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Artist Redesigns Strangers’ Lackluster Flyers for Free–After Finding Them On the Street (WATCH)

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Cleaning poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)
Cleaning poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)

A digital artist who usually charges hundreds of dollars for the service is surprising strangers by redesigning their lackluster flyers for free, after finding them on the street.

Max Kolomatsky came up with the guerrilla marketing idea last year after noticing the many uninspiring posters plastered on street lights, buildings, and subway stations in his New York City neighborhood.

The 25-year-old started taking them home and redesigning them in his spare time, while making videos of the ‘random acts of kindness’ for his TikTok page.

For discreetly pasting the improved flyers around the city, Max has been compared to Banksy, the pop artist who remains anonymous while creating art in public spaces.

He’s completed at least 15 free redesigns, transforming boring and hard to read flyers with eye-catching images, bold colors, and a stand-out typeface.

His most popular video, with 11 million views, features a dull, black-and-white flyer for a cleaning service named The Clean Team. He dreamed up a superhero theme that looked like the Avengers armed with spray bottle, mop, and sponge. (Watch the fun video at the bottom, showing the transformation…)

Max Kolomatsky–making the world a better place (SWNS)

The Brooklyn freelancer said the first video shows him redesigning a flyer for a group looking for people to join them in playing Catan—and the result was totally unexpected..

“I recorded it for TikTok and the reaction was pretty instant. I posted it at 5pm and it had over a million views by the time I went to sleep. The group found the TikTok on the first night and they loved it.

“They were excited that it had just come up on their phone. I was hoping they would see it in public and have a surreal moment but it’s almost better they saw the whole process.”

Max, who has worked in illustration since 2020, has found the surprise redesigns to be a win-win. He gets to market his services and make something for his portfolio while perform an act of kindness that helps local businesses.

Pet-sitting poster redesigned by Max Kolomatsky shared on TikTok @cool_lookin_bug (via SWNS)

Hundreds of people have reached out to Max after seeing his TikToks, asking him to work his creative magic on their signs but he declines to work that way. He will continue picking random posters that grab his attention (or lack thereof) on the streets of New York.

LOOK: Whimsical Street Art Catches Everyone Off Guard and Delights Downtown Boston at 16 Locations–LOOK

“I prefer to do this slowly—quality over quantity— telling the stories on TikTok in a compelling way.

Max uses Adobe software and the company took notice of his viral social media presence, and they now have a paid partnership that allows Adobe to posts Max’s content on their TikTok page.

Max has also enjoyed meeting a few of the flyer-makers in person—like the goth band that was looking for a guitarist and drummer. They did complete their band and they’ve released new music.

Max Kolomatsky’s reimagined sign ‘We’re open’ – SWNS

“They had actually seen some of my videos beforehand and someone had made a joke to them like ‘what if that guy redesigns it?”

“I gave them copies of the flyer and it was good promo for them.”

WATCH: Woman Brings Joy to Wyoming Town by Creating Hundreds of Personalized Snowmen–One for Each Citizen

Max has never put his contact info on the public posters but it is something he’s considered changing.

“I was attracted to that idea of it being anonymous—just thinking about the moment a stranger discovers it. But the ones with small businesses, I want to try and see if I can attach files or something like that.”

Despite the reaction to Max’s artwork being overwhelmingly positive he has received a few negative comments.

“A lot of people in the goth community who commented on that video said they liked the original flyer better, because it was janky and homemade.

ART FROM THE DIRT: Artist Creates Stunning Portraits Using Just Pebbles in Amazing Time Lapse Video-LOOK

“It was a turning point in the project for me because it made me very aware (that) I don’t want to make an image more corporate or take charm away from the street.”

Perhaps the best part about his viral videos is that they’ve given other people the idea to do the same thing in their cities, like Berlin. It’s a win-win for the gig economy and freelance designers everywhere, no matter the language.

WATCH a wonderful compilation by SWNS…

MULTIPLY THE GOOD By Sharing the Cool Idea on Social Media…

Hand-held Test for Breast Cancer Uses Your Saliva and Gives Accurate Readings in 5 Seconds

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File photo by Marco Verch, CC license
File photo by Marco Verch, CC license

Do women prefer a mammogram to test for breast cancer? Or would they rather place a tiny sample of saliva on a test strip and get the results in under five seconds?

A new hand-held portable device is not only extremely quick and easy to use but very cost effective, say scientists from the University of Florida and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.

The device itself, about the size of your hand, uses common components that cost just five dollars and uses widely available glucose testing strips costing just a few cents each.

The biosensor works by using paper test strips treated with specific antibodies that interact with the targeted cancer biomarkers.

When a drop of saliva is placed on the strip, pulses of electricity are sent to electrical contact points on the biosensor device.

Compared to the costly alternatives of Mammograms, which expose women to radiation—or MRIs and ultrasounds which require expensive equipment—researchers called the device revolutionary.

The team believes their device, which uses the open-source hardware-software platform Arduino, can help people in remote areas to detect breast cancer early on.

MORE BREAST CANCER BREAKTHROUGHS: AI Can Accurately Detect 20% More Breast Cancers than Traditional Screening by Radiologists

The study’s author, University of Florida PhD student Hsiao-Hsuan Wan said, “Imagine medical staff conducting breast cancer screening in communities or hospitals.”

“In many places, especially in developing countries, advanced technologies like MRI for breast cancer testing may not be readily available,” she said. “Our technology is cost-effective, with the reusable circuit board priced at $5.”

Printed circuit board in saliva-based biosensor for detecting cancer CREDIT: HSIAO-HSUAN WAN (via SWNS)

The electrical pulses produced on the test strips cause the biomarkers to bind to the antibodies and produce a change in the output signal, which can be measured and translated into digital information about how much biomarker is present.

The results from testing the device, published in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, showed that it could provide accurate test results even if the concentration of the cancer biomarker in the sample is only one quadrillionth of a gram, or one femtogram, per milliliter.

“The highlight for me was when I saw readings that clearly distinguished between healthy individuals and those with cancer,” said Ms. Wan in a media release from the American Institute of Physics.

“We dedicated a lot of time and effort to perfecting the strip, board, and other components. Ultimately, we’ve created a technique that has the potential to help people all around the world.”

CUTTING EDGE BREAST CANCER TEST: Protein Changes in Blood Could Become New Test for Catching Breast Cancer Up to 2 Years Early

“We are excited about the potential to make a significant impact in areas where people might not have had the resources for breast cancer screening tests before.”

SHARE THIS AMAZING Breakthrough By Sharing With Women on Social Media…

Your Horoscope for the Week – ‘Free Will Astrology’ From Rob Brezsny

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

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of February 17, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Poet Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) lived till age 76, but her destiny was a rough ride. Her native country, the authoritarian Soviet Union, censored her work and imprisoned her friends and family. In one of her poems, she wrote, “If I can’t have love, if I can’t find peace, give me a bitter glory.” She got the latter wish. She came close to winning a Nobel Prize and is now renowned as a great poet and heroic symbol of principled resistance to tyranny. Dear Aquarius, I predict that your life in the coming months will be very different from Akhmatova’s. I expect you will enjoy more peace and love than you’ve had in a long time. Glory will stream your way, too, but it will be graceful, never bitter. The effects will be heightened if you express principled resistance to tyranny.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Piscean perfumer Sophia Grojsman says, “Our lives are quiet. We like to be disturbed by delight.” To that end, she has created over 30 best-selling fragrances, including Eternity Purple Orchid, Désir Coulant (Flowing Desire), Spellbound, Volupté (Pleasure), and Jelisaveta (“God is abundance”). I bring this up, Pisces, because I believe it’s now essential for you to be disturbed by delight—as well as to disturb others with delight. Please do what’s necessary to become a potent magnet for marvelous interruptions, sublime interventions, and blissful intrusions. And make yourself into a provider of those healing subversions, too.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Some stories don’t have a distinct and orderly beginning, middle, and end. At any one point, it may be hard to know where you are. Other tales have a clear beginning, middle, and end, but the parts occur out of order; maybe the middle happens first, then the end, followed by the beginning. Every other variation is possible, too. And then there’s the fact that the beginning of a new story is implied at the end of many stories, even stories with fuzzy plots and ambiguous endings. Keep these ruminations in mind during the coming weeks, Aries. You will be in a phase when it’s essential to know what story you are living in and where you are located in the plot’s unfoldment.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
As I meditate on your destiny in the near future, I sense you will summon extra courage, perhaps even fearless and heroic energy. I wonder if you will save a drowning person, or rescue a child from a burning building, or administer successful CPR to a stranger who has collapsed on the street. Although I suspect your adventures will be less dramatic than those, they may still be epic. Maybe you will audaciously expose corruption and deceit, or persuade a friend to not commit self-harm, or speak bold thoughts you haven’t had the daring to utter before.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Lately, you have been learning more than you thought possible. You have surpassed and transcended previous limits in your understanding of how the world works. Congratulations! I believe the numerous awakenings stem from your willingness to wander freely into the edgy frontier—and then stay there to gather in all the surprising discoveries and revelations flowing your way. I will love it if you continue your pilgrimage out there beyond the borders for a while longer.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As I study the astrological omens for the coming weeks, I suspect you will feel more at home in a situation that has previously felt unnerving or alien. Or you will expedite the arrival of the future by connecting more deeply with your roots. Or you will cultivate more peace and serenity by exploring exotic places. To be honest, though, the planetary configurations are half-mystifying me; I’m offering my best guesses. You may assemble a strong foundation for an experimental fantasy. Or perhaps you will engage in imaginary travel, enabling you to wander widely without leaving your sanctuary. Or all of the above.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Of your hundreds of wishes and yearnings, Leo, which is the highest on your priority list? And which are the next two? What are the sweet, rich, inspiring experiences you want more than anything else in life? I invite you to compile a tally of your top three longings. Write them on a piece of paper. Draw or paste an evocative symbol next to each one. Then place this holy document in a prominent spot that you will see regularly. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you are in a phase when focusing and intensifying your intentions will bring big rewards.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy hiked across Spain along the famous pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago. On the way, he felt so brave and strong that at one point he paradoxically had a sobbing breakdown. He realized how fear had always dominated his life. With this chronic agitation absent for the first time ever, he felt free to be his genuine self. “I started to feel more comfortable in the world and consequently in my own skin,” he testified, concluding, “I think travel obliterates fear.” I recommend applying his prescription to yourself in the coming months, Virgo—in whatever ways your intuition tells you are right. Cosmic forces will be aligned with you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In the natural world, there are four partnership styles. In the parasitic variety, one living thing damages another while exploiting it. In the commensal mode, there is exploitation by one partner, but no harm occurs. In the epizoic model, one creature serves as a vehicle for the other but gets nothing in return. The fourth kind of partnership is symbiotic. It’s beneficial to both parties. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Libra, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to take an inventory of your alliances and affiliations—and begin to de-emphasize, even phase out, all but the symbiotic ones.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio author Dan Savage says, “I wish I could let myself eat and eat and eat.” He imagines what it would be like if he didn’t “have to monitor the foods I put in my mouth or go to the gym anymore.” He feels envious of those who have no inhibitions about being gluttonous. In alignment with astrological aspects, I authorize Savage and all Scorpios to temporarily set aside such inhibitions. Take a brief break. Experiment with what it feels like to free yourself to ingest big helpings of food and drink—as well as metaphorical kinds of nourishment like love, sensations, and entertainment. Just for now, allow yourself to play around with voraciousness. You may be surprised at the deeper liberations it triggers.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Dear Wise Gambler: You rank high in your spacious intelligence, intuitive logic, and robust fantasy life. There’s only one factor that may diminish your ability to discern the difference between wise and unwise gambles. That’s your tendency to get so excited by big, expansive ideas that you neglect to account for messy, inconvenient details. And it’s especially important not to dismiss or underplay those details in the coming weeks. If you include them in your assessments, you will indeed be the shrewdest of wise gamblers.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn golfer Tiger Woods is one of the all-time greats. He holds numerous records and has won scores of tournaments. On 20 occasions, he has accomplished the most difficult feat: hitting a hole-in-one. But the weird fact is that there were two decades (1998–2018) between his 19th and 20th holes-in-one. I suspect your own fallow time came in 2023, Capricorn. By now, you should be back in the hole-in-one groove, metaphorically speaking. And the coming months may bring a series of such crowning strokes.

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…

“Honesty pays, but it doesn’t seem to pay enough to suit some people.” – F.M. Hubbard

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Quote of the Day: “Honesty pays, but it doesn’t seem to pay enough to suit some people.” – F.M. Hubbard

Photo by: Jackie Hope (cropped)

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?

Young People in These G7 Countries are Interested in Investing and Find Savings Accounts ‘Sexy’ – New Poll

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Andy Corbley
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credit - OnePoll via SWNS
OnePoll via SWNS

Survey data from two of the G7 countries show that financial planning and fiscal responsibility are attractive to a potential partner.

In America, a large survey showed that significant numbers of younger people find having a savings account sexy.

Meanwhile in Japan, a three-fourths majority of surveyed high schoolers said they were keenly interested in investing, and even at such a tender age, almost 5% had already started.

Private savings aren’t just a responsible thing for an individual or couple to maintain in order to have a secure life, they are the singular cause of wealth in human society.

According to a OnePoll survey of 2,000 U.S. adults in serious relationships, engaged or married, having a savings account (40%), not having any debt (38%), and having a five-year plan (29%) are all attractive traits in a partner.

78% of respondents agreed that someone who prepares for the future is more attractive than someone who flies by the seat of their pants.

More than two-thirds (69%) attribute their preparedness to their partner—either putting these plans in place to protect them (35%) or to make them feel secure (34%).

Conducted on behalf of Assurance IQ, the survey also looked to uncover how love changes as you grow older and how couples are preparing for the future together.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN INVESTING: Lack of Financial Literacy in Schools Inspires Launch of Podcast to Teach People How to Protect Their Wealth

The second survey, conducted by Studyplus Trend Kenkyujo, the research arm of Tokyo-based education-related service provider Studyplus Inc., found that more than 70% of high school students in Japan are interested in investing, and 4.7% have already started.

Thanks to the magic of compounding, the earlier a person can start investing or saving, the more money they will have when they decide not to work anymore.

The study proffered a questionnaire to 512 high schoolers at the end of the 2023 academic year. Of the 4.7% who had already begun investing, 4.5% said they did so with the help of, or under the influence from, their parents or other relatives.

“Adults close to high school students, such as parents and teachers, need to create opportunities for them to properly learn about finance and guide them correctly,” the researchers said.

MORE IMPRESSIVE STATS ABOUT THE YOUTH: Youth Crime in the U.S. Has Plummeted 78% Since 1994, Which Counters the Usual Narrative

Financial literacy is a barren topic in American high schools, but unlike biology or algebra, it’s a skill they are 100% likely to need at some point.

Humans saving their wealth is what turned societies from tribes of hunter-gatherers into the complex technological marvels they are today. When people had savings, they had time to think, and when they had time to think, they invented better ways of living and working.

Fast-forward to modern society, and the same principle is present. Private wealth deposited in financial institutions like banks or funds allows those institutions to lend to people with ideas for how to make society better—to start businesses, to innovate, to expand, to construct bridges and other infrastructure.

This is the story of how Japan became the global manufacturing powerhouse of the second half of the 20th century—through constant savings and investment at rates as high as 18.2% for the average household.

The surveys suggest that maybe the world is in more responsible hands than the baby-boomer generation might imagine.

SHARE This Encouraging Data About Financial Trends Among Youth… 

Politician Declared Winner But Gives Up His Seat When He Learns of Election Interference on his Behalf

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Andy Corbley
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Photo by The Artist Studio
File photo by The Artist Studio

In one of the most contentious elections in recent memory, a newly-elected provincial parliamentarian in Pakistan was declared victorious. But, in a display of honesty and fairness, he gave up the seat to his opponent after discovering significant vote tampering had facilitated the win.

Mr. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, from the mainstream Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, believed he had won Karachi’s provincial seat #129, after defeating independent candidate Saif Bari, backed by the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Election results showed Mr. Rehman earning more than 26,000 votes, but he later told Reuters that he discovered the tally for his opponent had been reduced, without explanation, from 31,000 to 11,000 after the voting machines were tabulated.

“Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win, let the loser lose, no one should get anything extra,” Rehman told Reuters on Wednesday.

“I will not accept it, the winner should be given the victory.”

Pakistan experienced a populist political shift during the election of Imran Khan, of the PTI party, to Prime Minister in 2018. His victory saw a loss of influence and control among the powerful military establishment and its preferred political party. Khan was later removed from office after a no-confidence vote, and then he was jailed on a variety of charges, leading to political instability, martial law in some cases, and censorship of the press.

MORE GOOD NEWS FROM PAKISTAN: ‘Mating Glaciers’ High up in Pakistan’s Mountains Could Yield Climate Change Gamechanger

This year’s local and national elections in Pakistan were disputed before they began. Similar to what happened in the U.S., when then-President Trump declared the 2020 presidential election to be unfair and rigged even before the votes were cast, PTI members and supporters believed their opponents would do anything to prevent a PTI victory. Claims of voter suppression and fraud were leveled all over the country—but in Pakistan, unlike the U.S., there was factual evidence to prove the claims true, at least in one race.

Amid the chaos, Rehman remained just as a lighthouse—a beacon in the storm—reminding those with heated tempers that if you participate in the democratic process, you commit yourself to accepting the will of the people, to learning what they desire, and then to try again in 4 years.

MORE INSPIRING PAKISTANS: Pakistan’s First Female Architect Delivers Bamboo-Built Relief Shelters to Flooded Countryside

Despite the allegations—and at least some evidence—of votes being suppressed or thrown out, the upstart PTI stunned the country’s political establishment, winning the majority of seats in the parliament. Mr. Rehman’s honesty provided one of those victories.

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of An Honest Politician With Your Friends… 

Hearts Melt as Truck Firm Transports Tons of Snow from North to South for Special Needs Kids to Have Fun

By
Andy Corbley
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Beijing Truck Home Information Technology - retrieved from Douyin (TikTok)
Beijing Truck Home Information Technology – retrieved from Douyin (TikTok)

A Chinese commercial trucking company paid nearly $30,000 to truck thousands of pounds of snow from the frozen northern city of Harbin to a special needs school in the tropical southern metropolis of Guangzhou.

Officially, it was Beijing Truck Home Information Technology’s demonstration run of their refrigerated trucks, but for the drivers and staff who participated in the event, it was all about seeing the children’s joy.

Leaving Harbin on January 28th, the convoy drove 1,960 miles, or 3,300 kilometers, arriving at Xingzhi Children’s Growth Center on February the 1st.

The trucks then dumped out the snow and gave almost 2,000 children with autism and other impairments the chance to experience snow for the first time ever.

“We’re giving the snow to a special school in the south, giving a chance for children to experience the fun of snow fighting and making snowmen,” an employee of the trucking company said.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Hero Passerby Scales Building in China to Save Boy Who Fell Out Window Onto a Ledge

Teachers at the school told Red Star News that some of the kids at Xingzhi will never be able to see snow. It’s too far away, and their parents don’t have the resources.

Beijing Truck Home Information Technology – retrieved from Douyin (TikTok)

“It was a nature lesson. Usually, we give them pictures in class and tell them that this is snow and this is a snowman,” one teacher said. “They really saw the real thing this time.”

Another teacher told South China Morning Post that “they had a great time”.

OTHER VIRAL ACTS OF KINDNESS: Secret Donor Gives and Gives for 25 Years–$2.3 Million to Fund Education and Support for Poorer Families in China

According to SCMP, these kinds of positive stories spread like wildfire on Chinese social media, and the comments section was filled with well-wishes to the company for thinking of these disadvantaged kids.

“The snow may be cold, but everyone’s heart has completely melted,” one commenter siad poetically.

SHARE This Heartmelting Act Of Cold Kindness From China With Your Friends… 

Charlotte the Stingray, Single for 8 Years, Celebrated V-day with ‘Impossible’ Litter of Non-Fertilized Eggs

By
Andy Corbley
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Charlotte the stingray - Released by Aquarium and Shark Lab
Charlotte the stingray – Released by Aquarium and Shark Lab

It’s hard being alone on Valentine’s Day—something that Charlotte the round stingray had experienced for eight years in a row.

But this year she decided she wasn’t going to wait for that special someone to celebrate the day of lovers, and managed to get pregnant without a man in sight for miles.

This Valentine’s Day miracle is technically called “parthenogenesis” a kind of asexual reproduction seen in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish—but not mammals.

Lacking any genetic material from a male, the female’s egg fuses with another cell known as a polar body, triggers cellular division, and voila—an embryo appears.

The staff at North Carolina’s Aquarium and Shark Lab first noticed that Charlotte was blowing up like a balloon and believed it was merely a case of too much food—but an ultrasound revealed that parthenogenesis had occurred, and that Charlotte would be a mom of 4 pups in the coming weeks.

“We were all like, ‘shut the back door, there’s no way’,” Brenda Ramer, executive director of the small aquarium in Hendersonville, told ABC News Australia. “We thought we were overfeeding her. But we were overfeeding her because she has more mouths to feed.”

Ramer and her staff were quick to point out that Charlotte hadn’t seen another male stingray in 8 years, and it would have been “impossible” for her to get frisky with some of the sharks that share her tank.

ANOTHER CASE OF PARTHENOGENESIS: Virgin Births Have Been Documented in Rare Bird Population–the Endangered California Condor

Despite being closely related, sharks and rays cannot interbreed; their DNA wouldn’t match up; their ‘anatomy’ even less so.

Kady Lyons, a graduate student at the aquarium, also told ABC Au that she isn’t surprised this auto-impregnation occurred, saying that it’s a case of how “life finds a way.”

SHARE This Story Of Sea Life Auto-Romance With Your Friends… 

“The sweetest of all sounds is praise.” – Xenophon

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Quote of the Day: “The sweetest of all sounds is praise.” – Xenophon

Photo by: Massimo Sartirana

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?

Christian Bale Breaks Ground on 12 Foster Homes to House Hundreds of Transitioning Teens in California

By
Andy Corbley
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Together California groundbreaking – by Victor R. Vega Jr.
Together California groundbreaking – by Victor R. Vega Jr.

The personal passion project of Hollywood A-lister Christian Bale seems to finally be coming to fruition as the Welsh actor recently broke ground on a children’s foster care village in Palmdale, California.

Founding the non-profit Together California, it’s taken Mr. Bale 16 years to really get the show on the road after being inspired to help improve the foster care system following the birth of his daughter in 2005.

Together California acquired a 4.67-acre site adjacent to McAdam Park in Palmdale, a city in the north of LA numbering around 160,000 inhabitants, in 2022. The ground-breaking ceremony coincided with a break in the recent stormy weather, and left both the natural lighting and sense of the future looking a lot more sunny.

“I had the very unrealistic idea that within one year I’d have created a miniature Sound of Music with kids singing on hills in an endlessly joyful environment,” the Batman star told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I discovered no, it takes an awful long time and really well-motivated people. It’s complicated and tough to help kids.

“It should be a hell of a lot easier than it was, but I didn’t flinch for one second.”

Offering pioneering care designed to keep foster siblings together, the “village” will feature 12 three-bedroom townhomes, each housing six children. A full-time, professionally trained foster parent will provide care and support.

MORE FOSTER CARE STORIES: Single Foster Dad Adopts 5 Siblings So They Won’t Have to Be Apart Like He Was in His Childhood

Studio apartments will be available to provide temporary housing for visiting relatives or transitional housing for kids aging out of foster care. A 7,000-square-foot community center will also offer enriching programs and services as part of the project.

Photo by Victor R. Vega Jr.

“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That’s no way to treat kids—and so, we will be the hub for that,” said Bale.

“I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children.”

Together California groundbreaking – by Victor R. Vega Jr.

MORE CELEBRITY PHILANTHROPY: Millionaire Builds 99 Tiny Homes to Cut Homelessness in His Community–He Even Provides Jobs On Site for Them

Bale explained that it was the birth of his daughter, Luka, with his wife Sibi that first enlightened the actor as to the conditions of the foster care system in California.

The state has the largest number of foster kids in the nation, and often it sees siblings go in and get separated—unable to grow up together.

He also said he was influenced by his father, an environmental activist who worked with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Humane Society of the United States, and who moved the family around a lot. Philanthropy was part of David Bale’s life, and Christian recalled there often being people sleeping in the family home who had nowhere else to go.

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of A Celebrity Working To Improve His Adopted Home…

America Has a Higher Percentage of Bilingual Citizens Than the French, Italians, or British

By
Andy Corbley
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Unsplash - Leonardo Toshiro Okubo
Unsplash – Leonardo Toshiro Okubo

Proprietary survey and research data from a DC think tank have demonstrated that a greater percentage of Americans are bilingual than the French, Italians, or British, despite these Europeans having a more immediate need for bilingualism.

Visits to Milano, Paris, or Amsterdam may have given generations of Americans the wrong idea about the talent inherent in the tongues of Europeans: namely that all can easily produce 2 or 3 languages.

The “America the Bilingual Project” has found that the EU average for number of bilingual citizens is 25% of a country’s population, while the US is 23%—a few percentage points higher than France and Britain, just 5% less than Germany, and double that of the Italians.

There are approximately 76 million bilingual Americans, which is 3-times as many as Germany, the next highest country in Europe in terms of absolute numbers of bilingual citizens, but also represents more speakers of the world’s most-spoken languages than any other country.

The US has more English-Spanish bilinguals than all of Latin America combined, so it’s no surprise that the Project found that 66% of American bilinguals are Spanish speakers, but the US also contains more than one million speakers of seven other languages. These include Tagalog (Filipino), Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese (Cantonese), Korean, but also French and German.

MORE LANGUAGE DATA: Deaf-Blind Communities Have Created a New Language of Touch

The US has between 100,000 and 1 million speakers of 35 other languages, the higher end represented by Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, and Italian, and the lower end represented by Persian (Farsi), Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Thai, Ukrainian, and Dutch.

CHECK OUT THIS GUY: Carpet Cleaner With Autism Has Learned 40 Languages – Watch His Talent in Action

Obviously immigration is a large part of this success story, but it wasn’t always so. The trend up into the 1960s was actually the rapid abandonment of native languages over the first and second generations following immigration—a rate faster and more prevalent than what is found in any country on Earth.

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However, after 1960, the trend reversed, with greater and greater rates of bilingualism developing. An estimated 10%, approximately seven million American bilinguals, grew up in English-speaking homes but managed to gain professional competence in a second language, showing that America’s bilingualism boom wasn’t just down to immigration.

The Project’s founder Steve Leveen, believes that America’s bilingual abilities represent the perfect way to build American soft power around the globe, as not only does our country contain the largest repository of native English-speakers, but also these sky-high rates of bilingualism.

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Geologists Found a Mega-Structure Built by Ice Age Hunters Submerged in the Baltic Sea

By
Andy Corbley
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Graphical reconstruction of the stonewall as a hunting structure in a Late Glacial / Early Holocene landscape, based on multibeam bathymetric data and an underwater 3D model - credit Michał Grabowski.
Graphical reconstruction of the stonewall as a hunting structure in a Late Glacial / Early Holocene landscape – Credit: Michał Grabowski

In the autumn of 2021, geologists discovered an unusual row of stones, more than half a mile long, just 21 meters below the sea off the Baltic coast.

The approximately 1,500 stones are aligned so regularly that a natural origin seems unlikely. A team of researchers from different disciplines now concluded that Stone Age hunter-gatherers likely built this structure around 11,000 years ago to hunt reindeer.

The finding represents the first discovery of a Stone Age hunting structure in the Baltic Sea region. The scientists now present their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Originally, a team of researchers and students from Kiel University (CAU) wanted to investigate manganese crusts on a ridge of basal till that forms the seafloor about 6 miles off the coast of the Pomeranian town of Rerik.

During their survey, however, they stumbled upon this strange row of stones characterized by many smaller stones that connect several large boulders. The researchers reported their discovery to the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Agency for Culture and Monument Preservation.

Today, the Baltic Sea is around 68 feet (21 meters) deep at this location. Thus, the stone wall must have been built before the sea level rose significantly after the end of the last ice age, which happened for the last time around 8,500 years ago. Large parts of the previously accessible landscape ultimately flooded at that time, but beforehand, the end of the wall likely touched a bog or lake; as can be seen in the basin-shaped depression underwater.

For German readers, a more complex study was carried out by the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), the research priority area at Kiel Marine Science at Kiel University, the University of Rostock, the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA, since 2024 part of the Leibniz Centre for Archaeology LEIZA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) as well as the LAKD M-V.

MORE FINDS UNDER SHALLOW SEAS: 7,000-year-old Road Uncovered in Croatia is Paved in Stone–A ‘Sensational Find’

This multi-disciplinary team used modern geophysical methods to create a detailed 3D model of the wall and to reconstruct the structure of the ancient landscape. Using sediment samples from the adjacent basin to the south, it was possible to narrow down the period when the wall could have been built. Furthermore, research divers from the universities of Rostock and Kiel explored the stone wall.

“Our investigations indicate that a natural origin of the underwater stone wall as well as a construction in modern times, for instance in connection with submarine cable laying or stone harvesting, is not very likely,” explains Jacob Geersen, lead author of the study. “The methodical arrangement of the many small stones that connect the large, non-moveable boulders, speaks against this.”

Excluding natural processes and a modern origin, the stone wall could only have been formed after the end of the last ice age, when the landscape was not yet flooded by the Baltic Sea.

3D model of a short section of the stone wall – Credit: P. Hoy, University of Rostock, model created using Agisoft Metashape by J. Auer, LAKD M-V

“At this time, the entire population across northern Europe was likely below 5,000 people. One of their main food sources were herds of reindeer, which migrated seasonally through the sparsely vegetated post-glacial landscape,” said Marcel Bradtmöller from the University of Rostock.

“The wall was probably used to guide the reindeer into a bottleneck between the adjacent lakeshore and the wall, or even into the lake, where the Stone Age hunters could kill them more easily with their weapons.”

STONE AGE DISCOVERIES: Scotland Claims it’s Found 5,000 Year Old Monument on ‘par with Stonehenge’ on the Isle of Arran

Such tactics would have been important, since it takes tremendous skill and physical power to throw something like a wooden spear at a large animal like a reindeer and actually wound it.

Comparable prehistoric hunting structures have already been found in other parts of the world, for example at the bottom of Lake Huron (Michigan) at a depth of 30 meters. Here, US archaeologists documented stone walls as well as hunting blinds constructed for hunting caribou, the North American equivalent of reindeer. The stone walls in Lake Huron and in Rerik share many characteristics such as a location on the flank of a topographic ridge, as well as a subparallel trending lakeshore on one side.

As the last reindeer herds disappeared from our latitudes around 11,000 years ago, when the climate became warmer and forests were spreading, the stone wall was most likely not built after this time. This would make it the oldest human structure ever discovered in the Baltic Sea.

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“Although numerous well-preserved archaeological sites from the Stone Age are known from the Bay of Wismar and along the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, these are located in much shallower water depths and mostly date to the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (approx. 7,000 – 2,500 BCE),” explains Jens Auer from the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation (LAKD M-V), who was involved in the exploration and sampling of many of these sites.

The stone wall and the surrounding seabed will be investigated in more detail using side-scan sonar, sediment echo sounder, and multibeam echo sounder devices. Additionally, research divers from the University of Rostock and archaeologists from the LAKD M-V are planning further diving campaigns to search the stone wall and its surroundings for archaeological finds that could help with the interpretation of the structure.

Luminescence dating, which can be used to determine when the surface of a stone was last exposed to sunlight, may help to get a more precise date of when the stone wall was constructed. Furthermore, the researchers intend to reconstruct the ancient surrounding landscape in more detail.

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After Mojave Fires, Camels Help Restore Iconic Joshua Tree Groves in the Cherished California Desert

By
Andy Corbley
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Nance Fite (baseball hat), Jennifer Lagusker (cowboy hat) and other volunteers posing with the camels - supplied to the media by Jennifer Lagusker
Nance Fite (baseball hat), Jennifer Lagusker (cowboy hat), and other volunteers posing with the camels – supplied to the media by Jennifer Lagusker

The Mojave National Preserve is having its iconic Joshua trees restored thanks to a crack team of a dozen volunteers, 3 beasts, and 6 humps.

Following wildfires in 2020 and 2023, the National Parks Service undertook a massive project to breed Joshua trees in nurseries and pack them into the high desert country, and a team of volunteers are using camels to do it.

Camels (two humps), not to be confused with dromedaries (1 hump), would have been present on the North American continent during the last Ice Age thanks to the Bearing Land Bridge, so their presence isn’t a total disturbance.

And indeed, the volunteers working with the camels on behalf of the National Park Service argue they cause less disturbance than mules or horses.

Speaking of the Ice Age, the Mojave Desert’s Joshua tree forests are the most expansive in the country, but they were only able to number in the millions because of the Giant Ground Sloth, reports LAist.

These huge furry mammals fed on the Joshua trees, and would have been like double-decker buses for their seeds, carting them around to all corners of the desert. Since their extinction, the plant has had to rely on wind and rodents, with decidedly less success.

– National Parks Service

The germination rate is now extremely low, so the NPS knew the only way to ensure the Joshua tree forests remained as robust as possible was to start a reforestation program for them—setting up a nursery in the Mojave Wilderness Area right on top of the burnt scar from the fires in 2020.

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Being that the Mojave is a National Wilderness, there are no roads, no tracks, and no ICE vehicles are permitted inside, so volunteers with the NPS were reduced to hiking hours to the Cima Dome reforestation site with a few seedlings, the cages to protect them, and water to nourish their growth, before having to walk back to the nursery.

Nance Fite, a longtime volunteer at the Mojave National Preserve, realized she had the perfect solution to the arduous task and called up her friend Jennifer Lagusker.

Camels carry Joshua tree seedlings and water in the Mojave – supplied to the media by Jennifer Lagusker

“The job was to pack them and have them carry these things into wherever the park service had us go,” Lagusker told LAist. “When Nance told me about this, I thought, ‘Well, what better way to advocate for the camel than to show the world, hey, they can pack, they really like it, and honestly, they need that kind of a job.'”

Camels are desert specialists, obviously, but their advantages go beyond helping them survive. Their wide and soft feet allow them to pass across the desert wilderness without disturbing the sandy soil and vegetation.

MORE DESERT RESTORATION: Beavers Saved From Euthanasia Transform and Replenish Rivers in the Utah Desert

Since 2021, Lagusker and her three camels, Herbie, Sully, and Chico, have been doing most of the restoration work at Cima Dome, a remote area scorched by the wildfires, but after a second round of fires in 2023, the Cima Dome project was considered finished after 3,500 seedlings were successfully planted—carried out into the remote desert on Herbie, Sully, and Chico.

This year the caravan is off to another area, where reforestation work on the Joshua trees will carry on for a long while yet.

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“Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.” – Jean de La Fontaine

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.” – Jean de La Fontaine

Photo by: SH Lam

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?

Unprecedented Gift Preserves 8,000 Acres of ‘The Land Between the Rivers’ in Alabama: ‘America’s Amazon’

By
Andy Corbley
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The Land Between the Rivers (Mobile-Tensaw Delta) – Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy in Alabama
The Land Between the Rivers (Mobile-Tensaw Delta) – Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy in Alabama

When considering the great victories of America’s conservationists, we tend to think of the sights and landscapes emblematic of the West, but there’s also a rich history of acknowledging the value of the wetlands of America’s south.

These include such vibrant ecosystems as the Everglades, the Great Dismal Swamp, the floodplains of the Congaree River, and “America’s Amazon” also known as the “Land Between the Rivers”—recently preserved forever thanks to generous donors and work by the Nature Conservancy (TNC).

With what the TNC described as an “unprecedented gift,” 8,000 acres of pristine wetlands where the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers join, known as the Mobile Delta, were purchased for the purpose of conservation for $15 million. The owners chose to sell to TNC rather than to the timber industry which planned to log in the location.

“This is one of the most important conservation victories that we’ve ever been a part of,” said Mitch Reid, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Alabama.

The area is filled with oxbow lakes, creeks, and swamps alongside the rivers, and they’re home to so many species that it ranks as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, such that Reid often jokes that while it has rightfully earned the moniker “America’s Amazon” the Amazon should seriously consider using the moniker “South America’s Mobile.”

The Land Between the Rivers (Mobile-Tensaw Delta) – Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy in Alabama

“This tract represents the largest remaining block of land that we can protect in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. First and foremost, TNC is doing this work for our fellow Alabamians who rightly pride themselves on their relationship with the outdoors,” said Reid, who told Advance Local that it can connect with other protected lands to the north, in an area called the Red Hills.

OTHER WORK FROM AMERICA’S FRONTIERS: Oil and Gas Drilling Pays for 9,350-Acre Expansion of Great Sand Dunes Nat’l Park, Adding Colorado Ranch Wetlands

“Conservation lands in the Delta positions it as an anchor in a corridor of protected lands stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Appalachian Mountains and has long been a priority in TNC’s ongoing efforts to establish resilient and connected landscapes across the region.”

At the moment, no management plan has been sketched out, but TNC believes it must allow the public to use it for recreation as much as possible.

MORE BIG CONSERVATION WINS: River Running Through Zion National Park Will Be Protected Forever Thanks to the Nature Conservancy

The money for the purchase was provided by a government grant and a generous, anonymous donor, along with $5.2 million from the Holdfast Collective—the conservation funding body of Patagonia outfitters.

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program produced a 12-minute virtual tour which you can WATCH below… 

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New Zinc Treatment ‘Can Help to Restore Lost Hearing’ in Mice–University Research Shows

By
Andy Corbley
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Thanos Tzounopoulos, P.H.D. says zinc treatment could restore lost hearing (Photo by John Frazos via SWNS)
Thanos Tzounopoulos, P.H.D. says zinc treatment could restore lost hearing (Photo by John Frazos via SWNS)

Anyone who has ever been to a loud concert knows the feeling of ringing ears. Some people experience temporary or even permanent hearing loss or drastic changes in their perception of sound after the loud noises stop.

Scientists have discovered the biological mechanism of hearing loss caused by loud noise, which helped them find a way to prevent it.

When exposed to loud noises some people experience temporary or even permanent hearing loss or drastic changes in their perception of sound after the loud noises stop.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in the US have now discovered that this noise-induced hearing loss stems from cellular damage in the inner ear that is associated with the excess of free-floating zinc, a mineral that is essential for proper cellular function and hearing.

Their experiments showed drugs that work as molecular sponges trapping excess zinc can help restore lost hearing, or if administered before an expected loud sound exposure, can protect from hearing loss.

“Noise-induced hearing loss can be debilitating. Some people start hearing sounds that aren’t there, developing a condition called tinnitus, which severely affects a person’s quality of life,” said Professor Thanos Tzounopoulos from the Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center.

“Noise-induced hearing loss impairs millions of lives but, because the biology of hearing loss is not fully understood, preventing hearing loss has been an ongoing challenge.”

To get their results, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team studied the inner ear cells of mice.

A CURE FOR HEREDITARY DEAFNESS: 11-Year-Old Moroccan Boy Hears for the First Time Thanks to Experimental Gene Therapy in Philadelphia

They found that hours after mice are exposed to loud noise, their inner ear zinc level spikes which, ultimately, leads to cellular damage and disrupts normal cell-to-cell communication.

Thankfully, mice who were treated with a slow-releasing compound that trapped excess free zinc were less prone to hearing loss and were protected from noise-induced damage.

MORE HEARING-LOSS STORIES: Researchers Discover Proteins That Could Soon Restore Damaged Hearing and Irreversible Deafness

This opens the door for a possible solution to the problem and lays the groundwork for the development of effective and minimally invasive treatments, and even products to protect concertgoers and musicians, in the future.

The researchers hope to test this treatment further with the goal of eventually making it available as a simple, over-the-counter option to protect oneself from hearing loss.

SHARE This Incredibly Simple Method For Potentially Controlling Hearing Los…

Japanese Eels Found Living in Polluted River are Shining Example of Resilience

By
Andy Corbley
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The Dotonbori River street - credit Chee Hong. CC 2.0.
The Dotonbori River street – credit Chee Hong. CC 2.0.

Running under the lights of a seemingly endless corridor of neon-lit advertising boards through a dense urban area of 2.7 million inhabitants, the Dotonbori River, was described as having the water quality of a “toilet bowl.”

Yet this icon of urban Japan hides a slithery secret—a surprisingly robust population of one of the country’s most beloved fish—the Anguilla japonica or Japanese eel.

Last year, the Mainichi—the oldest English daily paper in Japan, partnered with the Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries in the Osaka Prefecture to conduct a study on the population of eels in the Dotonbori River.

They fished up 11 individuals, which was the first time eels had ever been caught in the river under scientific observation. Three now reside at Osaka Biodiversity Research Center to help educate Osakans on the Umi no sachi or “treasures of the sea” that reside in their river.

“The institute says the study confirmed that crabs and other creatures the eels feed on also live in the river, making it a full-fledged ecosystem,” the Mainichi reports.

DNA analysis on some of the captured eels showed they probably migrated into the river from the seas surrounding Osaka.

During the extensive economic development in the post-war period, the Dotonbori was filled with pollution, but saw improvements during the 1980s after the introduction of sluice gates.

The river flows through the Minami Entertainment District, the very heart of urban life in Osaka. In fact, the eels were caught just a quarter-mile from the Ebisu Bridge, a popular tourist spot and the customary location for late-night celebrations following victories by the Osaka baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers.

Anguilla japonica – US public domain

The study highlights wildlife’s remarkable resilience even in the most urbanized areas, and the researchers who conducted it hope that for people who love to eat unagi, or grilled eel in restaurants, the discovery will make them take a greater interest in the preservation of habitat, urban and rural, that this national delicacy needs to survive.

ANOTHER STORY JUST LIKE THIS: Once Biologically Dead, the River Mersey in England is “Best Environmental Story in Europe”

“I’d like people to learn more about the connection between our daily lives and the places we live in,” Yoshihiko Yamamoto, the institute’s lead researcher, told National Geographic. “If people think that eels and other aquatic creatures may be living in their local rivers, they will become interested in biodiversity and conservation.”

In 2014, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed the rather cheery-looking A. japonica as an Endangered species based on the size and rate of population declines since the 1970s. They aren’t rare to see, buy, or catch, though, and remain dispersed across China and the Korean Peninsula.

WILDER JAPAN: Ten Years After a Tsunami Devastated Eastern Japan, a 1,000km Hiking Trail Reclaims the Coast

Yamamoto and his colleagues are petitioning the government to install fish ladders that allow fish to swim over obstacles like lochs and gates, which would help the eels migrate between the sea and river more easily. They are also dropping baskets of rocks to ensure the eels have some habitat to live in down below the flickering lights of the pachinko halls and restaurants.

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of Fishy Resilience With Your Friends… 

100 Hearts Made of Cash Are Hiding Around Denver Today—A Free Valentine’s Day Treasure Hunt Worth $10,000

By
Andy Corbley
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Some say that Valentine’s Day exists solely as an excuse for smiling and romance amid February’s generally awful weather, but today in Denver, there’s a reason for a lot more than smiling—100 reasons to be specific.

An enterprising and artistic Deverite named Xander Phoenix has hidden 100 papier-mâché hearts made of one hundred $1.00 bills all around the Denver metropolitan area.

“The Heart of Money,” is a temporary art installation that delves into the intricate tapestry of human connections with currency, exploring the dynamic interplay between art and money, per the website.

“Beyond the traditional confines of galleries, ‘The Heart of Money’ transforms these often overlooked connections into a visual and emotional experience.”

Each of the 100 hidden hearts will have a QR code that when scanned takes its finder to a website with more information about the art installation and what to do next.

Finders are encouraged to get creative, and can choose, for example, to soak the papier-mâché heart in lukewarm water and turn it back into currency that they can use, or keep the art piece as-is and appreciate both its artistic value and the experience it provided.

OTHER PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS: Whimsical Street Art Catches Everyone Off Guard and Delights Downtown Boston at 16 Locations–LOOK

They could leave the heart for someone else to find, experience, and enjoy, or use it as a convenient gift for a loved one or a stranger on the street to brighten their day, but Phoenix also hopes to see other creative uses for the hearts and that which they contain.

“Ultimately, my goal is to spread love and joy around Denver on Valentine’s Day,” Phoenix said. “It’s a fun way to both create and connect community around some important themes. I hope everyone who goes out looking for the hearts and those who find them have as much fun as we’ve had creating and bringing this street art installation to life.”

“My mother unfortunately passed away just a few months ago,” he continued. “She was an award-winning filmmaker, a feminist, and an activist who was working on a fictionalized memoir of her life when she died. In many ways, this project is a tribute to her and a way to carry on her legacy.”

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“In love, gestures are incomparably more attractive, effective, and valuable than words.” – Francois Rabelais (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “In love, gestures are incomparably more attractive, effective, and valuable than words.” – Francois Rabelais (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

Photo by: mehdi lamaaffar

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?

100-yo D-Day Veteran Knew WWII Was Ending 48 Hours Before Rest of the World–Still Keeps the Historic Note

By
Andy Corbley
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D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan celebrated his 100th birthday in his WWII uniform – SWNS
D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan celebrated his 100th birthday in his WWII uniform – SWNS

Every child born into the Morgan family of Cheshire will be able to hold in their hands a very unique piece of World War II memorabilia thanks to the current patriarch, Bernard.

Sergeant Bernard Morgan was working as a Royal Air Force codebreaker in 1945 when he deciphered a secret telex that read: “The German war is now over… The surrender is effective sometime tomorrow”.

Last week Bernard celebrated his 100th birthday, and while he had already offered copies of the communicae to two different museums, he’s vowed that the real one will pass to his family when he dies.

Ahead of his birthday, the great-grandad read out the note to interviewers, dressed in the uniform he wore on D-day to remind others of the liberties they had won in the victory.

Bernard was the youngest RAF sergeant to land in Normandy in June 1944, when he and his team of codebreakers disembarked on Gold Beach, where the British Army defeated the 352nd Infantry Division and suffered 1,100 casualties.

“I am always keen for the younger generation to know exactly what went on during the War and to appreciate the sacrifice that our lads made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today,” said Morgan.

MORE MEN LIKE MORGAN: 105-Year-old WWII Veteran With No Surviving Relatives Receives 3,000 Birthday Cards

He was stationed in Schneverdingen, Germany, when he got the message on around May 6, 1945, declaring that the war in Europe was ending via his Typex machine.

The note stated:

The German War is now over. At Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed which in effect is a surrender of all personnel of the German forces – all equipment and shipping and all machinery in Germany.

Nothing will be destroyed anywhere. The surrender is effective some time tomorrow. This news will not be communicated to anyone outside the service nor to members of the press.

D-day veteran Bernard Morgan holding the letter on his 100th birthday – SWNS

Following the news, and as you might imagine, Bernard had a big party with his close comrades—lighting a huge bonfire and celebrating into the night while being careful not to give the game away. He kept both the note and his role in the war hidden for 50 years due to secrecy documents he had signed, which finally elapsed in 1994.

“The Imperial War Museum in London and in Manchester both wanted the original copy— they weren’t interested in a photocopy—but I’m keeping it for my family,” he said.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Wife of WWII Soldier Spends Decades to Reunite Japanese Family With Photo Album He Found on Okinawa –LOOK

“It was a surprise,” he said of receiving the note, “we couldn’t tell anybody until we got the final message to say the war in Germany was now over.”

“We had to decode it—it was in code. It was great when we got that. I was in a little place called Schneverdingen, Germany, near Hamburg. It was nice to see that no more soldiers, sailors, or airmen were giving their lives… and also to thank the civilians who gave their lives for the same reason,” he added.

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