Quote of the Day: “Happy are those who dare courageously to defend what they love.” – Ovid
Image by: Muhammad Rahim Ali
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?
100 years ago, Erwin Schrödinger published his theory of wave mechanics, a significant landmark in the development of quantum theory that won him the Nobel Prize. Raised in Austria, but Irish after emigration, the physicist’s theory is known as the Schrödinger equation, and provided a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time—the quantum counterpart of Newton’s second law in classical mechanics. See the equation on his tombstone below. READ more… (1926)
A pharmacy chain in Sweden has started running a trial across its locations with a simple aim: can a few minutes a day of free time help reduce loneliness?
Sweden’s government recently commissioned a large social study about loneliness across its citizenry, and what it found made for heavy reading. 8% of adults don’t have a single close friend.
The major Swedish pharmacy chain Apotek Hjärtat is allowing its workers to have 15 minutes per day, or 1 hour per month, to walk away from the register, the counter, or the shelves, and make a phone call, plan an event, step out to meet someone in person, or just have a chat with co-workers.
Any activity that promotes friendship and friend-making is permitted under the “Friend Care” policy; the company will even give you $100 a year for the purpose.
Monica Magnusson, Apotek Hjärtat’s CEO, told the BBC that the idea for the Friend Care trial came following another initiative that trained pharmacists to recognize loneliness among its clientele.
It invited its staff to ask something out of a series of questions designed to help people, particularly seniors and others who might suffer from social isolation, to come out of their shell.
The idea got Magnusson thinking about whether the company was doing enough along the same lines for its own people.
Yasmine Lindberg is one of Apotek Hjärtat’s employees that the BBC spoke to for its report on the initiative, and she said she often feels lonely since separating from her partner 4 years earlier. Though her teenage kids live with her every other week, she often arrives home from work too tired to go out or make plans with friends.
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Lindberg said the 15 minutes have made a big difference to her, as they’ve proved the kick up the backside she needed to make plans and put herself out there more often, something that Daniel Ek, a Swedish psychologist, told the BBC is something the country struggles with.
SWEDISH STORIES: Sweden Is Trying to Build a Whole City Borough Out of Wood to ‘Show What is Possible’
“The Swedish mentality is like, you shouldn’t disturb others. We value personal space a lot, and we have a hard time breaking the ice,” he told the BBC.
Many Swedish businesses give their employees something called a “friskvård” which can be a compensatory benefit related to wellness activities like fitness courses or massages. Apotek Hjärtat called their Friend Care benefit a “vänvård” in a play-on-words.
SHARE This Instance Of Big Swedish Pharma Looking After The Little Guy…
In a bid to combat overtourism in the Eternal City, the Colosseum Archaeological Park is allowing visitors to virtually access the House of Griffins, the remains of an elite mansion which though well-documented has always been closed to visitors.
The House of Griffins, thusly named for a pair of white stucco griffins decorating an internal portico, was once the residence of a patrician-class Roman from the Republican era.
It was located on the Palatine Hill, the city’s top zip code for wealthy elite, but was demolished and buried to make room for Emperor Domitian’s palace.
The twist of fate was that in burying the bottom floors, the Romans preserved it to an exceptional degree, allowing us to enjoy its artistry and opulence today.
But buried under soil for so long, the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling frescoes are sensitive to moisture and other environmental contaminants. This fact made the House of Griffins a haunt only of researchers.
But with planners seeking to draw visitors away from the most popular attractions, the mansion is now opening to the public for the very first time—via a guide with a smartphone mounted on their head.
“The Colosseum Archaeological Park thus expands its cultural offerings, making accessible a previously invisible, yet well-known and documented, site,” the Colosseum Archaeological Park’s director Simone Quilici said in a statement translated from Italian.
“This achievement is made possible by the integration of archaeology and technology, which is increasingly destined to become the standard.”
A tour guide equipped with a head-mounted smartphone will walk through the space and provide live narration. Above, up to 12 people will be able to watch the tour from a vestibule near the site.
MORE ROMAN ARCHEOLOGY: This 2,300-year-old Mosaic Made of Shells and Coral Has Just Been Found Buried Under Rome
The building was constructed between the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE, where an unknown owner feathered for himself a charming residence among Rome’s elite. It was discovered in the 20th century by archaeologist Giacomo Boni, whose excavations uncovered 8 now-subterranean rooms accessible via a stairwell past an atrium and baths.
Therewithin, colorful mosaics coat the floors, while frescoes cover the walls. The farthest surviving chamber includes green marble-tiled floors and even mirrors. Some of the artworks seem to reminisce of a southern city under the shadow of a mountain: Pompeii.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Hall of Peacock Frescoes Restored at Pompeii Villa Belonging to Emperor Nero’s Wife
Does this mean that the owner himself was a southerner, or maybe just that the artist was?
Whatever the identify of the owner, the top half of his home would eventually be demolished to make room for the palace of Emperor Domitian, close to 200, or even 300 years after the Griffin House was built.
SHARE This Great New Attraction From The Heart Of Rome…
A herd of 6 American bison—3 males and 3 females—have been released onto native Illinois prairie.
There, to the sound of drumming, songs, and cheers, they began to acclimate to their new surroundings—surroundings that had missed them for 200 years.
A large crowd of Santee Sioux, herded together in their woven blankets and synthetic down jackets, had arrived at sunrise on Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve in Kane County, 60 miles northwest of Chicago, to witness something of a homecoming.
“It’s different when you’re welcoming them back home. That’s their home, not mine,” tribal elder Robert Wapahi told CBS News Chicago.
The 6 animals were released from a large trailer into a cattle enclosure to allow them to get used to the idea of the frozen prairie again, and come the spring, they’ll be moved onto a larger area, still fenced, where it’s anticipated they will improve native grasslands.
“It’s really important and awesome to see another herd that is hitting the ground in a good way,” one man said at the event, where drummers sang a song as the trailer arrived.
The American Indian Center, the oldest urban Native American cultural establishment in the United States, will look after the animals in partnership with Kane County Forests Persevere staff, and a designated herd manager.
The reduction in bison from 35 million to several thousand had a profound effect on the North American prairie even without the conversion of so much of it to farmland. Bison engineer grassland ecosystems with much the same impact as beavers on a stream.
BISON RETURNING ACROSS NORTH AMERICA:
The millions of hooves stamped the grasslands flat, preventing any one species from over colonizing an area. Their wooly coats acted as an excellent seed dispersal vehicle. Their dung helped fertilized the plains and their digging of wallowing pits increased the landscape’s ability to resist drought and retain water.
In bits and pieces, fits and starts, bison are being reintroduced to native prairie when it can be found, and though 6 is a far cry from 35 million, all good things have to start somewhere.
Judging by the smiles and the cheers of the Santee Sioux—when the shaggy beasts rumbled out of the trailer—this is a very, very good thing.
WATCH the story below from CBS News Chicago…
CHEER The Return Of This American Icon With Your Friends…
A big Swiss family has invented Europe’s first all-electric, solar-assisted tractor, and is now selling the vehicle in 5 countries.
The Knüsel Family lives in the canton of Schwyz, where patriarch and father of 4, Sepp Knüsel, has been building tractors for over 20 years under the brand name Rigitrac AG.
In 2019, with the help of his four daughters, he debuted the continent’s first all-electric tractor, and 6 years later, the family won a national award for their invention: the Watt d’Or, o ‘Golden Watt.’
“The development of the electric tractor was a long process with setbacks,” Theres Beutler-Knüsel, the family’s second-oldest daughter and managing director of Rigitrac AG, told Swiss outlet SRF.
The idea actually came from seeing how many growing operations, farmers, dairies, and feedlots had solar panels on their roofs.
The Knüsels thought it would be brilliant if the companies could use that electricity in more ways. Given that a tractor spends a lot of time sitting around under the sun, a solar panel on the roof might make a substantial difference to total range and running time.
That idea pushed the father-daughters team to develop a prototype while Theres was at the University of Dresden in 2018.
“When we started, many of the necessary individual parts were not yet on the market,” Beutler-Knüsel told SRF, adding that the family had to work closely with suppliers to develop all the components for the tractor’s eventual mass-production.
Today, the Rigitrac SKE 40 is sold in Austria, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, and even made it into the famous PC video game Farming Simulator.
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It wields four electric motors totaling 84KW, including one for the front wheels, another for the back wheels, and a third for starting. It’s too small for the heaviest ag chores, like plowing, but it’s widely used for vegetable farming and snow plowing.
Sepp’s wife Marlis, and their daughters Edith Winter-Knüsel, Doris Knüsel, and Ruth Durrer-Knüsel all work for the company, with one overseeing advertisement and HR, another leading the sales team, and a third handling supply.
MORE TRACTOR TALES: British Company Develops First Tractor in the World to be Completely Powered by Cow Dung
In 2025, the SKE 40 was awarded the Golden Watt award by the Federal Office of Energy. The award is given to innovative Swiss companies and organizations who develop the energy technologies of the future. While the Golden Watt doesn’t come with prize money, it does offer substantial amounts of free publicity that Rigitrac AG has benefited from.
Beutler-Knüsel told SRF the Watt d’Or was “great recognition that shows us that we are on the right path.”
SHARE This Family Business That’s Booming In Sunny Switzerland…
111 years ago today, Congress signed into law a bill creating Rocky Mountain National Park. Protecting over a thousand square kilometers of the Front Range of the mountains, the park was designated among the first UNESCO Biosphere Reserves due to the amount of undisturbed and unspoiled land. Indeed the park bridges a space of two wilderness areas. The area is rich in fauna, including Canada lynx, fox, elk, moose, mountain goat, bobcat, bighorn sheep, cougar, black bear, mule deer, several species of minks, wolverine, and coyote. READ about the various regions of the park… (1915)
Quote of the Day: “The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Image by: Tem Rysh
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?
Which states in the USA are known for the best food and what are the dishes most associated with each state? A new poll has the answers.
A survey of 5,000 Americans—split evenly by state—explored sentiments about each region’s homemade dishes and which are the tastiest.
The top state chosen for best food was California—with New York, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida rounding out the top five regions with the best cuisine.
Above all, Louisianans know they’ve got it nailed: 94% of those surveyed expressed the most confidence in their state as having the best cuisine.
On the other hand, many states left respondents completely unimpressed with their cuisine—including West Virginia, Indiana, Montana, Delaware, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North and South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Everyone surveyed was asked to choose a dish that best represents their state; some were predictable, like New York’s pizza, California’s Mexican food, and Texas’ barbecue. (See full list at the bottom…)
Other responses were thoroughly original: New Hampshire residents boasted about their apple cider donuts, Utah folks took pride in their “fry sauce” and Ohioians ecstatically boasted about their “buckeyes.”
Conducted by Talker Research for HelloFresh, the survey found that 69% feel a sense of pride when preparing traditional recipes. These are so near and dear to respondents, that 53% make an effort to record or document traditional recipes.
Currently, the average American cooks 12 meals at home per week, and spends about 67 minutes a day at the stove — nearly 410 hours a year, or about 17 days.
“Food has always been about more than just sustenance — it’s how we connect, share stories and pass down traditions,” said Michelle Doll Olson, Senior Manager at HelloFresh US.
“From California shrimp tacos and Minnesota Juicy Lucy, to Louisiana gumbo and New York bagels, the dishes that define each state carry generations of family memories and cultural pride.
“And our survey shows that Americans are returning to the kitchen not just to cook, but to create moments of togetherness, and preserve family recipes.”
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Alabama: “banana pudding,” “pinto beans and cornbread”
Alaska: “seafood,” “muktuk”
Arizona: “Mexican cuisine,” “Sonoran hot dogs”
Arkansas: “catfish,” “country fried chicken”
California: “Mexican food,” “burgers,” “shrimp tacos”
Colorado: “green chili on anything,” “Rocky Mountain oysters”
Connecticut: “clam chowder,” “pizza”
Delaware: “scrapple,” “Bengali cuisine”
Florida: “seafood,” “key lime pie,” “fresh orange juice”
Georgia: “peach cobbler,” “seafood boils”
Hawaii: “laulau,” “poke,” “loco moco”
Idaho: “potatoes”
Illinois: “deep dish pizza,” “Chicago-style hot dogs”
Indiana: “corn,” “pork tenderloin sandwich”
Iowa: “corn,” “pork chops”
Kansas: “barbecue,” “steak,” “chili with cinnamon rolls”
Kentucky: “fried chicken”
Louisiana: “crawfish,” “Cajun cuisine,” “gumbo”
Maine: “lobster”
Maryland: “crab cakes”
Massachusetts: “clam chowder,” “seafood”
Michigan: “cherry pie,” “Coney Island dogs”
Minnesota: “juicy Lucy,” “tater tot hot dish,” “walleye”
Mississippi: “fried catfish,” “soul food”
Missouri: “barbecue”
Montana: “steak,” “wild game,” “huckleberry”
Nebraska: “Runza sandwiches”
Nevada: “buffets,” “Mexican”
New Hampshire: “seafood,” “apple cider donuts”
New Jersey: “Italian food,” “pizza,” “Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich”
New Mexico: “green chilis,” “enchiladas”
New York: “pizza,” “bagel and cream cheese”
North Carolina: “barbecue”
North Dakota: “knoephla soup”
Ohio: “buckeyes”
Oklahoma: “chicken fried steak,” “comfort food”
Oregon: “salmon,” “marionberry pie”
Pennsylvania: “pierogies,” “cheesesteaks”
Rhode Island: “seafood,” “clam cakes,” “chowder”
South Carolina: “soul food”
South Dakota: “fry bread”
Tennessee: “barbecue”
Texas: “Tex Mex,” “barbecue”
Utah: “Jello salad,” “fry sauce,” “funeral potatoes”
Vermont: “pancakes with maple syrup,” “mac and cheese”
Virginia: “ham”
Washington: “apples,” “salmon”
West Virginia: “pepperoni rolls”
Wisconsin: “cheese,” “fish fry”
Wyoming: “steak”
Do you love bluebirds, finches, and chickadees? Why not count birds in your community with your kids and friends during the Great Backyard Bird Count in 2026.
Our mental health is nurtured by nature—and it will take under an hour to give back to what birds give us.
The annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs through Valentine’s Day, from February 13 through February 16, 2026.
Spending time immersed in nature by watching birds can reduce stress, so join in the fun this February and spend at least 15 minutes watching birds and sharing what you see with the world at birdcount.org.
If you’re interested, you can tune in to a special webinar about how to participate. Register here for one of the free YouTube events happening on Thursday, February 5th (at 3 p.m. Eastern) or Wednesday, February 11th (at 7 p.m. Eastern).
“What I like most about birdwatching is that each species has its own behavior,” said GBBC participant Guadalupe Angel Vallejo Tapia. “It’s fascinating to be able to identify its patterns and learn about its behavior.”
“Birdwatching allows me to appreciate the biodiversity of our region,” said one participant. “It invites us to reflect on the importance of protecting our natural spaces.”
The purpose of the Bird Count, now in its 29th year, is to tally as many of the world’s bird species as possible over four days in February.
More than 800,000 people participated during last year’s count—in nearly every country. Birders found 8,078 species of the world’s known species, 158 more than in 2024.
LOVE THIS BIRD: Bird Snuggles into Photographer’s Chest And Stayed With Her for Warmth on a Snowy Day
Combined with other bird counts, the results of this one help create a clearer picture of how birds are faring—whether individual species are declining, increasing, or holding steady in the face of habitat loss, climate change, and other threats.
“The bird observations we submit can be used to inform conservation efforts that secure a brighter future for birds and people alike,” said Ben Haywood, Audubon’s director of community science.
“The more the merrier as we celebrate the joy of birds all over the world and join the global effort to protect them and the places they need.”
To take part in the 2026 GBBC, each participant or group counts birds for at least 15 minutes using the Merlin Bird ID app or eBird app to enter the birds they can identify at each site.
GOOD NEWS FOR BIRDS:
• Record-Breaking Night of Bird Migration Caught on Radar During a ‘Perfect Storm’ for Feathered Flight
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Sites can be your backyard, but it can also be a nearby park, wilderness area, apartment balcony, neighborhood street, or anywhere.
Anyone can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. First-timers should make it a point to read the instructions here, where they will also find helpful birding tips and birding app downloads. The GBBC website also features a map of local events to help you find your flock—or start your own—at birdcount.org/community-map.
FIND YOUR FLOCK To Go Count Birds By Sharing This On Social Media…
Like many elderly folks in the midwest whose families used stoneware crocks for sauerkraut, Lois Jurgens held onto one for 40 years.
It sat on her porch weathering decades of harsh Nebraska winters until early this month when she was planning for a yard sale.
She had a notion the heavy crock might be worth $100 if it could be put up for auction, instead of selling at a yard sale, so she called Ken Bramer. Coincidentally, his auction house had already secured dozens of antique Red Wing crocks for an event that would draw 300 excited bidders to Buffalo County on January 10th.
When the 90-year-old called Ken saying she had an old crock, he was hesitant, because all his promotional photos of items up for auction had already been printed and posted online. But, he thought, ‘What the heck, I’ll drive out and take a look.’
When he saw the huge 30 gallon Red Wing crock and looked closely at the details, he knew this would be the darling of the auction.
Lois told Ken she hoped maybe it could get $100 if it goes under his hammer—and, instead of giving her $100 on the spot, the honest businessman said he was confident they would get at least that sum.
“I think you’re going to be surprised.”
The day of the auction was her 91st birthday, according to Colleen Williams, a Nebraska news host who first broke the story on Facebook. Lois was volunteering at church that morning, so she missed her own piece being sold, but she headed over as soon as she could.
When Ken saw Lois had arrived, he paused the auction to give her perhaps the best birthday present she’d ever received.
“We did a little better than $100,” he said in front of the delighted crowd. “We got you $32,000!”
Ken had known the 30-gallon crock with molded handles and butterfly design was “very rare”, especially because it was stamped with the company name twice—once on the top & once on the bottom.
Lois’s crock was also salt glazed, rather than zinc glazed. It’s estimated that only 20 percent of Red Wing’s salt glaze pieces were signed on the side. These tan colored wares were manufactured in Red Wing, Minnesota, before the turn of the century, beginning in 1877 until about 1900, according to RedWingCollectors.org.
“These primitive pieces were often decorated with artistic cobalt blue representations of items like leaves, butterflies, flowers, birds, etc. and sealed with a brown “Albany slip” glaze on the interior to keep the contents from seeping into the porous clay.”
Any irregularities can be highly prized by Red Wing Stoneware collectors—and because thousands of the crocks in various sizes were produced daily, there were bound to be some mistakes. Lois’s piece, being stamped twice with the Red Wing company name, was even more valuable.
“Selling that rare 30 gallon Red Wing crock was one of those once-in-a-lifetime things,” Ken wrote on the Bramer Auction and Realty Facebook page (above).
MORE ANTIQUE SURPRISES:
• Man Living in a Shack is Saved By His ‘Worthless’ Blanket That Spurs $1.5 Million Bidding War – Watch the Auction
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“We are incredible grateful for the opportunity to work with that sweet, young lady!” he quipped.
One commenter wrote, “My favorite part of this story is that you didn’t just buy it from her for $100 and sell it yourself. It’s proof there are good people in this world.”
THIS IS NO CROCK: Share Lois’s True and Heartwarming Story on Social Media…
His truck was the vehicle equivalent of Frankenstein, a green mish-mash of dents and dings and disjointed panels.
The 2000 Chevy Silverado became something of a famous eyesore in South Bend, Indiana, earning sideways glances and second looks wherever Mo Riles went.
“I thought it was A.I. and didn’t know if it was real,” one diner patron told Steve Hartman of CBS News.
“It’s unbelievable how the thing even moves,” said another.
“I did a double take because I couldn’t believe the sight of it,” a woman added.
Before long, the disbelief spread to social media, where jokes poured in from wisecrackers across the internet
“Where is the duct tape when you need it?”
“Looks like the Hulk smashed it…”
“One speed bump away from splitting in half!”
Sure, Mo heard the jokes and saw the sideways glances—but the truck ran just fine. The state of Indiana doesn’t require inspections. And Mo, who worked at a Dollar Tree store, wasn’t in a financial position to upgrade, especially since facing recent health struggles.
So the truck rolled on… at least until Colin Crowel saw the photo. Colin, who owns Carguys Auto Detailing, wanted to do more than joke about the unsightly relic. He figured that whoever was driving it likely needed a pick-me-up, instead of another internet pun.
“I just thought there’s gotta be something more to why this truck looks like this,” Colin said. “I just put two and two together.”
He started a crowdfunding campaign, hoping to raise money for Riles and betting that community support would produce more than social media memes.
“The vehicle is dangerously broken, literally falling apart, and has been seen in parking lots looking immobile—yet somehow, Mo manages to drive it day after day,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Parts fall off, the truck appears to be split in half, but Mo never lets that stop him from getting to work or handling his daily responsibilities.
“With the support of local businesses and neighbors, I believe we can make a real difference in Mo’s life and show what our community is capable of when we come together.”
The results arrived quickly. Donations poured in from people all over northwest Indiana and beyond. More than 500 people pitched in to raise over $26,000 for Mo.
WINTER WEATHER STORY YOU “AUTO” READ: More Efficient Way to Defrost Cars Using Electricity to “Zap” Ice Without Heat
Earlier this month, his Franken-truck took its last ride, heading toward a Chevy dealership in town where he received a shiny 2019 Chevy Silverado truck that looked brand new. (Watch the Steve Hartman video below…)
HIS WORK ETHIC WAS REWARDED: GoFundMe for Teen Who Rushed to Work Instead of Partying After Graduation Skyrockets to $180K
Whenever Mo thinks about it, his emotions become overwhelming.
Now, beyond the jokes and embarrassment there’s a shiny new symbol of compassion and kindness that sits in his driveway.
“That’s the part that knocked me over, man,” Mo recalled, with tears in his eyes. “Here (are) human beings seeing another human being struggle. And I’m like, wow, what did I do to deserve this?
“But this whole thing is not about me. It’s about this community bonding together.”
HELP DRIVE MO’S UPLIFTING STORY ALL ACROSS THE INTERNET By Sharing This to Your Social Media Feed…
Quote of the Day: “During seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” – William Blake
Image by: Maria
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?
65 years ago today, Disney Studios released One Hundred and One Dalmatians, an adaptation of a novel by the same named published 5 years earlier. Telling the story of a London-based pair of Dalmatians who give birth to a litter of 15 puppies, and of a obsessive socialite named Cruella de Vil bent on turning their furs into a coat, the film was a box-office and backpages success, with many calling it the best that Disney had achieved since Snow White. READ just how successful it was… (1961)
The heartwarming ceremony begins when the garage door opens and a class of teenage students present a newly-refurbished car with a big red bow to a single mother.
For eight years, the presentation, delivered with a round of applause, has been repeated 4-5 times each year at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia. The school’s automotive technology students repair the donated used cars and then give them away to single moms who could use a lift.
“The whole class is very rewarding,” Holden Pekary, a 16-year-old student told the Washington Post.
Pekary remembers seeing a little baby in her mom’s arms when one of the cars was given away and immediately recognized the dividends of all their classroom work.
“It gives you more of a purpose.”
Around 20 students are working on cars each semester in the school, about an hour northwest of Richmond. The teacher, Shane Robertson, instructs kids on how to perform brake and tire repairs, change fluids, test batteries, and maintain heating and cooling systems.
“They get the real-life grit behind why they are really doing a task,” Robertson said in an interview with ABC. “This is somebody’s real car and you’re really making a change in the world.”
The program began in partnership with the nonprofit Giving Words, a local charity that works to support single parents by providing complimentary vehicles and car repairs.
Founder Eddie Brown and his wife were both single parents who had struggled with transportation issues before launching the nonprofit.
“So far, we’ve given over 60 cars away, and repaired more than 260,” Brown told WTVR.
MORE KINDNESS: A High School Supported its Star Student When She Needed it Most, And 20 Years Later She Pays it Back
The collective kindness seems to spill out in every direction, like the hum of an engine echoing inside the walls of a garage. In addition to Louisa County High School, Giving Words also collaborates with individual owners and area repair shops to help obtain additional donated vehicles.
One of the program’s success stories involved a 2007 gold Toyota Prius that the students gave to Jessica Rader, a single mom with three kids who overcame addiction. Before her life was blessed with the car giveaway, she relied on rides from friends and family for all the obligations, appointments, and activities that accompany motherhood.
Now, she’s progressed from a part-time job to full-time work, thanks to a reliable car that gets her to work on time—and keeps everything else in her mom-life on track.
MORE TEEN CAR GIVEAWAYS:
• High Schoolers Surprise Janitor From Ghana with Dream Car: a Red Jeep in Time for His Birthday
• Girls Volleyball Team Buys Beloved Custodian a Car to Repay Him for All He’s Done–Watch the Texas-Sized Surprise
In the end, when the garage door went up at Louisa High and Pekary and his classmates joined in applause, it was much more than a refurbished Prius being presented to Jessica. It was a helping hand arriving from the other side. And a reminder that kindness can be delivered at any age.
“It’s not just about the car, it’s about community,” Jessica told the Washington Post. “Kids who never met me cared about me enough to put hard work into a vehicle to make sure myself and my kids were safe. I got to meet all of them. It was breathtaking.”
WATCH the ABC News video below… (BUT BEWARE; the ABC news links and scroll bars are embedded with negative news, alongside the video.)
HELP STEER THE STUDENTS’ KINDNESS TO AN EVEN BIGGER AUDIENCE By Sharing This on Your Social Media Feed…
Wild American chestnut trees, deemed “functionally extinct” decades ago, may already be quietly mounting an unexpected comeback in the northern forests of the US.
Thousands of naturally thriving, wild trees in Maine contradict decades of assumptions about the species’ extinction—and how genetic engineering is the only solution.
When an accidental importation of an Asian fungus in 1904 began killing this majestic tree—once abundant along the U.S. East Coast and Canada—ghostly gaps left in the landscape haunted biologists.
But a new documentary (watch below) brought to light a remarkable and little-known success story: thousands of wild, healthy American chestnut trees are flourishing on the Maine forest land of renowned biologist and author Dr. Bernd Heinrich.
He bought 25 saplings for $10 from a nursery 44 years ago. They grew tall and their numbers multiplied as bluejays and squirrels plucked their seeds and buried them in fields as far away as a mile, and today there is no hint of blight in any of them.
“These chestnuts are really taking off,” said the 85-year-old professor, who climbed to the top of one of the trees to fetch a sample of the fruit for the videographers. “And it could very well be that these are blight resistant.”
The vigorous natural growth—which shows up in thousands of thriving grandchildren of the original trees—directly counters long-held beliefs that the iconic species survives today only as scattered, doomed sprouts.
Dr. Heinrich, professor emeritus of the Biology Department at the University of Vermont and author of more than 20 books on biology and 100 scientific papers (including the celebrated memoir A Year in the Maine Woods), has spent more than four decades observing the chestnuts on his hundreds of acres.
ANOTHER CHESTNUT DISCOVERY:
Giant Chestnut Tree Found in Maine Could Help Save a Near-Extinct Species
Working with University of Vermont students, Heinrich’s team has documented well over a thousand thriving chestnut trees—some now representing three generations of natural regeneration. Each has been mapped via GPS during a long-term field study.
The new short film, The Wild American Chestnut, produced by Global Justice Ecology Project, also captures Heinrich discussing projections that the American chestnut is shifting its range northward due to climate change, opening new opportunities for survival beyond its historical geographic limits.
These acres of thriving chestnuts magnify the major setbacks for the biotech-based tree restoration strategies of the past three decades.
In December 2023, The American Chestnut Foundation withdrew its support for a genetically engineered chestnut that was decades in development, after multiple documented research errors revealed the tree to be genetically defective. Discouraging field performance rendered them, in the Foundation’s opinion, unsuitable as the basis for species restoration.
MORE FLOWERING SURPRISES: World’s Largest Prehistoric Flower Preserved in Amber is Stunning Reminder of Nature’s Wonder–LOOK
“This film presents some good news about the wild American chestnut and is a stark contrast to claims by some researchers that genetically engineered trees are the only path to restoration,” said Anne Petermann, Executive Director of the Project.
“It was stunning to see so many robust trees—three full generations growing naturally—while the efforts to engineer blight-resistant chestnuts have produced nothing but failures.”
SPREAD SEEDS OF GOOD NEWS By Sharing a Chestnut With Tree Lovers on Social Media…
A 61-year-old father broke into tears when finally seeing color in his world for the first time after receiving a special Christmas gift.
Jim Gogan always had trouble seeing reds and greens. In fact, when he joined the Air Force, he wasn’t able to become a pilot because he couldn’t read the radar screens.
For years, his family talked about gifting him a pair of special colorblind glasses, but in December, his son, Kyle, was finally able to make it a reality—thanks to a bonus from his employer.
A video shared by the family (below) shows Jim in tears after seeing colors clearly for the first time.
“He’s never been able to tell color,” said 39-year-old Kyle, from South Carolina.
“He’ll say things like, ‘grab my blue shirt,’ and it’s green.”
Before giving him the glasses, Kyle had printed out colorblind tests for the whole family to take—and Jim got almost every question wrong.
Then, Kyle handed him the glasses and the results were immediate.
As Jim placed them over his eyes, and looked at the colored drawing of a Christmas tree, tears began to well up in his eyes. (Watch the video at the bottom…)
“It was very emotional watching my dad react,” Kyle told SWNS news agency.
After composing himself, Jim retook the test and, this time, got every answer correct.
The color red delighted him the most.
“He kept commenting on how beautiful the bricks on houses were.”
The next day, the family took Jim on a drive to enjoy the outdoors in all its colorful glory.
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He was amazed at how green the trees were and how blue the sky appeared.
Now he’s wearing them often and seeing ‘the green’ better than ever—playing golf in them every chance he gets.
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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 January 24, 2026
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
You are a spy from the future. Thank you for your service! I love to see your boldness as you smuggle innovative ideas into a present that may or may not be ready for them. Your feelings of alienation are sometimes uncomfortable, but they are crucial to the treasure you offer us. You see patterns others miss because you refuse to be hypnotized by consensus reality. Keep up the excellent work, please. May you honor your need to tinker with impossibilities and imagine alternatives to what everyone else imagines is inevitable. You are proof that we don’t have to accept inherited structures as inevitable.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Your unconscious mind is extra communicative, dear Pisces. Hooray! Take advantage! Pay attention to weird images in dreams and songs that linger in your head. Be alert for seemingly random thoughts as they surface. Bypassing logic, your deep psyche is trying to show you ripe secrets and provocative hints. Your duty is to be receptive. So keep a journal or recording device by your bed. Notice which memories rise up out of nowhere. Be grateful for striking coincidences. These are invitations to tune in to meaningful feelings and truths you’ve been missing.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Master astrologer Steven Forrest understands you Aries people well. He says that the riskiest strategy you can pursue is to constantly seek safety. It’s crucial for you to always be on the lookout for adventure. One of your chief assignments is to cultivate courage—especially the kind of brave boldness that arises as you explore unknown territory. To rouse the magic that really matters, you must face your fears regularly. The coming months will be an ideal time for you to dive in and celebrate this approach to life.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You are an ambassador from the material world to the realm of spirit—and vice versa. One of your prime assignments is the opposite of what the transcendence-obsessed gurus preach. You’re here to prove that the flesh is holy, pleasure is a form of prayer, and the senses are portals to the divine. When you revel in earthy delights, when you luxuriate in rich textures and tastes and scents, you’re not being “attached” or “unspiritual.” You’re enacting a radical sacred stance. Being exuberantly immersed in the material world isn’t a mistake to overcome but a blessing to savor. May you redouble your subversive work of treating your body as a cathedral and sensual enjoyments as sacraments.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Everything that’s meant for you is trying to find its way to you. Here’s the problem: It can’t deliver the goods if you’re in constant motion. The boons trying to reach you are circling, waiting for a stable landing spot. If you keep up the restless roaming, life might have to slow you down, even stop you, so you’ll be still enough to embody receptivity. Don’t wait for that. Pause now. Set aside whatever’s feeding your restlessness and tune into the quiet signal of your own center. The moment you do, bounties will start arriving.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Artist Louise Bourgeois said, “I am what I do with my hands.” I will adapt this declaration for your use, Cancerian: You are what you do with your feelings. You are the structures, sanctuaries, and nourishment you create from the raw material of your sensitivity. It’s one of your superpowers! I understand that some people mistake emotional depth for passive vulnerability. They assume that feeling everything means doing nothing. But you prove that bias wrong. You are potentially a master builder. You can convert the flood waters of emotion into resources that hold, protect, and feed. I hope you will do this lavishly in the coming weeks.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Admiring writers often say that the Balinese people have no traditional word for “art.” Making things beautiful is woven into everyday life, as if everything should be done as beautifully as possible. I aspire to carry out this approach myself: infusing ordinary actions with the same care I’d bring to writing a story or song. Washing dishes, answering emails, and walking to the store: All are eligible for beauty treatment. I highly recommend this practice to you in the coming weeks, Leo. It’s true that you’re renowned for your dramatic gestures, but I believe you also have an underutilized talent for teasing out glory from mundane situations. Please do that a lot in the coming weeks. For starters, make your grocery list a poem.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Some American Indigenous cultures have “potlatch” ceremonies. These are elaborate gift-giving rituals where hosts gain prestige by generously and freely bestowing their riches on others. Circulating wealth, instead of hoarding it, is honored and celebrated. Is that economically irrational? Only if you believe that the point of resources is individual accumulation rather than community vitality. Potlatch operates on a different logic: The purpose of having stuff is to make having stuff possible for others. I invite you to make that your specialty in the coming months. Assume that your own thriving depends on the flourishing of those around you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Sufi poet Rumi wrote about a “treasure in ruins.” He meant that what we’re searching for may be hidden in places where we would rather not look. Your life isn’t in ruins, Libra, but I suspect you may have been exploring exciting locations while shunning mundane ones that actually hold your answers. What do you think? Is that possible? Just for fun, investigate the neglected, ignored, and boring places. Try out the hypothesis that a golden discovery awaits you in some unfinished business or a situation you feel an aversion to.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Your capacity for intensity is your superpower. I love it, I celebrate it, and I hope to keep nurturing it in you for as long as we’re both here. But not everything deserves the full force of your passionate engagement. Some things are meant to be touched lightly, held loosely, and released easily. The question isn’t whether to feel deeply—that’s who you authentically are—but whether to act on every deep feeling as if it were sacred revelation. Some emotions are weather patterns passing through, not permanent truths requiring upheaval. These are especially key understandings for you to act on during the coming days.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
As I have promised you a million times, I will NEVER exaggerate. And though you may wonder if the statements I’m about to make are excessive and overblown, I assure you they are not. The fact is, dear Sagittarius, that everything you have always wanted to enhance and upgrade about togetherness is now possible to accomplish, and will continue to be for months to come. If you dare to dismantle your outmoded beliefs about love and deep friendship—every comforting myth, every conditioned response, every inherited instinct—you will discover new dimensions of intimacy that could inspire you forever.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In Renaissance painting, chiaroscuro refers to the use of strong contrasts between light and dark. It’s a technique that enhances the sense of depth. I believe your life may be in an intense *chiaroscuro* phase. As your joys grow bright, your doubts appear darker. As your understanding deepens, your perplexity mounts. Is this a problem? I prefer to understand it as an opportunity. For best results, study it closely. Maybe your anxiety is showing you what you care about. Perhaps your sadness is a sign of your growing emotional power. So find a way to benefit from the contrasts, dear Capricorn. Let shadows teach you how to fully appreciate the illumination.
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
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Quote of the Day: “The longest journey is the journey inwards.” – Dag Hammarskjöld
Image by: Luke Porter
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104 years ago today, Lehman Caves National Monument was enshrined by presidential decree, protecting the longest-known cave in Nevada which had been used as a refuge by Native Americans. 68 years later, Lehman Caves suddenly found itself lying at the center of 77,000 acres of the newly made Great Basin National Park and was included among many natural treasures, including some of the oldest single trees ever discovered by science. READ more about the park’s features… (1922)
