A smorgasbord of tasty news nuggets to perk up the day.
Why So Blue?
At Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, the glacial ice is stunningly blue. But why? It’s one of the most common questions Glacier Bay rangers are asked. The answer comes down to two things: its density and the way light interacts with it. The U.S. Department of the Interior explains on Instagram that, unlike regular ice, glacial ice is incredibly dense, compacted over time by immense pressure. As light passes through, all colors in the spectrum are absorbed except for blue, which is scattered and reflected back to our eyes. The result: A breathtakingly vibrant blue hue! Not unlike, the electric blue colour of the new Jaguar Type 00 EV concept featured at the end of today's news nuggets.
Tonight's The Night
In good news for those who enjoy celestial events, people in North and South America - as well as parts of Europe, Africa and Oceania - who either stay up late tonight or wake up early tomorrow will be rewarded with a total lunar eclipse, also called a “blood moon” for its remarkable red hue.
One Good Turn...
... deserves another. Dr. Michael Zollicoffer has been helping patients in one of Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods for decades, refusing to charge those who couldn’t pay. And when he needed a hand, his community stepped up to return the favor. After Zollicoffer found himself struggling financially due to two cancer diagnoses, his patients came together to help their selfless doctor, with nearly 1,000 people crowdsourcing more than $100,000. “Dr. Z will not give up on you, so we damn sure ain’t giving up on him,” one patient said.
Little Free Library
From a distance, they seem like cute mailboxes. But take a closer look, and you’ll find that these colorful streetside boxes, perched on wooden poles, offer much richer reading material. Each Little Free Library houses a diverse array of free books that are ripe for the taking 24/7, so readers of all ages and backgrounds can find a book that they personally connect with. The global organization behind these literary treasure troves passed a major milestone yesterday: unveiling its 200,000th box. Little Free Library cut the ribbon on its brand new box at Benjamin E. Mays IB World School in St. Paul, Minnesota - and it brought out students, school staff, and other community members to join in with snacks and, naturally, dedicated reading time.
Little Nipper
A playful lion cub tries to bite its mother's tail in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The photo, by Barbara Fleming, is among a series of unseen images from last year's Comedy Wildlife Awards released today to mark the launch of the 2025 competition. Want to see some of the highly entertaining 2024 entries? Click here
Supermarket Giveaway
Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, is to give away food for free to shoppers as it races to slash waste and hit net zero targets. The company will introduce “yellow sticker” prices of £0 for food that is about to go out of date. At present, discounts are typically limited to 90 percent. Bosses are testing the change in a small number of Express stores for shoppers who visit after 9.30pm.
Jaguar's Type 00 EV
Jaguar’s controversial ultra-luxury new EV looks a bit fake in its first public appearance, perhaps because of the electric blue colouring. But Jaguar’s Type 00 EV concept made quite a statement during its public debut in Paris. Even a few celebrities took it for a spin. Some loved it while many poked fun, comparing it to Pink Panther and Barbie’s dream car - although, obviously, in the wrong colour. The vehicle “previews what’s to come from Jaguar” as the company looks to revamp the British sports car brand for the EV era. During an interview with The Sunday Times in December, CEO Adrian Mardell said the new lineup will likely be priced around £150,000, or nearly $200,000.
"To create, one must first question everything. Never adopt someone else's conclusion without putting it to the test of your own reasoning and imagination." Eileen Gray
On This Day
13 March 1781: English astronomer William Herschel first observed the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus - first described by him as “a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet” and named for the father of the god Saturn.
Today's Articles
Fun And Games: In a bold (and let's be honest, hilarious) marketing move, Kia took a not-so-subtle jab at Musk.
New Solution: Adding naturally occurring clay to cattle feed reduces methane in cow burps by a third.
Mood Boosting Video
Virtuoso Performance: Is this the best guitar solo of all time?