An attorney in Chicago was riding the subway home late last Friday evening when she witnessed a spontaneous act of kindness that brought tears to her eyes. Hear The Good News Guru tell the story…
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Clever Kids Leave Amusing Bribe on Superintendent’s Doorstep in Hopes of Scoring a Snow Day
The first round of "Please Call School Off Tomorrow" candy has arrived. Students in my neighborhood really want a Snow Day!!! They remembered my favorite! pic.twitter.com/QQGjBF1tDb
— Doc Cornman (@DocCSupt) January 12, 2018
While these students were unsuccessful in getting their beloved snow day, they certainly get an “A” for effort.
Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman of Hillsboro schools in Missouri tweeted a photo of a mysterious package that was found on his doorstep during last week’s snowy cold snap.
The special delivery consisted of seven Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a note that simply said: “You know what to do”.
RELATED: Candy Theft Victim Rewarded With Car Full of Kit Kats For Everyone
“The first round of “Please Call School Off Tomorrow” candy has arrived. Students in my neighborhood really want a Snow Day!!! They remembered my favorite!” Cornman wrote in the tweet.
“Last year it was Hershey bars and I tweeted to them that I wasn’t a [Hershey] fan… a year later – they remembered and man did they!” he added.
Unfortunately, Cornman was not swayed by the sweet gift and later posted on Twitter saying that school was still on.
The Hillsboro students aren’t the only ones to resort to bribery for a day off, either – Superintendent Dr. Link Luttrell of Festus, Missouri posted a similar photo of a box of Frosty Nerds candy left on his doorstep last week. The enclosed note read: “Don’t be a Nerd #CallItOffLink”.
Getting Creative..Doorbell just rang and when I answered..this was there... #TryingToTwistMyArm pic.twitter.com/x6ESbG6tnR
— Dr. Link (@FestusR6Supt) January 12, 2018
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Watch Violinist Play Private Concert For Street Cats in Enchanting Italian Short Film
An Italian musician has created a purrrr-fect tale of what city cats do after hours – and it doesn’t have anything to do with chasing mice.
In a short film published by Grammy award-winning musician Augustin Hadelich, an alley cat persuades a mysterious violinist to give him and the other stray felines a private concert.
RELATED: Need a Laugh? Watch Award-winning Short Film About Forcing a Cat to Go to the Vet
The violinist delves into “Caprice No. 17” by Nicolò Paganini – a delightful musical number that spurs the local tomcats into an amusing dance number rife with romance and rumpus.
When the violinist finishes with the concerto, he wanders off into the night, leaving the cats in wonder of his secrets.
The short film, which is called Fantasia dei Gatti in Italian, is a mesmerizing promotion of Hadelich’s latest album in which he performs Paganini’s 24 Caprices.
(WATCH the video below)
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Lifeguards Were Just Learning to Use New Rescue Drone When They Saved Boys Trapped at Sea
In a world first, this brand new rescue drone saved the lives of two teenage boys who were trapped out at sea – all while lifeguards were still training to use the technology.
Beachgoers spotted the teens struggling in the waves almost a half mile (700 meters) away from the shore at Lennox Head, New South Wales.
Lifeguards immediately flew the drone over the swimmers and dropped an inflatable “rescue pod”. Once the flotation device was expanded, the youngsters were able to grab onto the pod and safely swim back to shore.
The whole rescue took about 70 seconds – and lifeguards say that it could have taken three times as long if they had not had the drone.
WATCH: Whale Reportedly Protects Diver From Nearby Shark
The New South Wales government only announced their $340,000 (£247,000) investment in drone rescuers back in December. Some of the aircrafts will be used to look for sharks, while others – like the one from this week’s rescue – will be ready to rescue struggling swimmers at a moment’s notice.
(WATCH the video below)
You Should Dolphinately Click To Share This Story With Your Friends (Photo by NSW Government)
“Run my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings.” – Hafiz
Quote of the Day: “Run my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings.” – Hafiz
Source: Photo by Carl Izbicki
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How to Build More Muscle with Less Protein
The Lesson: To reach peak health, we need to maximize our muscle building potential at least once per day – the problem is that 30 grams of protein is the most that your body can use at one time. So instead of eating all your protein in one sitting, it is far healthier to spread it out over 2 or 3 meals each day.
Notable Excerpt: “Maximizing muscle building synthesis in the body is not just for body-builders. It’s beneficial to all of us, but it’s particularly critical to three groups of people: those who are over 50, those who are in the process of losing weight, and those who are recovering from any kind of serious injury, illness, or surgery. All these groups are prone to accelerated muscle loss.”
The Speaker: Monica Reinagel, MS, LD/N, CNS also known as The Nutrition Diva, is an expert on making healthy living as simple to understand as possible. The Baltimore-based nutritionist is the host of the fabulous fitness-centered podcast The Nutrition Diva’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Eating Well and Feeling Fabulous. Additionally, she is the bestselling author of several health books, such as “The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan” and “The Nutrition Diva’s Secrets For a Healthy Diet”.
Podcast: The Nutrition Diva’s show is available on Stitcher, iTunes, Soundcloud, and Spotify.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below)
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World’s First Hand-Painted Movie Honors Vincent Van Gogh and You Can Finally Watch it Now
The world’s first fully painted feature-length film is a beautiful story about the life of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh — and it can now be streamed online for as little as $5.
Loving Vincent, which was directed by Polish painter Dorota Kobiela and Oscar award-winning filmmaker Hugh Welchman, is entirely created using an individual painting for each frame. A team of 100 artists have been working tirelessly for the last six years to paint the movie’s 65,000 frames in the style of Van Gogh.
LOOK: Van Gogh Painting Recreated As Actual Bedroom to Rent on Airbnb
If you’re interested in seeing the film on the big screen, you can check out the Loving Vincent website for showings in your area. You can also stream the film via Amazon.com.
(WATCH the breathtaking trailer below)
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Boy With Down Syndrome Who Only Knows 12 Words Learns to Speak By Singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’
When Amanda Bowman Gray asked her daughter Lydia to watch her 25-month-old son so she could take a shower, she was taken by surprise upon her return.
Once Gray was finished in the bathroom, the mom of three stepped into the hallway and found her kids doing a duet of “You Are My Sunshine”.
Want to know the most incredible part? Because Bo has Down syndrome, he only knows about 12 words – and “every word he has learned has been through music and singing.”
Thanks to his sweet sister, however, he was able to pick up brand-new words from the song’s lyrics.
In a video that Gray posted to Facebook earlier this week, Lydia can be seen strumming her guitar with her little brother by her side.
As they sing, the toddler gets especially excited when he says the words “happy,” “gray,” “dear,” and “away”. It’s obvious that he can’t help but light up as he shows off his new vocabulary.
Please visit our partner’s website to view the sweet video… (GNN earns a small bit of revenue from viewers who click.)
Giving Blood: 5 Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Needles
The number one reason why people refuse to donate blood and platelets is because of their fear of needles – but the Red Cross wants to help ease that fear.
In celebration of National Blood Donor Month, the Red Cross is trying to recruit as many volunteers for blood donations as possible. Harsh weather conditions have already forced the organization to cancel 500 blood drives, amounting to about 13,000 uncollected donations that could have been used to save lives.
As a means of encouraging prospective donors, the Red Cross gives several recommendations for overcoming your fear of needles so you can make a donation and save a life.
For starters, the charity recommends immediately telling their workers about your phobia so they help make the process as tolerable as possible. Bringing along a friend or family member to talk you through the donation can help a great deal as well. They can even donate alongside you so you can both go through the ordeal together.
RELATED: First Ever Study Shows Chair Yoga is Effective Arthritic Treatment
Next, the Red Cross suggests listening to soothing music while you donate. This can be all the more effective if you implement their fourth recommendation and remember to breath deeply, since deep breathing is proven to lower your blood pressure, calm your nerves, and even boost your levels of empathy. You can also visualize happier memories in your head as a distraction from the needle.
Finally, they suggest focusing on the fact that overcoming your phobia will inevitably help save a life.
(WATCH the Red Cross video below)
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North and South Korea are Going to March Under Single Unified Flag at the Olympics
Delegates from North and South Korea have announced that their two countries will march under a single “unification flag” at the Winter Olympics this year.
The announcement came as a result of peace talks that were held by the two nations at the Demilitarized Zone just north of the de facto border between North and South Korea. The talks, which were hosted “to relieve military tensions” are the first of such diplomatic meetings between the two countries in two years.
RELATED: Nature Conservation Becomes Bridge to Peace in the Middle East
While the two Koreas have met under the unification flag nine times in the past, this year’s Olympics will be especially significant because the nations agreed to field one single women’s ice hockey team. It will be the first time that a team has ever competed for both North and South Korea in the Olympics.
North Korea will be sending “as many athletes as possible” to attend the games, as well as a high-level group of delegates, members of the press, cheerleaders, and artists.
The peace talks went so well in the Panmunjoma village, the nations even discussed temporarily lifting their travel bans for the Lunar New Year so families who are separated by the tense border can temporarily reunite for the holiday. The sanctions would also be lifted in order to allow North Korean citizens to attend the Olympics.
(WATCH the video below)
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“Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.” – James Broughton
“Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.” – James Broughton
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?
The 5 Love Languages and How to Improve Any Relationship Just by Knowing How to Use Them
The Lesson: Do you know the Five Love Languages? Each of us have specific ways with which we show our love, and want to be loved in return. Do you prefer Acts of Service, or Words of Affirmation, or Physical Touch? It is also equally important to know how our partners express their love. If a couple’s preferences are incompatible, there are still ways to satisfy each other’s needs—and this example-rich podcast will not only leave you eager to improve your romantic relationships, but also family ties and friendships.
Notable Excerpt: “Pay attention to what other people do. These are clues to what their Love Language is. We must learn to speak the other person’s language (because) love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself. It’s about understanding yourself, but really understanding the other person, too.”
The Host: Dubbed a “Happiness Guru”, best-selling author Gretchen Rubin started her career in law and was clerking at the Supreme Court when she realized she wanted to be a writer. To date, the Manhattan-based speaker has written several biographies, self-help guides, and indexes on the happiest places and practices in the world.
Podcast: Her top-ranking, award-winning podcast, “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” which discusses happiness and good habits.
Books: Rubin is the author of “The Happiness Project”, which spent two years on the New York Times bestsellers list. Her books, including “The Four Tendencies”, “Happier at Home”, and “Better Than Before”, have sold almost three million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.)
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Watch Students Run Cheering Down the Hall When Power Comes Back on in Puerto Rican School
While the laughter of children has been known to brighten up a room, this school’s reaction to electricity is particularly powerful.
The Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo in San Juan, Puerto Rico has been without power for the last 112 days since Hurricane Maria first made landfall in September. As of this week, 62% of Puerto Rican customers have reportedly regained power and 80% of the grid is generating electricity.
RELATED: Celebrity Chef Brings 45,000 Meals to Puerto Rico—and Won’t Stop There
So when power finally returned to the building earlier this week, the students and teachers could not contain their happiness.
In a video posted to the school’s Facebook page, the students can be seen jumping for joy in the hallways, while the teachers can be heard ringing bells to celebrate the electrifying development.
(WATCH the heartwarming video below)
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Father Follows Intuition, Hires Helicopter and Finds Injured Son in Crash
When an Australian father went to the police about his missing son, they assured him that he was simply overreacting – but it’s a good thing that he didn’t listen to them, because he turned out to be correct.
Tony Lethbridge of New South Wales, Australia first became concerned about his son Samuel when he woke up on Sunday morning and found that the 17-year-old had not yet returned from spending the previous night out with his friends.
Members of the local police department tried to soothe Lethbridge’s nerves by saying it was a false alarm, but the dogged dad didn’t believe it.
RELATED: Walmart Clerk Saves Grandfather’s Christmas From Almost Being Scammed Away
“When I saw the police, they thought he’d run away. I said ‘that’s not Samuel.’ When he doesn’t show up or phone, something’s seriously wrong,” Lethbridge told the Associated Press.
He added: “I understand that they’ve got a lot to do and they hear this every day, but I took matters into my own hands and was thinking all night that tomorrow morning, I’m just going to get a helicopter and go looking for him because we’re running out of time — it’s been long enough.”
Lethbridge then walked into the Skyline Aviation Group’s office near their home in Lake Macquarie and asked for help.
WATCH: Dog Breaks Out of Kennel to Comfort Frightened Puppies
Despite Lethbridge not having enough money to rent a helicopter at full price, the pilots decided to give him a discount in lieu of his dire story.
Within fifteen minutes of taking off, the helicopter crew spotted Samuel’s car crashed in the bushes 12 miles from the family’s home. While it was easy to spot from the chopper, it would have been near impossible to see from the road.
When rescue crews arrived at the scene of the crash, Samuel had already been caught in the wreckage for 30 hours – but he was still alive. He is currently being treated for multiple fractures at the hospital, while Samuel’s family is simply grateful that he was found in time.
(WATCH the video below)
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California is Allowing One Million Residents Convicted of Weed Charges to Wipe Slate Clean
Thanks to the groundbreaking legislation that went into full effect on January 1st, over one million California residents can have their past marijuana-related felonies reduced or expunged completely.
Proposition 64, which was passed in November 2016, legalized the recreational use of marijuana for California residents aged 21 or older. Since the legislation was approved, thousands of state residents have already had their marijuana felonies reduced to misdemeanors.
RELATED: Judge Excuses 54-Year-old From Jury Duty When He Reveals He’s in Love For the ‘First Time’
The Drug Policy Alliance estimates that there have been at least 500,000 arrests for marijuana-related incidents over the course of the last 10 years in California alone. Moreover, the organization says that at least one million residents are living under the shadow of such charges altogether.
Not having felonies on their criminal records means that they can vote and apply for loans and licenses. Prop 64 also means that they won’t have to say that they were convicted of a felony when applying for jobs. Additionally, the legislation has spared thousands from having to endure jail time or probation.
Over the course of the last year, state lawyers and marijuana legalization advocates have been hosting free legal workshops to educate residents on how they can apply to get their records changed. According to the Associated Press, getting the old charges dropped can be as easy as spending a few minutes in court.
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Seamstress Uses Expert Mending Skills to Repair Monarch’s Wing and Save Its Life
This artist is setting a new expectation for the phrase “save the butterflies”.
Romy McCloskey is a costume designer who put her needleworking abilities to the test when she rescued a 3-day-old monarch butterfly from certain death by fixing its shredded wing.
McCloskey, who is the proud mother to a garden full of monarchs, first found the baby bug in her backyard last week. While monarch butterflies usually have a lifespan of 2 to 6 weeks, this newborn insect had suffered a deformity while it was pupating in the chrysalis.
WATCH: Hummingbird Refuses to Leave the Dog Who Saved Her Life
Upon determining that the mutation wasn’t due to a parasite, McCloskey took the injured baby into her “operating room” and grabbed her surgical supplies: a towel, a coat hanger, contact cement, a toothpick, tweezers, a cotton swab, scissors, talc powder, and an extra butterfly wing from one of her other recently deceased backyard bugs.
The designer used the coat hanger to secure the body of the butterfly against the towel so it would not struggle while she was attaching the wing. She then cut away the ragged part of its wing to make way for the replacement – and if you’re worried about the butterfly at this point, McCloskey assures her reader that cutting butterfly wings is the equivalent of trimming hair or fingernails.
RELATED: Man Single-handedly Repopulated Butterfly Species in a City Using His Backyard
She then attached the extra butterfly wing to her young patient so that it was virtually good as new.
McCloskey posted photos of the healthy butterfly to Facebook with the caption reading: “You can see that the black lines on his upper right wing don’t match up 100%, and if you look at his lower right wing, [it] is missing the black dot that indicates male gender. Oh, and the white on his wing is the talc used to make sure any stray glue doesn’t make the wings stick together.”
WATCH: Duck Waddles Excitedly When Students Make Him a New Leg
Just to make sure that her patient had made a healthy recovery, she let it rest for a day before giving it some homemade nectar and taking it into the backyard for a little joy ride on its new wing – and judging by the butterfly’s exuberant first flight, the surgery was a huge success.
“A quick spin around the backyard, then a little rest on one of the bushes… then… like the down of a thistle… off he flew! My heart soared with him, for sure!” said McCloskey.
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“In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” –Albert Camus
“In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” –Albert Camus
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?
Hockey Player’s Wife is 276-mi Away When She Goes Into Labor, So Rival Hands Over His Truck
If you or your kids have ever played sports, you know that it can be hard to be extra kind to your opponent when you want to win.
But thankfully for one hockey player, the game didn’t affect his rival’s sense of kindness and sympathy.
Milwaukee Admirals hockey player Pierre-Cédric Labrie woke up in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve just hours before a big game against the Grand Rapids Griffins because he received a phone call saying that his wife was in labor.
He needed to get back to Milwaukee immediately, but he couldn’t find a flight or a ride that would get him there in time.
Luckily, Griffins goalie Tom McCollum stepped up to save the day. He lent Labrie his truck so that he could drive the 276 miles to his wife’s side and witness the birth of their son Lionel.
He made it just in time, too, with only minutes to spare.
“It was an adventure. I made it on time—6:54 she delivered, and I got there by 6:15, 6:20,” Labrie told WXMI News.
Now that’s what real sportsmanship looks like — on and off the court.
CLICK to watch an interview with the happy parents – and be sure to SHARE this sweet story with your friends…
Watch Firefighter Catch Toddler Tossed From Balcony During Fire
In a harrowing drama that was filmed at a Georgia family’s burning home earlier this month, a firefighter managed to catch a toddler as she was tossed by her father from the 3rd story balcony.
While the firefighters of Decatur had originally planned on climbing up the ladders and helping to escort the family down, the fire was spreading rapidly. The father then started to climb down the ladder with the toddler under his arm.
Because the child was hindering his ability to scale down the building, someone yelled for the dad to throw the toddler down to Captain Scott Stroup, who was waiting on the ground below.
WATCH: Heroic Homeless Man Comes to Defense of Female Cop, ‘Something had to be done’
Stroup then caught the child upside down and moved her away from the building, twisting his knee in the process.
While other children were successfully tossed to the rescuers from the balcony and saved from the blaze, Stroup’s heart-stropping rescue was the only one caught on a firefighter’s helmet camera.
The building’s residents have been treated for smoke inhalation, but thanks to the quick response of Decatur’s civil servants, there were no casualties from the fire.
You can donate to the displaced family’s GoFundMe page to help them get back on their feet following the fire.
(WATCH the video below)
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“I’m reminding myself: What I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.” – Gretchen Rubin
Quote of the Day: “I’m reminding myself: What I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.” – Gretchen Rubin
Source: Gretchen Rubin is the author of The Happiness Project, and The Four Tendencies.
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?