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We’re bringing you some extra “nice” news this Monday: A survey of about 143,000 individuals across 142 countries found that most people — 7 in 10 — feel very or fairly supported by those around them.
| Monday ? December 18, 2023 |
| In California’s San Gabriel Valley, two real-life fruit ninjas are taking pointers from . Married couple Alejandro Isabel and Daniela Benítez own two “El Ninja” fruit stands, and their impressive fruit cutting skills have earned them 1.2 million followers . Benítez told NBC that they now have customers who come to the stands solely because they saw their videos on social media. “I am very grateful for everything I have had and for everything this business has given me,” she added. . |
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This photographer took a photo of his city every day for 13 years — | |
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| Culture |
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| Most People in the World Feel Cared for by Others, Survey Finds |
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We’re bringing you some extra “nice” news this Monday: A survey of about 143,000 individuals across 142 countries found that most people — 7 in 10 — feel very or fairly supported by those around them.
The survey, conducted by Meta and Gallup last year, defined social support as “how much you feel cared for by people.” The newly released report offered some important insights into just how essential that support is for humans’ overall well-being.
Of those who felt very supported, 71% said they did not experience stress a lot of the day before the survey, and 67% did not experience physical pain during much of the day before. The report noted that these results, connecting social support to lower stress and physical pain, “may have implications for creating strategies to help people cope.”
“Social support may be an important ingredient in a recipe to improve people’s health and well-being,” it read. “Yet, this ingredient may not be as readily available in more challenging environments, and people may lack support despite feeling connected to one another. In environments like these, social safety net programs such as affordable health care, housing assistance, or retirement income can help substitute when people lack support from each other.” |
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| Health & Wellness |
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| A New York School Bans Cell Phones — And the Students Are All About It |
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Some folks might assume that young people constantly want to be on their phones and other devices, but you know what they say when you assume. At Newburgh Free Academy, a high school in New York’s Hudson Valley, the students are required to put their phones away for the entirety of the school day — and they welcome it.
One teen, Monique May, said her phone is to blame for her mental health struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, when screen time among adolescents rose sharply. She cited cyberbullying and feelings of isolation and depression among the downsides. Now that she’s phone-free at school, though, her mental health has improved.
“I’m more confident in who I am,” May told . “And I think that just comes from not being able to worry about what other people are saying about me. Just being me.”
Assistant principal Ebony Clark also mentioned online bullying as a key reason for banning phones. “All I’m doing is giving them the opportunity to engage in school and leave the drama outside these doors,” she said. |
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| Acts of Kindness |
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| Wyoming Woman Makes a Personalized Snowman for Every Resident of Her Small Town |
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While most were soaking up the height of summer in July, Pauline Parker was thinking about snow. That’s when the Burlington, Wyoming, artist began making personalized, wooden snowmen for all of her neighbors. And by all, we mean each and every resident.
“I started in July, and I thought, well, I’ll do everybody in Burlington one, which was 142 houses,” Parker told . “I think snowmen bring joy to you.”
To date, she’s painted more than 300 adorable snowmen for Burlington and, by popular demand, has even given some to families in other nearby towns in the state’s Big Horn Basin. “My last count was 316,” Parker said. “You can find brown-eyed snowmen, or blue or green.”
Per Cowboy State Daily, the holiday project is a community effort — Parker received a wood donation as well as $600 from Burlington for her artwork. “They’re all adorable,” said resident Jenny Booth. “I’m an artist myself, and I swear I could not do the snowmen that she does. She has such a generous heart. It’s very Hallmark-like.” |
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| In Other News |
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The median rent in Manhattan , the first drop in over two years. |
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California redwood trees that were damaged in a 2020 wildfire are via previously dormant buds, some of which are 2,000 years old. |
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A new skin cancer vaccine , according to the latest findings from an ongoing clinical trial. |
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The world’s largest iceberg, named A23a, recently at just under 1 trillion metric tons. . |
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A survey from Forbes rounded up the most popular dog breeds in each U.S. state — . | | | |
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| Inspiring Stories |
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History made
At Saturday’s soccer match between Fulham and Burnley, Rebecca Welch will become to oversee an English Premier League game. |
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Who knew lost socks could do so much good?
A laundromat in Maine made a commitment to for every lost sock workers found — and they ended up giving away more than 950 pairs. | | | |
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| @nasa |
| This collection of pretty pink swirls and twinkling lights is actually a record-breaking image. Within the star cluster pictured here, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope spotted “the tiniest, free-floating brown dwarf ever discovered.” The brown dwarf is about 1,000 light-years away and just 5 million years young (that’s not a joke, it is fairly young in the grand scheme of things). “Studying brown dwarfs helps us understand star formation as well as exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system,” NASA wrote alongside the pic. (Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Kevin Luhman (PSU), Catarina Alves de Oliveira (ESA)) | | |
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| Quote of the Day |
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| “Things take the time they take. Don’t worry.”
? - Mary Oliver | | |
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Our mission at Nice News is to re-envision how we engage with news, sharing stories that inspire, connect, and empower. It’s time to expand what we consider newsworthy.
Nice News is written and edited by Natalie Stone, Ally Mauch, and Rebekah Brandes. |
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