Wrapping up the week with a smorgasbord of positive news nuggets.
Christmas Box Office
Warner Bros. Pictures' The Color Purple - a bold adaptation of Alice Walker's novel, which became a 1985 movie and then a hit Broadway musical - dominated the Christmas weekend box office, Variety reports. The film outperformed expectations with $18m at North American theaters - making it the largest Christmas Day opening in 14 years, and the second-biggest Christmas Day opening of all time. The Christmas record-holder is Sherlock Holmes in 2009 ($24.6m). This is the first musical in some time that's scored at the box office, Variety notes. Producers include Oprah, Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones.
New Antibiotic
A new class of antibiotics for drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria has been discovered using deep learning models. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be a game-changer when it comes to medicine with the technology now helping scientists to unlock the first new antibiotics in 60 years, reports EuroNews. The discovery of a new compound that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that kills thousands worldwide every year could prove to be a turning point in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
New Street Signs
Cities in the United States, including Cambridge, Massachusetts, are adding Native American translations to street signs to promote language and awareness. This initiative is part of a broader nationwide effort, with at least six states, including Iowa, New York, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, adopting similar practices to raise awareness about Native American communities, revive languages, and highlight tribal sovereignty.
Vinyl Surge
More vinyl LPs were bought this year in the UK than at any time since 1990 and are growing at their fastest rate this decade. With just a few more days to go to year-end, the vinyl market has increased by nearly 12%, rising for the 16th year in a row, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Over a quarter of a million vinyl albums were sold in the week before Christmas, the highest sales for the format this century - bringing the total for 2023 to almost 6 million.
Operation: Santa
The Buffalo Times, on Dec. 6, 1898, told readers about a diamond heist, double divorce and deadly boating accident in Algiers - and a letter from Santa Claus. That sparked an outflow of letters from children, which the paper began running three days later as "Letters to Santa Claus." As Christmas week approached, the Times had received nearly 4,000, and to help Santa, announced a Christmas party for all who had written to Santa. The 5,000 children got popcorn balls, steam engines, toy kitchens and whistles, all bought by the newspaper. In 1909, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock announced that all letters to Santa would be sent to the Dead Letter Office but days later, he rescinded that order and announced that all letters to Santa would be sent to charities. This sparked Operation: Santa, the ongoing national effort to enable ordinary citizens to help Santa answer his letters every Christmas.
Space Tourists
When someone says they're planning on using a balloon to take tourists to the edge of outer space, you may wonder if they'll ever get past the conceptual stage. Space Perspective has got past it, though, by building a physical test model of its Neptune capsule. We first heard about Florida-based company Space Perspective back in 2020, when it first announced its intention to take batches of eight paying passengers (and one pilot) on six-hour flights up to an altitude of 100,000 feet (30,480 m). At that height, the curvature of the earth and the blackness of outer space are clearly visible. So, they are definitely making progress - but no word yet on when tourists will start heading into space at (reputedly) $125,000 a pop.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Albert Einstein
On This Day
29 December 1932: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' first joint movie Flying Down to Rio, premieres in NYC.
Archaeologists in Norway have unearthed a 1,300-year-old ship burial that pre-dates the Viking Age. Unexpected...
e-bikes and scooters are having a greater positive impact on our planet than electric cars. Huge impact...
New study shows that 59 percent of life - double what was previously thought - lives beneath our feet. Soil dwellers...
Mood Booster
Newborn Alaskan Muskox's first day. Within hours of being born, this calf is ready to explore.