United States of America eSeries: The best stories of victory from this week

July 31, 2021

Watching the Olympics feels like an Olympic sport unto itself. It's so easy to get invested! Doesn't matter that it's someone you've never heard of competing in a sport you barely understand on behalf of a country you're not remotely affiliated with. When they break that record, or overcome that challenge, or run into the arms of their proud teammates and coaches, it's immediate waterworks.

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Our favorites this week

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

Your feel-good Olympic roundup
It would be impossible to cover every single incredible Olympic win so far, but here are some of our favorite stories of victory that highlight the human side of the Games:

Anastasija Zolotic, above, who became the first American woman to win gold in taekwondo -- at only 17 years old! Her incredible celebration will get you PUMPED.

Hidilyn Diaz, a weightlifter who won the first gold medal EVER for the Philippines. Filipinos around the world showered love and congratulations on their new national heroine.

Uta Abe and Hifumi Abe, Japanese judokas who became the first sister-brother duo to ever win gold in the same Olympics — and on the same day! Can you imagine how proud their family is?!

Suni Lee, who brought home US gold in the gymnastics all-around. She is the first Hmong American to compete in the Games, and she overcame injuries and family tragedy to emerge victorious.

Tom Daley, who won the men's synchronized 10-meter diving competition with his partner Matty Lee, securing his first gold medal in four Games. Not only is he an LGBT icon, Daly is a FIBER ARTIST. He knits and crochets and even knitted himself a little medal cozy! Yes, I'm crying.

And be sure to check out plenty of incredible photos from Tokyo, curated by our friends on the CNN photo desk.

Moved by the music
Airports aren't exactly the most magical of places, but during an unexpected travel stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, motivational speaker Carlos Whittaker found himself entranced by the skills of piano player Tonee "Valentine" Carter. Carter performs almost every day in a piano bar in Concourse A. He and Whittaker got to talking, and Whittaker took some videos of Carter's playing to share with his more than Instagram 200,000 followers. Then, he challenged his followers to donate to give Carter the biggest tip he's ever gotten. They delivered in short order, raising $10,000 in just 30 minutes. That number is still growing, and is well past $60,000. Carter says he was floored by the gesture. "I just lost it. I thought he was kidding, I just couldn't believe it. That just doesn't happen," he told CNN. "I didn't know how to feel. This is the kind of the thing I do. I love giving and donating and helping people, but I never expected someone to do it for me."

A musical mystery, solved
When Hans Öqvist bought a beat-up violin in a thrift store in Uppsala, Sweden, in the mid-1990s, his curiosity was piqued by a name etched in the instrument's surface. It wasn't until years later, when he sought to repair the violin for one of his sons, that he began to untangle the mystery. He eventually learned the violin had belonged to Hakon Lundström, a Swedish journalist in the 1800s. But the real treasure was a musical arrangement Öqvist discovered that, attributed to Lundström and set with the words of a poem by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. That led him to Ulrika Nielsen, whose grandmother had sang the song to her as a little girl. It had such an impact on Nielsen, she had had the song and music transcribed from memory. Sure enough, Nielsen is Lundström's great-granddaughter. There's so much more to this fascinating story, but ultimately, Öqvist says he's looking forward to one day reuniting the violin with Lundström's family.

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A bright idea

A group of high school students have designed and built a wheelchair stroller attachment so that people with disabilities can walk their babies. The idea was born when students at the Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, discovered that one of their teachers was expecting a baby. Her husband uses a wheelchair, and it was going to be tough for him to get in on some precious parenting moments. The students put an intense amount of thought into the project, taking into account the terrain around the dad-to-be's house and making sure the design was something he could operate independently. They also wanted to make the design simple and affordable, so other families could replicate one. The result is the "WheeStroll," a simple wheelchair attachment that allows parents to place their baby safely in front of them as they wheel around.

You gotta see this

Mr. Hemingway, is that you?! Key West held its legendary Hemingway lookalike contest last weekend as part of Hemingway Days, an annual celebration of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who lived on the island during the 1930s. And if parading down Duval Street in berets and fisherman's gear next to a smoking bull doesn't scream "Key West," then we don't know what does. (Well, besides Fantasy Fest. But that's a subject for a whole other newsletter.)

Wanna get away?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has voted to add 34 new spots to its list of World Heritage Sites. These are places with what the group calls "outsanding universal value" and represent the best of human culture, innovation, and our relationship with the Earth itself. Among this year's new sites is the Trans-Iranian Railway, which runs through two mountain ranges to connect the Caspian Sea with the Persian Gulf. Built in the 1920s and '30s, the railway's 1,394-kilometer route navigates 174 large bridges, 186 smaller bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 spiral tunnels.

To your health

Are you a creative person? A recent study published in the journal PNAS proposes a new and surprisingly simple test to gauge this ability. It goes like this: You think of 10 nouns that are unrelated to one another and as far apart in meaning as possible. The results can be objectively scored, meaning you and your friends don't need to sit around wondering how far away "boulder" is from "taco." The test specifically measures one component of creativity called divergent thinking, which is the ability to generate diverse solutions to open-ended problems. You can take the test here!

Rec of the week

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Shameless animal video

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

This video is from all the way back in 2011, during the indisputable heyday of internet cat content. Yes, it's old. Yes, it looks like it was shot on one of those fake plastic cameras you give toddlers. But is a VALUABLE ANTIQUE. (Click here to view)