Buzz
If the events of the past week have brought you down, maybe this collection will help lift your mood. Here, we focus on stories that are full of positivity, humor, and inspiration. For something different, don't miss the Saturday offbeat roundup for a peek at some of the quirkiest headlines from the week.
This week, we highlight a few remarkable stories about children showcasing impressive talents or acts of heroism. We also feature a series of heartwarming reunions, including a boy in the hospital reunited with his canine companion and a musician reuniting with his long-lost guitar after nearly half a century.
10. Reunited And It Feels So Good
Canadian rocker Myles Goodwyn was reunited with his cherished Gibson Melody Maker guitar, which he had believed to be destroyed 46 years ago.
In the early ’70s, Goodwyn was a rising musician, still working to make a name for himself. His big break came when he acquired a new Gibson guitar, which he customized and used to write and perform the majority of the tracks for April Wine’s first two albums.
The Melody Maker was the only guitar Goodwyn ever played, but he thought it was lost for good in 1973. While on tour in Montreal, the truck carrying all the gear crashed. Though he couldn't inspect the wreck, he was told the guitar had suffered a broken neck.
Over the years, Goodwyn continued to check online for any updates on the Gibson, hoping someone had salvaged it from the crash. His persistence finally paid off. Just before Christmas last year, he received a message confirming that the Melody Maker was located at an address in Victoria, British Columbia.
After 46 years apart, Goodwyn was finally reunited with his beloved guitar. While he is still piecing together its history, the guitar has changed owners several times over the decades. Fortunately, most owners treated it as a collectible rather than a playable instrument, meaning the Melody Maker still sounds just as it did when Goodwyn lost it.
9. The Youngest Go Pro in the World
Nine-year-old Sumire Nakamura from Japan is about to make history as the youngest professional Go player in the world.
Recently, Japan introduced a program aimed at inspiring new generations to play Go in order to challenge top players from China and Korea in international competitions. Sumire will make her professional debut on April 1, setting a record as the youngest player to enter a Go tournament.
Hailing from Osaka, Sumire began playing Go at the age of three, encouraged by her father Shinya, a professional Go player who won a national title in 1998. Japanese Go officials hope Sumire's entry into the professional scene will boost the game's popularity, similar to how Sota Fujii's success in shogi, also known as Japanese chess, reignited interest in that game.
8. How Friendly Are Canadians, Really?
When it comes to national stereotypes, Canadians are often seen as incredibly friendly and overly apologetic. One person from Saskatchewan decided to test this idea by spending most of 2018 walking from one side of Canada to the other.
Zayell Johnston, a 27-year-old from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, had long dreamed of exploring the vast Canadian wilderness. He set out to determine if Canada truly deserved its reputation as 'the best country in the world with the friendliest people.'
In February 2018, Zayell began his monumental journey in Victoria, British Columbia, where he dipped his face in Pacific Ocean water. Nine months later, he completed his trek by splashing water from the Atlantic Ocean. Over the course of his adventure, he covered 9,000 kilometers (5,590 miles) or, according to his Fitbit, walked 11.8 million steps.
The people Zayell encountered along the way were just as kind as he hoped. He began his journey with only $7,000 for food, gear, and other essentials, yet he rarely had trouble finding a place to sleep or securing extra supplies.
An elderly couple in Calgary was the first to offer Zayell a place to stay. As he shared his adventure on social media, more and more people reached out, eager to lend a hand. He found it particularly odd that nearly everyone in Newfoundland offered him coffee.
The weather, however, proved to be Zayell’s greatest challenge. Several blizzards forced him to take refuge and wait out the storms. He spent an entire month stranded near the Coquihalla Highway, but a stranger helped him secure a job at a ski resort during that time.
7. Netflix And Heat
A young boy from Delaware became a hero when he saved his mother from a fire after ignoring her orders and staying up late to watch Netflix.
Thirteen-year-old Damir Border did what many of us have done at some point as kids—he stayed up past his bedtime. In his case, it was to watch The Flash on Netflix. Around 1:00 AM, a malfunctioning breaker box outside the Border mobile home triggered a spark in an outlet, which eventually caught fire.
Damir’s mother, Angela, was asleep while his father, Rich, was at work. If Damir had been asleep like his mother, the fire could have consumed the home and everyone inside. Fortunately, he noticed the flames, woke his mom, and called 911.
The two managed to escape the blaze in time, and the community has already started gathering donations to help them replace essential items lost in the fire.
6. Iguanas In The Galapagos Again
For the first time since Charles Darwin visited in 1835, Santiago Island in the Galapagos is once again home to iguanas following a large-scale reintroduction effort.
Over 1,400 Galapagos land iguanas have been returned to the island after having been completely wiped out nearly two centuries ago. Once a vital part of the island’s ecosystem, the reptile was driven to extinction by predators introduced by humans, particularly the feral pig. The last documented sighting of the iguana was noted by Charles Darwin during his famous HMS Beagle voyage.
Since then, the invasive predators have been removed, giving the iguana a chance to flourish once again. The creatures are expected to benefit the environment by dispersing seeds and clearing areas of overgrown vegetation.
Additionally, this reintroduction effort is aimed at protecting the iguana population on nearby North Seymour Island, from which the reptiles were sourced. North Seymour faces its own challenge: there are too many iguanas and insufficient food to sustain them.
5. A Boy And His Dog
A man drove 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) to reunite a sick young boy with his cherished puppy, a dog he had never met.
The holiday season has been tough for eight-year-old Perryn Miller and his family. While visiting relatives in Utah, Perryn began experiencing severe headaches. A trip to the hospital revealed that he had a brain tumor and required immediate surgery.
The surgery was a success, and many people have done their best to lift Perryn’s spirits during his recovery. His favorite soccer player, Justen Glad, paid him a visit, and the West Valley Police Department made him an honorary officer for the day. But what Perryn truly longed for was to be reunited with his best friend, an eight-month-old German shepherd named Frank.
There was just one issue—Frank was in Wilmington, North Carolina, 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) away from Perryn. Thankfully, former trucker Bob Reynolds heard about the boy's story and drove 52 hours to bring Frank to him. Reynolds had never met the Millers but was determined to help. He has already volunteered to drive the opposite journey to bring the dog back home.
4. The Untold Story of Female Scribes
The discovery of an unusual pigment on medieval female teeth offers new proof that nuns and other women in monastic communities were not only literate but also took part in the creation and decoration of manuscripts.
Monks have long been celebrated for writing many texts and creating intricate illustrations during the medieval period. However, most of them left their work unsigned, making it difficult to know who did what.
Recent research suggests that nuns and female scribes were also integral to the production of books. Traces of blue pigment found on 1,000-year-old dental plaque provide evidence of at least one woman contributing to the creation of medieval manuscripts.
The teeth belonged to a woman from Germany who lived between the 10th and 12th centuries and was buried in a monastery exclusively for women. Monica Tromp, one of the authors of the study, suggests that the blue stain on the teeth might have occurred when the woman licked the end of her brush while painting, or perhaps she inhaled pigment powder while mixing it.
Another fascinating detail is the type of pigment used. The blue ink was known as ultramarine, made from lapis lazuli sourced from a single region in Afghanistan. It was an incredibly valuable commodity, worth its weight in gold, and only the most skilled and revered illustrators would have been entrusted to work with it.
3. Breaking News: A Baby Black Hole is Born!
Astronomers may have accidentally spotted the birth of a black hole or a neutron star for the very first time while studying the night sky.
In June 2018, astronomers detected an unusual and intense glow in the sky, naming the mysterious object AT2018cow, or simply “The Cow.” Initially, they thought it might be a nearby moderate event, possibly from a white dwarf. However, after analyzing its light spectrum, they discovered that The Cow was much farther away, originating from a galaxy roughly 200 million light-years from Earth, making the white dwarf theory unlikely.
The next hypothesis suggested a supernova, but The Cow exhibited strange behaviors that didn’t match typical supernova characteristics. It was 10 to 100 times brighter than a regular supernova and lasted a surprisingly short time.
Raffaella Margutti, the lead author and assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University, believes that the observations point to The Cow representing the accretion phase of a black hole or neutron star. If confirmed, this would mark the first time that scientists have observed this particular stage, as typically these massive cosmic objects are detected millions or even billions of years after their formation.
The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal and presented at a recent American Astronomical Society meeting. Other researchers have also shared their findings about The Cow, but not all agree on its nature. In the coming weeks and months, further studies may provide more clarity on the true identity of The Cow.
2. The World’s Happiest Bus Driver
In just a year and a half, Patrick Lawson transformed from a homeless drug addict with a criminal past into the proud recipient of an award for being London’s happiest bus driver.
Pat’s journey began with a story all too common: childhood abuse led to a troubled life filled with drugs and violence. These struggles ultimately resulted in prison time and homelessness. For nearly 50 years, Pat lived this harsh reality before he reached rock bottom and chose to make a change.
What makes Pat’s story remarkable is that he didn’t just make a decision; he took action. He sought help for his drug addiction at the hospital and then joined London’s Single Homeless Project for job training.
On his very first day as a bus driver, Pat made a point to greet each passenger, a gesture his instructor doubted would last. Yet, here we are, 18 months later, and Pat is still thriving in his role. He enjoys connecting with his passengers, especially when he gets to use the PA system and address the entire bus.
As it turns out, Lawson’s passengers truly value his dedication. In his first year as a bus driver, 45 people took the time to call the bus company and praise Pat for his exceptional service. This earned him a finalist position for the Top London Bus Driver award at the UK Bus Awards last year. As more time passed and more people reached out, Lawson went on to win the Hello London Award for Outstanding Customer Service in Transport.
1. A Doodle Earns A College Scholarship
A second grader emerged as the winner of the 10th annual Doodle 4 Google competition with a creative illustration of dinosaurs, designed to resemble the Google logo.
Google is widely recognized for creating special versions of their logo, which they feature on their homepage to celebrate holidays, unique events, and notable figures. Each year, the company hosts a competition where students from kindergarten to 12th grade can design their own doodles. A panel of judges, including figures such as Jimmy Fallon and Kermit the Frog, selects the winner.
Sarah Gomez-Lane from Falls Church, Virginia, claimed first place with her dinosaur-themed doodle. The competition’s theme was “What Inspires Me,” and Sarah’s artwork reflected her dream of becoming a paleontologist.
Lucky for Sarah, the contest came with a $30,000 college scholarship as the grand prize. On top of that, she had the incredible opportunity to spend the day with Google’s Doodle Team, where they worked together to bring her illustration to life as an animated doodle that was showcased on the search engine’s homepage.
