【推荐1】Orly Wahba is an educator, speaker, entrepreneur (企业家), author and community activist passionate about inspiring and motivating people to be the best that they can be.

As a young child, listening repeatedly to the song, “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson, Orly knew that she wanted to leave her mark and she wanted more than anything to bring people together under the name of peace, respect, and love. Since her teenage years, Orly has worked extensively with tweens and teens as well as local charities in her community providing a helping hand for those who need it most.

Orly began her career in kindness as a middle school educator at the Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn, NY, teaching the children to use the power they have to influence the world for good. With 8,000 cards, she started a wave of pay-it-forward kindness. Each card contained an act of kindness that once completed, would be passed onto another person. Her project succeeded, enhancing the lives of her students and raising their sense of self-worth as they saw their direct hand in causing a ripple (涟漪) effect. Even now, people may encounter Orly giving out her famed Acts of Kindness Cards on the subway.

Desiring to make a larger impact with her beneficent work and after having been inspired by a small sign on a plane labeled “Life Vest Inside”, Orly founded (2011) Life Vest Inside, a non-profit organization with a mission to encourage people to embrace (拥抱) the incredible power of giving and recognize that in times of hardship, kindness, like a life vest, keeps the world afloat (漂浮).

LVI shot to national attention when Orly’s short film Kindness Boomerang went viral, receiving more than 100 million views and coverage in media such as The TODAY Show, NBC, CBS, ADWEEK, International Business Times and more. In 2013 Orly was invited to speak at TED.

The magic that Orly spreads is undeniable! Through LVI, kind happenings are becoming more frequent. And more people are experiencing the addictiveness in the giving of kindness.

【推荐3】On March 18, 34-year-old Lance Karlson was walking on the beach and looking for somewhere to swim in Geographe Bay when he saw what he thought was a stingray (黄貂鱼) leap from the water.

Realizing the creature was, in fact, an octopus (章鱼), he started filming it — just in time for the angry octopus to launch itself at him. He immediately felt a sharp pain across his left arm, followed by a second strike across his neck and upper back. His goggles (护目镜) fogged and the water around him turned dark with what he thought might have been octopus ink as he struggled back toward the shore.       

"I was confused — it was more of a shock than a fright," said Karlson, "I might have hit on its home." Within a minute, a perfect imprint of an octopus tentacle (触手) appeared on Karlson's neck and back.       

A former volunteer lifeguard, Karlson rushed back to his hotel room to find something acidic to put on the wound. All his family could grab was Coca-Cola, which his wife poured over his back and the pain disappeared.

"The pain went away and more than anything since then, it's been more the physical hit that was painful.... The imprint on my neck is more from the physical hit, and I guess it makes complete sense when you look at the video I took," he said.

Karlson said he'd never seen an octopus that close before and watched Netflix documentary "My Octopus Teacher" after the incident to learn more about the species.

"They are beautiful creatures and I really hope this promotes more interest in octopuses as opposed to fear of them. I think this is a fascinating creature with clearly some very strong emotions just like we do as humans," he added.

【推荐2】Karen Stocker was inspired by the money guru to begin a savings plan with her spare change throughout the year, known as the 1p Savings Challenge. It starts with saving 1p on 1 January, 2p on 2 January, 3p on 3 January and so on, with the last day of the year (December 31) hitting £3.65. If you were to start the challenge on 1 January 2023, then by 31 December 2023 you’ll have saved a grand total of £667.95. Despite ending her challenge a few weeks early, Karen still managed to save £582.70.

Over the past few years, with everything going up, it’s not easy for Karen to afford presents or to pay towards a bill as it is with every other family. When she saw Martin speaking about it on TV earlier last year, immediately she was determined to do it. Soon she bought one of those tins that wouldn’t be opened without a can opener. That way she had no temptation to break into it.

It was fun opening and counting it up last month. This year, Karen has enough saved to serve her 12 guests a Christmas dinner. She will no longer be worrying where to find the money from. What’s more, she is really looking forward to affording some treats — a doll for her daughter and a nice big cheeseboard for her husband along with some vodka and wine! Oh, and a nice big turkey.

“Thanks to Martin, I have peace of mind this Christmas. And I’m definitely going to be doing this again next year.” Karen told NeedToKnow. online. After sharing her success on Facebook in a post attracting more than 2,200 likes, users were quick to offer their praise.

One person said: “What a good idea! I’m going to start one. Thank u for sharing x.”

Another added: “Well done I am rubbish with money, I actually never knew about this challenge, I’m going to find a jar right now and pop in a penny or 2.”

“Thank you for sharing as I’d missed this and will definitely give it a go,” said a third person.

Someone else commented: “I’ve done this before... sometimes I would pay it backwards... so towards Christmas I’d be paying less... x.”

【推荐3】There is no question that as the first president of the United States, George Washington’s achievements were enormous. But how much of what we know about him is fact and how much is legend? Did Washington as a boy really say “I can’t tell a lie” after damaging his father’s prized cherry tree with a hatchet (斧头)?

In a word, no. This is not to say that young Washington was a Pinocchio. It’s just that there is no evidence that this event actually occurred.

When Washington died in 1799, Americans were well aware of his public accomplishments but knew little about his personal life, and they were eager to fill that gap. Mason Locke Weems, a book agent, saw that need and was ready to meet it as one of Washington’s first biographers (传记作者). He determined he would show that Washington’s unparalleled (空前的) rise was due to his great virtues. In the process, Weems described Washington as a role model for the newly established country.

Weems’s The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington was first published in 1800, but his story about the cherry tree was not added until the book’s fifth edition in 1806. Weems claimed that he had heard the story from an elderly friend of the Washington family, but there was no evidence to support his claim.

In 1836, William Holmes McGuffey rewrote the cherry tree story for children as “The Little Boy and the Hatchet” in his McGuffey Readers, a series of grammar school books. Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, the story was retold in a variety of readers and textbooks.

In the process, the cherry tree story would define Washington’s character for generations of Americans. And although there is no definite proof, Americans have come to believe that the cherry tree story is true.