Just Good News Friday

Editor OGN Daily
Aug 16, 2024
3 min read

Wrapping up the week with a global collection of positive news stories.

Social Butterfly

Adele's record label has struck a deal with Meta, in yet another sign that the music landscape is evolving. Universal Music Group has agreed a multi-year partnership to license songs on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Quote Unquote

"My desire to spontaneously sing The Lion Sleeps Tonight is always just a whim away." Olaf Falafel's one-liner was picked out by The Guardian as one of the best jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe festival so far. OGN will be sure to bring you a full round up of all the best one-liners once the festival finishes later this month.

Sunflower Star

Due to sea star wasting disease, lower oxygen levels in seawater, and rising temperatures, starfish populations - the original keystone species - are at risk around the globe. One species, the sunflower star was nearly wiped out completely, with its numbers plummeting by over 90 percent in the last decade. In 2019, marine biologist Jason Hodin stepped up to save the sea stars from extinction, carefully growing and raising several generations of sunflower starfish at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs from a sample he rescued. And now, five years in the making, Hodin and his research team just made history by releasing their lab-grown starfish into the wild for the first time. While they can’t “repopulate the entire ocean,” they can help lead the way and show others how it’s done.

Starfish ‘Body’ is Actually Just a Giant Head: Scientists have discovered that they had completely misunderstood this marine creature.

Horsing About

The United States Hobby Horse Championships took place in Almont, Michigan last Saturday. Organised by a group of teenagers, the event - which might "sound like a scene from a 'Monty Python' movie", said The Wall Street Journal - included competitions in barrel racing, showjumping and dressage. "It's so much more difficult than people think," co-organiser 13-year-old Mirabelle Whitman told the newspaper. And on the event's official website, she highlighted the sport's plus points: "maybe most importantly, hobby horsing teaches you not to care what others think of you, but to always follow your dreams and never give up what you love!".

Miscommunication

A council in Yorkshire, northern England, is having to draw up new signs after misusing the local dialect in an anti-littering campaign. North Yorkshire Council put up 800 posters bearing the slogan "Gerrit in't bin" at local holiday spots. They should have read: "Gerrit in t'bin". Rod Dimbleby, chairman of the Yorkshire Dialect Society, said it was "disappointing" to see such a mistake. "It's a real language and it should be written correctly," he said.

World's Fastest

Chinese car maker Zeekr says its new electric vehicle (EV) batteries charge faster than any of its rivals, including industry leaders Tesla and BYD. The firm claims its upgraded batteries can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent capacity in 10 and a half minutes using its ultra-fast charging stations. In comparison, Elon Musk’s Tesla says a 15 minute charge allows its Model 3 to cover 175 miles (282km), a little under half the car’s full range. Zeekr's 2025 007 sedan, which will be available from next week, will be its first vehicle to have the new battery. The battery performs well even in cold weather charging from 10 percent to 80 percent of its capacity in less than half an hour at temperatures as low as -10C, the company also said.

“Do and act on what you believe to be right, and you’ll wake up the next morning feeling good about yourself.” Janet Reno

On This Day

16 August 1954: The first issue of Sports Illustrated was released, and the weekly publication (later changed to monthly) became the leading sports magazine in the United States.