Upbeat News Tuesday
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Some tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news to brighten the day.
Friendship
Ryan Gosling's sci-fi space adventure Project Hail Mary has rocketed to $140.9 million at the global box office, making it the biggest debut of the year so far. In the movie, based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Ryan Gosling stars as a dad-joke cracking sixth grade science teacher who wakes up one day to find himself hurtling through space with no idea why. As his amnesia wears off, his mission reveals itself: learn how to stop a mysterious substance from annihilating the sun (and thus all of humanity). As luck would have it, he finds an unlikely pal to help him along the way - making the movie not just a funny and visually stunning sci-fi, but also a sweet statement on friendship. Catch it in theaters now. Watch the trailer here.
Take The Stairs
Skipping an elevator or escalator in favour of taking the stairs can reap big benefits: Beyond boosting energy and mental health, climbing more than five flights daily can slash cardiovascular disease risk by 20 percent, according to a new study. And there’s another major pro - it can be interwoven throughout your busy day in several short bursts, which research suggests is enough to lower heart disease and cancer risk. “You are working your legs. You are working your heart. You are working your lungs,” pediatric pulmonologist Luis Rodriguez, who participates in stair climbing events, told the Associated Press. “You can get a lot more benefit than just walking, because gravity is working against you.”
Bat Bonanza
Austin, Texas is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony, and just after sunset each evening in March, hundreds of thousands of the winged creatures emerge from beneath a bridge to soar into the night across Lady Bird Lake. Mexican free-tailed bats have been migrating to the city for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until a 1980 expansion of the Congress Avenue Bridge that the numbers really took off. The renovation resulted in deep, dark, concrete crevices that roosting bats find ideal for raising their young. Now, the bridge serves as a nursery, hosting as many as 1.5 million bats each year. When the weather cools between October and November, the colony takes off again for warmer climes.
Novel Approach
A landfill about 90 miles south west of London is using methane from its waste to generate electricity and grow sustainable produce - even during the cold English winters. With this innovative approach to food production, landfill sites can become low-emission, affordable fruit and vegetable hubs with perfect year-round growing conditions. The huge dome in Wiltshire (about the size of 3 tennis courts, and capable of growing 10 tons of produce each year) serves as the greenhouse - while all the power to run the heating, ultraviolet lights, and fans is generated from the waste on site. “It has the potential to change the face of food production as we know it,” said Nick Ash, Project Director for Sustain Wiltshire.
Global EV Adoption
Here’s a shift from news about rising gas prices: The global adoption of electric vehicles helped save between 1.7 and 2.3 million barrels of oil per day in 2025, according to BloombergNEF. That’s a notable increase from 1.3 million daily barrels in 2024. Analysts attribute the boost to a combination of expanded charging networks, falling battery costs, and policy incentives. And the momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Last year, 39 countries had EV sales shares above 10 percent (up from four in 2019). In China, over half of new car sales were EVs, with Vietnam hitting 38 percent, the EU at 26 percent, and the U.S. hovering around 10 percent. Speaking of which...
US Micro-Car
The US’s only true street-legal electric micro-car just got big upgrades. There’s a growing push in the US to rethink what a “car” really needs to be, as more Americans than ever embrace alternatives from e-bikes to golf carts, among other car alternatives. Wink Motors is the latest company betting that smaller, slower, and cheaper might actually be the smarter answer for a lot of drivers. But Wink has a different approach, focusing on those who want to retain the benefits of a traditional car without all the extra cost or hassle. The company just announced the launch of its Wink Mark3 electric microcar, a fully enclosed, street-legal vehicle designed specifically to meet and exceed US federal low-speed vehicle (LSV) regulations. And unlike many low-cost EVs that hide key features behind pricy options lists, Wink is positioning this one as fully loaded out of the box. The Wink Mark3 is priced at $19,995.
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” David Attenborough
On This Day
24 March 1958: 23-year-old superstar Elvis Presley was inducted into the US Army at the Memphis Draft Board, receiving serial number 53310761. Known as "Black Monday" to fans, he reported at 6:35 a.m., was processed at Kennedy Veterans Hospital, and sworn in before beginning training. He served two years, including 18 months in Germany.
Today's Articles
Creative Solution: Bedroom 'Storage Chair' for your half-dirty clothes swaps clothes mountains for clever storage.
Mood Boosting Video
A Gorilla Story: David Attenborough tells the remarkable story of his first encounter with the baby gorilla Pablo.