What better way to get the week off to a great start than with some uplifting news stories?
Unlimited Theatre
A theatre token from 1766 which gives the owner unlimited access to shows has been sold at auction. It is one of 50 minted tokens gifted to the first 50 shareholders of England's Bristol Old Vic theatre who helped fund its construction between 1764 and 1766. The rare silver coin was pocketed for a hammer price of £8,600 ($10,780) at Auctioneum in Bath. The local buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, told auctioneers he is a keen theatregoer who plans to use the token "at every opportunity".
Blue?
On 9 May 1889, the day after Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh moved into a psychiatric hospital, he began a painting of some flowers in the institution’s garden. The resulting Irises is now owned by the Getty Center in Los Angeles, where many contemporary viewers have seen the painting’s blue-hued flowers - but they’re seeing a distorted version. As a new exhibition illuminates, van Gogh’s irises were originally purple. Titled Ultra-Violet: New Light on Van Gogh’s Irises, the show is the result of “conservators and scientists working together” to reveal how over time, “light has irrevocably changed some of the colors in Irises,” according to the museum.
Transformational
In what it’s calling “the biggest change to the Danish landscape in over 100 years,” lawmakers in Denmark just approved a plan to plant 1 billion trees and convert 10 percent of farmland into forest and natural habitats. The plan is part of a larger, national effort to reduce fertilizer usage and the negative environmental impacts of agriculture - such as the forthcoming 'Flatulence Tax'. The government will spend $6.1 billion over the next two decades to acquire land from farmers. A large portion of the forests will be planted on low-lying soils, which are especially damaging to the climate.
A First For Tigers
The first international rewilding of tigers has taken place in Kazakhstan. They have been reintroduced to Kazakhstan's Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve, more than 70 years after they vanished from the area. Two Amur tigers (also known as Siberian tigers) were relocated from a Dutch sanctuary and released into a semi-natural enclosure. This was the first international rewilding of tigers, a move that has been supported by the WWF and Kazakh government. The project aims to rewild 50 tigers by 2035, offering hope that the species may see a resurgence.
US Clean Energy
Are you feeling jittery about the future of the U.S. clean energy transition? Consider this. Renewable energy in the U.S. has grown steadily over the last 20 years. Look at this chart of wind and solar expansion - you’d be hard-pressed to pick out where a Democratic administration ends and a Republican administration begins.
Urban Wildflowers
A new study has found that patches of wildflowers in urban areas are just as good for insects as “natural” meadows. Typically a hostile environment for wildlife, these small areas were found to have just as high a diversity of pollinators. Some insects did prefer the countryside: the number of butterflies was twice as high in natural meadows as it was in sown floral meadows, although the diversity of species was the same. No differences were found for wild bees and hoverflies. All the same, it proves the importance and effectiveness of prioritizing green space in cities.
"Okay, it's Monday but who said Mondays have to suck? Be a rebel and have a great day anyway." Kimberly Jiménez
On This Day
25 November 2002: In London the Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap celebrated its 50th anniversary with a royal gala, having opened on 25 November 1952, and this performance being its 20,807th. The Mousetrap is the longest running show, of any kind, in the world. It's still running in London today.
Today's Articles
Shopping Shift: Good news for local businesses as the young hit the streets - rather than their apps.
Mood Boosting Video
Sky Dance: Magical starling murmuration.