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Teen Lifts a Truck to Free His Trapped Father: ‘My Son is My Hero’ (WATCH)

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A 15-year-old is being hailed as a hero after lifting a truck that had fallen on his father’s chest.

The brakes on the truck that Matthew Wilkinson uses for work needed immediate repair last Monday and, fortunately, his son had come out to the garage and agreed to help his dad.

As Mr. Wilkinson tried to take off the rotor, he found it was stuck and needed a better angle for leverage, so he slid his body underneath the truck

“The second it popped off, the truck fell,” he told KCRA news. “All I could think about was the breath coming out of me. I was just squished. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t yell.”

Dalin Wilkinson, a freshman in high school, told the news team it was “crazy” scary.

“I heard him make a noise like his soul was leaving his body.”

Dalin tried as hard as he could to lift it just enough to get him out—and the adrenaline of the moment helped him succeed.

While the Oakdale, California dad was in the hospital being treated for a punctured lung and broken ribs, he couldn’t figure out how he was able to get free—until he later checked the surveillance camera.

POPULAR: Utah Man Jumps Into Icy River to Save Woman Attempting Suicide at the Same Spot Where he First Dated His Wife

The family’s home security system captured the moment Dalin had lifted the truck enough for his father to roll out.

“My son is my hero. He saved my life.”

Watch the scene in the KCRA news report below…

LIFT The Burden of Negative News By Sharing This Hero on Social Media…

When asked how he stayed so young, a 90-year-old William Shatner answered, “I’m into the bewilderment of the world.” 

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Quote of the Day: When asked how he stayed so young, a 90-year-old William Shatner answered, “I’m into the bewilderment of the world.”

Photo: Sigmund

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?

Tortoise Celebrates its 190th Birthday as the World’s Oldest Land Animal

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St. Helena Tourism
St. Helena Tourism

A tortoise which is the world’s oldest living land animal is celebrating its 190th birthday.

Jonathan was born nearly two centuries ago, in the early 1800s, which makes him not only the oldest tortoise ever recorded, but the oldest living land animal.

For 140 years, he has resided on the remote island of St. Helena situated in the midst of the South Atlantic Ocean, a 6-hour flight west from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Shell measurements taken upon his arrival to the island show that he was at least 50 years old at that time, and it is likely that he is even older.

Joe Hollins cared for the giant turtle during his decades as St. Helena’s resident veterinarian, and still does so now during his retirement.

“When you think, if he was hatched in 1832—the Georgian era—my goodness, the changes in the world.

“The World Wars, the rise and fall of the British Empire, the many governors, kings, and queens that have passed, it’s quite extraordinary. And he’s just been here, enjoying himself.

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“I do think he’s fabulous, actually. He’s a great animal. And as a vet, what greater privilege is there than to be looking after the oldest known living land animal in the world?

Joe Hollins with Jonathan – St Helena Tourism

“I mean, how often does that happen—to be able to care for this magnificent animal?”

As a much loved member of his island community, and the most permanent resident, locals have thrown the lucky tortoise a three-day birthday party, where he can feast on all his favorite veggies throughout.”

Beginning on Friday, December 2, a range of posters celebrating Jonathan’s life, with pictures and messages from those who have visited him over the years, will be put on display at the grounds of his home, Plantation House.

RELATED: 100-Year-Old Galápagos Giant Tortoise Found on Fernandina Island is Indeed Member of ‘Extinct’ Species

Today, a series of activities honoring Jonathan’s big day are planned, including a big veggie feast that will be live streamed across the world on from Plantation House on St. Helena Tourism’s Facebook page.

To conclude the three-day festivities, Jonathan’s birthday will be celebrated at an open-air market at Plantation House on Sunday, with an animated video and song about Jonathon’s life will premiere.

Finally, Jonathan will be given his ‘birthday cake’, crafted entirely out of his favorite healthy foods—and to remember the occasion, a special stamp will be issued for sale.

LOOK: This Tortoise Accidentally Saved a Bunny’s Life – and Now They’re Best Buds

WATCH the celebration video from St. Helena Tourism…

SEND BEST Wishes to Jonathan by Sharing the Party on Social Media…

Artwork That Can Exist Only in Space Delights Everyone Aboard the International Space Station–LOOK

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Liat Segal and Dr. Yasmine Meroz's artwork, Impossible Object - via SWNS
Liat Segal and Dr. Yasmine Meroz’s artwork, Impossible Object – via SWNS

Artwork that can exist only in outer space came to life aboard the International Space Station after it was delivered by the first ever private mission to arrive there.

A doctor of physics worked with an artist to devise the work ‘Impossible Object’, but they would not see the results until the AX-1 mission reached the space hub.

The sculpture is created by liquid water traveling upon a tapestry of brass rods and tubes—but only when there is an absence of gravity.

Without any gravity to direct the water downward, it sticks to the ladder-like metallic structure, and makes bubbles of varying size—whereas, on Earth, the water simply dribbles away.

Its creators say the structure “questions shape and form”.

“In the absence of gravitation, what is the shape of a piece of sea or a handful of a wave?” says Liat Segal, the artist involved in developing the statue.

The movement of the liquid in zero gravity surprised even its creators, who thought the water might wrap itself around the structure. They also speculated that the water’s shape would be wavy, like the ladder.

The two women suggested that their artwork taps into our passion for unveiling the unknown.

“It doesn’t have any up and down because that is the way it is in space.”

LOOK: Artist’s Painting is the First to Be Curated on the Moon: ‘It Will Last Forever’

The physicist, Dr. Yasmin Maroz of Tel Aviv University, was intrigued to create a shape that couldn’t be predicted.

Artwork unveiled on the ISS – SWNS

“I think that one of the really cool things about this project is that the medium here is basically the physics of water. When we wanted to try and plan and develop our sculpture, we really had to understand what are the underlying forces.

“It was odd because we kind of stepped back and wow, we are trying to imagine how this is going to look in space.”

The sculpture which is folded and packed within a compact white box was taken to the ISS station by astronaut Eytan Stibbe, who simply had to unfold it and activate it with water. (Watch the results below…)

LOOK: Danish Artist Hides Enormous Trolls in Forests Around the World Using Recycled Wood

The Impossible Object – the Rakia Mission

“When I saw it for the first time I had tears in my eyes because I was so excited for the opportunity that we had. The results, I think, were spectacular.

“Part of what was so spectacular about it was that it wasn’t what we expected, and it was beautiful.

“The sculpture has this kind of jewel-y quality to it, it is very polished and clean and on a white pedestal as if you just took it out of an art gallery.”

RELATED: Plants Have Been Grown in Lunar Soil For The First Time Ever

Ms. Segal and Dr. Meroz first met when they were studying for their masters degrees at Tel Aviv University, but their paths diverged when Meroz decided to become a physicist and Segal pursued fine art.

Years later they were recruited by the Rakia Mission that seeks to launch art in space, and they see their collaboration as the ‘fairy dust’ that sparks ideas in both fields.

Watch the unveiling of ‘Impossible Object’ in space…

LAUNCH This Bubbly Joy to Artists and Physicists by Sharing on Social Media…

Childhood Best Friends Who Lost Touch Reunited 60 Years Later–in a Senior Care Home

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Irene Gresty and Janet Henderson – SWNS
Irene Gresty and Janet Henderson – SWNS

Two childhood best friends who were ‘joined at the hip’ as kids were reunited over a half-century later—when they least expected it.

Irene Gresty and Janet Henderson were neighbors in the 1940s, growing up in Linlithgow, West Lothian, England, but, like so many friendships, they lost touch over the years.

Irene got married and moved away with her husband who was in the Navy and got shipped around to places like Singapore.

She wanted to retire closer to her family, so she moved back—and had been living for three years very close to Janet without knowing it.

Now 80-years-old, the pair ran into each other at an event organized at the Bield senior home, and Irene said her heart skipped a beat when she saw her long-lost pal.

“We knew immediately who each other were.

“We sat down beside each other and she turned to me and said, ‘Is that you Irene?’ and I just laughed and said, ‘Yes Janet’!

“She said her mind was made up that it was me—and I’m very glad she said something as the last time we seen each other was a long time ago.

“I can’t believe my luck that it happened, I was delighted to have seen her again.”

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The two women vowed to never let it go that long again without seeing each other and spent all afternoon catching up.

“We have many fond memories of sticking up for each other and playing in the park.”

“I hadn’t thought anything of it when someone told me Irene Gresty had moved back to the area as I didn’t recognize her married name,” Janet recalled. “So when I saw her at the event it was pretty surreal.

SWNS

“We exchanged numbers so I’m really looking forward to meeting up in the future, we have many years to catch up on.”

CHECK OUT: Heartwarming Annual Pen-pal Relationship With Santa Began When She Got a Gift From Him at Burning Man

Tracey Howatt, Director of Customer Experience at Bield, said: “We often have friends reuniting after not seeing each other for a long period of time, but I don’t think we have ever had anything like this before.

“It’s lovely for the two ladies to reunite and it just shows, you never know when you’ll bump into an old friend again.”

SHARE the Good Fortune With Old Friends on Social Media…

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

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

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of December 3, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sagittarian comedian Margaret Cho dealt with floods of ignorant criticism while growing up. She testifies, “Being called ugly and fat from the time I could barely understand what the words meant has scarred me so deep inside that I have learned to hunt, stalk, claim, own, and defend my own loveliness.” You may not have ever experienced such extreme forms of disapproval, Sagittarius, but—like all of us—you have on some occasions been berated or undervalued simply for being who you are. The good news is that the coming months will be a favorable time to do what Cho has done: hunt, stalk, claim, own, and defend your own loveliness. It’s time to intensify your efforts in this noble project.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The bad news: In 1998, Shon Hopwood was sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing bank robberies. The good news: While incarcerated, he studied law and helped a number of his fellow prisoners win their legal cases—including one heard by the US Supreme Court. After his release, he became a full-fledged lawyer, and is now a professor of law at Georgetown University. Your current trouble isn’t anywhere as severe as Hopwood’s was, Capricorn, but I expect your current kerfuffle could motivate you to accomplish a very fine redemption.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
“I stopped going to therapy because I knew my therapist was right, and I wanted to keep being wrong,” writes poet Clementine von Radics. “I wanted to keep my bad habits like charms on a bracelet. I did not want to be brave.” Dear Aquarius, I hope you will do the opposite of her in the coming weeks. You are, I suspect, very near to a major healing. You’re on the verge of at least partially fixing a problem that has plagued you for a while. So please keep calling on whatever help you’ve been receiving. Maybe ask for even more support and inspiration from the influences that have been contributing to your slow, steady progress.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
As you have roused your personal power to defeat your fears in the past, what methods and approaches have worked best for you? Are there brave people who have inspired you? Are there stories and symbols that have taught you useful tricks? I urge you to survey all you have learned about the art of summoning extra courage. In the coming weeks, you will be glad you have this information to draw on. I don’t mean to imply that your challenges will be scarier or more daunting than usual. My point is that you will have unprecedented opportunities to create vigorous new trends in your life if you are as bold and audacious as you can be.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Journalist Hadley Freeman interviewed Aries actor William Shatner when he was 90. She was surprised to find that the man who played Star Trek’s Captain Kirk looked 30 years younger than his actual age. “How do you account for your robustness?” she asked him. “I ride a lot of horses, and I’m into the bewilderment of the world,” said Shatner. “I open my heart and head into the curiosity of how things work.” I suggest you adopt Shatner’s approach in the coming weeks, Aries. Be intoxicated with the emotional richness of mysteries and perplexities. Feel the joy of how unknowable and unpredictable everything is. Bask in the blessings of the beautiful and bountiful questions that life sends your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Of all the objects on earth, which is most likely to be carelessly cast away and turned into litter? Cigarette butts, of course. That’s why an Indian entrepreneur named Naman Guota is such a revolutionary. Thus far, he has recycled and transformed over 300 million butts into mosquito repellant, toys, keyrings, and compost, which he and his company have sold for over a million dollars. I predict that in the coming weeks, you will have a comparable genius for converting debris and scraps into useful, valuable stuff. You will be skilled at recycling dross. Meditate on how you might accomplish this metaphorically and psychologically.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Tips on how to be the best Gemini you can be in the coming weeks: 1. Think laterally or in spirals rather than straight lines. 2. Gleefully solve problems in your daydreams. 3. Try not to hurt anyone accidentally. Maybe go overboard in being sensitive and kind. 4. Cultivate even more variety than usual in the influences you surround yourself with. 5. Speak the diplomatic truth to people who truly need to hear it. 6. Make creative use of your mostly hidden side. 7. Never let people figure you out completely.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
In my dream, I gathered with my five favorite astrologers to ruminate on your immediate future. After much discussion, we decided the following advice would be helpful for you in December. 1. Make the most useful and inspirational errors you’ve dared in a long time. 2. Try experiments that teach you interesting lessons even if they aren’t completely successful. 3. Identify and honor the blessings in every mess.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“All possible feelings do not yet exist,” writes Leo novelist Nicole Krauss in her book The History of Love. “There are still those that lie beyond our capacity and our imagination. From time to time, when a piece of music no one has ever written, or something else impossible to predict, fathom, or yet describe takes place, a new feeling enters the world. And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling, the heart surges and absorbs the impact.” I suspect that some of these novel moods will soon be welling up in you, Leo. I’m confident your heart will absorb the influx with intelligence and fascination.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo author Jeanette Winterson writes, “I have always tried to make a home for myself, but I have not felt at home in myself. I have worked hard at being the hero of my own life, but every time I checked the register of displaced persons, I was still on it. I didn’t know how to belong. Longing? Yes. Belonging? No.” Let’s unpack Winterson’s complex testimony as it relates to you right now. I think you are closer than ever before to feeling at home in yourself—maybe not perfectly so, but more than in the past. I also suspect you have a greater-than-usual capacity for belonging. That’s why I invite you to be clear about what or whom you want to belong to and what your belonging will feel like. One more thing: You now have extraordinary power to learn more about what it means to be the hero of your own life.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
It’s tempting for you to entertain balanced views about every subject. You might prefer to never come to definitive conclusions about anything, because it’s so much fun basking in the pretty glow of prismatic ambiguity. You LOVE there being five sides to every story. I’m not here to scold you about this predilection. As a person with three Libran planets in my chart, I understand the appeal of considering all options. But I will advise you to take a brief break from this tendency. If you avoid making decisions in the coming weeks, they will be made for you by others. I don’t recommend that. Be proactive.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio poet David Whyte makes the surprising statement that “anger is the deepest form of compassion.” What does he mean? As long as it doesn’t result in violence, he says, “anger is the purest form of care. The internal living flame of anger always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect, and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for.” Invoking Whyte’s definition, I will urge you to savor your anger in the coming days. I will invite you to honor and celebrate your anger, and use it to guide your constructive efforts to fix some problem or ease some hurt.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Peace of mind for five minutes, that’s what I crave.” – Alanis Morissette

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Raimond Klavins - Unsplash

Quote of the Day: “Peace of mind for five minutes, that’s what I crave.” – Alanis Morissette

Photo: Raimond Klavins

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?

A Fruit So Sweet, Yet Grown Indoors: Will the Japanese Cultivar Become This Tesla of Strawberries?

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Andy Corbley
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Photo by Oishii
Photo by Oishii

A pair of talented agri-scientists have developed a strain of exquisitely-tasty, melt-in-your-mouth strawberries that are putting a foodie spotlight on the capabilities of vertical hydroponic farming.

Hiroki Koga and Brendan Somerville are the masterminds behind the Oishii fruit company, whose flagship “Omakase” berries have become all the rage among foodies and New York City chefs.

The Omakase berries, which hail from Japan, are grown hydroponically, meaning they are cultivated in soil-less tubes of mist and liquid fertilizer in controlled, indoor environments.

Strawberries are one of the crops that take to large-scale hydroponic farming quite well, and since the red fruit is the most pesticide-ridden crop at the supermarket, being able to grow them at scale in controlled environments could be a huge benefit to ecosystems.

However producing these beautiful succulent berries, which can fetch $50 for a tray of 8, required a bone-rattling amount of work that involved getting the export/import licenses for Somerville and Koga to tote their ideal Japanese strawberry cultivars all the way from the Land of the Rising Sun to New Jersey, where they rented a warehouse for their vertical farm.

In a long profile by Fast Company, the pair detail how they were duty bound to this first wave of leafy immigrants. The conditions in the warehouse were manipulated to replicate the perfect Japanese alpine weather 24-hours a day—and sensors that monitored moisture levels, carbon-dioxide, temperature, and other factors would send alerts to Koga and Somerville’s phones if anything was out of order, sometimes sending them rushing down from their shared apartment to the farm in the middle of the night.

SIMILAR: Lettuce is Grown Right Inside the Supermarket to Sell Without Packaging—a Hydroponic Garden in a Fridge

Koga comes not only from a profession, but from a country, which values exceptional quality fruit, but while the Omakase are prohibitively expensive for supermarket-scale sales, his plan is to bring over other Japanese strawberry cultivars.

He just raised $50 million in Series A funding, to introduce more and more Americans to crops that are selected and grown for taste rather than shelf life or ability to travel for days on a highway.

He also wants to expand Oishii’s offerings to include grapes and melons, two other fruits the Japanese prize.

At the moment though, the team are very reluctant to expand their product line too fast and without the proper preparation. Like Tesla, they are entering into a market with the most expensive product, and hoping to branch out from there.

The superiority of the Omakase strawberry over all others sold in the U.S. has created quite a rabid following, and Koga told Fast Company that they plan to firmly entrench their super-sweet product in the high-end restaurant and gift-giving markets, wherever demand can be found, before entering any uncharted territory.

Photo by Oishii

RELATED: The Largest Urban Rooftop Farm in the World is Now Bearing Fruit (and More) in Paris

Venture capitalists have been predicting a big move inside to indoor vertical farming for years, but it hasn’t really gained traction as fast as the early pioneer investors and entrepreneurs had predicted.

This has a lot to do with the products they’ve produced—almost all of which are leafy greens that don’t require pollination.

Having solved the pollination problem, Koga and Somerville are ready to experiment with other fruiting bodies, that will hopefully re-ignite some of the earlier passions in this innovative food production method.

Dive down to the roots of the story with a mini-doc shot on the farm, below…

SHARE This Succulent Success Story With Your Friends…

To Cut Neighbors’ Fuel Costs ‘Baker Ed’ Revived Tradition of a Village Oven – Baking for Others for Free

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Andy Corbley
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Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt at his Brickyard Bakery, Guisborough. Credit Goffy Media PR.

A baker in the English town of Guisborough, pop. 17k or thereabouts, is reviving an ancient tradition to help his neighbors endure high energy costs.

Thousands of years ago, societies built one oven in town where everyone went to bake their bread, and now Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt from Brickyard Bakery is offering to bake Christmas cakes for anyone worried about the energy costs of turning on the oven for several hours.

“At this time of year, there can be no greater expression of love than baking the family Christmas cake, but that is being lost because of the prohibitive energy costs in running an oven for a few hours,” said Baker Ed. “At Brickyard, we want to help by reviving a tradition lost to our community for centuries, the community oven.”

Anyone who has already prepared a cake can bring it to Brickyard Bakery on a Friday, and retrieve it baked and decorated the following Monday.

This is not Hamilton-Trewhitt’s first foray into good-deeding, as earlier in September, he realized the excess heat from his ovens could be used to create a community “warm lounge” for people without the means to heat their home continuously throughout the day.

SIMILAR: This Group Has Rerouted 250 Million Pounds of Food From Landfills to Feed People in Need

This small act of kindness brought the village baker international acclaim, as he reported on his Facebook.

He has also been offering pay-what-you-want cooking classes, which he described as “a tremendous success with lots of folk enjoying learning how to cook some cost effective tasty meals,” and some free hot tea or coffee to boot.

Local Sharon Bulmer remembered the tradition which Ed is trying to revive, commenting: “After the Baker had made his bread he allowed locals to bring their dishes to be cooked in the oven. Probably why we have so many casseroles etc.”

RELATED: Kindhearted Boy Used His Birthday Money to Start a Food Bank in His Garden Shed

“What an amazing thing to do, it used to be a way of live for families struggling when the cotton Mills and factories and coal mines were at their height. What an amazing thing to do, to give back to your customers and community. May your kindness be rewarded.”

Hamilton-Trewhitt has been interviewed for The Metro, the BBC, and on Radio 4, and has touched many with his actions.

SHARE This Inspiring Baker And His Acts Of Generosity On Facebook…

U.S. Gives First Ever Approval to Gut Microbiota Transplant Therapy

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Andy Corbley
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For years scientists have been demonstrating the therapeutic potential of gut microbiota transplants in mice for a variety of medical conditions; now the FDA has approved this procedure for the first time to treat a murderous bacterial infection.

The exact method may make someone squeamish, as its technical term is a “fecal matter transplant,” which is exactly the method approved for use.

We now know for certain that one of the most important markers for overall wellness is the size and species diversity of the bacterial community in our intestines, stomach, and colon. Its influence goes way beyond anything related to digestion, and affects the immune system, cognition, hormonal regulation, athletic performance, and more.

Fecal matter transplants have been shown in some cases in humans to reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and in mice to counteract pulmonary hypertension, reduce symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and even to reduce biological age clocks.

However Switzerland-based Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ procedure is meant to treat Clostridium difficile, or C. difficile, a superbug responsible for 15,000 – 30,000 deaths every year in the US.

RELATED: In a Revolutionary Medical Treatment, Man’s Lung Was Removed, Cleaned, and Replaced—No Transplant Necessary

It works through an enema that uses a distillation of microbes from the stool sample donation of an individual with a healthy, robust gut microbiota which can clear the dangerous infection. It has been the standard of care in the US under an investigational license.

The FDA approval panel convened in September and most regulators on the panel sought standardization of the treatment, which would pave the way to its application for more diseases and infections.

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Man Finding an American Lion Tooth Fossil in Shallow Mississippi is ‘the Biggest of Deals‘ to Scientists

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Andy Corbley
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Prewitt with his tooth. credit-Anna Reginelli facebook
Prewitt with his tooth. credit-Anna Reginelli facebook

Locals are discovering all kinds of weird things preserved in the mud of a drought-stricken Mississippi River, but the mandible and canine of an extinct American lion may be the most astonishing.

In October, Wiley Prewitt found something black sticking out of a sandbar on a stretch of the mighty river in Rosedale, near the Arkansas border. He imagined it to belonged to a carnivore—plant eaters could never need something so pointy—and took it to a Mississippi Fossil Artifact Symposium & Exhibition event that was happening nearby.

Almost all animals iconic to Africa’s wild savannahs today once lived in North America. There were rhinos, mastadons, giant ungulates, and yes, lions. Panthera atrox has been extinct for 11,000 years, but would have looked pretty much the same as African lions today.

When Prewitt entered the Symposium with his find, he must have been shocked to find that one of the exhibitions was on nothing other than the American lion.

MORE FOSSIL NEWS: Canada Schoolteacher Finds Fossil that May Be 300 Million Years Old and Could Re-Write Fossil Record

Just 3 fossils of the great beast have been found in Mississippi, but when George Phillips, curator of paleontology at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, saw Prewitt’s discovery, it was “one of those true moments where you blink a couple of times, because you can’t believe your eyes.”

“This fossil is so rare, that any information learned from it will help us understand so much more about this animal, not just as a species and but about its role in the Mississippi River alluvial plain habitat during the Pleistocene,” said George Starnes, a state-employed geologist, who called the fossil “the biggest of deals.”

SIMILAR: Watch How Texas Man Found Huge Dinosaur Tracks in Riverbed Dried From Drought

The American lion may have reached 1,000 pounds, stood 4-feet at the shoulder and reached 8-feet in length. Whether it had a mane like lions of today is not known as all remains of this animal, much less any continaing hair and skin, are extremely rare.

Other finds have turned up in a shallow Mississippi River of late, including the remains of a riverboat casino, and a 100-year-old ferry, beautifully preserved in the silt.

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“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything.” – St. Francis de Sales

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Quote of the Day: “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything.” – St. Francis de Sales

Photo: Arturo Castaneyra

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?

Weird and Wonderful Discoveries of New Deep Sea Fish Below Australia’s Ancient Underwater Volcanoes

By
Andy Corbley
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Batfish by Benjamin Healley
Batfish by Benjamin Healley

A recent deep-sea expedition off Australia’s Cocos Islands has revealed dozens of wild, wiggly, and wonderful sea creatures never seen to science.

Wonderful could also be construed as terrifying, if not for the fact that most of them are very small, and live at such depths as to permanently remove the possibility of our toes ever being within biting distance of their faces.

This April, the Australian government announced they were protecting the marine environment surrounding the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a new Marine Park of immense size.

Located at the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Ocean, the seas provide habitat for a stunning diversity of sea life.

This expedition marked the first ever undersea mapping of the floor around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Seamounts Marine Park.

RELATED: Australia’s Ocean Kelp Forest is Growing at Light Speed–Rivaling the Mighty Amazon for Absorbing CO2

A report on the 11,000 kilometer, month-long voyage described the undersea terrain as consisting of “massive flat-topped ancient sea-mountains, flanked by volcanic cones, snarly ridges and canyons formed from avalanches of sand that have slumped down onto the abyssal ocean floor.”

There, they found animals like the deep-sea batfish (pictured, above), which has tiny flippers to push itself along, and a tiny “fishing lure” in a small hollow on its snout to attract prey.

Tribute Spiderfish

They captured the hunting strategies adapted for a region without light—such as the tribute spiderfish (above) that walks about on its bottom flippers which have elongated into tall stilts, boosting its mouth to the swimming level of its favorite prey—tiny shrimp.

“We have discovered an amazing number of potentially new species living in this remote marine park,” said Museum Victoria Research Institute’s Dr. Tim O’Hara, Chief Scientist of the expedition.

This one (below), previously unknown-to-science, looks like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft story.

Called a cusk eel, the blind eel is found more than 3 miles deep (5km). That dark depth is the reason the eel has poorly developed eyes and transparent skin

Museums Victoria / by Ben Healley

This flatfish has evolved to bring both eyes on one side of the head, so it can lie camouflaged on the sea floor and have double the vision available for hunting.

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) – Benjamin Healley /Museums Victoria

“We are proud that our maps, data, and images will be used by Parks Australia to manage the new marine park into the future,” says O’Hara.

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100% Hydrogen-Powered Jet Engine Successfully Tested by EasyJet and Rolls-Royce

By
Andy Corbley
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Rolls-Royce - released.
Rolls-Royce – released.

Rolls-Royce and easyJet yesterday confirmed they have set a new aviation milestone with the world’s first run of a modern jet engine on green hydrogen fuel.

The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen that was created by wind and tidal power. It marks a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero carbon aviation fuel of the future.

Both companies have set out to prove that hydrogen can safely and efficiently deliver power for civil jet engines and are already planning a second set of tests, with a longer-term ambition to carry out flight tests before the end of the decade.

The partnership was inspired by the UN initiative Race to Zero that many companies have signed on to in order to try and reach zero emissions from operations by the mid-century mark.

As of now, most renewable or green aviation fuels have been made through vegetable oil, or other biological fuels. Hydrogen however is considered to be the only way to fully-decarbonize the aviation industry which accounts for about 3.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Small aircraft can be electrified with batteries, but large, long haul jets need a liquid fuel that burns slowly and can be refueled fast.

RELATED: Researchers Pull Carbon Out of the Sky And Convert it to Instant Jet Fuel, Reshaping Aviation For Good

Rolls-Royce and easyJet used a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A engine powered by hydrogen fuel produced through the currently prohibitively-expensive method of electrolysis at the European Marine Energy Center on the Orkney Islands.

Governments including the UK, but also the US and Australia, are investing heavily in green hydrogen, as it promises to be the only currently workable alternative to diesel or kerosene for things like passenger jets, freight trains, and long haul trucking.

SIMILAR: Carbon-Negative Plant Opens in Turkey Turning Algae Into Bio-Jet Fuel and So Much More

EasyJet are investors as well, and hope to be totally decarbonized by 2050, as they only operate short flights, most of which are inter-European.

“We are committed to continuing to support this ground-breaking research because hydrogen offers great possibilities for a range of aircraft, including easyJet-sized aircraft,” said Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet. “That will be a huge step forward in meeting the challenge of net zero by 2050.”

FLY This Story Over To Your Eco-Loving Friends…

“The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.” – Terri Guillemets

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.” – Terri Guillemets

Photo: Siena, Italy Christmas © GWC 2021

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?

Bangladesh Farmers Digging Simple Wells Have Created an Irrigation Wonder–With Rice Overflowing

By
Andy Corbley
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Rice farmers in Bangladesh. Image Water Alternatives Photos-CC BY-SA 3.0 via Flickr
Rice farmers in Bangladesh. Image Water Alternatives Photos-CC BY-SA 3.0 via Flickr

Over the last 40 years, small-holder farmers in Bangladesh have, using very simple methods, turned the dry Bengal Basin into one of the richest croplands on Earth where two to three rice harvests can be had per year.

They created a climate-resilient water system dubbed “The Bengal Water Machine” that has kept an underground reservoir topped up, even through extensive mechanized irrigation, by accumulating seasonal monsoon rains totaling a volume of 75 to 90 cubic kilometers of water.

That’s equivalent to half of Italy’s Lake Como, to between 5 and 6-times the volume of Lake Windermere in England, one-sixth of the volume of Lake Erie, double the volume of the Three Gorges Dam in China, triple the volume of the Hoover dam reservoir of Lake Mead, or if you’d prefer the figure in gallons, 23,775,484,712,233.00 (23.7 trillion).

This was found in a recent study, awaiting peer-review, that took one million water measurements from 465 separate wells between 1998 and 2018.

Compiled by Mohammad Shamsudduha, a data analyst and researcher at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London, it shows that humanity doesn’t necessarily need expensive science-fiction technology to ensure that cropland can remain irrigated if climate change corresponds to more intense droughts in the future.

That’s because The Bengal Water Machine is made up of nothing more than regular old wells dug less than 300 feet down, which increase the capture of the May-October Monsoon rains and prevent them from draining into the Bay of Bengal.

SIMILAR: Farmer Thrives by Growing Gluten-free Grain Needing No Water During Drought

During the November to April dry season, 16 million small-landholder farmers pump water up from the reservoir under the Bengal Basin to irrigate their rice—which they produce in such numbers they have become the world’s fourth-largest producers of the stuff, leading the nation to be completely grain independent.

“In order to benefit from the operation of the Bengal Water Machine, we recommend identifying the potential areas where further freshwater capture is possible under current and projected changes in monsoon rainfall and irrigation demand,” Shamsudduha told SciDev.Net. “Continuous monitoring of groundwater levels and abstraction can ensure the sustainability of the Bengal Water Machine”.

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

Other researchers have looked at the results and reasoned that similar nature-based solutions could be well-suited to other areas like the Mekong Delta, or the delta of China’s Huang He river, which has already proven to be vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

SHARE This Inspiring Human-Powered Progress With Your Friends…

This Greek Island Replaced its Landfill with Recycling Plant That Now Reduces Waste by 85%

By
Andy Corbley
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By Максим Улитин, CC license 3.0
By Максим Улитин, CC license 3.0

In order to keep their little island the pristine Aegean paradise it is, Tilos has gotten rid of their landfill, and replaced it with a circular system that has reduced total waste by 86%.

After being implemented this May, the island of around 750 inhabitants quickly saw progress, after they transformed the landfill into a recycling center and removed the large public common bins for trash.

Set up by Polygreen, the Just Go Zero initiative is hoping to steer other Greek islands towards similar programs.

All biodegradable waste is turned into soil treatments, while plastic, metal, glass, and paper are all recycled.

For non-recyclable goods there is an upcycle center for still-working, as well as for electronics and clothes, either for re-use by someone else, or for artistic creations.

“A new culture starts today in Tilos,” said Polygreen founder Athanasios Polychronopoulos, “a culture characterized by 100% landfill diversion, full circular waste management and, most importantly, a completely new perception of life. We are envisioning a future, where waste will only be seen in museums.”

Each resident is given a series of bags in which to separate the material, and like most world-waste collection, a truck arrives infront of your house on certain days to retrieve it and take it to he processing center. The Just Go Zero app allows residents to track how much material they’ve recycled, and learn more about what products and projects it’s going towards.

RELATED: Britain’s Royal Mint is Salvaging Gold from E-Waste – Recycling Precious Metals for Green Investors

Polities have all sorts of reasons for wanting a more recycling-based waste system, and as well as providing jobs and keeping the beaches clean, if you live on a beautiful island that’s only 24 square miles, dedicating any of it to a landfill seems a shame.

SEE their progress in this video…

RECYCLE This Waste-Based Story On Social Media…

Christmas is Coming… on a Vintage Train Wrapped in Neon Lights and Steam – WATCH

By
Andy Corbley
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SWNS

Enchanting footage captures a magical practice run for Dartmouth’s Train of Lights 2022 as it passes through the countryside.

Footage shows the Dartmouth steam railway train covered from front to back in vibrant LED lights to celebrate the imminent season of Saint Nicholas.

Professional photographer Scott Williams was joined by his three-year-old daughter Kerkyra to take in the scene from a bridge.

“We went to wait for the wonderful Train of Lights earlier this evening chuffing through Goodrington on its way down to Kingswear from Paignton,” said Williams.

“This was a practice run today before it’s open to the public this Friday for five weeks during the Christmas season. It was so magical watching if puff along this beautiful stretch of coast twinkling along the way.”

SIMILAR: Three Rare White Reindeer Calves Get Ready For Christmas, Joining the UK’s Only Herd

Scott shot the footage from a railway bridge in Goodrington, near Paignton.

The Train of Lights 2022 illuminated journey starts at Queen’s Park Station and features vintage carriages decorated with thousands of lights, both inside and out.

SWNS

Its journey take in the 450-meter Greenway tunnel that “leads you to the enchanted forest which will be transformed by a multitude of lights”.

LOOK: Wes Anderson Designed a Luxury Train Car – and It Looks Like Something Out of His Movies

The stunning show ends as you leave the forest to be greeted by the twinkling lights of Dartmouth reflected on the river Dart. After a turnaround at Kingswear station and with the opportunity to disembark and take photographs from the platform, you will be on your way back to Paignton to experience the spectacle from a different direction.​

Tickets are very reasonably priced, with a price of £85,00 for a family of five.

Watch the practice run to get in the Holiday spirit…

SHARE the Sight and Bring a Little Childhood Wonder to Social Media…

32 Species of Harlequin Frogs Were Found in Ecuador That We Thought Were Extinct

By
Andy Corbley
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Lead author Kyle Jaynes with a harlequin frog – released, Michigan State.

In one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth, ecologists have found 32 species of the ever-divergent Harlequin frog, all of which were thought to be extinct.

It’s one of the largest cataloged rediscoveries of animals in the history of science, and has shown that there is still plenty of hope these amphibian “gems” can survive long-term.

The work was led by young Kyle Jaynes, a Michigan State University doctoral student in the Department of Integrative Biology, who secured a National Geographic grant in 2019 to investigate sightings of these frogs which had been presumed or declared extinct.

Jaynes and his colleagues traveled to five different sites in Ecuador to look for them. Upon finding one, they would take saliva and skin swab samples to look for a kind of fungal parasite that has been decimating these frogs.

MORE FROG NEWS: Newly-Identified Species of Transparent ‘Glass’ Frogs Unveiled in Amazing Photos From Ecuador

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, is a fungus that has affected amphibians broadly. It’s been estimated that more than 80% of harlequin frog species may have gone extinct because of Bd.

“In total, 87 species have been missing,” Jaynes told his university press. “To date, 32 of those once-missing species—that’s 37 percent—have been rediscovered over the last two decades. This is a shocking number.”

One of the rediscovered frog species.

Through examining the collected DNA, the team gleaned information about the genetic diversity of the frogs. They found differences between the species that had not been seen for longer versus shorter periods of time—observations that could be useful in developing strategies to conserve and protect rediscovered species.

Invaluable assistance was rendered by Ecuadorian scientists from a variety of institutions, as well as indigenous people in the regions Jaynes visited, for whom some of the frogs were never “lost.”

RELATED: Endangered Frogs See ‘Population Explosion’ After 422 Ponds Were Built in Switzerland

“It was only missing to scientists,” Jaynes said. “It was never missing to Indigenous people. They were protecting it.”

“These frogs are gems. It’s not just nerdy scientists who think they are important,” said study co-author Dr. Sarah Fitzpatrick. “They’re culturally iconic.”

The team conclude that rediscovery does not equal recovery, but with the appreciation of these frogs by the locals, and their resilience in the face of an epidemic, decline and doom is far from inevitable, as some news outlets would report.

SHARE This Hopping Good Story With Your Friends… 

“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” – Harrison Ford

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” – Harrison Ford

Photo by: Martin Edholm

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?

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