Today's Good News
What better way to start the day than with a global round up of positive news nuggets?
Stairway to Heaven
This stairway in Chile brings you only a little bit closer to heaven. But ooh, the sky above it makes you wonder. For example, you may wonder about the dark lane of our own Milky Way galaxy rising behind the expansive Atacama Desert in Chile, the band of zodiacal light on the upper left, the green and red airglow just above the horizon, the star Spica in the zodiacal light stripe, and, at the very top on the right, the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy. The Desert Staircase sculpture is in the foreground, and this image was timed to catch the picturesque peering perch just in front of the near-vertical Milky Way band.
Celebrating 100 Years
Everyone’s favorite “silly old bear” is officially 100. The first Winnie-the-Pooh book by A.A. Milne was published on 14 October 1926, going on to capture the hearts of readers young and old across the world for generations to come. Happily, the original publisher says it will donate Milne's classics - whose setting was inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex - alongside a new authorised sequel. Free books for 150 red phone box libraries are being made available to celebrate the centenary of two British legends - Winnie-the-Pooh and the K2 red phone box. Sally Phillips, actor and narrator of the newly reissued Winnie-the-Pooh audiobooks, launched the campaign by reading to schoolchildren at a phone box library in Chartham, Kent. "He has always been the number one bear in our house," she told the BBC.
For The Weekend?
Kooler is free cocktail app where you add the bottles you own and see every drink you can make.
Hiljaa Fest
This is a festival with a difference, where all things natural are the headliners, peace and quiet are the supporting acts, and tickets are open to anyone ready to slow down and leave no trace. The inaugural festival in Finland, officially called Hiljaa Fest (translating to “Quietly Fest”), opened in Valkmusa National Park, a couple of hours outside Helsinki. It bills itself as not only the “world’s quietest festival” but also the first Festival of Nature Listening. The park is home to 40 types of wetland habitats, numerous bird and butterfly species, and miles of wooden boardwalk trails. “Every performer appears on their own terms, in their own habitat, and according to their own schedule,” says the delightful festival blurb. No wonder that Finland is the world's happiest country (again).
Say Hello to Jodi
At 6.5 feet tall and 20 feet long, the pictured fossil looks like a young T. rex but is actually a Nanotyrannus: a smaller, distant cousin that lived around the same time, about 67 million years ago. Jodi is currently standing in (most of) her splendor at Sotheby’s New York before heading to auction later this month. This Nanotyrannus, which is about 70 percent complete, was found in 2019 by the fossil’s namesake, Jodi Pierson, on her Montana ranch. It’s one of only three such skeletons known to exist and features a virtually whole skull and jaw with about 50 teeth. The dino is expected to fetch up to $9 million.
Largest Ever
This gargantuan squash was just certified as the largest ever grown at a recent British competition. When volunteers at the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off finally hoisted the specimen onto the scale, the reading was astonishing: 2,856.8lbs (1,295.8kg). That's heavier than a VW Beetle. Ian Paton says he spent 6 hours a day during the growing season tending the gargantuan gourd. 65-year-old Paton is a master, having grown giant produce for 50 years alongside his brother Stuart. Together, the two men broke the world record for a giant pumpkin just last year.
“The past is beautiful because one never realizes an emotion at the time. It expands later.” Virginia Woolf
On This Day
16 October 1916: Jean Batten reaches Auckland, New Zealand, after flying solo from Kent, England, in a record 11 days and 45 minutes. She flew a low-winged monoplane called the Percival Vega Gull, which she fitted with extra petrol tanks. Jean Gardner Batten CBE was a pioneering New Zealand aviator celebrated as the "Garbo of the skies" for her glamorous style and reclusive nature.
Today's Articles
Nature’s Infinity Pool: A delightful optical illusion that makes a body of water appear to “float” above the ocean.
A Different Path: Biomethane is Italy's largest source of renewable energy - more than all other renewable sources combined.
Wise Words: Concise observations from famous people about the importance, joy, pursuit and the state of happiness.
Mood Boosting Video
For over 200 years, people in Catalonia, Spain, have been creating human towers - and broke the record this October.
