Good News Monday, June 15th 2020

“Not just the good news, we have excellent news.”

Did you know that the Band-Aid bandage is 100 years old. Band-Aids! Around 100 years. Johnson & Johnson employee Earle Dickson invented the Band-Aid in 1920. His wife burned herself while cooking. Dickson created, produced and marketed the Band-Aid. The first ones are handmade. In 1924. They invented a machine to make them. In 1939 they started sterilizing them And they went to war. Millions of them. In 1951 Band-aid got faces; Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Johnson & Johnson is sold over 100 billion Band-Aids worldwide. Guess what, they just added skin colors. It only took 100 years. Band-Aids will now come in light, medium and dark shades of brown and black.

The results align with previous research showing airborne transmission as the most virulent route for new infections. Though spread can occur by direct (via touching) and indirect (via surfaces) means, viral particles have been shown to survive for hours when aerosolized from coughing or sneezing.

Nicholas Kristof did some research. The women won. Based upon the death rate from COVID in 21 countries around the world. 13 led by men vs. 8 led by women. The countries where women ran the country did better. Nations led by the women lost 1/5 fewer people than the nations led by men. One fifth fewer. What could be going on? In New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, countries run by women. What did they get right? Men tend to be authoritarian and glorious and blustering. Women tend to ask questions of experts and listen to their advice and answers. Any man who does not believe it. When was the last time you stop to ask for directions?

Hey Good news Guys – I am VITO listening in Milan Italy on the internet. I love hearing good news. In Milan municipality they are having the “Summer Sfor-zes-ca” goes on all summer with 80 events, more than 40 concerts, 20 theatrical performances and 4 dance performances, with free admission or reduced price. That’s definitely good news for culture and music! Vito says Hey Bella Sera! Alex says you have the best Italian restaurant anywhere so I am flying from Italy just to taste your food! Be ready, Vito is coming!

Shout out to Tanner Kenin in Des Moines, Iowa. High school kid making good news. He got a bunch of his buddies together to deliver groceries to shut ins; grandparents, pregnant women, folks who can’t go out. Tanner organized volunteers, some 15 high school peers and some others. They are making 45 deliveries every week. He noticed that his grandparents were having trouble getting groceries. Then it hit him that a lot of elders at the same problem. It turns out, some seven percent of American seniors are food insecure. They might live right around the corner from you

Here is another kid who has perseverance pays off. Martin Folsom: First in his class at the Randolph Career Academy in Jacksonville Florida. Martin had to overcome all kinds of difficulties to get to be valedictorian. He was homeless for three years of High school. He said that whenever things got tough. He would say to himself, “I just got to keep myself up and keep going forward.”

There are people now talking about sidewalk etiquette. We are supposed to be maintaining social distance. Lots of people are outside these days. getting exercise… running errands and a lot of people have picking up healthy walking. So it turns out, sidewalks are full. Sidewalks were not made for six foot spaces among us. So people have shown “sidewalk rage” People get mad because: not enough room. So make some good walking news. Plan for the less traveled route. Pay attention to people up ahead of you. Be mindful of your phone or your music machine. A quick hello, a head nod or smile helps. Don’t be afraid to scoot over. Stand to the side. Stand on the curb, Remember, you’re sharing airspace with other people. And joggers, your heavy breathing is dispersing aerosols. Joggers pick a place to run, that minimizes how much you face other people. Make some good news with an old-fashioned “excuse me.” Everybody appreciates it.

Face masks are the most efficient method of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new analysis of infection data from Northern Italy and New York City. The data revealed that mandates for facial coverings in the two epicenters correlated with a drop in the number of new cases by roughly half and two-thirds, respectively, over the time period studied (see paper, Fig. 2).

"The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be told." Pete Seeger