Some bite-sized chunks of positive news to perk up the day.
Rare Aubrite
Just after midnight in late January, a roughly three-foot-long asteroid fell through Earth’s atmosphere - burning up in a blazing fireball seen across much of Europe and crashing to the ground as fragments of meteorite near Berlin, Germany. Scientists (and citizen hunters) descended on the scene to recover the pieces, and they have now been classified - and proven to be remarkably rare. The fragments belonged to an extremely uncommon group of meteorites known as aubrites - which look a bit like grey granite. Just 80 of the roughly 70,000 meteorite fragments ever recovered had been classified as aubrites prior to this new impact. Currently, there isn't even an agreed-upon origin of aubrites and they make up only 1 percent of all known meteorites.
The Rarest Mineral on Earth: Most human eyes have seen the mystical beauty of quartz, possibly without knowing it is the most common mineral on Earth, but which is the rarest? Find out...
Marine Protection
Spain has designated seven new marine protected areas across the country’s three marine regions: the Mediterranean, Macaronesia, and the Atlantic. Oceana reports that the designation will increase Spain’s area of ocean protection from 12 percent to 21 percent, safeguarding the habitat for threatened species, including deep seamounts and a large migratory corridor for birds.
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey will reportedly make a return to TV screens, eight years and two movies since its last series. The beloved period drama aired its final episode on Christmas Day 2015, and was then followed by two movie spin-offs in 2019 and 2022. Revealing the news of the show's upcoming return, a source told the Daily Mail: "Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it is all very, very secret." Show creator Julian Fellowes, previously shared that he wouldn't rule out a third return for Downton Abbey following the success of the two films.
Moon Mission
A privately-owned spacecraft headed for the Moon has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. If the spacecraft Odysseus's mission is successful, its owner Intuitive Machines will make history as the first private company to land on the Moon. All previous landings have been carried out by national space agencies. The robotic craft will attempt to land on the lunar surface's south pole, where scientists hope there could be a source of water. The craft launched at 01:05 EST (06:05 GMT) on top of a Falcon 9 rocket made by Elon Musk's SpaceX company.
New Forests
Since the 1990s, the EU has reforested an area the size of Portugal but compare that to this
wonderfully positive graphic showing the growth of French forests over the last 200 years...
They're doing things a bit differently in the Philippines, where the government just passed laws requiring parents to plant two trees for every child - and requiring students to plant two trees when they graduate.
Super Bowl Record
According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 overtime victory versus the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday averaged 123.7 million viewers across television and streaming platforms, comfortably beating last year's mark of 115.1 million. Nielsen also said a record 202.4 million watched at least part of the game across all networks, a 10 percent jump over last year's figure of 183.6 million. By way of comparison, an estimated 125 to 150 million viewers tuned in on July 20, 1969, to see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon.
Seychelles Success
The Seychelles has the best education system in Africa, says Fair Planet. At least 9 percent of the country's budget is allocated to education, and it has met all six of UNESCO's goals, achieving a 50 percent improvement in adult literacy, ensuring universal access to primary education, and achieving gender equality in education. Little wonder then that the literacy level is over 90 percent.
Domino Effect
In California’s Monterey Bay, there's a great example of how saving one species can have a domino effect on the restoration of a whole ecosystem. Successful efforts to bolster sea otter populations are now saving local salt marshes because the otters feast on the burrowing crabs that cause erosion. The sea otters have consumed enough of the crabs to slow the erosion almost to a halt.
School Lunches
School lunches are Brazil's secret weapon against hunger, says NPR. At all public schools, children are provided meals for free under a government-run program that feeds more than 40 million students from daycare through high school across 5,570 municipalities, ensuring all children stay nourished and engaged in their education.
"Success is to bring into existence, in adult terms, your childhood dreams." Harlan Ellison
On This Day
15 February 1965: Canada officially adopted the Maple Leaf Flag following a royal proclamation.
More funny tweets about the ups and downs of married life! Hilarious...
Cool new electric mobility scooter. Why should such a machine be just for seniors? Hop in...
Three ancient objects that are still a mystery. Baffling...
Mood Booster
Three tricky matchstick puzzles to test your brain.