Good News in History, October 17
165 years ago today, the Open Championship, also known as the British Open, was first played in Scotland, at the Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire. The oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the four prestigious majors, it rotates between a select group of coastal UK golf courses. READ more about its history… (1860) […]
Good News in History, October 14
158 years ago today, Masaoka Shiki, considered one of Japan’s four masters of haiku, was born. He wrote more than 20,000 stanzas of this famous Japanese short-form poetry, keeping the traditional ‘season words’ and the 5-7-5 syllable structure, but bringing in a dedication to realism that had seemed in through Western literature. Shiki may be […]
Escaped Pet Tortoise Wanders onto Train Tracks But is Saved by Railway Staff After Passenger Spots it
A runaway tortoise was saved after it wandered onto a busy railway line in South East England. The pet named Mr T was spotted clambering onto the train tracks at Bicester North Station in Oxfordshire. Passengers raised the alarm with the railway staff who rescued the tortoise last Tuesday. The Chiltern Railway workers then fed […]
Good News in History, October 13
94 years ago today, Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer, opened to the public in the hills above Rio de Janeiro. Standing 98 feet high, and with arms stretching 92 feet wide, the statue was built on top of Mount Corcovado by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. Christ the Redeemer differs considerably from its original […]
Good News in History, October 10
62 years ago today, the second, and often considered best film starring James Bond, was released as From Russia With Love. In the film, Bond, played by Sean Connery, is sent to assist in the defection of Soviet consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova in Turkey, where SPECTRE plans to avenge Bond’s killing of Dr. No. by using […]
Good News in History, October 9
On this day, in Game 2 of the 1909 World Series, Ty Cobb stole home base. The details around this famous of all capers are what make it so. Losing Game 1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tiger’s star and all-time great Ty Cobb was sitting on third base at the top of the second […]
Good News in History, October 6
114 years ago today, Beatrix de Rijk became the first female licensed Dutch aircraft pilot. This pioneering aviator was born in Surabaya, modern-day Indonesia in the Dutch East Indies, to a Javan mother and a Dutch father. In the Netherlands, she was the first Dutch woman to drive a German automobile, but she found the […]
Always Fatal Huntington’s Disease is Successfully Treated for First Time With Gene Therapy
There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, a devastating brain disorder that causes severe motor loss, dementia, and eventual death. But, a clinical trial delivered positive results this week, finding that patients receiving a new treatment for 36 months experienced 75% less progression of the disease overall (compared to patients who did not receive the […]
Tiny Prehistoric Fish Fossil Rewrites Evolution With Clues for Mysterious Origins of Catfish and Carp
The fossil of a tiny fish found in southwestern Alberta, Canada, provides new insight into the origin and evolution of otophysans, the supergroup of fish that includes catfish, carp and tetras—which account for two-thirds of all freshwater species today. The specimen, located well inland from any seashore, was studied by researchers at Western University and […]
Camera Traps Reveal Beavers Have Finally Returned to the Bronx River After ‘a Very Long Time’
Beavers had not been seen in New York City for 200 years, after their coveted fur pelts became valuable and habitat was impacted by human activity. But, finally, in 2007 one was spotted in the Bronx River. Then, a second beaver arrived—nicknamed Justin Beaver, who joined José, the original—and they lived together for a number […]