Thursday's Upbeat News

Editor OGN Daily
3 minutes ago
3 min read

Some tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news to brighten the day.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro on stage in Cannes — Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro

Offer He Can't Refuse

Every year, around this time, the world’s most decorated and well-known actors, filmmakers and screenwriters descend upon the resort town of Cannes in the southeastern French Riviera to attend one of the industry’s most prestigious annual events: the Cannes Film Festival. Leonardo DiCaprio drew a standing ovation as he presented Robert De Niro with an honorary Palme d’Or for his lifetime achievement as an actor, director and producer. The pair have shared the big screen on three occasions, in a partnership beginning all the way back in 1993.

Turning The Air Blue

Six GPS waypoints used in aviation are to be renamed because their five-letter code names sound too rude. Some air traffic controllers are "refusing to use potentially offensive route names" like "OKNOB" and "UTITI", both near Glasgow, and "RUBMI", a point south of Portland Bill, said The Telegraph. The Civil Aviation Authority said other controllers have "deliberately mispronounced" them.

Superb starling standing on a tree branch — Superb starling | Wikimedia Commons

Friendship Reciprocity

It takes a village to raise a child is a well-known adage, and new research has discovered that superb starlings, a species of vibrantly hued, medium-sized birds in eastern Africa, rely on village-type “friendships” to help raise their flocks’ young. After studying nine flocks of starlings over nearly two decades, researchers found the birds pitched in to help unrelated flock members rear their chicks, and they seemed to expect those members to return the favour when time required it. “This is the first real evidence of reciprocity in a co-operatively breeding bird,” study co-author Dustin Rubenstein told ScienceAlert, “and one of the strongest pieces of evidence for reciprocity occurring outside of humans.”

God's-On Favourite

Online gamblers spent more than $40 million trying to guess the identity of the next pope, according to data gathered by US business broadcaster CNBC. Cardinal Robert Prevost, who emerged as Pope Leo XIV, was seen as a long shot, with "odds of less than 1 percent". A spokesperson for online betting platform Kalshi told the broadcaster that the papal election had been "a major draw, roughly comparable to a big sporting event".

Woman looking at a painting in an art gallery — 'Big picture' thinking

Take Your Time

The next time someone rushes you through a museum, tell them the findings from a new study from the University of Cambridge: Stopping to ponder artistic beauty may encourage “big picture” thinking. The research suggests that contemplating the beauty of artistic objects in a gallery or museum boosts our ability to think in abstract ways and look at our lives from a wider perspective. The Cambridge psychologists say their findings offer solid evidence that engaging with artistic beauty helps us escape from certain elements of the quotidian, like daily anxieties and to-do lists.

Saatchi's Online Gallery: It houses 1.4 million original pieces from 94,000 artists in over 110 countries - and is successfully facilitating the way consumers access high-quality artwork, at prices ranging from under $200 to many thousands.

Phones Finnished

The Finnish Parliament has approved a law restricting the use of mobile devices by pupils at primary and secondary schools, reports YLE. Pupils will need to get special permission from teachers to use their phones to assist them in studies, to take care of personal health-related matters, etc. Research increasingly indicates that excessive smartphone use in children and adolescents can negatively impact their mental and physical health, academic performance, and social development.

“Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them.” W. Clement Stone