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 […]
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 […]
Some Dogs Learn New Words by Eavesdropping on Their Owners, Shows New Science
Clever canines that have a talent for learning vocabulary can pick up new words by simply overhearing their handlers’ conversations, say scientists. Parents and dog owners know that some words should not be spoken, but only spelled, to prevent small ears from eavesdropping on the conversation, and previous research has shown that, at the age […]
Early Human Ancestor Found in Morocco Dates Back 700,000 Years May Be Major Missing Link
Remains of an early human ancestor from a critically important period in our evolutionary history have been found in Morocco. Dated back 700,000 years using precise geo-magnetic methods, the assemblage of jawbones and teeth may come from the epoch during which African and Eurasian hominins diverged from their common ancestor. The discovery was found in […]
Mom and Baby Beat 1-in-a-Million Odds to Survive the ‘Rarest of Pregnancies’
A Los Angeles woman recently celebrated the first Christmas with her baby boy, Ryu, born to truly remarkable circumstances. Ryu developed outside his mother’s womb, and remained hidden for months behind an ovarian cyst that grew to be the size of a basketball. It was so unbelievable, the surgical/OBGYN team that delivered Ryu documented it […]
‘Great Iowa Treasure Hunt’ Reunites Rightful Owners with Lost Assets, Returns $33 Million Last Year
If government is supposed to be a bureaucracy that operates on behalf of the citizens, one couldn’t hope to find a better example than a yearly tradition at the state treasury of Iowa known as the “Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.” That makes it sound like there’s a big state tax refund buried in a field […]
Birds-of-Paradise Flashy Feathers also Glow in Biofluorescence, Surprise Discovery Demonstrates
Birds-of-paradise have long dazzled us with their incredibly vibrant and varied plumage, but researchers studying the group have recently made an even more incredible discovery. Plumage on 37 of 45 birds-of-paradise species emit biofluorescence meaning molecules inside the feathers absorb UV light and release it as a yellow-green glow. From long spindly plumes, to bright […]
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em: Ecologists Combat Invasive Lionfish with Local Cuisine
In parts of the Mediterranean, invasive lionfish have devastated local marine biodiversity, but an allegiance between fishermen and chefs may mean the invader has met its match. On the island of Cyprus, the strategy is now clear: if we can’t beat it, let’s eat it. Native to the Indo-Pacific the lionfish has been introduced to […]