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The Good News Podcast is your thrice weekly reminder that not all news is bad.
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Hi, I'm Neil, the host of the Good news podcast.
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This is your source for good news, fun stories and Sonic Joy.
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All of this goodness is coming to you from beautiful Chicago, Illinois.
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Today's good news comes to us from the state of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Pikelot Atoll, which is a tiny little slip of land about 30 acres that is 415 miles southeast of Guam where three sailors were rescued in a very cinematic fashion.
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Three fishermen apparently all related to each other, but as of this moment, unidentified, went out on a fishing trip from a neighboring island, ran into some trouble with their boat in rough seas and ended up stranded on this tiny but absolutely beautiful deserted island.
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For more than a week, the trio survived on coconuts and they luckily discovered a well that had been dug on the island after a concerted effort from a number of different organizations in the area, a coast guard plane noticed that someone had spelled out the word help in palm fronds on a beach and that is how these three sailors were discovered.
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It took about a day for them to get picked up off the island.
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But when they were picked up, they were pretty much perfectly healthy, just a little bit dehydrated for all the ways.
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This could have ended up a week on a deserted island, munching on coconuts and drinking water from an abandoned well, is a pretty good outcome.
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When I was researching this story, it turns out something very similar happened about four years ago.
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Three missing sailors used the same technique and spelled out S OS on the beach and they too were rescued.
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So this little atoll is either a perfect place to head out for a fishing trip or it has some sort of mystical draw that keeps stranding sailors either way.
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I think it is very good news that both of these trios of sailors were rescued after using that classic movie trope of spelling out help or S os out on the beach.
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Something to keep in mind if you plan on doing any Micronesian island hopping this summer for vacation.
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That's the good news I have for you today.
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Enjoy the rest of your day.
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Thanks for listening.
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If you've got good news or an idea for the show, amazing.
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Send an email to.
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The music you hear on the show is from Paddington Bear.
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Have a great day.