Keeping the week on track with today's global collection of upbeat news nuggets.
Cross Fox
A photographer in in Newfoundland, Canada, captured this unusual photo of a cross fox. The cross fox is a partially melanistic colour variant of the red fox which has a long dark stripe running down its back, intersecting another stripe to form a cross over the shoulders. It tends to be more abundant in northern regions of Canada and is rarer than the common red form. The photographer, Sam Gaby, said "the encounter was surreal."
Fusion Tweak
In hot pursuit of viable fusion energy (and the promise of unlimited clean energy), physicists at Princeton found that lining the reactor with liquid lithium metal looks like a promising addition for smaller sustainable plants. And rather than merely containing million-degree plasma, the liquefied metal also boosts performance by absorbing escaping particles while driving density higher. The lab’s Lithium Tokamak facility builds hope that commercially viable compact fusion reactors may come online in future.
The Moon is Shrinking
Earth’s moon is a constant in the night sky, following predictable phases in its orbit. However, its size has been changing over time. A study published this month in the Planetary Science Journal found that the moon has shrunk more than 150 feet in circumference as its core gradually cooled over the past few hundred million years. So, happily, nothing to worry about. This lunar shrinking process looks similar to how a grape wrinkles when it becomes a raisin. The moon also wrinkles and creases as it shrinks down. Whilst the moon is shrinking, cars are growing...
Today's Stat
1cm: The average amount by which new cars in Europe are getting wider every two years, according to new research by Transport & Environment motoring campaign group. Ludicrously, around half of all cars sold in Europe today are already too wide for the minimum on-street parking space in many major cities.
Are SUVs The Scourge of the Streets? The mayor of Paris is putting that question to citizens in February, in "the latest salvo in her long-running campaign to make the city more friendly to pedestrians and the planet, and less friendly to cars". More...
Fancy a Wonut?
Restaurants are beefing up their breakfast and brunch menus as the meals replace dinner as the go-to option for eating out and meeting up with friends, reports Axios. With inflation still pushing up food prices, the breakout restaurants and brands of the year may be those that bring culinary creativity to the first meal of the day. Honey sandwiches, cinnamon roll pancakes and wonuts - a waffle/doughnut hybrid - are in vogue as more chefs try to lure us out for breakfast. Looks like restaurants are finally believing that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
Coal For Solar
One of the largest coal plants in the US will soon be replaced by the nation’s biggest solar farm. Xcel Energy, which wants to generate carbon-free electricity by 2050, has shut down one of three power generating units at Minnesota’s largest power plant, and plans to shutter the other two units in 2026 and 2030. Retiring just one of the units will prevent 3.6 million metric tons of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere each year - equivalent to taking more than 780,000 cars off the road.
Good News For Zim
Zimbabwe has Africa’s largest reserves of lithium - a lightweight metal with the ability to store lots of energy, which is used to manufacture batteries for electric cars. The Southern African nation sees this “white gold” as an opportunity for economic development which could help propel the country to middle-income status by 2030.
"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." Salvador Dalí
On This Day
30 January 1847: Previously known as Yerba Buena (the name of a plant, meaning “good herb”), San Francisco was given its current name.
Another OGN collection of chuckle-worthy signs. Enjoy...
On the principle that prevention is better than a fix, the world's first pothole-preventing robot is ready for trials in the UK. Robotiz3d...
Forgetfulness Isn't Inevitable: Six recommendations to super-charge your midlife brain. Anti-age...
Mood Booster
Banned Heineken beer commercial with Jennifer Aniston.
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