Wrapping up the week with an eclectic bundle of good news nuggets.
Stamp of Approval
Dame Shirley Bassey, 86, becomes the first female performer to get her own set of stamps with Britain's Royal Mail issuing a commemorative set celebrating the Welsh singer famous for her James Bond theme songs.
EV Fires Myth Busted
With more and more stories about electric vehicles catching fire, here's a reassuring comment: "Electric cars rarely catch fire, and much less frequently than gasoline and diesel cars," says Kjetil Solberg from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. That's good news from the country with the highest percentage of EVs on the road.
Ring of Bjólfur
A team of architects and designers has revealed plans for a Viking-inspired circular viewing point in Iceland. The structure will be perched on a mountain slope at a height of 650 m (roughly 2,130 ft) above sea level and cantilever outwards to provide spectacular views of the surrounding area. The project's rather Tolkienesque name of Ring of Bjólfur comes from the mountain in East Iceland that it's going to be constructed on, which has a rich history that the team drew from during the design process.
Freddie's Auction
A Yamaha baby grand piano used by late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury to compose some of the group's most iconic hits has sold at auction for £1.7m ($2.12m). The price was slightly below estimates but was still a record for a composer's piano, auctioneers Sotheby's said. Mercury used the piano to write songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, and handwritten lyrics for that hit fetched £1.38m ($1.72m). The door of his Garden Lodge home in west London, covered in graffiti left by fans, which went for £412,750 ($515,000), far in excess of the estimate. Almost 1,500 items are being sold across six auctions by Mary Austin, one of the star's oldest friends. Proceeds will go to the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Kremlin Offended
The Kremlin is apparently seeing red after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Washington will be sending $5.4 million seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukrainian veterans. Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was suddenly deeply offended by the “lawlessness” of Kremlin-connected businessmen losing their money.
Retiring at 91
New York crossing guard Louise Kobs, 91, recently retired from her position with the Nassau County Police Department after 41 years. She never missed a single day of work. “I didn’t want to disappoint them … They looked forward to seeing me when they turned the corner,” she said of the generations of students she helped at the crosswalk. Kobs has even seen the children she guided grow up to become parents, and helped their little ones cross the road safely. “We should all take a little lesson from her about the importance of our jobs and what they mean to other people and not just ourselves,” said Patrick Ryder, the county’s police commissioner. “This lady took her job to another level. She took pride in that corner.”
Past The Peak
China's extremely rapid adoption of EVs has forced the country's oil giant Sinopec to adjust its forecasts, saying peak domestic gasoline demand has already passed and it's all downhill from here. The repercussions will be global; China has been the biggest growth market for refined oil products for more than 20 years. According to CNEV Post, Chinese new car buyers are now choosing "new energy vehicles" (NEVs, meaning battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars) at a rate of almost 40 percent, up from 30 percent in 2022, 15 percent in 2021 and just 5 percent in 2020. While Scandinavian countries like Norway, Iceland and Sweden lead the world for EV adoption, China sells somewhere around 10 times more EVs than all those three combined.
"There is something so special in the early leaves drifting from the trees - as if we are all to be allowed a chance to peel, to refresh, to start again." Ruth Ahmed
On this Day
8 September 1966: The first episode of the sci-fi series Star Trek aired on American television.
Five minutes of daily mindfulness has positive effects in schools around the world - and looks set to become part of school life. Benefits...
Ladies working at an Iowa factory packing eggs into cartons “hatched a goofy plan to liven up their workday.” Cracking find...
Interactive Fall Foliage Map: Find the best times to admire fall colors across the USA. Try it out...
Mood Booster
In memory of Queen Elizabeth II, let's enjoy her entertaining video with Paddington bear, made as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations 2022.