Only good news in this thread [News that makes you smile/feel happy]

[elsiegee40]

Four stranded deer rescued from river in Manchester

 

Four stranded deer have been rescued after they were trapped on the banks of the River Irwell in Salford.

 

The animal welfare charity, The RSPCA joined forces with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to rescue the deer who were trapped on the river bank, after receiving reports over the weekend that the roe deer were stuck on a piece of land.

 

It is believed the deer were washed downstream from the Kersal Wetlands on Friday December 20, and were trapped on a piece of land between the river and a high fence as they were unable to swim back upstream.

 

Animal Welfare Officer, Steve Wickham, who led the four-hour rescue decided to name the deers Dancer, Prancer, Dasher and Blitzen, he said:

 

“We managed to safely grab each deer from the river and hauled them onto the boat and took them back upstream where we were able to free them.

 

They both ran off to the area we believe they live - so they are home for Christmas at least and maybe we can go as far as saying we saved Christmas for these four deer.”

[elsiegee40]

Whole new world for Jasmine as Aladdin proposes during Leicester panto

 

Aladdin surprised everyone by getting down on one knee to ask Princess Jasmine to marry him for real at the end of a pantomime.

 

Matthew Pomeroy, who is playing the male lead in the production at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, asked Natasha Lamb if she would be his wife during the curtain call.

 

He had also carefully engineered their respective parents be in the audience at the same time.

 

Did she say yes? Oh yes she did.

 

Matthew, 30, admitted he did not normally get stage fright but was pretty nervous before the performance on 27 December.

 

On stage he said: "The last four years you've changed my life. You are the kindest, most caring person.

 

"Tash, I love you with all my heart. You're my best friend and if you'll let me... I want to share my life with you."

 

He told the BBC: "It was scary. I hadn't worked out where to put the ring after my costume change for the finale as it didn't have pockets - so when I bowed I thought it would fall out the belt.

 

"I spend my life stage - it's my happy place. Proposing on there fits me perfectly."

 

He said their parents and the crowd went "crazy" when they realised what was happening.

 

"It made it more magical and special," he added.

 

The pair met backstage while performing at Butlins in Minehead. Since then they have toured the world performing together.

 

Natasha, 26, said: "I'm still a bit overwhelmed to be honest.

 

"It's a bit of a blur - I'm glad I've got the video to watch it back.

"I had no idea what he was going to do, it was incredible.

 

"It's the best way for us. We spend every day together on stage and shall carry on for however many more years to come."

[6Foot2]

Link: Good News Movement [instagram]

 

Journalist-run page for GOOD NEWS ONLY.

 

[6Foot2]

Link: Tortoise with species-saving sex drive returns to Galápagos [bBC News]

 

A giant tortoise whose legendary libido has been credited with saving his species from extinction is to return to the wild on the Galápagos Islands.

 

Diego was among 14 male tortoises selected to take part in a breeding programme on Santa Cruz Island.

 

The programme has been a success, producing more than 2,000 giant tortoises since it began in the 1960s.

 

Diego's sex drive was said to be one of the main reasons.

 

The 100-year-old tortoise has fathered hundreds of progeny, around 800 by some estimates.

 

The programme has now finished, and Diego will be returned to his native island of Española in March, the Galápagos National Parks service (PNG) said...

[elsiegee40]

17 year old NASA intern discovers new planet on his third day

As far as impressing your potential new boss goes, discovering a planet on day three of your internship at NASA is up there.

 

That's what happened to 17-year-old Wolf Cukier while helping out at the space agency in the United States.

 

He was checking images from its super-strength satellite when he noticed something strange.

 

It turned out to be a new planet, 1,300 light years away from Earth. News just confirmed by NASA.

 

Wolf, who is now back at high school in Scarsdale, New York, has been speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat about his amazing discovery.

 

He explains that he landed the two-month placement with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center when school finished last summer.

 

His job? To examine data beamed back via their Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) - a space telescope that looks for planets outside of our solar system.

 

"I was searching for a planet that orbits two stars," he explains.

He had to look for changes in the brightness of any stars that might suggest the shadow of a planet passing in front.

 

So just three days in, when most of us would still be making the tea, he was looking at a solar system many light years away from ours and noticed something blocking the light of two stars. That was when he flagged it.

 

"I took it to my mentor, we looked at the data from the stars and noticed two additional dips in light, so we started doing analysis to see if it actually could be a planet."

 

His finding was enough to get other scientists involved. And further inspection revealed a planet that is almost 6.9 times as large as Earth. It's name? TOI 1338 b.

 

Not very catchy but Wolf says he wasn't asked to help with that.

"I don't get to name the planet. My brother had the idea of calling it Wolftopia but I think TOI 1338 b is sufficient."

 

TOI 1338 b is not just any planet though, it's a circumbinary planet. That basically means it is orbiting around two stars, rather than the usual one.

 

Fans of Star Wars might recall that Luke Skywalker's fictional home, Tatooine, was a circumbinary planet. This comparison is not lost on Wolf, who points out that he is actually wearing a Star Wars t-shirt today.

 

"It's very much like Tatooine, at least how the stars would appear in the sky," he says. "So, it would also have a double sunset."

But unlike Tatooine this planet is not habitable. Wolf explains that it is likely to be extremely hot and probably doesn't have a solid surface.

 

So does his discovery mean he is guaranteed a job at NASA one day?

 

"I've no idea about NASA's hiring practices but it can't hurt! It's a good thing to have on my CV," he says.

 

He adds that the space agency has been "impressed" by what he achieved on his internship though.

[witch]

Bit of personal news but it certainly made me happy

Found out that my first grandchild, due on Jun 4th, is a boy and all is well

[6Foot2]

Link: Uplifting News: Weekly Uplifting Newsletter [At the time of posting: Two issues]

[Sheridan]

Four stranded deer rescued from river in Manchester

 

Why did I read that as 'Four standard deer...'

 

I was thinking, is there an upgraded deer or deer Plus I'm unware of. Or maybe I need some new specs.

[witch]

 

I was thinking, is there an upgraded deer or deer Plus I'm unware of.

 

 

"Deer plus I'm unaware of"

 

Really made me laugh

[LeMarchand]

Lady with dementia makes iTunes Top 10 and profits from the sales are going to charity: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/edinburgh-woman-83-dementia-reaches-no7-itunes-charts-charity-single-duet-frank-sinatras-my-way-1367158

[LeMarchand]

Stray dog helps kids cross road.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC5Sa13YhwY

 

Not sure if the rules are different in Georgia, or whether their white van drivers are worse than ours.

[6Foot2]

Link: Nuclear waste recycled into diamond batteries with 'near-infinite power [The Independent]

 

Thousands of tonnes of radioactive materials could be used to power everything from pacemakers to spacecraft.

 

Scientists are attempting to transform nuclear waste into batteries that can last for thousands of years.

 

Next-generation diamond batteries that use energy from radioactive materials have already been developed and tested by researchers at the University of Bristol, who now hope to recycle waste from decommissioned nuclear power plants around the UK.

 

Work began earlier this month to remove radioactive waste products from the Berkeley Power Station in Gloucestershire, which was decommissioned in 1989 but has only just become safe.

 

Carbon-14 isotopes extracted from graphite blocks produced by the plant are infused with wafer-thin diamonds to create the batteries, which researchers say are capable of providing power on a “near-infinite basis”.

 

Potential applications range from powering hearing aids and pacemakers, to extending the range of spacecraft to distances much further than are currently possible.

 

The diamond batteries are already being tested in extreme environments where it is difficult to replace conventional power sources, including in sensors as the top of volcanos.

 

"Eventually, a highly powerful version of a diamond battery could power a mobile phone," James Barker, from the University of Bristol's Faculty of Engineering, told The Independent.

 

"Primarily though, they are best for devices requiring long lifetime, low power and where it is difficult to replace energy sources."

 

The diamond batteries are encased in a non-radioactive diamond layer, which absorbs any radiation given off by the C14 source and makes them safe to use in medical and consumer devices...

[elsiegee40]

Birmingham sniffer dog finds wedding ring thrown out in rage

 

A police dog tracked down a wedding ring thrown out by a man after a row with his wife.

 

German shepherd Odin, six, found the lost band "in seconds" on a grass verge in Harborne, Birmingham.

 

Officers had pulled over after spotting the man and a friend "acting suspiciously" in Northfield Road at about 02:00 GMT on Saturday.

 

Handler PC Carl Woodall said: "It was pitch black. They could have spent all night and still not found it."

 

West Midlands Police said the "hugely embarrassed" culprit told officers he regretted his momentary loss of temper and had been searching in vain with a torch for quite some time.

 

PC Woodall said: "The ring was quite small, so I wasn't confident there'd be enough scent for Odin.

 

"But he proved me wrong and indicated by the ring in a matter of seconds.

 

"Odin got a pat and thanks all round. It's nice to be nice and I was back on patrol in less than five minutes."

[LeMarchand]

 

Teacher's shoes are stolen and the kids pool together to buy him replacements.

[6Foot2]

Link: Orangutan reaches out to lend helping hand [Metro]

 

 

AN orangutan reaches out to lend a helping hand to a man who was protecting it from a snake.

 

The warden was chest-deep in a river, hacking at foliage, when the ape emerged from a forest and reached out an arm.

 

Amateur photographer Anil Prabhakar, who captured the touching scene in Borneo, said: ‘There was a snake. The warden was clearing bushes. The orangutan watched, then came closer and gave his hand.’...

[Andrew_C]

Ooook!

said the Orang.

[6Foot2]

Link: Good News, Inspiring, Positive Stories [Good News Network]

 

About GNN

 

OUR MISSION, OUR PASSION

 

Since 1997, millions of people have turned to the Good News Network® as an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media. Because of its long history, staying power, and public trust, GNN is #1 on Google for good news.

 

The website, with its archive of 21,000 positive news stories from around the globe, confirms what people already know - that good news itself is not in short supply; the broadcasting of it is...

[6Foot2]

During our 'Feel Good Week' this week, 9H had a vote and 'Gave me a shout out'.

 

 

[6Foot2]

 

Link: Caught In Providence

[LeMarchand]

Not exactly news, but it made me smile.

 

4 year old girl insists that she go to Disneyland in her BB-8 costume and gets pulled aside to meet Kylo Ren. You can just make out her telling him, "I'm not the real BB-8! I'm just in a costume!"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4hn1ahef4w

[mikeprice]

Not sure if this is good new - or annoying - or cute

 

 

but anyway

 

Grandson came round with his Dad and sister over the weekend - first time since our bedroom has been done up

 

His sister said "Wow - looks like a hotel room!!!"

 

He however was rather confused (he is 3 but doesn;t talk yet so it is difficult to explain things to him)

after a while he started exploring and there are loads of new drawers - so he went round opening every one and looking in

and seeming disapointed to not find any toys

 

then he went into his sister's bedroom (for when they stay here overnight) and found the laundry basket is in there - which is clearly wrong as he 'knows' it lives in our room

he looked inside, went away, came back, looked in again - several times

inside was only some underwear and socks/tights as the rest had just been washed

 

 

anyway - wind forward a few days

 

wife - have you seen any of my tights

me - no

wife - are you sure - what about my underwear - I'm sure it was all washed a few days ago

me - Yup - I put it away days and days ago

 

wife ??????

 

wife goes upstairs

 

wife - little bugger!!!!!

me - your grandson??? (it normally is)

wife - yes - just found all my tights and undies in the laundry basket - the drawers are all empty!!!

 

the little ****** had decided take all her tights, socks and undies out of teh new drawers and put them all together in the laundry basket - with the other ones!!!

 

no idea which were clean and which not clean so they all had to be washed again

 

good job he is as cute as anything

[elsiegee40]

 

[jmak]

Penguins on the run at Chicago aquarium

 

[elsiegee40]

Wildlife rescue tribulations down under... Wombat in a washing machine

 

 

[LeMarchand]

Decided to go for a pre-work shop in the hope there might be some stock on the shelves (not entirely successful!) and went to stick my contribution into the food collection point. Had to do a U-turn as I'd walked right past them as there were 3 trolleys of stuff that it looks like (from what's in them) the local TK Maxx (closed for the duration) had donated. The actual bins (you can make one out behind) were hard to add stuff too as they were so full.