Today's global round up of positive news nuggets to brighten the day.
Jungle Cacophony
Scientists in an Ecuadorian forest used audio recorders and AI to gauge biodiversity. Such tools could revolutionize monitoring for ecosystem health by using computers to translate jungle cacophony into a biodiversity barometer. Initial results hold out the promise that automated systems “would allow conservation managers to assess forest recovery cost-effectively and to better quantify the conservation value of their protected areas,” the scientists wrote in Nature Communications. Get ready to see a lot more microphones in the woods.
New Monarch Discovered
An ancient coin found by an amateur detectorist has revealed an unknown king and sold for more than £20,000 ($24,000). A new name has been added to the list of British monarchs after experts examined the coin, which was found in a Hampshire field by Lewis Fudge. Dating from around 50BC, the small gold coin (smaller than a fingernail) is stamped with the name Esunertos, a previously unrecorded Iron Age ruler, reported The Telegraph.
Dark Splotch
A new satellite image shows a seemingly vast portion of the US shrouded in a dark splotch. It is actually the moon, said NASA, casting a shadow over North America. This epic picture was taken using the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera, on board a satellite. The photograph shows a section of the planet on Saturday, Oct. 14, the date of the most recent annular solar eclipse that swept across America's western flank from Oregon to the Gulf of Mexico.
Strange But True
A man in the US state of Georgia was shocked to receive a $1.4 million fine after he was caught speeding. Connor Cato assumed the steep penalty was a "typo" after he was caught driving at 90mph in a 55mph zone, but was told by the court that he "either had to pay it or appear in court in December", said ABC News. City officials later clarified that the seven-figure sum had been a "placeholder" figure automatically generated by court computer software, and the actual fine was likely to be nearer $1,000. However, officials said that Cato must appear in court because of his high speed, and that a judge would then determine the final amount.
World's Most Expensive Speeding Tickets: An eye-watering one in Finland is eclipsed by an absolute whopper in Switzerland. Read on...
Cybertruck
After two years of delays, Elon Musk says that Tesla's Cybertruck will finally commence deliveries on 30 November. This will come as good news, according to Electrek, to the estimated 1.5 million people who have made Cybertruck reservations.
Peaks Tomorrow Night
As Earth ploughs through the central portions of a dust cloud that was once part of the tail of Halley’s comet, the Orionid meteor shower peaks tomorrow night. Look to the southwestern sky if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or the northwestern sky if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.
"After you make a fool of yourself a few hundred times, you learn what works." Gwen Stefani
On this Day
20 October 1973: Australia's Sydney Opera House - designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, whose dynamic, imaginative, but problematic plan won an international competition in 1957 -was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
Sounds silly but the World Plogging Championship is a serious competition for athletes that benefits the environment too. Plogg on...
Good news for digital nomads: Anyplace is the Airbnb for the work-from-anywhere crowd. Fully equipped...
While losing weight without noticing is the dream for many, it is possible to do some DIY nudging without too much effort. Easy nudges...
Mood Booster
Discover the amazing adaptations reindeer have for living in snow.
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