The world is a dumpster fire right now.
I don't know why I even watch the news.
There have to be brighter tales to hear and share.
There are still good humans left, right?
Redditor ItsTheCess wanted us to spread some seriously needed good cheer. They asked:
"What are some good things happening in the world right now?"
We need to hear more good news. I'm so exhausted from the gloom. Cheer me up.
Eat It
"Scientists have discovered a worm that can digest plastic, and they are currently trying to copy it's digestive system. This can help solve a huge problem."
my_username_30
It's Doable
"An Arkansas school district installed 1,400 solar panels, turned a $250k deficit into a 1.8 million dollar surplus due to the amount of energy they saved, and are now raising teachers' salaries by 2,000 or 3,000 dollars."
washyourhands--
"School of dreams!"
InfamousPudding6052
Deep Breathes
"On the surface of Mars, the mars rover was able to successfully separate oxygen from carbon dioxide."
Upstairs_Toe_1402
"That's interesting, but if people are hoping for a breathable Mars, it's far from the only hurdle. Mars' atmosphere is much too thin to ever be surface friendly and IIRC has no ozone layer. Still, it's useful potential technology for any subsurface colony."
imgrandojjo
Webb
"The public release of the first images captured by the Webb space telescope is just ten days away!"
JuniusBobbledoonary
"I've been counting down the days for this! I don't participate in astrophotography myself but I'm absolutely fascinated by it and blown away by what we already have. The Hubble deep-field blew my mind when it really soaked in for me. Webb is immensely more powerful so I can't wait to see what comes through in the future from it."
Merry_Dankmas
Action!
Movie Theater Reaction GIF by CBSGiphy"Some journalist wrote something based off of one of my tweets and now I accidentally named a movie. Even if it sucks I hope the film gets a release since that's a notch on my belt."
artpalos
Now this is the news we need to hear. CNN should sprinkle more of this in.
"Whiskey War"
Alec Baldwin Whiskey GIF by Product HuntGiphy"Canada and Greenland (Government of Denmark) have just come to a peaceful resolution of the 38 year territorial dispute over the highly coveted Hans Island, where they've agree to share the island and split it right down the middle. This is of course the famed 'Whiskey War.' The main aspect of it (swapping schnapps with whiskey or vice versa), I imagine, will remain in some part as a celebrated border-crossing tradition."
i_f**kin_luv_it_mate
Miracles
"Several extremely promising treatments for cancer are being developed."
46from1971
"As someone who lost their dad to cancer, seeing all these breakthroughs is so exciting. He did some experimental treatments, and I know that he helped move some of this along."
OHManda30
"I lost both of mine to cancer… specifically pancreatic cancer for my mom. I heard about the potential breakthroughs with finding a cure for the disease. I’m beyond excited for what this could mean for people suffering."
TheCallousCurd
The kids are alright...
"I was at the Phoenix airport a couple weeks ago. An older gentleman sat next to me at our gate. Both his feet were wrapped in some sort of bandage and he was struggling to get around with a cane. On his other side were a pair of teenagers just giggling over kitten videos on their phones."
"They were strangers but made sure this man got helped to the restroom, had a drink, carried his bag, got to his seat, had access to a wheelchair when he got off the plane! It was seamlessly selfless. The kids are alright. They really are. I'm 47. I am seeing it around me so often."
GoingApeCostume
Wonderful!
"Polio was officially eliminated from Africa last year."
Less_Reflection_7601
"I was in Africa ten years ago and saw it a lot. It's devastating and tragic, and oh so preventable. What a great thing to hear for those people!"
M33tm3onmars
"break the cycle"
Bel Air Reaction GIF by PeacockTVGiphy"More people are seeking to 'break the cycle' of all the crap they had to deal with as children, and I couldn't be prouder."
No-Championship21
You name it...
"The amount of machines in development to clean up plastic pollution is just crazy. Want a large boat patrolling the oceans? What about a small drone for busy waters? A gate stopping plastic in rivers from entering the oceans in the first place? You name it, someone is working on it."
MarcoYTVA
Rubbish
"The ocean cleaner that everyone said wouldn't do anything years ago has carried itself into an outstanding success!"
MsMcClane
"They've also figured out like 7 locations where all the ocean rubbish ends up because of currents. Wonder if this is going to be targeted there now?"
_artbreaker
"Are you sure about that? Last time I checked the number of trash that we dumped in the ocean was several times larger than what any of these projects could clean."
lazyfinger
"trigger"
"Astronomer here! I'm pretty psyched for the first James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) pictures and data, which will be released to the public in just 10 days! One is going to be of the farthest galaxies we've ever seen, and one is going to be of the spectrum of an exoplanet, and probably one or two other things showing the capability of the telescope we don't know yet. The fact that JWST has worked without a hitch, and that we are finally getting to see all this, is so exciting!"
"My own group has JWST time by the way, to study a neutron star merger (I'm not on it, but will definitely be looking over the shoulder of the person in charge when our data comes in!). Our time starts this very month and lasts for a year, and we have no idea when the universe will deliver on the 'trigger' we need to spin JWST in that direction- could be later today, could be in June 2023- I guess we shall see!"
Andromeda321
Hey Jon
Excited John Cena GIF by WWEGiphy"There is a video going around of this Ukrainian refugee woman who told her son that they were going to see Jon Cena in order to get him to escape with her. Jon Cena heard the story and flew over there to see them so he could meet her son."
idk0897
Smells
"I bought a mess ton of milkweed and wildflowers and got rid of 20% of my grass lawn to make a meadow. Bees are thriving in my lawn. I also successfully seed bombed quite a few places in my area from last year's fall that are BLOOMING this year."
SadlyCantGoToEdc
"Good on you! I keep my yard wild and full of flowers. They are pretty but they are for the bees mostly. Have you smelled the milkweed flowers? They smell so good!"
MartoufCarter
501st Legion
"Chapters of the 501st Legion, people dressing as Star Wars characters, visit children's hospitals all over the world. Connecticut has free admission all Summer for kids at museums, zoos and aquariums."
Bigbird_Elephant
"My neighbor is in the 501st! They do a lot of good."
IvoryRosebud93
Killing the Layers
"Ozone layer has been almost 100% repaired after the CFC bans from years ago."
PulverizedAnus
"Really? Do you mind linking your sauce? I didn't think that was possible so soon, like I know CFC's are the worst for Ozone, but I thought there are still plenty of other ozone depleting gases we're producing - methane, halons, nitrous dioxide, etc."
i_f**kin_luv_it_mate
"I've been wondering about this lately. I remember CFCs being called the worst thing for the environment in the 90s, and that we needed to stop using aerosol cans immediately. But I still see aerosols everywhere."
thespickler
I See
Happy Feeling Good GIFGiphy"I know it may be selfish to put here but I’m proud of myself for this. I went from not seeing a purpose in living to living every day with purpose."
DudeManThing1
See there is some good in the world. Let's report more.
Curious to hear examples of these, Redditor lilac_cup asked:
"Which tv series has aged like milk?"
The handling of these controversial TV story lines seem so careless in retrospect.
Addressing Child Abuse
"The very first episode of Hill Street Blues has two cops breaking up a domestic disturbance caused by a woman finding her man f'king her 15yo daughter. The man is told not to be sh**ty, the woman is told to put out more and the child is told not to be so tempting. Then the cops leave, patting themselves on the back for a job well done."
– kifferella
The Teacher's Secret Relationship
"Pretty Little Liars. I think even at the time, the teacher dating his 16 year old student storyline was considered creepy, but in 2022 it’s honestly unbelievable that was ever portrayed in any kind of positive light. Also that her parents didn’t immediately just report him to the police."
– ColdFIREBaker
Forbidden Attraction
"Not the whole series but Ally McBeal. In one episode Ally found out her bf is bi and her reason breaking up with him was she afraid that one day her bf would be attracted to their son."
– thrussie
These reality shows would never fly in a "woke" world.
Racist Cringe
"There was a reality show on Fox called 'Black. White.' Where they put a white family in blackface and a black family in whiteface."
"Just reading about it, it turns out the white family wasn't even a real family. They were unrelated actors."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black._White.
– MichaelJAwesome
Extreme Makeover
"Extreme makeover. I remember watching this show as a kid and being like oh wow they’re fixing all these ugly people with plastic surgery and making them happy. I just think that caused a whole generation to think they could change their body with money. Show lasted like 4 seasons. Couldn’t imagine that show today."
– thenightshifters
Teen Exploitation
"Secret life of an American teenager."
"Just what…."
– carlirodriguez8
A Critique
"My god this show was terrible. My wife’s sister was into it and we ended up watching a lot of it when we were dating. I think they tried to make the banter like Gilmore Girls, but it ended up being the characters repeating their current plots and arcs over and over. I don’t remember the characters at all, but the main character was such a horrible person, and the audience is supposed to root for her."
"The main things I remember about it were the religious girl claiming she killed her dad by having sex with her boyfriend, and apparently you go to Bologna to get bjs."
– MachFighterG
So-Called Expert
"You Are What You Eat."
"Host Gillian McKeith (or to use her full medical title, Gillian McKeith) was an absolute quack with an online medical qualification from a Mickey Mouse university. She pretended to be a scientist by being recorded standing around in a lab wearing a white coat, spouted unscientific nonsense that anyone who had done a GCSE in science could see through, and was obsessed with getting people to shit in Tupperware boxes."
"It got cancelled after the final series when you had to have her move in with you. In the last few years she popped up again as a prominent anti-vaxxer once COVID vaccines became available."
– MattBD
These pageant shows glorifying good looks and talent would never be greenlit today.
Performing Pressure
"Dance moms- used to be entertaining, now all I can see is the psychological effects it must’ve had on those girls."
– KE789
"Americas Next Top Model has to be #1."
"From all the behind the scenes sh*t that went on in production to what the show actually shows. It’s all just horrendous."
– Nickster1619
From Ugly To Beautiful
"The Swan, was 2 women who are considered 'ugly ducklings' participating in a pageant against each other after undergoing a three-month transformative process aka having heaps of plastic surgery."
– twozedzed
Psychological Downer
"Right?! How were they allowed to do so many procedures in such a short time while completely isolating these women from their families? Making them diet and exercise while healing from a tummy tuck, breast implants, and veneers?! The 'therapy' sessions were a joke and were just for show while these poor women with low self esteem were preyed upon for entertainment. Just out of a safety and medical prospective…wow."
– Snoo-8746
Judging The Reflection
"Didn't they also not allow the contestants/patients to have mirrors the whole time so they were surprised when they saw themselves? Psychologically having massive changes like that and it being sudden is extremely bad for your brain, you can end up rejecting the reflection because it's not 'you.'"
– Delouest
As audiences evolve, so does the writing and development of all forms of entertainment.
But because the changes are gradual, it is jarring when looking back and noticing how offensive and isolating some of these shows can be.
Times sure have changed in the world of entertainment–mostly for the better.
Curious to hear experiences from strangers online, Redditor WallStreetDoesntBet asked:
"People who moved out of the parent’s house before 30, how?"
Most people can't afford to live on their own.
Roommate Is Key
"yeah this exactly. I've never lived by myself, was roommates until I got a serious girlfriend and now fiance. There's exactly 0% chance of me being in the same position I'm in financially if I had been paying full rent all those years."
– lick_me_where_I_fart
Not A Care In The World
"I was 17, we had 4 of us in a ghetto 2bd apt (bunkbeds) we had a beer bong on a lanyard screwed to the ceiling. We'd have keggers, party's every weekend and always had randoms crashing on the floor. Could barely afford to feed myself and pay bills but still not a worry in the world and it was the best time of my life."
– ApprehensiveAd6006
One inconvenience shared by many was the sacrifice of a good, home-cooked meal.
Change Of Scenery
"Just needed a little R&R."
"Roommates and Ramen."
– SudoPuff
The "Wild" Years
"This, lol. I was kicked out at 16 and after couch-surfing for a few months I moved into a studio apartment with 4 other people."
"When I say we were poor, I mean poor - most of us didn’t have jobs. I lived off the worst of the worst food. Knockoff ramen. Dollar store canned veg. Rice and terrible year old pasta."
"It was a wild few years."
– Vetiversailles
Rice For Life
"Or rice. I lived off rice for a full year. Fancied it up by adding some salsa, and then extra fancy by also adding ranch dressing."
"Those were hard times."
– Ok_Opinion_
Having work definitely makes things easier.
Saving Up To Leave
"Started working while I was in school. Got out as soon as I could."
– ReallyIdleBones
Not Much Fanfare
"Yep, moved out for college in 2006. Came back for the summer in 2007, but thereafter I got an internship so I just stayed in the city. Got a job at the same place after I graduated."
"It was never some big moment for me (my parents are fine, just annoying), just a natural progression for me."
– Zerole00
Building A Life
"At 18. Worked in construction. Lived on a couch with 6 buddies in one house paying for college. Bought cheap land during the recession. Then built my own house."
– ReubenZWeiner
Not moving out by choice seemed to be a common shared experience.
High Turnover Rate
"Got kicked out at 14. Finished high school sleeping on friends couches while serving tables. Had a ton of roommates for the next 10 years. At any given time I was living with like 3 or 4 people, it was never boring haha"
– herriotact
Different Parenting
"I am hearing that so many people are actually kicked out in the really young age is well."
"But i am not getting that why parents are so tough because in my country they try to keep them under their wings."
– wowoao
Tough Love
"My friends parents were going to kick him out immediately after he graduated high school simply because 'That's what their parents did when they were his age.' His Dad fully expected him to go out at 18 and buy a house because 'he was able to.'"
"Then his Dad got pissed when my friend did not buy a house and went to live with his uncle instead. Even after his uncle broke down the whole 'Your mortgage is $2200/month with taxes and you expect your son, who works part time at $7.25 an hour to afford a mortgage? With no credit history?'"
"Some parents do it out of tough love. Some parents do it because they shouldn't have had children. Some parents still think the world is the same as it was in the 70s-80s and think minimum wage part time employees can thrive."
– bangersnmash13
Placed Expectations
"My parents didn't kick me out, but there was definitely an expectation for me to be moved out and financially independent at 18. My mother walked into a job as a radio DJ at the age of 18 and then became a journalist with only a high school education a few years later (early 1970s), so she had this expectation that I could do the same. The thought of me being able to do anything like that in the 2000s was laughable."
– pie12345678
I moved out of my parents' house because I booked my first professional gig on a cruise ship.
It couldn't have worked out better. I was paid to perform on board in the shows while my rent was already taken care of since I lived and worked on the ship.
I packed one suitcase and traveled the world doing what I loved for about two years. It was the best way to transition into an exciting new chapter in my adolescent life.
What's your moving out story?