Happy Friday! Ever wonder what actually happens when you do the right thing when no one's watching? Josh Pache just gave us the answer. This 17-year-old just restored faith in humanity with a 30-second decision that's sparked a global chain reaction of goodness. It started with $3,500 on the ground and ended with strangers worldwide opening their wallets for him and others.

Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here!

Quick Lifts ❤️

Feel good stories from Happilynews.com guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

When A Businessman Dropped $3,500 The Teen Who Found It Made A Choice That Changed Everything

On his way out of a service station, a 17-year-old spotted a thick bundle of notes on the ground. Many would’ve run off with it. But not Josh Pache. He’s made different.

Minutes after funding the sizeable sum of $3,500 in notes, he was handing it in at the counter of a nearby gas station – a split-second decision that had a ripple effect of positivity, bringing him a $1,000 reward, a job offer, and praise from thousands across the globe.

Josh had been going about his business when he spotted the thick roll of bills outside The Fox's Pantry near a service station on the Gold Coast of Australia. Without hesitation and without thinking he did the right thing.

Little did he know, the money belonged to Daniel McKellar, director of Coastal Demolitions, who had just collected payment for a copper delivery at a scrap metal yard. The bundle had seemingly slipped from his pocket during a coffee stop. And McKellar only discovered the loss when he arrived home – much to his horror.

"I freaked out that I had lost the money because I couldn't find it in the car," McKellar said.

When he called the service station, staff delivered startling news: a young man had already turned in the cash. McKellar reviewed security footage and was moved by what he saw.

He posted a clip on Instagram with a simple plea: "Can the internet do its magic & find the young fella, we want to thank him by giving him a reward of $1000."

The next day, Josh's mother Leanne recognized her son in the footage and reached out. McKellar praised the teen's character. "It's pretty rare to find the younger generation having a good moral compass and obviously knowing what to do, being the right thing to hand in the money," he said. "For him to just not hesitate, take it straight to the counter and then walk off and not even leave his name, it's pretty remarkable. He's obviously been raised right."

Josh met Daniel and accepted both the reward and an offer to work as a laborer with Coastal Demolitions after graduation. His mother told Daniel that "good deeds and good karma deserve to be rewarded with good things in life."

Asked why he returned the money, Josh kept his answer simple. "It just didn't feel right," he told local news outlet, 7News. He plans to save for a utility vehicle and hopes to secure an apprenticeship off the back of his work with Coastal Demolitions during the summer.

Daniel, naturally relieved, decided to turn the moment into more positive action. He donated the remaining $2,500 to a GoFundMe campaign for a father who is fighting stage-four cancer. "I was never expecting the money back, I thought once I lost it … I was expecting someone to have taken it," McKellar said. "I definitely had not expectation to get it back, so in my mind it was already gone so I'd rather donate that money to a good cause."

Daniel also launched a separate GoFundMe to help Josh save for his new vehicle, which has already raised more than $10,000AUD from appreciative people worldwide.

And while the story drew thousands of supportive comments online, like this one which sums it up pretty well - "What a bloody legend" - Josh’s honesty shows that a small act of selflessness can have much bigger positive ripples.

Happy Headlines 📰

It’s not all doom and gloom out there. Here’s some positive news items from publications around the world.

🫁 New pancreatic cancer breath test hailed as major breakthrough
Doctors are trialling a world-first breath test that can spot cancer-linked compounds linked to the deadly - and hard to diagnose - pancreatic cancer. It’s being trialled across 40 sites in England, Wales and Scotland, enrolling 6,000 patients. Developed at Imperial College London and backed by £1.1m from Pancreatic Cancer UK, experts say it could reach GP surgeries within five years if successful - and save countless lives. (The Independent)

🏁 At 80, woman becomes the oldest to finish the Ironman World Championships
Natalie Grabow made history in Kailua-Kona as the oldest female finisher, completing the 140.6-mile(!) course in 16:45:26. She didn’t learn to swim until nearly 60, then powered through a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile ride and a marathon to the line. That makes our Sunday runs seem easy-peasy. (Women’s Health)

🖐️ Classmates use 3D printer to print new hand for peer born with hand
A class of high school students in Australia built a prosthetic for their friend Lois using an open-source design from Australian charity Free 3D Hands. After months of tinkering, they surprised Lois and now the group plans to make more devices as well as representing Australia at a youth summit in Tokyo with their design. (ABC.net.au)

🍎 Colorado voters approve tax increase to fund school meals and food stamps
The proposition - MM - sailed through, securing permanent funding for every public school student’s breakfast and lunch. By trimming tax deductions for households earning $300,000+ - adding $500 to their tax bills a year - Colorado is keeping its pioneering Healthy School Meals for All program. A win for kids and democracy. (Colorado Sun)

💚 Jesse Eisenberg reveals he is donating a kidney to a stranger
The actor - speaking in a candid interview on the Today show - said he is making a non-directed, altruistic donation in mid-December and called it “essentially risk-free and so needed.” The Now You See Me franchise star explained how paired donation chains multiply one gift into many. More than 100,000 people are currently on the transplant list in the US, with around 12 people dying each day because of organ shortage. It’s hoped the publicity can drive interest in non-directed donation to ease waiting lists. (Today Show)

👶 New Mexico becomes first U.S. state to offer free child care to all
The state has launched universal free child car, offering vouchers to all families - regardless of income - for public and private providers. Funded largely by interest from a roughly $10 billion early childhood trust, the state hopes it can ease the burden on working families. (Huff Post)

🚌 Hero farmworkers rescue 20 children from burning school bus
When they spotted smoke, workers Angel Zarco and Carlos Perea quickly alerted the drive and helped evacuate more than 20 students before flames took over. They have been honored by leaders in Madera County, California, for acting to the “very highest standards.” (GNN)

Snapshot 📸 

A unique photo feature each week.

A Century in the Sand: WWI Soldiers' Bottled Hope Finally Surfaces

Sometimes the universe has impeccable timing. Just when we need reminding that history isn't dates and statistics but real people with real hopes, the ocean coughs up a 108-year-old message in a bottle from two soldiers sailing toward the trenches of World War I.

The Brown family – dedicated beach cleaners who patrol Western Australia's Wharton Beach on quad bikes picking up trash – discovered what looked like just another piece of litter last month. Inside the old Schweppes bottle were pencil-written letters from Privates Malcolm Neville and William Harley, dated August 15, 1916, three days into their voyage from Adelaide to reinforce troops on the Western Front.

Their words radiate the kind of forced cheer that breaks your heart in hindsight. Neville, 27, wrote to his mother that they were "having a real good time" and were "as happy as Larry" despite the ship's heaving and rolling. The food was "real good," he assured her, except for one meal "which we buried at sea." Harley, 37, wished that whoever found the bottle would be "as well as we are at present."

Harley survived the war, but Neville would be dead within a year of the letters, killed in action.

The bottle likely never traveled far. Deb Brown suspects it spent a century buried in sand dunes, only recently exposed by coastal erosion in pristine, barnacle-free condition with the paper miraculously legible. The Browns tracked down both soldiers' descendants, delivering messages that had waited 108 years to complete their journey.

"It really does feel like a miracle," said Harley's granddaughter Ann Turner. "Our grandfather has reached out for us from the grave."

Perhaps he has. In an era of instant everything, there's something profound about words taking a century to arrive – about two young men tossing hope into the ocean on their way to hell, and the sea finally, gently, returning their faith to shore.

Support our mission to spread positive news worldwide while treating your loved ones (or yourself!) to some positive merch.

As a Smileworthy subscriber, unlock exclusive discounts with SMILE15 at checkout 👇

Bright Bits ☀️

A fun fact, a happiness hack, an inspiring quote, and a quick brain teaser—your feel-good four-pack.

🤗 Happiness Hack

Write Yourself a Letter from Your Future Self. Researchers at UCLA found that people who wrote detailed letters from their future selves (10 years ahead) to their current selves felt more optimistic and made better long-term decisions. The key: be specific about what "future you" has learned and what they're grateful "past you" did.

❝Some Inspiring Words❞

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

💡Fun Fact

The most isolated tree on Earth, the Tree of Ténéré in the Sahara Desert, was the only tree for 250 miles in any direction – until a drunk driver managed to hit it in 1973. It's now been replaced by a metal sculpture.

🧠 Brain Teaser

In my money box, I found $36.80 made up of equal numbers of quarters, dimes, and nickels.

How many of each coin did I find?

(Answer at the bottom of the newsletter!)

Before You Go…A Serotonin Booster* 📺

She adopted her brother from foster care, changing his life for the better - then she surprised him with a once-in-a-lifetime trip

@hannahrobinson.family

If you’d to know more about us and our journey, I have the full story on my instagram🫶🏻 For everyone asking how they can support sweet TJ,... See more

*Studies show that watching cute, heartwarming videos can boost your mood. So sit back and start your weekend positively!

🧠 Brain Teaser Answer

92 of each coin.

Reasoning: There are an equal number of quarters, dimes and nickels, so we know that the answer must be a multiple of 25c + 10c + 5c = 40c

and

3680c ÷ 40c = 92 coins.