Good Afternoon! 🌞

Today is National Sisters Day—a sweet reminder of the bond that goes beyond age, distance, and who got the bigger slice of cake. Whether you grew up sharing bunk beds, secrets, or just a deep-rooted connection, sisters have a way of knowing us better than we know ourselves.

Biological or chosen, young or grown, loud or low-key—here’s to the sisters who’ve been by our side through it all. Let’s carry that love into today’s edition!

Innovation

Roofie Radar Tattoo

A new tattoo-style sticker could soon offer a powerful defense against drink spiking—detecting the presence of GHB, commonly known as a “roofie,” in less than a second. Developed by researchers in South Korea, the temporary skin-worn patch reacts instantly to even trace amounts of γ-hydroxybutyrate, a tasteless, odorless substance often used in drug-facilitated assaults. Unlike existing drink-testing cards or strips, which can be slow and conspicuous, this sticker offers a discreet, near-instant solution.

To create the sticker, researchers embedded a special chemical receptor into a gel applied over tattoo-style film. When exposed to GHB, the receptor turns red—providing a clear, visual alert. A thin layer of diluted glue on the back allows the patch to stick to skin just like a temporary tattoo. “In practice, a wearer could dip a finger into a beverage, touch the drop to the sticker and see the result almost immediately,” said Dr. Kyong-Cheol Ko of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Tests across various drinks—including vodka, beer, whiskey, and coffee—showed the patch could detect as little as 0.01 micrograms of GHB per milliliter, far below dangerous levels.

One standout feature is the sticker’s ability to retain the visual indicator for up to 30 days, which could be critical if the detection needs to serve as evidence of tampering. The findings, published in ACS Sensors, highlight the potential of this low-cost, easy-to-use technology to enhance personal safety in social settings. Funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the sticker could be commercially available soon—marking a major step forward in preventing drug-related drink spiking.

Entertainment

August Movie Recommendations

August is coming in hot with some heavy hitters—epics, espionage, and eerie prequels all on the menu. Here's what to watch (and what already dropped this week, in case you're behind):

✅ Already Streaming

1. Chief of War (Apple TV+)
Jason Momoa's 18th-century Hawaiian war drama finally landed. He co-created and stars as Ka'iana, a warrior fighting to unite the islands before colonizers do their thing. The vibe is Shogun-meets-Polynesia, with Momoa speaking Olelo and swinging for legacy TV.

2. Eyes of Wakanda (Disney+)
Ryan Coogler's animated Black Panther spin-off launched with time-hopping Wakandan warriors on a global scavenger hunt for stolen vibranium. Each episode stands alone—ancient Greece, Dora Milaje, spy plots, the works.

📆 Coming Soon

3. Wednesday – Season 2 (Netflix, 6 August)
Jenna Ortega is back in black. The Nevermore gang returns with new cast: Joanna Lumley as Morticia’s glam mom, Billie Piper as a werewolf mentor, and Steve Buscemi meme’ing it up as the new headmaster. Tim Burton directs. Gaga doesn’t show up till September.

4. Outlander: Blood of My Blood
(Starz US, 8 August / MGM+ UK, 9 August)
The Outlander prequel dials back the clock to Claire and Jamie’s parents’ love stories—plus some time travel chaos for good measure. Fans say the casting's a dead ringer for the originals. Still steamy, still Scottish.

5. Alien: Earth
(Hulu US, 12 August / Disney+ UK, 13 August)
Noah Hawley brings his Fargo brain to the Alien universe. It’s 2120, xenomorphs hit Earth, and a terminally ill girl inside a robot body becomes humanity’s weirdest hope. Timothy Olyphant plays her AI mentor. Biotech horror with some existential dread on the side.

6. Butterfly (Prime Video, 13 August)
Daniel Dae Kim plays an ex-intel agent hunting down the daughter he thought he lost—only to find she’s now a killer for a shady group he started. Family drama with high-stakes shootouts. Kim also produced this one, calling it a “lifelong dream.”

7. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox
(Hulu US / Disney+ UK, 20 August)
Grace Van Patten plays Knox in this dramatized take on the real case. Murder, trials, media circus—the works. From a This Is Us writer, so expect emotional whiplash. Sharon Horgan plays the mom.

8. Hostage (Netflix, 21 August)
Suranne Jones is the British PM, Julie Delpy the French President. Then the PM’s husband gets kidnapped mid-state visit and the blackmail starts flying. Explosions, ultimatums, and two women not here for the drama.

9. Long Story Short (Netflix, 22 August)
The BoJack Horseman creator trades animals for humans in this animated family dramedy. Siblings fight their childhood ghosts and each other—often in the back seat of a car. It’s still sharp, just less existential despair.

10. The Terminal List: Dark Wolf (Prime Video, 27 August)
A prequel for the fans. Taylor Kitsch gets the spotlight as Ben Edwards, years before the events of The Terminal List. Chris Pratt pops in, the guns are big, and the moral lines blur fast.

Lifestyle

Dialing Back Time

In a remote stretch of Vermont where cell service drops off for miles, one man is reviving a forgotten piece of infrastructure: the pay phone. Patrick Schlott, an airplane engineer, noticed that residents and passersby in his community had no way to call for help in emergencies. So he took matters into his own hands—purchasing a used pay phone online for around $100 to $500, connecting it via a digital-to-analog converter, and installing it outside the North Turnbridge General Store. No coins, no credit cards—just a free, working phone.

“Everyone’s pretty surprised,” said store owner Mike Gross. “They’re like, ‘Is that a real pay phone? Does that really work?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t cost any money now.’” Locals have already used the phone in all kinds of situations—from car trouble and ride requests to simple check-ins. The idea quickly gained traction, leading to more installations at the Latham Library in Thetford and a roadside booth near Interstate 89 in Randolph.

Though the calls are free for users, the system isn’t without cost. Schlott pays $2–$3 a month per phone for the line, about $5 for call usage, and serves as the network’s live operator. When someone dials “0,” it routes through a privacy-protecting app directly to his personal phone. Just last month, the Latham phone alone logged 370 calls—many from students needing a ride. For now, Schlott’s running the system on spare parts, personal funds, and a healthy dose of goodwill. But with some outside support, he hopes to scale up what he calls an “analog lifeline” for the modern age.

Support Daily Upsider!

Help our mission to share positive, meaningful news! Your support keeps us going without the need to bombard you with annoying ads!

Mind Stretchers

⁉️

I have a handle but I’m not a door,
I have teeth but I don’t roar.
I help you eat, but never talk—
What am I, with every poke and stalk?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

What is in seasons, seconds, centuries and minutes but not in decades, years or days? — N! Albert Knox got this correct first! ☀️ 

The first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured