Tourists and commuters along Norway’s stunning coastline will soon travel aboard “flying” electric ferries—quietly whizzing above the water to their destinations. A Norwegian leader in sustainable transport, Boreal AS, has ordered 20 electric hydrofoil vessels from Candela Technology, with deliveries next year from the Swedish company that will launch the world’s largest electric fleet. Water […] The post Fleet of ‘Flying Ferries’ Will Provide Zero-Emission, Silent EV Boats for Commuters and Tourists Along Norway’s Coast appeared first on Good News Network.

On June 27, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away suddenly in Los Angeles at just 50 years old. The King of Pop left behind a legacy of music that has lived on in the hearts and speakers of fans for decades. Michael Jackson was a musician whose music transcended generations, languages, and continents. He continues to have millions of fans worldwide who enjoy listening to and performing his music. Viral dance group Hyperskids Africa shared a dance video on Easter Sunday 2026, showcasing a tribute to Michael Jackson with his song Black or White. It’s enough to make you want to get up and dance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by hypers born talented (@hyperskidsafrica) Hyperskids Africa Understands Michael Jackson’s Mission Michael Jackson made music for everyone, and Hyperskids Africa’s video honors that legacy. The kids have the moves and enthusiasm that certainly would have made Michael proud. His fans loved seeing the group having fun. “’We love you @kyrieirving happy blessing Easter may God bless you papa,” the video’s caption reads. “Happy Easter and love to each of you!!! You put joy in my heart!!!” A sweet Easter message reads. Others pointed out how much work the kids put into their performance. “This Kids have so much Excitement, Energy and Passion absolutely incredible,” someone wrote. “Michael will be proud of you,” another person added. In addition to the incredible Michael Jackson-inspired performance on person pointed out something very special about Hyperskids Africa. The come from a much different world than many, and yet they are completely overjoyed with their lives and don’t need all the material things to be happy. “Look how happy they are with little, for many it will be little but for them it is too much,” they wrote. Simple joys have the biggest rewards. This story’s featured image can be found here.

At Upworthy, we love sharing the “best of humanity” with our audience, and this story out of Utah, originally reported by CBS News’ Steve Hartman, shows the power of love to break down barriers. When Schauna Austin was 20 years old, she got pregnant and knew she wasn’t ready to raise a child, so she made the difficult decision to give the baby up for adoption. She gave birth to a son she named Riley and only had three days to spend with him before surrendering him to his new family. So, she held him tight for 72 hours straight. “It was perfect,” Austin said about those three emotionally-charged days. “I knew I would have him for a short time, so I made every minute count of it. I didn’t sleep for three days.” It must have been tough for Austin to give up her son because the grieving process of surrender and adoption can be incredibly difficult. The beginning of an unlikely journey Riley was placed with Chris and Jennifer Schoebinger through a closed adoption, and they decided to rename him Steven. In a closed adoption, the birth mother, Austin, would not receive any information about the adoptive family. In Utah, closed adoptions are a rarity these days, with about 95% allowing some exchange of information between the birth and adoptive parents. Usually, the birth parents have a good deal of input over whether they prefer to have regular contact or not with the adoptive family. However, about a week later, the Schoebingers made a major decision. The Schoebingers decided Austin should be involved in Steven’s life. They wanted to officially open the closed adoption. You can imagine that it’s a big and potentially risky decision for adoptive parents to bring in a birth parent. It could complicate things, stir up difficult feelings, or even bring conflict into their lives. But the Schoebingers weren’t worried about any of that. “It was like, ‘OK, this is the way it should be. She was part of our family,'” Jennifer told CBS News. “You know, you can’t have too many people loving you, right? Why couldn’t he be both of ours?” Chris added. A life documented in books and photos Every year, the Schoebingers sent Austin pictures and bound journals showing Steven’s journey in deep detail. They even had lists of all the new words he learned each year. The books were titled “The Life and Times of ‘Riley,’” paying homage to Steven’s original name. The Schoebingers sent Steven’s mother photos every year until the two were ready to meet. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash The hope was that one day when the biological mother and son were ready, they could pick up where they left off. That moment came when Steven was seven years old and his biological mother taught him to fish. The unique arrangement has been fantastic for both Austin and her biological son. “I was blessed beyond words,” Austin said. “I kind of got the best of both worlds, for sure,” Steven agreed. It may seem like relationships between children and those who gave them up for adoption would be complicated, but studies show that 84% of adoptees reported high levels of satisfaction when maintaining ongoing contact with their birth parents. It’s considered the standard these days unless there are specific reasons why it’s in the best interest of the child to have the adoption be closed. Steven is now 28 and in August 2022, he and his wife, Kayla, had their first child, a boy they named…wait for it…Riley. Austin, herself, is now a grandmother. He’s heeere!!! ? Our first grandchild. Welcome, Riley. You don’t know me yet, but our home will always be your home. No matter what life throws your way, you will be loved and accepted and we’ll eat pie! And ice cream. And you’ll wonder if that’s the only thing grandpa eats? ? pic.twitter.com/7ac8A0GVKI— Chris Schoebinger (@PUBGUY) August 19, 2022 The remarkable story of Austin and the Schoebinger family proves that when we put walls between ourselves and others, we are often blocking everyone off from more love and support. It’s Father’s Day. And as a father, I’m excited for my son to soon be a new father. Still strange to think I’ll be a grandfather. But I’m really looking forward to it. pic.twitter.com/0RZlD8cwP7— Chris Schoebinger (@PUBGUY) June 19, 2022 The emotional response to their story People on social media were incredibly moved by the story. Dozens of commenters chimed in on YouTube to express their gratitude for the families involved: “Steven’s adoptive parents are WONDERFUL! They weren’t selfish, and did what was best for STEVEN, His dad said it best—–the more love a child has, the better. His bio mom lucked out with this special couple as well, especially when they sent her the books each year! This story was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!” one user wrote. “Speaks volumes of his adoptive parents and also the love of his natural mother to make the hardest decision on earth,” another said. “Thank you for including the birth mom in the raising of your son. I’m adopted and it was a closed one. the struggle of not knowing your birth parents is real. I just spent my first Christmas in 56 years with my Ukrainian birth family. Full circle family is love. Oh what a ride!” someone added. Ultimately, Chris Schoebinger, the adoptive dad, said it best: “I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes we create barriers where barriers don’t need to be. And when we pull down those barriers, we really find love on the other side,” Chris said. This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.The post 20-year-old woman agreed to a closed adoption for her baby, then got a wonderful surprise appeared first on Upworthy.

Millennials and Gen Z truly have a sibling kind of relationship. They take turns teasing each other but in the end it’s nothing but love between the two generations. One such viral taunting involved people saying that Gen Zers have aged like milk. Several Gen Zers themselves even agreed that people often mistake them for much older than they are. But that’s neither here nor there. Gen Z eventually fired back with their own commentary about how poorly millennials age. But millennials came with receipts to prove that this was beyond untrue. Millennial Chris Bautista uploaded a pretty savage video response to these young whippersnappers explaining why they feel that way. According to Bautista, the answer is quite simple. Millennials set the bar for what aging looks like for people approaching middle age. Why millennials think they’re aging better “I’m gonna say this a little bit louder for the Gen Zers in the back that didn’t hear me the last time. Millennials look fantastic for our age and you cannot tell us otherwise,” Bautista starts. “The reason why you think we don’t look great for our ages is because we have set the new standard of what it looks like to age.” Then he pulls out the evidence. Pictures of celebrities who were the age millennials are right now when the pictures were taken. Yikes! Most millennials look nowhere near the age of the people in the pictures. Watch the video: @bautistud This needs to be said for millenials ? #millennialsoftiktok #genzvsmillenial #aging ♬ original sound – Chris Bautista Fellow millennials were quick to chime in with their guesses as to why they are the poster children for anti-aging. “It’s cause all millennials used the St. Ives peach scrub exfoliating wash and we achieved eternal youth,” someone surmised. “It’s gotta be the Flintstone vitamins,” another quipped. “I don’t know, I am 40 and got stopped at my son’s high school security guard because he thought I was a student. No one ever believes my age,” wrote a third. A fourth shared, “But seriously like what’s the reason? Cause this life has been stressful.” Experts actually have some answers There are several theories as to why the anti-aging phenomenon has occurred. None of them actually involve Flintstones vitamins or St. Ives scrubs, but they do have that signature self deprecating millennial humor. They range from being the first group heavily indoctrinated to cosmetic “tweakments,” to being depressed and therefore indoors all day, to simply having youthful energy due to never being able to truly grow up. A woman getting botox Photo credit: Canva However, according to experts, it really comes down to millennials being among the first group to take the basics seriously. By basics, we mean, sunscreen (and somehow bypassing the anti-sunscreen conspiracy theory craze via TikTok) as well as hydration (hellooooo Stanley water bottles). Plus, millennials aren’t as known to have a proclivity towards vaping, like their Gen Z counterparts. Sometimes it really comes down to the simple things. Regardless of aging it seems that the sibling banter between these two generations will remain alive and well forever and ever. This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated. The post Millennial has brilliant clapback for Gen Zers who try to say they haven’t aged well appeared first on Upworthy.

Americans’ attitudes about water have changed over the past 30 years. In the past, a common phrase on the athletic field was, “Don’t drink too much water, you’ll get a cramp,” which was partially true because of the risk for overhydration. Beyond that, the only people with water bottles were hippies. Now, people everywhere walk around with large water bottles, sometimes up to 64oz, attached to themselves like purses. It’s like people leave the house with the sincere belief that they will not be able to find potable water for the next three weeks. The hydration craze has also meant that water bottles have become trendy status symbols and markers of personal identity. Are you more of a Yeti person or a Stanley? The trend has also been passed down to our children, who are encouraged to bring water bottles to school daily. In 2024, Miss Smith from the popular Bored Teachers TikTok page had fun with the trend in a video that received over 1.5 million views. “Does anyone over 30 remember being allowed to have a water bottle in their elementary classroom?” she asks in the video. @bored_teachers Do you remember these days?! #boredteachers #teachers #teacher ♬ original sound – Bored Teachers The three-second rule Miss Smith recalls the only water she had during school back in the day was at lunch or during snack time and even then, the time she was allowed at the water fountain was limited. “You were like gulping for life at that water fountain while kids behind you were like obnoxiously counting down or being like, ‘She’s getting more than 3 seconds!'” Then, the teacher would tap you on the shoulder, and you were done. “Can you imagine if we did that to today’s kids? The emails! The calls I would get,” she continued. The funny thing is that even though kids didn’t drink much water back in the day—and if they did, it was out of a fountain—somehow they survived. Now, we’re raising an entire generation that feels compelled to lug a heavy and costly bottle with them wherever they go, fearing they will suffer from dehydration. Plenty of people remember those days well The post resonated with many folks over 30 who lived through the dry days of pre-millennium America. “I hear all the time that behavior issues have risen since we were kids; my theory is we were too dehydrated to misbehave,” one commenter joked. “We didn’t have water bottles because they also didn’t want us to ever go to the bathroom,” another added. “I don’t remember drinking water as a kid. Unless it was from a hose, it was Kool-Aid or milk. How am I still alive?” another said. Your water bottle is SO ‘2023’ The hydration craze was a news topic in early 2024 after the new, limited edition Stanley + Starbucks water bottle was released at Target stores. The frenzy over the $49.95 bottle had people camping outside Target and jumping counters to get their hands on newly designed bottles popular with younger women. @vincentmarcus Camped out at Target for the new viral pink Starbucks Stanley cup thing for my kiddo. Ridiculous? Yes. Fun? Also yes…#StanleyCup ♬ original sound – VincentMarcus The bottles promise to keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for an extended period of time. So, when you drop your daughter off at first period, her water is still cold by the time the 3:05 bell rings. Having cold water throughout the day certainly is a luxury, but does it explain the hype? Some think the hydration craze has gotten out of control, but if history has anything to say about it, trends come and go and extra hydration in fancy cups might be on the way out. This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.The post Teacher explains how ’90s kids never had water bottles in school and ‘somehow’ survived appeared first on Upworthy.