Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news to get the day off to a bright start.
Manners Legs
Justin Trudeau has won praise in South Korea for using so-called “manners legs” - an unusually wide posture that reduces your height - while being photographed with one of the country’s most senior politicians. A picture of Canada’s prime minister standing awkwardly with his legs a couple of feet apart to look smaller and match the height of Kim Jin-pyo, the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly, was applauded by the press. YTN, a local broadcaster reported that the move made Mr Trudeau look “as caring as he is tall”. The Toronto Star offered its own analysis, citing Youngmi Lee, a Korean-Canadian as explaining that it was disrespectful in Korea for someone younger to look down on an elder.
Conservation Success
An effort to save the tiny bright birds known as Darwin’s flycatchers seems to be bearing fruit. When Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos Islands nearly 200 years ago, he noted that they were teeming with little vermillion flycatchers. By the 2010s, however, the birds’ numbers had fallen so low there were fears that they could become extinct. Since then, conservationists have worked to trap the rodents that were preying on the birds, and cut back thickets to help them reach food – and the approach seems to have worked: the birds have had their best breeding season yet, with 12 chicks recorded on one island.
Busting Lazy Men
The Spanish government plans to launch an app that will lay bare the gender imbalance of housework by getting users to log the hours they spend on chores. “We women spend more time on domestic tasks than men,” said Ángela Rodríguez of Spain’s ministry of equality. Almost half of the women questioned in a survey by Spain’s National Statistics Institute said that they undertook most of the chores at home, compared with just 14.9 percent of men, noted The Times.
Mixed Blessing
A British bus driver who “popped out to buy some bread” ended up with the mixed blessing of “a winning £1million National Lottery scratch-card and a cold doner kebab”, reported ITV News. Steve Goodwin bought the scratch-card as he awaited his takeaway doner. However, after discovering his big win, he was too emotional to eat the snack. “I sat in the kitchen and tried to eat my kebab, but I couldn’t,” he admitted. “In the end, I just put it in the bin.”
Over Halfway Mark
Solar and wind produced more than half of Portugal’s electricity for the first time last month, according to new data from clean energy think tank Ember. April saw the renewables reach 51 per cent of electricity production. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Spain, wind and solar combined generated 46 percent of electricity produced in April.
Astonishingly Quick
In a rather comprehensive day's work, Rimac has broken more or less every relevant acceleration and braking record in the lofty world of hypercars, including rocketing from a standstill to 400 km/h (249 mph) and back to zero in less than 30 seconds, with street-legal tyres. Rimac's electric Nevera also nabbed the world's fastest 0-60 mph time, doing it in an astonishing 1.74 seconds. Rimac has thus established itself as the performance kingpin of the EV world.
Success Story
Three childhood friends who set out to create an urban farm on an illegal dumping ground in a poor Cleveland neighborhood have built a thriving circular economy now located on an 18 acre campus. Food waste becomes compost, training and paid apprenticeships attract community members, and aquaponics and hydroponics generate local jobs. The farm has two greenhouses, six hoop houses, a commercial composting station, a rain catchment pond, and employs 18 people. The property's fish farm rears 70,000 tilapia that are sold to local restaurants. Rid-All Green Partnership's circular economy was cemented when in 2020, it began operating a farmer's market in a nearby food desert, and in 2021, opened a community kitchen, market and restaurant on its campus. "This is a real Cleveland story," says co-founder Keymah Durden. "Three kids who grew up on the east side who now represent this good-faith and hopeful messaging around agriculture that shows what can be possible."
“You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up is never an option.” Greta Thunberg
On this Day
24 May 1956: The first Eurovision Song Contest was held, in Lugano, Switzerland.
Beach Body Ready
620mph Maglev Train
From the Archives
Mood Booster
Street artist plays Hallelujah on crystal glasses. Remarkable performance!