🌞 sunday

I thought I’d let you know that today’s good news stories were found by TDA’s newest journalist, Anju.

Anju, who graduated from high school last year, applied for this job with a story pitch about ‘gratitude’ for the Good Newsletter. I was sold! Enjoy the collection of stories she chose below 🙂

Brisbane has made history as the first city in the world to host an accessible bridge climb. That’s right, individuals with accessibility requirements - including wheelchair users - will be able to scale the Story Bridge in a specially designed wheelchair.

The new accessibility feature is thanks to a grant from the QLD Govt’s Accessible Tourism Elevate Fund, which supports the state’s tourism industry to enhance their accessible tourism experiences. According to the Govt, the motorised stair climber is of the highest safety standard and has been customised for the Story Bridge using advanced technology.

The wheelchair was co-designed with Timothy Lachlan, a professional wheelchair motocross rider who “played a key role in testing the system and refining its performance on the Story Bridge”.

2021 Queenslander of the Year Dinesh Palipana was one of the first to take part in the climb. He said: “When I was laying in a hospital bed once, not far form the bridge, I remember looking at a window, wondering if I will be outside again…To be now seeing the world from the top of our city’s bridge is like a dream.”

You’re looking at Gout Gout, Australia’s next athletic superstar, breaking the 10 second barrier in the 100m race. That feat makes him the third Australian in history to break the 10-second barrier in the men’s 100m. The 17-year-old recorded two identical times of 9.99 seconds in the heat and final at the 2025 Australian Athletics Championships in Perth. Despite the feat, Gout’s times will not be counted as official records due to an illegal tailwind (boo!!!)

I’m sure many of you have seen this video going viral online, but in case you haven’t, let me introduce you to Tanner Smith. Tanner Smith is one of the stars of the Netflix series ‘Love on the Spectrum’, where people on the autism spectrum search for love. On a previous season of the show, Tanner mentioned that he was actor Jack Black’s “biggest fan”.

Fast forward to earlier this month, when Tanner appeared on the Kelly Clarkson show, where he was shown a video with Jack Black proclaiming he “couldn’t wait to meet [Tanner] in person”. Lo and behold, seconds later, the actor surprised Tanner by appearing in real life, marking what Tanner labelled “the best day of my life”.

Sometimes, stories are best told through video: I dare you to watch this without a smile on your face.

Counting down to the Easter break? Only 5 days to go… we’re so close.

If you’ve got a trip planned, here’s a tip to keep things smooth:

With Up’s 2Up feature, you and your travel buddy can pool your spending into one shared account. This means no awkward bill-splitting or settling up later. Just tap, spend, and stay on budget.

Sign up with code TDA20 and score $20 in your 2Up account to kick things off.

Staying overseas now, where the Great British Spring Clean has just wrapped up. During the campaign, held from 21 March - 6 April, 342,000 people from different communities across the UK pledged to pick up 462,410 bags of litter. It’s billed as the nation’s biggest mass action campaign and has been running annually for a decade.

According to the organisation, over the course of the campaign, ancient and “bizarre” treasures have been collected, including a retro mannequin, food rubbish dating back decades and even…someone’s dreadlock.

Fun fact: Around 96% of people surveyed after the 2024 campaign agreed that the Spring Clean reduces the impact of litter on wildlife and the environment. How good!

Researchers in the U.S. are developing a tiny, flexible robot that could save lives during natural disasters.

A team at Penn State University is pioneering technology that will be able to crawl through earthquake rubble to find trapped victims.

Unlike traditional, rigid robots, researchers say they’re incorporating a soft robotic design made from flexible materials, “that mimic the movement of living organisms.” It’s hoped this feature can be used to create ingestible robots, or ‘robot pills,’ which will carry medicine to natural disaster victims before they can be reached by rescue teams.