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Astonishing ‘Fairy Lanterns’ Found Growing in the Darkest Depth of Malaysian Rainforest

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Good News Network
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University of Oxford
University of Oxford

So-called ‘fairy lanterns’ are among the most extraordinary-looking of all flowering plants.

These curious, leafless plants (genus Thismia) grow in the darkest depths of remote rainforests where they are seldom seen.

There are some 90 species worldwide, distributed across the forests of Asia, Australasia, South America, and the USA. They all lack true leaves and chlorophyll, obtaining their food from root-associated fungi shared with other green plants.

Their mysterious flowers emerge just briefly, and often under leaf litter, so few people are lucky enough to encounter them.

Scientists at Oxford and in Malaysia have just described a species of fairy lantern completely new to science.

It was first discovered by rainforest explorer Dome Nikong in 2019 who, astonishingly, found the plant growing along a popular tourist track on Gunung Sarut, a mountain located in the Hulu Nerus Forest Reserve in the state of Terengganu.

University of Oxford

In February of 2020, Dome Nikong was joined by a team of botanists including researcher Siti-Munirah. To their dismay, the only known ‘fairy lantern’ plants had been destroyed by wild boars except for a single fruiting specimen.

Examining the little material collected from the two trips, Siti-Munirah and Dr Chris Thorogood, Head of Science for Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, were able to describe and illustrate the new species.

They examined the architecture of the flower—its shape, color, and surface characteristics. They found that it has a unique and peculiar orange, lantern-like flower with pillars holding up a so-called ‘mitre’—an umbrella-like structure, the function of which is a mystery.

Together, the scientists named the plant Thismia sitimeriamiae after Dome’s mother Siti Meriam, honoring the support she has given his life’s dedication to conservation work in Terengganu, Malaysia.

The plant’s unique and remarkable ‘mitre’, color, and surface texture make Thismia sitimeriamiae among the most eye-catching plants ever described from Peninsular Malaysia.

MORE: Dutch Guy Famous for Cleaning Up Pacific Garbage Patch is Now Clearing the World’s Rivers Too

Dr Chris Thorogood says, “The extraordinary architecture of the flower raises interesting questions about how it is pollinated.

Other species appear to be visited and pollinated by little fungus gnats, but in truth, we know little about the ecology of these plants—they are a mystery. What is certain is that the plant is exceptionally rare—it has only been seen twice. The conservation status of the plant is Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN criteria.

RELATED: This Wonder Tree is a Game-Changer for Rainforest Agriculture in Honduras And Deforested Sites Worldwide

The scientists recommend in their paper, published in the journal Phytokeys, that further survey work is needed to bring fairy lanterns out of obscurity and inform the conservation priorities for these mysterious plants.

(WATCH the botanists on their adventure below.)

Source: University of Oxford

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Seniors Play Dress Up With Nature to Personify the Magic Around Us– LOOK

By
Judy Cole
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Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen
Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

Have you ever stared at a nature photo of an animal hiding in plain sight and had an almost impossible time trying to separate the creature from the background?

Camouflage (a.k.a. cryptic coloration) is an adaptive mechanism that helps organisms to blend in with their surroundings. It can be a life-saving form of self-defense. But when the camera lens captures senior citizens as integral, interconnected parts of the landscape they inhabit, it can also become a life-affirming revelation of self-expression.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

Eyes as Big as Plates, a conceptual collaborative photography project between Finnish and Norwegian artists Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth started off as a riff on traditional Nordic folklore.

Ikonen, who’d been looking for a way to reinterpret the tales of trolls and magic creatures became intrigued by Hjorth’s photo series of Norwegian grandmothers and reached out to her.

After the two hooked up, the focus of the project evolved. “In the beginning, we were trying to illustrate certain phenomena—folklore, stories, figures from myth,” Ikonen told the BBC.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

But the pair soon realized they were onto something that spoke to the bigger picture about the ways in which the elderly are seen—or perhaps more accurately not seen—and valued by society; one that might hold a deeper universal significance than a simple reimagining of regional mythology.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

Throughout history, elders have been traditionally revered for their experience and wisdom. Now, however, seniors often admit they feel as if they’ve been erased from the larger cultural conversation. But, by incorporating older models as almost sculptural elements into their compositions, Ikonen and Hjorth have created a body of work that takes ostensibly invisible individuals and makes them the center of attention.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

Featured models are imbued with an eye-popping, organic connection to the environment. The result? Each stunning portrait reflects a personal narrative acknowledged and venerated rather than a life story dismissed and forgotten.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

Since 2011, the globetrotting pair has traveled extensively, setting up their tripods to capture their sometimes whimsical, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes deeply moving scenarios everywhere from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Greenland, Iceland, the Czech Republic, France, the United States, Great Britain, the Faroe Islands, South Korea, Japan, Senegal, and Tasmania.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

The cast of characters they’ve cataloged includes former farmers, fishermen, zoologists, plumbers, opera singers, housewives, artists, academics—and even a 90-year-old novice parachutist.

MORE: 80-Year-old Bonsai Master Creates Incredible Tiny Forests As a Rebel in the Ancient Art – LOOK

“We just try to work with whatever the people we interview bring, wherever they are,” Hjorth told BBC.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

“We might be in Paris, and you might be at an opera soiree evening and there might be an old lady dancing, the last person on the dance floor,” Ikonen told CNN Style. “And you just think: Who is this fascinating person I have to meet? You approach them and ask, ‘Who are you and what are you doing tomorrow?’”

RELATED: Artist Fills Public Potholes With Colorful Mosaics – Restoring Roads and Sidewalks (Look)

For those fascinating people who take the visionary shutterbugs up on the challenge, more often than not, that means finding themselves communing with nature in a manner they’d never imagined, and ultimately, being celebrated for posterity in ways they could never have dreamed of.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen

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Inventor Creates a Machine That Turns Any Alcoholic Drink Into Soft Scoop ‘Ice Cream’

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

An inventor has developed a machine that turns beers and other alcoholic drinks into a soft scoop ‘ice cream’ that maintains its potency.

The ‘Below Zero’ machine takes any alcoholic beverage and crystallizes it in under 30 minutes for a treat that can, if you’d like, be covered in sprinkles and chocolate sauce.

Developed with WDS Dessert Stations in Hinkley, Illinois, the drink is first de-gassed to remove the carbon dioxide, then it is mixed with a gel, put in the machine, and out comes the ice cream.

Inventor and owner of Below Zero, Will Rogers, said: “The way it truly works… we like to say the gel ‘bear hugs’ the alcohol itself and turns it into ice cream.

“In the beginning days we used liquid nitrogen to make Below Zero, but now with the new machines you put it out in a cone and it’s ready to eat.”

The Nitrogen Ingredient Additive gel allows the alcohol to freeze to a near solid inside the machine as well as adding sugars.

SWNS

It is FDA-approved and pasteurized, and since the drink contains no dairy products, it’s not technically ice cream.

MORE: Pulling Vodka From the Air: This Award Winning Carbon-Negative Spirit Comes From Captured CO2

The machine itself will cost sweet-toothed breweries $6,000, but will allow them to serve all drinks, from a pint of lager to a strawberry Daiquiri, in a cone.

Inventor Will was inspired to create his machine while running an ice-cream shop and trying to formulate a highly-caffeinated espresso flavour.

He said: “One of our staff made the joke ‘what if we did this with alcohol?’ A light bulb went off in my head.”

He started experimenting with gums and stabilizers from the ice cream industry to create his patented gel.

Once he cracked the crystallization, the machine was born and he started serving boozy delicacies at catering events.

RELATED: The Queen has Launched Her Own Gin Featuring Botanicals Grown on Her Country Estate

Will said: “Vodka and lemonade cone is my personal favourite, on a hot day that’s like having an Italian ice-cream.

“We’ve run the Bud Lime through the machine, but your traditional Budweiser or Stella… I’d say sit back and have that on ice!”

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Two Boy Scouts Save Drowning Woman While Cycling Alongside Missouri Floodwaters

By
Andy Corbley
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Monica Viet

Saving drowning women is all in a day’s work for a couple of Missouri boy scouts who had already collected their swimming and lifesaving merit badges.

Monica Viet

The county recreation center swimming pool where one gets such badges presents very different conditions to those created when a June storm dumped six inches of rain over Columbia in Missouri with little warning—causing floodwaters from creeks to burst their banks, causing overflow zones to turn into ponds.

When 15-year-old Dominic Viet and 16-year-old Joseph Diener passed a basketball court that had turned essentially into a water polo area, they heard the frantic shouting of a young woman desperately trying to keep her head above water under the force of a current.

The boys had seen the girl swimming with a friend there before, but it was now obvious she was drowning.

MORE: Diver Emerges Unscathed From the Mouth of Humpback Whale: ‘I was completely inside’

“The first thing that came into my mind was to get into the water,” Dominic told CNN. “We didn’t have time to think, her head was barely above the water and we could see her sinking more down every second. We didn’t think about the risks, we had to get her out.”

Heroes will do as heroes do, and hoisting her up onto their shoulders, Dom and Joseph got her ashore, where emergency services arriving at someone else’s call performed first aid and rushed her to the hospital.

Jerry Jenkins

Floodwaters are no conditions to be swimming in. There can be sewage runoff, loose chemicals, downed power lines charging the current with electricity, or physical debris such as manhole covers that have been lifted out of their sockets by the force of the water.

Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Jenkins described the boys’ act as heroic and brave, as did Dominic’s mom, who had been calling her son for some time before and was growing nervous.

She sent her husband, Dom’s father, to check on his position, but when he arrived he saw ambulances and firetrucks from the call that was meant to rescue the young woman.

“I thought of the worst, he’s on a bike and people weren’t paying attention and my fear was he was going to pull up and see our son on the ground,” said Mrs. Viet. “But then he saw them on their bikes heading back to their friend’s house, and I got a text from Dominic saying ‘Coming home soon, just saved a woman’s life Mom.'”

RELATED: Firefighters Get Creative to Help Baby Raccoon With its Head Stuck in a Sewer Cover

Oh Mom… how about you have a little faith?

Monica Viet

The fire department will honor the two boys with a “Citizen Life Safety Award” next week.

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Top Cities For Digital Nomads Looking to Work While Traveling the World

By
Andy Corbley
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Reprinted with permission from World At Large, a news website of nature, politics, science, health, and travel.

COVID-19 chased millions of traditionally office and computer-based workers into remote working situations—a place where many, especially young people, were trying to get to all along.

The revelation of how many office functions can be done at home is opening up the option for many to travel the world in between workdays, a lifestyle known as digital nomadism.

Digital nomads are growing in number as technology advances both in terms of the software they use to work, and in terms of the countries they visit. The digital nomad brand and business is coveted, and recently the Portuguese government turned an entire community on the beautiful island of Madeira into a “digital nomad village.”

Recently, an Italian firm conducted a broad-scale analysis of 75 major cities around the world, and ranked them for a variety of factors pertaining to digital nomading—such as average Wi-Fi speed, average rent cost, security, burden of government, weather and air quality, and more.

Called the “Work From Anywhere Index,” it was put together by an international renters agency based in Italy, and for digital nomads it provides a good overview of known possibilities as well as opening up new ones.

Oyster world

“The last year has truly demonstrated to many firms that remote working is not only a possibility, but in reality something which can be advantageous for everyone involved,” stated Omer Kucukdere, CEO and founder of Nest Pick.

Scored from 1 to 100, 16 categories are added together to create the index. The #1 destination for remote workers across all the categories was Melbourne, Australia—a city which along with being clear, fun, free, and relatively less expensive than other global metropolises—has a special entry visa for digital nomads.

MORE: These 6 Cities and This State Will Pay You to Move There

Other cities that have digital nomad or remote working visas include Dubai, Medellin in Colombia, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Tallinn in Estonia, and Athens in Greece.

The Icelandic capital of Reykjavik had the highest score for internet speed and almost the highest across the board for religious or sexual freedom, but was overall ranked 23 due largely to taxes being so high there.

In contrast Dubai has 0 taxes on foreigners, and was ranked #2 overall. For cost of renting an apartment, St. Petersburg is second lowest, while also scoring second lowest for tax burden. The interesting conclusions could continue.

RELATED: These Beautiful Italian Towns Will Pay You to Move There if You Work Remotely

When someone realizes the world is their oyster, and they don’t need a desk, office, or a suit to go to work, it can be a little overwhelming. If you could go anywhere, deciding where you’d go could be really difficult.

The Work From Anywhere Index can make all that indecision a little bit easier.

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“To all I care about, here’s a friendly tip: enlightenment is gaffe upon error upon blooper.” – Ikkyu Sojun

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “To all I care about, here’s a friendly tip: enlightenment is gaffe upon error upon blooper.” – Ikkyu Sojun, poet

Photo: by Michael Dziedzic

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?

 

Flying Car Completes First-Ever Flight Between Airports –Then Transforms Back into a Sports Car in 3 Minutes

By
Andy Corbley
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AirCar by Klein Vision

Let the bells ring out in every direction from Toledo to Tokyo. Flying cars—the vision of transportation from science-fiction writers—may finally be landing in the modern world.

AirCar by Klein Vision

In a test flight, a Slovakian pilot drove what appeared to be an exotic sports car up a runway in the city of Nitra.

It then took flight with the aid of a fixed propeller, and landed 35 minutes later at Bratislava, before folding up the wings and driving straight out onto the highway.

The aptly-named AirCar (prototype 1) was developed by a company called KleinVision, founded by Stefan Klein, who spent 20 years turning his dream into a reality. For an unbelievably small amount of money—about 2 million euro—the Slovak created the world’s first flying car to travel between two airports.

During the maiden flight, AirCar was able to reach a cruising speed of 105 mph (170 kph) at an altitude of 8,200 feet (2,500 meters.) Fuel economy would allow it to maintain this trajectory for 600 miles (1,000 kilometers).

Once the flying portion of its journey is over, a push of the button causes a Transformer-like sequence that in under three minutes leaves the vehicle as a slightly-oversized, perfectly road-legal sports car with a 160 horsepower gas-powered BMW engine, a seat for another passenger, and a convertible roof.

WATCH the video…

In order to be certified to fly under modern regulations, planes or helicopters must be safe to fly for many years, without having an incident.

“I have to admit that (the AirCar) looks really cool—but I’ve got a hundred questions about certification,” Dr. Stephen Wright, a research fellow of avionics at the Univ. of West England, told the BBC.  “I can’t wait to see the piece of paper that says this is safe to fly and safe to sell.”

One company did get certified for a flying car this year. Terrafugia, founded in 2006 by five MIT engineering grads, first flew its flying car, the Transition, at a New York airport in Plattsburgh in 2012. Featuring its own parachute and a flight range of around 480 miles, Terrafugia took deposits on pre-orders for 100 vehicles, retailing for around a quarter million dollars each.

Flying car in March - photo by Terrafugia
Terrafugia Transition

After years of product delays and refunding of customers’ deposits, Terrafugia was bought in 2017 by a Chinese company. But, in January they announced that the Transition had finally received a Special Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) airworthiness certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The problem is, that flying car cannot be driven, because it has not proven its road-worthiness through various crash tests. By February 2021, Terrafugia had laid off most of their employees and said it would close down operations in Massachusetts, with the intention of moving to China.

At least they proved it is possible to receive FAA certification in the U.S.

Klein Vision has specified that they are looking to take a share out of the aircraft market with the AirCar, not the auto market—and Morgan Stanley estimates the flying car market over the next 20 years will be worth over a trillion dollars, similar to the buzz that arose around the recent boom in private spaceflight.

AirCar by Klein Vision

Klein Vision is looking to upgrade their prototype engine with more power, allowing it a top cruising speed of 186 miles per hour, while other companies like Hyundai, Toyota, and VW are looking into flying cars of their own.

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Out of Ideas For Entertaining the Kids? Here’s Some FREE Family Fun to Try While on Vacations

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Good News Network
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Steven Sim, CC license

After a year of lockdowns, six in 10 families want to spend more quality time together outdoors this summer, since enjoying nature became more important than ever during the pandemic.

Steven Sim, CC license

The poll shows that families want to make the most of getting outside but are sometimes lacking inspiration for how to turn the day into a fun adventure.

TV presenter and nature enthusiast, Helen Skelton, says, “I think over the last 18 months we have exhausted our ideas bank.”

67 percent of parents have struggled to come up with ideas to keep their child amused since the pandemic began.

Indeed, the top ten outdoor family activities that parents said they plan to do this summer are fairly standard:

Have a picnic, watch the sun set, go to theme parks, ride bikes, swim in the sea, visit nature reserves, go sightseeing, jump in the waves, pick fruit, and build sandcastles.

So, Skelton teamed up with the sunscreen brand Soltan, which commissioned the poll, to come up with some tips to help parents foster fun adventures this summer—from map making and obstacle courses to cloud-spotting and treasure hunts.

‘Glamping’ (glamorous camping in an RV), according to the survey, was a top activity that families have never done but would consider for the first time this year, but there are many ideas from Helen to keep children entertained for free.

Become a wildlife ranger: When out exploring, take a closer look at the nature around you. Before you head outside, make a list of the creatures you’d like to spot and see if you can find them all during your adventures.

Create a nature obstacle course: Use the landscape around you to create the ultimate obstacle course.

Nature bracelets: Before heading off on a hike, take a piece of masking tape and put it around your wrist, sticky side out. Once you’re out and about, find pieces of nature to stick onto the bracelet: twigs, grass, fallen petals.

Go on a rainbow hunt: Go for a walk with your family and find something from every color of the rainbow to create your very own wildlife museum. It could be a pink petal, some yellow straw or a green leaf.

Learn to find your way with a map: Find a paper map of the area and start off by working out where you are right now on the map. Choose an end point and plan your route there, making sure the map is facing in the right direction.

Cloud spotting: The aim of the game is to see what unusual or unexpected things you can see in the clouds. Do you see a snake, a star or a face?

Make natural art: When out and about, collect fallen leaves, petals and sticks and use them to make a picture when you get home.

Build a twig raft: If you come across a source of water like a river or a lake, build a raft using objects you find around you and see how long it floats for.

Build a wildlife hotel: Collect fallen branches you come across when you’re out exploring to build a wildlife den that small animals can use for protection and shelter.

We hope these ideas will give your creativity a jumpstart for your next family adventure.

RELATED: Americans Choose the Best Road Trip Tunes Of All Time — For Your Summer Playlist

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This Kid Has Sensational Dance Moves, Even Doing Double-Dutch At the Same Time

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Good News Network
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While resuming our lives post-pandemic and enjoying happy outdoor activities, some simple pleasures just make you smile—and dancing with friends is one of the best.

We found this video of one Asian youth taking it to the next level. It’s not just the smooth dance moves, but the fact that they do it while moving between double-Dutch jump ropes.

Their pure joy as they sway to the music is just what we needed to see…

JUMP This Video Over to Your Friends on Social Media, and Make Them Swoon…

This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Good News Network
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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 beginning July 2, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that when our rational minds are working at their best, they inspire us to cultivate our most interesting and enlivening passions. They also de-emphasize and suppress any energy-draining passions that might have a hold on us. I’m hoping you will take full advantage of this in the coming weeks, Cancerian. You will generate good fortune and sweet breakthroughs as you highlight desires that uplift you and downgrade desires that diminish you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Leo author Wendell Berry suggests, “It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” Although there’s wisdom in that formulation, I don’t think it’s true a majority of the time. Far more often we are fed by the strong, clear intuitions that emerge from our secret depths—from the sacred gut feelings that give us accurate guidance about what to do and where to go. But I do suspect that right now may be one of those phases when Berry’s notion is true for you, Leo. What do you think?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Is there anything you have unfairly gained from others? Is there anything others have unfairly gained from you? The next six months will be prime time to seek atonement and correction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Libran Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh advises you and me and everyone else to “seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day.” You have to work at it a bit, he says; you must have it as your firm intention. But it’s not really hard to do. “Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables, and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there,” he adds. I think you Libras will have a special knack for this fun activity in the coming weeks. (Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a series of “Mindfulness Essentials” books that includes How to Eat, How to Walk, How to Relax, and How to Connect. I invite you to come up with your own such instructions.)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
My unexpected interpretation of the current astrological omens suggests that you will be wise to go naked as much as possible in the coming weeks. Being skyclad, as the pagans say, will be healing for you. You will awaken dormant feelings that will help you see the world with enhanced understanding. The love that you experience for yourself will soften one of your hard edges, and increase your appreciation for all the magic that your life is blessed with. One important caveat: Of course, don’t impose your nakedness on anyone who doesn’t want to witness it.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
If you analyzed the best-selling songs as measured by *Billboard* magazine, you’d think we were in the midst of a dangerous decline in population. The vast majority of those popular tunes feature lyrics with reproductive themes. It’s as if there’s some abject fear that humans aren’t going to make enough babies, and need to be constantly cajoled and incited to engage in love-making. But I don’t think you Sagittarians, whatever your sexual preference, will need any of that nagging in the coming days. Your Eros Quotient should be higher than it has been in a while.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt, born under the sign of Capricorn, writes, “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” In my view, that’s an unwarranted generalization. It may sometimes be true, but is often not. Genuine beauty may also be elegant, lyrical, inspiring, healing, and ennobling. Having said that, I will speculate that the beauty you encounter in the near future may indeed be disruptive or jolting, but mostly because it has the potential to remind you of what you’re missing—and motivate you to go after what you’ve been missing.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
On July 21, 1969, Aquarian astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the second human to walk on the moon. It happened during a spectacular astrological aspect, when transiting Jupiter and Uranus in Libra were trine to Aldrin’s natal Sun in Aquarius. But after this heroic event, following his return to earth, he found it hard to get his bearings again. He took a job as a car salesman, but had no talent for it. In six months, he didn’t sell a single car. Later, however, he found satisfaction as an advocate for space exploration, and he developed technology to make future trips to Mars more efficient. I hope that if you are now involved in any activity that resembles Aldrin’s stint as a car salesman—that is, a task you’re not skilled at and don’t like—you will spend the coming weeks making plans to escape to more engaging pursuits.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Astronomers say the Big Bang birthed the universe 13.8 billion years ago. But a star 190 light years away from Earth contradicts that theory. Its age seems to be 14.5 billion years, older than the universe itself. Its scientific name is HD 140283, but it’s informally referred to as Methuselah, named after the Biblical character who lived till age 969. Sometimes, like now, you remind me of that star. You seem to be an impossibly old soul—like you’ve been around so many thousands of lifetimes that, you, too, predate the Big Bang. But guess what: It’s time to take a break from that aspect of your destiny. In the next two weeks, you have cosmic permission to explore the mysteries of playful innocence. Be young and blithe and curious. Treasure your inner child.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Columnist Linda Weltner says that there’s a dual purpose to cleaning your home, rearranging the furniture, adding new art to the walls, and doting on your potted plants. Taking good care of your environment is a primary way of taking good care of yourself. She writes, “The home upon which we have lavished so much attention is the embodiment of our own self love.” I invite you to make that your inspirational meditation for the next two weeks.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
“For peace of mind, I will lie about any thing at any time,” said author Amy Hempel. Hmmmm. I’m the opposite. To cultivate peace of mind, I try to speak and live the truth as much as I can. Lying makes me nervous. It also seems to make me dumber. It forces me to keep close track of my fibs so I can be sure to stick to my same deceitful story when the subject comes up later. What about you, Taurus? For your peace of mind, do you prefer to rely on dishonesty or honesty? I’m hoping that for the next four weeks, you will favor the latter. Cultivating judicious candor will heal you and boost your intelligence.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
In her essay about education, “Don’t Overthink It,” philosopher Agnes Callard reminds us, “No matter how much we increase our investment at the front end—perfecting our minds with thinking classes, long ruminations, novel-reading, and moral algebra—we cannot spare ourselves the agony of learning by doing.” That will be a key theme for you in the next four weeks, dear Gemini. You will need to make abundant use of empiricism: pursuing knowledge through direct experience, using your powers of observation and a willingness to experiment.

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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“You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it.” – John Adams (Happy 4th of July!)

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Quote of the Day: “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it.” – John Adams (Happy Fourth of July!)

Photo: by Debby Hudson

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?

National Spelling Bee Takes Over Words With Friends for 8 Days, With Top Words From 8 Champions Who Tied in 2019

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Good News Network
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Words With Friends

Words With Friends is collaborating with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, after the pandemic year that cancelled the Bee, to have fun around the highly anticipated 2021 finals on July 8.

In the eight days leading up to the contest, the Words With Friends ‘Word of the Day’ will be the winning word from each of the eight champions from the 2019 finals, which ended with an unprecedented eight-way tie.

This year, in addition to a new rule that launches a spell-off in case of a tie, Words With Friends will prepare us for the thrills and intensity of the Bee’s return by featuring an 8-day ‘Word of the Day’ takeover.

Underscoring the depth of language learned by these young spellers, four words had to be added to the Words With Friends dictionary for this initiative. As players click the ‘Word of the Day’ cell during this initiative, they can also access the word’s definition and a photo of the 2019 champion moment when each contestant turned into an historic champion.

The first word featured on July 1 was ‘auslaut’ (def: the final sound in any word), spelled correctly in 2019 by San Jose, California boy, Rishik Gandharsi.

RELATED: Study During Lockdown Shows Video Gaming –Even For Hours– Can Help Your Mental Health

Yesterday, the featured word was ‘erysipelas’ (def: an acute bacterial disease)—the winning word of Erin Howard, of Huntsville, Alabama—pictured below.

Words With Friends

The word for July 4th, will be ‘aiguillette’ (def: a shoulder cord worn by military aides), which was the winning word for Shruthika Padhy, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Closing out the program, and landing on the day of the 2021 National Spelling Bee Finals, will the word ‘odylic’ (def: related to the hypothetical force oddly or Od), spelled by Rohan Rajas of Dallas, Texas to round out the 8-way tie.

“The Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants spend years preparing for this linguistic contest of intellect and calm under pressure,” said Bernard Kim, of game company Zynga, which created Words With Friends.

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“Our Words With Friends players are also lovers of words and friendly competition, and I could not think of a better beacon of inspiration than these Spellers to encourage us to continue to learn, strive and achieve.”

“Games and play are powerful tools for learning, and we’re excited to work with Zynga to bring additional joy and attention to this year’s event through their Words With Friends community,” said Dr. J. Michael Durnil, executive director of the Bee.

The event will be televised on ESPN on July 8, with the winner taking home the Scripps Cup trophy.

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Walmart Unveils Low-Priced Insulin to Diabetes Patients Who Can’t Easily Afford it

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Good News Network
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Walmart is seeking to bring “everyday low prices” to medical care.

They announced the launch of a version of insulin that will be less expensive to people who do not have health insurance or struggle to afford the cost of life-saving drugs.

“These products will save customers between 58% to 75% off the cash price of branded analog insulin products, which translates to a savings of up to $101 per branded vial or $251 per package of branded FlexPens,” said the company in a new release this week.

Starting this week, Walmart will be selling its own private-label version of analog insulin (a newer, more reliable form of the drug) to anyone who has a prescription. Called ReliOn NovoLog, it will also be available at Sam’s Club in mid-July.

The insulin will cost about $73 for a vial or about $86 for a package of pre-filled insulin pens.

RELATED: 100 Years After First Diabetes Breakthrough, Canadian Scientists Believe They’ve Found a Cure

“We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions,” said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president, Walmart Health & Wellness. “We also know this is a condition that disproportionately impacts underserved populations.”

“With ReliOn NovoLog insulin, we’re adding a high-quality medication for diabetes to the already affordable ReliOn line of products and continuing our commitment to improve access and lowering cost of care.”

RELATED: Could Electromagnetic Fields Treat Diabetes? These Scientists Think So

ReliOn products include private label, lower priced versions of blood glucose monitors, lancets, and other diabetes management essentials.

According to CNBC, US lawmakers have scrutinized diabetes drug companies in the past, like Eli Lilly and the French company Sanofi, for increasing prices over the last two decades, leading Sanofi to roll-out a limited price reduction program.

Walmart worked directly with manufacturer Novo Nordisk to reduce costs.

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“This price point, we hope, will improve and hopefully revolutionize the accessibility and affordability of insulin,” said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, Walmart’s executive vice president of health and wellness.

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From 30 Million Infected to Zero: China is Certified Malaria-free by World Health Organization

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Good News Network
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CDC Global via Flickr, CC license

Following a 70-year effort, China has been awarded a malaria-free certification from WHO—a notable feat for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually in the 1940s.

According to the global health organization, every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria, but now China has joined the growing number of countries that are proving that a malaria-free future is a viable goal.

“China’s tireless effort to achieve this important milestone demonstrates how strong political commitment and strengthening national health systems can result in eliminating a disease that once was a major public health problem,” said Dr Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.

Globally, 40 countries and territories have been granted a malaria-free certification from WHO, including Australia, Singapore, El Salvador, Algeria, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uzbekistan.

RELATED: Landmark Malaria Vaccine is 77% Effective, Tackling One of World’s Biggest Killers of Young Children

Beginning in the 1950s, health authorities in China worked to locate and stop the spread of malaria by providing preventive medicines, reducing mosquito breeding grounds, and stepping up the use of insecticide spraying in homes in at-risk areas.

In 1967, the Chinese Government launched the “523 Project”—a nationwide research program aimed at finding new malaria treatments that involved more than 500 scientists from 60 institutions. It led to the discovery in the 1970s of artemisinin—the core compound of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the most effective antimalarial drugs available today.

In the 1980s, China was one of the first countries in the world to extensively test the use of insecticide-treated nets. By 1988, more than 2.4 million nets had been distributed nationwide, which led to such a drastic reduction in the disease that by the end of 1990, the number of deaths was reduced by 95%.

RELATED: China Passes Landmark Law Protecting the Yangtze – One of China’s ‘Mother Rivers’

In 2020, after reporting 4 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases, China applied for an official WHO certification of malaria elimination. Members of the independent Malaria Elimination Certification Panel travelled to China in May 2021 to verify the country’s malaria-free status as well as its program to prevent re-establishment of the disease.

Effective multi-sector collaboration was also key to success. In 2010, 13 ministries in China—including those representing health, education, finance, research and science, development, public security, the army, police, commerce, industry and information technology, customs, media and tourism—joined forces to end malaria nationwide.

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“It’s the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.” – Frank Warren

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “It’s the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.” – Frank Warren

Photo: by Fonzie‘s cousin on Flickr, CC license

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?

by Fonzie‘s cousin on Flickr, CC license

 

Dog Thrown From Car in Accident Found Herding Sheep on Nearby Farm

By
Judy Cole
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Idaho State Police
Idaho State Police

How did Sherlock Holmes solve The Case of the Missing Sheepdog? By using simple logic. What do sheepdogs do? They herd sheep. So, if a sheepdog were to suddenly vanish, where might one expect to find him? Herding sheep, of course.

All right, for all you sticklers, we’re aware that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never wrote a story called The Case of the Missing Sheep Dog, but when Tilly, a 2-year-old border collie/red heeler mix recently went AWOL after his humans and their truck were involved in a traffic accident, he was later located practicing his herding skills on a flock at a nearby farm.

Tilly (named for Gonzaga University basketball player Killian Tillie, currently on the roster of the Memphis Grizzlies) was thrown from the Oswald family’s GMC Yukon when it collided with a Buick LeSabre late last Sunday morning on Idaho State Highway 41 near Rathdrum. Ejected through a broken window, a frightened Tilly ran off through the fields.

A search was mounted almost immediately. Strangers stopped their cars near the site of the crash to help Mike and Linda Oswald look for their lost fur baby.

After 10 hours of hunting with no luck, the Oswalds called it a night and headed home, but not before posting a picture of Tilly to Facebook and asking for folks to be on the lookout for their precious pooch. Their plea was shared more than 3,000 times.

The following Tuesday, Tyler Potter noted something peculiar going on with one of the dogs on their family farm: an Aussie Shepherd named Hooey looked a bit off—like his fur was darker. She mentioned it to her brother, Travis.

But it was only later, when another brother, Zane noticed Hooey behaving strangely—rather than coming when called, the normally obedient hound ran in the other direction—the Potters began to suspect something unusual was afoot.

When the siblings finally put two and two together, they realized what they had on their hands wasn’t Hooey not being Hooey, it was, another doggo altogether. Having been privy to the Oswalds’ Facebook post, they knew immediately the counterfeit shepherd was none other than the absconded Tilly.

MORE: Chinese Monk Dedicates Life to Rescuing 8,000 Dogs – He Finds Them New Homes Around the World

By pure coincidence, a Sheriff’s deputy, who happened to be scouting for signs of Tilly, was passing by just as the Potters reached their stunning conclusion. They relinquished custody of the sheepdog impersonator to the peace officer and did not press charges against Tilly for herding without a permit (even though they were fairly certain his enthusiastic but untrained attempts had gone awry and sent several flock members out of the pasture and onto a nearby road embankment).

Linda Oswald confirmed the Potters’ suspicions. “He’ll herd anything,” she told the Spokesman-Review. “When I go to the dog park, he tries to herd the people into one group.”

On Tuesday morning, Tilly was reunited with his joyful family. Unhurt and relieved to be home, the only lingering effect of his two-day adventure was a tremendous thirst (which he unceremoniously assuaged by lapping up huge quantities of water from the commode).

Linda Oswald admitted she’d been heartbroken over the loss of her beloved pet and couldn’t thank everyone who kept up the search enough. If pandemic-related social isolation has an upside, Oswald believes it’s inspired folks to try to reconnect any way they can.

RELATED: A Starving Stray Puppy Upended our Mundane, Retired Lives: Finding Purpose After Finding Yiuka

“All of a sudden, I think people saw a time to really jump out and help, even if it was just a small thing like finding a dog,” she told Spokesman-Review. “There’s a lot of kind people out there.”

And so, The Case of the Missing Sheepdog is happily closed… without a single “Elementary, my dear Watson” exclaimed.

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Strangers Track Down Writer Who Launched Message in a Bottle Nearly a Century Ago

By
Judy Cole
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Jennifer Dowker/Nautical North Family Adventures
Jennifer Dowker/Nautical North Family Adventures

Turn back the clock to 1926. Imagine yourself a teenager, your whole life ahead of you, shining with possibility. It’s your birthday. As a gift to yourself, you toss a message in a bottle into the local river and watch it float from sight—never knowing if or when the bright-eyed boy you are now will reconnect with the man you’ll someday become.

While that may not have been the exact scenario, 95 years later, the message—if not the bottle—has finally found its way home.

Jennifer Dowker, who captains Michigan-based Nautical North Family Adventures, spends her summers scuba diving and conducting shipwreck tours from her boat, the Yankee Sunshine. An avid collector, she was performing underwater maintenance on the glass-bottom window when she found a curious curio on the riverbed.

The bottle’s unusual antique shape and green glass were what first caught Dowker’s eye, but on closer inspection, she realized the find was something more. Though damaged and slightly water-logged, she and her crew learned the note inside the bottle had survived an amazing nine-plus decades in the water.

Dated November 1926, it read:

Will the person who finds this bottle return this paper to George Morrow Cheboygan, Michigan and tell where it was found?

Jennifer Dowker/Nautical North Family Adventures

After posting a picture of the long-missing missive to Facebook, word spread like wildfire. More than 100,000 shares and 6,000 comments later, one curious reader managed to locate Morrow’s daughter, Michele Primeau (who “doesn’t do Facebook”) to tell her the story and give her Dowker’s contact information.

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Morrow passed away in 1995, but Primeau recognized her father’s handwriting. With a habit of secreting small notes away in unlikely places, she said that sending a message in a bottle was very much in keeping with his sentimental character.

“I can just see him going out and doing that because it was his birthday,” Primeau told CNN. “I don’t know for sure. But it just sounds like something he would have done.”

Though initially, Dowker told Primeau she’d forward the mementos to her, after sleeping on the idea for a night, Primeau decided a policy of “finders keepers” would better serve her dad’s memory.

“I thought the right thing to do would be to give it to her,” Primeau told CNN. “She found it and that would keep my dad’s name living on.”

Indeed, Dowker plans to put the souvenirs on prominent display and pass the story behind them along, preserving Morrow’s legacy. Primeau has planned a September visit to view the family keepsakes in person.

CHECK OUT: Science Has Already Debunked the Top 20 Myths We Commonly Believe to Be True – Ready to be Surprised?

Now, perhaps it was purely coincidence, but this whole episode happened on Father’s Day weekend. Even if it wasn’t George Morrow’s way of letting his little girl know he was still watching over her all these years later, she says it brought back a boatload of wonderful memories.

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Diver Gets Glorious Glimpse of Giant Sea Worm That Normally Only Comes Out at Night

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Andy Corbley
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YouTube/National Geographic
YouTube/National Geographic

It turns out there are people in the world who, during a dive, choose to swim towards a 26-foot-long pink tube coming right for them. Thank goodness for that, because if there weren’t humanity wouldn’t have gotten the video below.

Videographer Steve Hathaway and his friend Andrew Buttle were diving off the coast of New Zealand in 2019 when they happened to cross paths with a pyrosome—a sometimes-giant, pink, translucent worm-like creature that was so big they could swim through it.

What would normally cause most people to get the heck out of the water was something the two men recognized immediately as totally harmless, and actually a rare spectacle.

Pyrosomes are free-flowing colonies known as tunicates, which consist of thousands of tiny creatures called zooids that come together to form a sort of frame.

Zooids filter feed by pumping water through their bodies and chowing down on plankton, poo, or detritus. This has earned them envious nicknames like “sea squirts” or “cockroaches of the sea.”

In total the divers spent 4 minutes swimming around it, an experience that “was pretty incredible,” Buttle reports to National Geographic. “We could see hundreds of thousands of tiny creatures right up close.”

MORE: Without This New Zealand Penguin Hospital, These Endangered Birds Would Be ‘Functionally Extinct’

These creatures and their cousin the salp are actually very common—it’s just that they’re normally a few centimeters long.

They feed by swimming vertically up to the ocean’s surface at night, and diving back down into the blackness when the sun comes up, a behavior theorized as a necessity for avoiding predation—as the ‘sea squirt’ has no defenses of any kind and is essentially a sort of all-you-can-eat buffet for a fish lucky enough to find one of that size.

One scientist told National Geographic such an event would be as if a human could simply hand on to the back of an elephant whilst eating it.

The marine creatures “reproduce” both sexually and asexually (they are also known for their bioluminescence, or ability to glow) but how they form their large colonies is not understood.

RELATED: Size Doesn’t Matter to a Dolphin Mom As She Adopts a Whale Calf

Hathaway, who spotted the translucent form off of Whakaari Island, 30 miles from the New Zealand coat, says the rich volcanic waters attract all kinds of sea life in summer, something that’s allowed him to have an 11-year career as a videographer filming animals like mantas and whales.

(WATCH the amazing video from National Geographic below.)

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Declared Extinct 100 Years Ago, DNA Found the Gould’s Mouse Still Living On Sunny Island Down Under

By
Andy Corbley
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Australian Wildlife Conservancy/Wayne Lawler
Australian Wildlife Conservancy/Wayne Lawler

It must have been a shock when Emily Roycroft’s computer began telling her the mouse that has been recorded as extinct for over 100 years was alive and sitting on her very desk.

“I was quite surprised, extinction usually doesn’t offer second chances,” Roycroft admitted to ABC Australia. 

The nation has the highest rates of endangered mammals on Earth, but Australia’s endemic rodent population is still more diverse that anywhere else in the world. However many species became endangered or extinct after colonists, or rather the animals onboard their ships, arrived from England.

Gould’s mouse was once thought to be such a casualty, and it was a simple investigation into how this came, or was supposed to have come, to pass that revealed the error.

Using a variety of different specimens from museums and close living relatives, Dr. Roycroft and her colleagues began examining the genetic record of the shaggy-haired, black-eyed mouse and other extinct rodents to see how genetically diverse the populations were at the time before their extinction.

MORE: New Australian Marine Parks Will Protect an Area Twice the Size of the Great Barrier Reef

A genetically-diverse record would suggest that they died off suddenly, as a result of a disease or natural disaster, while a poor genetic record would suggest overhunting by predators like cats and foxes. The pace of the change would also indicate how many years the decline took.

It was the latter that proved the case for Gould’s mouse, but something else appeared in the data collected by Roycroft, and that was the fact that the DNA of the Shark Bay mouse was not similar, but identical to that of Gould’s mouse.

This was a double surprise, first that the two were the same, and secondly because the Gould’s mouse specimen was collected from a museum in New South Wales, 4,000 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Shark Bay island. The hypothesis was that before it became an island, it was part of the continent, and as sea levels rose they trapped the mice there thousands of years ago.

ABC added the two-cents of Dr. Euan Richie, who wasn’t involved in the research, but who works as a wildlife ecologist at Deakin University and considered it “fantastic news.”

RELATED: Scientists Discover a New Brown Species They Named the ‘Chocolate Frog’ – And it’s Adorable

“Given this species occurs in such an isolated and single location, establishing captive breeding colonies and additional wild populations should be a priority,” he said.

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“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” – Louisa May Alcott

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” – Louisa May Alcott

Photo: by Jack Wilson

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?

 

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