OGN Thursday

Editor OGN Daily
Oct 9
3 min read

A tasty smorgasbord of uplifting news nuggets to brighten the day.

The Last to Know

American immunologist Fred Ramsdell is one of the recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine for his research into the immune system - but an “off-grid” hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains with his wife meant he was among the last to know. Rumsdell was “offline, as he usually is while on vacation”, said The New York Times, and missed repeated phone calls from the Nobel committee because his phone was “on airplane mode”. He finally learned of the accolade when they reached a campsite with phone signal and his wife suddenly started shouting. He first thought that maybe she had seen a grizzly bear. Instead, it was just that she had regained cellular service and had seen a flood of text messages with the same news. “You just won the Nobel Prize!” she yelled. “No, I didn’t,” said Dr. Ramsdell. But she replied, “I have 200 text messages saying that you did!”

Congratulations to Evan

Evan Budz, a 15-year-old from Ontario, Canada, is receiving global recognition for his invention: An autonomous bionic sea turtle robot. The robot, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor ecological systems underwater, won Budz a first-place prize in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. He saw potential in the way the turtle moved, compared to traditional propeller-based systems of other autonomous robots. He created a propulsion approach that imitates the way green sea turtles maneuver underwater by using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Not only is it a unique and more seamless way to move through the water, but it also has less impact on the very environments scientists are trying to protect.

Morocco Education

Since 2018, preschool enrolment in the Kingdom of Morocco rose from 45% to 80% nationally, and 33% to 91% in rural areas. The World Bank reports that in 2018, the country set a national goal of universal preschool access for children aged 4 to 5 by 2028, with a particular emphasis on reaching rural and disadvantaged communities that have limited access to early learning opportunities.

Kindness is Contagious

Families in Taylor, Texas, just got a wonderful surprise - an anonymous donor has paid off all outstanding school lunch debt for students in the district. District officials said they won’t be revealing how much debt was cleared or how many students were affected, and that the donor asked to remain anonymous. Hundreds of community members flooded the district’s announcement post about the good news with messages of gratitude for the anonymous donor’s generosity. “Thank you, whoever you are! May blessings come your way,” one person wrote. Another added, “Kindness is contagious - let's spread it every day like this wonderful person!”

Cool Hi-Fi

Few pieces of home entertainment technology have the kudos and lustre of the Brionvega Radiofonografo rr-226, designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and originally launched in September 1965. A one-piece radiogram, the Radiofonografo brought hi-fi design into the modern era, a playful pop-cultural object that could be reconfigured depending on the size and shape of the room (or the type of party you were hosting). To celebrate 60 years of the Radiofonografo, Brionvega has a numbered limited edition of 60 units - pictured. This new edition introduces a new colour palette to the range, with soft green surfaces paired with details in a warm tobacco finish, including the dials and buttons and the speaker grilles. Sadly, it's as expensive as it looks. Prices start at €14,000.

Gig Economy

In an important moment for America's gig economy - and a national first - CBS reports that Governor Newsom has signed a bill granting California's ride-share and delivery drivers the right to organize and collectively negotiate.

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." From Edgar Allan Poe's Eleonora.

On This Day

Elizabeth Scattergood pressing a key that ignited an electric arc

9 October 1936: The Hoover Dam (originally Boulder Dam) began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles, when its first generator began producing power. This momentous event was marked by a large celebration in Los Angeles, where a young woman named Elizabeth Scattergood pressed a key that ignited an electric arc, symbolizing the first use of this new hydroelectric power source.