An eclectic bundle of positive news nuggets to help perk up the day.
Viking Hoard
Nearly 300 silver coins believed to be more than 1,000 years old have been discovered near a Viking fortress site in north-west Denmark, a museum has said. The trove - lying in two spots not far apart - was unearthed by a girl who was metal-detecting in a cornfield. “A hoard like this is very rare,” says Lars Christian Norbach, the director of the North Jutland Museum, where the artefacts will go on display. The trove includes Danish, Arab and Germanic coins as well as pieces of jewellery originating from Scotland or Ireland, according to archaeologists. Norbach said the finds were from the same period as the fort, built by King Harald Bluetooth, and would offer a greater insight into the history of the Vikings.
Renewed Hope
Newly captured images from camera traps in the Tayna Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have recorded two mother-infant pairs of critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas. These images confirm the presence of healthy family groups of this great ape in Tayna, considered one of the gorillas’ last strongholds. The eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), is one of the world’s most endangered primates, with no more than 6,800 individuals left in the world. “For a critically endangered population where every individual counts, these mother-infant pairs provide hope for the future of gorillas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Oldest Windsurfer
An 88-year-old windsurfer in Poland is seeking recognition as the oldest person to practice his favourite sport, reports UPI. Piotr Dudek, 88, who has been windsurfing since 1981, was encouraged by his friends to attempt a record for oldest windsurfer after he realised that the current record was set by an 86-year-old in 2000. Evidence from Dudek’s official attempt is now being submitted to Guinness World Records for official certification.
Apple Recycles
Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025. In addition, all Apple-designed printed circuit boards will use 100 percent recycled tin soldering and 100 percent recycled gold plating by 2025, and magnets in its devices will be made completely of recycled rare earth materials.
Happy Anniversary
Astronomers are celebrating NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's 33rd launch anniversary with an ethereal photo of a nearby star-forming region, NGC 1333. The nebula is in the Perseus molecular cloud, and located approximately 960 light-years away. Hubble's colorful view, showcased through its unique capability to obtain images from ultraviolet to near-infrared light, unveils an effervescent cauldron of glowing gasses and pitch-black dust stirred up and blown around by several hundred newly forming stars embedded within the dark cloud. Hubble just scratches the surface because most of the star birthing firestorm is hidden behind clouds of fine dust - essentially soot - that are thicker toward the bottom of the image. The blackness in the image is not empty space, but filled with obscuring dust.
No Sex in Space
Space tourists hoping to “have sex in zero gravity” will face a “barrage of bureaucracy” because of potential dangers, reports The Times. “It is unrealistic to assume that all space tourism participants will abstain from sexual activities while exposed to microgravity and increased levels of ionising radiation”, according to a new report. Professor David Cullen, the lead author, said space tourists will be forced to sign a barrage of legal waivers before lift-off, possibly including documents that forbid the conception of children.
"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin
On this Day
25 April 1859: Construction of the Suez Canal officially began; completed 10 years later, the waterway connected the Mediterranean and Red seas.
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Mood Booster
Sir David Attenborough introduces us to some extraordinary birds of paradise.