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30 Positive Pieces of News That Were Drowned Out by the Bullhorn of Bull Hockey

January 02, 2024

Look, we’re not saying things are great right now. We’re just saying it’s worth zooming in on positive news, and zooming out to notice positive trends every once in a while. Don’t worry, your keen sense of pessimism will be there when you’re done with this list in a couple of minutes.

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30

WE MIGHT OWE A LOT TO NEANDERTHALS, IT TURNS OUT. cm 5-cm Analysis of tools and remains found in Bulgaria tells us that modern humans lived alongside Neanderthals for 5,000 years more than we thought, so they must have interacted a lot. The remains include jewelry worn by humans that looks a lot like Neanderthal jewelry, so the influence seems clear. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

A BIG STUDY FOUND UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME DOESN'T MAKE PEOPLE WORK LESS. A Finnish study gave 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month for two years (even if they got a job), and compared how they did with how people on unemployment did. The people on UBI had better mental health, confidence, and finances, and weren't less likely to look for work. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

WE LEARNED THAT PEE WILL BE A MISSION-CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR BUILDERS ON THE MOON. A study by the European Space Agency found that human urea would make lunar concrete, made from the moon's powdery soil, easier to work with before it hardens. That cuts down on the need to launch supplies from Earth. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

A QUEBEC JUDGE CANCELLED A $370,000 DEBT FROM ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS. In 2011, two guys played three rounds of rock-paper-scissors for 517,000 Canadian dollars. They even signed a notarized contract, and the loser had to mortgage his house, but the judge still ruled that the debt was invalid. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

GAY CONVERSION THERAPY FOR MINORS IS OFFICIALLY ILLEGAL IN GERMANY. The penalty for anyone offering it is up to a year in prison, or a fine of €30,000 (about $32,500). Health minister Jens Spahn (who is gay) says that this law sends a clear signal that the German state does not want to see young people being forced into conversion therapy. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

WE HAVE A NEW WAY TO FIGHT EXTINCTION. Scientists managed to make a toad from sperm that had been frozen (they named him Olaf). That means we could have a bank of frozen amphibian sperm and eggs, and make baby amphibians whenever we need to. Amphibians are the vertebrate group with the highest percentage of species going extinct, so this is a pretty big win. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

CHIPOTLE HAD TO PAY THE LARGEST EVER U.S. FOOD SAFETY FINE. CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL They had to cash out $25 millon for sickening over 1,100 people from 2015 to 2018. Plus, they had to admit to playing a part in five food-borne illness outbreaks, including a 2015 Boston outbreak that got 141 people sick and that probably happened because an ill apprentice manager was ordered to keep working. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

SAUDI ARABIA MADE ITS JUSTICE SYSTEM A BIT MORE HUMANE. King Salman The kingdom ended flogging (until this decision, it held public floggings) and the death penalty for minors. Awwad Alawwad, the head of the government's Human Rights Commission, said this helps establish a more modern penal code. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE RULED THAT AN AI CAN'T BE AN INVENTOR. 8 It denied applications for a food container and a flashlight invented by an AI named DABUS, and said that only natural persons can be awarded patents. DABUS' applications were rejected in the UK and Europe, too, with basically the same reasoning. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

WE RE-DISCOVERED 10 EXTINCT APPLE VARIETIES. It was the work of the Lost Apple Project, a non-profit group that, so far, found 23 apple varieties thought to be extinct. They find apple trees through tips, and send the samples they find to a conservatory so that the variety is never lost again. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

The grandma who surprised her grandkids at Victoria airport dressed as a dinosaur. The two boys - also dressed up in inflatable dinosaur costumes - wanted to give grams a surprise welcome. Little did they know that she was in on it. This must surely be the best thing that's ever happened at an airport. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

It snowed chocolate in Switzerland. A malfunction at a Lindt chocolate factory sent a cloud of chocolate dust into the air, covering everything with dark chocolate flakes. No one wanted it to be cleaned up. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Dublin became the first capital city in the world to have a zero carbon emissions postal service. zero emissions - Carbon Neutral Carbon Neutrel an post on post For yourworld An Post is the first postal service provider to deploy electric, zero carbon emissions trucks only, saving on 450 tonnes of CO2. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Two long-lost twin sisters found each other in Indonesia, over TikTok. The identical twin sisters' family was torn apart during sectarian unrest when they were mere babies, and around 24 years later, one of them saw and recognized the other on a TikTok video. They have since reunited, and are making videos together. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

A Budapest orchestra is helping deaf people experience Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. By either touching the instruments or holding balloons that can transfer vibrations, people with hearing loss are able to hear the orchestra play the classical composer's famous work. Beethoven himself wrote the Fifth Symphony when his hearing was already impaired. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

A Utah High School installed donation-funded washrooms, which include showers and washing machines, to provide for homeless students who don't have access to those facilities. GRACKED.COM — Source

14

100% OF LAS VEGAS GOVERNMENT FACILITIES' ENERGY IS FROM A RENEWABLE SOURCE. All the community centers, fire stations, street lights and parks in Sin City are powered by sunlight, wind, water or another type of renewable energy. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

CRACKED COM The New York Times An anonymous donor gave $1 million to The New York Times' sponsor a subscription program. Along with other donations gathered, this enables digital access to about 1.3 million students in public schools in the US. — Source

12

Carlos Santos, Johan Groenewald & Pieter Roussow SAVED THIS BABY ELEPHANT. The three truckers from South Africa stopped when they noticed the baby elephant seemed disoriented. They gave it the water from their own bottles and after failing to find it's herd, took it to a sanctuary where it is GRAGKED COM doing well. — Source

11

HIGH SCHOOL JANITOR WILLIAM WILD BILL MANNING ISN'T CRACKED.COM JUST THE GUY WHO CLEANS UP. IF A KID HAS A PROBLEM, BILL IS ALWAYS THERE TO LISTEN. WHEN BILL'S CAR WAS STOLEN, HIS KIDS RAISED $4,000 - WITHIN TWO DAYS - TO HELP HIM GET ANOTHER CAR. HE'S DONE so MUCH FOR US. SAID ONE STUDENT. WE DECIDED TO GIVE BACK TO HIM. — Source

10

A class of elementary school students in Scotland built miniature longboats and held a Viking funeral for their class goldfish, Freddy and Bubbles. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Sage, a blind 12-year old labrador that was missing for more than a week in the mountains of California was found and rescued by her owner's neighbor, Dan Estrada. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

A 3D printing is revolutionizing medicine. A 32 year-old Indian woman, who was suffering from spinal tuberculosis, was able to walk again. Doctors in India rebuilt part of her spine with a 3D printed titanium implant. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Just after his Grammy win, Chance the Rapper, born and raised in Chicago, donated $ 1 million to Chicago's Public Schools GRACKED.COM — Source

6

BEES HAVE MADE A COMEBACK. Bees did go through a pretty rough patch 10 years ago. The U.S. bee population hit a low point in 2006 with 2.5 million colonies, but by 2015, that number was up to 2.66 million, a two- decade high. And they're doing just as well, worldwide. CRACKED.COM washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/10/believe-it-or-not-the-bees-are-doing-just-fine/ — Source

5

THERE'S A CURE FOR HEPATITIS C. There's a new class of wonder drugs called direct-acting antivirals, which HCV directly kick the asses of the viruses roving throughout a patient's bloodstream. This isn't a treatment; it's a full-fledged cure. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/12/30/256885858/ CRACKED.COM -1-000-pill-for-hepatitis-c-spurs-debate-over-drug-prices — Source

4

WE CAN HANDLE NUCLEAR DISASTERS. We've gotten so good at responding to nuclear accidents that not a single person died from the Fukushima meltdown. The biggest health issues have been related to the stress of having to move out of the area. CRACKED.COM http://www.nature.com/news/fukushima-s-doses-tallied-1.10686 — Source

3

WORLDWIDE POVERTY IS WAY DOWN. From 1990 to 2012, the number of the world's extreme poor was cut in half. That's not just income-it's living conditions such as infrastructure, schools, access to clean water, everything. A billion people have that stuff for the first time. 20 CIVI EURO 50 1 EURO CENT CRACKED.COM http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/29/toward-the-conquest-of-world-poverty — Source

2

FEWER PEOPLE ARE DYING OF CANCER. Cancer has been getting dramatically less deadly in recent decades. Cancer deaths peaked in 1991 but had declined by 23 percent as of 2012. That translates to over 1.7 million people who have survived what was once a death sentence. CRACKED.COM http://pressroom.cancer.org/Cancer-Stats2016 — Source

1

VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS HAS GONE WAY DOWN. The past 25 years have seen a significant drop in violent crimes perpetrated at schools. 1993 was the most violent school year in the U.S., with 42 homicides and 13 other serious crimes per 1,000 students. By 2010, those numbers had dropped to two and four, respectively. CRACKED.COM www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/13/school-violence-security-sandy-hook/3446023/ — Source

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