| TGIF, QuickTake readers! Start your weekend in high spirits with these 10 uplifting stories from the past week.  1. Face masks whizzed toward the future. A Japanese robotics startup invented a smart mask that translates dialogue into eight languages, and a Danish student designed a self-cleaning one that kills germs on contact. 2. The Finns may have discovered a hangover cure. The centuries-long quest could be over after researchers in Helsinki found a 1,200 mg dose of amino acid L-cysteine zapped alcohol-induced nausea and headaches. 3. You can bid on a huge chunk of the moon. Christie's is auctioning off rare meteorites, some of which date back 4.5 billion years, including the largest sample of the moon that's expected to fetch half a million dollars.  4. Health officials struck a chord with anti-maskers. A survey of more than 2,000 Illinois residents found that likening face coverings to helmets and seatbelts swayed 92% of respondents to mask up for added safety. 5. Mummified animals were digitally unwrapped. Using X-ray CT scans, U.K. researchers printed 3D models of an ancient Egyptian snake, a bird, and a cat, hoping to gain new insight into life 2,000 years ago.  6. Tech-savvy farmers got an efficiency boost. Australian ranchers are receiving extra help from cattle-herding drones that allow a single worker to safely corral as many as 1,000 animals with just a flick of their thumbs. 7. Scientists achieved a zoological breakthrough. A Somali elephant shrew was spotted for the first time since 1969 in Africa, and marine biologists discovered 30 new sea creature species near the Galapagos.  8. A new computer font stood up to cyberbullies. A Scandinavian IT firm developed Polite Type, a tool made to neutralize online hate speech that rewrites or blurs hateful words and those without a literal translation. 9. It snowed chocolate in Switzerland. Strong winds mixed with a defect in the cooling system at a Swiss chocolate plant sent flecks of fine cocoa powder into the air, leaving a fudge-colored dusting on cars and streets. 10. A museum ushered in a new era of healing. Houston's Museum of African American Culture put on display a 1908 Confederate statue taken down in June to help Black Americans confront slavery's painful legacy.  Have a great weekend! Watch your inbox for our next newsletter on Monday. Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
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