Thursday's bundle of good news nuggets.
Tonight's the night in the northern hemisphere to enjoy the Orionid meteor shower, as they will peaking and putting on their best show. The Orionids are trails of cosmic dust from Halley’s Comet sparking up against Earth’s atmosphere at speeds faster than forty miles per second. So, why not wrap up, look to the south western sky, and enjoy the free show?
Meanwhile, back on terra firma, a 10-year-old boy in China who was out playing near a lake has accidently unearthed a fossilized egg that led to the discovery of a very rare dinosaur nest that is 66 million years old. The discovery was made in the city of Héyuán, in the province of Guangdong. Zhang loves science and has always been fascinated by dinosaurs, so this was the find of a lifetime.
Royal Mail, the British postal service, operates about 41,000 delivery and collection vans and has 10,000 other vehicles such as lorries. So, it's good news that their fleet is starting to transition to electric vehicles.
Apple has unveiled its latest creation: a $19 Apple-branded polishing cloth. "Made with soft, nonabrasive material, the Polishing Cloth cleans any Apple display, including nano-texture glass, safely and effectively," reads the accompanying marketing copy. The polishing cloth makes clear that when it comes to innovating new ways to get people to overpay for something, Apple is still leading the pack.
Take inspiration from Edith Murway-Traina, from Tampa, Florida: She was 91 years old when she visited the gym for the first time. “While I was watching those ladies doing their thing I thought I might just as well … pick up a few bars,” Edith recalls. “So I did, and they got to be fun.” In September 2019, Edith deadlifted 150 pounds and broke the world record for her age group. That made her the Guinness World Records’ oldest powerlifter. Edith turned 100 in August, but she doesn’t intend to slow down. She and her trainer are preparing for her next competition in November, where she hopes to break her own record set in 2019.
Starting in 2022, most homes and businesses in California will be required to recycle all food and garden waste in their yard debris carts. The effort is part of new state regulation that aims to divert 75 percent of organic waste from landfills by 2025. In response to the increased demand for processing biodegradable materials, waste collection company Republic Services has built the state’s first composting facility to run solely on solar power, churning out nutrient-rich compost. The move will bring Californians a step closer to a circular economy.
Last month, OGN published a good news nugget about the world’s first “fossil-free” steel delivery arriving at a Volvo factory in Sweden, as part of the carmaker’s plans to make its entire business operations (including its supply chain) climate-neutral by 2050. Now, Volvo has unveiled the first vehicle made from that batch of steel in the form of a lorry that is both a load carrier for mining operations and an embodiment of greener vehicle manufacturing, with production expected to start next year. The vehicle incorporates fossil-free steel created by Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB, whose production process is significantly more sustainable than conventional methods.
About a dozen U.S. senators from both parties have formally introduced a bill that would bar Big Tech platforms, like Amazon and Google, from favoring their products and services.
Struggling to make a decision about where to go on holiday now that the world is opening up again? So much choice! So looking forward to going somewhere gorgeous? Frankly, anywhere that's not home! Let our simple formula help you decide...
Better luck next time!
Global wind power leader Iberdrola will pour £6bn ($8.24bn) into a wind farm complex in the North Sea off the east coast of Britain, in its biggest project investment worldwide, reports Reuters. The new turbines will have capacity to generate 3.1 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 2.7 million homes. This project adds to the £10bn Iberdrola has already pledged to invest in Britain between 2020 and 2025.
Fun Fact: The M's in M&Ms stand for Mars and Murrie. That would be Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, the two businessmen who created the candy-coated chocolates. The two actually had a very contentious relationship, as Mars leveraged Murrie out of his 20 percent share in the company in 1949 - years before M&Ms would become the best-selling candy in the U.S., paying him just $1 million for a share of business that would quickly be worth billions.
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Toboggan Race
A race between 4 teams of 2 riders mesmerisingly synchronized to Beethoven's Egmont Overture. Choose your team color and cheer them to victory! Last team standing wins.