Another new week brings yet more positive news snippets.
The British Museum first opened its doors in 1759, declaring itself as a place for ‘all studious and curious persons’. Even if you can’t visit it in person at the moment, the museum provides 11 ways for you to stay curious, keep learning, and experience over two million years of human history - all without stepping out your front door.
Could today be the day we hear that the Democrats are pushing through a resolution to impeach Trump? Again. Watch this space...
The Los Angeles Times takes an in-depth look at the likelihood of Trump facing criminal prosecution after leaving office.
What do the grass-mowing customs in Bosnia and Finland's sauna culture have in common with Nar Bayrami, a pomegranate festival in Azerbaijan, and Budima Dance, a warrior dance practiced in Zambia? The answer isn't as cryptic as you might think. They are each a living heritage - learned from ancestors and passed down to the next generation - and as of now they are all inscribed in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Vaccines via tortoise: After an embarrassingly slow rollout, EU countries agree to end transporting vaccines via tortoise. Fake news! But it might make you laugh.
Canada: cannabis stores still open in lockdown as government says they are an essential service.
Whilst many describe Britain's rail service as pretty shitty, it's somewhat ironic (but entirely appropriate) to learn that the government has just helped fund BioUltra - a company that's developing trains and trams that, er, run on human waste.
A unique experience awaits visitors to Limburg in Belgium, where cyclists can ride ‘through water’ on a specially designed path that cuts through the ponds of Bokrijk. The path, aptly named Cycling Through Water, is a 3m wide track with water at eye-level on both sides, allowing riders to accompany swans and other wild fowl as they glide across the lake.
Innovative and holistic food programme works wonders: In Arizona, the city of Phoenix didn’t just feed the hungry with fresh, nutritious food. It saved farms and restaurants too.
Japan is launching a wooden satellite into space in 2023 to study how the organic material holds up in the vacuum outside our atmosphere. Wooden satellites would create a harmless alternative to metal ones, and significantly cut down on space junk orbiting the Earth which is expected to become a serious problem in the near future. Wooden satellites that re-enter the atmosphere after their operation is completed would be completely burned out and rendered harmless.
After years of trials and delays, China’s long awaited national carbon emissions trading scheme is finally open for business and immediately becomes world's largest market. The scheme is initially limited to the power sector, which alone accounts for double the emissions of the EU’s carbon market, previously the world’s biggest. China’s environment ministry hailed the launch of the trading system as “an important starting point” towards the nation’s goal to peak emissions before 2030 and aim for carbon neutrality by 2060.
For decades, banks have been able to use their depositors’ money to invest in the fossil fuel industry without having to worry too much about their customers walking away in protest. However, in good news for the environment, a new survey by Deloitte suggests that depositors are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about what banks are doing with their money - with seven in 10 claiming they are more likely to choose a bank that has a positive environmental and social impact.
Apple and Amazon are removing Parler from their services as part of a growing backlash after the social media network was among those used to organise Wednesday’s riots at the US Capitol. Apple dropped Parler from its App Store, while Amazon’s cloud unit decided to stop hosting the social media platform from Sunday night. They joined Google, which removed the app from its Google Play store on Friday, saying that it created an “ongoing and urgent public safety threat”. Parler, which is popular with extremist groups seeking an alternative to more mainstream social media sites, has come under fire since the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
We love this one liner from comedian Nick Helm: "I regret rubbing ketchup in my eyes, but that’s Heinz sight."
Laughter is contagious. So, why not join the fun with this hilarious interview with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling...