Thursday's Upbeat News
- 6 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news to perk up the day.
“Did you hear that?”
That's the question that C-3PO asks at the beginning of the first Star Wars movie in 1977. The melodramatic droid is instantly recognizable, with a body coated in gold and eyes that glow orange. He gets the first line in the original film, and he appears to panic and fuss in nearly all of the movies that followed. In late March, a light-up C-3PO head used in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) sold at a Propstore auction for a whopping $1,058,400 - far higher than the estimate of $350,000 to $700,000 - and welcome news for the family of a crew member who worked on the film who owned the head of the golden droid. “At Propstore, Star Wars material continues to resonate with collectors, and the C-3PO head from The Empire Strikes Back was a real highlight of the day.”
George Lucas’ Museum: Dedicated to the ‘Universal Language’ of Illustrated Storytelling, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in LA is set to open in September 2026.
Who Knew?
The great British road trip is being reimagined for the electric age, with new figures revealing that the UK now has nearly twice as many public EV chargers as petrol pumps - even if most drivers don’t realise it yet. More than 118,000 public charge points are now available nationwide compared with around 60,800 fuel pumps, according to new data. Yet almost three quarters of adults surveyed still believe the opposite is true, underlining just how far perception lags behind reality. Model-turned-motoring-expert Jodie Kidd is fronting a campaign for the Department for Transport to help realign reality with perception.
Teen Runs For Governor
Looking back, gubernatorial candidate Dean Roy says his political ambitions started in the eighth grade. And by that he means, last year. After working as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse, the 14-year-old freshman at Stowe High School now has his sights set on the corner office. In November, he'll be the first candidate for governor under age 18 to appear on the state's general election ballot. “I don't expect necessarily to win,” he said. “What I do expect is to start the movement, and get more young people to come in behind me and say, ‘Yeah, we also want to make change.’”
Great Age Fitness
Who said playgrounds are just for kids? A growing number of senior-friendly public fitness spaces are popping up across the country to help older adults get moving, improve their agility, and maybe even make a friend or two while they’re at it. One of those spaces is the Great Age Fitness Park, a “senior playground” in Houston. Instead of baby swings, slides, and seesaws, the vibrant space is filled with low-impact exercise equipment, including elliptical bikes, balance beams, and tai chi wheels. The park also hosts guided classes in its garden.
Revered Coastline
A beautiful stretch of English coastline has been saved for future generations, thanks to a bequest by a local vicar who loved his walks along the spectacular landscape. The National Trust has acquired the 34 acres near the historic port town of Fowey in Cornwall, using the generous donation from Reverend Anthony Mapplebeck to the Trust’s ‘Neptune Coastline Campaign’ launched in the 1960s - thus preserving both the natural habitat and public access to it.
Extraordinary
China smokes every other nation in solar energy capacity. Hardly surprising when the country considers almost no piece of land as too difficult to construct solar arrays. A perfect example is this extraordinary image showing an entire mountain range in the Guizhou province blanketed in solar panels. In 2023 alone, China installed solar capacity that was more than the entire rest of the world installed combined. By mid-2025, China became the first country in the world to surpass 1,000 GW (1 terawatt) of total solar power capacity. Today, it is erecting twice as much wind and solar capacity as every other country put together, according to a new analysis of large renewable energy projects. Increasingly, wind and solar are edging coal off the power grid.
"One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for thoughts." Samuel Johnson
On This Day
2 April 1917: Jeannette Rankin (Rep-R-Montana) begins her term as first woman member of US House of Representatives. A dedicated suffragist and pacifist, she focused on women's rights and voted against US entry into both world wars.
Today's Articles
Duck Fashion Show: Well-dressed ducks set to steal the scene at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show again this year.
Afternoon Siesta: Napping during the day may slow down brain shrinkage and cancel out up to seven years of ageing.
Mood Boosting Video
Roaring 20s: Fifth Avenue Easter Parade in 1929 - remastered and colorized.
