Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Saudi Arabia Show How the Country Could Bring The Cats Back
Between 2022 and 2023, scientists in Saudi Arabia began a survey of over 1,000 caves, hoping to find preserved remains of ancient animals to infer modern rewilding strategies. Whatever modest results they might have allowed themselves to hope for, they almost certainly would not have expected to find 7 naturally mummified cheetah skeletons. They had […]
One Glacier Is Actually Growing–and Perplexed Scientists Hope to Discover its Secrets
Over the decades, a glacier in Central Asia appears to have been growing when almost every other glacier on Earth has been shrinking. Now, a scientific expedition has recovered ice cores containing 30,000 years of frozen water in the hopes that somewhere inside lies some indication of how we can help these rivers of ice […]
First Solar Power Plant in Kyrgyzstan Will Save 120,000 Tons of Carbon Emissions Every Year
On Christmas Eve, the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan inaugurated its first solar power plant, one that will power a small city and cut 120,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. The 100-megawatt installation will generate 210 million kWh of clean electricity annually, and represents one of the largest foreign investments into the country of any […]
Good News in History, January 15
25 years ago today, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched Wikipedia. The collaborative online encyclopedia created and maintained by a community of volunteer editors, Wikipedia is one of the most-visited websites on the internet. The nonprofit funded primarily through donations has 6.2 million articles in English—and also features articles in 250 languages, altogether attracting 1.7 […]
Sunken Medieval Cargo Ship Found–The Largest Vessel of Its Kind Ever Found
For 600 years, the waters off Copenhagen have hidden an exceptional secret. Now, maritime archaeologists from the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark reveal the discovery of the world’s largest “cog,” a medieval cargo ship whose size and previously unknown construction details offer new insight into the maritime technology and trade networks of the Middle Ages. […]
Fiancé Surprises His Bride with Wedding Shower in the Preschool Where They First Met as Toddlers
Engaged to be wed this month, a young Texan wrangled the support of an entire preschool class to throw his fiancée a surprise bridal shower. Walking into her preschool class at Shlenker school in Houston, Zoe Kampf was surprised by a troupe of children dressed in floral garlands and bow ties who handed her a […]
Just Like After 9-11, Town of Gander Shows Up to Help Stranded Airline Passengers During Ice Storm
When an Air Canada flight from Montreal to St. Johns was forced down on the tarmac in a small city during bad weather last week, the passengers were probably cursing their luck. But that’s only because they didn’t know at the time where they had landed. Gander, Newfoundland, has a history of showing up to […]
Rare Twins Born to Mountain Gorilla Family in Virunga National Park
The Bageni family has a pair of blue balloons outside their mailbox, after this Congolese gorilla clan welcomed twins. Now numbering 59 individuals, the twins were born to an adult female named Makufu, who will be closely monitored during the babies’ childhood. Mountain gorillas are a critically-endangered subspecies of the eastern gorilla. Their strongholds concentrated […]
Good News in History, January 14
126 years ago today, Tosca debuted in Rome. A mainstay on opera calendars around the world, Giacomo Puccini’s enduring tale of feminine resilience and defiance in the face of corruption has featured some of the best-known singers in the art. Puccini’s arias in Tosca are some of his finest, and The Three Tenors often featured E Lucevan le stelle (And […]
Number of London Homicides Falls to 11-year Low Equating to Record Lowest Homicide Rate Ever
Homicides in London have fallen to a decade low of 97 during the year just ended, a Metropolitan Police report revealed. At a rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people, it’s lower than New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2) and Milan (1.6), according to the BBC. When measured in this way, it’s also the lowest homicide rate […]