Endangered Chick Appears in ‘Christmas Miracle’ Hatching to Parents Thought Infertile
Described by park officials as a Christmas miracle, a breeding pair of endangered takahē birds in New Zealand were found to be rearing a chick, having previously been thought of as infertile. With around 500 of these flightless birds left in the country, every chick counts. The miracle happened in Zealandia, a fenced-in ecosanctuary 10 […]
Welcome to the Lemon-Shaped Planet Where Rain Turns to Diamonds
An exoplanet located 2,000 light years from Earth is so unusual it’s given astronomers the idea that it could be a totally new type of object. That’s because it’s shaped like a lemon, with a small tip just like the fruit has, and a free-floating carbon atmosphere where rain might turn to diamonds in the […]
Oklahoma Man’s Cat Returns Home After 5 Months Lost in Northern Canada Thanks to Kind Strangers
Was it bad luck to name a black cat Shadow? The family cat, owned by Jeremy Barton, his wife, and their two sons, went missing while Barton was heading home from the far north of British Columbia, vanishing into the forest just like his namesake. In a provincial park called Liard River Hot Springs, Shadow […]
Good News in History, December 24
57 years ago today, the crew of Apollo 8 entered orbit around the Moon, the first humans to do so. While onboard, three astronauts—Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders, saw the vaunted “far side” of the Moon, and took the Earthrise picture. The crew orbited the Moon 10 times over the course of 20 […]
Single Mom Given 10 Months to Live Asks for Christmas Cards and Thousands Respond
A woman given something like a terminal prognosis has responded with a simple request for what might be her last Christmas: a Christmas card. Clare Jones from Swansea, Wales, was told her bowel cancer was no longer responding to chemotherapy. The mother of 3, who was diagnosed in 2022, described herself as a “simple person” […]
Firefighters Rappel Down the Windows of Children’s Cancer Hospital in Unforgettable Christmas Surprise
On Friday, a Georgia fire department undertook an unusual Christmas tradition. In place of decking the halls, the men and women of the Sandy Springs Fire Department (SSFD) link up with Santa, and rappel down the walls of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to surprise infirm kids who can’t leave their rooms. The event is now […]
Endangered Iguanas Make a Romantic Getaway Out of Protected Caribbean Island–Populations Explode
The small and uninhabited islet of Prickly Pear East is not what you might describe as a romantic holiday destination, but for the Lesser Antillean iguana, it has proved to be just that. Thanks to an ambitious program of cross-Caribbean matchmaking, a new population has been successfully established on the island, with numbers now rapidly […]
Good News in History, December 23
39 years ago today, The Voyager landed after 9 days, becoming the first airplane to fly non-stop around the world without refueling—setting a world record that remains unchallenged today. It was envisioned and sketched on the back of a napkin by brothers Dick and Burt Rutan, of the Rutan Aircraft Factory, and Dick’s girlfriend Jeana Yeager at […]
Cave of Wonders: Where Prehistoric Bees Made Nests in the Bones of Animals Eaten by Colossal Owls
Burrowing bees generally prefer to make their nests in the open, but some 20,000 years ago their ancestors lived in a cave where they used the bones of prey animals rather than soft soil. The groundbreaking discovery was made in a Caribbean cave that narrowly escaped being turned into someone’s toilet. The island of Hispaniola, […]
Samsung’s 600-Mile-Range Batteries That Charge in 9 Minutes Ready for Production/Sale Next Year
In late October, Samsung announced that it was preparing to take its long-anticipated solid-state batteries to market with a trilateral agreement between itself, BMW, and American battery expert Solid Power. It was January of last year that industry outlets began to get some of the promises that all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) developed by Samsung SDI would […]