Good News

51 years ago today, Fawlty Towers premiered on the BBC. John Cleese boldly stepped out into the situational comedy scene without the support of his legendary troupe, Monty Python, and created what the BBC considers “the British sitcom by…

In a story that proves ‘explorer’ is still a good answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” a whole new cat species has been identified for the first time in over 100 years. Found in Bolivia, the animal is smaller…

A trio of students at Harvard University have invented a low-cost, eye-tracking headset designed to help schools quickly screen child athletes for possible concussions. The invention takes just 2 to 3 minutes to screen for a concussion, or…

Metal detectors have had a banner year in Scandinavia, where records for the largest recovered Viking silver hoards have been made in Norway, Denmark, and now Finland. A man found two large hoards of silver in southern Finland, containing…

In 2006, the largest wind power project in Kansas was turned on among the Flint Hills. Today, the royalties it has generated for rancher Peter Ferrell are allowing him to pass the farm down to his children. The 50 turbines—which Ferrell…

A conservation charity in the UK has turned what was once a dumping ground for material dug up during canal dredging into a nesting habitat for two-thirds of the UK’s black-necked grebes. These beautiful waterfowl with thin ochre-golden…

Elephants can think before they act, as well as resist impulsive behavior, reveals new research that adds to growing evidence of elephants possessing sophisticated cognitive skills. Experiments at the National Elephant Institute in…

2,516 years ago today was one of two days in the ancient era of world history that, if events had gone a different way, Western Civilization as we know it may never have sprouted. Athenian citizen soldiers, demonstrating superb athleticism…

In Kenya, an entrepreneur has created a robotic hand that can translate a teacher’s voice into sign language for deaf students. Some 300,000 children in Kenya are either deaf or hearing impaired, and not only are just a fraction them…

35 years ago today, Nirvana’s single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released in the US. The unexpected success of the Seattle band’s song propelled their second LP Nevermind to the top of the charts—an event often marked as the point where…

When a man in Denmark broke ground in his backyard on home improvement work, it was a new terrace that he was looking forward to seeing at the end of the sweaty job. Yet merely half an hour had passed when he realized there was something…

5 baby penguins from a species considered Critically-Endangered have hatched at an aquarium down in South Carolina. The 5 join 2 that hatched in May, and together make up a record nesting season for the organization’s resident African…

See that red backpack there? Sampson James used it to carry around his meager possessions during a stint of homelessness. Little did James know at the time this photo was taken, however, that it was also carrying around his salvation. This…

A British mom who racked up £23,000 in debt ($31K) has paid back $25,000 (£19,000) in just five months by decluttering and selling 410 household items on Vinted, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace. 32-year-old Ellie says her debt began to…

252 years ago today, the First Continental Congress was organized in Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia, after the British Navy implemented a blockade of Boston Harbor and the Parliament of Great Britain passed the punitive Intolerable Acts in…

Early on a Monday morning in early August, a train rumbled across a thawed out Arctic landscape in Finland before screeching to a halt at its final destination at a border crossing with Sweden. It may sound ordinary for rail-loving…

Happy Birthday to Shaun White, the three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding, who turns 40 today. He was a champion skateboarder in his teens after undergoing two open-heart surgeries as an infant. He became first person…

More than 900 students and 16 faculty members escaped before the tragic flood on the border with China and Nepal destroyed a school. They are alive today because of a truly last-minute warning by the school’s accountant, who like Paul…

From the Bronx comes the story of a Good Samaritan who donated what he could spare to help a woman he’d seen on the news newly-impoverished at the hands of a house fire. Months later, and history now shows that it was this gesture of…

Reprinted with permission from World at Large. 9 months ahead of schedule, and surviving attempts in both Trump Administrations to cut its budget in half, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope soared into space on Sunday afternoon aboard a…

An artist is carving out a living by making amazingly-realistic wooden sculptures—after teaching himself how to use a chainsaw. The 53-year-old started carving with chainsaws 30 years ago and now makes thousands, selling his unique…

London’s Waterloo station has become the first major train hub in Britain to employ dogs on regular patrols. Canine caretakers Riley, Buster and Flo are providing “additional reassurance” to passengers as part of a three-month trial. The…

Landlords get a bad rap, often unfairly, but now from Melbourne comes the story of one who gave a long-term tenant the home she was renting. The magnanimous gesture is typical, 9 News reports, of the late self-made millionaire, who fancied…

The University of British Columbia has taken low value timber waste and turned it into “wood foam” to replace plastic in packaging. With one of the largest timber industries in the world, the innovation clears two hurdles in one leap…

The Asiatic lion populations living in western India have increased 70% over the last decade, while their rangeland has also increased 15%. In a large protected area called the Greater Gir Landscape in Gujurat state, the animals now number…

Jack Gardner couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the behemoth hooked on his fishing line. If he and his crew aboard Dominator reeled it in, he knew it would be the greatest catch of his life and provide the equivalent of a holiday bonus…

Out in the wild waters of Indonesia, zebra sharks are extremely rare. Overhunted, these striped bottom dwellers were at risk of going extinct. After 3 years of foundational work, an international consortium of 60 aquariums in 15 countries…

Desperate times call for desperate measures. With traditional funding sources facing cuts, The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, which has spent the last 65 years studying yellow-bellied marmots, had to get creative. That soon led the…

It’s estimated that over 110 million Chinese live and work abroad, which for the family members they leave behind can be heart-wrenching and difficult, above all for the elderly. But thanks to a generous soul born to the mountain paths of…

A harrowing story of survival and perseverance comes to us from Mexico, where a fisherman was rescued after spending 15 days in a pitch black cave. The man, Erasto Crisanto Valdez, said he trusted in god to deliver him from the situation…

The world renowned Zion National Park has become the first to offer an all-terrain wheelchair for disabled visitors who want to enjoy the canyon system’s trails. The equipment was made available thanks to a charitable nonprofit which used…

Former Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Zhu Rongji, passed away on last week at the age of 97, with the country raising its flags to half-mast in commemoration of one of its wisest custodians. His term as the head of state was…

After winning a million euros, a woman mistakenly tossed the lucky lottery ticket into a trash bin. But the local sanitation company in southern Italy launched an hours-long search through an entire truck of trash. Waste management company…

A powerful portion of ‘the American dream’ was served by a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to help out one of its own. Thalles DeSouza’s story may have started in a treacherous neighborhood near Rio de Janeiro, but…

The video starts normal enough, but a surprise is waiting somewhere near the chorus. Mikayla Khramov is strumming guitar strings on Instagram and singing the lyrics to the famous Dolly Parton song 9-to-5. Then, a moment later, a horse…

England’s Chester Zoo reported last week they successfully bred the stunning secretarybird for the first time in its 95-year history—producing five chicks. The endangered African birds are part of an international conservation breeding…

The mini-statue of a warrior rhino was birthed in a guessing game. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Bryan Newton kept cultivating his school spirit and connections to campus by working for Rhino Sports and Entertainment Services. He…