Thursday's Upbeat News

Editor OGN Daily
1 day ago
3 min read

Global round up of positive news stories to brighten the day.

Pamela’s Pickles

Pamela Anderson isn’t just making headlines on screen - she’s also stepping into the culinary world with purpose. The Naked Gun actress has teamed up with Flamingo Estate to launch Pamela’s Pickles, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the California Wildlife Center, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing native wild animals along the California coast. These gourmet pickles are crafted from an award-winning recipe passed down from Pamela’s great-aunt Vie. “She was an award-winning pickler and canner, a great cook, and such a joy to be around,” Anderson said. “She wrote a book, From Pickles to Pearls. This is legit!”

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multi-coloured mural created by an Indigenous group in Peru more than 3,000 years ago — Credit: Pontifical Catholic University of Peru

Unique Iconography

Researchers in Peru have discovered a multi-coloured mural created by an Indigenous group more than 3,000 years ago. The artwork, which features astronomical and fishing-related motifs and decorated with blue and yellow pigments, is the first of its kind found on the country’s northern coast, says dig leader Ana Cecilia Mauricio. The dig team found the mural last month, during an excavation of the Huaca Yolanda site, which is located in a valley in Peru’s northwestern coastal region of La Libertad. The three-dimensional mural once adorned the wall of an atrium in a ceremonial temple. The mural reveals the rich symbolism of pre-Inca cultures in the region. It “has characteristics that are unique in Peruvian archaeology,” Mauricio tells Agence France-Presse. “We had never before found iconography or drawings of this type.”

Hawaii's volcanic mountain coastline — Hawaii to introduce "green fee"

The Aloha State

Hawaii is rolling out an unprecedented measure to offset climate change costs - and it’s targeting tourists’ wallets. Starting 1 January 2026, the Aloha State’s 10 million annual visitors will face a slightly higher price tag: a new “green fee,” raising Hawaii’s tourism tax from 10.25 percent to 11 percent, Bloomberg reports. The extra charge - averaging about $2 per visitor per day - is expected to generate $100 million annually, all of which will be funneled directly into environmental restoration and climate mitigation efforts, from coral reef rehabilitation to fire-prevention projects.

Phones For Flamingos

A Tucson, Arizona zoo launched a cell phone recycling program that will help protect flamingos. In partnership with ECO-CEL, the zoo is now accepting used cell phones, tablets, and chargers with the goal of reducing the demand for new lithium mining, which threatens ecosystems where Chilean flamingos live.

13 acre corn maize field planted to read: 'Will You Marry Me Caroline?' — Credit: Circle S Farms | Facebook

Surprise Proposal

Tim Sullivan, an Ohio farmer, planted a 13-acre corn maze with a very special surprise - a marriage proposal for his girlfriend. To make the big moment happen, he convinced Caroline to take a flight with him - under the innocent pretence that he was learning to fly. On the first pass, she didn’t spot the message that said 'Will You Marry Me Caroline?' So Tim asked the pilot to circle one more time, the engagement ring safely tucked in his pocket. Then she saw it. The couple are planning to tie the knot in early summer 2026.

Longshot

AI firm Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to buy Google Chrome - the world’s most popular internet browser. Following Google’s guilty verdict for monopolizing the web-search market, US District Judge Amit Mehta is weighing whether to force the tech giant to sell Chrome as part of the remedy. While many analysts doubt Mehta will go that far, plenty of interested buyers are circling, says the Wall Street Journal. But with Perplexity’s formal offer already on the table, Mehta could see an opportunity to greenlight a sale, knowing there’s cash ready to change hands.

“It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

On This Day

14 August 2016: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 100-metres at the Rio de Janeiro Games, becoming the first person to win the event in three consecutive Olympics; he later claimed an unprecedented third straight gold medal in the 200-metres.