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Five good things · Three minutes
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MEDICINE • Woman's World
Ten surgeries didn't work. One laser session did.Two dozen doctors, ten surgeries, no answers. Then one suggestion.
After 32 years and more than 10 surgeries, one writer with hidradenitis suppurativa finally found relief in an unlikely place: laser hair removal. HS is a chronic inflammatory condition that causes painful, recurring lumps in the armpits, groin and other areas. Research estimates roughly 1 in 70 to 150 people worldwide have it. She was 12 when her first lump appeared, and spent decades cycling through antibiotics, cortisone injections and dermatologists who told her to wash her skin better. Nothing lasted. Last year a new dermatologist prescribed metformin and suggested targeting the hair follicle itself. "At this stage of the disease, the hair follicle is where all the inflammation starts," says Steve Daveluy, MD, professor at Wayne State Dermatology. A 2024 analysis of 10 studies found laser treatment consistently reduced HS severity. After one session, the boils in the treated areas stopped forming. She no longer carries a bottle of antibiotics, just in case. Read the full story → | |||
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KINDNESS • Upworthy
A 5-year-old took the 911 call and saved her dadHer dad couldn't speak. She picked up the phone.
When an Indiana father having chest pains dialed 911 in 2010 and couldn't speak, his 5-year-old daughter Savannah took the phone. She stayed calm through the whole call. At dispatcher Jason Bonham's request, she unlocked the front door for the emergency crew. She warned him about the family dog, Lou Lou, who was small and barked a lot but was friendly. She relayed Bonham's questions to her dad, asking whether he had chest pain and whether he could breathe, then reported back with a steady "So far, so good." She also consoled him with "Don't worry, Dad." At one point she mentioned they were both in their pajamas, so she would need to change. "I don't know what I'm gonna wear, but he really needs oxygen, real fast." Her father recovered. "Most people when you talk to them, they're hysterical," Bonham told Eyewitness News. "She's just a little person." Savannah is around 21 now, and the recording still finds new viewers every year. Read the full story → | |||
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DELIGHT • NPR Stories
Winnie-the-Pooh turned 100. A new book tells how.A bear started as a few words. Then someone drew him.
Winnie-the-Pooh turned 100 this year, and a new children's book traces how a honey-loving bear went from a few words in A.A. Milne's head to a fixture on every nursery shelf. How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray, celebrates the 1926 anniversary and the partnership behind it. Illustrator Ernest H. Shepard always carried a sketchbook, Pimentel explains, and he traveled to Milne's home near Ashdown Forest to draw Christopher Robin and his toys before adding his own touches back in the studio, like a rabbit hole with a working kitchen. Methuen Publishing was experimenting with offset printing, which let words and pictures share a page for the first time. Pimentel spent hours rereading the originals to get Pooh's voice right, checking whether the bear used contractions. In Pray's book, a translucent Pooh grows more solid page by page, until he is unmistakably himself.
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KINDNESS • Upworthy
Slower cartoons, softer colors, and no more bedtime meltdownsShe turned the show off. No meltdown followed.
A mom who posts as Mamas and Messes swapped her toddler's modern cartoons for 90s standbys like Bear in the Big Blue House, Arthur, and Dragon Tales, and reported an unexpected result: her son slept better. Lauren credited the older shows' slower pace, softer colors, and quieter soundtracks, which experts have long contrasted with the dopamine rush of faster contemporary programming. The clearest sign was small. When she turned the shows off, there was no meltdown. "He didn't fight me or get upset, he just went back to playing," she wrote. Many of the classics remain easy to find. Little Bear streams on Paramount+, Magic School Bus on Netflix, and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS Kids. Lauren shared the full list for parents hunting for something gentler at bedtime. She also admitted she plans to rewatch a few seasons of Arthur herself, purely for the toddler's sake. Read the full story → | |||
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DELIGHT • Nice News
New Zealand tops the list of trips people still dream ofMost say they are still waiting for the right time.
People over 50 have a clear top regret, and it is not money or lost friendships. It is simply not having traveled more, according to a survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by Icelandair and carried out via OnePoll. The destinations they most wished they had reached were New Zealand, Japan and Australia, with Canada, the Maldives and Iceland also landing in the top 10. Younger people share the pang. Some 42% of Gen Zers and 47% of millennials said they wished they had traveled more too. The most common barrier was financial security, cited by 44%, and 19% admitted they were always waiting for the right time. Encouragingly, 71% of all adults insisted it is never too late. The average person expects five once-in-a-lifetime moments, and many are hopeful their grandchildren will manage more. Icelandair is now running a contest to send someone to Iceland's next total solar eclipse. It arrives in 170 years. Read the full story → | |||
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With love, The Editor
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