Good News in History, February 22
207 years ago today, Spain sold Florida to the United States as part of the Adams-Onis Treaty. It settled a standing border dispute between the two countries and was considered a triumph of American diplomacy. The cost was equivalent to $537.8 million in today’s dollars priced in gold, but was just 5 million Spanish dollars […]
Teacher Wins $1M Prize for Turning India’s Slums Into Hundreds of Open-Air Classrooms
An Indian teacher who has established more than 800 learning centers across India for children who have never attended school has been named the winner of the $1 million Global Teacher Prize from GEMS Education. Located in over 100 slums and villages, Rouble Nagi’s classrooms offer safe, inspiring spaces to help overcome the challenging conditions […]
High Schoolers and Seniors Build Unlikely Friendships Through Chair Volleyball
What started as a simple chair volleyball game at a senior living community in Belton, Texas, has grown into a meaningful intergenerational friendship. The sporty seniors, who proudly call themselves “The Hit Squad,” regularly host friendly chair volleyball matches with members of the Lake Belton High School volleyball team. The games have become a highlight […]
Newborn Giraffe With Distinctive Hair-do is Charming Visitors to Ohio Zoo–And They Gave Him the Perfect Name
A four-week-old baby giraffe is becoming a social media sensation, thanks to his remarkable tuft of hair. His new name, Eugene, chosen from public suggestions, has proven to be a perfect fit for the young giraffe’s charming personality. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio welcomed the calf, weighing 130 lbs, on January 17 when […]
Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny
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 […]
Good News in History, February 21
198 years ago today, the first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix was published using the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. Sequoyah, also known as George Gist, was a Cherokee polymath who was one of the few people in history from a pre-literate group who created the original written system for that group’s language. Just as […]
158 Giant Endangered Tortoises Released on Galápagos Island Where They’d Been Extinct for 180 Years
For the first time in over 180 years, a giant tortoise population is once again walking the landscapes of Floreana Island—launching the largest restoration effort ever undertaken on the Galápagos islands. 158 juvenile giant tortoises of Floreana lineage were released his week into their ancestral habitat, marking a historic milestone for the archipelago. Driven to […]
‘Astonishing” New Scimitar-Shaped Crested Dinosaur Discovered in Sahara Desert: ‘You might uncover a lost world’
Scientists called “astonishing” the first indisputable evidence of a new species of Spinosaurus found in over a century—uncovered in a remote area of the Sahara Desert. The newly discovered scimitar-crested dinosaur was described as a “hell heron” that fed on fish despite living hundreds of miles from the sea. Paleontologists say it appears to have […]
Mountain Rescue Script Flipped as Hiker Saves Lost Dog Instead of a Dog Saving Hiker
In what was noted to be a bit of a reversal of traditional roles, a dog was rescued by mountaineers after spending a frigid night in a hollow below a mountaintop. Five dogs and four hikers were approaching the summit of Fionn Bheinn in the Scottish Highlands near Achnasheen recently, when their dogs fell through […]
Watch Thai Cops Literally Go ‘Undercover’ Dancing as a Lion to Nab Suspect at Lunar New Year Fest
From Thailand comes a story that’s pure Hollywood: police going undercover as festival lion dancers to nab a suspected art thief. Dressed as the rump and head of a large Asian lion costume during Lunar New Year festivities, the police sprang upon the suspect and took him into custody, phone cameras mercifully recorded. Bangkok police […]