This morning I woke with a panic. What was the good news this week? Then I remembered, I started with a link, sometime in the middle of the week; I heard some exciting news about how colleges handle Covid-19, and something else that seemed to be sitting at the back of my brain, retrieved several times during the week, and then silently retreated, out of reach and memory. Do you ever have that happen to you?
There is some really good news. And lots of evidence of people doing good things. Here’s some I found this week.
Golden Jellybeans
When I was a little girl, Dad dreamed of having an ice cream store. “We’ll sell ice cream cones with such big scoops the children will cry because it’s too much.”
Maybe you’ve had a sweet dream like that. The founder of Jelly Bellys, those tiny jellybeans packed with exotic flavors, decided to give someone their very own candy factory.
Just in case you’re not interested in the Willie Wonka like grand prize, David Klein is also giving away $5,000 to anyone who finds one of the “Golden Ticket” in each of the states.
Here’s David announcing it in his own words:
Go here to find out the details.
Universities use Spit and Poop against COVID-19
What better place to get innovative than at the universities.
I am proud of how University of Illinois is taking on COVID-19. Although I’m not an alum, many in my family are. (ILL-INI.)
The university developed it’s own saliva based COVID-19 test, and every student is tested at least once a week. If you haven’t had your test, you can’t get in your dorm! That means, a special app to track everyone. Right now, their positivity rate is 0.37%. Wow! That might be as good as South Korea.
If a student tests positive, they are isolated in a dorm room with all the amenities they need to take classes online. The university uses students as the couriers. I wonder if they are work-study students.
There’s a whole bunch more that UofI is doing for the community and beyond; from masks to ventilators to helping the homeless. Check it out here.
University of Arizona takes a preemptive approach by testing wastewater. They test the wastewater of each dorm for traces of Corona virus RNA. UofA successfully thwarted an outbreak when the testing identified one dorm with two asymptomatic cases.
Here’s how it works:
- Test the wastewater of each dorm; if/when positive, then
- Test each individual;
- Quarantine the positive individual(s);
- Contact trace to identify possible illnesses.
Here’s where you can find out more about the poop strategy. When I first saw this story, I saw people with tee-shirts that said, “You’re Poop Knows,” and “Your Poop will Tell.” True that!
The oldest WWII veteran turns 111.
Turning 111 is quite an accomplishment. But look. There’s Lawrence Brooks standing on his front porch as the Victory Bells sing “Happy Birthday and other songs”
The WWII History museum hosted a birthday card drive, hoping to get 1100 cards. Lawrence received over 10,000 cards. Lawrence served in the predominantly African American 91st Engineer Battalion, which was stationed in New Guinea and then the Philippines during World War II. He has five children, five stepchildren, 12 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.
Congratulations Lawrence!
Now that’s some good news.
What’s on your good news radar this week? I’d love to hear. More is always better.