Global round up of positive news nuggets to ensure the weekend gets off to a sunny start.
Dunkin' Affleck
Ben Affleck, a Boston native, made a surprise appearance at a Massachusetts Dunkin' drive-thru to serve up the breakfast chain's coffee and donuts. While working at the window, the devout Dunkin' fan was wearing an employee uniform complete with a black visor and matching shirt that read America runs on Dunkin'. Affleck stunned fans as they pulled up to grab their orders. Customers said the actor handed them their money back and gave out food and drinks free of charge. Another customer told NBC 10 Boston that Affleck was "quick-witted and funny" while serving as an employee for the day.
The FriendShip
In a few days time, four brothers will set a world record as the first rowing team made entirely of brothers to cross the Atlantic. While many siblings find being stuck under one roof challenging, it’s a testament to their endurance that the four of them have shared two rowing benches and one tent-sized cabin for nearly 4 weeks. The adventurous brothers are two sets of twins: 26-year-olds Jack and Hamish Friend, and 24-year-olds Euan and Arthur Friend. The foursome from Devon, England have already raised over £82k ($100k) for charities since setting off on their epic endurance challenge nearly a month ago, aboard The FriendShip.
Coronation Cup
In very good news for an anonymous couple who spotted a tatty old mug depicting Charles II at a flea market in Buckinghamshire, central England, and snapped it up for £2: it has just sold at auction for £14,000 ($17,100). The tin-glazed earthenware cup is 4 inches tall and is believed to be a 360-year-old souvenir from Charles II's coronation. Although the coronation took place in 1661, the mug features the date of 1660, when Charles was restored to the throne following the death of Oliver Cromwell. He is depicted wearing the new state crown that had to be made after Cromwell gave orders to break up the previous one following the execution of the new king's father Charles I.
Ultracool Dwarf Stars
Thanks to the vast distances between objects in our galaxy, astronomers often have to wait months or years to observe how celestial bodies like stars and planets move around each other. Recently though, astrophysicists using telescopes at the V. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, saw the light from a pair of ultracool dwarf stars change within minutes. This led to the discovery that what was once thought to be just one star was actually two. What's more, the two stars were found to be so close to each other that they broke a record for being the tightest ultracool binary system ever observed, revolving around each other in less than an Earth day.
Change of Colour?
BMW has unveiled an updated version of its colour-changing car technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, expanding the concept from black and white to a full colour palette. The BMW i Vision Dee features an exterior made from an e-ink film, similar to the material used for a book reader. The i Vision Dee boasts up to 32 colours, and its design allows for the creation of completely customised, digitally controlled patterns on demand.
US Clean Energy
A new analysis of federal data shows that wind and solar alone is likely to generate more electricity in the United States than nuclear and coal in 2022, critical progress toward reducing the country’s reliance on dirty energy, reports Ecowatch
Clean Trucks
Back in 2021, hydrogen/electric truck maker Tevva joined the likes of Tesla, Volvo and Volta on a mission to clean up freight haulage. Now the company has announced that it's the first British EV manufacturer to start mass producing electric trucks. The company expects to manufacture 1,000 of its 7.5 tonne battery-electric trucks this year for the domestic market (which includes the Royal Mail), with production for global markets following in 2024.
"Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it." Denzel Washington
On this Day
14 January 1943: Franklin D. Roosevelt travels from Miami to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill, becoming the first American president to travel overseas by airplane.
A chain of supermarkets in the Netherlands has introduced 'chat checkout' lanes to help make the world a better place. Read on...
Mood Booster
Brilliant synopsis of the evolution of dance from 1950 to 2019.