Today's Good News | OGN Daily

A tasty smorgasbord of upbeat news from around the world.

Gold Posy Ring

A centuries-old romantic ring, engraved on the inside with the words “Present my affection,” has been discovered by a metal detectorist in northern England. In addition to its clear inscription inside, the slightly misshapen posy ring is engraved with a decorative design on the outside and was made between about 1650 and 1750. Posy rings are named for their poetic, romantic inscriptions, usually engraved inside the band so that the message hugged the wearer’s skin. Also called “lovers’ rings,” they became popular during the medieval period as romantic tokens. Back then, romantic rings weren’t just given to signify marriage, but were common gifts exchanged at various stages of relationships.

A school of blue fin tuna | NOAA Fisheries

California's Waters

In 1999, California passed legislation that led to the creation of a statewide network of 124 marine protected areas. Now, a survey has found that fish biomass has surged, with the greatest gains in older reserves containing diverse habitats. The statewide MPA network, the first of its kind in the United States, shows the benefit of connecting smaller protected areas rather than creating a single large reserve, says Baird Maritime.

Saving Millions of Lives

It's the one year anniversary of the malaria vaccine rollout: just over 12 months ago Gavi officially launched its malaria vaccination programme in Africa. In that time over 9.8 million doses have been delivered to 17 endemic countries, protecting an estimated five million children. Gavi is hoping to protect an additional 13 million children by the end of this year, expanding coverage to eight new countries.

China's Fuel Demand

Analysts are shocked about China’s fuel demand plateau: “For China’s fuel growth trajectory to be levelling off at this early stage of development is without historical precedent,” according to the International Energy Agency. “This slide is likely to accelerate over the medium-term, which would be sufficient to generate a plateau in total China oil demand this decade,” says Bloomberg.

By The Numbers

1.4M: The square kilometers of the Arctic Ocean mapped for the first time this month, part of a project to map the floor of every ocean by 2030.

2018: The year global sales of combustion engine cars peaked. (Other datasets point to 2017.)

Spectre

Rolls-Royce owners allowed engineers to access their anonymized driving data “allowing drivetrain specialists to quantitatively analyze their driving behavior across hundreds of thousands of collective miles. This revealed that clients exploited maximum power in short pulses more than over extended periods." In response, Rolls-Royce have created their most powerful ever car: the Black Badge Spectre. The new all-electric Spectre blasts from 0-60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. It looks the business wrapped in ‘Vapour Violet’ paint, something inspired by “neon ambiance of 1980s and 1990s club culture”.

“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins.” Barack Obama

On This Day

22 February 1932: The Purple Heart, a U.S. military decoration originally instituted by George Washington in 1782 to honour bravery in battle, was revived as an award for those wounded or killed in action against an enemy.