Good News Friday
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Wrapping up the week with today's eclectic global selection of upbeat news stories.
Female Fans
Wuthering Heights brought out the movie crowds last weekend and, according to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76 percent of those ticket buyers were women. The Warner Bros. release topped the box office charts and nabbed the title for the year’s biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North America. It was also No. 1 at the global box office with $82 million, ranking as the top worldwide debut of the year. Directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the bold and steamy remake of Emily Brontë’s classic novel is clearly a hit. Second place on global charts went to Sony’s animated sports comedy GOAT, whilst Crime 101, a crime thriller starring Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, captured the No. 3 spot.
Did you know that Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi also starred together the 2024 Chanel No.5 Mini-Movie commercial?
Renaissance Ban
Italian state broadcaster Rai has been accused of censoring Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man by blurring out the genitals. The channel has been using the famous drawing of a naked man as a motif for its Winter Olympics coverage, but Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera noted that a crucial section had been “redacted”. Opposition MPs have taken umbrage with what they frame as state censorship, urging culture minister Alessandro Giuli to “shed full light on the use of the image”. However, this displeasure is as nothing compared to the reaction to an Italian commentator's numerous and rather hilarious gaffes at the Opening Ceremony.
Free Transport
What’s the benefit of giving someone a free ride? Iowa City scrapped bus fares in 2023. The results now show a whopping 1.8 million fewer miles driven by residents, 24,000-tonnes less CO2 emitted, and an economic breather for all.
Celebrity Robin
The new year has brought a new visitor to Canada. Bird watcher Sabrina Jacob met the guest, a European robin, in Montreal when she heard it singing while taking out the trash in January. She managed to take a quick video of it in a tree, which she posted to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird tool. The sighting marks the first time the species has been seen in Canada. Since Jacob’s sighting, bird enthusiasts have traveled from all over North America hoping to catch a glimpse of Canada’s first known European robin. How the now-famous bird arrived in Montreal is still up for debate, though two main hypotheses are that it was either swept across the ocean by a storm or hitched a ride on a ship.
Some Good Numbers
21: Months in a row that China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling.
75: The percentage drop in Romania’s overall emissions between 1990 and 2023. Over the same period, it doubled its GDP.
10: The percentage of their income that Americans spend on food - including in restaurants and for takeout. This is less than half of what they spent in the 1940s on groceries alone, says Vox.
Oops
An unidentified Amazon delivery driver had to abandon his van after his satnav left him stranded in the Thames Estuary. While making a delivery near Southend-on-Sea, he was led by his van’s on-board navigation system onto The Broomway, “an ancient six-mile ‘walking’ path” on the mud flats. The byway is particularly dangerous because the tide comes in faster than most people can run. It is “not suitable for vehicles and should only be walked on with a guide”, said The Telegraph.
"Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know." Daniel J. Boorstin
On This Day
20 February 1962: John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7. He completed three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes, overcoming manual control issues and a potential heat shield failure during reentry to splash down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
Today's Articles
Global Teacher Prize: Art teacher wins $1 million prize for creating 800 classrooms in India's slums, to serve the under-served.
Marvel of Evolution: Elephant trunk whiskers provide material intelligence for their extraordinary sense of touch.
Mood Boosting Video
Big Cat Sanctuary: Eurasian lynx rescued from Ukraine steps outside for the first time in her life.