An eclectic collection of positive news stories to brighten the day.
Reason to Celebrate
A stunning picture of Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina, suspended in mid-air above a wave in Tahiti, pointing skywards with almost biblical serenity, has gone viral. The shot, which was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, is destined to become one of the images of these Games. The Brazilian’s celebratory pose was the perfect end to a phenomenal ride. He had set out to try and achieve the perfect 10 but had to settle for a 9.9, not just the best score of the Olympics so far but also the highest in Olympic history.
Women's Sports Bar
Just in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics, California just got its first sports bar dedicated to women’s sports - Watch Me! Sports Bar is now officially open and playing women’s sports on all its TV screens. Modelled after bars like the wildly successful Sports Bra (not a typo) in Portland, Watch Me! Sports Bar is currently one of just five sports bars in the U.S. devoted to broadcasting women’s sports. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, as women’s leagues are seeing record-breaking popularity and viewership.
Thai Tigers
The tiger population density in a series of protected areas in western Thailand has more than doubled over the past two decades, according to new survey data. Thailand is the final stronghold of the Indochinese tiger, the subspecies having been extirpated from neighbouring Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam over the past decade due to poaching, habitat loss, and indiscriminate snaring. Also in Thailand...
Lifetime Warranty
Chinese-owned formerly British car brand MG has announced a surprising new battery warranty. It’s not just a few more years, but for the lifetime of the vehicle and unlimited miles.
This has the potential to change the way consumers view EVs, tackling one of the main fears they have about needing an expensive battery replacement after a few years of ownership. Currently, the offer is only available in Thailand. The lifetime warranty, albeit a small step so far, has significant implications. Battery durability is one of the many things that those concerned about the trend toward electrification are most worried about.
Harnessing The Ocean
Revolutionary grid-scale wave energy generator deployed in Hawaii. Ocean Energy has deployed its 826-tonne wave energy converter at the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site off the coast of the island of Oahu ahead of it being hooked up to Hawaii's electricity grid. Measuring 125 x 59 ft (38 x 18 m) with a draft of 31 ft (9 m), the device could be a harbinger of things to come.
Tidal Kite is Now Providing Power to The Grid: Minesto's Dragon 12 behaves remarkably like a kite underwater - using lift generated by tidal flows to fly patterns faster than the currents, thereby harvesting renewable energy.
Ulez
Expanding London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) - the first of its kind in the world - has had a “positive impact” on air quality in the city’s outer boroughs, where it has reduced nitrogen oxide (NO2) from car exhausts by 13 percent. That’s according to a City Hall report, which also claims that NO2 pollution is 53 percent lower in central London than it would have been without the Ulez.
“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” Mohsin Hamid
On This Day
31 July 1971: Apollo 15 astronauts James B. Irwin and David Scott first used the four-wheeled battery-powered Lunar Roving Vehicle to extensively explore the Moon's surface.
Today's Articles
Historical Discovery: Long lost portrait of King Henry VIII spotted by art historian while speed-scrolling on twitter.
AI Pillow: This remarkable 'active' pillow is designed to detect snoring and actually do something about it.
Injustice Corrected: Native American - “probably the greatest natural athlete the world had seen in modern times” - has his Olympic medals reinstated.
Mood Boosting Video
Uluru Bird's Eye View: Sacred to indigenous Australians and thought to have started forming 550 million years ago.