Sometimes, looking at the news feels like a bleak task. It’s easy to be disheartened by negative headlines. It is certainly important to learn about these things so you can be educated and take action. However, it’s also valuable to take some time to recharge your emotional batteries by reading some positive stories. Here are five positive news stories to put a smile on your face.
1. The lovebirds Olympic champions are home
Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press via The Globe and Mail
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir arrived in London, Ontario on February 26 to a huge crowd waving Canadian flags, cheering and singing the national anthem. The pair of ice dancers won gold in ice dancing and team skating in PyeongChang — and they also won over the world’s hearts as rumours of a possible romance swirled. Regardless of their relationship status, Virtue and Moir are Canada’s skating sweethearts, and their airport greeting is nothing short of heartwarming.
2. Ellen makes us all cry (again)
Screenshot from YouTube video
When his son Billy was born with congenital heart disease, Jimmy Kimmel gave an emotional monologue about the need for universal healthcare in America. Recently on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he was the subject of another moving segment. Ellen surprised Kimmel by dedicating a room to Billy, in the children’s hospital he was treated at. The clip on YouTube has surpassed two million views, and it’s worth a watch to put a smile on your face (and maybe, if you’re like me, a tear in your eye).
3. Mobile network on the moon?!
Via Pixabay
This might not be a positive news story so much as a, “Wait, what?!” story, but it made me smile (if only out of confusion). Two companies — Vodafone, a European mobile operator, and Nokia — are planning to set up a 4G network on the moon. The network would make it easier to have a live feed of the moon, which is something I didn’t know I needed in my life until right now. Actually, I’m still not sure I need it. But the possibility of seeing an alien, or something else cool, is exciting nonetheless.
4. Thirteen percent of this Canadian town just became millionaires
Anthony Germain/CBC
A 60 million dollar lottery prize was won in Newfoundland — and claimed by a group of 31 refinery workers. It averages out to about $1.9 million each. Five people retired immediately when they learned they won, but the rest intend to return to work. The lucky winners are from Come By Chance, N.L., which has a population of 228 people. I guess you could say their winnings came by chance (sorry, I had to).
5. How many legs does an (emoji) lobster have?
Via Emojipedia
The proposed lobster emoji will be redesigned so that it has the correct number of legs, Unicode Consortium announced. The original design had eight legs — two too few — and the new version will have the correct amount, 10. When the emoji is released later this year, make sure you count the legs, just in case. I love the thought of people actually being really mad about the lobster emoji. I guess you could say they were crabby.
What news stories made you smile this week? Let us know by tweeting us @HCRyerson! Have a happy week.