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I DOUBT THAT ANYONE WILL BE A CANDIDATE TO BREAK HER RECORD, HEY? IT'S 38c TODAY, SO I AM RELAXING AND LOOKING FOR MORE GOOD NEWS ITEMS FOR YOU WHEN I FOUND THIS! THE MORE THE BETTER, HEY???

From the TODAY Program and Associated Press

A 104-year-old Chicago woman is hoping to be certified as the oldest person to ever skydive after leaving her walker on the ground and making a tandem jump in northern Illinois.

Chicago Lady 104 Skydives In Tandem With Instructor Breaks Record

“Age is just a number,” Dorothy Hoffner told a cheering crowd moments after touching the ground Sunday at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Guinness World Record for oldest skydiver was set in May 2022 by 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden. But Skydive Chicago is working to have Guinness World Records certify Hoffner’s jump as a record, WLS-TV reported.

Hoffner first skydived when she was 100. On Sunday, she left her walker behind just short of the plane — a Skyvan — and was helped up the steps to join the others waiting inside to skydive.…

The Americans just love our Kookaburras - they're simply wrapped in them. This time it's our Maggies! Our Scientists carried out a well thought-out plan because they know the Maggies are such a Smart Intelligent Bird. Yes, they put a lot of thought into it and the Maggies still Won!!!

By Anthony Ham - New York Times

The magpies showed their smarts by helping one another remove tracking harnesses that scientists carefully placed on them.

The Australian magpie is one of the cleverest birds on earth. It has a beautiful song of extraordinary complexity. It can recognize and remember up to 30 different human faces.

But Australians know magpies best for their penchant for mischief. An enduring rite of passage of an Australian childhood is dodging the birds every spring as they swoop down to attack those they view as a threat.

Magpies’ latest mischief has been to outwit the scientists who would study them. Scientists showed in a study published last month in the journal Australian Field Ornithology just how clever magpies really are and, in the process, revealed a highly unusual example in nature of birds helping one another without any apparent tangible benefit to themselves.…

Interesting Article From Science Daily

People who keep good news a secret -- even for a short time -- often feel energized, study says.

Though people often want to share good news as soon as they learn it, a study published by the American Psychological Association has found that keeping good news a secret before telling someone else could make people feel more energized and alive.

"Decades of research on secrecy suggest it is bad for our well-being, but this work has only examined keeping secrets that have negative implications for our lives. Is secrecy inherently bad for our well-being or do the negative effects of secrecy tend to stem from keeping negative secrets?" asked lead author Michael Slepian, PhD, an associate professor of business at Columbia University. "While negative secrets are far more common than positive secrets, some of life's most joyful occasions begin as secrets, including secret marriage proposals, surprise gifts and exciting news."

The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

A pre-study survey of 500 people found that 76% said the first thing they would do upon learning good news is share it with someone.…

By Good News Network -Jun 2023

A couple who hand-reared a one-day-old duckling before releasing her back to the wild were left stunned when she returned to their home six months—and brought a few family members.

Phil Garner took the tiny mallard under his wing after finding her abandoned on a fishing lake, before bringing her back to his wife Julia, snuggled in his coat pocket.

The 67-year-old said the duckling, they named Freda, became partially potty-trained using towels after she came to live in their three-bed house in Leeds, England. The couple even took turns sleeping near the “demanding” bird’s bed.

Julia said her husband of 16 years was undergoing agonizing treatment for cancer when he first found Freda. She now considers the duck to be like a “guardian angel” as he was able to focus his energy on caring for her during that difficult time.

“I wasn’t keen on my home becoming a duck sanctuary at first, but I think she was sent for a purpose… Freda helped him through it.”

They had tried for hours to find the ducking’s parents before being told by a fishery manager that she would perish if left in the wild.…

Lifeguards in Alabama are being praised for carrying a 95-year-old woman to her beach chair every day while she was on vacation.

Kimberly Waterbury, and her 95-year-old mother, Dottie Schneider, from Indiana, travelled to Alabama's beautiful Orange Beach this October for a week-long vacation.

Kindness and Goodness Prevails - Generous Lifeguards in Alabama USA Help Lady 95

Dottie uses a wheelchair and cannot walk in the sand. Her family was struggling to get her from their condo to their beach chairs.

That's when Shane Martin, the lifeguard on duty, pulled up on an all-terrain utility vehicle and asked if the family needed assistance.

Shane helped Dottie into the vehicle and drove her close to where her family's lounge chairs and umbrella were waiting.

He carried her the rest of the way and gently placed her onto the chair, making sure she was comfortable.

Every day for one week, Orange Beach lifeguards met Dottie and her family to help assist her down to her beach chairs.

Then at days end they escorted her back to her condo.

"We are forever indebted to the guys with Orange Beach Surf Rescue," Waterbury told AL.com.…

A new study suggests that frequent gardening may be linked to increased health benefits.

According to the study posted on ScienceDirect, gardening just two or three times a week maximized the benefits of better wellbeing and lower stress levels. Gardening Encourages Family Togetherness, and it Keeps You Company if you live on your own too - I love to do this, my plants are great company. Folks, you don't have to have a lot of Plants to do this!

Benefits Of Gardening - Discover Them

The research explored why residents engaged with gardening and the extent to which they recognized any health benefits from the activity.

A questionnaire was distributed electronically within the UK, with 5,766 gardeners and 249 non-gardeners responding. Data was collated on factors including garden typology, frequency of gardening and individual perceptions of health and well-being.

"This is the first time the 'dose response' to gardening has been tested and the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the more frequently you garden – the greater the health benefits," said Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) wellbeing fellow and lead author Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui. "In fact gardening every day has the same positive impact on wellbeing than undertaking regular, vigorous exercise like cycling or running.…

WE BENEFIT FROM THE COMPANY OF AND INTERACTION WITH PETS AND ANIMALS. GUESS WHAT BENEIFITS HAVING A PET AT HOME AFFORDS? PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. AND THE BETTER WE LOOK AFTER THEM, THE HAPPIER THEY ARE. HAVING A WELL CARED FOR PET/PETS IS A RELATIONSHIP OF RECIPROCATION. PEOPLE DERIVE A SENSE OF COMFORT, CONTENTMENT OR HAPPINESS INTERACTING WITH THEIR PETS. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WE BENEFIT PHYSICALLY AS WELL? IT'S AMAZING WHAT SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THESE THINGS NOW. LET'S HAVE A PEAK AND SEE:)

Pets are Cute and Pets are Cuddly - Pets are Great!

Pets come with some powerful health benefits. Here’s how caring for a dog, cat, or other animal can help relieve depression and anxiety, lower stress, and improve your heart health.

The benefits of pets
Most pet owners are clear about the immediate joys that come with sharing their lives with companion animals. However, many of us remain unaware of the physical and mental health benefits that can also accompany the pleasure of snuggling up to a furry friend. It’s only recently that studies have begun to scientifically explore the benefits of the human-animal bond.…

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IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, SOME OF US HAVE LEARNT SOME GOOD COPING SKILLS, AND OTHERS ARE REALLY COPING NOT SO WELL. MOST TIMES, YOU CAN'T CHANGE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR THEM, BUT YOU CAN MAYBE MAKE THINGS A LITTLE LIGHTER BY BREAKING UP SOME POSSIBLE RUMINATION AND GIVING THEM SOME TANGIBLE IDEAS TO DISPERSE SOME CLOUDY THOUGHTS. SOMETIMES, JUST A SIMPLE INTERVENTION OF HAVING YOUR COMPANY FOR A WHILE AND DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT CAN BREAK UP A SOMBER STATE OF MIND THAT IS MAKING THEM FEEL SAD, LONELY OR VULNERABLE. IT'S SHOWING THEM SOMEONE CARES, HEY? AND THAT CAN MEAN A LOT.

Fill Someone's Day With Sunshine - There's So Many Ways!!!

From Different Authors

By Rachel Sharpe

Write Them A Card

If your goal is to cheer someone up, send snail mail and mail them a card. Let the card be a surprise. Within the card, write down all the reasons why you think that person is incredible. It’s a great way to make the person feel special and appreciated. It’ll likely be kept as a memento for years to come. If the person who needs cheering up typically doesn’t get mail, this will be a pleasant surprise for them.…

From The Guardian Website - Past Edition

Dawn Chorus Day is a good time to celebrate the benefits to mental and physical health of birdsong.
Let us all speak up for protecting the different Species of Birds needing our voice.

A Beautiful Nightingale Photo by National Geographic

When I hear the first willow warbler of the spring, the first cuckoo, or the first booming bittern on my local patch, I feel an enormous sense of comfort and satisfaction. As the poet Ted Hughes wrote about the annual return of swifts, “They’ve made it again, which shows that the globe’s still working…”

It’s International Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday 5 May, and this year the RSPB has released a single of birdsong (currentlyat number 11 in the charts) as part of a campaign to draw attention to the situation facing British birdlife. Populations of once-common species such as the house sparrow, starling and swift are falling fast, while the nightingale, turtle dove and grey partridge are rapidly sliding towards extinction in Britain.

Climate change, intensive farming and pollution are just some of the genuinely existential threats to the future of our birds.…

I'M RESEARCHING ON ANTI-AGING, OUR BRAIN AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE THIS WEEK AND DISCOVERED THIS FASCINATING NEWS SOME PHYSIOS AND COACHES ARE MAKING KNOWN IN RECENT TIMES. NEUROSCIENTISTS ARE COMING UP WITH SOME INTERESTING DISCOVERIES NOW FOR OUR BRAIN, AND SO ARE SOME PHYSIO THERAPISTS. LET'S SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER US. IT HAS OTHER BENEFITS AS WELL. WOULD MAKE A GOOD DISTRACTION TECHNIQUE FOR STRESS - WE WOULD START LAUGHING INSTEAD OF FROWNING AT OURSELVES MAYBE:)

The Health Benefits of Walking Backward, According to Fitness Experts

By Karla Walsh

See the very real physical and mental health benefits of turning your steps around.

You've heard it time and time again: Walking is one of the best forms of exercise for your body and your brain. In addition to being free and easy to do inside your home, on vacation, using poles as part of a hike, with your pup and beyond, walking has been proven to boost mood, promote weight loss, boost heart health and so much more. (And if you've been convinced that only running and higher-impact exercise "counts," we can confirm that walking can be a legit, super-effective workout.)…