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 March 16, 2024

It's the holy month of Ramadan, which means a lot of prayer and fasting for many of our Muslim friends. Not being Muslim myself, my favorite part of Ramadan is the cats. (Well, and maamoul, a delicious date-filled shortbread cookie that you must try.) My social media feeds are filled with people posting photos of their cats commandeering prayer rugs, wearing little hijabs and generally enjoying Ramadan activities whether they were invited or not. It makes me happy that every culture has a special affinity for cats, and that the cat's creed of "If I fits, I sits" knows no exception. 

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

A healing hero
Former UFC fighter Mark Coleman is on the mend after saving his parents from a house fire in Ohio. Coleman's daughters said the 59-year-old athlete was able to run back and forth into the house to carry both his mother and father to safety before being overwhelmed by the blaze. At first, his condition was dire. His daughter Morgan said he was "battling for his life" and couldn't breathe on his own. Now, however, videos posted by the daughters show Coleman sitting up and talking. Despite his truly traumatic ordeal, Coleman has shown nothing but gratitude. "I’m the happiest man in the world,” he said in one video. “Sweet God, I’m so lucky. I can’t believe my parents are alive.” Coleman is seen as one of the most influential fighters in UFC history, becoming the first ever UFC heavyweight champion. He retired with a 16-10 record and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008.

Read the whole story here. 

Tiger tech
Conservationists have teamed up with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Google Earth Engine to create a new real-time monitoring system for tiger habitats that could help with international conservation efforts. The mapping system provides tiger-range countries with the information they need to identify priority areas, and monitor changes in tiger habitats and populations. Because the map is so up-to-date, conservationists can be much quicker with their responses to new problems. Habitat loss is a constant threat for tigers, who now roam free in only 10 countries. Ecologist Eric Sanderson says efforts to protect tigers aren't just about saving their stripes: The animals have a bigger role to play in their environments. "In that sense, tigers are a really good harbinger of our relationship to the natural world," he says. 

Read the whole story here. 

It ain't heavy, it's my blueberry 
Yes. YES. I love giant produce stories. They are so pure! So uncontroversial. (Please, if there is some secret blueberry growing scandal I don't know about keep it to yourself! Leave me in peace.) This massive blueberry was picked in November and tipped the scales at 20.4 grams, or 0.71 ounces. For reference, the average blueberry weighs about 2 grams, so this is a big'un. It was grown in Corindi, New South Wales, Australia, and is from the Eterna variety, known for its large fruit size, crisp texture and long shelf life. Its run at the record for heaviest blueberry was confirmed this week, according to Guinness World Records. Some blueberries go into pies, and others into history books. 

Read the whole story here. 

A bright idea

Remember those little "drinking birds" from science class that would bob up and down and teach important lessons about thermodynamics? Scientists in Hong Kong and China have used the famous toy, also known as the “Dippy Bird,” to develop a new clean-energy generator that could one day power your watch and phone. The bird works because of a chemical reaction between the evaporating water on the bird's beak and Methylene chloride, a highly volatile liquid contained in the body. Similar processes happen naturally on Earth, and these scientists figured out a way to harness the power of that water evaporation to  generate clean energy.

Read the whole story here. 

Listen up!

This week on the new 5 Good Things podcast, catch up with the first woman to sail around the world solo, and learn more about the discovery of potential new deep-sea species. Plus, we'll have some St. Patty's Day fun, and discuss the potential benefits of a four-day workweek. Listen here! 

Who knew?

Calling all Wordle enthusiasts! (Wordlers? Wordle nerds? Nerdles?) Everyone's favorite daily dopamine hit just celebrated 1,000 puzzles. In honor, CNN got answers to some of the Wordledom's most burning questions. For instance, yes, user feedback does make a difference to how the puzzle is structured. When editors introduced a themed word, "FEAST," on Thanksgiving, people hated it and there hasn't been one since. Yes, there is a giant database of Wordle words, and the words are carefully chosen by a real person. Oh, and they're working on an archive, so you can finally take a stab at all the puzzles you've missed.

Read the whole story here. 

Rec of the week

Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

Don't let the silly name fool you: The UK's Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital is the busiest, most advanced hospital of its kind. OK fine, the name is a definite plus as well. (Click here to view)

Made with love by CNN's 5 Things team. 

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