Mid week bundle of positive news snippets to help perk up the day.
Doodles as Art
British artist Sam Cox has unveiled his latest project, the Doodle House, which he has covered inside and out in his signature hand-drawn doodles. Cox, aka Mr Doodle, began drawing his monochrome, cartoonish style over every inch of the 12-room house in Tenterden, Kent, two years ago. The home now features his designs on every surface and object from his bedding to crockery. He wants to encourage the art world to recognise doodles as an art form. He appears to be succeeding as he's just set a new auction record by selling an original Doodle canvas in Shanghai for just under one million US dollars (£888,775).
Did You Know?
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, is the largest pyramid in the world and - with a base four times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza - also happens to be the largest monument ever constructed. Part of the reason it's not better known is that it's partially buried under a mountain, says Atlas Obscura.
Love is the Drug
In a truth which sounds stranger than fiction, the so-called “love hormone” could heal your broken heart, literally. Scientists at Michigan State University have found that oxytocin (the chemical our brain produces when we feel pleasure and attachment) can mend heart tissue, and could one day be used to treat heart attack damage.
Cervical Cancer Shot
The Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, has developed the country's first cervical cancer shot. The vaccine, which has a 90 percent efficacy and is roughly 90 percent less expensive, is being hailed as a "game-changer". Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, according to the World Health Organization.
Nixie
A letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address. (This is such an issue that the USPS has a whole plant dedicated to decoding terrible handwriting.)
Waste to Wonderland
A former industrial wasteland in Manchester, England, has officially been designated an 1,824-acre nature reserve that will provide 300,000 locals with access to nature. The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh will become one of England’s most extensive urban nature reserves and will provide protected habitat for, amongst others, endangered bitterns. The patchwork of meadows and wetlands consisting of marshy grassland, swamp, reedbed, wet woodland and tall herb fen will become part of the National Nature Reserves network.
Wax Worm Saliva
Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives. The enzymes are the first reported to break down polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could lead to cost-effective ways of recycling the plastic. The discovery came after one scientist, an amateur beekeeper in Madrid, Spain, cleaned out an infested hive and found the larvae started eating holes in a plastic refuse bag.
Quote of the Day
“Never regret anything that made you smile." Mark Twain
On this Day
5 October 1969: The British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on the BBC and proved to be a watershed for TV comedy around the world.
World’s first all-electric passenger aircraft has successfully taken to the sky for its inaugural flight in Washington. Read on...
Mood Booster
Meet the smallest bird on Earth: the Bee Hummingbird.