What better way to start the day than with a global round up of positive news?
Chef Makes His Mark
When Ernst de Witte visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam last year, he wasn’t expecting to leave his mark on art history. De Witte, a chef, was admiring work by the Dutch artist when his culinary expertise spotted that something was amiss: Red Cabbages and Onions, an 1887 still life, had been incorrectly titled. In the foreground of the painting, De Witte saw two heads of garlic, not onions. So, he wrote to the museum telling them of the mistake. After further research, the museum told de Witte it was changing the name of the painting, which is now listed as Red Cabbages and Garlic. The painting’s ingredients had been misidentified since its public debut in 1928.
Incredible Success
Two decades ago, Ethiopia introduced a public health program of household visits delivered by young women, reports Gavi. It's been an incredible success, associated with a 70 percent reduction in the probability of child marriage, a 75 percent reduction in the probability of early pregnancy, and a 63 percent increase in the probability of being enrolled in education.
Lucky Escape
A small meteorite just smashed through the roof of a house in New Jersey, making a dent in the bedroom floor. Happily, police report that nobody was hurt by the 6 inch long metallic looking object that was, according to a resident, warm when touched. Meteorites can originate from comets, the moon and other planets, but about 99.8 percent of recovered space rocks have come from asteroids, according to NASA. While an estimated 500 meteorites hit the Earth’s surface each year, less than 10 percent are recovered - most land in the ocean or other remote places. Or New Jersey.
Atlantic Forest
A non-profit is reconnecting islands of Brazil’s original Atlantic Forest, currently fragmented by farms, ranches, and housing. It recently purchased an block of cattle pasture to connect to the 6,200 acre União Biological Reserve, bringing the total area of protected space to 49,400 acres of contiguous forest.
Norway Miles Ahead
In Norway, drive up to a gas station and you'll find more chargers than pumps. Last year, 80 percent of Norway's new car sales were electric, and the country plans to phase out gas-powered cars entirely in 2025. So far, "Norway's experience suggests that electric vehicles bring benefits without the dire consequences predicted by some critics," The New York Times reports. The air in Oslo is cleaner, with greenhouse gas emissions dropping 30 percent since 2009, and there hasn't been a big uptick in unemployment at gas stations or auto mechanics, or significant strain on the electrical grid. While there have been a few challenges, tax breaks and easily available charging stations "took away all the friction factors," Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan told the Times.
Great Results
A pilot scheme in which university students tutored children who were struggling to write basic sentences has led to a doubling in their literacy scores. Set up by academics at Exeter University in south west England, the project involved undergraduates (who had been given a week’s training) being assigned three pupils who were in year 8 (aged 12 and 13) at local secondary schools. Each week, they gave the children an hour-long lesson. After just one term, the children’s literary scores had doubled from an average of 10.9 out of 30 to 21 out of 30.
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Nelson Mandela
On this Day
16 May 1975: Tabei Junko of Japan, accompanied by Ang Tsering of Nepal, became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Helion signs deal with Microsoft to supply fusion power by 2028. If successful, the 'holy grail' era of cheap, clean energy will arrive. Fingers crossed...
A teetotal woman stranded in the Australian bush for five days survived on a bottle of wine and handful of sweets. Rescue...
Text Abbreviations: Knowing the meaning of these verbal shortcuts will stop you from being constantly confused in the digital world! YOLO!
Mood Booster
Fun Visual Effects Compilation. Well, what do you do with your spare time?