Good News Thursday

Editor OGN Daily
6 hours ago
3 min read

A smorgasbord of tasty news nuggets to perk up the day.

Komodo Dragon

“This photo was captured after extensive fieldwork with the support of local rangers,” says photographer Suliman Alatiqi, one of the finalists in the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 competition. “Our focus was to shed light on the Komodo dragon’s interaction with one of its main - yet commonly overlooked - habitats: coastal shorelines. As cold-blooded animals, Komodo dragons rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature. During the scorching heat, they can be seen resting in shallow water or mud to lower their body temperature. As adept swimmers, they will also swim or walk across the seabed to expand their territorial search for food or mates.”

Take a Gander

Since its launch in 2019, the Gander app has reportedly saved over 39 million items from expiration and being sent to landfills in the UK. It alerts users to discounted items soon to expire, thereby delivering an average 26 percent waste reduction for major retailers.

Bedale Hoard

Despite their well documented reputation for pillaging and conquest, life during the Viking Age was a bit more sophisticated - financially speaking. Vikings had to pay fines and the intricacies of their financial system was even documented on silver rings. Their extraordinary wealth also had an even further reach than scholars once thought, says Popular Science. A portion of the silver from a Viking Age cache (from the late ninth or early 10th century) discovered over a decade ago in North Yorkshire, England, did not come from local raids. Instead, some of the metal made it to England from long-distance trade networks that stretched over 3,000 miles reaching as far as present day Iraq and Iran. The findings are detailed in a new study published this month in the journal Archeometry and add to a growing body of research on the complexities of the Viking economy.

FIFA 2026

Soccer Fan?

With less than a year to go until the 2026 World Cup kicks off, FIFA organizers are issuing a call for roughly 65,000 volunteers to help bring the tournament to life across North America. And the gig comes with the ultimate perk of getting to attend the event for free. For context, tickets for the late stage games at 2022’s World Cup went well beyond $1,000. From June 11 to July 19, matches will take place in 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, including major hubs such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New York, Mexico City, and Toronto.

AI Guardrails

Illinois became the first state to block AI apps from diagnosing or giving therapy advice. In addition to placing landmark guardrails on how mental health professionals can use AI to support care, the new law also closes a loophole that allows unlicensed persons to advertise themselves as “therapists.”

100 Percent Humidity?

On particularly swampy days, the meteorologist might tell you that there’s 100 percent humidity outside. While that might seem to suggest there should be nothing but rain, there may not even be a hint of drizzle. So what does it mean to reach peak humidity? Well, the percentage of humidity is not measured by the ratio of water to air. Instead, it looks at how much water vapour the air can hold at a certain temperature. When the humidity is at 100 percent, it's holding the absolute maximum; that means no more water can evaporate because the atmosphere has reached its limit.

“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.” Sara Baume

On This Day

21 August 1942: The animated film Bambi had its theatrical release in the United States, and it became a classic in the Disney canon, noted for its lush hand-drawn animation and sensitive affective narrative.