Quote of the Day: “We turn not older with years but newer every day.” – Emily Dickinson (born 190 years ago today)
Photo by: John Moeses Bauan
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
For some, the sound of a “perfect flow” might be the gentle lapping of a forest brook or perhaps the tinkling of water poured from a pitcher. For physicists, a perfect flow is more specific, referring to a fluid that flows with the smallest amount of friction, or viscosity, allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Such perfectly fluid behavior is rare in nature, but it is thought to occur in the cores of neutron stars and in the soupy plasma of the early universe.
Now MIT physicists have created a perfect fluid in the laboratory, and found that it sounds something like this:
This recording is a product of a glissando of sound waves that the team sent through a carefully controlled gas of elementary particles known as fermions. The pitches that can be heard are the particular frequencies at which the gas resonates like a plucked string.
The researchers analyzed thousands of sound waves traveling through this gas, to measure its “sound diffusion,” or how quickly sound dissipates in the gas, which is related directly to a material’s viscosity, or internal friction.
Surprisingly, they found that the fluid’s sound diffusion was so low as to be described by a “quantum” amount of friction, given by a constant of nature known as Planck’s constant, and the mass of the individual fermions in the fluid.
This fundamental value confirmed that the strongly interacting fermion gas behaves as a perfect fluid, and is universal in nature. The results, published in the journal Science, demonstrate the first time that scientists have been able to measure sound diffusion in a perfect fluid.
Scientists can now use the fluid as a model of other, more complicated perfect flows, to estimate the viscosity of the plasma in the early universe, as well as the quantum friction within neutron stars—properties that would otherwise be impossible to calculate. Scientists might even be able to approximately predict the sounds they make.
“It’s quite difficult to listen to a neutron star,” says Martin Zwierlein, the Thomas A. Frank Professor of Physics at MIT in a statement. “But now you could mimic it in a lab using atoms, shake that atomic soup and listen to it, and know how a neutron star would sound.”
While a neutron star and the team’s gas differ widely in terms of their size and the speed at which sound travels through, from some rough calculations Zwierlein estimates that the star’s resonant frequencies would be similar to those of the gas, and even audible—“if you could get your ear close without being ripped apart by gravity,” he adds.
Zwierlein’s co-authors are lead author Parth Patel, Zhenjie Yan, Biswaroop Mukherjee, Richard Fletcher, and Julian Struck of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms.
Tap, listen, learn
To create a perfect fluid in the lab, Zwierlein’s team generated a gas of strongly interacting fermions—elementary particles, such as electrons, protons, and neutrons, that are considered the building blocks of all matter. A fermion is defined by its half-integer spin, a property that prevents one fermion from assuming the same spin as another nearby fermion. This exclusive nature is what enables the diversity of atomic structures found in the periodic table of elements.
“If electrons were not fermions, but happy to be in the same state, hydrogen, helium, and all atoms, and we ourselves, would look the same, like some terrible, boring soup,” Zwierlein says.
Fermions naturally prefer to keep apart from each other. But when they are made to strongly interact, they can behave as a perfect fluid, with very low viscosity. To create such a perfect fluid, the researchers first used a system of lasers to trap a gas of lithium-6 atoms, which are considered fermions.
The researchers precisely configured the lasers to form an optical box around the fermion gas. The lasers were tuned such that whenever the fermions hit the edges of the box they bounced back into the gas. Also, the interactions between fermions were controlled to be as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics, so that inside the box, fermions had to collide with each other at every encounter. This made the fermions turn into a perfect fluid.
“We had to make a fluid with uniform density, and only then could we tap on one side, listen to the other side, and learn from it,” Zwierlein says. “It was actually quite diffult to get to this place where we could use sound in this seemingly natural way.”
“Flow in a perfect way”
The team then sent sound waves through one side of the optical box by simply varying the brightness of one of the walls, to generate sound-like vibrations through the fluid at particular frequencies. They recorded thousands of snapshots of the fluid as each sound wave rippled through.
“All these snapshots together give us a sonogram, and it’s a bit like what’s done when taking an ultrasound at the doctor’s office,” Zwierlein says.
RELATED: We Might Be Able to Stop Tsunamis in Their Tracks by Firing Sound Waves
In the end, they were able to watch the fluid’s density ripple in response to each type of sound wave. They then looked for the sound frequencies that generated a resonance, or an amplified sound in the fluid, similar to singing at a wine glass and finding the frequency at which it shatters.
“The quality of the resonances tells me about the fluid’s viscosity, or sound diffusivity,” Zwierlein explains. “If a fluid has low viscosity, it can build up a very strong sound wave and be very loud, if hit at just the right frequency. If it’s a very viscous fluid, then it doesn’t have any good resonances.”
From their data, the researchers observed clear resonances through the fluid, particularly at low frequencies. From the distribution of these resonances, they calculated the fluid’s sound diffusion. This value, they found, could also be calculated very simply via Planck’s constant and the mass of the average fermion in the gas.
This told the researchers that the gas was a perfect fluid, and fundamental in nature: Its sound diffusion, and therefore its viscosity, was at the lowest possible limit set by quantum mechanics.
Zwierlein says in addition to using the results to estimate quantum friction in more exotic matter, such as neutron stars, the results can be helpful in understanding how certain materials might be made to exhibit perfect, superconducting flow.
MORE: Australia Blows Science’s Collective Mind by Mapping 3 Million Galaxies in 300 Hours
“This work connects directly to resistance in materials,” Zwierlein says. “Having figured out what’s the lowest resistance you could have from a gas tells us what can happen with electrons in materials, and how one might make materials where electrons could flow in a perfect way. That’s exciting.”
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Source: MIT
A Spanish startup has launched the world’s first ‘piano’ that’s made from living plants.
The remarkable instrument uses flora as biological antennas, capable of perceiving changes in frequency when they are touched.
This change in frequency is translated into a voltage, which is conducted by the plants, as they are natural conductors of electricity.
The voltage is transformed into sound and activates the input of current from the electrical network into the circuit, giving rise to a magical show of light and music.
The installation was created by a biotech company named Bioo that makes electricity from nature.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said founder and CEO Pablo Vidarte.”Multiple studies show that engaging with plants has a positive impact on humans from an emotional and psychological perspective.
“We aim to create a global consciousness of nature that helps lead the way to a greener future. That’s why we’re so enthusiastic about leveraging our technology that allows us to transform plants into biological switches, to create an amazing experience.”
The ‘green piano’ was launched in August in Spain’s Ibiza Biotechnological Botanical, Europe’s only biotechnology botanical center.
Bioo, named by the European Parliament as one of the most innovative companies in Europe, has the overall aim of making sustainable electricity from nature, and is also responsible for creating a biological battery powered from soil that “nourishes from nature without harming it.”
(WATCH the SWNS video to hear the instrument in action below.)
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The popular Toronto hangout Swan Dive posted that it was struggling to pay the rent through the pandemic. So customers bought all its stock to help out.
Owner Abra Shiner was trying to keep her pub going through lockdown by operating as a bottle shop, but it was becoming very clear that the costs of trying to run that way were just too high. She decided to be honest about her predicament on social media.
“We were blowing through our savings and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pay rent towards the end of the month,” Shiner told CNN. “So, I wrote on Facebook asking people to come buy the beer we had in our stock room… and it worked. The post went viral.”
Shiner’s social media plea soon had over 20,000 views, and people from all over the Brockton Village neighborhood were showing up to save beer, and their beloved bar.
“People just started coming out of the woodwork, some people we hadn’t seen in years,” Shiner said.
Within a few days, the Swan Dive had off-loaded more than 90 cases off craft beer. In fact, it had completely sold out of stock.
Combined with a government rent subsidy, the money the community added to the bar’s float in recent beer sales will keep this much-loved pub around until spring when it can safely open its doors once again.
“You guys are pretty darn great,” Shiner posted to the Swan Dive’s Facebook fans. “What wonderful people you all are.”
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Does being properly hydrated have a transcendent effect on our lives? According to a new poll, hydration may be the recipe for happiness.
The new survey of 2,000 Americans split respondents by how many glasses of water they drink in a day and found that those who keep up with their H20 intake tend to be more optimistic, energetic, and successful.
Those who drink six or more glasses of water per day are the most likely to strongly agree that they are “very happy” (41%).
Compare that to those who self-report drinking less than one glass per day: only 12% strongly agree with that same statement.
The poll, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Bosch home appliances, explored the role hydration plays in our lives and the benefits for potentially feeling happier.
RELATED: Americans Who Drink This Much Water a Day Were More Likely to Report Feeling ‘Very Happy’
Forty percent of those who drink six or more glasses of water per day strongly agree that they’re an optimistic person, compared to just 10% of those who drink less than one glass of water a day.
Refreshments could also be the key to waking up feeling refreshed. The study found that those who drink six or more glasses woke up feeling exhausted the least amount of times per week (2.59) compared to those who drink less than one glass of water a day (3.14).
Respondents who drink six or more glasses are also most likely to describe themselves as successful and the least likely to be late to work.
So how does access to ice factor into this phenomenon? Well, room temperature tap water may not be the most refreshing choice of drink to the average person and the results confirmed this to be true, suggesting that not having beverages at our preferred temperature impacts how much we drink, and therefore, our overall energy, happiness, and optimism.
MORE: Managing Your Gut Bacteria Shown to Alleviate Anxiety, Says New Research
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From a rare ‘Christmas star’ on winter solstice to the Full Cold Moon just before new year, there are lots of stunning celestial events to look out for this December. One phenomenon that has astronomers extra excited?
Peaking on the nights of December 13 and 14—from Sunday night until sunrise this Monday—the most active meteor shower of 2020 will take place in the form of the Geminids.
Farmers’ Almanac reports that, with a clear sky, “you can easily spot 50 or more meteors per hour. On an optimum night for the Geminids, it may even be possible to see up 100 meteors per hour.”
With a new moon happening on December 14, this year the skies will be extra dark, and meteor watching will be that bit better.
According to NASA, these shooting stars are “caused by a stream of debris left by the asteroid, 3200 Phaethon. When the Earth passes through the trails of dust every December left by 3200 Phaethon, we see the Geminid meteor shower as the dust (meteoroids) burn up in Earth’s atmosphere creating meteors.”
Visible all over the world, though best seen in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s no need to look in a particular direction to spot these burning specks of dust.
Just find a dark spot, a large patch of open sky, and look up. The best time to view fireballs hurtling through the sky? At the darkest hour. That is, just before dawn.
MORE: A Rare ‘Christmas Star’ is Coming This December for the First Time in 800 Years
Because the Geminids are so bright, many people say these meteors show color. Look out for shooting stars that appear yellow, green, and blue as you gaze—and let us know which hues you see.
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Quote of the Day: “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra
Photo by: ZHANG FENGSHENG
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A 90-year-old grandmother in England became the first patient in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this morning.
The UK approved use of the Pfizer vaccine last week, and the nation’s National Health Service is already rolling out its mass immunization program, with Margaret ‘Maggie’ Keenan—who’ll celebrate her 91st birthday next week—receiving her historic jab from nurse May Parsons today at 6:31 am in Coventry.
A retired jewelry shop assistant and grandmother of four, Maggie said her vaccination was “the best early birthday present I could wish for.”
Wearing a “Merry Christmas” charity sweater with a festive penguin on it, Maggie—who has been self-isolating for most of 2020—explained to the Associated Press, “I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
Nurse Parsons, who’s from the Philippines and has been working for the NHS for 24 years, said to the Guardian, “I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day. The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
READ: The Red Cross Reports Massive Surge in Volunteer Numbers Worldwide in Response to COVID-19
The UK is the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer vaccine, and has bought 40 million doses. Shown to have 95% efficacy in trials, the most vulnerable in Britain—certain people over 80, hospital staff, and nursing home workers—are now receiving their first inoculations.
The same vaccine is currently under review for emergency approval by the FDA in the United States. Assent is expected to happen within days. From there, 6.4 million doses are expected to be administered within the first week.
Poorer countries won’t be left out in the cold. GNN reported in November that the Vaccine Alliance has raised $2 billion to buy COVID-19 shots for low- and middle-income countries.
MORE: New Study Suggests Mouthwash Can Kill Coronavirus in Saliva in 30 Seconds
The Pfizer vaccine is not the only jab shown to have high success rates against COVID-19 in late-stage trials. The Moderna vaccine has also shown encouraging results, and Oxford University’s 70.4% efficacy results with AstraZeneca have been confirmed today under peer review.
(WATCH the Guardian video of Maggie’s historic morning below.)
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It’s safe to say that 2020 has provided Americans with the opportunity to spend more time at home than ever before—and two-thirds of homeowners have been making the most of the year by investing in their homes.
A poll of 2,000 Americans discovered that for 62% of people, investing in the home is the result of wanting to make their living spaces more comfortable and suitable for their new lifestyles.
The study, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Thermador, aimed to discover how people are rethinking their home environment and the steps consumers have taken to create more purposeful living spaces.
Results showed that one in four respondents upgraded a kitchen appliance, with another 50% elevating their home décor.
Additionally, 19% of respondents have transformed their entire living space since March 2020. Meanwhile, 17% have purchased new office furniture to make themselves more comfortable as they work from home.
People are also taking more time to reimagine and reconfigure their homes, as more members of the household are now enjoying the same spaces together.
As a result of these upgrades, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed are the happiest they’ve been with their homes—ever.
And people will continue to improve their spaces going into the holiday season. In fact, three in five say they are more likely to change up their interior design during this time.
RELATED: Cooking Skills Have Improved So Much in 2020 That 40% Think They’re Ready to Compete on MasterChef
“Many people are making various enhancements to their homes, such as adding built-in coffee machines in master suites and reworking garages to create in-home exercise rooms. It’s more important than ever that living spaces reflect peoples’ lifestyles, so investing in home improvements and remodels enables them to create a truly customized and functional environment,” stated a spokesperson for Thermador.
People are also turning to smart appliances to make their homes function better. For example, 46% of respondents invested in a smart appliance since March 2020.
CHECK OUT: Millennials Are Getting Handier Around the Home Since Lockdown Measures Began
TOP HOME UPDATES OF 2020
Whether it’s using voice control to lend a helpful hand in cooking meals or remotely starting the dishwasher, it looks like homes across the country are being turned into the newest “hotspot” this year.
There’s been a marked improvement in European air quality over the past decade, the European Environment Agency reports, with European Union, national, and local policies and emission cuts in key sectors making a big difference in lowering air pollution levels.
According to the EEA’s Air quality in Europe — 2020 report, since 2000, emissions of key air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, from transport have declined significantly, despite growing mobility demand and associated increase in the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Pollutant emissions from energy supply have also seen major reductions while progress in reducing emissions from buildings and agriculture has been slow.
Thanks to better air quality, around 60,000 fewer people died prematurely due to fine particulate matter pollution in 2018, compared with 2009. For nitrogen dioxide, the reduction is even greater as premature deaths have declined by about 54% over the last decade. The continuing implementation of environmental and climate policies across Europe is a key factor behind the improvements.
“The EEA’s data prove that investing in better air quality is an investment for better health and productivity for all Europeans. Policies and actions that are consistent with Europe’s zero pollution ambition, lead to longer and healthier lives and more resilient societies,” said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, in a statement.
MORE: ‘Dramatic’ Plunge in London Air Pollution Since 2016, When Mayor Cracked Down
“It is good news that air quality is improving thanks to the environmental and climate policies that we have been implementing… With the European Green Deal we have set ourselves an ambition of reducing all kinds of pollution to zero. If we are to succeed and fully protect people’s health and the environment, we need to cut air pollution further and align our air quality standards more closely with the recommendations of the World Health Organization,” Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, explained.
Next steps for nations within Europe include following the EU Action Plan Towards a Zero Pollution Ambition under the European Green Deal.
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Whether their play of choice is a team sport like basketball or football, or something more mano a mano, like tennis, chess, or even videogames, some men are hardwired with the instinct to compete. Yes, to the victor belongs the spoils, but perhaps equally important, he who wins has bragging rights.
So it’s not surprising this the spirit of competition has spilled over into the culinary world as well. While they might not be up to the task in real life, there’s many a home chef who dreams of beating Bobby Flay, taking top honors on Cake Wars, or being crowned a Chopped Champion.
This past April, when Huntington, Pennsylvania dads 58-year-old Scott McKenzie and his buddy 42-year-old Jeremy Uhrich found themselves embroiled in what could be termed, “the cookie wars,” neither man realized what began as a friendly competition to see who was the better baker would morph into something that would have a major positive impact on their community at large.
After being furloughed from his associate coaching job at a local liberal arts college due to the coronavirus pandemic, McKenzie set himself a goal of learning a new skill each week. Up first—cookie baking.
Though the results of his first attempt at chocolate chip cookies weren’t flawless, they were pretty darn tasty.
When McKenzie proudly posted of his success to Facebook, middle school English teacher Uhrich commended his pal’s efforts, but said he was sure he could do better. Thus, the cookie gauntlet was thrown and the bake-off was on.
The competition was soon joined by one of Uhrich’s former students, 18-year-old Rachel Kyle who’d gotten wind of it via social media. The dads decided to let Huntingdon Borough Mayor David Wessels choose which cookie reigned supreme. Ironically, it was latecomer Kyle who took top cookie honors.
With the winner crowned, Uhrich and McKenzie made the rounds, dropping off the remaining cookie batches to essential workers in the Huntington area. The recipients couldn’t have been more pleased.
“We came out of it saying, ‘A little bit of sugar and some flour can go a long way. We should do it again,’” Uhrich said in an interview with The Washington Post.
Inspired to do more, the pair tweaked their two-man bake-off concept, transforminging it into an initiative called Cookies for Caregivers.
“Cookies for Caregivers was born as a reflection of the COVID-19 experience in 2020,” notes the group’s Facebook page. “Many folks continued to go to work and serve their community as others were told to stay home, or were able to work from home. We decided to show our gratitude to those working to serve us by serving them freshly baked cookies as a modest sign of our appreciation and respect.”
McKenzie and Uhrich were hopeful others would volunteer their time and baking expertise, but they never expected the enthusiastic response their idea received. In just a few days, group membership topped 100 would-be cookie bakers.
With so many willing to be involved, McKenzie and Uhrich organized a round robin of four bakers per week. Uhrich coordinates the bakers; McKenzie is tasked with setting up COVID-safe drop-offs the distribution side. One day each week, they load up a car and make deliveries.
In the first eight months after Cookies for Caregivers made its debut, McKenzie and Uhrich estimate more than 1,300 dozen—that’s 15,600 individual—cookies found their way to the mouths of essential workers in hospitals, schools, fire and police stations—and even the newsroom of the local newspaper.
Even though he’s back at work, McKenzie and his baking partner continue to helm the cookie initiative, however, both feel blessed that others took up their game plan and not only kept the ball in play, but ran with it. “This is a direct reflection of our community as a whole, and a credit to them,” Uhrich said. “This community is small in size, but huge in heart.”
It’s said that money can’t buy happiness, but it seems that dough—when it’s cookie dough, that is—can go a long way toward putting smiles on hundreds of deserving faces. And when it comes to providing comfort and cheer to essential workers, there’s nothing half-baked about that recipe.
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Quote of the Day: “There’s just something beautiful about walking on snow that nobody else has walked on. It makes you believe you’re special.” – Carol Rifka Brunt
Photo by: Yang Shuo
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Sometimes a man can be a dog’s best friend, too—especially if that man can pilot a drone and a winter storm is approaching.
When a pale-coated golden retriever pup named Meadow went missing in a wooded area near her home in upstate New York, Gary and Debbie Morgan, put up reward posters detailing their missing dog’s plight.
Even though he’d never met the couple, experienced drone pilot Brian James came to the rescue. Also a skilled hiking guide, Brian felt compelled to help search for the 16-month-old.
He knew that with wintry weather likely to hit at any moment, it would be easier to spot Meadow’s near-white fur before snow began to fall.
Looking in the area where Meadow was last seen, Brian sent his drone aloft, and scanned mile after mile of forested acreage searching for the lost pooch.
The drone’s camera eventually caught sight of her—a tiny dot of white—moving between the trees. Zooming in for a close-up, he confirmed it was Meadow.
READ: Birder Sees Sickly Swan in NYC And Bundles it Up For 23-Mile Trek Across Town to Save its Life
Next, Brian quickly drove to the coordinates relayed by the drone and—after a few seconds of hesitation—the retriever ran into her rescuer’s embrace. Although she’d been missing for 10 days, Meadow was unharmed and in tail-wagging good spirits.
The Morgans, who said for them the experience felt akin to losing a child, were thrilled and relieved to be reunited with their beloved pet. Overcome with emotion, the couple fought tears as they recounted the rescue mission.
CHECK OUT: Inspired By Dog’s Survival During Wildfire, She Donates 7,500 Pet Oxygen Masks–And Adopts the Pup
“At the last second, he saw a small white dot on the forest floor… ” Gary said in an interview with ABC World News Tonight. “[We] are so grateful for Brian for showing up when he did and being able to rescue her,” said Debbie.
But the hero of the story says you don’t need a drone or hiking savvy to save the day—all it takes is the desire to make a difference.
MORE: Lucky Dog Gets Adopted By Oil Rig Worker Who Found Him Swimming 135 Miles From Thai Coast
Says James, “Everybody’s got the capability to help. You never know what will come of it.”
(WATCH the ABC story below…)
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From the salutation—
My Dearest Love,
to the signature line—
Yours in Breathless Anticipation,
to the final postscript—
P.S. You are forever in my heart…
The art of letter writing has been all but forgotten in this current age of instant communication.
Between tweets, IMs, Instagram, Zoom, and the granddaddy of them all, email, the demands of our fast-paced world have rendered the quaint, antiquated, and frankly, slow form of missives dismissively known as “snail mail” all but obsolete.
But thanks to the concerted efforts of New Yorker staff writer Rachel Syme, the pendulum may have begun to swing back in the opposite direction.
With much of the world in lockdown thanks to COVID-19, many have been forced to pivot in the way we conduct our daily affairs. Working from home and home-schooling may offer freedom from a daily commute and the perks of wearing P.J.s to a board meeting, but the isolation can be overwhelming.
CHECK OUT: Man Sits With Typewriter on NYC Sidewalk to Help Strangers Send Letters to ‘Friends Feeling Blue’
To combat the disconnect and loneliness many of us are feeling now, Syme got the idea to resurrect the time-honored tradition of pen pals.
It all started when, after buying an old-school electric typewriter, Syme found herself using it not to write prose, but to compose letter upon letter to friends and loved ones.
Her subsequent PENPALOOZA initiative, which she set up using Secret Santa software courtesy of Elfster, is gaining some real traction. It already has more than 7,000 participants—and the list is growing.
“in early summer i asked if anyone would like to start writing snail mail to strangers; people seemed into it so i set up this exchange,” Syme tweeted this past August.
“it’s done through secret santa software (lol) because that is the only/best way to do such things at scale; so the way it works when you sign up is you get one person to write to first, and another person gets you…so two pen pals for one sign-up (more bang for your zero bucks).”
How does it work?
Everyone who signs up gets a pen pal. Once you’ve written and posted a letter, the program allows you to check it off as “sent” so the recipient knows to be on the lookout for incoming mail.
(While Elfster is technically a gift-giving site, your letter or even just a postcard are gift enough—although Syme says if you felt like including a trinket or something sweet with your mailing, it likely wouldn’t go amiss.)
Anna Sublet, an enthusiastic PENPALOOZA participant shared her experience with The Guardian. “When my first piece of mail arrived, the excitement I felt was beyond reason. The pure thrill of a package, holding pieces of a person—a bookmark, a sticker and words—was quite simply intoxicating. Across a two-month period, this connection had taken shape and taken flight across the globe,” she wrote.
Like Sublet, Syme believes hope is the key ingredient that’s led to PENPALOOZA’s success. “Even under the best of circumstances,” she said, “there’s a delay, a period where the letter is an object of hope, in transit between the present and the future.”
really good #penpalooza day pic.twitter.com/UuqYiAesyq
— rachel syme (@rachsyme) August 20, 2020
According to Sublet, PENPALOOZA is just the tip of the quill for letter aficionados. Since finding the program, she’s signed up for several other postal exchange sites.
Sublet has also taken out a subscription to The Letters Page. The brainchild of Author Jon McGregor, The Letters Page is a literary journal that accepts only handwritten submissions for publication.
“When I started The Letters Page, it was interesting to see how many people shared that nostalgia for letters and letter writing,” McGregor told the BBC. “The envelope it comes in bears the traces of the journey, while the letter itself—the handwriting, the coffee stains, the doodles, the choices of paper—all of these are part of the message.
MORE: Anonymous Love Letters Lift the Spirits of Anyone Signed Up On This Website
Though McGregor admits that giving up the convenience of emails and IMs is counterintuitive for some aspects of today’s workplace and home life, letters truly connect us to our basic humanity.
“When you get an email, you just get the words and thats that… I think people are looking back to letters and letter writing as a general reawakening of things which are hand-made or unique in some way and have a personal touch.”
RELATED: Woman Finds Good Karma Writing and Handing Out 20,000 Love Letters to First Responders
Hope, humanity, personal connection—all are things we sometimes lose sight of in the overwhelming realities of the coronavirus. But, if all it takes to remind us of those things is sitting down and penning a note to someone who means something to us—whether it’s someone we’ve only just met or someone we’ve known all our lives—sign us up and put a stamp on it.
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A graduate student in physics is creating the most effective face mask, the N95, with little more than a wave of his hand.
Using a cotton candy machine, Mahesh Bandi of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University can create face masks more cheaply and faster than any other currently utilized industrial process.
That’s because the unique but expensive electrocharged plastic foam filters that characterize an N95 can actually be made by taking lumps of regular plastic from objects like water bottles and shopping bags, heating them to a high temperature, and spinning them in a cotton candy machine until they form a mesh.
The mesh becomes electrically charged—the key aspect that allows them to filter 95% of particles—while it’s spinning around the metal drum of the machine, and can be made more electro-sticky after Bandi cuts the mesh into squares and places them on the vent of an air ionizer.
Microscopic analysis and comparisons with certified N95 masks show Bandi’s filters are as effective as stopping foreign particles, including SARS-CoV-2 viruses, from being inhaled.
MORE: FDA Approves America’s First Prescription COVID-19 Home Testing Kit
In the early days of the pandemic, medical experts made clear that cloth masks, homemade or otherwise, or standard surgical masks, were not a very effective method of protection, but that N95s, the masks worn by people who really need to keep their mouth and nose secure, such as asbestos workers, were a seriously effective tool.
RELATED: New Study Suggests Mouthwash Can Kill Coronavirus in Saliva in 30 Seconds
The mask design required a 3D-printer to create, and while it’s not clear if the product can be mass-produced, Bandi’s corresponding paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is a fascinating proof of concept.
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While once-pristine beaches around the tropics are becoming infamous for their plastic litter, the Chinese island province of Hainan is putting a new plan in place to keep its beaches clean.
Cities like Sanya and Haikou are ground zero for an ambitious new plastic pollution control plan that began in August when single-use plastic items were banned from sale in the area.
Plastic polymer food containers, forks, drink cups, knives, straws, plastic bags, packaging bags, and other items that are not biodegradable are no longer allowed to be sold at major establishments like supermarkets, hospitals, government and state-owned buildings like schools, and tourist attractions.
The ban plan was announced in February, when the Chinese government decided that Hainan, the smallest province in the country, would be the site of a new “national ecological civilization pilot zone,” and that the success or failure of the plastic ban would inform future policies across the country
As part of the pilot program, Hainan has been cultivating industrial-scale production methods of biodegradable plastic as part of the plan to supply the entire province with hundreds of thousands of tons of biodegradable plastics, of which at least 40,000 tons of bags, films, and tableware are already available for purchase.
RELATED: Reductions in Air Pollution in China Saves Hundreds of Thousands of Lives Since 1990
According to one Chinese newspaper, local shopkeepers and residents understand that costs of doing business will go up due to the need to buy the more expensive reusable or biodegradable products, but that over time the benefit to nature and the environment will pay off.
This was not always the case in China, and the doctrine of “man must conquer nature” was quite popular in previous decades under sterner party rule.
By 2025 China expects to effectively control plastic pollution entering the ocean, entering landfills, and littering the beaches. As part of its five-year plan, it also hopes to establish a complete plastics management system, and employ biodegradable plastics or plastic substitutes across the country.
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Eight endangered giraffes trapped on a shrinking island in the middle of a flooding lake is peril enough, but the water was infested with crocodiles.
Racing into action were conservationists, government officials, and local community members of Ruko Community Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to try and construct a “giraffe-raft” in order to ferry them across the lake to safety on higher ground.
Making it ever more urgent, the stranded giraffes were of the endangered Rothschild’s subspecies, numbering only 1,600 animals left in the wild.
Longicharo Island in Lake Baringo wasn’t always an island, but rather a peninsula that split apart after years of intense flooding. The giraffes arrived in 2011, brought by park rangers who believed it was a danger-free place. They kept them fed and healthy, traveling the river by boat.
Finally, with more flooding on the horizon, authorities agreed that, with the island continuing to shrink, the threat of losing the valuable animals was too great.
One of the tallest and widest of their species, building the giraffe-raft required imagination and planning. It would have to be a strong craft—balanced fore and aft.
Rothschild’s giraffes can stand up to 20 feet tall (5.8 meters) and weigh up to 2,500 pounds (1,133 kilograms). Furthermore, their high center of gravity meant that it would be particularly dangerous to keep them upright in a boat, especially if the sight of a crocodile got them spooked.
For several months, the rangers familiarized the giraffes with the rescue craft on land until recently when the team sedated Asiwa, an adult female, and covered her eyes to make the trip successfully.
Gizmodo had an email exchange with David O’Connor, President of Save Giraffes Now, the non-profit that participated in the daring rescue. He described the rectangular steel pen that was designed specifically for the occasion.
“The barge floats atop a series of empty drums, for buoyancy. Reinforced sides kept Asiwa from jumping out as the barge was gently maneuvered by boats,” he explained.
“Asiwa, has always been a priority for the team on the ground, as she was the most vulnerable,” reads the triumphant Instagram post by Save The Giraffes “It is a relief for all involved to have got her safely across to the mainland and we are sure she is enjoying the space in her new home!”
Asiwa is now on dry land and awaits the other giraffes that will join her on a special 4,400-acre reservation with high, secure fencing that should keep them safe from predators and poachers alike.
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Quote of the Day: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
Photo by: Emma Simpson
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Indigenous Amazon leader Nemonte Nenquimo just won the world’s foremost award for grassroots environmental activism for her organizing work to save Ecuador’s rainforests.
Her leadership earned her a prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize—known as the ‘Green Nobel’.
Nenquimo led an indigenous campaign and legal action that resulted in a court ruling protecting 500,000 acres of Waorani territory in the Amazon rainforest from oil companies. Nenquimo’s leadership and the lawsuit set a legal precedent for indigenous rights in Ecuador, and other tribes are following in her footsteps to protect additional tracts of rainforest from oil extraction.
The Waorani people, numbering around 5,000 today, are traditional hunter-gatherers in this pristine rainforest that overlaps with Yasuni National Park, which, according to the Smithsonian, “may have more species of life than anywhere else in the world.”
Since the 1960s, oil exploration, logging, and road building have already had a serious impact on Ecuador’s rainforests and her indigenous people and their culture. Oil companies have dumped waste into local rivers and contaminated land, leading to public health spikes in disease and miscarriage.
In 2018, Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons announced an auction of 16 new oil contracts located on the titled lands of indigenous nations—in direct violation of their rights.
The 33-year-old Nenquimo co-founded the Ceibo Alliance in order to fight back against the planned oil concessions. The mother of a 4-year-old daughter, she organized Waorani communities, held regionwide assemblies, and launched a digital campaign targeting potential investors with the slogan “Our Rainforest is Not for Sale.”
At the same time, Nenquimo proactively helped communities maintain their independence from oil company bribes by installing rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels, supported a woman-led organic cacao and chocolate production business, and secured training for Waorani youth to be filmmakers and document the activists, publishing powerful images for the campaign, including aerial drone footage of the Waorani rainforests.
RELATED: Oil Company Surrenders 15 Land Leases on Sacred Native American Land
Ultimately, she served as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the government and in April 2019, Ecuador’s courts ruled in the Waorani’s favor—a ruling which was upheld in the court of appeals.
She deftly bridged the worlds of indigenous people and Western society, bringing together elders and youth, and uniting distinct indigenous tribes that were once divided—and continues to fight for the rights of indigenous communities today.
The Goldman Prize, founded in 1989, goes to six environmental heroes each year, awarded annually to activists from each of the world’s six inhabited continental regions.
John Goldman, President of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, praised the honorees for “taking a stand, risking their lives and livelihoods, and inspiring us with real, lasting environmental progress.”
RELATED: Amazon Tribes Are Excited to Use Drones to Detect Illegal Deforestation in Brazilian Rainforest
“These six environmental champions reflect the powerful impact that one person can have on many.”
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There is a very special Hobbit hole up for sale in Oxford, England.
The University professor J.R.R. Tolkien moved his family to the house on 20 Northmoor Road in 1930—and within these walls he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Despite the adoration the author evokes in the hearts of readers around the world, there is no place devoted to Tolkien studies anywhere—a remarkable fact that Hollywood celebrities are seeking to rectify through a crowdfunding campaign.
It was in this house where Tolkien dreamed up The Hobbit as a bedtime story for his children. Soon, the late author’s devoted fans might be able to gather, discuss, and dream up fantasies of their own.
Launched by actors from the blockbuster Hobbit films including Ian McKellen (who played Gandalf) and Martin Freeman (who played Bilbo), along with Annie Lennox and Derek Jacobi, the organizers are envisioning a program of retreats, writing seminars, and other cultural events.
If the house is secured for Tolkien fans, it will be renovated so that guests can experience what it would have been like to visit the Oxford Professor in 1940. Upstairs, the bedrooms will reflect the cultures he invented, and the garden would be restored to a beauty of which the inventor of Sam Gamgee would be proud.
LOOK: Boy Recreates Iconic Scene From Toy Story to Mark His First Day of School
The goal is to raise £4.5 million ($6 million dollars) to purchase and transform the Northmoor home—and 9 percent has been donated on the campaign website, as of December 4.
As with every crowdfunding campaign there are perks and gifts for the ‘Fellowship of Funders’ at various levels, from special certificates mailed for a pledge of $25 to personal invitations for events if you can donate more.
WATCH their video below…
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