Ensuring the week gets off to an upbeat start with a global collection of positive news.
Re-establishing Ties
“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life,” Oscar Wilde once said. He’d approve, then, of the call by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of Britain's House of Commons, to enforce dress rules requiring a tie - as the Rules of Behaviour and Courtesies in the House of Commons has been updated. No longer are men “encouraged” to wear a tie, but instead “expected” to wear one. MPs sans tie and louche of collar are, apparently, unlikely to be called to speak.
Affordable EVs
There have been lots of reports in the press recently about US and European EV manufacturers moaning that sales of their electric cars are slowing down. So, it will be good news when they wake up to the fact that all the 'early adopters' with lots of money have already bought one. The rest of us are waiting for something that's significantly cheaper to buy!
BYD Seagull: A Ridiculously Cheap EV. This sleek little hatchback is one of the best deals on the electric-car market. Hop in...
Whopping Numbers
The number of sea turtle nests is increasing rapidly across Florida's coasts. The whole state is seeing a record number of nests, with some areas reporting that their numbers have tripled since last year. According to ABC News, the state's Space Coast region "has recorded a whopping 20,545 in loggerhead nests, 31,893 green sea turtle nests, 61 leatherback nests and three Kemp's Ridley nests, with a total count of more than 52,500 nests in that area alone."
Giant Lamassu
With the wings of a bird, the body of a bull and the head of a human, the Lamassu is an imposing figure - especially when the Assyrian deity’s form is rendered in 18 tons of alabaster. That’s what French and Iraqi archaeologists have uncovered at Dur-Sharrukin, an ancient city in northern Iraq. The 2,700 year old sculpture measures approximately 12.5 by 13 feet and remains largely intact - except for its head, which is missing. Today, thousands of years later, experts are impressed by its intricate design. “The attention to detail is unbelievable.”
First Deaf Lawyer
Sarah Sunny just made history when she became India's first deaf lawyer to argue in the country's Supreme Court, assisted by an interpreter - the first in its history. In the lower courts, she submitted arguments in writing, as the judges thought interpreters would not understand legal terminology. Now, the high court has said it will start appointing its own interpreters after another deaf lawyer asked for two sign language experts - one for lawyers and one for the judges. Sunny's interpreter said the court's decision could mean that "the deaf will realize that they also have an equal right under the law."
Goldwind
The world’s largest wind turbine has smashed the record for the most power produced by a single turbine in a day. China's giant Goldwind turbine towers above the sea with its 252 metre (827ft) diameter sweep and just produced enough energy to power roughly 170,000 homes. Just one turbine. In one day. It partly explains why wind turbines are getting bigger and bigger.
Fédération de Football
France’s football federation has announced a new policy: all football teams will travel to all matches under three hours away by train instead of plane in a bid to cut carbon emissions.
"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Mark Twain
On This Day
6 November 1991: Russian President Boris Yeltsin outlaws the Communist Party.
Radical new wind turbine design begins testing: It's half the price and twice as effective. Win win...
Prescient: Over one hundred years ago, English cartoonist and caricaturist W. K. Haselden did a strip on "pocket telephones". Remarkable...
Mood Booster
Today in 1984: U.S. President Ronald Reagan won re-election in a landslide victory over Democratic candidate Walter Mondale. Here's the funny moment that probably sealed it.