🐾 This butt-wiggling pit bull was almost euthanized. Now he’s a police officer.

Meet Ron, the narc-sniffing pit bull changing K-9 history.

Pit bulls get such a bad rap that some places won’t even let you rent with one. But Ron’s proof that it’s all nonsense.

He was days from being euthanized when a toy-obsessed job posting saved his life. As Ryan Reed reports, it took a small army of believers, a few unconventional tests, and a foster home willing to bet on a blocky-headed underdog. And now, Ron is a certified narcotics K-9 in New Jersey.

Even his new handler, once skeptical of bully breeds, now calls Ron “the total package.” In an industry dominated by German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, Ron is busting both drug dealers and breed stereotypes. His secret weapon? Sheer joy.

Image of the day

And what did we learn?

We shared five attempted tax deductions that broke all the rules. Which, of course, got me wondering about you, GOOD readers. Where on the shady to Eagle Scout scale do you fall? 46% of you? Upstanding outsourcers.

• I lie my backside off. It's my patriotic duty! (4.4%)

• I keep fastidious records and file like a pro. (17.8%)

• I hire a pro and sign the check with my eyes closed. (46.7%)

• I do my best and pray the audit never comes. (31.1%)

Since statistically, at least 3 IRS employees read this newsletter, I’m going to pretend to be a member of this cohort myself.

🚿 Foggy glass, fleshy silhouettes, and the viral war on hotel bathrooms

TikTok’s latest hero is fighting for your right to pee in peace.

At some point, people get bored with their jobs and start getting creative just to feel something. That’s how we ended up with fridges that talk back, light switches that need apps, and, apparently, bathrooms without doors.

As TikToker Sadie (@bring_back_doors) points out, hotel designers have taken “open concept” a little too literally. Her viral videos spotlight an alarming trend in “modern” hotel rooms: glass walls, foggy partitions, and zero actual privacy.

In this story by Erik Barnes, we learn how Sadie’s lighthearted protest has struck a nerve and how she’s turning it into a movement. Her website, BringBackDoors.com, catalogs which hotels still respect your right to close the door on the world, at least for a few minutes.

🌊 A lost continent, a salty explorer, and a 375-year-old mystery

In this story from the GOOD Vault, a 17th-century explorer meets mystery, miscommunication, and one very real hidden continent.

In 1642, Dutch captain Abel Tasman was sailing under orders to find a “Great Southern Land.” When he reached shore near what is now known as New Zealand, his crew attempted to make contact with the Māori people. The meeting went… poorly. Several sailors were killed, Tasman retreated, and he marked the site on his map as Moordenaers Bay (“Murderers Bay”).

Centuries later, scientists realized the land Tasman charted wasn’t just an island, it was part of an enormous, mostly submerged continent now known as Zealandia. Stretching nearly 4.9 million square kilometers beneath the South Pacific, it’s six times the size of Madagascar and about 95% underwater.

Be sure to read the whole story. We’ve collected images showing what those first maps looked like, how scientists actually proved a continent was hiding under the ocean, and the stunning visuals that bring it all to life.

Imagine trusting the media so much that a Halloween-eve radio play about invading Martians could send you into a full-blown panic. That’s what supposedly happened 87 years ago today, when 23-year-old Orson Welles aired his now-legendary broadcast of War of the Worlds.

Except… it didn’t. Not like that. While the Mercury Theatre’s faux “breaking news” format did rattle some listeners, the myth of nationwide hysteria was mostly built after the fact, fueled by sensational headlines (can you even imagine?), rival networks, and a touch of Wellesian flair. What it did spark was a national reckoning with media responsibility, and a legacy of disclaimers that live on every time your true crime podcast whispers: “the following is a dramatization.”

Of course, today trust in media has fallen so far that real reporting on a Martian invasion would be met with a shrug and a swipe to the next clip.

Do you have something GOOD to share?

We’re always on the lookout for uplifting, enlightening, and engaging content to share with readers like you. If you have something you think should be featured in the Daily GOOD, let me know!

💬 From the group text…

Becoming an adult happens to all of us, but it hits hard in the land of Charlie Brown.

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