Quote of the Day: “Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Photo by: Ben White (cropped)
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The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center run by NOAA has just predicted a visible aurora borealis may appear in the northern US tonight, after observing several solar flares kicking up over the last few days.
These flares, known as coronal mass ejections, are what cause the geomagnetic storms which we see as green lights in the sky from the surface.
At the moment, the NOAA Aurora Forecast can’t say for sure if they will appear south of Northern Canada, but if this were to change, it would likely appear in the northernmost states east of the Rockies.
The magnetic field redirects incoming solar wind, which is made up of charged particles, towards the north and south magnetic poles.
The colors are dependent on the particles being ejected by the sun. Nitrogen shows up as red, while the classic green color is because of oxygen.
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The year was 1999, and on a late November day the volunteers at the Ningbo Charity Federation in Eastern China found a strange letter addressed to them from an individual referred to only as shun qi zi ran, translated roughly to “let nature take its course.”
Inside was 50,000 Chinese RMB, or around $7,000 in remittances—payments typically sent from a person back home to their family from a foreign country.
Next year, the same letter came from ‘let nature take its course,” and the year after that, and the year after that; each one filled with money.
Three weeks ago, another letter came totaling 1.08 million RMB ($150,000) across 100 different remittance certificates. It marks the fifteenth million sent to the charity—more than $2 million—across 25 years of anonymous giving.
“He sent us a letter. I remember he said in it, ‘I will not do bad things and will also not speak about the good things I did. Just let nature take its course,’” Gao Peng, secretary-general of the Ningbo Charity, was quoted as saying.
“So we respected his wish and did not try to find him. We also followed his request of using his donations for education.”
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Mainland China banking regulations stipulate that cash transfers of over $1,500 require identification, and so the donor used remittances to circumvent the rule and maintain his anonymity.
The donations stretch back to a time when China was far poorer than it is today, with a GDP one-third that of Japan and one-ninth that of America.
MORE GIVING: The Values of Giving, Compassion and Family, Flourishing Across the World: Survey Shows
Ningbo Charity has said they used the money over the years to build several schools for underprivileged children in the Province of Zhejiang.
Chinese culture is nothing if not particular, and stories of anonymous donors are not uncommon. They often trend online, in fact, and South China Morning Post referred to a story from central China’s Hebei Province where a senior care home received several donations totaling around $875,000 from an “old friend.”
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A study of the ‘big five’ personality traits has found that positive, extroverted, and conscientious people are less likely to get a dementia diagnosis than those with neurotic or negative personality traits.
Scientists from Northwestern University and the University of California, Davis said that the difference wasn’t due to pathological changes, but rather how traits allow some people to better navigate dementia-related impairments.
Although there have been studies trying to link personality to dementia, these have been small and only in specific populations.
Leveraging as much of this existing literature as possible, the team analyzed data from eight published studies involving more than 44,000 people, of whom 1,703 developed dementia.
They looked at the ‘big five’ personality traits of conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, neuroticism, and agreeableness along with subjective well-being, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction.
They then compared these traits to clinical symptoms of dementia such as performance on cognitive tests and brain pathology at autopsy.
“We wanted to leverage new technology to synthesize these studies and test the strength and consistency of these associations,” said first author on the study Emorie Beck, assistant professor of psychology at UC Davis.
“If those links hold up, then targeting personality traits for change in interventions earlier in life could be a way to reduce dementia risk in the long term.”
This is important science, as the sciences in general, from medicine to history, are in a well-documented “reproducibility crisis” where between 50 to 90% of all scientific studies are non-reproduceable, and therefore of low or questionable value.
Using different methods to analyze existing literature is a good way to test its veracity.
Writing in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, Professor Beck said that people who score high on conscientiousness may be more likely to eat well and take care of their health, which results in better health in the long term.
She and her team found that high scores on negative traits and low scores on positive traits were associated with a higher risk of a dementia diagnosis. High scores on openness to experience, agreeableness, and life satisfaction had a protective effect in a smaller subset of studies.
However, no link was found between these personality traits and actual neuropathology in the brains of people after death.
“This was the most surprising finding to us,” said Beck. “If personality is predictive of performance on cognitive tests but not pathology, what might be happening?”
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“A possible explanation is that some personality traits could make people more resilient to the damage caused by diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”
People with high levels of some traits may find ways, even subconsciously, to cope with and work around impairments; for example, conscientiousness is associated with a strong work ethic, orderliness, and sense of responsibility that could in theory allow some people to work through the early stages of dementia.
The team also showed that some people with quite extensive physical symptoms in the brain can show little impairment on cognitive tests. So they looked at other factors between personality and dementia risk and neuropathology, including age, gender, and educational attainment.
“We found almost no evidence for effects, except that conscientiousness’s protective effect increased with age,” said Beck.
MORE POSITIVE MINDSET STUDIES: Those Who Think Positively About Aging Are More Likely to Regain Memory, Landmark Study Shows
It is hoped the study might provide the first steps into finding out what causes the condition to manifest itself and what could prevent this from happening.
Could you be resistant to dementia through your personality? There are a number of big 5 personality trait tests on the internet for free that can give you a sense.
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In 2001, the legendary photojournalist Sebastião Salgado had a dream of restoring the forest near his home in the state of Minas Gerais. Now 20 years later, his family property is a biodiverse paradise.
His work over long years saw him, his wife Lélia, and volunteers plant 20 million trees from 290 different species across over 1,500 acres of desiccated hillsides, recreating a natural forest ecosystem into which rare animals have now come to live.
Salgado’s story is a famous one. The photojournalist documented some of the most dramatic events of human misery of the 20th century. He authored half a dozen books, exhibited his photos around the world, and was the subject of a documentary Salt of the Earth.
When he came home in 1998 after reporting on the exodus of the Rwandans into the Congo, the land around his family home had been completely destroyed.
“The land was as sick as I was—everything was destroyed,” Salgado told the Guardian back in 2015.
“Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees. Then my wife had a fabulous idea to replant this forest. And when we began to do that, then all the insects and birds and fish returned and, thanks to this increase of the trees I, too, was reborn – this was the most important moment.”
That same year, he and Lélia founded Instituto Terra, which focuses on environmental restoration and sustainable rural development in the Rio Doce Valley. Located in Southeast Brazil, it makes up a part of the other other great landscape of the country—the Atlantic Forest biome, which is far more temperate than the Amazon or the Pantanal, and far more threatened.
OTHER BRAZIL NEWS: Brazil’s President Makes Good on Campaign Promise to Evict Miners from Indigenous Reserves in the Amazon
Today, the property is officially titled Private Reserve of Natural Heritage Bulcão Farm, and hundreds of animal species have returned to the Rio Doce, including ocelots, purple-breasted parrot, and the Atlantic titi.
173 bird species alone have been identified; you can listen to some of their squawking here. Interested conservationists can donate to Salgado’s project on his website or even schedule a visit to the reserve.
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Quote of the Day: “The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.” – Richard L. Evans
Photo by: Eddie Kopp
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One of the great dinosaur centers on Earth has produced another marvel, as a complete Stegosaurus skeleton with fossilized skin imprints has been unearthed in China.
The animal was discovered in 2017 in the Fengning Manchu Autonomous County in Northern China’s Hebei Province along with a primitive ancestor of Triceratops. Years of painstaking excavations revealed their nearly complete skeletons.
The Stegosaur measures 5 meters in length, or around 15 feet, and is so well preserved that a mineralization of its skin was created alongside its bones.
“The hard parts, such as bones and teeth of dinosaurs, are relatively easy to form fossils, but the soft parts, such as skin and muscle, are easy to rot, and the conditions for forming fossils are extremely harsh,” explained Zhang Fucheng, a professor at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology of Linyi University who also leads the research team.
Gou Ying, an associate professor at the institute, said that their paper on the discovery details that the skin of the Stegosaur was scaley, and that this helped lock moisture in its body allowing it to adapt and survive in dry climates much the same as today’s squamates like lizards and snakes.
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The climate of Hebei at the time of the mid-Cretaceous was favorable to life, and rich forests with riverine ecosystems dominated the area which today is mostly grassland.
As is often the case with well-fossilized dinosaurs, remarkably serendipitous events marked its demise. It was probably drinking at the side of a lake or a river when it died. Then some force shifted its body from the exposed land into the deeper water, after which a nearby volcano seems to have erupted and buried the dino and the body of water in layer after layer of ash.
MORE DINOS FROM CHINA: A Kind of Cretaceous Crane Enters Fossil Record as Long-Legged Wading Dinosaur Found in China
Dating back to the Cretaceous period to around 130 million years ago, it’s the first Stegosaurus discovered in Northern China, while the primitive triceratops ancestor will help fill gaps in the fossil record of China’s ceratopsids.
“The well-preserved bones of this specimen will provide important evidence for further study of the evolution of the primitive ceratopsid dinosaurs,” Zhang further noted.
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A 30-seat hydrofoil ferryboat is set to enter mass production ahead of its introduction into the Stockholm transportation network next year.
It’s the world’s first electric flying passenger ship, and it recently completed all tests with flying colors, delighting the manufacturer, Candela Technology.
During its first flights, Candela P-12 confirmed its top speed of 30 knots, (35 mph) a record for electric passenger vessels. With a range of up to 50 nautical miles, it is also the first electric ship with the practical endurance to cover most coastal transport needs.
Tests also confirmed the minimal wake, which opens up for exemptions from speed limits, as the P-12 will neither erode coastlines nor damage docks and moored ships, even at full speed.
“The P-12 will let you use these waterways as green highways, enabling fast intra-city connections,” states company president Gustav Hasselskog. “Whether it’s public transport fleets, VIP services, or private customers, it will revolutionize how we travel on water.”
The P-12 employs computer-guided hydrofoils to elevate its hull above water friction. When on its foils at speeds over 18 knots, the Candela P-12 consumes 80% less energy than traditional high-speed vessels.
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This innovation addresses the primary challenges that have hindered the widespread adoption of electric, fast vessels to date: limited range and slow speeds due to the excessive energy consumption of conventional hulls.
Priced at €1.7 million, the 30-seat Shuttle variant of the P-12 matches the cost of similar-sized ICE vessels and is priced significantly lower than other electric options.
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Once in service, operators can expect reduced ‘fuel’ costs by up to 90% compared to diesel vessels. The C-POD motors require minimal servicing, and the vessel is designed for single-crew operation, which further slashes costs.
In total, the P-12 is expected to cut costs per passenger kilometer by up to 50%, achieving a similar operational per-passenger economy as a hybrid electric bus.
WATCH the P-12 in action…
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A California high-schooler is being hailed as a hero after administering CPR to save a little girl.
Surrounded by adults, it was the 15-year-old Madison Atkinson who stepped forward to save her cousin, a 3-year-old who had seemingly drowned in the pool.
It was Thanksgiving when the Atkinson family was together with their relatives for the day. Losing sight of 3-year-old Maxine, they thought she was playing with the other kids, when she had actually wandered outside to the pool.
Surveillance camera footage captured the moment when Maxine falls in the pool, and later when Uncle Damien sees her floating face down and rushes in to pull her out, calling for help while he does it.
“I saw that he was trying the Heimlich,” Madison told ABC 7 news. “But I knew in that case you needed CPR because she didn’t seem like she was breathing. I told everyone I knew CPR and it calmed everyone down.”
It didn’t take long for the girl to be revived, and for the two families to thank their lucky stars Madison had learned CPR in class.
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“I’m literally watching a 15-year-old girl basically bring back our niece, a 3-year-old, to life,” Damien Gilbert said. “It was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
CPR can take less than an afternoon to learn, and it can save the life of anyone, even an elephant, and even after it has been performed for hours on a person with no pulse.
WATCH the story below from ABC 7…
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All 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel under construction in the Uttarakhand State of India have been rescued.
Cameras, politicians, and flower garlands were awaiting them when they finally emerged to the cheers of an awaiting crowd.
Like the Chilean miners, or the Thai cavers, there’s something about workmen trapped underground that captures the world’s attention, and it happened again when a November 12th landslide caused a portion of the 2.2-mile tunnel to collapse, blocking a section of the path as long as 2 football fields to the exit.
They survived on food and oxygen sent in through narrow steel pipes, while more than a dozen physicians were monitoring their health through various sensors.
“This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years,” said Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, on X.
The workers escaped the tunnel via narrow steel pipes that had been pushed into the debris through hand-drilled tunnels.
Last Friday, the drilling machine used to create the path for the pipes broke, and from then until Tuesday, teams worked on through the night in shifts using hand drills. By Tuesday they had drilled through over 100 feet of rubble.
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One rescuer told the New Delhi Television that the workers rushed over and hugged him when he came through the pipes, and after they all got out, a small tent community of the workers’ families and loved ones were there to greet them.
The tunnel was being built to connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites across the Himalayas.
Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the government will provide financial assistance of one lakh rupees, (about $1,200) to all the workers trapped in the tunnel. They have been admitted to a hospital, the bills for which will also be taken on by the local government.
WATCH the moment when the workers finally emerge…
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Quote of the Day: “Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished.” – Og Mandino
Photo by: Dylan Sauerwein
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Keepers at Chester Zoo were left thrilled following the safe arrival of a new eastern black rhino calf when mother Zuri gave birth in the daylight, allowing the staff to record the occasion.
Rhino experts say it’s unusual for a calf to be born in daylight, which gave keepers the unique opportunity to witness its 2:45 p.m. arrival after a 15-month pregnancy.
The eastern black rhino is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of three black rhinoceros subspecies, fewer than 600 of which are now found across Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
Conservationists believe the birth of a healthy calf will help global efforts to prevent the species from disappearing altogether.
“We’d been eagerly awaiting this birth for 15 long months and, as it’s quite unusual for a rhino to give birth in daylight hours, we really didn’t expect it to happen right in front of us as we were going about our day,” said the zoo’s rhino team manager Emma Evison.
“To be able to witness the calf safely entering the world, in front of our very own eyes, was just the most incredible privilege. She’s very inquisitive and full of energy, which is just brilliant to see.”
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“This precious newborn’s arrival is another positive step in safeguarding the species, which is what the endangered species breeding program in European conservation zoos that we’re a leading part of is striving to do,” continued Evison, who added that a group of black rhinos born and bred in the program have already been relocated to protected areas in Africa.
But this is just one way in which Chester Zoo has been helping rhino conservation. They’ve also developed a unique way of pairing rhinos in the hopes they will mate.
MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Incredible Birth of Endangered Baby Rhino is Captured on Zoo’s Cameras, and Galloping Within Minutes (WATCH)
“We’re home to the UK’s only zoo-based animal endocrine lab where we’ve developed the skills and techniques to track rhino hormones by closely analyzing their dung,” said Mike Jordan, director of animals and plants at the Chester Zoo.
“This has helped us to massively improve the chances of a successful mating and further increase numbers of this Critically Endangered species.”
“The technology is so precise that we’re now transferring it to a specialist lab that we’ve helped to create in Kenya which is helping rangers and vets there to boost the wild population,” he said.
WATCH The sweet moment below…
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A team of South Korean student inventors has been awarded the 2023 James Dyson Award for an air pressure-controlled IV bag that will allow rescuers in disaster situations much more flexibility when administering live-saving fluids and drugs.
Their inspiration was the Turkish-Syrian earthquakes in February 2023, which resulted in over 55,000 casualties, with a further 100,000 injured.
Throughout the evacuation process, medics had to move through harsh environments while holding up several IV packs in their hands for their patients.
The team from Hongik University in Seoul designed The Golden Capsule, a non-powered and hands-free IV device that uses elastic forces and air pressure differences rather than gravity. This means that medics in disaster zones do not have to hold up IV packs while transporting patients, and electricity is not required to control the infusion rate.
“The team has identified the limitations of existing IV injection methods, which rely on gravity and electricity, in disaster zones. Their Golden Capsule offers a much more practical, hands-free solution, using a pressurized bladder, which can be positioned anywhere, such as strapped to the patient’s side,” said Sir James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson.
SEE THE OTHER WINNERS: Young Inventor Surprised With 2023 Dyson Award for ‘The Life Chariot’ Designed to Save Lives in Ukraine
“This slowly deflates, pressurizing the drip into the patient, leaving medics free to perform other life-saving work.”
“It became evident that the existing IV setups became highly impractical,” said one of the students in a video, who added she first had the idea when she herself had been hospitalized and found it really inconvenient to move around with an IV.
SEE THE OTHER WINNERS: 470,000 Glass Bottles Turned into Coating for Slashing Heat – Just Won a 2023 James Dyson Award
The team will continue to conduct prototype improvements and user tests in collaboration with medical experts to ensure The Golden Capsule’s functionality in various emergency scenarios and hospitals. In the future, the team plans to bring their invention into mass production.
WATCH this sweet video of Sir Dyson delivering the happy news…
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By the year 2000, Judge John Phillips had long since lost count of the number of minors he had sent through the California penitentiary system for crimes committed during a violent, unguided, and hopeless adolescence.
“You send these young people to prison, and they learn to become harder criminals,” he said once.
In 2003, he set out to find a better way—to get kids in an environment of support where they could pass through these difficult years with a hand on their shoulder. Phillips started Rancho Cielo at the base of a hill in the town of Salinas, utilizing an old juvenile detention center ironically, and with a board made up mostly of county supervisors, judges, and law enforcement leaders.
Rancho Cielo is a vocational training facility, culinary academy, and private school that only works with at-risk youth or youth living below the poverty line of $19,000 a year for a family of four.
At first, the organization running it would only take in adolescent offenders, but as the 21st century marched on, Salinas took several turns for the worse, and in 2015 saw more underage murders than anywhere else in the nation.
The strategy changed, and Rancho Cielo would be out frequently passing by high schools, county jails, juvenile detention centers, homeless shelters, and foster homes, always asking if it were possible to take in the worst of the worst, hoping to interrupt the course of these youths’ lives and turn them toward a brighter future.
To that end, Rancho Cielo has a wide variety of programs, much of which is hands-on and kinetic, from the carpentry and construction program and vintage car repair, to beekeeping and equestrian care.
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Experts and industry professionals frequent Rancho Cielo to share their knowledge; like Tom Forgette who teaches the auto and diesel repair shop, and Laura Nicola, co-manager of the ranch restaurant, whose other job is at the James Beard Award-winning La Bicyclette.
“Upstairs,” traditional high school level classes are held for academic topics like writing and mathematics, usually to prepare students for a GED or community college admission. This is paired with additional preparatory courses like resume and cover letter writing and interview skills.
In my other school, it was all reading and writing,” 17-year-old Omar Amezola told USA Today’s Elizabeth Weise. “Here the teachers are more chill, you don’t have to stay in your seat all day, you can do things that are hands-on—it’s cool.”
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Millionaire Builds 99 Tiny Homes to Cut Homelessness in His Community–He Even Provides Jobs On Site for Them
Each year, 220 students attend Rancho Cielo, and while some don’t make it, 84.8% of first-time offenders who enroll at Rancho Cielo never re-offend, compared to the 40% recidivism rate in the county.
While all this tutoring, diversity, and infrastructure seems financially unsustainable, it costs just $25,000 to put a kid through Rancho Cielo, compared to the $110,000 it costs to house them in prison.
WATCH a mini-doc below…
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New York City Football Club (NYCFC) recently revealed their proposal for a new soccer stadium in Willets Point, Queens, that would be totally electric, partly run on green energy, and built with recycled materials that conserve water and reduce waste.
Sports stadiums are pretty unsustainable places, whether that’s the large amount of water needed for the toilets and field irrigation, the massive concrete parking lots, stadium stands, and roofs that soak up heat, or the fact that all concessions are single-serving plastics and papers.
Addressing sustainability from top to bottom, from the beginning of match day to the time when the janitors leave, is really what the Willets Point project is all about.
The 25,000-seat stadium would become the first fully electric stadium in Major League Soccer, (MLS) in addition to being the first fully electric professional sports stadium in New York City.
The stadium and development plans have entered the Uniform Land Use Review Process this week, and the club will be hoping to receive permission to break ground as soon as possible because there is a lot of work to be done.
In addition to a fully electric stadium which will be privately financed, the Willets Point development project would also deliver a total of 2,500 units of 100% affordable housing at the site, as well as a 650-seat public school, 40,000 square feet of new public open space, retail space and a 250-key hotel.
“This soccer stadium, and the larger Willets Point project, will transform a part of Queens that has a long and difficult history of environmental degradation,” said Council Member Francisco Moya.
The stadium will be all-electric, with an array of solar panels installed on the stadium roof to maximize energy generation. Built-in efficiency will ensure that intelligent systems eliminate energy waste, and a backup generator will be there for emergencies.
A water harvesting system below the stadium field will capture rainwater and reuse this for irrigation. Water efficient systems, including dry urinals, proximity-controlled taps, and reduced water mix taps and shower heads will help to reduce unnecessary consumption.
Materials, fixtures, and fittings for the stadium will wherever possible be locally sourced to avoid substantial transportation impact on the environment. Furthermore, the Club is focused on construction that will promote efficient insulation and natural venting.
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To reduce environmental impact, the Willets Point Stadium project is committed to delivering effective means to reach the stadium through public transportation. NYCFC is building on its relationship with the Metro Transit Authority that started nearly a decade ago to continue to ensure accessible and affordable public transport options.
The Club is committed to reducing all waste at source. Fans will have easy access to drinking water refills throughout the stadium. The stadium will explore options for on-site composting of waste for local benefit.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Paris Olympics Gets 11,000 Stadium Seats Made of Recycled City Plastic
Through the stadium project, the Club will work proactively with suppliers to ensure that there is a supply chain approach to its sustainability agenda, often working with small, local suppliers to improve and uplift their own related sustainability agendas, therefore improving the local community further.
“I’m proud that New York City will be home to the first fully electric sports stadium in Major League Soccer,” said Mayor Adams, a sentiment shared by the Club’s president Bret Sims, who added that “we’re focused on ensuring that the Club is leading the way when it comes to reducing environmental impact.”
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Quote of the Day: “It is wise to direct your anger towards problems, not people; to focus your energies on answers, not excuses.” – William Arthur Ward
Photo by: Surface
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In Reading, England, a worker at the helm of a construction crane managed to save the life of a man trapped on the roof of a burning high-rise building.
While admitting it “has not been your average day at work,” the operator played down the Hollywood-like rescue.
On that blustery day, crane operator Glen Edwards had a metal cage meant for holding people intending to work on the facades of buildings, and it was with this that he affected the rescue of a man whom he only saw out of the corner of his eye because the stranded fellow was waving his coat about.
The wind was really blowing the cage about, as well as the smoke. The Daily Mail reports that the cladding which covered the Station Hill housing development was filling the air with toxic fumes, which at the moment had been blowing away from the stranded man. If the winds changed, he could have suffered lethal smoke inhalation.
Receiving help on the radio from his supervisor, Edwards skillfully lowered the cage next to the building close enough to allow the man to climb in, which created an eruption of cheers from the crowd below.
MORE FIRE RESCUES: A Hero Just Passing By Saves Young Mom and Son From Dying in Wyoming House Fire
“I would say it was a very close call, if you look at the video at the way the wind was swirling around there,” Mr. Edwards told the Daily Mail.
“I tried to put the cage down between him and the flames, but I was hampered by the wind swirling around there. But I got the cage down and I managed to get him in there.”
WATCH the dramatic 2 minute rescue below…
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NASA is developing a quiet supersonic jet in order to replace the dreams of the Concorde with one that is significantly less deafening to the people down below.
The supersonic passenger plane, called the X-59 aims to fly faster than the speed of sound, at almost twice as fast as the Concorde.
Engineers are aiming to reduce the sound of the typical sonic boom to a ‘sonic thump’.
NASA reported in August they have identified potential passenger markets in about fifty established inter-city routes, and it’s hoped one route would see flights from New York City to London up to four times faster than what’s currently possible.
At the moment, however, it’s sitting in a hangar where it will be painted at the Lockheed Martin facility in Palmdale, California, says the space agency. Once painted, the team will take final measurements of its weight and exact shape to improve computer modeling.
“We are incredibly excited to reach this step in the mission. When the X-59 emerges from the paint barn with fresh paint and livery, I expect the moment to take my breath away because I’ll see our vision coming to life,” said Cathy Bahm, the low boom flight demonstrator project manager.
ANOTHER EFFORT LIKE THIS: Hydrogen-Powered Swiss Jet May Herald Return of Supersonic Flight–And Cut Travel Time By 75%
“The year ahead will be a big one for the X-59, and it will be thrilling for the outside of the aircraft to finally match the spectacular mission ahead.”
The aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, through which NASA will fly the X-59 over several to-be-selected U.S. communities and gather data about people’s perceptions of the sound it makes.
NASA will provide that data to regulators which could potentially adjust current rules that prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land.
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Earlier this year, the space agency investigated the business case for supersonic passenger air travel aboard aircraft that could theoretically travel between Mach 2 and Mach 4 (1,535-3,045 mph at sea level).
Concorde had a maximum cruising speed of 1,354 miles per hour, or Mach 2.04.
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Abandoned water wells are being rejuvenated with a dash of color in the Tamil Nadu state of India.
Here, where clean water pulled from small wells is a daily necessity in the semi-arid Virudhunagar district that is entirely irrigated by rain and not by rivers, 163 wells were targeted for the project by local administrators.
Dreamt up by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), work commenced in August of 2022 and was finished by December. Whimsical designs like a treasure chest, cup and saucer, a wrapped present, and watermelon were chosen for the wells’ structures and shelters in order to raise awareness and enthusiasm for water conservation.
But the eye-catching designs were only the finishing touches. The important work was the recharging of the wells with a series of pipes that channel water from the surrounding land into the wells.
Over time the wells had been abandoned and became holes for dumping garbage.
“The wells for this project were strategically chosen based on their location. The wells situated near overhead water tanks and near water tanks were chosen so that the water overflowing from the tanks would drain into the wells for recharge,” said an assistant engineer on the project at the DRDA, G Prakash Kumar.
“The wells situated in the low lying areas were also chosen for the rainwater to automatically drain to the well through the pipelines,” he told the Times of India.
MORE REJUVENATION IN INDIA: Colorful Mumbai Overpass Goes Viral After Being Converted into Sporting Complex for Community
A village leader told the paper that children now frequently play around the well shelter, which has been built to look like a basket with bright colors, and the area has become somewhat of a gathering point where people socialize.
Another village leader, whose local well is shaped like a train car, agreed, and said that now children constantly ask him where the train is going.
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Kia Sorento owner Danielle lit up TikTok with a viral video of her approaching her car which had recently caught fire. Within the torched interior, stood a solitary undamaged item.
It was a Stanley thermos, and it was the reason for the 84 million shares and 60k comments that festooned the post.
“Everybody’s so concerned about if the Stanley spills, but what about if it melts?” she asks in the video, then she grabs the Stanley thermos in the cupholder and shakes it. “Fire yesterday,” she says. “Still has ice in it.”
@danimarielettering Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup ♬ original sound - Danielle
The firestorm of comments was filled with people egging Stanley on to reward Danielle for this incomparable advertisement, and it didn’t take long for Stanley to reply.
“We’ve all seen your video. Wow, what an ordeal and we’re all really glad you’re safe,” said Stanley Company President Terence Reilly, in a video response.
“I’ve seen a lot of comments that we should send you some Stanleys. Well, we are gonna send you some Stanleys. But there’s one more thing. We’ve never done this before and we’ll probably never do it again, but we’d love to replace your vehicle.”
An auto blog covering the story in part in order to talk about the manner in which a Kia catches fire detailed that Danielle received a whole box of Stanley thermoses.
They also linked to a blog on Stanley’s website called Stories of the Unbreakables, which is filled with anecdotes of a Stanley product surviving above all else.
For example, Dave Moreno plans to be buried with his Stanley thermos—which he bought 10 years ago and has used in his work as a construction worker across the US Southwest and South America. It even deflected a bullet (not away from Dave though) in an attempted robbery in Peru.
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