What better way to start the week than with a worldwide round up of positive news nuggets?
Danish Succession
Thousands of people gathered yesterday in Copenhagen to witness a passing of the throne in one of the world’s oldest monarchies. Queen Margrethe II, Denmark’s longest reigning monarch, passed the crown to Frederik, her first-born son, on Sunday and huge crowds gathered in front of the parliament. Margrethe stunned the nation of nearly six million on New Year’s Eve when she announced her decision to abdicate after 52 years as queen, becoming the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to voluntarily relinquish the throne. There was no coronation, but the succession took place in parliament at the moment Margrethe, 83, signed the declaration of her abdication. People from all over Denmark converged on the capital in a sign of the huge popularity the monarchy is enjoying.
Queen of Denmark Hired by Netflix: Queen Margrethe II, reigning monarch of Denmark, designs the sets for a forthcoming Netflix film adapted from a novel by Karen Blixen.
[OGN: September 2021]
Music Streams
Listened to more music last year? You’re not alone. The global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams in 2023, a new single-year record, Luminate’s 2023 Year-End Report found.
Global streams were also up 34 percent from last year, reflective of an increasingly international music marketplace. Stateside, three genres saw the biggest growth in 2023: country (24 percent), Latin (which encompasses all Latin musical genres, also up 24 percent) and world (a catchall that includes J-pop, K-pop and Afrobeats, up 26 percent.) Streaming is now so dominant that artists are changing their songs in order to maximise potential streaming revenues.
First Ever
St. Paul just made history by inaugurating an all-female city council. Experts who track women in politics told Associated Press that Minnesota's capital city (pop. 300,000), is the first large U.S. city they know of with an all-female city council.
Breaking Barriers
In a win for inclusivity, politician Mar Galcerán has become Spain’s first parliamentarian with Down’s syndrome. “Society is starting to see that people with Down’s syndrome have a lot to contribute,” Galcerán told The Guardian after she obtained a seat in Valencia’s regional parliament this week. “But it’s a very long road.”
Need New Boots?
Sir Elton John is putting a piano, jumpsuit and a pair of platform boots up for auction in New York next month. The items listed in the collection titled Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road, are from the home he and Furnish, shared in Atlanta. If you fancy tinkling Elton's own ivories, there's a Yamaha grand piano for sale at $30,000 to $50,000 and a 1971 pair of tall leather platform boots - silver and with red leather letters 'E' and 'J' on both sides - could fetch between $5,000 and $10,000. Tash Perrin of Christie's Americas, which is handling the auction, said the extraordinary collection showcases "a diverse array of remarkable objects that encapsulate Elton's unique life, work, and art." The collection is open to the public at Christie's in New York for 12 days before the opening night of sales on 21 February.
Chatty Cockatiel
Britain's RSPCA is on the hunt to find the owner of a loquacious parrot found wandering down a street, reported the BBC. The male cockatiel was found to have an extensive vocabulary and an impressive repertoire of songs after being rescued near a bench in Bolton, in north west England. "He sings 'If you're happy and you know it' and waits for you to clap, as well as a few other songs and phrases," said rescue officer, Helen Chapman. She has named him Peek-a-boo as the phrase is among his vocabulary.
Positive Step Forward
Researchers have designed a soft robotic device that helps people with Parkinson's walk without freezing. When a freezing episode occurs, the person is temporarily unable to move their feet, putting them at a greater risk of falling. Teams from both Harvard and Boston University have engineered a clever device that is worn around the hips and thighs and "gives a gentle push to the hips as the leg swings," The Harvard Gazette said. This helps a Parkinson's patient "achieve a longer stride," and during trials it "eliminated the participant's freezing while walking indoors, allowing them to walk faster and further than they could without the garment's help." The team worked with a 73-year-old Parkinson's patient who had frequent freezing episodes, and he told the researchers the exosuit "is a positive step forward. It could help me to walk longer and maintain the quality of my life."
"We never know the whole man, though sometimes, in quick flashes, we know the true man."
Agatha Christie
On This Day
15 January 1759: Established by an act of Parliament in 1753, the British Museum - which counts among its world-renowned antiquities and archaeological holdings the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone - opened to the public this day in 1759, becoming the world's first national public museum.
After receiving entries from around the globe, the international jury has now crowned the winner of The World’s Ugliest Lawn - using humour to shine a light on a serious subject. Congratulations!
Smart binoculars that can identify the birds you're looking at. AX Visio...
Vice president Dan Quayle is mainly remembered for what came out of his mouth incorrectly, twisted around, or just wrong. Hilarious Quayle-isms...
Mood Booster
I Can't Stop The Feeling - Hollywood Dance Mashup.