Happy News Tuesday
Today's tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news from around the world.
Fish Face
As you can see, Sumire Kamiya's selfie was brilliantly photobombed by a pufferfish off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Ms. Kamiya, from Japan, hilariously commented: "I couldn't believe how perfectly the fish's face matched mine!"
Gallup on US Sports
Football remains Americans’ favorite sport to watch, by a wide margin, although the 31% who name it as their favorite is the lowest since 2001. Meanwhile, 9% of Americans identify soccer as their favorite sport, the highest Gallup has measured by two percentage points. Soccer now is nearly on par with basketball (11%) and baseball (10%). The next tier of sports, chosen by between 2% and 4% of Americans, includes ice hockey, volleyball, auto racing and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Morocco is Building The World's Largest Football Stadium: Morocco will host the 2030 FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history, alongside Spain and Portugal, and the African nation is going all out to impress.
President Bench-Press
Presidents are, most of the time, stately figures who offer polite handshakes and placating speeches. But once in a while, these figures let loose, showing us the humans behind the manicured public persona. The latest case is that of Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, the Mongolian president. During a visit to a military unit, Khürelsükh confidently performed some impressive bench presses, surprising everyone in the room. Khürelsükh greeted the soldiers and decided to join their training. Since he was wearing a suit, he took off his jacket and decided to lift some weights. The president then effortlessly bench-pressed 100 kilograms, or about 220 pounds, for 20 repetitions.
Free School Meals
England widens free school meals to another half a million children. Any household receiving Universal Credit now automatically qualifies, ending what campaigners called a postcode lottery that left eligibility inconsistent across councils.
Giving Back
A woman has been buried in a coffin made from mushrooms in an eco-friendly first for Australia. Carolyn, whose surname was withheld for privacy reasons, was laid to rest by friends and family at Springwood Cemetery in the Blue Mountains. She was aged in her 70s. The mushroom coffin, created by the Dutch firm Loop Biotech, was grown from mycelium - the root network of fungi - and hemp fibres. The coffin is grown in mould in a climate-controlled room, taking just a week to fully form. Once buried, it takes about 45 days to become part of the soil. The process is akin to composting, as the body and coffin gently biodegrade and transform into nutrient-rich soil in far less time than a traditional wooden casket, which can take up to 50 years to break down. Carolyn’s husband, Donald, said picking the mushroom coffin aligned with his wife’s values of giving back.
Climate Hero Trump
”Since the Iran war began in February, the price of Brent crude, a global benchmark for oil, has increased more than 25 percent. Over that timeframe, EV sales have roughly doubled in Australia, Brazil, India and South Korea compared with the same period in 2025," says the New York Times. Also... August was the second month in a row that no fossil-fuelled vehicle made the top ten in China, by far the world’s largest car market.
"Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations." Mae Jemison
On This Day
15 September 1835: HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin (aged 26) on board, reaches the Galápagos Islands during its famous five-year surveying expedition. The ship spent about five weeks in the archipelago, with Darwin spending roughly 19 days exploring on land. His observations of unique local wildlife - such as mockingbirds, tortoises, and finches - helped inspire his groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection.
Today's Articles
Silver September: Huge trove of 1,000 year old Viking Age silver discovered in Finland, after similar find in Denmark.
Maximum Goodness: Here's how to absorb more nutrients from your food - your body will thank you for it.
Mood Boosting Video
Don't Try This: Wingsuit flying through trees in Switzerland.
