OGN Monday
- Editor OGN Daily
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
What better way to start the week than with some uplifting news nuggets?
'Ring of Fire, and Ice'
A striking photo of two ice climbers on the mighty Glacier Leones looking at a solar eclipse has won the 2025 reFocus Awards’ Color Photography Contest. Liam Man’s exceptional photograph is a study in contrast and color, with the icy blue iceberg illuminated by the orange hue given off by the annular eclipse. Taken in Patagonia during the 2024 eclipse, the remarkable photograph was part of a larger project that Liam Man was working on with UNESCO and is most definitely a testament to his dedication as a photographer.
Lucky Strike
Last month, New Yorker Micherre Fox began her search for a diamond for her engagement ring at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas - and three weeks later, on her last day there, she serendipitously found the perfect 2.3-carat white diamond. “I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,” Fox said. The park's Crater of Diamonds is “one of the only diamond-producing sites in the world where the public can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source,” according to its website, and it has a “finders keepers” policy regarding the stones.
12th Century Castle
After a five-year renovation costing $37 million, a 12th century castle in Norfolk, England has once again reopened its doors to the public. Standing 89 feet tall, all five floors of Norwich Castle Keep, from the basement to its rooftop battlements, are now available to visit. Originally commissioned by William the Conqueror more than nine centuries ago following his invasion of England, Norwich Castle Keep has stood as a symbol of Norman rule in the heart of East Anglia. Completed in the year 1121 by his son, Henry I, the castle was used for roughly 500 years as a prison before being converted into a museum in 1894.
Sustainable Packaging
Researchers in the U.S. have turned disposed grapevine canes into a plastic-like material that is not only stronger than plastic itself but also decomposes in less than three weeks. Led by Srinivas Janaswamy, PhD, at South Dakota State University, the team developed a method to turn the overlooked agricultural byproduct into sustainable packaging. The scientists believe their innovation could pave the way for a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastics, particularly plastic bags which are among the biggest contributors to global plastic waste.
Remarkable Team Work
As every overachiever in a group project knows, the bigger the group becomes, the easier it is for some to slack off. But for one species of ants, the reverse seems to be true. A new study out of Australia’s Macquarie University found that weaver ants boast “super-efficient teamwork” - as their teams grow, each individual’s contribution actually increases. To figure this out, the researchers coaxed ant colonies into forming chains to pull an artificial leaf connected to a force meter, per a news release. They observed that the tree-dwelling insects “split their work into two jobs: some actively pull while others act like anchors to store that pulling force,” lead author Madelyne Stewardson said, a technique the team named “force ratchet.” The result? The average force contribution of each individual nearly doubled as the team size increased.
Unexpected Benefit
According to a study led by the University of Exeter, England, wind farms located offshore act as "de facto marine reserves", limiting fishing without formal legal protections. It analysed fishing activity around 34 European offshore wind farms over eight years, and found that they significantly restrict the most damaging fishing practice of all: trawling. “Our results highlight a potentially under-recognised conservation benefit of offshore wind farms … they can reduce one of the greatest pressures on marine ecosystems: fishing,” said Benjamin Fitkov-Norris, who led the research. He described the results as “a clear win-win for green energy and marine conservation”.
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier.” Eleanor Roosevelt
On This Day
18 August 1920: the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified after Tennessee - by just one vote -became the 36th state to approve it, capping the 72-year fight to win women the right to vote in the United States.
Today's Articles
Revealing Reasons: Reuters global survey on why people avoid the news. Clearly, people need more good news!
Mood Boosting Video
Linguistic Longevity: Popular Shakespeare phrases still in everyday use.
