The Boone County Family Restaurant in Rockford, Illinois has some very happy workers today. Three waitresses there, each in their 20's, stared in disbelief Saturday as a blond-haired woman inexplicably handed them three $5,000 checks. Despite their protestations, the generous diner, whose identity is being kept a secret, insisted that she and the other waitresses take it.
Amélie and her dad decided to celebrate their birthdays by doing 39 random acts of kindness (their combined ages) and made a sweet video to inspire others.
People have bicycled, walked, even roller-bladed across Canada for charity. But Mark McIntyre is likely the only one who has ever hitch-hiked across Canada wearing nothing but his underwear and a smile. As a testicular cancer survivor, he teamed up with an underwear manufacturer that agreed to donate $20,000 for men's cancer research. He also wants to educate men on how to check themselves regularly, like women do.
The outpouring of support for Dan Wheldon's family, after the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a car race in Las Vegas Oct. 16, has been overwhelming. It started with a small gesture by Graham Rahal, who wanted to raise money for Wheldon's family by auctioning off his helmet from the IndyCar season finale.
Since it gained its independence from France in 1960 Mauritania has struggled with ethnic tension between Arab and Afro-Mauritanians, but a new democratically-elected government is trying to heal the pattern of ethnic division.
Pat Davis was just 10 years old when two black men came into his father's barbecue joint in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in 1947. A huge fuss ensued, with four racists shouting every name in the book. "My daddy went over to their table and said, 'These are people who want to eat just like you want to eat. You don't bother them. You leave them alone.'
For the few Latino students living in Lincoln, Nebraska in the 1960's, the school's expectations were low. The high school counselor told Linda Hernandez not to take the SAT or ACT tests because she was Hispanic. Luckily, her brother marched into the school and told the counselors, My sisters will take the test.
At the end of the day Wednesday, the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention will pass to an African-American pastor for the first time. The nation's largest Protestant denomination voted Tuesday to elect the Rev. Fred Luter Jr. to lead them, an important step for a denomination that was formed on the wrong side of slavery having split with the Baptists over the issue.
Racist protesters were shown the door in Melbourne, Australia, after 4000 residents showed up to support diversity.
"Calling All Brothers" had a fantastic turnout at an elementary school, with 100 black men in suits gathering to inspire kids with an important message.
The science of positive psychology has been around for more than 20 years. The evidence-based outcomes are must-reads for anyone who wants to improve their life. There is now a free online course.
A 1986 study from which researchers analyzed the autobiographical essays of 678 nuns, written in their early 20s, who had entered an American convent in the 1930s, found that those in the top 25 percent on the optimism scale lived on average up to 10 years longer. The implications of this astonishing finding in our increasingly health-conscious age should be enormous.
Pothole gardens have been springing up around East London, thanks to the antics of one man. This video looks at people's reactions as they peer and ponder over the delightful creations designed to brighten up the concrete jungle of London's streets and sidewalls.
To help combat the mild depression commuters may experience when the sun only rises for five hours per day in one northern Swedish town, a local energy company has installed ultra-violet lamps at about 30 bus stops.
A website uses "manly" humor and a fake therapist to tackle the real and serious problem of mental illness by tailoring the message to men.
Jubilant Nepalis have taken to the streets to celebrate after embattled King Gyanendra agreed to their demands to reinstate parliament.
Despite pressure from multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto and Dow, the Peruvian Environment Minister announced this week that the government has approved a new regulation imposing a moratorium on the production and entry of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), into the country for the next ten years. The government said it wanted to to preserve the biodiversity of native crops when it sided with 6000 or more farmers, some growing the famous and colorful Peruvian potato varieties, who pushed for the ban.
Endangered Woodpeckers Protected, Red-Cockaded Protection Plan
On Saturday, President Bush visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland, to sign an Executive Order to protect America's striped bass and red drum fish populations from over-fishing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 blue-chip U.S. stocks, finished 2011 with a gain of 5.5 percent, the third consecutive year that the bellwether index has finished in positive territory.