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Grandma Runs Week-long Summer Camp for 11 Grandchildren–With Daily Menu, Activity Schedule, Homemade Trophies

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Narnie with some of her grandchildren at her week longlong summer camp - SWNS
Narnie with some of her grandchildren at her week longlong summer camp – SWNS

A dedicated grandma has run a week-long summer camp to bring her 11 grandchildren together for daily meals, and activity schedules, with homemade trophies and gold medals.

Narnie Shyrel Mack has four daughters and takes looking after her grandchildren very seriously.

The kids, aged seven months to 18 years, live hours apart and only see each other during holidays, so she hosts a ‘camp’ at her home to bring them all together.

‘Camp Narnie 2023’ saw them enjoy a busy schedule of outdoor sports, games, crafts, and challenges.

The unmarried 68-year-old even went the extra mile with meal plans, homemade awards and medals for the game winners, at her four-bed home in Kingsland, Georgia.

Daughter Vycki Gaines says her mom has always been good at coming up with fun activities—and would run their local church summer camps when Vycki was young.

“I think she really enjoys it. Not just summer camps, but graduations, birthdays, church camps.”

SWNS

“She runs ideas by us and we have to ask ‘mom, are you sure you want to do all that?’ but she always does it. This year’s was the best one yet—it’s definitely going to be something they’ll never forget.

ABOVE AND BEYOND DAD: New Jersey Dad Drives 1,000 Miles After Wife and Kids Had Flight to Disney Cancelled: ‘He’s Our Rock’

“It’s an amazing feeling knowing whenever they go to stay at Narnie’s I have nothing to worry about – in fact they never want to leave!”

The grandkids stayed for a week in July—with the exception of the baby who only came during the day—and Narnie catered to the cousins’ every need. Its actually not a big house but the kids love to sleep on the floor.

The daughter didn’t know she made personal schedules until she came to pick them up.

“She came up with the trophies on the spot and made homemade labels on the computer.”

After sharing videos of ‘Camp Narnie’ online, people were amazed at Shyrel’s effort.

Narnie (right) takes her family bowling – SWNS

“We always knew she was special, but I didn’t realize how many people go without that until I started reading the comments.

LOOK: Grandson Accompanies His 93-year-old Grandma to Visit All 63 National Parks: ‘Greatest privilege of my life’

“It was heartwarming, because my mom has always been the family’s backbone—she keeps us on our toes and keeps our heads held high.”

WATCH the video from Tiktok…

@vyckigaines So Blessed that mine and my sisters’ children are able to experience this kind of love from our Mom 💙 She kept all of her Grandbabies for the week and called it “Narnie Camp”. She made a full schedule, menu, and awards for everyone. And kids had a blast! #summer #grandmotherslove #summercamp #kidsoftiktok #fyp ♬ Summertime (Instrumental) - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

SHARE THE COOL IDEA With Families on Social Media…

A Third of Americans Claim They’re the Best Bargain Hunter They Know: Here’s a Few of Their Tips

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CardMapr.nl
CardMapr.nl

Inflation may come and go, but bargain hunters are here to stay, with a third of Americans claiming they’re the best bargain hunter they know (34%), according to a new poll.

The survey of 2,000 Americans’ shopping habits found that 36% of respondents will always look for a deal even when their finances are doing well.

In fact, 87% of these respondents said they’ll carry money-saving habits with them forever.

Conducted by OnePoll for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, the survey found that eight in 10 believe that finding items on sale is important in today’s economy—and 66% are confident they can find a deal on any item.

They shared with pollsters a few of their favorite hacks for saving money:

  • looking for items off-season that are on clearance and saving them until I need them
  • checking multiple stores to find the most ‘bang for my buck’ on items
  • putting “$1.00 in a jar for each hour you watch TV.”
  • avoiding impulse shopping
  • doing lots of research beforehand
  • searching for coupon codes on the internet for specific stores

Finding bargains can also affect people’s emotional health: 85% of those in this random double-opt-in survey said finding a good deal on something “makes their day”.

What makes a “good deal?” On average, Americans estimate an item needs to be at least 36% off in order to consider it a bargain.

More than half of respondents said that even if they needed an item urgently, they would hold off on purchasing it to see if they could find it discounted first (56%).

“Today’s shopper is more knowledgeable than ever before. They know a good deal when they see one and won’t settle for full retail price,” said John Swygert, president and chief executive officer at Ollie’s. “Contrary to what many may believe, deals do exist on brand name items. It’s important for consumers to explore all of the options available to them to get the most savings on the products they love.”

There are 487 Ollie’s discount stores throughout the East Coast, Midwest, and Texas.

Your Weekly Horoscope From Rob Brezsny: A ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Our partner Rob Brezsny 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 August 12, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments has now arrived. And it’s no accident that your energy matches mine. In other words, my power to consecrate you reflects your ability to bless yourself. So give yourself the ultimate gift, please.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In the 17th century, Virgo musician Johann Pachelbel composed a piece of music he called the Canon in D. It soon went out of style and disappeared into obscurity. But over 250 years later, a French chamber orchestra rediscovered it, and by the 1980s, it was everywhere. Ever since, Pachelbel’s Canon has been used in many pop songs and is a common anthem at weddings and funerals. I’m predicting a comparable revival for you, Virgo. An influence, creation, or person that has been gone for a while will re-emerge as a presence in your life. Be decisive in adopting it for your benefit.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Author Iain S. Thomas tells us, “There is magic even in gridlock, in loneliness, in too much work, in late nights gone on too long, in shopping carts with broken wheels, in boredom, in tax returns.” He says it’s the same magic that prompted Joan of Arc to believe that God spoke to her and empowered her to lead an army. I wouldn’t agree that it’s the same magic. But I do advise us all to be alert for enchantment and interesting mysteries even in the most mundane affairs. I am a champion of the quest for holiness, delight, and marvels in seemingly unlikely locations. In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have a special talent for finding these revelatory joys.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Self-transformation is precisely what life is.” If that’s true, you are in luck. Of all the zodiac signs, you are the most skillful self-transformer. Moreover, you are entering a prolonged phase when your instinct and talent for self-transformation will be even more potent than usual. I plan to observe you closely in the hope of learning your tricks for changing into an ever-better version of yourself. Show us all how it’s done, dear Scorpio!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Born under the sign of Sagittarius, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was one of history’s most influential composers of classical music. His elegant, lyrical works are still widely played today. He was also a revolutionary innovator who expanded the scope of many musical genres. One composition, Piano Sonata No. 32, prefigures elements of ragtime, jazz, and boogie-woogie—70 years before those styles emerged. In this spirit, I invite you to plant a seed for the future. You will soon get glimpses of creative shifts that will someday be possible. And you will have an enhanced ability to instigate the inventive momentum that generates those shifts.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Let’s be honest. Most of us—maybe all of us!—fail to grasp the world objectively. Our perceptions get filtered through our opinions and beliefs and habit minds. The events we think we see are shaped by our expectations about them. Our projections often overrule the possibility of unbiased impartiality. We are serial misinterpreters. But there’s no need to be ashamed! It’s a universal human tendency. Having said all that, however, I believe you will have a special knack, in the coming weeks, for observing reality with more clarity and open-mindedness than usual. You will have an unprecedented opportunity to see accurately and gather fresh, raw truths.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Is this a phase of your cycle when you’ll be prone to saying things like “Why do you take me for granted?” and “I’m feeling cranky” and “It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it”? Or are you in a time when the following expressions are more likely to emerge from your mouth: “I have come to understand you in a totally new and interesting way” and “Life has blessed me by removing one of my unnecessary obstacles” and “I would love to learn more about the arts of cooperation and collaboration”? Here’s what I think, Aquarius: Which way you go will depend on how clearly you set your intentions. Life will respond in kind to the moods you cultivate and the specific requests you make.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Our bodies are imperfect. They are often less than 100 percent completely healthy. They don’t always do what we wish they would. Yet even when we feel less than our best, our body continually carries out millions of biochemical marvels, mostly below the level of our conscious awareness. As the creation of an evolutionary process that has unfolded for eons, our precious organism is an amazing work of art that we have every right to regard as miraculous. According to my astrological reckoning, the coming weeks are the best time this year to honor and celebrate your body. What does it need to flourish? Ask your intuition to show you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In Stephen King’s novel It, a character named Beverly is in love with a man who projects a sense of authority but also listens well. He is strong-minded but receptive; confident but willing to be changed; self-possessed but open to influence. That’s an apt description of the allies I wish for you to attract into your life in the coming months. Whether they are lovers or partners, companions or collaborators, friends or colleagues, you need and deserve the high-quality, emotionally intelligent exchanges they offer.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Seventy-year-old Taurus-born Eric Bogosian is a prolific playwright and author renowned for his hard-edged satire. The title of one of his books is Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead. But one critic speculates he may be softening as he ages, noting that he “seems more amused than disgusted by the decaying world around him, as if his anger has been tempered by a touch of hope.” The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate a comparable reshaping, dear Taurus. Can you tenderize what has been tough? Is it possible to find redemption or entertainment in situations that have been challenging? Are you willing to add more levity and geniality to your perspective?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Decca is a UK-based record label that has produced the work of many major musicians, including Billie Holliday, the Rolling Stones, and Tori Amos. They made a huge mistake in 1962, though. A fledgling group named The Beatles tried to get signed to Decca. An executive at the company declined, saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Oops. The Beatles eventually became the best-selling and most influential band of all time. I don’t think you’re at risk of making as monumental a misstep, Gemini. But please be alert to the possibility of a key opportunity coming into view. Don’t underestimate it, even if it’s different from what you imagine you want.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
I’m a Cancerian who used to be overly reactive to people’s carelessness. If someone was in a bad mood and flung a rash insult at me, I might take offense too easily. If a friend misunderstood me, even with no malice intended, I may have sulked. Thankfully, over time, I have learned to be more like a honey badger, whose thick skin protects it well against stings and pricks. I bring this up because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice my approach. First step: Understand how people sometimes direct their frustration about life toward undeserving recipients. Second step: Vow to take things less personally. Third step: Give yourself regular compliments. Actually say them aloud.

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)

SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…

“I love not man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron

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Quote of the Day: “I love not man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron

Photo: hummingbird by a.koto (CC license)

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

Plastic Waste Can Now be Turned into Soap Thanks to Eureka Moment from Virginia Tech

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Andy Corbley
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credit Steven Mackay for Virginia Tech.
credit Steven Mackay for Virginia Tech

Polyethylene, one of the most common plastics used today, is actually very similar in chemical structure to the chief fatty acid in soap, and a scientist at Virginia Tech has discovered a long sought-after way to convert one into the other.

The compound, called a surfactant, is now being seen as an effective way to upcycle polyethylene plastics into soap, detergents, and more.

Guoliang Liu, a researcher at VA Tech, felt that there must be some way to divide the long polyethylene chains into shorter, but not too short, fatty acid chains that could be used to make soap.

Liu believed there was the potential for a new upcycling method that could take low-value plastic waste and turn it into a high-value, useful commodity.

Having considered the question for some time, Liu was struck by inspiration while enjoying a winter evening by a fireplace. He watched the smoke rise from the fire and thought about how the smoke was made up of tiny particles produced during the wood’s combustion.

Although plastics should never be burned in a fireplace for safety and environmental reasons, Liu began to wonder what would happen if polyethylene could be burned in a safe laboratory setting. Would the incomplete combustion of polyethylene produce “smoke” just like burning wood does? If someone were to capture that smoke, what would it be made of?

“Firewood is mostly made of polymers such as cellulose. The combustion of firewood breaks these polymers into short chains, and then into small gaseous molecules before full oxidation to carbon dioxide,” said Liu.

MORE CHEMICAL UPCYCLING: Breakthrough: Polyethylene Bags and Jugs Can Finally be Upcycled to Solve Several Problems at Once

“If we similarly break down the synthetic polyethylene molecules but stop the process before they break all the way down to small gaseous molecules, then we should obtain short-chain, polyethylene-like molecules.”

Two Ph.D. chemistry students in Liu’s lab aided the curious researcher in building a laboratory oven for the experiement, where they could heat polyethylene in a process called temperature-gradient thermolysis. At the bottom, the oven is at a high enough temperature to break the polymer chains, and at the top, the oven is cooled to a low enough temperature to stop any further breakdown.

After the thermolysis, they gathered the residue—similar to cleaning soot from a chimney—and found that Liu’s hunch had been right: It was composed of “short-chain polyethylene,” or more precisely, waxes.

MORE CHEMISTRY BREAKTHROUGHS: Life-Saving Breakthrough for Antibiotics Uses Shapeshifting Chemistry that Won 2022 Nobel Prize

This was the first step in developing a method for upcycling plastics into soap, Liu said. Upon adding a few more steps, including saponification, the team made the world’s first soap out of plastics. To continue the process, the team enlisted the help of experts in computational modeling, economic analysis, and more.

“Our research demonstrates a new route for plastic upcycling without using novel catalysts or complex procedures. In this work, we have shown the potential of a tandem strategy for plastic recycling,” said Zhen Xu, lead author on the paper published in Science, and one of the Ph.D. students. “This will enlighten people to develop more creative designs of upcycling procedures in the future.”

SHARE This Awesome Bit Of Chemistry With Your Friends… 

Comedy Pets Photography Awards Celebrates the Crazy Lives of Our Fur Babies– LOOK

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Andy Corbley
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A Life-Changing Event, Beirut, Lebanon. © Michel Zoghzoghi/Comedy Pet Awards,

Now in its fourth year, the Comedy Pet Awards, a photography contest looking to capture the playful, the bizarre, and the hilarious character we all know resides within our fur babies, just concluded in London.

The winner this year was Michel Zoghzoghi, who travels the world shooting pictures of big and fearsome cats among other wildlife. He took first prize when he captured his playful rescues in action, with the rambunctious Max ambushing the timid Alex.

As the winner of the top prize, Michel received £500 cash, a fantastic camera bag
from ThinkTank, and a beautiful bespoke trophy.

“This is still a very young competition in the whole scheme of things, but within a few short years we are already receiving some of the most uplifting, life-affirming hilarious images of pets in the world!” stated Tom Sullam, Co-founder of the Comedy Pet Awards.

“I couldn’t be more excited to share these with you all. Pets have played a fundamental role during the COVID years, and to be able to laugh out loud with these loveable creatures is the reason this competition exists.”

Barkin! New York City, USA © Chris Porsz/Comedy Pet Awards.

“In March 2019 I was sitting in the Union Square New York dog run when I spotted a lady with a pink bag on her hand (to keep her hand clean) throwing a ball to her dog which was sat down facing her. The dog then launched itself and flipped in mid-air to face me and snap!”

Football free kick, Fukuoka, Japan.© Kenichi Morinaga/Comedy Pet Awards
The Three Greys. Landstuhlh, Germany. © Klaus-Peter Selzer/Comedy Pet Awards.

“Karin and her two dogs, don’t they look the same?

Zorro Reborn. Fahrdorf, Germany. © Karl Goldhamer/Comedy Pet Awards

“The avenger of the poor is back, but this time as a dog and not on a horse, but in a car! The obligatory black mask is a must, of course.”

Uplift Anyone’s Day With These Cute And Hilarious Photographs… 

Miami Police Officer Honored After Saving Boy With Autism from Drowning

By
Andy Corbley
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Ofiicer Ernesto Fernandez (center) honored at the Friendship Circle organization - Miami Police Department retrieved from Facebook
Officer Ernesto Fernandez (center) honored at the Friendship Circle organization – Miami Police Department retrieved from Facebook

Officer Ernesto Fernandez knew only that he had to save a life and worry about the rest later as he jumped into a Miami river to save a drowning child.

The ‘rest’ in this case was the 10-year-old boy’s Autism condition, and how it would affect the rescue attempt.

It wasn’t much of a concern to Fernandez, whose own son is on the Autism spectrum. To the contrary, the devoted husband and father was all the more committed to ensuring the accident didn’t end in tragedy.

Bodycam footage captured of the July rescue shows a fellow officer arriving in time to help Fernandez safely get the child into the car seat of the police cruiser, while the man’s black uniform was soaked through from his heroics.

On August 2nd, Officer Fernandez was honored in a ceremony held by the Friendship Circle Miami, an organization that provides friendship and acceptance to individuals with special needs.

“I know you jumped out of your car because you knew what that child really is,” said Rabbi Yossi Harling of Friendship Circle Miami, in a speech.

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Caught on Camera: Teen Hero Dives Into Bay to Save Drowning Woman From Sinking Car

“One of the greatest fears that parents have raising a child on the spectrum—and if you’re raising a child you know exactly what I’m talking about—is your child will be somewhere, and the person won’t understand their action,” said Harling.

“You look at an incidence [sic] like this, and the power that it has not only to those who are involved, but to the community at large, it is an incredible, incredible touching moment,” said Chief of Police Manuel Morales.

WATCH the full bodycam footage below from the Miami Herald…

DIVE Into Social Media Below With This Rescue Of A Drowning Child… 

After 17 Years, A Spacecraft Makes its First Visit Home Having Made History

By
Andy Corbley
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Artist's illustration of STEREO-A: credit NASA-JPL via SWNS
Artist’s illustration of STEREO-A: credit NASA-JPL via SWNS

A spacecraft that gave us our first multiple-perspective view of the Sun is set to fly by Earth for the first time since launching 17 years ago.

NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft will pass between the Sun and Earth on Saturday, August 12th, with the agency exclaiming “our teenage spacecraft is visiting home.”

The twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) spacecraft launched on October 25th, 2006 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Prior to the mission, we could only observe the Sun one side at a time. The two crafts’ flights enabled a stereoscopic three-dimensional view.

STEREO-A (for “Ahead”) advanced its lead on Earth as STEREO-B (for “Behind”) lagged behind, both charting Earth-like orbits around the Sun.

During the first years after launch, the dual-spacecraft mission achieved its landmark goal: providing the first stereoscopic, or multiple-perspective, view of our closest star.

“On Feb. 6, 2011, the mission achieved another landmark: STEREO-A and -B reached a 180-degree separation in their orbits. For the first time, humanity saw our Sun as a complete sphere,” wrote NASA.

“Prior to that we were ‘tethered’ to the Sun-Earth line—we only saw one side of the Sun at a time,” explained Lika Guhathakurta, STEREO program scientist at NASA. “STEREO broke that tether and gave us a view of the Sun as a three-dimensional object.”

On Saturday, STEREO-A’s lead on Earth will have grown to one full revolution as the spacecraft “laps” us in our orbit around the Sun.

“In the few weeks before and after STEREO-A’s flyby, scientists are seizing the opportunity to ask questions normally beyond the mission’s reach.”

NASA explains that when a plume of solar material known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME, arrives at Earth, it can disrupt satellite and radio signals, or even cause surges in our power grids. Or, it may have hardly any effect at all. It all depends on the magnetic field embedded within it, which can change dramatically in the 93 million miles between the Sun and Earth.

During the months before and after STEREO-A’s Earth flyby, any Earth-directed CMEs will pass over STEREO-A and other near-Earth spacecraft, giving scientists much-needed multipoint measurements from inside a CME.

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: NASA Probe Enters the Sun’s Atmosphere for the First Time, Immediately Teaching Us New Things About Our Star

“To understand how a CME’s magnetic field evolves on the way to Earth, scientists build computer models of these solar eruptions, updating them with each new spacecraft observation,” NASA writes.

Toni Galvin, a professor at the University of New Hampshire and principal investigator for one of STEREO-A’s instruments, compares our ability to gather data on CMEs with the parable about the blind men and the elephant.

“[One] feels the legs says ‘it’s like a tree trunk,’ and the one who feels the tail says ‘it’s like a snake,” says Galvin. “That’s what we’re stuck with right now with CMEs, because we typically only have one or two spacecraft right next to each other measuring it.”

MORE SPACECRAFT STORIES: Scientists See Red Planet in New Light, Unveiling Two Incredible New Images

Scientists are excited as the flyby comes at a time the Sun is fairly active as we approach the solar maximum predicted for 2025.

In this phase of the solar cycle, STEREO-A will be passing by a fundamentally different Sun. There is so much knowledge to be gained from that.

SHARE This Cool And Unique Outer Space Reunion With Your  Friends… 

“A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.” – John Burroughs

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.” – John Burroughs

Photo by: Andrej Nihil

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

Brain Matter May Remain Higher In People Who Love Taking a Nap

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Lauren BL on Unsplash
credit – Lauren BL on Unsplash

A study recently found a potentially-causal link between habitual daytime napping and total brain volume, which could carry implications for staving off the effects of aging.

The difference was not a small one, and it equated to the difference in brain volume between people with normal cognitive function and mild cognitive impairment, or between 2.6 and 6.5 years of brain volume loss due to aging.

The study was conducted via data on genetic polymorphisms recorded in the UK Biobank, a population-level database that combines health questionaries with gene-wide association studies to link various self-reported activities and choices with genetic variation and disease outcomes.

In this study, published in Sleep Health, the authors used a core group of 92 single-nucleotide polymorphisms to identify people who were genetically predisposed to daytime napping and separated those who had these SNPs into groups based on their answers to a question of how often they napped during the day, with the answers being never, rarely, sometimes, and often.

The genetic predisposition is important, as there are some people, the authors write, who simply never reach a point of daytime tiredness where they feel the need to nap, and studies have shown that these people may have higher brain volumes at baseline.

Sleep quality and duration are key factors in the speed of cognitive decline, of cognitive ability, and total brain mass. Sleep quality tends to diminish with age, as does cognitive ability and total brain mass. Furthermore, frequency of napping tends to increase with age after 60. For these reasons, the authors indicate that research on the effects of napping is paramount to understanding cognitive decline in later years.

MORE HEALTHY BRAINS: Probiotics Enhances Cognitive Abilities Through the Gut: A Key to Aging Brain Health

With over 350,000 participants from the UK Biobank analyzed with a mean age of 57, the authors found a causal association between genetically-disposed daytime napping and 15.3 cubic centimeters of increased brain volume, or around a 1.6% difference.

Secondary outcomes were hippocampus volume, and two measures of cognitive performance, visual memory, and reaction time. None of these showed any associated increases with habitual daytime napping.

This was a surprise for the scientists. The hippocampus is where, among other things, short-term visual memory is processed into long-term memory storage.

MORE SLEEP SCIENCE: Smell of Simple Fragrance While Sleeping Produces Major Memory Boost in Older Adults

“Our hypothesis was based on the fact that the hippocampus, as a brain structure that plays a crucial role in memory, could be a useful proxy of the variations in memory performance reported to be associated with daytime napping,” the authors wrote. “However, we did not find this association, nor an association between genetic liability to habitual daytime napping and visual memory performance.”

For the scientists, the takeaway was that more research is needed. For the layman, the findings may suggest that for those genetically predisposed to habitual daytime, i.e. for those who feel the urge to take a nap in the middle of the day, it could be a small natural defense against cognitive decline as they age.

SHARE This Fascinating Finding With Your Friends Who Like A Nice Nap… 

College Athlete Learns His Teammate Donates Plasma to Afford School–So He Gave Him His Scholarship

By
Andy Corbley
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A collegiate athlete who had won a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University to play football gave it all away to his teammate who was struggling to pay tuition bills.

Without a doubt, offensive lineman Brian Dooley would have been extremely proud to have earned a full-ride scholarship to undergraduate and graduate school at EMU, but as much as he saw his dedication to the sport pay off, there was something that always pushed him to work harder.

It was the grind and ethic of his partner on the offensive line, Zack Conti, who made it onto the team as a “walk-on” meaning without a scholarship. Conti paid his $7,000 per semester tuition and associated expenses all on his own, even going as far as selling his blood plasma to make the payments.

“Football is something I really love, so ever since I got to school, I’ve had to do whatever it takes to stay here and stay in a good position with academics and football and everything,” Conti, a senior at Eastern Michigan, said in a video shared by the university with ABC News. “So I work a landscaping job and I rip out carpets and I demo tile floors whenever I’m not working or not doing football or going to school.”

Everyone on the team was aware of the situation, and despite the camaraderie, Conti said it was always difficult to ask for help.

MORE FOOTBALL NEWS: 6 High School Football Players Combine Their Strength to Rescue Injured Woman Trapped in a Wrecked Car

Dooley wasn’t about to wait around for Conti to ask, though, after he heard that Conti was considering quitting the team as the bills piled up around him.

He walked into coach Chris Creighton’s office and asked if there were any way he could transfer his scholarship to Conti to keep his friend on the team, something he had never heard or seen before from a student.

“The o [offensive]-line brotherhood is something that is hard to break. We have each other’s back. That’s why I wanted to get Conti’s back,” Dooley told Good Morning America. “If Conti wasn’t here, I’d give it to somebody else too. If somebody is working that hard and they deserve a scholarship, I want to give it to them.”

GAME RECOGNIZING GAME: NFL Fans Shocked by Sudden Collapse of Athlete Donate $5 Million in 24-hrs to His Humble Toy Drive–Including Tom Brady

One day during a team meeting, Coach Creighton began praising Conti’s work ethic, before saying that Brian Dooley wanted to recognize his effort and hand over their scholarship. He asked Brian Dooley to stand up and the two young men shared an embrace that the whole team celebrated.

Their season starts September 1st, and although Dooley will now have to take on his own university expenses, he is currently in his final year of eligibility.

WATCH the coach’s speech and the teammates’ embrace… 

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of Generosity And Hard Work… 

Stray Cat Finds a New Life in the Public Library– From Hitting the Streets to Hitting the Books

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - WTOL 11
credit – WTOL 11

In an Ohio public library, one of the most valuable employees can’t even reach the top shelf of books.

He provides another service, however, one that’s better suited to paws than hands.

Benny the cat is a three-month old attendent at Swanton Public Library in Ohio. Encouraging children to read by visiting them during story time, or zooming around the place thanks to the conspicuous absense of books on the bottom shelves, he’s becoming a little star among the library staff.

The tuxedo cat was rescued by the Wood County Humane Society after being thrown out of a truck window. He was adopted by Anna Burwell, the adult services coordinator at the library, who decided to bring the little fellow to work one day.

Anna noticed how the kids became much more enaged with the books after the simple addition of an adorable kitten, who would chase them, and subject himself to being chased, bringing smiles out of everyone in the place.

Benny begins each day by running around the aisles via passageways left for him on the lowest shelves, but even though he’s not technically on the payroll, he’s an irreplaceable member of the team.

MORE PAWESOME MASCOTS: Stray Cats Saved a Restaurant During the Pandemic By Lounging On Miniature Models in the Window (LOOK)

Benny particularly enjoys coming upon the children during storytime, when he sees what they are doing, and then “passes out” creating the perfect idol of peace and quiet.

“We’ve had a couple of people come up to the desk and ask for him,” Burwell told local news WTOL 11. “Benny is a good listener. He makes the children feel comfortable.”

Indeed, the library staff are considering training him as a therapy cat.

WATCH Benny go in the video below… 

SHARE This Beautiful Little Boy With His Big Job…

500 Million Year-Old Jellyfish–Oldest Ever Found–May Have Swallowed Prey Whole

By
Andy Corbley
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An artist's reconstruction of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis - Christian Mccall
An artist’s reconstruction of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis – Christian Mccall

Cast the metaphorical (and metaphorically real) net back into the sea 500 million years ago and you’d pull up a variety of strange creatures like trilobites of various sizes and large armored shrimp with crab-like claws.

But you’d also fish up something that looks distinctly familiar—jellyfish, specifically the lampshade-like Burgessomedusa phasmiformis, newly identified by scientists as the oldest free-swimming jellyfish ever discovered.

The new discovery opens up a wealth of information on the structure of the food chain during the Cambrian Explosion, the first great expansion of lifeforms on Earth when natural selection had a party trying to figure out what adaptations worked and which ones didn’t.

Burgessomedusa phasmiformis sported a cube-like hood nearly 8 inches long ringed with 90 stubby tentacles which, like modern jellies, may have been used to paralyze prey with stinging venom.

The new fossil was discovered in one of the most famous of all geological formations relating to paleontology. The Burgess Shale of British Columbia was likely created when a landslide of undersea sediment entombed a section of the seafloor, preventing even the soft-bodied jellyfish from decaying into nothingness.

Jellyfish belong to a phylum called Cnidaria, named after a distinguishing feature called cnidocytes—specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance.

Cnidaria are believed to represent some of the world’s first-ever animals, but due to their lack of any solid body parts, their history is poorly represented in the fossil record. The clade of Medusozoa, containing all the variety of jellies to ever live, evolved an incredibly fascinating life cycle.

MORE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY: New Study of Triassic Fossils Reveal the Origins of Living Amphibians Through a Tiny “Funky Worm”

Born as a solid stationary object like a sea anemone, a lifeform to which they are closely related, the arrival of sexual maturity heralds a transformation of these stationary polyps into free-swimming predatory creatures. It’s believed this transition occurred once in the common ancestor of all Cnidaria, but was lost in some of its descendants.

In terms of reaching back to that point, Burgessomedusa phasmiformis is the farthest anyone has ever gone.

MORE FOSSILS LIKE THIS: Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Our Planet Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms

The fossils found by Joseph Moysiuk and his team at the Royal Ontario Museum show that the hoods of these jellies were fossilized with trilobites inside—suggesting they could swallow their prey whole, and were—if not apex predators—co-rulers the seas along with Anomalocaris, the clawed shrimp mentioned earlier.

“There’s more work to be done with this fossil,” Jean-Bernard Caron, co-author on the discovery, told Science Magazine. “Who knows who was eating what?”

SHARE This Great Ancestor Jelly With Your Friends Interested In Ancient Life… 

Editor’s note: this story has been altered to reflect the correct location of the Burgess Shale 

“Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” – Albert Camus

By
Good News Network
-
Kelly Sikkema

Quote of the Day: “Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” – Albert Camus 

Photo by: Kelly Sikkema

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

Two Critically Endangered Baby Condors Born in National Park Are Healthy, ‘Adorable Fluffballs’

By
Andy Corbley
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NPS Pinnacles - Instagram
NPS Pinnacles – Instagram

The National Park Service celebrated the birth of two Critically Endangered chicks—and social media is reveling in their fluff-ball photos.

Deemed to be extinct in the wild in 1987, the remaining California condors—the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere—were encouraged to breed in captivity and pairs were reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah.

Now, chicks like this pair in Pinnacles National Park in northern California are being born in the wild each year.

After approaching the very edge of existence, it’s a beautiful thing to see new condor chicks born in the wild, and biologists say their first health checkups have shown they’re in perfect condition.

“Both nestlings recently had their first health checkups, and we’re happy to report that everything is looking great. During their checkups, the first nestling was 44 days old, and the second nestling was 68 days old,” the National Park Service wrote on Instagram.

Condors are a vigorously-protected species—but lead poisoning is still a threat. The magnificent birds are carrion feeders, and can accidentally chow down on lead shot or slugs within wild game which have escaped a hunter’s eyes or a bird dog’s nose.

With youngsters, this risk extends to parents bringing such contaminated carcasses to the nest.

The officials in Pinnacles report “very low” levels of lead in their bloodstream, and that they are right on track for a winter fledging.

Jon Myatt/USFWS

“Condors typically aren’t fully grown until about 6 months after they hatch, so these little ones still have lots of maturing to do before they are ready to take flight,” they write.

“[Visitors] may be lucky enough to see the two newest members of the condor flock soaring through the park this winter.”

MORE CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE: Blue Whales Return to California at Levels Not Seen Since Before the Whaling Industry

To perform the health check, veterinarians had to scale the cliffs where their nests were located with rock climbing gear. To reach one chick, they wedged themselves between the nest ledge and a large boulder, while another was lowered back down to the ground with a rope.

Surprisingly, the parents were totally fine, Smithsonian reports, with the human theft and belaying of their chick.

Condors have been in the park for 20 years. It was one of the first sites where the birds—with their wings spanning 10 feet—were reintroduced. In nearly four decades, the population grew to 300 in nature today, a massive improvement and win for conservationists.

SHARE These Plushy Birds With Your Friends In California… 

Mom Bought Rare Steiff Teddy Bear at Yard Sale That’s Set to be Sold For $6,000

By
Andy Corbley
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The Steiff teddy bear - credit Hansons Auctioneers via SWNS
The Chad Valley and Steiff teddy bears – credit Hansons Auctioneers via SWNS

Jeanette Davies saw two antique teddy bears on a stall at a yard sale in South Wales while browsing with her son Kyle.

One might have called them insane to have forked out £130, or around $155 for both toys, but they would have been even more stunned to learn that one turned out to be a highly-collectible bear from Steiff dating to 1905 that has a listing price at a minimum of $5,100 at auction.

The other teddy is also a pre-World War II teddy from a company called Chad Valley worth between $92 and $142.

Jeanette was aware of what one of these rare teddy bears might look like, and felt so confident that she shelled out the largest sum she and her son had ever spent in the history of their hobby of frequenting yard sales.

“I just had a feeling—a gut feeling,” she said. “I thought he looked like a Steiff bear, a [brand] which can be valuable. Sometimes you just take a gamble and I’m glad we did.”

Jeanette and Kyle tweeted auctioneer Charles Hanson to ask him if the bears were valuable and they were stunned by his response.

“The teddy bears were being sold by a woman in her 70s,” Kyle recounted. “She told us she was clearing everything ahead of a move to Australia. Mum was convinced the bear might be special but I wasn’t too sure. In fact, I was reluctant to spend £130—she had to persuade me.”

Kyle then said they used social media to find out the collectible value of the bear.

MORE AUCTION STORIES: Original Lyrics of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody May Fetch $1Mil at Auction, in Huge New Freddie Mercury London Exhibit

“I shared a photo of it on Facebook and started getting messages from people saying it was special,” he said. “My nan’s a big fan of Charles Hanson. She likes watching him on the TV antique shows and suggested we contact him.”

The bear has original button eyes, stitched smile, and cupped ears, one of which has been sewn back slightly awry. Steiff was a German brand that put serious attention to detail in their teddy bears.

The classic stuffed bear was invented and had its name coined after American President Theodore Roosevelt went hunting for bears with legendary African-American hunter Holt Collier.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: 400-Year-old Ming Dynasty Table Worth $80k Inherited From Relative Who Loved Anything Asian

After Collier cornered and stunned a black bear in Louisiana, Roosevelt refused to shoot it, likely believing it to be unsportsmanlike. A toy maker took advantage of the situation in the press and created the first upright stuffed bears which he called “Teddy’s Bear.”

Just three years later, Steiff was making elegant collectible bears in Germany.

“He has a remarkably handsome face and shaven muzzle,” Janet Rawnsley, of Hansons Auctioneers. “I call him Mr. Cinnamon.”

Both bears go up for auction at Hansons later this year.

SHARE This Hidden Treasure With Your Friends On Social Media… 

Narrowly Avoiding Prison by Judge’s Leniency, She Turned Her Life Around to Win Case as a Lawyer in His Courtroom

By
Andy Corbley
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Sarah Gad - Fair Use
Sarah Gad – Fair Use

Sarah Gad’s life story is one for the case books. A repeat drug offender turned criminal defense attorney, it shows among other things that it’s never too late to turn one’s life around.

After a car collision in 2012, she was prescribed opioid painkillers on which she developed an addiction. Between 2012 and 2015 she had seven non-violent felony drug convictions. She was jailed in Hennepin County Minnesota, Cook County Illinois, and in Pennsylvania.

After a hellish 27 days in a Chicago jail, where she was beaten, stabbed, raped, and thrown in solitary confinement, her case got the attention of Kathleen Zellner, an attorney who became famous from the Netflix show Making A Murderer, and who had taken an interest in the awful behavior of the Cook County jail system.

Zellner invited Gad to come and assist at her law firm on cases related to Cook County, even while Gad was still struggling with addiction.

“And I found the work to be very rewarding. I had the privilege of being able to be present when a person that I had helped prove they were wrongfully convicted of murder [sic],” said Gad. “I was able to be at the prison and be with him as he took his first steps up to freedom, hugging his family.”

This was the case of Mario Casciaro, who was freed from a murder charge after a witness recanted—and who inspired Gad to apply to law school. Winning a settlement from Cook County, she got into the prestigious University of Chicago Law School.

But all her progress could have been turned around because back home in Minnesota’s Hennepin County, she was slated to appear before Judge Barnette, who would determine whether or not she would go to prison for repeat drug felonies.

“‘There’s a mandatory minimum for repeat drug offenders, and she is a serial recidivist who cannot be rehabilitated,'” Gad recounted someone saying. “But the judge is like, ‘Well, she did say she got into law school, like, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.’

GOOD LAW AND ORDER: Judge Gave Drug Dealer a Second Chance. 16 Years Later He Swears Him In As a Lawyer

“[I] started law school with an ankle monitor,” she added laughing.

After graduating in 2020 and receiving her license to practice in 2022, Gad proceeded to go to work in criminal defense, and in July her client Ben Richardson was cleared of all charges for a murder he didn’t commit—while standing before Judge Barnett, the very person who made Gad’s work on the case possible.

The two shared a run-in of surprise, and presumably, smiles.

MORE INSPIRING COMEBACKS: Falconry Saves Man from Life of Crime, Now he Helps Birds and At-Risk Youth Take Flight

Richardson is just one of 21 cases that Gad has managed, all of which have gone her way. She even launched a political career for Congress in Illinois’ 1st District.

It’s a lesson in the power of second chances, in the true burden of America’s long war against victimless crimes, and the importance of the character of judges in a society.

WATCH the story below from Fox 9… 

SHARE This Inspiring Turn-Around With Your Friends… 

New National Monument Spans 1 Million Sacred Acres Linking Indian Reservations to the Grand Canyon

By
Andy Corbley
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Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon - DOI released
Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon – DOI released

1 million acres of public land to the north, south, and northeast, of Grand Canyon National Park have officially been turned into a national monument after lobbying efforts by Arizona tribal nations.

In English, it is to be called Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, based on the translations of the proposed name by the Havasupai and Hopi nations of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, which means “where our ancestors roamed.”

The new monument protects thousands of cultural and sacred sites—places of natural beauty like spring-fed waterfalls, or Gray Mountain, called Dziłbeeh by the Navajo, which are precious to tribal nations in the Southwest.

The twelve tribes that joined together as part of the lobbying effort included the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Navajo Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, the Colorado River Indian Tribe, and five separate bands of the Paiute.

“Being part of this announcement means everything to me,” stated Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, herself a Laguna Pueblo. “After the establishment of Grand Canyon National Park in 1919, the Havasupai people were driven out from their lands.”

“Their story is one that is similar to many tribes in the Southwest who trace their origins to the Grand Canyon and the plateaus and the tributaries that surround it. These special places are not a passthrough on the way to the Grand Canyon; they are sacred and significant and deserve protection.”

The designation is subject to valid existing rights and would not prevent the development of valid existing mining claims, however the establishment of the monument makes the moratorium on new mining in the area established under the Obama Administration de facto permanent.

MORE INTERIOR NEWS: Preserved by Students for Years, WWII Internment Camp Becomes National Park

The new monument will be split between three separate conservation districts linked via the existing boundaries of the Grand Canyon National Park. The first will be directly south of the South Rim Visitors Center. The eastern portion will reach out to the northeastward terminus of the protected part of the canyon, adjacent to the Navajo Reservation.

The final and largest section will cover all the country between the canyon north of Supai and the Kaibab Indian Reservation on the border with Utah.

WATCH these tribal members explain the importance of the monument… 

SHARE This Awesome Story Of Conservation With Your Friends… 

“If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” – Winston Churchill

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” – Winston Churchill

Photo by: ThisisEngineering RAEng

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

Senior Finds Love and Connection Greeting People at Walmart After Husband Dies: ‘Working is beautiful therapy’ (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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Courtesy of WDRB News
Courtesy of WDRB News

In colorful clogs and a blue hat to match her Walmart team vest, 86-year-old Mary Ruth Robinson is a greeter at the Carrollton, Kentucky location.

But to the people shopping there, she is so much more: an infectious personality with the power to turn around anyone’s day. The automatic doors are like the portico of a cathedral of kindness, with Mary Ruth as the pastor.

“You don’t find somebody like her every day anymore,” shopper Ted Holcomb said.

But the wellspring of well-wishes within the spritely senior erupted out of tragedy.

Not long ago, her husband Jacky, with whom she shared a lifetime of love and adventure, died on their wedding anniversary after a taxing battle with Parkinson’s that left him bedridden for 5 years.

“I wish everybody could have that kind of love,” said Robinson. “I thought well if I don’t go to work, I will die of loneliness, because I miss him.”

Her independence was always important to her, and she reasoned that getting a job might be a good way to get the wheels of her life turning again. She believes working is a wonderful thing: a wonderful therapy.

“She’s making connections and getting the love she is missing at home with the help of shoppers,” said a Walmart spokesperson. “It’s so sweet how shoppers are really coming through for her in her time of need.”

SIMILAR SOULS: Woman Spontaneously Offers Homeless Man a Job on Her Farm Proving the Power of Kindness

The community responds to her daily greetings at the store which she says is the ley-line for the kindest people she’s ever met with kindness, hugs, selfies, and even flowers sometimes.

WDRB Kentucky also spoke with one shopper whose son was autistic and wouldn’t hug a soul until he met Mary Ruth.

WATCH the story below from TODAY… 

SHARE This Special Soul And Her Special Story With Your Friends… 

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