13 Pieces Of Good News To Give Our Spirits A Much-Needed Boost
![13 Pieces Of Good News To Give Our Spirits A Much-Needed Boost](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/7/811917_320x180.jpg)
Are you fed up with the apparently never-ending stream of negative news? We're in the same boat. While it's critical to stay informed, it's also critical to maintain our spirits during a moment when it's far too easy to feel gloomy. So, without further ado, here are some anecdotes that (we believe!) will brighten your day with motivation, optimism, and levity. Are you in need of a great chuckle or a bit of a cry? Are you looking for some lovely ways to pass the time during the weekend? Then you've arrived at the right location.
Now is the time to start your feel-good virtual tour. Despite what you might think by reading the news, things really aren’t all that bad. For example, Russian finally abolished its whale jail (yes, that was a really a thing) and over 100 captive whales have been freed. So, quit your doom scrolling and read on for some good news at last…
![Same-sex marriages have now officially become legal in the country of Chile. Until recently, same-sex couples could live together in a civil union - but now, after a 21-8 vote in the Senate, same-sex marriages are fully legal. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/3/0/811930.jpg)
![Russia's truly awful whale jail has now officially become a thing of the past. It was exactly what you probably think - it held about 100 whales in cramped conditions, and now it got closed down. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/7/811927.jpg)
![An environmental group is about to buy five miles of California coast. They'll pay $36.9 million for it - that's the largest coastal land preservation deal in that part of the state in over two decades. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/8/811928.jpg)
![In Buffalo, NY, workers at Starbucks have voted to unionize-for the first time ever. FFER STARBUCKS COSSE Specifically, it's the first time that happened in any Starbucks store in its 50-year history. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/9/811929.jpg)
![Apparently, universal income is going to be a reality in one country- Barbados. They're talking about creating a citizen's dividend, and a government official said it may be combined with the annual reverse tax credit to form some kind of universal basic income. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/6/811926.jpg)
![Over 46,000 pounds of trash got cleaned up from Tennesee's roadways in November. An initiative called No Trash November set the goal of removing 20,000 pounds of trash - and got more than twice as much. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/5/811925.jpg)
![Wild bison will be shipped back to Kent in the United Kingdom in spring 2022. These will be the first wild bison in the UK after thousands of years, and they'll create forest clearings there, which are called jet fuel for biodiversity. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/4/811924.jpg)
![In January, California is starting the largest food waste recycling program in the US. It'll be mandatory, and residents will need to leave food in green bins, so that it'll be possible to turn it into compost or biogas later. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/3/811923.jpg)
![In Japan, they've created a new coronavirus detection device: glowing masks. Apparently, the masks glow in UV light if there's any coronavirus on them (and the process relies on antibodies from ostrich eggs). CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/1/811921.jpg)
![Michael Sheen has sold his houses and become, he says, a not-for-profit actor. Не gave the proceeds from his house sales to charity, and also plans to use his acting income to fund charities. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/2/811922.jpg)
![At Yale, they've created an mRNA-based vaccine against Lyme disease (carried by ticks). The vaccine targets antigens from tick saliva - which is going to both prevent ticks from feeding the way they'd like to, and alert people to bites. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/0/811920.jpg)
![After 5 million kids got vaccinated, no problems were detected, says the CDC. BD In those five million kids, aged 5 to 11, no concerns related to myocarditis (or any other side effects, for that matter) were found. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/9/811919.jpg)
![A looted ancient Gilgamesh tablet was ceremonially returned to Iraq. (illustration) The tablet is 3,500 years old, and was taken from an Iraqi museum about 30 years ago and taken to the US - and finally got officially returned. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/8/811918.jpg)