In the song "When You Believe," from the inimitable 1998 DreamWorks hit "The Prince of Egypt," the characters Tzipporah and Miriam sing, "Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill." It's a fascinating paradox if you think about it. How can something be delicate, yet sturdy at the same time? As we work toward the end of the pandemic, the frailty and strength of hope makes more sense. There are better days ahead. We have to believe that. Heck, we can almost see them. But in the here and now, that hope has to be handled carefully. It has to be nourished by the way we treat each other and the decisions we make, so we can stay true on our path to a better future.

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

Quite a turtle collection
There is something extra cute about baby turtles. They're so small, compared to adult turtles! And their little shells are so perfectly detailed. Stockton University in New Jersey is currently home to more than 825 such cuties, the result of a massive rescue effort. Local volunteers have been scooping up the diamondback terrapin hatchlings using modified nets and bringing them to the university. The hundreds of hatchlings now make up the majority of the more than 1,000 terrapins currently cared for at the Stockton Vivarium. The hatchlings will spend about a year at the center before being released into the wild.

The amazing brain
Have you ever heard of "mindwriting?" It's a term used by scientists for a very specific skill that could spell hope for millions of people who have lost mobility or the ability to communicate. A man paralyzed from the neck down for almost a decade recently completed an amazing feat of "mindwriting," and used his brain to compose whole sentences in real-time. Scientists implanted two tiny sensors into his brain, and then asked him to imagine holding a pen and paper and then try to write. As he visualized it, an algorithm then decoded the motion for each letter, translating it into text which appeared on a computer screen. Eventually, he was able to communicate at the same rate, or faster, than someone texting. The innovation could one day allow people with paralysis to rapidly type without using their hands, and researchers are hoping it will only take a few years to become widely available.

A valuable opportunity
The National Women's History Museum is accepting submissions for a very cool program that will determine the next series of American heroes to grace quarters produced by the US Mint. The American Women Quarters Program (creative name choice, that) has already kicked off with two chosen honorees: poet Maya Angelou and astronaut Sally Ride. The rest of the women to be featured will be decided by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen with input from the American people. The museum is welcoming suggestions of women known for their work in civil rights, science, the arts and abolition, among other areas, with an emphasis on women from "ethnically, racially and geographically diverse backgrounds," according to the Mint. And, they must be deceased. The Mint will create up to five designs for the tails side of the quarters in the program, which will run through 2025.

Raise a glass to...

Cecil Lockhart, who just became the oldest organ donor in the US at age 95. Lockhart, of Welch, West Virginia, died peacefully on May 4, and his thoughtful planning led to a life-saving liver transplant. Lockhart decided to become a donor after his son, Stanley, healed the lives of 75 people through tissue donation and restored sight to two others through cornea donation after he died in 2010. His family said the decision helped Lockhart heal through his grief and knowing Lockhart has helped others will help them heal, too. "This is just a way he's continuing to help people after his time on Earth is finished," Lockhart's son-in-law, Bill Davis said. "If we could all be that way, I think the world would be a little bit better place for us to be in."

A bright idea

Factory and warehouse work can be tough, tiring and dangerous. A new battery-powered glove could help workers by reducing fatigue, and with it, the likelihood of ugly injuries. The "Ironhand" glove strengthens the wearer's grip, meaning they don't have to use as much force to perform repetitive manual tasks. Its developer, Bioservo, says it can increase the wearer's hand strength by 20%. The system is made up of a backpack, which houses the power unit, that lead to artificial tendons connected to the glove, which is described as a "soft exoskeleton." The glove was originally intended to help NASA astronauts grip things in space, but the technology has been recognized as a potential way to cut down on workplace injuries and accidents.

You gotta see this

Typically, people go to Red Lobster for the endless supply of Cheddar Bay biscuits. They're not expecting to see an extremely rare type of lobster. Luckily, when a male calico lobster arrived at a Red Lobster in Manassas, Virginia, team members recognized the lobster's unique orange and black freckled shell covering. Calico lobsters are the third rarest lobsters in the world, preceded by split-colored and albino lobsters, according to a Red Lobster spokesperson, and the chance of catching a calico is 1 in 30 million. They're rare because the unusual coloring makes them attractive to predators. The calico lobster was spared from becoming someone's dinner, and even given a name: Freckles. Freckles will now live out his very lucky days at the Virginia Living Museum.

Wanna get away?

Dubai is known for its extravagant feats of architecture, from skyscrapers to elaborately crafted islands. Just a little outside the city, in the man-made desert oasis of Al Qudra, you'll find this romantic lagoon fashioned in the form of two interlocking hearts. Dubbed "Love Lake," it seemingly sprung up overnight in 2018. Eventually, a spokesperson for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, revealed he had been behind the ultra-secretive lake project. Now, tourists flock to get photos of the unusual attraction and to take in the various flora, fauna and sand dunes that have turned Al Qudra into a favorite local getaway.

Who knew?

This iconic sparkler is the Imperial State Crown, one of the most important crown jewels of the British monarchy. While its 317.4-carat Cullinan II diamond and various historic sapphires and rubies are certainly fascinating, what's equally interesting is who, exactly, is allowed to touch it. There are only three people who are allowed to lay hands on this priceless artifact: The Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose job it is to crown the monarch, and the Crown Jeweller, who is responsible for its upkeep and its security every time it's removed from the Tower of London.

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