Good News Thursday
- Mar 5
- 4 min read
Today's smorgasbord of tasty good news nuggets from around the world.
Pre-1940 Fakes
A man carries a giant head in a wheelbarrow. Massive geese roam a park. Adolf Hitler puts on a Karl Marx beard. All of these photographs have been visually manipulated to trick, shock or amuse their viewers - and they were all created before 1940. A new exhibition at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum called Fake! features early examples of image manipulation, from long before the era of Photoshop or generative artificial intelligence. The show includes more than 50 images in the Rijksmuseum’s collection dating from 1860 to 1940 and adds context to present-day conversations around fabricated images. “Image manipulation has been around as long as photography itself,” says the show's curator. “It’s part of the whole history of photography.”
GoT For Big Screen
The world of Game of Thrones could finally be heading to the big screen. Warner Bros. is officially developing a movie set in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world. Of course, everything Warner. Bros. is a bit up in the air given the studio’s expected sale to Paramount Skydance. But Paramount boss David Ellison was recently asked his favorite HBO show and cited Game of Thrones - which is obviously a good sign for both the prospective film. Game of Thrones was a massive cultural phenomenon, starting with roughly 9 million average viewers in Season 1 and rising to a peak of 46 million per episode in its final season (including all platforms). The series finale in 2019 drew 19.3 million viewers across all platforms in the US, making it a record-breaking hit for HBO.
Old Irish Goats
Humans brought domestic goats to Ireland roughly 5,900 years ago, and the hardy, sure-footed ruminants have played an important role in the island’s biological and cultural heritage ever since. Today, the descendants of those first animals continue to roam wild around the country’s remote, mountainous regions. They’re a distinct breed known as the “Old Irish goat” - or “an Gabhar Fiáin” in Irish - featuring thick, shaggy coats and large, curved horns. Now, new research confirms the Old Irish goat is a living connection to Ireland’s past. “Despite thousands of years, changing farming practices and recent decline, these goats have retained a remarkable genetic connection to their ancestors, and to the island’s agricultural past,” says study co-author Jolijn Erven, a paleogenomicist at University College Dublin.
Bitter-Sweet Success
Croatia has announced it has freed itself from the scourge of landmines, 31 years after the country’s civil war. The country has eliminated all known minefields using a combination of metal detectors, heavy machinery, and detection dogs. “Almost 107,000 mines and 407,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance have been removed. This is not just a technical success - it is the fulfillment of a moral obligation to the victims of mines and their families. A mine-free Croatia means safer families, better development of rural areas, more farmland, and stronger tourism.”
Three in a Row?
Luke Donald will captain Europe’s Ryder Cup team for a third time in a move that will increase pressure on the PGA of America to tie down Tiger Woods to lead the US at Adare Manor next September. The announcement on Donald’s captaincy has enhanced Europe’s sense of continuity and togetherness with the US picture uncertain. Donald has been widely lauded for his approach in Rome and New York, where Europe won back-to-back Ryder Cups. After a dramatic success at Bethpage last year, it was apparent players wanted the Englishman to remain in office.
It's Happening
Audi‘s Concept C was one of the most exciting concept cars of 2025, and a true breakthrough moment for all-electric sports cars, though more recent reports suggested it might be axed. Now, though, it appears to be going ahead, with production set to begin this decade. That’s according to Gernot Döllner, Audi’s CEO, who told the Australian website Go Auto that, when it comes to concepts, Audi means business, even in an uncertain climate for EVs. The Concept C, when production does go forward, will be a compelling starting point, becoming Audi’s new flagship car and inspiration for the whole brand.
Quiet Please
Customers browsing a small antique shop got more than they bargained for a couple of weeks ago - and it wasn’t vintage china. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the surprising discovery happened in the hamlet of East Durham when shoppers noticed what they described as “something extremely lifelike” sitting quietly on a shelf. Tucked beside a chicken-shaped cookie jar was a very real, very alive owl. When conservation officers arrived, they found a brown-and-white owl perched peacefully with its eyes firmly shut - apparently enjoying an uninterrupted nap among the antiques. Officers gently cradled the sleeping bird and carefully removed it from the store. They later released it into a wooded area nearby.
"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day." W. Earl Hall
On This Day
5 March 1853: Piano company Steinway & Sons is founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City. Due to massive success, a factory was later opened in Hamburg, Germany, to supply the European market, while the Queens, New York factory serves the Americas.
Today's Articles
Look & Feel: Designer Tsujio Ippei turns the art of gift wrapping into something warm, unexpected, and deliciously surreal.
Thank You: Routine traffic stop changes the lives of two people in ways neither person could have imagined.
Nectar Trail: California hummingbirds rapid evolutionary change unwittingly shaped by human activity.
Mood Boosting Video
Nina Simone Reimagined: New video blends artistry of hand-drawn animation with expressive energy of contemporary dance to Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
