Today’s Solutions: May 16, 2024

Evergreen

The Juneteenth flag waving in the wind.

The symbolism behind the Juneteenth flag

In 2021, President Joe Biden announced that June 19th, shortened to Juneteenth (which is also known as Emancipation Day and/or Freedom Day), will be officially celebrated as a federal holiday. Juneteenth is still in the early years of being officially observed by many businesses and Read More...

Giant tortoise munching on leaves

Giant tortoise believed extinct for 100 years is actually alive

We previously shared a story about a family finding their pet tortoise alive and well in their attic after it had been missing for over 30 years. Now prepare for an equally endearing tortoise comeback story. Considered extinct for more than a century, a giant tortoise is actually alive in the Read More...

The Dad Gang is breaking the s

The Dad Gang is breaking the stereotype of the absent Black father

In honor of father's day, we are revamping a few stories that celebrate the inspiring dads out there in the world, empower dads, or highlight the incredible experience of fatherhood. Good fathers, good community members As a black man, Sean Williams would regularly receive “good dad” Read More...

happy cute child in pastel colored dress grins while laying in a patch of wildflowers

A garden designer’s top 6 tips for rewilding your own garden

Rewilding is a progressive form of ecological restoration and conservation that returns a region to its natural, wild, and “unkempt” state. Here at The Optimist Daily, we love to spotlight the amazing rewilding initiatives that are taking off worldwide, and exactly how each project helps boost Read More...

Clothes hanging out to dry on a hanging rack outside on a sunny day

5 simple ways you can do less laundry

Apart from being an extremely mundane task, doing your laundry is also rather far from being an eco-friendly chore. It involves an energy-intensive process that uses a lot of water and, in the case of synthetic fabrics, releases countless microplastics into the environment, threatening public Read More...

A hydrofoil boat approaching the port of the greek island Hydra.

The environmentally friendly, flying ships of the future

These days, electric cars, bikes, scooters, trams, and trains are common modes of transport. However, one mode of transport which hasn’t got the electric memo is ferries, which are still almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels. The problematic factor here is battery capacity, which cannot last Read More...

young woman feeling jet lagged yawns while sight seeing

Minimize effects of jet lag with this science-backed strategy

Jet lag is the bane of all long-haul trips. Instead of making the most out of your new surroundings once you land after hours and hours of sitting on the plane, your body tends to have different ideas involving naps and stomach problems. According to experts in travel and health, jet lag is Read More...

To-go bags

This doggy-bag law in Spain intends to curb food waste

Did you know that in Spain, it’s not a common practice to take home uneaten food from a restaurant?  According to news site The Local, “Spain isn’t a country with a longstanding tradition of leftover restaurant food going in doggy bags, perhaps as a combination of it not being part of the Read More...

Zophobas morio

This “superworm” eats and degrades plastics

Researchers from the University of Queensland have discovered that thanks to a bacterial enzyme in their gut the Zophobas morio “superworm” can eat through polystyrene plastic. This is the main compound of Styrofoam.  Over a three-week period, the research team fed these “superworms” Read More...

Doctor holding generic blue pill between his fingers

Study reveals how ketamine fights depression

We have previously reported on a story about ketamine’s potential to help fight depression. Now, we'd like to preset you to some study findings that reveal exactly how the drug’s antidepressant effects work. One of the advantages of ketamine as an antidepressant is the fact that its effects Read More...