🌞 Life-Changing

Daily Upsider - Saturday, September 21st, 2024

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Julia Mejia, Clemens Walter & James Linder
September 21, 2024

Saturday, September 21st, 2024

Good Morning! 🌞 

Check out this incredible video of the biggest waver ever surfed!!

Today’s Upside

Culture

Officer’s Life-Changing Advice

Abbie Rutledge embraces Trooper Brown at her graduation – credit, released to CBS.

Two years ago, Abbie Rutledge from Alabama was pulled over by state trooper J.T. Brown for speeding on her way to work.

Rutledge, 20 at the time, told the trooper she couldn’t afford a ticket and was stuck in a dead-end job. Instead of issuing the citation, Brown suggested they talk about her situation. For 10 to 15 minutes, they discussed different career options, and by the end of the conversation, Brown convinced her to consider nursing school.

Two years later, Rutledge is now a surgical technician at the University of Alabama Hospital, and she credits Trooper Brown for her success. She invited him to her graduation and showed him the citation, which listed a fine of $0.00, with a handwritten note: “Promise me you’ll go into scrub or nursing school & slow down, and I won’t give you a ticket.” When asked if he ever thought the conversation would have such an impact, Brown admitted, “Never.” It’s a reminder of how a simple conversation can change a life.

Innovation

Walk Assist Robot

PDesigner: WIRobotics

Walking, a fundamental aspect of daily life, can become challenging for many due to age, illness, or muscle weakness. Addressing this issue, South Korean company WIRobotics has introduced an innovative solution: the WIM, a robotic assist device designed to make walking easier and more efficient. The WIM is a wearable device that fits around the waist and legs, reducing the energy needed to walk by approximately 20%. This reduction in effort allows users to walk longer distances with less fatigue, making it an invaluable tool for those who struggle with mobility.

What sets the WIM apart from other wearable robots is its focus on everyday use rather than industrial or medical applications. The device is equipped with advanced A.I. technology that monitors and predicts gait and movements, continually improving its assistance and providing users with performance feedback. This intelligent system adapts over time, enhancing the walking experience.

Weighing just 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) and folding down to the size of a clutch, the WIM is both portable and convenient. In addition to its assistive functions, it features an exercise mode that adds resistance, mimicking the effect of walking in water. This mode is designed to target specific muscles and enhance overall fitness.

Environment

Furniture Out of Tennis Balls

Mathilde Wittock on her chaise lounge – credit, Rodolphe de Brabandere

Each year, 300 million tennis balls are produced for the sport, with most ending up in the trash. Belgian eco-designer Mathilde Wittock has found a way to repurpose some of these into custom furniture, preventing them from piling up in landfills. Wittock and her team can carve up to 1,800 tennis balls a day, transforming them into cushioning elements for two of her main products: a chaise lounge and a bench.

To give a sense of scale, 70,000 tennis balls were used at the recent US Open alone. These pieces take 2 to 3 weeks to complete, and with the ball fuzz dyed to match interior designs, they offer both comfort and style. Tennis balls, which can take up to 400 years to decompose, are filled with gas for bounce. Once opened, the gas leaks out, rendering the balls unusable for play. Wittock gets her materials from sports clubs like the Federation of Wallonia, which recently donated 100,000 used tennis balls, enough to keep production going for nine months.

"Eco-design is about circularity," Wittock said. "You have to think about the full life cycle of a product. If you can’t reuse its parts, it’s not truly eco-friendly." When furniture owners are done with their pieces, Wittock burns away the fuzz and sends the rubber shells to be shredded and turned into play mats for kids

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Puppy Mill Awareness Day

Puppy Mill Awareness Day is observed on the third Saturday of September, which falls on September 21 this year. The goal is to encourage people to adopt dogs rather than buy them, by shedding light on the harsh conditions dogs endure in puppy mills. These mills prioritize profit over the well-being of the animals, ignoring their basic needs such as space, cleanliness, and proper care. Dogs in these facilities are often treated like breeding machines, deprived of love and attention.

In puppy mills, dogs are confined to small, dirty cages where they have little room to move, let alone play. They exist only to produce puppies. In large-scale operations, cages are stacked, with thousands of dogs living in miserable conditions. Few are healthy or happy. Puppy mills gained popularity after World War II. As families faced crop failures and suburban life became the ideal, purebred dogs emerged as a status symbol. Farmers struggling with their crops saw this demand and turned to dog breeding. The USDA even promoted it as a profitable business, encouraging more people to enter the trade. By the mid-1960s, owning a dog had become a suburban norm.

As dog lovers, it's important to stay informed about the realities of puppy mills and make responsible choices when getting a pet. Always check where and from whom you're buying, ensuring you're not supporting unethical breeding practices. If possible, consider adopting—there are countless dogs in shelters waiting for a loving home, on that note here are some no-kill shelters to check if you are planning to adopt soon.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
I can be long or short; I can be natural or fake; I can be painted or left bare; I can be round or square. What am I?
- A fingernail

Linda Runatz got the correct answer first!

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

From the Community

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