If the news cycle this week has left you feeling a bit blue, our roundup of 10 uplifting stories is here to turn that frown upside down. From heart‑warming reunions to awe‑inspiring scientific discoveries, each tale is designed to lift your mood and remind you that good things still happen.
10 uplifting stories: A quick look
10 Reunited And It Feels So Good
Canadian rock legend Myles Goodwyn finally got back in the arms of his cherished Gibson Melody Maker, a guitar he once believed vanished forever.
Back in the early 1970s, Goodwyn was a fledgling musician hunting his big break. When he finally landed a brand‑new Gibson, he tweaked it to his taste and used it to craft and perform the majority of April Wine’s first two records.
The Melody Maker was his sole instrument, yet a 1973 tour mishap in Montreal left him convinced it was destroyed when a truck crash supposedly snapped its neck.
Although he has played other guitars over the decades, Goodwyn never stopped checking online for any trace of his beloved axe, hoping someone might have salvaged it from the wreckage.
His persistence paid off just before Christmas last year, when a message revealed the guitar’s whereabouts in Victoria, British Columbia. After 46 long years, the reunion was finally possible.
Research shows the instrument changed hands several times, but most owners treated it as a prized collector’s piece rather than a working guitar, meaning it still sounds just as it did when Goodwyn first lost it.
9 The World’s Youngest Go Pro
At just nine years old, Sumire Nakamura from Osaka is poised to become the youngest professional Go player on the planet.
Japan has recently rolled out a program to spark a new generation of Go enthusiasts, aiming to keep pace with Chinese and Korean rivals on the international stage. Sumire’s debut tournament, slated for April 1, will cement her historic status.
She first picked up the ancient board game at age three, inspired by her father Shinya, a professional Go player who clinched a national title in 1998.
Officials hope Sumire’s meteoric rise will rekindle public interest in Go, much like Sota Fujii’s success did for shogi, the Japanese variant of chess.
8 How Friendly Are Canadians?
Canada’s reputation for politeness and warmth got a real‑world test when a 27‑year‑old from Saskatchewan trekked across the entire country to see if the myth held true.
Zayell Johnston, hailing from Yorkton, dreamt for years of a massive outdoor adventure to verify whether Canadians truly rank among the friendliest nations on Earth.
He set off in February 2018, dipping his face in the Pacific Ocean at Victoria, BC, and after nine months emerged on the Atlantic coast, having walked roughly 9,000 km (5,590 mi) – a staggering 11.8 million steps according to his Fitbit.
Armed with just $7,000 for food, gear, and essentials, Zayell barely ever needed to hunt for a place to sleep or extra supplies, thanks to the generosity of strangers.
The first kindness came from an elderly couple in Calgary who offered him a roof. As his journey unfolded on social media, more and more Canadians reached out, with every province extending a hand – even the people of Newfoundland offered him coffee.
Extreme weather proved the biggest hurdle; blizzards forced him to hunker down for weeks, including a month near the Coquihalla Highway, where a good‑natured passerby helped him land a job at a ski resort.
7 Netflix And Heat
A 13‑year‑old from Delaware kept his eyes glued to Netflix late into the night, inadvertently becoming a hero when a faulty breaker sparked a fire.
Damir Border stayed up to binge‑watch “The Flash” against his mother’s wishes. Around 1 a.m., a breaker box outside his mobile home malfunctioned, igniting a spark that quickly grew into a blaze.
While his mother slept and his father was at work, Damir’s vigilance saved the household. He noticed the flames, roused his mom, and dialed 911, allowing both of them to escape unharmed.
The community rallied afterward, gathering donations to replace the belongings lost in the fire and supporting the family’s recovery.
6 Iguanas In The Galapagos Again
For the first time since Charles Darwin’s 1835 visit, Santiago Island in the Galápagos welcomes land iguanas once more after a massive re‑introduction effort.
Over 1,400 Galápagos land iguanas were released on the island, reviving a species that vanished nearly two centuries ago due to introduced predators, especially feral pigs.
Darwin himself noted the iguanas during his historic voyage on the HMS Beagle, making this restoration a full‑circle moment for natural history.
With the invasive predators eradicated, the iguanas are expected to thrive, aiding the ecosystem by dispersing seeds and clearing overgrown vegetation.
The project also benefits neighboring North Seymour Island, which now faces an overpopulation of iguanas and a shortage of food, prompting careful ecological balancing.
5 A Boy And His Dog
A man drove 3,700 km (2,300 mi) to reunite a sickly boy he’d never met with his beloved puppy.
Eight‑year‑old Perryn Miller was diagnosed with a brain tumor while visiting relatives in Utah, prompting emergency surgery and a challenging recovery.
During his convalescence, Perryn’s favorite soccer star, Justen Glad, visited, and the local police made him an honorary officer for a day, yet the one thing he missed most was his eight‑month‑old German shepherd, Frank.
Frank lived far away in Wilmington, North Carolina. Former trucker Bob Reynolds, moved by Perryn’s story, embarked on a 52‑hour drive to bring the dog across the country.
Reynolds had never met the Miller family but felt compelled to act. After the successful reunion, he volunteered to make the return trip, ensuring Frank could go back home.
4 The Truth About Female Scribes
Scientists uncovered a rare pigment on a set of medieval female teeth, shedding light on the hidden role of nuns and women monastics as scribes and illustrators.
While monks have long been credited with producing medieval texts and artwork, most of their work went unsigned, leaving the contributors’ identities shrouded.
New research indicates that women were actively involved in manuscript production, as tiny flecks of a blue pigment were found embedded in a 1,000‑year‑old dental tartar sample.
The teeth belonged to a German woman who lived between the 10th and 12th centuries, interred in an all‑female monastery. Researchers suggest the staining occurred when she licked the tip of a brush while painting, or perhaps inhaled powdered pigment during preparation.
The pigment identified was ultramarine, derived from lapis lazuli sourced solely from Afghanistan. Valued like gold, only the most skilled illustrators were permitted to work with it, underscoring the high status of these female artists.
3 A Doodle Earns A College Scholarship
A second‑grader captured the top spot in the 10th annual Doodle 4 Google contest with a dinosaur‑shaped rendition of the company’s logo.
Google frequently creates special home‑page logos—called doodles—to mark holidays, events, and notable figures. Each year, the tech giant invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to design a new doodle.
Judges, including Jimmy Fallon and Kermit the Frog, evaluated the entries, ultimately awarding Sarah Gomez‑Lane of Falls Church, Virginia, first place.
The competition’s theme, “What Inspires Me,” prompted Sarah to showcase her dream of becoming a paleontologist through a dino‑themed doodle.
Her victory earned her a $30,000 college scholarship, and she spent a day with Google’s Doodle Team turning her drawing into an animated version that appeared on the search engine’s homepage.
2 The Happiest Bus Driver In The World
In just 18 months, Patrick Lawson transformed from a homeless drug addict with a criminal record to the award‑winning, happiest bus driver in London.
His early life was marred by childhood abuse, leading to drug dependence, violent incidents, jail time, and eventual homelessness—a cycle that persisted for nearly five decades.
Reaching rock bottom, Lawson chose change: he entered a hospital program for addiction treatment, followed by job training through London’s Single Homeless Project.
On his first day behind the wheel, he greeted every passenger with a smile. Though his instructor doubted its longevity, Lawson’s enthusiasm persisted.
Passengers quickly took notice, with 45 callers in his first year praising his upbeat demeanor, earning him a spot as a finalist for the Top London Bus Driver prize at the UK Bus Awards.
Continued public appreciation led to his winning the Hello London Award for Outstanding Customer Service, cementing his reputation as the city’s happiest driver.
1 Congratulations! It’s A Baby Black Hole
Astronomers may have just witnessed the birth of a black hole—or perhaps a neutron star—for the first time ever.
In June 2018, telescopes captured a bright flash in the sky, christened AT2018cow and affectionately dubbed “The Cow.” Initially thought to be a nearby, medium‑intensity event, possibly a white dwarf, further spectral analysis placed it about 200 million light‑years away.
Scientists first considered a supernova, but The Cow exhibited bizarre behavior that defied typical supernova patterns, shining 10‑100 times brighter and fading much more quickly.
Lead author Raffaella Margutti, an assistant professor at Northwestern University, argues the observations point to the accretion phase of a newly formed black hole or neutron star—a stage never before directly observed, as such objects are usually seen billions of years after birth.
The findings appeared in The Astrophysical Journal and were presented at an American Astronomical Society meeting. While other teams have offered alternate interpretations, the scientific community awaits further data to confirm The Cow’s true nature.