OGN Tuesday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 14 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Today's tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news from around the globe.
New Post Box
A shiny new red post box has been given as a gift from King Charles III to staff at a remote Antarctic research station - a renowned global hub for climatic research. The Royal Mail post box was sent to staff at the British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera. The box, featuring the King Charles III cypher, was delivered after Kirsten Shaw, a station support assistant who runs the British Antarctic Territory Post Office for staff, requested an upgrade to their handmade box. Ms Shaw said: "Getting post is really special for the team at Rothera." Postal logistics in such a remote area are not easy. It's gathered and put on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough or on BAS aircraft to the Falkland Islands, where BAS maintains an office in Stanley. The final leg involves transport to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where letters enter the Royal Mail postal network for onward delivery. Or vice versa.
Longest in Europe
Europe’s longest urban cable car has been unveiled on the outskirts of Paris. The new line, the first in the French capital, connects Créteil to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in the city’s south-eastern suburbs. The three-mile route cost €138m ($162m) to build and was inaugurated on Saturday. Its 105 gondolas are expected to carry more than 11,000 passengers a day, each holding a maximum of 10 people. Historically used in rugged mountain terrain, cable cars are increasingly built to connect urban neighbourhoods. While the new cable car is the longest in Europe, it still lags behind the longest in the world connecting the Bolivian cities of La Paz and El Alto over 20 miles.
Trees For Troops
FedEx has delivered 325,000 free Christmas trees to military families as part of an annual 'Trees for Troops' program. The program started in 2005 by a nonprofit called Christmas Spirit Foundation, and it’s been growing with the support of Christmas tree farmers across the country. “Delivering these trees is our way of saying ‘thank you’ and helping light the holidays for service members and their loved ones.”
First US State
North Dakota is on track to be the first US state to provide high-speed internet access to the entire state. The final connections are expected to be completed by 2028, though it may be sooner depending on construction timelines.
England’s Oldest
750-year-old artifacts, including gravestone slabs, cauldrons and other items recovered from the 'Mortar Wreck' are now on display in a new gallery at the Poole Museum, located roughly 115 miles from London along the English Channel. At the museum, visitors can get an up-close look at some of the objects researchers have recovered from the 13th century wreck, which was transporting limestone gravestones and grinding mortars when it sank. Researchers don’t know why the ship sank, but they suspect the heavy cargo might have had something to do with it, “particularly if the … stone was pitching around in a storm,” said Hefin Meara, a marine archaeologist at Historic England. “It seems to have been setting out from Poole Harbour, and gone down about [a mile] out.” Sticking to the subject of nautical adventures...
Early Seafarers
Researchers have long debated when people reached the landmass Sahul, which started splitting into New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania around 9,000 years ago. The “long chronology” hypothesis suggests the earliest main arrivals occurred around 65,000 to 60,000 years ago, while the “short chronology” posits that happened roughly 51,000 to 47,000 years ago. Now, researchers report new genetic evidence for the long chronology, suggesting that humans first arrived on the ancient continent via two different paths around 60,000 years ago. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, also present one of the earliest cases of seafaring.
“December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
On This Day
16 December 2009: Avatar, a science-fiction thriller directed by James Cameron, was released internationally. It went on to make more than $2.7 billion worldwide and spawn a film franchise.
Today's Articles
New Seventh Category: Is it time for a new Nobel Prize category for outstanding achievements in climate and planetary health?
Key Chemical: Most people aren’t getting enough of this little-known essential nutrient linked to anxiety. Are you?
Mood Boosting Video
Reindeer Nomads: 5 minute cinematic travel film documenting a journey into the far north of Mongolia.