Today's tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news from around the globe.
Intelligent Soul
This close-up of a grey whale, taken in Magdalena Bay off the Mexico coast by Spanish photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero, won the Portrait category at the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 competition. "Few people have ever gazed into the eye of a whale," said judge Alex Mustard, "but through this remarkable image many will be able to catch a glimpse of this intelligent soul."
Rare Find
One of the first-ever desktop computers have been found in storage boxes at Kingston University in London. A milestone in human achievement, the Q1 microprocessor computer was released more than half a century ago, and only one other is known to exist. Built by the Q1 Corporation in New York, the Q1 was arguably the first complete, standalone microcomputer with a built-in orange screen and keyboard. Dating back to 1972, it's a fairly obscure machine with very few surviving examples and was rarely exported from the United States, so seeing one show up at Kingston in Britain was a bit of a shock.
Selfies From Space
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus is gearing up for its attempt at a potentially historic landing on the Moon’s surface later today. If it sticks the landing - a big if, considering what’s happened to other recent missions - Intuitive Machines will become the first company to successfully land on the Moon’s surface. Things are looking good so far for the lunar lander, which beamed back breathtaking views of Earth from space. They were snapped shortly after launch, revealing a series of selfies that show parts of the spacecraft with Earth’s familiar blue as an iconic backdrop. The images were taken after Odysseus separated from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Dead Lion Killed Off
It is the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging, and holds a Guinness World Record, having remained almost identical since 1888. Lyle's Golden Syrup, a stable of British larders for 150 years, has long been known for its dark green tin and golden lion packaging - a reference to the story of Samson killing a lion, and the original logo includes the biblical quotation: “Out of the strong came forth sweetness.” However, times are changing and the classic logo has been replaced by a friendlier image of a lion and a single bee. Robert Bargery, from the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, told MailOnline: "who knows, Golden Syrup may soon be as stigmatised as cigarettes, so the lively rebrand of a dead lion may excite a sugar rush among the avocado-on-toast generation."
Four Fab Biopics
John, Paul, George and Ringo will each be the subject of a different upcoming feature film. Director Sam Mendes plans to make four separate movies, one from each Beatles member’s point of view. They will intersect to “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” leading up to their 1970 breakup, according to a press release. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison have granted full life story and music rights for the scripted films. Sony Pictures Entertainment will finance and distribute all four films theatrically in 2027. Details about release plans will be shared later, but the studio promises the strategy will be “innovative and groundbreaking.”
Oldest Megastructure?
A mysterious 10,000-year-old wall discovered at the bottom of the Baltic Sea might be Europe’s “oldest megastructure”. The structure, made of around 1,400 smaller stones and 300 larger boulders, was discovered stretching for almost 1 km along the coast of Germany. Experts at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research said the wall probably lined a now-defunct lake and could have been used by hunters stalking reindeer herds. “All this places Blinkerwall among the oldest known examples of hunting architecture in the world and potentially makes it the oldest man-made megastructure in Europe,” the scientists said. The structure was flooded with salty sea water around 1,500 years after it was built which helped preserve it around 21 meters below the surface.
Freedom Plaza
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has revealed plans for an ambitious new four-skyscraper project in New York City. It will be located on what BIG says is currently the largest plot of undeveloped land in Manhattan, a 6.7 acre site south of the United Nations headquarters, in the Midtown East neighborhood. Named Freedom Plaza, two of the towers will meet at the top with a dramatically cantilevering skybridge. The skybridge will be substantial, with a lobby featuring a multi-story viewing platform boasting a glass floor and ceiling, plus an art gallery, while a 150,000 gallon infinity pool - one of the largest rooftop pools in North America - will be installed on the roof.
"A signature always reveals a man's character - and sometimes even his name." Spike Milligan
On This Day
22 February 1932: The Purple Heart, a U.S. military decoration originally instituted by George Washington in 1782 to honour bravery in battle, was revived as an award for those wounded or killed in action against an enemy.
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Mood Booster
Flamingos dancing in Argentina for a special purpose.
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