team realized 3D printing would be the way to go instead of traditional metal casting, in which molten liquid aluminum is poured into a mold and is left to cool and harden.

“Here, 3D printing opens a new door because of the unique characteristics of the process—particularly, the fast cooling rate.”

The new alloy’s microstructure consisted of a higher volume fraction of small precipitates, and was stable at high temperatures of up to 400 degrees Celsius—a very high temperature for aluminum alloys.

“Our methodology opens new doors for anyone who wants to do 3D printing alloy design,” Taheri-Mousavi says. “My dream is that one day, passengers looking out their airplane window will see fan blades of engines made from our aluminum alloys.”

(Source: MIT News)

MacKenzie Scott Donates $42 Million to Expand College and Career Opportunities for Low-Income U.S. Students

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Oct 12, 2025

10,000 Degrees students, Stephanie Fayette and Hanan D.J., celebrate their college graduation together (Courtesy of 10,000 Degrees)

A California-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing quality education and career opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds just received a “transformational gift” from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

She donated $42 million this week to the group ‘10,000 Degrees’ to assist in its mission of “supporting students to, through, and beyond college”.

In their history of nearly a half century, 10,000 Degrees has worked with more than 80,000 students and awarded more than $113 million in scholarships, trying to break the cycle of generational poverty in the U.S. and create a positive ripple effect in the lives of students and their communities for generations to come.

“We are deeply grateful for Ms. Scott’s confidence and investment in our mission and proven college success model,” said Kim Mazzuca, President and CEO of 10,000 Degrees.

“This extraordinary gift is not only a bold affirmation of the power of education, but it is a vital investment in our communities at a time when it’s needed most.”

Scott, who was formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has been giving away her fortune by the billions to charities and nonprofits worldwide.

MORE BILLIONS FROM SCOTT:
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A media release said this new grant will allow 10,000 Degrees to address the educational opportunity gap by serving more students with college and financial aid advising, scholarships, and mentorship support from recent college grads, to help them navigate a pathway toward success.

“Our mission has always been to ensure that every student, no matter their background, has a real chance to achieve their potential and to live a healthy, happy and prosperous life,” said Mazzuca.

“Ms. Scott’s gift will have a profound and lasting impact – significantly increasing support for our students from their first step toward college through graduation and into meaningful careers,” said Guy Lampard, chair of the board of directors.

LEARNING THE LOST ARTS: Teens Learn the Lost Arts of Sewing and Ironing at New Summer Camp Taught By Local Grandmas Staving off Loneliness

“With this support, our students can build generational stability for themselves, their families and their communities, forever.”

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First Nature Reserve to Record 10,000 Species in UK–Thanks to Moth That Looks Like a Wasp

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Oct 12, 2025

River at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire, England By Naturenet CC BY-SA 3.0

A nature reserve has become the first in UK to record 10,000 species, with the discovery of a unique moth that imitates a wasp.

The National Trust’s Wicken Fen, in Cambridgeshire, England, hit the total when a rare species of moth—the six-belted clearwing—was recorded on the reserve for the first time.

Named Bembecia ichneumoniformis, it has six yellow stripes on its black abdomen to mimic the appearance of a venomous wasp, which aids in warning off predators.

Recent finds at the National Nature Reserve include the formidable ant beetle, a scarce plant in the pea family called grass vetchling, and another moth—the evocatively-titled chamomile shark.

New bird records include a white-tailed eagle that roosted for one night in 2022 and a white stork that was seen several times in summer 2023.

“Reaching 10,000 recorded species is a proud achievement for everyone who has ever taken an interest in this special corner of the country,” said Alan Kell, a manager at the National Trust.

Six-belted clearwing moth protects itself by looking like a wasp – Credit: Bembecia ichneumoniformis By Hectonichus (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When the UK conservation charity National Trust bought Wicken Fen in 1899—for a paltry £10 ($15)— it was only two acres in size. But the nonprofit has spent 126 years expanding and caring for it, created a wildlife haven covering 2,026 acres.

“We believe it is now the most biodiverse recorded reserve in the UK,” said Kell.

“I never fail to be surprised by what we find here, and it is absolutely a case in point that if you give nature the opportunity and the space, it will do remarkable things.”

13 species that were new to science were discovered in the 20th Century on the fenland nature reserve, according to wildlife records that date back 200 years. But experts at the National Trust say it is during the last 25 years that records have really surged.

Breaking the record

Back in 1999 the National Trust decided to compile a central checklist of biodiversity at Wicken Fen.

Wicken Fen nature wetland in England features a windmill Credit: Stephen McKay – CC BY-SA 2.0 (for geograph.org.uk)

Since then, the site has more than tripled in size, from 225 hectares to 820 hectares: an expansion which is credited with boosting the area’s abundance and diversity of wildlife.

Wicken Fen is now a certified home to species such as the glow-worm, fen nettle, water vole, cuckoo, silver barren moth, water scorpion, greater bladderwort, and the Norfolk hawker.

With over 10,000 different species recorded, supporters hope that number will continue to climb in the wake of a major new partnership with The Nature Recovery Project aiming to help restore vast tracts of lowland peat, both at Wicken Fen and elsewhere in the country which would offer critical benefits amid our climate crisis.

NATURE IS THE VICTOR:
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• 500 Giant Tortoises Reintroduced to Four Galapagos Islands (LOOK)

“If the project can demonstrate that healthy, thriving peatlands can successfully coexist with profitable food production, we anticipate that this approach could be adopted widely across both existing and historically degraded peatlands,” said James Berry, Head of Strategy at The Nature Recovery Project.

“This would unlock a powerful pathway for stopping emissions from the nation’s largest natural emitter.”

“The more wildlife ‘corridors’ we can create, the greater chance we have of being able to support even more species—especially in this changing climate.”

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Locally Extinct for a Century, Bay Scallops Thriving Again on Virginia Shore of Chesapeake Bay

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Oct 12, 2025

Bay Scallops – Credit: William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS

Bay scallops are making an incredible resurgence in coastal bays along Virginia’s Eastern Shore, according to a new survey.

The exponential population growth is the result of decades of dedicated seagrass restoration efforts that allowed scientists to reintroduce the species to its former home.

Locally extinct since the 1930s due to habitat loss, bay scallops are thriving again, with help from the College of William & Mary’s and VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory (ESL) in Wachapreague, Virginia.

The comeback could possibly set the stage for a future recreational fishery.

During the Bay Scallop Survey for 2025, the group routinely documented finding multiple scallops within a single square meter—something unimaginable just a few years ago.

Additionally, the researchers estimate the population will double in less than 18 months.

Virginians may one day be able to harvest local bay scallops for themselves, if the current moratorium on harvesting them along Virginia shores were lifted with the approval of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

“The restoration of bay scallops to their former range along the Virginian Eastern Shore represents a significant societal and ecological achievement,” said VIMS ESL Director Richard Snyder in a media release.

Seeding scallops – Credit: William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS

Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) once thrived in Virginia waters until an eelgrass wasting disease in the 1930s decimated their natural habitat. For approximately 90 years, the species was absent from the commonwealth’s coastal bays.

However, in 1997, William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS researchers launched a seed-based submerged aquatic vegetation restoration project, now considered the largest and most successful seagrass restoration in the world.

Early years showed relatively low, fluctuating numbers, but recently the population has grown exponentially and researchers say its upper limit remains unknown.

“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see this progress,” said Darian Kelley, a nursery manager at VIMS ESL who works closely with regional shellfish farmers.

Bay scallop – Credit: William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS

BEAUTIFUL BAY RESTORED: World’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project is a Virginia Success, Planting 600 Acres That Grow to Become 9,000

“The combined success is creating a more resilient and productive coastal ecosystem while potentially adding a new product to our state’s aquaculture industry.”

SEA BREEZES AND GOOD NEWS – Perfect For Sharing on Social Media…

“Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.” – Henry Van Dyke

Quote of the Day

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Oct 12, 2025

Quote of the Day: “Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.” – Henry Van Dyke

Photo by: Nathan Dumlao

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, October 12

This Day In History

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Oct 12, 2025

Corporal Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945

80 years ago today, Desmond Doss became the only conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honor after saving an estimated 75 men during the Battle of Hacksaw Ridge in the invasion of Okinawa. Doss refused to carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist against killing. He consequently became a medic assigned to the 307th infantry in the 77th infantry division. READ about his heroism… (1945)

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Nobel Prize for Chemistry Awarded for Innovation Compared to Hermione’s Handbag in Harry Potter

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Oct 11, 2025

While bestowing the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry last week, the winners were praised for their innovation, which one Nobel committee member compared to Hermione’s handbag from the Harry Potter novels.

The honored scientists developed materials that are full of microscopic holes that can trap and store chemicals.

The surface area properties are “unheard of”, according a Reuters report about the award presentation in Stockholm on Wednesday: “a porous material roughly the size of a sugar cube could contain as much surface area as a football pitch”.

“A small amount of such material can be almost like Hermione’s handbag in Harry Potter,” said Heiner Linke, the Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the announcement. “It can store huge amounts of gas in a tiny volume.”

It all started in 1989, when Richard Robson began testing the properties of atoms in a new way.

The international trio of Robson, Omar Yaghi, and Susumu Kitagawa eventually developed metal organic frameworks (MOFs)—crystal‑like structures made from metal ions and carbon‑based molecules.

“When combined, they bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal,” the committee wrote. “It was like a diamond filled with innumerable cavities.”

The frameworks of tiny cavities can be designed for different purposes, from collecting clean water in dry desert air to locking away CO2 and toxic gases.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Life-Saving Antibiotics Breakthrough Uses Shapeshifting Chemistry that Won 2022 Nobel Prize

“This type of material can be created with almost unlimited variations, creating unending possibilities for the greatest benefit of humankind.”

For instance, they could filter harmful PFAS chemicals from drinking water or be used in next‑generation batteries.

The comparison to Hermione’s handbag was used because her enchanted bag could hold far more inside than its small size suggested, without getting heavier or losing shape.

LOOK: MIT Physicists Snap the First Ever Images of Atoms – Capturing Them in Their ‘Free-Range’ States

The three scientists from Kyoto University in Japan, Oxford in England, and the University of Melbourne, Australia will share prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor equally between them.

STUPEFY YOUR FRIENDS With This Chemistry Spell on Social Media…

$25 Thrift Shop Purchase May be ‘Priceless’ Glasswork Belonging to Scottish King Robert the Bruce

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Oct 11, 2025

Antique dealers Richard and Alfie Drummond with stained glass window connected to King Robert the Bruce of Scotland -SWNS

An antique dealer who bought a stained glass window in a Scottish thrift shop for $25 says it belonged to King Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce from the 1300s.

Richard Drummond spotted the colorful glass for sale in Moffat, Scotland, and was told it had been discovered in an old house in the area which had been abandoned for years.

Removing decades of grease revealed the stunning stained glass beneath. It depicts what could be a knight, with a Latin inscription around the edges which roughly translates into ‘Robert Bruce, King of the Scots.’

Richard began researching online for information and sought the help of local and international experts to determine the age of the relic. He now believes it dates back to the 14th century and may have been installed in a castle taken over by the famous king who fought to restore independence in Scotland, becoming a national hero.

Richard believes it’s a massive find for the country and hopes it will be installed in a museum, if proven historically significant.

“I cleaned it off with a brush, then I could see it said ‘Robert Rex Scotorum’,” said the 49-year-old. “That’s when I thought this was going to be interesting.”

“It could be priceless. If this is proven to be of that period, it’s a massive historical find for Scotland,” Richard told SWNS news agency.

He started having a closer look at the glass itself, seeing the engravings and the way it was painted, details that made the local museum curator believe it was “hundreds of years old”.

Antique dealers Richard and Alfie Drummond – SWNS

Richard believes the glass may have come from France via the Knights Templar, while one expert he consulted believes it once was installed in a window of a castle taken over by the conquering king.

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“Which castle that is, I have no idea,” said Richard, who was on a mission to get the artifact dated and find out exactly where it came from.

To that end, he and his son Alfie were invited to appear on an upcoming episode of the BBC’s Bidding Room. The show’s experts confirmed it could be up to 700 years old.

“Is this something that was made in Scotland and England for Robert the Bruce? Is this part of the treasure that left France in 1307? Was it made in memory of him?

“It’s medieval art; it’s medieval Scottish history, and in my eyes, it’s just stunning.

TERRIFIC FIND: Garden Ornament Bought for $20 at Flea Market is Actually a Medieval Hand Cannon and Sells for Thousands

“It’s so well preserved (and) it’s been looked after. It’s a piece of history that’s been forgotten about in Moffat.

SHARE THE LUCK With Antique Lovers on Social Media…

Hero Travelers Lift Helicopter off Woman After Crash on Highway: ‘Truly Amazing’ – WATCH

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Nathan Frederick

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Oct 11, 2025

Hero drivers near Sacramento, CA -Courtesy of Terry de Crescenzo

The red helicopter was dropping steadily into a collision course with Highway 50, an 8-lane interstate dotted with commuters and travelers near Sacramento, California’s capitol city.

Fortunately, when the REACH Air Medical Services chopper with three passengers did crash, there were drivers down below who would quickly transform into heroes.

A dramatic video soon blanketed the local news outlets showing over a dozen good Samaritans who had left their vehicles to see if they could help.

Together, they rallied to lift one side of the helicopter, freeing at least one of the three crash victims, as first responders reached the scene at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.

Kenneth De Crescenzo, whose wife captured the video, was one of the citizens who sprung into action. He described the events in an interview with local ABC affiliate, KXTV.

“When it was coming down, I looked at it and said, ‘This isn’t good,’ but when people were needed, they all stepped up.”

Using their collective strength they managed to push the overturned helicopter just enough to pull the victim out.

“It took every ounce of effort from about 15 people to push that helicopter,” said one of the first responders on the scene who talked to NBC News (in the video below).

Luckily, the pilot managed to avoid hitting any drivers—and there were no flames, thanks to the Airbus helicopter’s crash-resistant fuel tank designed to prevent fire.

LUCKY, HE’S A REGULAR HERE: Gumbo Cook Worried About Regular Customer’s No-Shows Goes to His Home and Saves His Life

A pilot, a paramedic, and a nurse aboard the helicopter were in critical condition following the crash, but the quick actions of those on the ground likely saved lives.

The pilot and crew were all EMTs themselves: Chad Millward, is credited with saving 15 lives during a 2017 wildfire, Susan Smith is a nurse, and Margaret ‘DeDe’ David is a paramedic who now is “recovering well,” according to KCRA News.

“We would like to take the time to sincerely thank the first responders on scene, as well as the everyday citizen heroes that jumped into action to help lift an entire aircraft off of Susie so she could begin receiving immediate care at the scene,” the family of Smith said in a statement to the media.

“It was truly amazing.”

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Oct 11, 2025

Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of October 11, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libra architect Christopher Alexander developed a sixth sense about why some spaces feel comfortable while others are alienating. What was the source of his genius? He avoided abstract principles and studied how people actually used spaces. His best architecture soulfully coordinated the relationships between indoor and outdoor areas, private and public zones, and individual needs and community functions. The “quality without a name” was the term he used to identify the profound aliveness, wholeness, and harmony of spaces where people love to be. In the coming weeks, Libra, I hope you access your own natural gift for curating relationships and cultivating balance. Your solutions should serve multiple needs. Elegant approaches will arise as you focus on connections rather than isolated parts.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Some medieval mystics claimed that angels spoke in paradoxes because the truth was too rich for simple logic. These days, I believe you Scorpios are extra fluent in paradox. You are raw yet powerful, aching and grateful, confounded but utterly clear. You are both dying and being reborn. My advice: Don’t try to resolve the contradictions. Immerse yourself in them, bask in them, and allow them to teach you all they have to teach. This may entail you sitting with your sadness as you laugh and letting your desire and doubt interweave. The contradictions you face with open-heartedness will gift you with sublime potency and authority.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The ancient city of Petra, built in sandstone cliffs in what’s now Jordan, was mostly hidden from the outside world for centuries. In 1812, Sagittarian Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it by disguising himself as a pilgrim. He trained extensively in the Arabic language, Islamic culture, and local customs so he could travel incognito. You Sagittarians can benefit from a similar strategy in the coming weeks. Life will conspire to bring you wonders if you thoroughly educate yourself about the people and situations you would like to influence. I invite you to hike your empathy up to a higher octave, cultivate respect for what’s unfamiliar, and make yourself extra available for exotic and inspiring treasures.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
During the 1800s, countless inventors chased the impossible dream of perpetual-motion machines: contraptions that would run endlessly without any fuel source. Every attempt failed; such devices bucked the fundamental laws of physics. But here’s good news, Capricorn: You are close to cracking the code on a metaphorical version of perpetual motion. You are cultivating habits and rhythms that could keep you steady and vital for a long time to come. I predict the energy you’re generating will be self-sustaining.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood. They taste with their skin, solve puzzles, and squeeze their entire bodies through coin-sized holes. No wonder they are referred to as the aliens of Earth, just as you Aquarians are the aliens of the zodiac. According to my analysis, now is a perfect time for you to embrace your inner octopus. I authorize you to let your strangeness lead the way. You have the right and duty to fully activate your multidimensional mind. Yes, you may be misunderstood by some. But your suppleness, radical empathy, and nonlinear genius will be exactly what’s needed. Be the one who sees escape routes and paths to freedom that no one else perceives. Make the impossible look natural.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Dear Pisces, it’s like you’re in one of those dreams when you’re exploring the attic or basement of your home and discover secret rooms you didn’t realize existed. This is good! It means you are finding uncharted frontiers in what you assumed was familiar territory. It suggests you are ready to see truths you weren’t ready for before. Congrats! Keep wandering and wondering, and you will discover what you didn’t even know you needed to know.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
No relationship is like any other. The way we bond with another has a distinctive identity that embodies the idiosyncratic chemistry between us. So in my view, it’s wrong to compare any partnership to a supposedly ideal template. Fortunately, you Aries are in a phase when you can summon extra wisdom about this and other relaxing truths concerning togetherness. I recommend you devote your full creativity and ingenuity to helping your key bonds ripen and deepen.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke advised, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.” These days, dear Taurus, that’s your power move: to stay in conversation with mystery without forcing premature answers. Not everything needs to be fixed or finalized. Your gift is to be a custodian of unfolding processes: to cherish and nourish what’s ripening. Trust that your questions are already generating the early blooms of a thorough healing.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I am a great admirer of Bart Simpson, a fictional fourth-grade student on the animated TV show The Simpsons. He is a constant source of unruly affirmations that we could all benefit from incorporating into our own behavior when life gets comically weird. Since I think you’re in such a phase now, Gemini, I am offering a batch of Bart-style gems. For best results, use them to free yourself from the drone of the daily routine and scramble your habitual ways of understanding the world. Now here’s Bart: 1. “I will not invent a new religion based on bubble gum.” 2. “I will not sell bottled ‘invisible water.’” 3. “I will not try to hypnotize my friends, and I will not tell co-workers they are holograms.” 4. “I will not claim to be a licensed pyrotechnician.” 5. “I will not use the Pythagorean theorem to summon demons.” 6. “I will not declare war on Thursdays.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
During its entire life, the desert plant Welwitschia mirabilis grows just two leaves. They never wither or fall off but continually grow, twist, split, and tatter for hundreds of years. They keep thriving even as their ends are worn or shredded by wind and sand. I love how wild and vigorous they look, and I love how their wildness is the result of their unfailing persistence and resilience. Let’s make Welwitschia mirabilis your inspirational symbol in the coming weeks, Cancerian. May it motivate you to nurture the quiet, enduring power in your depths that enables you to express yourself with maximum uniqueness and authenticity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Have you been to Morocco? I love that so many houses there are built around spacious courtyards with intricate tilework and lush gardens. Sooner or later, of course, the gorgeous mosaic-like floors need renovations. The artisans who do the work honor the previous artistry. “In rebuilding,” one told me, “our goal is to create new magnificence that remembers the old splendor.” I hope you pursue an approach like that in the coming weeks, Leo. The mending and healing you undertake should nourish the soulfulness you have cultivated, even as you polish and refine.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo novelist Agatha Christie often planned her elaborate plots while cleaning her house or washing dishes. She said such repetitive, physical tasks unlocked her creativity, allowing ideas to emerge without force. I suggest you draw inspiration from her method in the coming weeks. Seek your own form of productive distraction. Instead of wrestling with a problem in a heroic death match, lose yourself in simple, grounding actions that free your mind to wander. I am pretty sure that your most brilliant and lasting solutions will emerge when you’re not trying hard to come up with brilliant and lasting solutions.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Oct 11, 2025

Quote of the Day: “Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill

Photo by: Daniele La Rosa Messina

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, October 11

This Day In History

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Good News Network

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Oct 11, 2025

SNL 40th Anniversary Special — In this Oct. 11, 1975 photo released by NBC, Chevy Chase performs during a "Weekend Update" sketch on "Saturday Night Live," in New York. The long-running sketch comedy series will celebrate their 40th anniversary with a 3-hour special airing Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. (AP Photo/NBC, Herb Ball)

50 years ago today, Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC with George Carlin as host. The seminal comedy television program in American history, SNL has launched the careers of dozens of talented writers, comics, and actors. Broadcast from Studio 8H at NBC’s headquarters in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, SNL has aired 948 episodes since its debut, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. READ about its history and watch the first episode monologue… (1975)

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Man Who Made History in ‘Blinking Guy’ Meme Using His Fame to ‘Pay it Forward’

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Andy Corbley

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Oct 10, 2025

Not all heroes wear capes, some, well, blink confusedly.

That’s been the story to some degree of the last 12 years of Drew Scanlon, a man who would come to be known as “Blinking Guy,” but who used that fame to raise money for charitable causes.

Blinking Guy GIFfrom Blinking Guy GIFs

Scanlon’s life would change forever by a face he made on a video game review livestream in 2013, not knowing it would come to anything, not least because he had nothing to do with it.

“A lot of times it doesn’t feel like me, because I didn’t really have anything to do with it, besides the fact that it’s my face.”

He has no idea how it’s become so popular—so popular that it was ranked by Vox as the 11th best internet meme of all time.

Typically, blinking guy is the go-to meme for conveying quiet irritation or the hearing of a surprise that wasn’t necessarily something you’d wanted to hear.

As it turns out, he was on the live stream when he heard exactly that—a profane joke that he declined to share to CTV News who reported on how he uses his fame to “pay it forward.”

Every year, Scanlon participates in an annual bike race 120 miles from San Francisco to Napa to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. His friend Katie and her mother both have MS, and so every year since 2016, he goes on his rarely-used Blinking Guy social media accounts and posts a link to the society’s his race donation page.

That link? blinkingguy.com

“I’ve just been floored by the response,” he said.

His Blinking Guy fame has helped him raise an incredible $300,000 for MS research as well as programs and services that ensure people affected by MS can live their best lives.

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Police Actually Follow up on iPhone Theft Reports and Bust Global Smuggling Ring

By

Andy Corbley

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Oct 10, 2025

Phones were found in the suspects' car wrapped in foil - credit, MET. Police, supplied to the BBC

In the rare occurrence that police actually looked into the case of a woman who had her phone stolen in London, it turned into the crumbs on a bread crumb trail which led to a huge organized crime effort.

The sirens quiet now, and the London Met. Area Police report that approximately 40% of all smartphones and other devices stolen in London were being shipped overseas by the same group of thieves that stole the woman’s phone.

Mobile phone snatching has become a huge problem in London of late, with some 80,000 such thefts occurring last year, many in popular areas such as Westminster and the West End.

The police have often received criticism for not doing enough either to prevent crime or attempt to recover stolen devices. But on the off chance that they did—when a woman provided the exact location of her iPhone through the Find My iPhone app—it led inspectors to a package filled with over 800 phones.

“It was actually on Christmas Eve and a victim electronically tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport,” Detective Inspector Mark Gavin told the BBC, which was given access to much of the investigation materials. “The security there was eager to help out and they found the phone was in a box, among another 894 phones.”

Using forensics on the package, the police then managed to ID the thieves, and catch them with plain clothes officers who blocked in the thieves’ car. The men, both in their 30s, were arrested on suspicion to conceal criminal property and conspiring to receive stolen goods. Inside their car were more than a dozen mobile phones, some wrapped in aluminum foil—a method that helps block the Find My iPhone feature.

STORIES JUST LIKE THIS: After Police Didn’t Take it Seriously He Exposed an International Bike Theft Ring on His Own

Next came some 28 raids on properties linked to the first two suspects, and a third suspect who has been arrested. Then, another 15 arrests were made, and another 30 devices recovered. All but one of those 15 were women.

The police gathered information that suggested street thieves would receive some $345 for the theft of an iPhone, which could sell for over $4,000 in China—the destination for most of these stolen phones—where their being internet-enabled presents as extremely valuable for bypassing censorship.

CRIME IN THE UK: Special Police Unit Tracks Down $27 Million in Stolen Cars Including Crates Full of Snagged Luxury Vehicles

“Finding the original shipment of phones was the starting point for an investigation that uncovered an international smuggling gang, which we believe could be responsible for exporting up to 40% of all the phones stolen in London”.

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Emergency Butterfly Wing Transplant Is a Success Watched by Millions on Social Media

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Andy Corbley

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Oct 10, 2025

With a pioneering procedure, a nature center in New York made sure that a broken wing wasn’t the end of one monarch butterfly’s journey.

Famous for migrating from Mexico up to Canada, a Deer Park resident found one of these orange beauties stranded with the upper section of its right forewing broken.

Janine Bendicksen is the director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, NY, and she had to think fast when a woman brought in the injured monarch.

There were many monarchs inside Bendicksen’s vivarium, and wondered if maybe she could find a dead one and transplant its wing onto the injured one. Sure enough, a late resident was available as a donor.

“It was so intricate, because this butterfly could fall apart if I pressed too hard,” Bendicksen told CBS News. “We used contact cement, we had corn starch, a little piece of wire that we could hold the butterfly down with.”

The one easy part was that butterfly’s have no nerve endings in their upper wings. There are no blood vessels either.

The procedure was recorded on the center’s social media page, and it produced a viral response with over a million views—all to see this little insect receive the most delicate of helping hands.

MORE BUTTERFLY NEWS BITES:

To Bendicksen’s mind, this was the first time anyone had ever tried to transplant a butterfly wing onto another butterfly, and true to that assessment, her phone began to receive calls from entomologists from all over the West Coast.

“I’m getting calls from Minnesota, Costa Rica, California,” she said. “This butterfly would have died if we didn’t try. We need hope in this world today.”

WATCH the video below…

@abcnews
An injured monarch butterfly was able to continue its migration after undergoing a wing transplant at a nature preserve in New York.
♬ original sound - ABC News

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Renewables Overtake Coal as World’s Biggest Source of Electricity

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Andy Corbley

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Oct 10, 2025

kubuqidesertsolar_oli2_20241208_lrg — The solar arrays at the Kubuqi Desert, 2024 - credit: NASA's Earth Observatory.

The solar arrays at the Kubuqi Desert, 2024 – credit: NASA’s Earth Observatory.

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind produced more electricity during the first half of the year than any other energy resource, including coal.

To bullet another massive accomplishment in the clean energy transition, of the cumulative demand for new power worldwide, renewables met 100% of it.

Coal has been the world’s most-consumed energy resource for the last 50-and-a-bit years. It held that position up until last year. But with costs in the solar energy market falling 99.9% since 1975, it’s becoming so much more feasible to use as an energy source for low and middle-income countries.

China continued its full-throttle deployment of renewable energy resources, adding more clean energy than the whole world combined last year, reducing its fossil fuel consumption by 2% even as it adds to its fleet of coal power plants.

This data comes from the energy think tank Ember, whose senior analyst Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka said 2025 marked “the beginning of a shift where clean power is keeping pace with demand growth.”

Most solar generation (58%) is now in lower-income countries. Now that solar power in particular is cheaper, it’s much faster to install new grid capacity at scale rather than investing in the 10, 20, 30-year time horizons that the financing and construction of thermal power plants require.

Most countries don’t produce fossil fuels, but all have access to the Sun and winds, and so by relying on renewable energy they’re also not required to enter foreign currency markets to then be able to import coal, oil, or natural gas.

“Pakistan, for example, imported solar panels capable of generating 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2024,” writes the BBC on that notion, “double the previous year and the equivalent of roughly a third of the country’s current electricity generation capacity.”

South Africa, Algeria, and Botswana have all taken advantage of the solar boom as well.

Wind turbines and associated infrastructure have not come down in price anywhere near as much as solar, which likely presents headwinds to so-called “Wind Belt” nations like the UK and Norway.

BRIGHTEN Up Social Media With The Triumph Of Renewables…

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” – Thomas Edison

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Oct 10, 2025

Quote of the Day: “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” – Thomas Edison

Photo by: Erwan Hesry

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?