Jan. 10, 2025

In Japan you can rent an Old Man

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode, Johnny Mac shares five uplifting news stories from around the world. He begins with the heartfelt reunion of two sisters, aged 96 and 100, who were separated during WWII and reunited by the non-profit Wish of a Lifetime. Next, a startup in Trinidad and Tobago, founded by Dr. Henry, turns seaweed into low emission fuel. He also discusses a solar-powered desalination project from the University of South Australia. Additionally, Japan offers a unique service to rent elderly advisors for various activities. Lastly, Wisdom, a 74-year-old albatross, lays an egg, making headlines as the world's oldest known wild bird. Johnny Mac wraps up by promoting ad-free versions of the show and recommending other podcasts.

00:11 Reunion of Two Sisters Separated by War
01:49 Innovative Startup Turns Seaweed into Fuel
02:32 Solar-Powered Desalination Breakthrough
03:09 Renting an Elderly Companion in Japan
04:50 World's Oldest Wild Bird Lays an Egg

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5 Good News Stories is a daily podcast with five positive, uplifting news stories to brighten your day. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network

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WEBVTT

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Caalaroga Shark Media. Hey there, Johnny Mack with five good

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news stories. His first story is incredible. Two sisters, aged

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ninety six and one hundred got together for the cult

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last time. They had spent three years in separate forced

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labor camps after Nazis invaded Poland. They were separated during

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the war and weren't sure they'd ever see each other again.

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Thanks to the nonprofit Wish of a Lifetime they got

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back together. Wow. They had left their home together, but

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their four year age gap forced them apart. In nineteen

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thirty nine, Helena started a higher level of schooling at

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a different location. Barbara stayed behind to continue her classes.

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That September, Poland was overtaken by the Nazis. One day,

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Helena didn't return from her studies. She was stopped on

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the streets of Warsaw. They saw she was old enough

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to work. She was forced into a box car deposited

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into a forced labor camp in Germany. Barbara found herself

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in a work camp as well, but not the same one.

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They spent about three years in separate camps. Both were

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liberated by the Americans. They did wind up reconnecting. They

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both emigrated to the United States in nineteen forty seven.

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They visited each other often. Wish of a Lifetime is

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a nonprofit that helps elderly adults make their dreams reality.

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The sisters were able to enjoy each other's company once more,

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but they tell people they're certain it'll be their final goodbye.

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Helena said, I mean our age and our health. This

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is one hundred percent the last time. And she says,

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when you get of age, you ache and pain all

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over and you figure it's time to go. Barbara said,

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I feel that our parents are watching over us. That's

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how I feel. What an amazing story. Helena says, given

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all the cards she was dealt, she wouldn't have lived

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life any differently. That's life and somehow we survive. Wow.

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What remarkable people. A woman from Trinidad and Tobago has

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created a startup that's turning seaweed and other waste into

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low emission fuel for cars. Doctor Henry was teaching a

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sustainable energy course and said one day in class when

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we were discussing transportation, as student raised her hand and said,

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I'm seeing all these electrical vehicles around Barbadoes, but I

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can't afford an electric car. I got doctor Henry thinking, well,

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how are we gonna get people off gas if they

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can't afford electric. They wound up mixing seaweed with rum.

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Apparently rum was the key. The project could potentially remove

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one hundred and three thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide

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emissions annually in Barbados. Hope that works out for them. Meanwhile,

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they're working on figuring out how to convert seawater to

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drinking water. Researchers from the University of South Australia have

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demonstrated the potential of solar powered to evaporation as an

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energy efficient, sustainable alternative to current desalination methods, but they're

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still limited by a lower evaporation rate for seawater compared

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to pure water due to the negative effects of salt

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ions on water evaporation. The team did some science and

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I'm not smart enough to understand this, but quote the

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minerals selectively enriched magnesium and calcium ions from seawater to

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the evaporation surfaces, which boost the evaporation of seawater. The

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ion exchange process occurs spontaneously during solar evaporation, making it

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a highly convenient, cost effective I will take your word

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for it, and I'm rooting for you. Meanwhile, good news.

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If you want to rent an old man, apparently you

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can do that in Japan. Aija went to Osan Rental,

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which is quote a legal and wholesome business that allows

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older Japanese restaurants to provide guidance to visitors. Now, hold on,

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I'm all sorts of offended here. Now, I said, old man,

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and you pictured old Japanese man. How old do you

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think this guy was? Fifty eight? That's not an old man, Jo, Well,

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you're killing me here. Aija rented out fifty eight year

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old ancient Kazushi Sakarai. She said, I logged and searched

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through the older men and emailed a few. Osan rental

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is wholesome, nothing weird or legal is allowed. After several

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people replied saying they were busy, I finely got a

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yes and we got to meet him. Man at fifty eight,

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I'm surprised the guy can even move. Kazushi rents himself

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out four times a week at a rate of six

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dollars per hour. He says he doesn't need the money.

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You can hire me for life advice, financial advice, shopping,

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playing things I love this job. He retired from his

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job in finance a few years ago. I mean, I

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can't believe he worked into his fifties. This guy's ancient

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prompt him his wife to find something else to do.

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Asa went out to dinner with him and said, renting

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an older man might seem weird, but it's actually a

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way for older generations and younger generations to come together,

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provide value to one another, and learn from each other.

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Osan Rental's website says it has received a wide range

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of requests, including chatting, listening to complaints, accompanying the restaurants, sports,

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career change advice, tidying up your room, camping, correcting essays, driving,

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go to somebody with a concert, love advice, tourist information,

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taking out the trash, walking pets, and purchasing on your behalf.

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Good news. The world's oldest known wild bird has laid

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an egg. This bird is seventy four, even older than

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that ancient Japanese doe that you can rent out wisdom

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as an albatross, and was filmed by the US Fish

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and Wildlife Service out on Midway with her latest partner

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looking after the egg. Members of the species usually only

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live for like twelve to forty years, but Wisdom was

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tagged in nineteen fifty six. Her last offspring hatched in

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twenty twenty one. She's thought to have more than thirty

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chicks in her lifetime. Joe is a supervisory wildlife biologist

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at the Refuge and told the BBC he's unaware of

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any birds even close to her age, the oldest being

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forty five, and says it's really been remarkable. He says

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there's a seventy to eighty percent chance of this egg hatching.

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Albatross parents share incubation duties and once the chick hatches,

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feeding duties. Good luck to you Wisdom and Wisdom's egg.

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And those are your five good news stories for today.

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If you enjoy the program, tell a friend about it.

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They might enjoy it too. If you'd like the program

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without commercial interruption, there's a link of the show notes

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to tell you how that works. Short version five bucks

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a month. You get this one. I also host daily

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comedy news. We've got a fun one about the British

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royal family called Palace Entry. You get a bunch of others.

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Five minutes of gratitude might float your boat. You're into

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this show, so that's a link of the show notes

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there five bucks a month, no commercials. All right, have

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a great day.