The week's good news: October 1, 2020

1. After being laid off, Tampa father invents a safe sanitizer for shopping carts

Over the last several months, Adam Labadie has spent 15 hours a day on his computer and in his garage, creating an invention that will help the environment while keeping people healthy. Labadie, a father of two from Tampa, was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic. While at the grocery store, he saw a trash can overflowing with wipes used to sanitize shopping carts, and he recalled seeing the same wipes in the ocean while he went snorkeling. "I wanted to find another solution," Labadie told WFTS. He decided to create a sanitation device that would eliminate the need for wipes, and the Arch Cart Sanitizer was born. His invention uses an organic, FDA and EPA approved solution that kills COVID-19, Labadie said, and he's working on getting it to national supermarket chains for demos, with the hope it will be in use at stores by November or December.

WFTS

2. Italian couple set to wed after falling in love from their balconies

It was love at first sight for Michele D'Alpaos and Paola Agnelli. D'Alpaos and Agnelli have lived across from each other in Verona, Italy, for years, but didn't "meet" until D'Alpaos saw Agnelli on her balcony one evening in mid-March. "I was immediately struck by the beauty of this girl, by her smile," D'Alpaos told The Washington Post. "I had to know her." Agnelli said when D'Alpaos caught her eye, it was "a magical moment." D'Alpaos' sister knew Agnelli from their gym, and gave him her name. He started a conversation with her on Instagram, and they were soon texting and chatting on the phone. Agnelli said they felt an immediate connection, and as they got to know each other, she learned they shared "the values you could build a relationship on." In May, the coronavirus lockdown in Verona was lifted, and they met at a park for their first in-person date. They are now engaged, and looking forward to their wedding.

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The Washington Post

3. Researchers believe they've detected 3 hidden lakes under Mars' icy surface

The same scientists who reported in 2018 that they likely discovered a large saltwater lake under the ice on Mars' south pole believe they have found three additional lakes in the same area. The researchers published their findings Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. The scientists used radar data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, which was collected by its Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS). MARSIS sent out radio waves that bounced off the surface and subsurface layers of Mars, and the scientists were able to determine the material present at each location based on how the signal reflected back. The high reflectivity indicated there were bodies of liquid water trapped about a mile beneath the ice, Nature reports. For their study, the researchers used 134 observations from 2012 to 2019.

Nature

4. Arkansas man learns the 'interesting and shiny' crystal he found is a 9.07-carat diamond

Kevin Kinard has visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park numerous times, and "never in a million years" did he dream that he would end up finding a 9.07-carat diamond. On Labor Day, Kinard went to the park with friends, and after sifting for 10 minutes, he went for a walk. While doing some surface searching, Kinard spotted a crystal the size of a marble. "It kind of looked interesting and shiny, so I put it in my bag and kept searching," Kinard said in a press release. At Crater of Diamonds State Park, visitors hunt for gemstones on the eroded surface of a volcanic crater, and workers at the Diamond Discovery Center help identify what they pick up. Kinard said he was in "complete shock" when they told him he had a 9.07-carat diamond — the second-largest ever found in the park's 48-year history. Kinard named his discovery the Kinard Friendship Diamond.

Arkansas State Parks

5. Couple poses for 60th anniversary photos wearing their original wedding attire

To celebrate 60 years of marriage, Lucille and Marvin Stone put on the same dress and tuxedo they wore to tie the knot and smiled for the camera. Lucille, 81, and Marvin, 88, live in Kearney, Nebraska, and met while working at the same high school — she taught home economics, he taught math, English, and geometry. They married on Aug. 21, 1960, with Lucille donning a white lace dress that she made by hand. For their anniversary this summer, they called local photographer Katie Autry and asked if she would take pictures of them in their original wedding attire. "Being in their space, you could see how much they care about each other and that's a rare thing to find," Autry told Good Morning America. The Stones have three children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, and Lucille told ABC News while "we've had some disagreements, on the big things, we're pretty much on the same track."

Good Morning America