A giant potato, sleepy pets and the best cheese in the world

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A giant potato, sleepy pets and the best cheese in the world

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November 6, 2021

Halloween is over, which means it's officially time for the holidays! Wait -- what about Thanksgiving? You'd think from all of the lights and trappings and boughs of holly going up everywhere, Thanksgiving didn't even exist. My deepest apologies to the few and the proud out there who prefer Turkey Day over all things merry and bright. I know y'all exist! And frankly, while Thanksgiving deserves its own fanfare, it's hard to not want to put up a Christmas tree or deck the halls far before December rolls around. Maybe we need another month in between, just to enjoy all the decorations and anticipation a little bit longer.

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

The big cheese
Obviously, thinking about Thanksgiving has put food on the brain, and we have SEVERAL excellent culinary stories this week. Let's start with the first place winner of the World Cheese Awards. Yes, there is such a thing as the best cheese in the world, and this year it's a soft goat cheese from Spain. The cheese, called Olavidia, is from an artisan cheesemaker in the southern Spanish town of Jaen nicknamed Quesos y Besos. ("Cheeses and Kisses." Adorable!) One judge said the cheese had a "rich, seductive, creamy texture" and that he "just wanted to go to bed with it," which is a completely understandable reaction to good cheese. Silvia Pelaez, one of the owners of the winning cheese producer, said their operation has only six employees. "Daily labor has its reward," she added.

A winning strategy
Chess is sometimes called "The Game of Life," and eager children in Makoko, the floating slum in Lagos, Nigeria, are learning about each in equal measure. Chess master Tunde Onakoya founded "Chess in Slums Africa" in 2018 to teach poor children a game that has it all: problem solving, strategy, and pride. The group's posts get a lot of attention on social media, and with that, lots of supporters who want these promising young minds to shine. Other incredible chess opportunities are blossoming across the African continent as well. There are 46 countries in Africa with strong chess communities, according to the African Chess Federation. Since 2014, the continent has produced six new grandmasters -- the highest title one can achieve in the game.

Space tacos!
Remember when we told you about astronauts growing chile peppers in space for the first time? Well, they're ready to eat, and the crew at the International Space Station finally had a chance to taste test the historic harvest. Of course, what better way to savor literally-out-of-this-world hatch chiles than on tacos? Astronaut Megan McArthur (above) said she enjoyed her chiles with beef and rehydrated tomatoes and artichokes. Delicious! The success of the experiment has multiple scientific implications for the future of astronaut nutrition and long-duration space missions. For that reason, some of the chiles will be taken back to Earth and tested. The others will be left on the ISS to grow and hopefully provide even more space taco party spice in the future.

A round of applause for ...

Jayline Barbosa Brandão, a 9-year-old in Brockton, Massachusetts, who is being praised for helping save her family after her parents were overcome by carbon monoxide from a generator they had borrowed after the powerful nor'easter that swept through the area. Jayline heard her father calling for help, and rushed to his side just as he was overcome by the gas along with her mother. She grabbed his phone to call 911. It was locked, but she managed to hold it up to her dad's face to unlock it via Face ID and call for help. Five people from her house were treated at the hospital, and everyone's doing well. Jayline's parents say they don't know what would have happened if she wasn't such a quick thinker.

You gotta see this

Photo credit: Donna Craig-Brown/AP

I am a simple woman, and this story about a massive potato named Doug is by far the best thing I've seen this week. Look, the owners took it on a photo shoot! It's so big! Frankly, I can't 100% guarantee that it's not at least a little bit alive. Anyway, this is Doug, a 17.4-lb potato that was grown in Ngāhinapōuri in New Zealand's Waikato region. Colin and Donna Craig-Brown, who grew Doug, said they weren't even trying to grow a potato. "I didn't know what he was till I jammed the garden fork into him and dragged him out of the ground and gave him a bit of a scratch and a poke and tasted him," Colin Craig-Brown said. (Everything this couple says about their tuber son is gold; you should read the whole article.) The anthropomorphic potato is so large, it may weigh in as the biggest potato in the world. However, the Craig-Browns have some big plans for Doug once his official status is cemented. "We'll have a wake for him and we'll all toast Doug with the vodka that I'm going to make out of him," Craig-Brown said. A beautiful life, from beginning to end.

Heroes among us

CNN has chosen the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2021! For the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting each of these incredible people who are using their unique skills and experiences to make the world a better place. Voting is now open to determine the CNN Hero of the Year, so be sure to read about each one here and cast your vote before the big reveal in December!

Hector Guadalupe knows how far fitness can go in improving self-esteem -- and lives. After years of hardship, Guadalupe ended up spending 10 years in prison. There, he became obsessed with fitness and got certified as a personal trainer. When he got out in 2017, he worked nonstop to establish himself on the fitness scene, and now runs A Second U Foundation, which helps formerly incarcerated men and women get certified as personal trainers and build careers in the fitness industry. Read Hector's story here.

Lynda Doughty, a marine biologist who grew up in coastal Maine, has turned a lifetime of loving marine wildlife into a force for good. Since 2011, her nonprofit, Marine Mammals of Maine, has provided response efforts, assistance and medical care for more than 3,000 marine animals. The group also has federal authorization to provide temporary care for critically ill and injured seals. Along with veterinarians, the group's experts and volunteers also collect critical data about the area's precious marine life. Read Lynda's story here.

Wanna get away?

Trying to pick the most beautiful town in Europe, or any continent, is like trying to pick the most beautiful rose in a field of flowers. But the jet-setters at CNN Travel have selected some true gems, from the deep blue waters of a Norwegian island to sophisticated stops in Portugal and Poland. This view from Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzigovina, is particularly enchanting. Mostar's Stari Most, or "Old Bridge," arcs over the Neretva river to frame one of the most famous sights in the Balkans. The bridge was built by the Ottomans in the 16th Century and was long considered one of the finest examples of Balkan Islamic architecture. It was destroyed in 1993 but rebuilt in 2004 to bring new life to this beloved regional destination.

For your health

Does your pet sleep in bed with you? (Confession: My dog does, and somehow takes up more space in a king-sized bed than the two humans he shares it with.) So does Norbert , a meticulously groomed, social media-famous indoor potbellied pig, shown above. Dr. Dana Varble, the chief veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary Community, says pets who share their human's bed tend to have a "higher trust level and a tighter bond with the humans that are in their lives." The question is, is it great for you, the person who actually has to get up and make money and provide all of the necessities and luxuries your beloved creature never considers? Well, the short answer is no, thanks to little disruptions in sleep patterns called "microawakenings." Is that going to stop people? Probably also no.

Rec of the week

Brought to you by CNN Underscored

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Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

We will ignore that, on the whole, koalas are aggressive and alarmingly syphilitic, and the fact that if the light hits them just right, their cute little eyes glow red. Think nothing of that, and enjoy this video of a hungry baby koala with peace in your heart! (Click here to view)