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Kindness Activists are Adding Benches to City Bus Stops After Man With Cane Has to Sit on a Curb

By
Nathan Frederick
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Darrell Owens @idothethinking

A photo showing a man with a cane sitting on the ground at a bus stop led to a groundswell of compassion and a determination to make things right.

From that uncomfortable predicament, a local movement in Berkeley, California, was born.

It started when Darrell Owens noticed his neighbor, who had just undergone surgery for chronic leg pain, sitting down on the sidewalk while waiting for a bus.

“For many years, I had complained about the lack of seating for bus benches in Berkeley and got no response from either the city of Berkeley or AC Transit,” Owens said in a recent article on SFGate.

Owens snapped a photo of his neighbor awkwardly sitting on the curb and posted it on social media, which gained the attention of Mingwei Samuel, a local software engineer who offered to move his own bench to the location.

Samuel had been building benches after learning about the Public Bench Project, which installs them—and donates them to local businesses and organizations—to “promote community-oriented public spaces”.

Before long, Samuel’s bench was placed at the infamous bus stop—and he tweeted a picture of the problem solved.

Screenshot of tweet by MingweiSamuel of bus stop bench

Samuel’s social media post soon earned more than 100,000 Likes and created a whole bunch of positive vibes and goodwill in the community. An idea and a movement began.

Dozens of benches were soon on the way

Samuel and Owens, strangers just a few weeks prior, started collaborating on their own bench building project called the SFBA Bench Collective, launching a simple website that allows visitors to join the movement, report a problem, or request a bench.

To date, their organization has installed approximately 77 benches at local bus stops. Each bench complies with AC Transit guidelines and the regulations required for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The estimated cost for each bench is just $70—and the group prioritizes placing benches at the highest-ridership stops.

The effort has created a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game in the transit community. The bench collective will sometimes install their own benches, only to see them replaced by official ones from the city.

Owens finds it satisfying, saying, “That means the collective’s work is complete: We got the cities to build benches for its citizens.”

MEANWHILE, IN THE UK: The UK’s Cutest Bus Stop Has Been Decorated By Locals With Quirky Themes For 20 Years

Elsewhere the movement keeps growing. A climate activist who volunteered for the bench collective posted a video of a bench build that tallied 3.2 million views—and the cause continues to gain traffic across social media with numerous groups across the country pushing for comfortable amenities to support public transit.

“After the election, I think there’s been more energy to do something good in the world, for once, so other people have helped step up to organize bench-build weekends,” Samuel said.

KINDNESS AT THE BUS STOP:
• When Driver Sees Students Waiting in Weeds, He Returned to Mow the Entire Bus Stop
• Cheeky Teen Welcomes Little Brother at His Bus Stop Every Day Wearing a Different Embarrassing Costume–LOOK
• Teens Build Bus Stop Shelter for 5-Year-old Wheelchair User, Protecting Him From Harsh Weather
• Bus Stops in Scotland Go Green – With Roofs Covered in Plants as a Gift For Honeybees

After a single bench sparked the movement in Berkeley—the good Samaritans are keeping it going nationwide.

SPREAD THE IDEA and RESOURCES in YOUR CITY BY Sharing This on Social Media…

81-year-old Waitress Couldn’t Retire, so a Stranger Raised Over $300K for Her

By
Andy Corbley
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@tamie.lynn via Instagram
@tamie.lynn via Instagram

An 81-year-old restaurant server named Betty in Pittsburgh must have been smiling the rest of her shift: a woman had given her an outsized, $40 tip.

She might have thought that was the end of their interaction, but Betty could not have imagined what that $40 tip would lead to.

Tamie Konzier, a Pittsburgh-based esthetician and TikToker, had taken her son Leo to eat at a local restaurant called Eat’n Park, and when she heard Betty confide to another customer that she struggled to finish out her shifts from back pain, but couldn’t retire from financial difficulties. The small $910 social security check in the mail wasn’t enough.

Moved by Betty’s plight, Konzier whipped out her phone and pressed record. “If I make one video go viral, let it be this one.”

Describing to her fans Betty’s situation, she announced she’d give any proceeds that her TikTok Creator Rewards Program might generate from the post to Betty, and post-scripted the video by offering Betty $40, or “all the money in my purse.”

Betty was moved and grateful, and ensured Konzier that even at 81 she can “still outdo all these whippersnappers.”

@tamie.lynn Hoping we can help this sweet lady retire! I think Jen Hamilton could help me do it but I can’t tag her! #viralvideo #fyp #jenhamilton ♬ original sound - Tamie Konzier

Konzier got her wish: the post went viral. Within 24 hours she had received so many requests for a place to donate, she had to set up a GoFundMe to channel the generosity.

At $140,000 she went to tell Betty the news.

“I think I better get a financial adviser!” Betty said, clearly stunned. “You don’t know what this is going to help me for.”

ANOTHER STORY LIKE THIS: TikTok Landscaper Raises $800K for Elderly Disabled Woman Who Couldn’t Find Anyone to Mow Her Lawn

Konzier posted a couple of updates on the situation, and every time the GoFundMe swelled until it reached $300,000.

@tamie.lynn Replying to @heyobobby ♬ original sound - Tamie Konzier

“I can not express how grateful Betty is for her retirement fund!” Konzier wrote in the final update on the fundraiser. “My lawyer, Max Petrunya, and I have set Betty up with an Elder Law attorney, Colin Morgan of Julian Gray Associates. We are in the process of setting up a trust fund for Betty so her social services are not affected. Thank you again for your donations, we expect to close the go fund me at the end of April.”

SHARE This Incredible Response To A Simple Request On Social Media… 

First Confirmed Footprints of 3-Toed Ankylosaur Found Anywhere in the World Identified in Canada

By
Andy Corbley
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Ruopodosaurus hand and footprints from Tumbler Ridge in Canada - Royal BC Museum via SWNS
Ruopodosaurus hand and footprints from Tumbler Ridge in Canada – Royal BC Museum via SWNS

With nothing more than the beast’s footprints, paleontologists in Canada have identified a new tail club-swinging armored dinosaur.

The 100-million-year-old fossilized prints were found at two different locations in the Canadian Rockies mountain range.

Researchers explained that there are two main groups of ankylosaurs. Nodosaurid ankylosaurs have a flexible tail and four toes, while ankylosaurid ankylosaurs have a sledgehammer-like tail club, and only three toes on their feet.

Unlike the well-known ankylosaur footprints of Tetrapodosaurus borealis found across North America, which have four toes, the new tracks have only three, making them the first known examples of ankylosaurid ankylosaur footprints anywhere in the world.

The research team named the new species Ruopodosaurus clava, meaning “the tumbled-down lizard with a club/mace” – referencing both the mountainous location in which the tracks were found and the distinctive tail clubs of these dinosaurs.

The research team reported their findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

“While we don’t know exactly what the dinosaur that made Ruopodosaurus footprints looked like, we know that it would have been about 5-6 meters long, spiky and armored, and with a stiff tail or a full tail club,” Dr. Victoria Arbour, the curator of paleontology at the Royal BC Museum.

“Ankylosaurs are my favorite group of dinosaurs to work on, so being able to identify new examples of these dinosaurs in British Columbia is really exciting for me.”

Dr. Charles Helm, scientific advisor at the Tumbler Ridge Museum, had noted the presence of several of the three-toed ankylosaur trackways around Tumbler Ridge for several years, and invited Dr. Arbour to work together to identify and interpret them during a visit in 2023.

The tracks date back to the middle of the Cretaceous period, about 100 to 94 million years ago, according to the researchers.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Pony-Sized Dinosaurs Swam or Floated Across Hundreds of Miles of Ocean from America to Colonize Africa

No bones from ankylosaurids have been found in North America from about 100 to 84 million years ago, leading to some speculation that ankylosaurids had disappeared from North America during that period.

But the footprints show that they were alive and well in North America during the gap in the skeletal fossil record.

The discovery also shows that the two main types of ankylosaurs—nodosaurids and ankylosaurids, including this new three-toed species—co-existed in the same region during that time.

MORE DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS: Fossilized Dino Footprint Points to One of the Largest Raptors Ever Discovered

“It is really exciting to now know through this research that there are two types of ankylosaurs that called this region home, and that Ruopodosaurus has only been identified in this part of Canada,” said Dr. Helm.

“This study also highlights how important the Peace Region of north-eastern BC is for understanding the evolution of dinosaurs in North America—there’s still lots more to be discovered,” added Dr. Arbour.

SHARE This Story With Your Friends Who Love Dinosaurs… 

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” – Rumi

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” – Rumi

Photo by: Joshua Earle for Unsplash+

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?

Good News in History, April 15

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Good News Network
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The First Impressionist Exhibition - credit, public domain

151 years ago today, a team of like-minded artists put on Paris’ First Impressionist Exhibition. Rejected by the Paris Salon, the artists took their work to No.35 Boulevard des Capucines, the studio of the famous photographer Nadar. Once there, an art critic and satirist called it the “Impressionist Exhibition” leading to the birth of the movement’s name, and fame. Led by the sagely Camille Pissarro, the exhibitors included Renoir, Monet, Manet, Degas, and others. SEE the exhibition’s works… (1874)

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Fish Oil Supplements Shown to Be More Effective Than Fish for Getting Optimal Omega-3 Intake

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash
credit – Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash

Reprinted with permission from World at Large.

In a fascinating new study, several dozen participants were separated into groups and fed either a fish oil supplement or fish itself, and the supplement proved more effective at delivering omega-3 fatty acids into the body than the actual fish.

It was for years the norm, and likely still is in some quarters, for physicians to recommend trying to get all vital nutrients from foods, and not to rely on supplements.

But the study at least has shown this to be wrong, as both white and oily fish weren’t able to replicate some of the more penetrative effects of omega-3 from a supplement. As a result, those who can’t afford to eat cod or salmon every day may need not worry about it.

The strength of the study is that it was double-blinded and placebo controlled, meaning that neither the participants nor the scientists knew who got the fish oil and who ate fish, and in what combinations, a technique known as the “gold standard” in scientific research.

Analyzing the data after the study had been concluded revealed that a rather complex marker of disease risk called extracellular vesicles had only been improved by the presence of an additional intake of omega-3 from a supplement, and not by the consumption of white or oily fish alone.

Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are arguably the most important human nutrients for health and longevity. The P.hD. and science researcher Dr. Rhonda Patrick has a database of simple explanations on omega-3 that’s worth a read, and probably the most detailed informational resource on the internet for these valuable nutrients.

The scope of their value in disease prevention and longevity is stunning. For example, one study Dr. Patrick cited shows that non-smokers with low omega-3 levels and daily smokers with high omega-3 levels have similar risk of death from cardiovascular disease, suggesting deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids is as great as risk of death as smoking.

Extracellular vesicles, the culprit in many diseases

In this new paper published in the British Journal of Nutrition, 42 participants were separated into three groups and had their diets controlled by 12 weeks. The first group was fed fish oil supplements plus white fish, the second was fed placebo plus oily fish, and the third placebo and white fish.

The target of the paper was extracellular vesicles, (EVs) the source of an emerging body of literature on disease pathology. EVs are produced and excreted by all cells that have been examined for it. They can’t replicate, but these lipid-like particles do carry fragments of DNA and can enter other cells. For this reason they are implicated in a number of cancers, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, atherosclerosis, neurological problems, chronic inflammation, and aging.

EVs also act as a procoagulant and senolytic, however, and have also been seen to extend the immunological memory of T cells, showing how they aren’t all bad. Their role may be similar to that of inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and Interleukin-6, which are implicated in virtually every disease known to man, but also play a role in healing the body through acute inflammation.

EVs are a compelling marker of disease to measure the impact of omega-3 levels, since they are created in comparatively low numbers in most organs and tissues and present a systematic challenge.

It was only the group that received the fish oil supplements which saw a reduction in the circulation of EVs in the bloodstream, while those who ate the kinds of fish recommended for improving omega-3 levels could not replicate this effect.

While the number of participants was small, both the randomized study design and the length of the study period of 3 months contribute to an overall strength of the findings.

In order to raise the levels of omega-3 in the body above the threshold at which the most robust effects are seen, researchers in one analysis found that a range of 1,750 to 2,500 milligrams was optimal and well-tolerated by the body. WaL

British Woman Gives Birth After Receiving Transplant Womb from Sister and Pro Bono Surgery at Hospital

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash
Photo by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash

A woman has spoken to the media for the first time after becoming a mother to the UK’s first child born from a transplanted womb.

Grace Davidson was able to have that opportunity thanks to her sister, who donated her womb in what Davidson called “a huge act of sisterly love.”

Born in February, little Amy Isabel was named after her aunt who donated the womb she was conceived in, and given a middle name of the leader of the team that led her surgery.

The first-ever baby born from a transplanted womb was in Sweden in 2014. The procedure has been replicated dozens of times since then, and 65 babies have come into the world as a result.

A charity in the UK that’s currently running a clinical trial of transplant wombs paid for Davidson’s surgery, and the 17-hour marathon procedure was done pro bono by a staff of 30 physicians and surgeons.

“It was quite overwhelming because we’d never really let ourselves imagine what it would be like for her to be here,” Davidson told the BBC. “It was really wonderful.”

Davidson was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome that results in a woman’s womb being missing or underdeveloped. It doesn’t, evidently, preclude the possibility forever of having children, since the ovaries are intact and normal.

Davidson and her husband Angus had originally planned to seek a womb transplant in 2018, but the original donor proved unsuitable. The pair had received confirmation from Davidson’s sister Amy that she would be willing to donate her womb, which she used to have two children, but the pandemic delayed things further.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Texas Woman Sets Record for Donating Almost 700 Gallons of Breastmilk

In February of 2023, Isabel Quiroga at Churchill Hospital in Oxford led a team of 30 in performing the procedure, after which Davidson became pregnant at the first attempt of IVF.

“I’m not often short of words but when the baby came out I was speechless—there were a lot of tears in the theater that day,” said Richard Smith, a gynecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare who led the team which retrieved the womb from Amy. “The whole thing is astonishing and incredibly moving.”

MORE MIRACLE BABIES: Miracle Twins Given 10% Chance of Survival Are Now Thriving Thanks to Hero Medics

Professor Smith leads the charity Womb Transplant UK, which is undergoing a clinical trial, of which Grace was a part, that will see 15 transplants done from 5 living, and 10 deceased donor organs. Grace’s surgery was paid for by the charity, and has enough to afford two more, according to the BBC.

HEAR the emotion in their voices in this video report from Reuters…

SHARE This Miracle Birth Born Of A Miracle Of Modern Medicine… 

‘We got him!’ Hero Michigan Police Use Heat Cam to Rescue Missing Toddler Wearing Only Diapers on Frigid Night

By
Andy Corbley
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Courtesy of State troopers in Jackson County Michigan
Courtesy of State troopers in Jackson County Michigan

Spring evening temperatures around Detroit were falling to a high of 40°F when Jackson County state troopers took to the air to search for a toddler who’d gone missing in nothing but his diaper.

The story, which has a happy ending, is a reminder to all parents of just how challenging it can be to keep enough eyes on your child, especially at the end of the day when you’re feeling drained.

“The child was in the living room. They walked out. They come back a few minutes later and the door to the apartment unit was open,” Michigan State Trooper Brandon Franklin, a tactical flight officer, explained to ABC‘s “Good Morning America.”

This was around 8 p.m. on April 5th in Blackman Charter Township, about an hour outside of Detroit.

With light and heat rapidly vanishing, Franklin and his co-pilot Cole Martin took to the skies with infrared heat-sensing technology in the hopes of detecting the toddler from above.

As both men are fathers to their own children, they weren’t going to stop while hope remained.

Mercifully, after just 15 minutes of searching, the two men detected a small white-hot figure in a ditch by the highway.

In camera footage released by Michigan State Police, one of the troopers can be heard saying, “We got him!”

OTHER CLOSE SHAVES: Macgyver-Minded Officer Saves Toddler from Bottom of 10-ft Hole with Makeshift Catchpole –WATCH

Awake and alert, the toddler was reunited with his parents.

“Later on at night, it dropped below freezing,” Franklin said. “So if no one would have found this child, the outcome would not have been the same most likely.”

MORE SUCH RESCUES: Toddler Gone Missing in 10-foot-tall Corn Field Is Finally Detected During Nighttime Search for the 3-year-old

Martin added that it was a privilege to have been able to help.

“We train for this and make sure that we leave with happy endings and don’t fall short of that,” Martin added.

WATCH the story below from GMA… 

SHARE This Great Search And Rescue Work With Your Friends… 

“As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” – Proverbs (25:25)

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” – Proverbs (25:25)

Photo by: GWC copyright 2016

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?

Good News in History, April 14

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Good News Network
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86 years ago today, John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath was published, a story he wrote after interviewing displaced migrants who escaped the Dust Bowl (a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology of the Midwestern prairies during the 1930s and the Great Depression). The book won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and soon after was made into a celebrated Hollywood film starring Henry Fonda. WATCH a video… (1939)

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Talented 3-Year-old is Painting Impressive Artwork Entirely From Memory (LOOK)

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Good News Network
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Andria Alania painting on canvas (via SWNS)
Andria Alania painting on canvas (via SWNS)

Meet a talented boy who is creating impressionistic paintings of natural scenes from memory.

Now three-and-a-half years-old, Andria mixes his paints by himself and applies them to canvases, but his natural talent became clear when he recreated a seaside scene after a family holiday.

Despite never taking any art classes, the pint-sized prodigy instinctively blends colors and shapes, painting everything from landscapes to animals.

Andria’s mom Mariam Jakhaia, a clinical psychologist from Tbilisi, Georgia, says his artistic development has been all-natural.

“His creativity and attention to detail seem to come instinctively,” she told SWNS news.

She recognized his talent when he was just a baby.

“At seven months old, I introduced him to paints in a playful way so he could mix the colors with his hands. By the time he was one, he was already holding crayons and brushes.

“One day he drew an owl from The Gruffalo (children’s book) and I realized he wasn’t just playing, he was intentionally recreating images.”

“He especially loves the sea, summer, and lush green landscapes—they frequently appear in his paintings, reflecting his fascination with the natural world and his joyful connection to it.”

Andria painting flowers on canvas (via SWNS)

One of Mariam’s proudest moments was when Andria painted an entire ocean scene from memory.

“He had seen the sea, the sand, and palm trees and when we got home he painted it all perfectly from memory.

SWNS

“That’s when I knew I had to invest in better materials for him.”

So far, Andria has created 14 paintings on canvases, which were purchased by his parents.

CHECK OUT THIS KID: 8-Year-old Boy Who Taught Himself to Paint was Invited to Hold an Exhibition–And Counted His First Sales

“We are a low-income family, but we make sure he has books and art supplies to explore his creativity.”

WATCH Andria’s process in the video below…

SHARE THE INSPIRATION On Social Media for All the Young Van Goghs…

Free Service that Finds Lost Pets Already Reunited 40,000 Animals Using QR Codes and Network of a Million People

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Good News Network
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FidoAlert
FidoAlert

There’s already an Amber Alert for children—now, one entrepreneur has asked the question, why isn’t there an Amber Alert for pets?

That’s how FidoAlert was born. Using technology, a QR code, and SMS texting, it’s an alert for animals. And the best part is… it’s free.

The pet alert network currently has over a million members across 50 states, with 1.5 million pets registered.

40,000 pets have been reunited with owners using a unique FidoID and QR tag system. When a pet goes missing, an owner can trigger an alert to anyone within a few miles of the pet’s last known location.

If a lost pet is found, the animal’s QR code tag can be scanned which triggers a notification delivered to the owner and up to 10 emergency contacts. The SMS-based alert system—which the company says uses “privacy-protected contact information”—means no app is required to download.

Every owner who registers at the website gets a free pet tag with a QR code and unique pet ID that comes with the ability to be notified when your pet is found, even if you’re unaware of their absence.

“I wanted to create a product as a part of a social mission, where we would make it free to every pet owner,” says Founder John Bradford. “My hope is that every pet owner in America signs up for FidoAlert, so if the unthinkable happens there will be another layer of protection so pets and owners can be reunited.”

FidoAlert.com

“I got the free tags and set up my account almost a year ago…completely free,” said Brenda B. Smith. “A few weeks back our dog snuck out of our yard, and before I even knew he was missing, I got a text from www.fidoalert.com that my dog had been found—and gave a phone number to call to pick him up.”

“I got my tag a long time ago and my large dog broke off his steel chain and thanks to FidoAlert he was found,” said Elizabeth Heeman. “This service is literally a life saver and it really is actually free 100%.”

How it Works:

Pet owners create a profile on FidoAlert.com and register their pet(s), establishing a user profile where pets’ information is managed. After signing up, pet owners can:

  • Add emergency contacts that will also be notified if a stranger finds the pet
  • Add multiple photos for each pet to aid in proper identification
  • Profile info exists in the background, until it is needed to send an alert for a missing pet
  • When an alert is triggered, an SMS text is sent to any network members within close proximity to the pet’s last-known location
  • Pet owners will occasionally receive alerts from nearby neighbors when member pets go missing.

TabbyAlert is also their cat service that works the same way–with the website providing connections to reunite lost felines and their peeps.

PET REUNION JOY IS REAL:
• Man is ‘Overwhelmed’ as His Bengal Cat is Returned From 16-year Absence After a Phone Call
• Cat Walks Across France Before Reunion With ‘Stunned’ Owners 13 Months Later
• After Serving Together for 4 Years in Iraq, Dog and Army Handler Are Reunited to ‘Live the Couch Life’ in Texas

TELL YOUR PET-OWNING FRIENDS ABOUT THIS By Sharing On Social Media…

Just 1-Minute Daily Exposure to Specific Sound Frequency Can Alleviate Motion Sickness: New Study

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Good News Network
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Getty Images for Unsplash+
Getty Images for Unsplash+

A research team at Nagoya University School of Medicine in Japan has discovered that “a unique sound stimulation technology” can reduce motion sickness and may become a simple and effective way to treat this common disorder.

Even a single minute using a device that stimulates the inner ear with a specific wavelength of sound was able to reduce the discomfort felt by test subjects who were asked to do tasks like reading in a moving vehicle.

Takumi Kagawa co-led the study that was published in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, which demonstrated the effects of their so-called ‘sound spice’.

“It alleviates symptoms of motion sickness, such as nausea and dizziness,” he said. “The effective sound level falls within the range of everyday environmental noise exposure, suggesting that the sound technology is both effective and safe.”

The discovery is an expansion of recent findings about sound and its effect on the inner ear. Increasing evidence has suggested that stimulating the part of the inner ear associated with balance can potentially improve any spatial imbalance.

Using a mouse model and humans, the researchers identified a unique sound at 100 Hz as being the optimal frequency.

“Vibrations at the unique sound stimulate the otolithic organs in the inner ear, which detect linear acceleration and gravity,” explained co-leader of the study Masashi Kato in a press release. “This suggests that a unique sound stimulation can broadly activate the vestibular system, which is responsible for maintaining balance and spatial orientation.”

To test the effectiveness, the researchers recruited voluntary participants and provided the sound stimulation. Motion sickness was induced by a swing, a driving simulator, or riding in a car.

RELATED: Doctor Who Discovered Natural Way to Treat Vertigo for Free Writes Book On How Sufferers Can Thrive

By Takumi Kagawa and Masashi Kato at Nagoya University, CC license

The researchers then used postural control, ECG readings, and Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire results to assess the effectiveness of the stimulation.

Exposure to the 100 Hz sound before being exposed to the driving simulator enhanced sympathetic nerve activation. The researchers found symptoms such as “lightheadedness” and “nausea,” which are often seen with motion sickness, were alleviated.

“These results suggest that activation of sympathetic nerves, which are often disregulated in motion sickness, was objectively improved by the unique sound exposure,” Kato said.

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Woman Makes Drug-free Patches That Treat Nausea, Cramps, Vertigo, Hangovers – And Even Car Sick Pets

Their results suggest a safe and effective way to improve motion sickness, potentially offering help to millions of sufferers. The researchers plan to further develop the technology with the aim of practical application for a variety of travel situations including air and sea travel.

SHARE THE GOOD NEWS On Social Media For Friends With Motion Sickness…

Watch Boy Bid Farewell to Garbage Man After Years of Heartwarming Weekly Chats

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Good News Network
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Noah Carrigan says goodbye to his favorite Garbage man – SWNS
Noah Carrigan says goodbye to his favorite Garbage man – SWNS

This is the moment a nine-year-old boy said goodbye to his local trash collector after greeting him every week on the road outside his driveway for years.

Noah Carrigan had waited for the same garbage man every Tuesday since he was five – forming a sweet friendship.

But when the Florida county government switched to a new waste management company, Noah had to say his final goodbye on March 25.

His mother Catherine Carrigan said the tradition began after Noah became fascinated with the big green truck that arrived every week.

“It started out as something so simple—he was just fascinated by the garbage truck.

“For years, every Tuesday, he would run outside to wave and the garbage man always waved back, honked the horn, and acknowledged him.”

The 41-year-old says Noah’s father is a firefighter, so there’s “a lot of truck-love” in their home.

Noah’s farewell letter to his favorite Trash man – SWNS

But, even as he grew older and busier with school, he’d still make time to say hello.

In a heartfelt final meeting, Noah handed the sanitary worker a handwritten note and some gifts, along with a bottle of water to thank him for years of kindness.

Noah Carrigan gives his toy garbage truck to trash man – SWNS

“When we told him it was the last time he’d see the garbage man, he immediately ran inside to write a note and grab some of his old garbage truck toys to give him.

“He wanted to say thank you. It was so sweet.

Noah’s gifts included a letter in a mini bin and a mini garbage truck – SWNS

“This man had been part of Noah’s life for years. It was a friendship built on smiles and waves.”

INSPIRING KINDNESS: When Young Waffle House Worker Was Left Alone to Run Entire Restaurant, Empathetic Customers Jump In to Help

“It was like saying goodbye to a part of his childhood. It was so beautiful to witness.

WATCH the video from SWNS news…

SHARE THE SWEET FAREWELL With Friends On Social Media…

“I learned to conserve my anger. Once controlled it can be transmuted into a power that can move the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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Good News Network
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Natalia Blauth for Unsplash+

Quote of the Day: “I learned to conserve my anger. Once controlled it can be transmuted into a power that can move the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Photo by: Gabriel Lamza

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?

Natalia Blauth for Unsplash+

Good News in History, April 13

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Good News Network
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Sikhs parading on Vaisakhi in Birmingham - CC 2.0. Michael Clark.

Today is Vaisakhi, the second most important day of the year on the Punjabi calendar, on which Sikhs from around the world celebrate a triad of events. The first, dating back to before the consolidation of Sikhism, is the first harvest of crops for the year, and as such many Sikh communities hold harvest festivals either in India or in the diaspora nations. Second, it is the day that the 10th Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh, created the Khalsa, an order of warrior-poet-holy men to defend to lands of Punjab, and which still marks out men as Sikh devotees today. READ about the third and more about the second below… (1699)

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The Beautiful Moment a Mother Chimp Scoops Up Her New Baby the Day After C-Section–LOOK

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Good News Network
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Chimpanzee reaches for baby - Sedgwick County Zoo / SWNS
Chimpanzee reaches for baby – Sedgwick County Zoo / SWNS

A heartwarming union was captured at a Kansas zoo this week when a chimpanzee mother met her baby for the first time 14 hours after she gave birth via C-section.

Named Mahale, the 30-year-old primate at The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita gave birth to her first offspring since her last baby died accidentally two years ago when he was just five weeks old.

The new baby, a female called Kyansa, was named after a mountain in the Mahale National Park in Tanzania, and was featured in a video.

Watching how Mahale immediately pulled her new infant into her arms, cuddling her close, is proof of the strong “positive signs of bonding”, according to caretakers.

“The pair will remain behind the scenes to allow time for Mahale to heal from surgery and for mom and baby to further develop their bond.”

“Another surgical delivery was prescribed in order to reduce the risks sometimes associated with natural births after C-sections.”

Dr. Laura Whisler and Dr. Janna Chibry of College Hill OB-GYN in Wichita, Kansas, performed the cesarean section alongside the Zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams.

Chimpanzee reaches for baby – Sedgwick County Zoo

Mahale spent the night recovering from anesthesia before being reunited with baby the following morning. (WATCH the sweet moments below…)

Monkeying Around: All 4 Types of Apes Have a Sense of Humor– Researchers Categorize Their Clowning in New Video

The 30-year-old chimpanzee has remained a key figure at the zoo, forming bonds with younger troop members, and being a loving “auntie” to a 1-year-old chimp resident.

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Kermit The Frog Chosen as Inspiring Commencement Speaker for University of Maryland This Year

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Good News Network
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University of Maryland - released
University of Maryland – released

The University of Maryland announced that the beloved Muppet, Kermit the Frog, will deliver the university’s 2025 commencement address to graduates and their families on May 21.

After a sold-out visit to campus last year as part of the Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series, the legendary frog returns from The Muppets Studio to share an inspiring message with this year’s graduates.

Kermit’s appearance honors the long history between UMD and Muppets creator Jim Henson, who graduated from the school in 1960.

Henson, a home economics major, invented Kermit by building the original frog puppet out of one of his mother’s coats and a ping-pong ball cut in half.

“I am thrilled that our graduates and their families will experience the optimism and insight of the world-renowned Kermit the Frog at such a meaningful time in their lives,” said UMD President Darryll Pines.

“Our pride in Jim Henson knows no bounds, and it is an honor to welcome Kermit the Frog to our campus, 65 years after Mr. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland.”

Kermit sent back a message in response:

“Nothing could make these feet happier than to speak at the University of Maryland. I just know the class of 2025 is going to leap into the world and make it a better place, so if a few encouraging words from a frog can help, then I’ll be there!”

WATCH: Unforgettable Commencement Speaker Surprises Each Graduate With $1,000 Cash–Asking Them to Give Half Away

Henson always said he wanted the Muppets to live on without him—and what better way than to speak to “the lovers, the dreamers” who are setting off on their adventures as adults.

The college released this cute video to unveil this year’s chosen speaker…

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University Develops AI to Detect Invasive Asian Hornets

By
Andy Corbley
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An Asian hornet - credit, Peter Kennedy, supplied
An Asian hornet – credit, Peter Kennedy, supplied

An English university has developed an AI-detection system that can identify a picture of an invasive Asian hornet in yet another innovative and positive application of the emerging technology.

Not quite the “murder hornets” that invaded America a half-decade ago, the Asian hornet is nevertheless an extremely bothersome pest for all the same reasons, including the bug’s ability to wipe out honey bee colonies and cause anaphylactic shock in humans from their stings.

VespAI, could identify the species with “almost perfect accuracy”, said University of Exeter, whose scientists developed the device.

Looking like an upturned punch bowl with a small device mounted on top, it also attracts the insects, which gives a camera the opportunity to take an image and determine what species it is.

Since one single hornet can kill and eat 50 honeybees in a single day, the record-number of Asian hornet sightings in the UK in 2023 spurred the university into finding a way to combat them.

Nests have been found in East Sussex, Kent, Devon, and Dorset, and Dr. Peter Kennedy, who envisioned how AI might be used to defend English shores from the invader, told the BBC that the country’s first line of defense—citizen identification—was highly flawed, with many sightings being misidentified.

The VespAI module – credit, Peter Kennedy, supplied

“Our system thus aims to provide a vigilant, accurate and automated surveillance capability to remediate this,” he said.

“VespAI does not kill non-target insects, and thus eliminates the environmental impact of trapping, while ensuring that live hornets can be caught and tracked back to the nest, which is the only effective way to destroy them.”

OTHER GOOD AI USES: Artificial Intelligence ‘Can Help Spot Early Signs of Cancer in Chest X-Rays’

Designed to be inexpensive and highly-versatile, the VespAI could be used by scientists and game wardens, but also beekeepers, who would receive an alert if the system detected a creature it believed to be an Asian hornet.

HORNET DEFENSE: Invasive ‘Murder Hornets’ Are Wiped Out in the US, Using Transmitters That Led Back to the Nests

Though only a prototype, it has preformed very well in field tests.

Asian hornets have invaded countries across the European continent, and their stings have hospitalized and even killed residents in agricultural areas.

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Good News Network
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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 April 12, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Life is asking you to be a source of generosity and strength for the people and animals in your sphere. I hope you will exude maximum amounts of your natural charisma as you bestow maximum blessings. Soak up the admiration and affection you deserve, too, as you convey admiration and affection to others. Here’s a secret: The more you share your resources, help, and intelligence, the more of that good stuff will flow back your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Ceramicist Jun Hamada says that trying to force harmony into her art leads to sterile work. “The most beautiful pieces come from the moments I stop trying to make them beautiful,” she notes. “They emerge from embracing the clay’s natural tendencies, even when they seem to fight against my intentions.” I recommend her approach to you in the coming weeks. Your best results may emerge as you allow supposed flaws and glitches to play an unexpected part in the process. Alliances might benefit, even deepen, through honest friction rather than imposed peace. What will happen when you loosen your attachment to enforced harmony and let life’s natural tensions gyrate?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini-born Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was a prolific architect who orchestrated many daring designs. Among his most audacious experiments was a project to build a house over a waterfall in Pennsylvania. “It can’t be done!” experts said. But he did it. Before he was ready to accomplish the impossible, though, he had to spend months studying the site’s natural patterns. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are ready to consider your own equivalent of constructing a house over a waterfall. Prepare well! Do your homework!

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
In the early phase of his illustrious career as a photographer, Edward Weston (1886–1958) cultivated a soft-focus, romantic style. But he ultimately converted to stark, uncompromising realism. “The camera,” he said, “should be used for recording life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself.” If there is anything about you that prefers warm, fuzzy illusions over objective, detailed truth, I suggest you switch emphasis for a while. If you like, you can return to the soft-focus approach in June. But for now, a gritty, unsentimental attitude will be essential to your well-being.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Here’s my mini-manifesto about change, just in time for a phase when change is most necessary and possible for you. 1. Real change is often a slow and subtle process. There may be rare dramatic shifts, but mostly the process is gradual and incremental. 2. Instead of pushing hard for a short time, you’re more likely to change things by persistently pushing with modest strength for a sustained time. 3. Rather than trying to confront and wrestle with a big problem exactly as it is, it’s often more effective to break the seemingly insurmountable challenge into small, manageable pieces that can be solved one at a time through simple efforts.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Textile artist Mei Zhang wondered if the synthetic dyes she used on her fabrics were limited. Might there be a wider variety of colors she could use in her creations? She discovered that her grandmother, using age-old techniques, had produced hues that modern dyes couldn’t replicate. “The most sustainable path forward,” Zhang concluded, “often involves rediscovering what we’ve forgotten rather than inventing something entirely new.” I recommend that counsel to you, Virgo. The solution to a current challenge might come from looking back instead of pushing forward. Consider what old approaches or traditional wisdom you might call on to generate novelty. Weave together fresh applications with timeless principles.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The moon rises about 50 minutes later every day, and always at a slightly different place on the horizon. The amount of light it shows us is also constantly in flux. And yet where and how it will appear tomorrow or ten years from today is completely predictable. Its ever-changing nature follows a rhythmic pattern. I believe the same is true about our emotions and feelings, which in astrology are ruled by the moon. They are forever shifting, and yet if we survey the big picture of how they arise, we will see their overall flow has distinct patterns. Now would be a good time for you to get to know your flow better. See if you can detect recurring motifs. Try to develop more objectivity about how your precious emotions and feelings really work. If you do this correctly, you will deepen and enhance the guiding power of your precious emotions and feelings.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Research reveals that interludes of productive uncertainty may strengthen our brain’s neural pathways—even more so than if we consistently leap to immediate comprehension. The key modifier to this fortifying uncertainty is “productive.” We must be willing to dwell with poise in our puzzlement, even welcome and enjoy the fertile mystery it invokes in us. Neurobiologist Aiden Chen says, “Confusion, when properly supported, isn’t an obstacle to learning but a catalyst for understanding.” These ideas will be good medicine in the coming weeks, dear Scorpio.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Persian American author Haleh Liza Gafori translates the poetry of 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi. One of their joint books is titled Gold. She writes, “Rumi’s gold is not the precious metal, but a feeling-state arrived at through the alchemical process of burning through layers of self, greed, pettiness, calculation, doctrine—all of it. The prayer of Sufism is ‘teach me to love more deeply.’ Gold is the deepest love.” That’s the gold I hope you aspire to embody in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You are in a resplendently golden phase when you have more power than usual to create, find, and commune with Rumi’s type of gold.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The coming weeks will be an excellent time to reframe the meaning of “emptiness” in your life. To launch your quest, I will remind you that quiet interludes and gaps in your schedule can be rejuvenating. Sitting still and doing nothing in particular may be a good way to recharge your spiritual batteries. Relieving yourself of the pressure to be endlessly active could be just what you need to open up space for fresh possibilities.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
There was a time, many years ago, when I consulted a divinatory oracle every day of my life. Sometimes it was the Tarot or the I Ching. I threw the Norse runes, did automatic writing, used a pendulum, or tried bibliomancy. Astrology was always in the mix, too, of course. Looking back on those days, I am amused at my obsession with scrying the future and uncovering subconscious currents. But employing these aids had a wonderful result: It helped me develop and fine-tune my intuition and psychic powers—which, after all, are the ultimate divination strategy. I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I believe you now have an enhanced power to cultivate and strengthen your intuition and psychic powers.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The fovea is the part of the eye that enables sharp vision. Humans have just one kind of fovea, which gives them the ability to see clearly straight ahead. Eagles have both a central and peripheral fovea. The latter gives them an amazing visual acuity for things at a distance. This extra asset also attunes them to accurately detect very slow movements. I suspect you will have a metaphorical semblance of the eagle’s perceptual capacity in the coming weeks, Pisces. You will be able to see things you wouldn’t normally see and things that other people can’t see. Take full advantage of this superpower! Find what you didn’t even know you were looking for.

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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