Dan's Good News
Only the good stuff. Nothing else gets in.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
56 good things
from 15 good-news sources
updated 8:30 pm Central
Today's brightest
Today 27 good things
A novel mRNA cancer vaccine helps reduce the chances of melanoma patients' tumors returning
A woman boarded a United flight and realized she was the only passenger. Then the pilot made it unforgettable.
Imagine boarding a commercial flight and realizing you are the absolute only passenger on board. For one traveler, that rare dream became a reality.
Rookie NFL receiver was mocked for his stutter. Now he speaks to the media every single week.
"So, to any kid out there who is carrying something heavy right now... My success... it is your success, too."
Researchers discovered a secret vocal signal that reveals when someone is attracted to you
Listen carefully, or you just might miss it.
David Bowie disliked Bing Crosby’s duet choice. A last-minute rewrite became a Christmas classic.
“Peace on Earth” was created to make an unlikely musical partnership work.
New Mexico hit its 2030 renewable energy target six years early, reaching 50% renewable electricity in 2024. Its largest utility generated 80% carbon free power in 2025, as the state expands wind, solar and battery storage.
Tennessee early voter turnout 61% higher than 2022
Concrete could help save the planet, transforming our built environment while actually intervening in the climate for the better. 🏡 New versions can heal their own cracks extending a structure’s lifespan by 50%, store energy thanks to electroconductivity, or soak up more CO2 than they emit.
Students at a Georgia elementary school discovered their cafeteria wasted nearly 450 pounds of food a day. Six years later, they had cut waste by 70%, redistributed more than 20,000 food items annually, and were feeding scraps to the school’s chickens.
New York City ends the use of carriage horses
Incarcerated artists are helping shelter dogs stand out by drawing their portraits: Ohio’s Franklin County shelter, which often houses 200 to 300 dogs, has received 20 kennel artworks so far, and adopters can take each portrait home with their new pet.
People who always remember their dreams don’t sleep as well, but have three impressive qualities
It's a blessing and a curse.
A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that she says could last 400 years
Her accidental discovery could change batteries forever.
Man’s inability to control himself over his new kitten’s cuteness is beyond relatable
If you've ever had a pet kitten, you get it.
The Bee Gees perform ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ live and a capella in resurfaced 1998 clip
Some say it's even better than the original.
Historic win: Nurses fought to secure the nation's first countywide 12-week paid parental leave policy
After watching parents return to work while their babies were still in intensive care, Pittsburgh nurses gained a historic win for paid parental…
This Woman Is Keeping Bengal’s Alpona Art Alive
At 5 AM, while Kolkata sleeps, a 74-year-old woman is busy spreading happiness, one doorstep at a time. Meet Ratnabali Ghosh, lovingly known as…
In Michigan, 3 tribes are on a mission to bring back a fish that disappeared 100 years ago
Tribal nations across the country are trying to restore culturally important species, like the Arctic grayling, while grappling with climate change.
How Rs 4000/Month Salary & a Job Behind the Camera Started Nani’s Journey to ‘Natural Star’
"It was given to me in Rs 100 notes, and I remember feeling them in my pocket as I rode my bike back home." That is how Nani described his first…
Texas Man Finds More Than $128,000 on Top of a Bank’s ATM–and Returns Every Dollar
It seems as though the Brinks technician simply left the bag atop the ATM—like so many coffee cups on a car roof. Source: Texas Man Finds More Than…
5 Mathura Women Learnt to Run a Mustard Oil Unit. Today, They Run the Whole Business
This article has been published in partnership with S M Sehgal Foundation. For 26-year-old Anchal of Hussaini village, leaving home for a meeting was…
150 Andhra Women Are Turning a Harmful Water Weed Into Handbags, Home Décor & Income
For Kalpana, a woman artisan in Andhra Pradesh's Chinnapuram village, something that once clogged local waterways has become a source of income. She…
The farmer growing a future under Ghana’s trees
Cocoa farmer Susana Afrifa Ankrah is helping show how protecting forests can sustain livelihoods and build resilience to a changing climate
The Door-to-Door Technique That Actually Changes Minds
One weekend, a canvasser — let’s call her Cindy — was out door-knocking and found a gentleman at home. After establishing that he’d heard of gender…
The Sap, The Cold And The Clock: Why Nolen Gur Has A Three-Month Season
Come winter, a typical Bengali turns romantic about nolen gur. This fresh jaggery is made from the sap of the wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris) and…
Notes From A Full-Service Grandad
When Liam Heneghan became a grandfather, he made a quiet promise: to be fully present in his granddaughter's life. Unlike his years as a busy father…
Unable to Drive a Regular Car, Disabled UP Man Builds His Own Using Scooter Parts
By day, Vimal Kishore runs a small coffee stall in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. By night, he puts his earnings into something he has pursued for years…
Yesterday 8 good things
Dialects, Comics, Wordplay: How 5 Indian Writers Are Reinventing the Story
‘I've Sat on the Bench for 20+ Years. Here's What Nobody Tells You About Being a Judge.’
Under her courtroom table one day, Poonam Bamba found a red thread smeared with sindoor. Her peon, the court attendant who looks after the courtroom…
How kites and ancient design are replacing fuel in Antarctic exploration
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The last time a team completed a comparable crossing of Antarctica’s interior, they burned through roughly…
Is this nut the most underrated sleepy-time snack? Here’s what the sleep research says
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You’re doing everything right at bedtime: you stay away from screens after nine, take a soothing dark shower…
Customer berates teen over 20-cent error. Strangers rally with $5K in tips.
“It’s ice cream for crying out loud,” shop owner David Forgit wrote in a Facebook post defending his employee. Source: Customer berates teen over…
Basic income scheme protects rainforest, Belgium’s plant-based paradise, saving Patagonia’s biggest birds
In today's edition: a basic income pilot scheme sees 90% of participants in the Peruvian Amazon adopt environmentally friendly practices, the Belgian…
‘Writing is a way of dealing with things’
Scottish author Ian Rankin talks about making sense of difficult experiences through fiction, and giving away a share of his success
The Call is Real
Emanuel Kuntzelman has a special relationship with trees. Sitting in an apple tree at the early age of six, he decided to dedicate his life to…
Earlier this week 20 good things
Julia Stiles Pulls Off Incredible Surprise Tribute to Heath Ledger on “DWTS”
Dancing With the Stars’ dedication night always
Disney’s Bob Iger Announces Huge Plans for the Future
Bob Iger served as CEO of the
Tony Award Winner Glenn Close Shares Promising Health Update
Fans recently became concerned after seeing iconic
“DWTS” Tyler Cameron and Fiancée Expecting First Baby
Dancing With the Stars had a very
Fall nostalgia: why your nervous system reaches for reruns when autumn arrives
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every fall, something happens in the body before it happens in the mind. The smell of wood smoke drifting…
World’s tallest wind turbine reaches 1,197 feet in Germany
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The world’s tallest wind turbine just reached full height in Germany. GICON‘s pilot turbine in Schipkau, eastern…
Researchers discover five new frog species in one of the most biologically diverse regions on the planet
Since 2019, the Rainforest Partnership has funded essential research missions in Peru.
Half a million trees to be planted in England in three years, says government
Exclusive: Environment secretary Angela Eagle to make pledge as part of efforts to protect against extreme weather Source: Half a million trees to be…
There Are Ways to Reduce Campus Sexual Assaults. Will More Colleges Use Them?
This story was originally published by The Understory. When I was a student at Cornell University, I read the book “Fraternity Gang Rape” by Peggy…
The new certification scheme helping solar farms become havens for wildlife
A new solar certification scheme encourages developers to create better habitats for wildlife alongside clean electricity generation
He Wanted Kids To Understand Cancer. So He turned It Into A Game
When Daniel Zhang was nine, he watched his grandmother lose her hair to chemotherapy and couldn't understand why medicine could look so much like…
A Dutch startup is making concrete that grows its own moss
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most building materials are designed to resist the elements, to stay sealed and unchanged for as long as…
The surprising history of pumpkins: from ancient staple to autumn icon
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Pumpkin spice lattes, jack-o’-lanterns, and Thanksgiving pies: pumpkins are the unofficial mascots of fall. But…
Wildlife vets give rare hornbill 3D-printed beak in world-first: 'It has never been possible before'
Injured birds have seen success with similar prosthetics in the past, but this marks the first replacement of a bird's upper and lower beaks.
Teens Save Grandmother and 2-Year-Old Trapped Underwater in a Stroller
Two Indiana teenagers turned a frightening moment into an incredible rescue when they jumped into action to save a grandmother and her two young…
Child mortality falls in all world regions, deforestation in Brazilian Amazon at lowest ever level, protecting Little Tokyo
In today's edition: new data show that child mortality rates have declined in every single global region since 1950, levels of deforestation in the…
A Wall Meant to Divide Is Uniting Left and Right in Texas
In August, videos of bulldozers ripping up the mouth of the iconic Santa Elena Canyon in Texas’ Big Bend went viral, propelling one of the country’s…
Volunteers became salmon, deer and earthworms. Then they set out to save their river
An experiment is helping a Somerset community see its landscape through the eyes of wildlife – and plot a 30-year route to change it
Wildflowers
A grieving widower, still holding his loss from the day before, drove to a stranger's flower stand because his wife had asked to have her ashes…
How one small device is solving the apartment solar access problem
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM An Australian device that splits rooftop solar power across an entire apartment building just won the country’s…