OGN Wednesday
- Jun 17
- 4 min read
Mid-week selection of tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news.
Good Opening Weekend
Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg’s thriller in which it is revealed the US has been experimenting on UFOs for almost 80 years, is on track to become his best performing original title in the US. The film took $44m domestically over the three-day weekend for a global total of about $93m. Disclosure Day, which stars Emily Blunt as a weather forecaster who can channel alien discourse, as well as Josh O’Connor as a whistleblower poised to tell the world about UFO abuse, cost $115m to make and an estimated $80m to market. Pundits estimate the film will need to take around $300m to cover its costs - as cinema owners take a substantial cut of ticket prices. Spielberg’s most recent film to achieve this goal was 2018’s Ready Player One, which took $583.5m - about 10 times its US opening.
Mission Library
A great many people followed the Artemis II mission live, getting real-time updates of the astronauts as they flew around the moon. And thanks to the advanced tech that surrounded the mission, NASA was able to share some high-res images taken by the astronauts before they even returned to Earth. These included Earthset, a solar eclipse from their perspective, and detailed images of the dark side of the moon. Now, NASA has released an additional 12,000 images spanning the whole mission. While the original batch will surely go down in history, these are more candid, showing the human side of the mission. They evoke how the astronauts spent most of their time above; documenting the experience for us, devoting their time for the greater good, and making us part of the trip. Meanwhile, back on terra firma....
They're Back
Serena and Venus Williams will rekindle their doubles partnership at Wimbledon this month after receiving a wildcard into the women’s doubles draw. The All England Club announced the recipients yesterday morning in one of the most highly anticipated wildcard announcements in recent memory considering Serena’s return this month (at Queen's) after four years of retirement.
Remarkable
Bumblebees can wing it in the same way as much larger counterparts in the animal kingdom, according to a new study. Researchers in Finland presented untrained bees with a classic problem-solving experiment: A sugary reward was placed out of reach, but near a means to reach it - in this case, a Styrofoam ball. Chimps, elephants, and birds have successfully solved similar variations of the puzzle. Sure enough, despite having brains the size of a sesame seed, about 80 percent spontaneously figured out how to roll the ball into just the right position that allowed them to reach the otherwise unreachable reward. “I wasn’t expecting that high success rate,” study author Olli Loukola told NPR, adding that it suggests “very tiny brains can solve super complex problems.”
Never Before Seen: Play Has Been Observed in Insects. Turns out that bumblebees don't just work hard, they play hard too! (2 minute video)
Bear-dar
An AI radar system designed to keep both polar bears and people safe has proven a success at a weather station in Nunavut, Canada. Dubbed “Bear-dar,” the system detected a mother polar bear and her two cubs near the station, enabling staff to safely deter them. Developed by nonprofit Polar Bears International in partnership with radar manufacturer Spotter Global and the Canadian government, the tech aims to eliminate surprise interactions. Paired with a camera, the radar detects and tracks motion, alerting staff and giving them visuals of what’s approaching.
Gramping
Recently, dozens of kids and their grandparents set up camp in Southern California’s Dos Picos County Park for a weekend of arts and crafts, games, and nature. They were partaking in a free annual “gramping” event run by officials in San Diego County, where some 18,000 grandparents are raising their grandchildren. The portmanteau refers, of course, to camping with one’s grandparents - or, depending on who’s using it, camping with one’s grandkids. In the case of the San Diego event, it allowed adults who have guardianship of their grandchildren to spend time with others in the same situation, but gramping in general is a chance for the two generations to connect sans parents, and is regarded as a 'win win' for all concerned.
“Point out the good when you see it. In life, in others, in yourself.” Topher Kearby
On This Day
17 June 1579: English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at what becomes known as Drakes Bay, for ship repairs; claims area on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, and names it 'Nova Albion'. This translates to New England, with Albion being an archaic Latin name for Britain - chosen because the white cliffs of the area reminded him of the white cliffs of Dover. This 1579 foothold laid the foundation for future English territorial assertions across the continent, preceding later New England settlements by more than 40 years.
Today's Articles
‘The Perfect Job’: Two fans are being paid to watch all FIFA World Cup Games from inside a glass cube in Times Square.
Hat Trick: A British adventurer has become the first person to circumnavigate the globe by land, sea and air.
Game-Changer: Nobel Prize winner creates device that harvests water from dry air - even in places like Death Valley.
Mood Boosting Video
Royal History: How Windsor Castle has changed over 1,000 years.
