A smorgasbord of good news nuggets to brighten up the day.
True Colors
Did you know that the vibrant hues leaves turn in the fall are their actual colors? It's true - leaves that change color are naturally those orange, red and yellow shades, but during half of the year, those hues are overwhelmed by green chlorophyll. Colder, cloudier months mean less chlorophyll, which means the trees and flora can finally show their true colors. It's kind of poetic. A lot of people see the changing colors of the season as a prelude to the barrenness of winter, but really it's a special show all its own.
Inspiring Quotes About Autumn: Sure, the summer flowers may be gone, but there's still a lot to love about the forthcoming season. Here are a dozen uplifting observations about the fall. Quotes...
A Family Affair
A grandmother, mother and two daughters are among the newest group of students at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Three generations at once! Sisters Samantha Malczewski and Mia Carter are undergrads, and are joined by their grandmother and mother, who are both pursuing graduate degrees, reports CNN. Amy Malczewski, who represents the middle generation of the group, is pursuing a master's degree in her free time and managed to convince her mother, Christy Schwan, to join in and get her own master's. Carthage said this is the first time three generations have been studying at once.
Barry The Dinosaur
An unusually well-preserved dinosaur skeleton, a Camptosaurus known as Barry, will go under the hammer in Paris next month. The dinosaur, which dates from the late Jurassic period some 150 million years ago, was first discovered in Wyoming in the 1990s. It was initially restored in 2000 by palaeontologist Barry James, from whom it got its name. The skeleton is 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) tall and 5 meters (16.4 feet) long. The skeleton, which will be shown to the public in mid-October, is expected to fetch up to €1.2 million ($1.28 million) when it goes on sale on 20 October.
Natural Florist
Putting together a beautiful bouquet is normally associated with florists. However, there are some creatures that are born with this talent. Scurrying across the mountains of North America is a species related to rabbits that has a special affinity for collecting blooms. The American pika is a cute little rodent that works hard in the summer collecting wildflowers to snack on in the winter. It even goes so far as to dry them out so they make it through the seasonal changes.
Revolutionary New Tire
The much-hyped airless tire technology developed by NASA for its rovers, has been commercialized for terrestrial use by The SMART Tire Company. The METL tire ("Designed for Mars. Ready for Earth") is made from a shape memory alloy, making it elastic like rubber yet strong like titanium. The first limited run of these hi-tech bike tires has already sold out. We will have to wait and see if this technology can revolutionize the automobile market too.
Fridays for Future
Many Swiss people changed their habits due to the Fridays for Future climate strikes, including walking or cycling to work, vacationing closer to home, seeking local organic produce, eating more vegetarian meals, and reducing plastic waste. Researchers surveyed Swiss residents aged 18 to 74 in late 2019, by which time Greta Thunberg’s lone protest had snowballed into a global movement involving some four million students in 150 countries. The study, published earlier this month, found that 30 percent of the survey respondents had taken concrete actions, showing that people "have become more aware of how their behavior affects the environment and that significant shifts are under way at an individual level,” lead author Livia Fritz told eurogreen.news. “We also saw that changes made at the individual level can lead to broader societal change provided they’re supported by political action at the same time.”
"A signature always reveals a man's character - and sometimes even his name." Spike Milligan
On this Day
21 September 1915: Cecil Chubb buys English prehistoric monument Stonehenge for £6,600 ($8,200). Here's the story...
Man names his child after the teen who asked him a simple question that saved his life. Kind words...
Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water in the Morning: It’s amazing how many ways a morning glass can make you healthier. Drink up...
Mood Booster
Hilarious Dutch Volkswagen commercial.