An uplifting raft of good news nuggets to help get the weekend off to a sunny start.
Women Quarters
Hollywood’s first Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong will be the first Asian-American on United States currency. A design featuring Wong surrounded by bright lights with her head resting on her hand, will be placed on the tails side of some US quarters as part of the American Women Quarters Program. The US Mint will begin to ship quarters with Wong on next week. Coins featuring other honorees will begin shipping next year through 2025, the US Mint said in a statement.
Yale's Free Online Classes
This prestigious university offers a wide variety of online courses through its platform, Open Yale Courses, where you can join a class for free or pay a small fee for course credit or certification. If you’ve got some free time on your hands and are looking to expand your knowledge base, why not take a look at the dozens of free courses they offer?
World First
With a new deal to replace diesel-run public buses with electric models, Oslo is on track to become the first capital city globally to achieve a public transit system that is entirely electric. The Norwegian city is expected to reach this goal by the end of 2023. It's all part of its larger goal for Oslo to become the first completely zero-emissions city by the end of this decade. Oslo has already electrified many of its ferries, and it has an extensive network of bike lanes and enhanced safety measures for cyclists and pedestrians to encourage residents to take more sustainable forms of transportation within the city.
The last in this week's series of collective nouns, and surely the funniest...
A Surfeit of Skunks
The funniest collective noun is one that takes issue with the very idea of more than one of this animal being in one place at any given time. Groups of skunks are called a ‘surfeit’ - meaning an excessive amount of something - surely because the foul-smelling spray they release from their anal glands would be overpowering en masse.
Perfect Timing
In an effort to call attention to the increasing vulnerability of coral reefs and the world’s oceans in the face of the climate crisis, British-South African endurance swimmer (and UN Patron of the Oceans) Lewis Pugh is attempting what is thought to be the world’s first swim across the Red Sea. Pugh hopes to make the nearly 100-mile crossing in two weeks at about six miles per day, and the big swim has started. Pugh’s journey began in Saudi Arabia and ends in Hurghada, Egypt. It's perfect timing as along the route the swimmer will pass Sharm el-Sheikh, the location of next month’s UN climate conference COP27 that runs from 6-18 November. Pugh is keen to make everyone aware that coral reefs are the most biologically diverse of the planet’s ecosystems, and the foundation of 25 percent of all ocean life.
Solander
A case for maps, papers, etc., made to resemble a book and having the front cover and fore-edge hinged.
Embarrassing but Welcome
The UK government has conceded that its plan to cut carbon emissions is inadequate, and must now come up with a better one. Business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has quietly dropped plans to appeal against a High Court ruling from July that found the government’s net zero strategy was unlawful. It has cemented the victory of environmental lawyers who are calling the decision “an embarrassing but welcome climbdown”. Lawyers from ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth and the Good Law Project successfully argued that the government failed to show how its policies will curb emissions enough to meet legally-binding targets next decade. This is yet another positive example of the courts playing a vital role in the climate fight. Such as last year's Court Convicts French State for Failing to Meet Climate Targets: In an extraordinary, groundbreaking case, France has been found guilty of ‘non-respect of its engagements’ aimed at fighting global warming. Read on...
Do you live in the northern hemisphere? If you missed your chance last night, tonight is also deemed as peak opportunity for enjoying streaks of Orinid meteorites flashing across the night sky.
Covid Booster
The updated Covid booster from Moderna produces a stronger immune response to the Omicron variant than the firm’s original vaccine three months after being given, according to data from the US biotech. The company said the findings indicated the “superior” immune response triggered by the booster was durable and should provide “important protection” against Covid in the winter months.
Quote of the Day
"Every day may not be a good day but there is good in every day."
Alice Morse Earle
On this Day
22 October 1964: French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre was announced the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; however, he became the first person to decline the award.
Now we know the answer to: “Will Liz Truss still be Prime Minister within the 10-day shelf-life of a lettuce?” Read on...
In good news for our planet, a powerful force is reshaping the fashion industry: secondhand clothing. Read on...
Mood Booster
Remarkable 3D Dragon Quest billboard in Japan.