@GOOD Asks: What’s Your Favorite Way to Escape Technology?

Yesterday on Twitter and Facebook, we asked our friends: What is your favorite way to escape technology? We ask a question to our Twitter and Facebook faithful once a day, so if you’re not yet following @GOOD or a fan, make sure to sign up and participate in the conversation. Check out what our Twitter…

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Good Is

Sep 10, 2010

By Good Is

September 10, 2010

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Yesterday on Twitter and Facebook, we asked our friends: What is your favorite way to escape technology? We ask a question to our Twitter and Facebook faithful once a day, so if you’re not yet following @GOOD or a fan, make sure to sign up and participate in the conversation.

Check out what our Twitter followers had in mind:

And here is what our Facebook buddies had to say:

We want to hear from you. What is your favorite way to escape technology? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Photo credit: Canva – Get the excitement of shopping without spending money.

Money, Smart Spending

South Korea creates a website allows you pretend to order take-out to get the dopamine rush without spending a dime

Click “Buy” without purchasing anything.

Erik Barnes

7/13/2026

Have you ever done “retail therapy”? You feel stressed and overwhelmed so you decide to shop for some clothes or order food from an app? Sure, it can help you feel better in the moment, but not if you’re trying to save money. But what if you could get the same feeling of anticipation and the feel-good experience of shopping without spending anything? South Korea cooked up a solution.

One of the latest trends that started in South Korea and is turning global are what are being called “dopamine sites.” These websites and apps provide realistic-looking digital storefronts that allow a person to add items to their cart, a fake credit card to fill out orders, and even simulate delivery trackers. The store, items, and everything about the transaction is fake but your brain gets that dopamine hit anyway.

One example of this is FoodNeverComes, a fake delivery app in the vein of DoorDash and UberEats. The app is full of different eye-catching pictures of food to “order” like in those apps, allowing you to pick and choose. Users have said this app allows them to satisfy late-night cravings and get that feel-good buzz of ordering takeout without actually buying anything. If a person really does want a dish that’s on the app, FoodNeverComes provides a recipe so users can make it at home if they really want it.

Abandoning the cart, feeling good anyway

So why are people feeling the emotional payoff of making a purchase without actually buying anything? The psychology behind it is similar to the feeling some people get when they visit a website, add a bunch of items into the cart, and then abandon it. Psychologists found that anticipation of receiving an item is what triggers a better mood rather than actually having it in hand.

Psychologist Dr. Deborah Ko explains in a video that this is due to what she called the endowment effect. She explains that putting items in a digital cart allows a person to feel like they “have” those items. Once you “have” those items it makes your brain already feel like you own it.

“It was the act of shopping that was the reward, not the product itself,” she says.

These dopamine sites and apps simulate all of that and allow the brain to get that hit but eliminate the temptation and consequences of hitting the “buy” button.

Are these dopamine sites good?

Many psychologists are mixed as to whether these dopamine sites are beneficial. On one hand, it could help a person who regularly impulse buys food or products they cannot afford while also satisfying that urge. It could also help people adopt better habits while still keeping certain rituals.

For example, let’s say a person who typically orders pizza every Friday but wants to eat better or save money by removing that weekend-starting ritual. They could possibly benefit from “ordering” pizza through these fake food delivery apps. It will allow them to go through the motions and get that dopamine hit while they hit their fitness or financial goals.

On the other hand, some argue using these dopamine sites won’t address certain harmful compulsive behaviors. They say that these apps and sites could just act as placebos and substitutes rather than truly address troubling issues.

Whether an app or something like these dopamine sites can help or not, it is still important to learn, know, and discern how to best use the money you do have in real life.

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Photo credit: Canva – A young hero rises to the occasion.

Local, News

11-year-old Kentuckian rescues man drowning in apartment complex pool

The boy’s quick actions saved a life.

Erik Barnes

7/9/2026

An 11-year-old boy in Kentucky is being praised for rescuing a man from drowning in a pool at an apartment complex.

Avory Woolery spotted the man at the bottom of the pool. The man appeared distressed and that’s when Woolery dove into action.

“There was this man in the pool, like unconscious underwater, almost shaking, maybe, and my adrenaline kicked in,” Woolery told WKYT-TV. “I went underwater, I grabbed him up, his friend, I believe, put him on the floor and started doing CPR on him to try and save him the best he could, until somebody called 9-1-1.”

‘He’s a human being’

When asked why he took initiative, Woolery said that he dove in to get the man because no one else appeared to notice the drowning man’s plight.

“No one was doing anything, so I put on my goggles. I went underwater,” Avory said. “I grabbed him up and I just felt really bad because there was no way that I was going to let another man die today. He’s a human being. He should be treated as such.”

As Woolery noted, another person performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived. The Lexington Fire Department said the man was taken to a local hospital and is still in serious condition. While still hospitalized, worse could’ve occurred if young Avory didn’t intervene.

Fatherly pride

Sean Woolery, Avory’s father, was proud of how his son was able to calmly and quickly react to the situation.

“I’m proud of him. Somebody, when I was walking up here, somebody said, ‘Thank you, you taught him how to swim,’” he said.

A life was saved thanks to young Avory being able to notice signs of drowning and staying calm under pressure during a dangerous situation.

How to spot a drowning victim

While many public pools and beaches have lifeguards, it’s still important to recognize the signs someone is drowning so you can get them the proper help. After all, that’s what Avory did.

But the signs of someone drowning don’t necessarily match the ones that are seen on television or film. Many drowning victims are unable to yell for help, loudly splash, or grab attention since water is gathering into their lungs.

The Red Cross offers some more accurate signs of someone drowning along with tips to help them. A distressed swimmer/drowning victim will look like they’re having trouble making forward progress in the water. They’ll likely appear vertical and unable to tread water. They may look like they’re struggling to keep their mouth and nose above water. They could also appear motionless and face down in the water.

What to do if you see someone drowning

Should you see these signs, yell at the person to see if they can respond. Alert the lifeguards (if present) and have someone call 911 immediately. If there is no lifeguard, it’s recommended to get the person out of the water the safest way possible without going in. This means offering flotation devices like life jackets or buoys for the drowning person to grab.

There’s a reason why it’s usually not recommended to swim to rescue a drowning person. It’s because if they are conscious, the drowning person could instinctually grab at you. They could accidentally pull you down underwater with them. While Avory did swim to save that man, the victim was unconscious. It was an extreme situation in which trained professionals weren’t present.

If swimming is the only option, it’s recommended to swim to the victim with a flotation device in hand for them to grab onto without touching them. This can allow you both to stay afloat with less struggle. That said, it is always best to wait for water safety professionals to act first if at all possible. The Red Cross has some other water safety tips to follow that could save lives and prevent common drowning incidents.

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Photo credit: Canva – Donkeys and other livestock could help prevent mass wildfires.

Environment, Science

A Spanish park has been free of wildfires for over a decade thanks to 18 donkeys

Gnawing our way to a wildfire solution.

Erik Barnes

7/9/2026

According to NASA, wildfires have doubled worldwide due to climate change. Throughout the globe, governments and environmentalists have been trying to find ways to curb the fires. One particular national park in Spain has found a solution that has been keeping them fire-free for over a decade: donkeys.

Since 2014, the Firefighting Donkey Battalion unit consisting of 18 donkeys has been preventing wildfires in Doñana National Park in Doñana, Spain. The mission these donkeys do is simple: eat the dry brush that usually sparks and fuels wildfires. The donkeys spend up to seven hours a day using their voracious appetites to graze and clear a 130 by 50 feet area of dried grass, scrub, and other vegetation.

Why donkeys?

While humans can do this type of clearing out of dry brush, using donkeys for this work is arguably more effective. While it is a slower process, it is consistent and thorough. Donkeys are able to quietly patrol in areas that are inaccessible to vehicles. In exchange for the feasting, the donkeys get about eight gallons of water and rest. No money or fuel needed.

The donkeys’ bodies are also pretty much built for this kind of environmental work, too. Their stomachs are built to eat the same rough and dry grass repeatedly without issues. These daily grazings slowly but surely remove potential origin sources for fires. As a bonus, the donkeys are naturally disposing of the dried vegetation whereas humans would have to find a different way to dispose of it.

Having donkeys or other livestock graze in such areas was once more common in agriculture prior to modern farming. Some argue that the machinization of farming and urbanization have reduced the number of grazing animals. This in turn allows more vegetation growth that become dry spots for more wildfires to occur.

The method expands

This method has been so successful that other areas of Spain have adopted it. In 2020, Tivissa launched the Burros Bomberos project with three donkeys to so much success they’ve expanded. They now have 40 donkeys grazing and clearing nearly 400 hectares of land.

The Andrea Association in Allariz uses a team of donkeys to clear and maintain nearly 1,000 hectares of a biosphere reserve. Using GPS to monitor the donkeys’ activity, the group of grazers travel 19 kilometers per day to feed. Similar initiatives have since started in Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia, too.

Other ways to combat wildfires

In the United States, California has been using goats in a similar function. The group Fire Grazers Inc. has been contacted throughout California to bring hundreds of goats to eat dried vegetation. Much like donkeys, goats are built to eat rough and dry brush. This includes certain plants such as star thistle that are painful for human hands to grab.

It’s important to note that donkeys or other animals that eat dry scrub are the primary solution to wildfires. The same folks behind these initiatives also advocate proper forest planning and land management. This includes reducing the amount of easily flammable species of plants and trees such as pine. It takes thought, care, work, and maybe a bunch of donkeys to make a difference.

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