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Saturday's Good News Nuggets

Updated: Feb 18, 2022

Today's global bundle of good news nuggets to help get the weekend off to a positive start. 

Baby elephant attempting to hide behind a lamp post
You Can't See Me

A baby elephant was enjoying a night out eating a farmer's sugarcane in a field near Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Unfortunately, he wasn't doing it very quietly and some people came along to investigate what was going on. The baby elephant must have thought 'oops, I don't want to get into trouble, so I'd better quickly hide'. The adorable creature attempted to hide behind a light pole beside the road, standing perfectly still, hoping that no one would notice.


Gift of Life

In 1971, Dave Harvey, at the age of 21, became the first person to have a kidney transplant at Bart’s Hospital in London. What was expected to last him 10 years has become a remarkable 50 years, and is still going strong. Now, at 72, he is among the longest surviving transplant patients in the world. The organ came from a victim of a car crash. “Afterwards, I just felt such relief and gratitude. I wanted to meet that person’s family, but they don’t allow you to. I want to show them how grateful I am, and that their son’s tragic loss wasn’t completely in vain. It really is the gift of life."


Centre of the Milky Way shown as radio emissions

This extraordinary image may look like the album cover of an indie rock band, but it's actually the centre of the Milky Way, as seen by the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. The radio emissions show remnants of supernovas, star-forming regions, and a large number of mysterious radio “filaments”. The colours indicate bright radio emission, while fainter emission is shown in grey.


Museum of Broadway

The first-ever permanent museum dedicated to the “Great White Way” and its legacy of musicals, plays and theaters, as well as the pioneering figures - from actors to costume designers - who helped shape it, opens this summer in Times Square. The multi-floor Museum of Broadway will be a blend of both immersive installations and traditional displays that tell the history of this legendary theater district, from its 1735 beginnings to present-day shows such as Hamilton.


Book shelf displaying numerous books in the Harvard library
Free Harvard Courses

While a year's tuition at Harvard University will set you back nearly $50,000 (and that’s before room, board, and fees tack on another $20K), the good news is that there’s a much cheaper option that doesn’t involve braving Massachusetts winters, or having to be admitted to the prestigious university at all. All you need is an internet connection to take certain Harvard courses for free in the comfort of your own home, thanks to the university's fabulous online learning portal - offering a vast array of options. Courses run from one to 15 weeks.


Henry Moore sculpture of an entwined monther and child
Moore Discovery

For decades, a seven-inch-tall statue sat unnoticed on a shelf at the home of a farmer in Wiltshire, about 90 miles west of London. After his death, family members asked a valuer to appraise his few possessions. According to the Times, the appraiser listed the figure as a “lead maquette ... in the manner of Henry Moore” - an assessment that led the family to contact the Moore Foundation, which confirmed it was a 'unique and rare' sculpture by the 20th-century British Modernist, called Mother and Child. It's going under the hammer next month and is expected to achieve around £75,000 ($100,000).


Energy Transition

Global investment in energy transition totalled $755bn in 2021, setting a new record. Together, clean power and electrification (comprising renewables, nuclear, energy storage, electrified transport and electrified heat) accounted for most of the investment at $731bn. Investment by businesses, financial institutions, governments and end-users rose in almost every sector covered in Bloomberg's Energy Transition Investment Trends 2022. China was again the largest single country for energy transition investment, committing $266bn. The US was second with $114bn. Germany, the UK and France rounded out the top five.

 

Quote of the Day

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

On this Day

5 February 2017: In the first overtime game in Super Bowl history, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Dive in Deeper



 

Vicarious Adrenalin Rush

Enjoy this epic wingsuit flying compilation. Not for the faint hearted!



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