---
title: "Today's Kindness"
url: https://magnanimo.us/daily/
description: "A true, sourced story of generosity every day, from history and the science of giving, plus one small act of kindness you can do today."
type: collection
section: "Today's Kindness"
published: 2026-10-20
updated: 2026-10-21
author: The Magnanimous Editors
publisher: Magnanimous (https://magnanimo.us/)
---
A new entry every morning · 1 so far

# Today's Kindness

One true, sourced story of generosity each day — from history, the science of giving and giving traditions around the world — and one small thing you can do about it today.

By [The Magnanimous Editors](https://magnanimo.us/about/#editors) · Updated October 21, 2026 · [Subscribe via RSS](https://magnanimo.us/feed.xml)

Today · Wednesday, October 21, 2026 · Science of giving

## [The "helper's high": where the phrase came from, and what the science of giving actually shows](https://magnanimo.us/daily/2026-10-21-helpers-high/)

A volunteer survey gave us the phrase, a $5-or-$20 experiment made it famous, and the replications say: real, but smaller than the hype.

Today's act

Spend $5 on someone else today, a coffee, a snack or a small treat, and notice how you feel that evening.

[Read today's story](https://magnanimo.us/daily/2026-10-21-helpers-high/)

The archive, newest first

## October 2026

1. 21Wed

Science of giving

### [The "helper's high": where the phrase came from, and what the science of giving actually shows](https://magnanimo.us/daily/2026-10-21-helpers-high/)

A volunteer survey gave us the phrase, a $5-or-$20 experiment made it famous, and the replications say: real, but smaller than the hype.

## How Today's Kindness works

Each entry is researched and written by The Magnanimous Editors and published at midnight Pacific time. Every number, date, quote and study finding links to its source, listed again at the end of the entry. Stories about real people come from documented accounts; where details are disputed, we say so. Read more about our [editorial standards](https://magnanimo.us/about/#standards).

Want to go further than one act a day? Our guides cover [vetting a charity](https://magnanimo.us/how-to-vet-a-charity/), [what food banks need](https://magnanimo.us/donate-to-food-banks/) and [75 kindness ideas](https://magnanimo.us/random-acts-of-kindness-ideas/), and the [kindness generator](https://magnanimo.us/kindness-generator/) will hand you a random one.