Welcome to the Good News Round Up for December 30, 2024.
A Good Samaritan in the US has left thousands of dollars in his front yard – literally – in a show of Christmas Kindness.
According to this story on Fox13, the man placed $4000 in his front garden before posting about it on social media, offering the money to those struggling this year.
He ultimately ended up giving away more than $10,000.
And the reason? He said he just wanted to try and connect and spread a little joy.
What’s in a hat?
For lovers of the humble Akubra, it can tell many tales of places visited and the people met along the way.
Perth-based hat maker Ben Beckingham has seen a rise in demand for cowboy hats in recent years, telling the ABC it’s likely due to the popular Yellowstone streaming series.
A fresh study out of Chernobyl has revealed how dogs have adapted and survived within the landscape of the nuclear disaster site.
Hundreds of dogs were left behind in the sudden evacuation of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in 1986, with a new study now revealing substantial genetic differentiation in two distinct dog populations that have thrived in the area.
The findings are considered important to understanding long-term exposure of environmental hazards, and you can read more here.
And what else can lift your mood like the birth of a hippopotamus?!
A female pygmy hippo was born at a zoo in Virginia earlier this month, the third female calf to be born at the zoo in less than five years.
Mum, Iris, is said to have given birth in an indoor pool, with both hippos bonding in privacy before they’ll be on display to the public.
