OGN Monday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Kick-starting the week with a global round up of positive news nuggets.
Replacement Medals
When Gary Hall Jr.’s Los Angeles home went up in flames during the January wildfires, he grabbed the essentials before fleeing: His insulin medication and his dog Puddles. The American swimmer’s 10 Olympic medals didn’t make it through the fires. When he returned to the scene, he found the melted remnants of what was once a gold medal. Hall Jr. earned them all back this month, though, when he traveled to the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Switzerland, where all 10 of his medals, earned between the 1996 and 2004 Summer Games, were replaced. “I’ll do a better job of taking care of these,” he joked to IOC officials.
Flower Moon
Tonight, May's full moon, known as the Flower Moon, will appear in the east during dusk, will shine all night, and will set in the west as dawn appears. However, the next full moon may look a tiny bit smaller than average. That's because it will be a "micromoon," the opposite of a "supermoon." The technical term for a "micromoon" is an apogee full moon. An apogee full moon occurs because our planet's satellite orbits Earth along a slightly elliptical path, creating points when the moon is either closest to Earth (perigee) or farthest (apogee).
Planet Before Profit
The Pacific island territory of New Caledonia has announced a 50 year moratorium on seabed mining for nickel across 500,000 square miles (1.3 million sq. km) of ocean. The rare and sweeping move places the French territory among the most restrictive in the world in terms of seabed extraction, and should enable the protection of roughly one-third of the world’s pristine coral reefs. “Rather than giving in to the logic of immediate profit, New Caledonia can choose to be a pioneer in ocean protection,” said Jérémie Katidjo Monnier, the local government member responsible for the issue, reports RFI.
US Vinyl Sales
It’s a revival that few would have predicted two decades ago, but vinyl’s resurgence is showing no sign of slowing. According to fresh data from the Recording Industry Association of America, 43.6m vinyl records were sold in the US last year, up from less than a million in 2006. It was the 18th straight year of growth for a format that once looked like dying out. Vinyl’s rising popularity is a lifeline for many artists, providing them with a much-needed revenue source in the free-for-all streaming age.
Elk May Return
Elk are being mooted for a return to the British Isles some 3,000 years after they were wiped out by hunters. Ecologists have hatched a plan to reintroduce the semiaquatic deer to sites in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The proposed sites are already home to reintroduced beavers, another “keystone” species that is making a comeback in Britain after a long absence.
Litter Reduction
The European Commission reports that marine litter along EU coastlines decreased by 29 percent between 2016 and 2021, with single-use plastics down 40 percent. The Baltic Sea showed the greatest improvement (45 percent reduction).
“Being able to exist in a place where light and dark meet is actually not a recipe for unhappiness. It is a recipe for a deeper kind of happiness.” Susan Cain
On This Day
12 May 1926: Aboard the semirigid airship Norge, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, American scientist Lincoln Ellsworth, and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile made the first undisputed flight over the North Pole.
Today's Articles
Mutually Beneficial: Saatchi's online gallery of 1.4 million original pieces supports the artists and makes art more accessible.
Pasta Grannies: Collection of films of 'pasta nonnas' creating much loved family meals. It's a kind of Noah's Ark of traditional pasta-making techniques.
Mood Boosting Video
Rob Brydon reveals popular Shakespeare phrases in everyday use.