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The Internet is Sharing Magical Photos of What Happens When Hot Water Meets Cold Air

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Every winter, awesome photos and videos show up on social feeds as people try to make the most of the cold weather—by turning boiling water into amazing ice crystals.

How does hot water turn into frozen clouds when it’s cold?

According to National Geographic, this phenomenon occurs because boiling water is already so close to evaporating: “Because they’re so hot, those tiny water droplets start to vaporize. But since cold air can’t hold as much water vapor as warmer air, the water condenses. Extremely cold temperatures quickly freeze the water droplets, which fall as ice crystals.”

Want to take such a video or image yourself? With the polar vortex bringing frigid temperatures to much of the Northern Hemisphere this week, now is as good a chance as any to try.

Saying that, it must be properly cold where you are: as in 14°F/-26°C or below. Really, don’t attempt this if the wind is blowing towards you. And try throwing the water away from you before throwing boiling water above your head.

If the wind and weather is happily in your favor? Head out with a large flask of boiling water into a place with few visual distractions—such as a low field. If it’s Golden Hour, which happens around sunset or sunrise, the light should be glowy and perfect.

Now find a spot that looks towards the sun and have your model throw the hot water towards its rays.

If you have a wide angle lens, do use it. If you just have a smartphone: that’s good too. Just standing a little far back so you can get the full ice-crystal effect in the frame. Have your model do a few takes, and voila. Hopefully you got your dream shot.

RELATED: See the Moment a Bubble Froze Into a Beautiful Sphere At Sunrise Creating a Natural Snow Globe

For some inspiration: Haven’t these Instagrammers from around the world made shooting what’s known as the ‘Mpemba effect‘ look easy?

The light in Norway has been golden indeed.

While in Russia, people have been making lion’s manes of ice.

Switzerland’s Matterhorn just got a little more iconic.

In Lapland, it’s possible to make winter haloes from ice crystals…

And it looks like French Alps aren’t just good for skiiing.

Are those Finnish rainbows, wrapped in a spray of diamonds?

Featured image: @iamnordic/Instagram

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Look Out for the Venus And Jupiter Conjunction Beginning Thursday Morning

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There’s a lot happening in the sky on February 11. Not only will it be especially dark thanks to the new moon, but on Thursday morning, a little before sunrise, look up and you’ll see Venus closely approach Jupiter.

You should just be able to see this planetary conjunction happen with the naked eye, but binoculars or a basic telescope are always handy when looking up at celestial events.

How to spot this rare conjunction? According to Farmer’s Almanac, about 30 minutes before sunrise look low on the southeast horizon. At that point, the planets should have risen just highly enough above the horizon to be seen. The sun won’t yet have begun to brighten the sky, and you should be able to see Jupiter and Saturn shining very closely together—just 0.4 degrees apart.

CHECK OUT: See the Stunning Winners of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year Competition

If you’re in for a cloudy Thursday, trying looking on Friday morning—the planets will appear close together then, too.

And if you don’t have a paper sky chart or map to orient yourself with? Not to worry. You can use a handy app like Star Walk 2 to easily find these two gas giants, right where you are.

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Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths Missing Centerpiece of Henry VIII’s Crown — And It’s Worth Millions

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Judy Cole
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How many times has this happened to you? You’re a soon-to-be-booted British monarch running away from the 1645 Battle of Naseby clutching a priceless gold diadem in your sweaty fist, but due to the slavering Roundhead horde nipping at your heels you don’t have time to stop and retrieve the not-so-lucky totem when it inadvertently slips from your grip as you beat a hasty retreat.

Some archeological historians speculate that might just be how an enameled gold figurine with an estimated value of $2.7 million dollars found its way into the Northhamptonshire field where amateur treasure hunter Kevin “Kev” Duckett found it in 2017.

Kevin Duckett via Facebook

“There may be a thousand reasons why the gold figure of Henry VI ended up in a Northamptonshire field,” writes British historian Leanda de Lisle. “But it is striking that the find site is exactly on the route Charles fled from the battle of Naseby in 1645, and in a place that saw extreme violence.

In order to escape the conflict, Charles was forced to charge Oliver Cromwell’s cavalry. He’s said to have dropped his pistols after firing them in the process of jumping a stream. “Perhaps it wasn’t all he dropped,” de Lisle postulated.

Although Duckett’s been hunting buried booty for three decades, it was during his maiden metal-sweeping foray searching a previously undisturbed site that the stunning icon turned up just inches beneath the topsoil.

Duckett knew what he’d found was a Tudor relic, but he had no idea what the 1.4-inch hunk of history really was until he’d immersed himself in research. After three years of sifting through royal inventories dating back centuries, he ironically pinned down its provenance after viewing its doppelganger in a Historic Royal Palaces YouTube video featuring a reproduction of a crown once belonging to Henry VIII.

Portrait of Henry VIII by Henry VIII, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Duckett made a pilgrimage to Hampton Court Palace to view the duplicate crown in person. What he saw was enough to convince him that the figurine of King Henry VI depicted as a saint he’d unearthed had once been its centerpiece.

“The very thought that Henry VIII used to wear this figure in his crown on his head over 500 years ago when he was the most powerful man in the land is just mind-blowing,” Duckett told the Harborough Mail. “I can still hardly believe that I have found this magnificent royal piece in a humble farmer’s field near Market Harborough.”

MORE: 4-Year-old Girl Finds Dinosaur Footprint on a Beach From 215 Million Years Ago

By law, Duckett turned his find over to the authorities who sent it on to the British Museum in London for further study. If it does turn out to be a true piece of the Tudor crown, Duckett and the owner of the site where the royal trinket turned up will receive a handsome bounty from its sale to a museum.

Duckett isn’t alone in his enthusiasm for treasure hunting, and during the pandemic, the number of “detectorists” as they’re called in the UK, has been steadily on the rise. Metal detecting is a pastime that’s well suited to both social distancing and indulging our sense of adventure.

RELATED: ‘Stunning’ Victorian Bathhouse Uncovered Beneath a Manchester Parking Lot

“There are many more people using metal detectors than there are archeologists, so they find much more stuff, and it’s transforming our view of the past,” academic archeologist Professor Carenza Lewis told ITV.

CHECK OUT: When 8-Year-old ‘Queen’ Finds Authentic Ancient Sword in a Lake, Her Fans Rally to Forge Her a Replica

For Kev Duckett the journey from finding a priceless piece of history to authenticating it has been a long and arduous one. While at the moment, the final outcome is still in limbo, Duckett’s not in the least discouraged. “Treasure hunting is in my blood, it’s deep in my DNA,” he said on his Facebook page, “and finding treasure doesn’t come any better than this.”

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“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

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prottoy hassan

Quote of the Day: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

Photo by: prottoy hassan

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?

prottoy hassan

Yale is Offering Its Popular Happiness Course to Some High School Students for Free — Including College Credit

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In 2018, Yale Professor Laurie Santos introduced a new course, “Psychology and the Good Life,” to address the growing mental health needs of students on campus. It was an immediate success, attracting more than 1,200 undergraduate enrollees that first semester before it was transformed into the most popular online course in Yale’s history.

Now the course is being offered for free to more than 550 low-income high school students across the United States. The students will receive free college cdits upon completion.

“Our goal is to equip students with scientifically validated strategies for living a more satisfying life, while also creating opportunities for high-striving low-income students and students of color to demonstrate college-readiness,” explained Santos, professor of psychology and head of Silliman College at Yale.

According to a statement from Yale, the new program—which was developed in partnership with the University of Connecticut and the National Education Equity Lab with support from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation—will be offered in more than 40 Title I schools from 17 cities, including Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles, and New Haven. In addition to receiving access to Santos’ lectures, students will be supported by both a local teacher at their high school and a Yale Teaching Fellow.

“It is an honor to be involved in this widespread effort to broaden educational opportunities for the diverse student population enrolled in this course,” said Zach Silver, a graduate student in psychology at Yale who is one of the teaching fellows for the new course. “I am thrilled to share my passion for this material with students across the country.”

The class, which will be slightly modified from the original, will present students with scientifically validated strategies for living a more satisfying life and examine what psychological science shows about how to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to flourish more. Students will also have a chance to put these scientific findings into practice.

MORE: Johns Hopkins is Offering Free Online Course in Psychological First Aid

The original “Psychology and the Good Life” course attracted such a large enrollment of students that it was moved to Woolsey Hall, the largest concert hall on campus. The class has since spawned both a massively successful online course, “The Science of Well-Being,” available for free on Coursera with over three million enrollments to date, and the hit podcast “The Happiness Lab,” a top 5 Apple podcast with over 30 million downloads.

“This is a really challenging time, and that means that students need to learn new strategies to protect their mental health,” said Santos. “Our goal is to give students the tools they need to flourish and feel better. But in addition, we can give students a rigorous Yale educational experience and an opportunity to see that they have what it takes to succeed in college and beyond.”

CHECK OUT: Yale is Letting Anyone Take Its Most Popular Class Ever for Free

Educators, students, or parents who would like to bring “Psychology and the Good Life” to their schools can express interest on Santos’ website.

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Wombats Hailed as Heroes for Digging Down Under, Revealing Water Well During Drought

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Andy Corbley
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CC license, Dmitry Brant

In New South Wales, local wombats are helping dozens of other species find water as the country sizzles under severe drought.

The cuddly-looking animals invaded Ted Finnie’s beef farm and began tunneling underground to a hidden water source, local news reports.

According to ABC Australia, the farm sits 19 miles (30 kilometers) down the Hunter Valley—which has only seen a pinch of rain over the past three years.

After such a long period, the wombats’ relentless tunneling had created a crater 20 meters (65.6 feet) in diameter and four meters (13 feet) deep.

“As the crater has dried out due to the drought the wombats have burrowed to get closer to the water and so they’ve gone underground a little bit,” said Finnie to local reporters, who also reported regularly seeing wallabies, wallaroos, and kangaroos.

Hunter Region Landcare Network

After Hunter Region Landcare Network set up a camera trap at the “Wombat Soak” as he called it, Finnie found it was also attracting a myriad of other animals too, including birds, goannas, possums, echidnas, and emus.

Hunter Region Landcare Network

Amazingly, there has never been a recorded instance of wombats digging for water, says biologist Julie Old, who began studying the site. Wombats dig their burrows in the side of creeks or small ditches under trees, where the roots will add to the stability of the burrow. The Wombat Soak has none of these properties.

MORE: Top 10 Species Discovered in 2020 Include a Harry Potter Snake and Desert-Dwelling Broccoli

“We often call wombats ecological engineers because they’re digging burrows and they make habitat for other animals,” Old told ABC Australia. Some animals have even been seen sharing burrows, albeit not very amicably, with the normally solitary wombat.

This was the case during the fire season when many wombat burrows were found to contain other species sheltering from the flames.

RELATED: Tiny Pygmy Possums Discovered on Kangaroo Island After Fears Bushfires Had Wiped Them Out

Thomas Hobbes, who famously described nature as red in tooth and claw, clearly never met a wombat, a species now being hailed as heroes for their life-saving assistance in these difficult conditions.

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Mississippi City Will Pay You a Monthly Stipend and Relocation Costs to Move There

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CC license, Wayne Hsieh
CC license, Wayne Hsieh

How about a move to a charming place that will pay you $6,000 to relocate and move there for a year?

The historic city of Natchez—known for its rich sunsets, vibrant festivals, meandering bike paths, and antebellum homes—is offering remote workers $2,500 in moving expenses and $300 a month for a year to help people up sticks and move to town.

When we say it’s a historic place, we mean it. According to Lonely Planet, this is “one of the oldest continuous settlements on the Mississippi River, besting New Orleans, its bigger, flashier neighbor, by two years.”

The first and only city in the Deep South to offer such a program, the initiative is called Shift South and there are 30 slots available. Those who want to apply will need to be employed remotely in the US. They’ll need to establish primary residency in Natchez, buy a home there worth $150,000 or more, and own and live in it for one year.

In good news: The cost of living in the city, home to 15,000, is lower than the national average, and the median home is $96,056 according to Zillow.

MORE: An Italian Village is Selling Homes For $1.25 to Populate the Town For the Future

“The pandemic has really been a wake-up call to what people have been feeling for a long time,” local mayor Dan Gibson told CNN. “They’re tired of the big cities, the high cost of living and the long commutes. With this offer, you can live in a beautiful, historic small town where everything is convenient and affordable.”

Sounds good to us. Remote workers who’d like to apply to the Shift South incentive program can head here.

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Pakistan Sees Record Drop in Terrorism Last Year, With Attacks Down 45% Compared to 2019.

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Andy Corbley
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Once routinely in the news for all the wrong reasons, Pakistan is now a much safer place than it used to be.

The South Asian nation has seen a reduction in terrorist attacks on home soil by 86% since 2013, and between 2019 and 2020 alone there was a 45% fall.

The promising stats continue for one of the few countries to have met the UN Sustainable Development Goal for protected marine and terrestrial ecosystems, as law enforcement averted more than 50% of all terror threats last year, and suicide bombings have become practically non-existent since 2009—falling 97%.

Pakistan’s armed forces spokesperson, Major General Babar Iftikhar, highlighted border security along Afghanistan, and major improvements in the security infrastructure in Karachi.

In fact, terror incidents, including targeted killings and kidnappings in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi, had reduced by more than 98%. This has led to a staggering improvement of the city’s ranking on the World Crime Index: from sixth highest back in 2014, to now being 108th, just next to Spokane, Washington.

The crime index is a highly curated scoring system based on resident or visitor submissions, which has benefits over government data in some ways.

RELATED: Pakistan Hires Thousands of Newly-Unemployed Laborers for Ambitious 10 Billion Tree-Planting Initiative

Good news on the Afghan border

File photo by Junaid Ali, CC

Bordering two frequently dangerous Afghan provinces, Helmand and Kandahar, the province of Balochistan was a frequent haunt of militants before the Pakistan military took steps to clear terrorist infrastructure and organizations in the southwest.

MORE: For First Time in 72 Years, Sikhs Can Visit One of Their Holiest Sites Thanks to New Peace Corridor

“The challenges that we overcame have now paved the way for great opportunities,” Maj. General Iftikhar said, according to Gulf News. “At least 199 development projects worth [$3.75 billion] have been launched in Balochistan covering health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.”

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“Change before you have to.” – Jack Welch

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Quote of the Day: “Change before you have to.” – Jack Welch

Photo by: Markus Spiske

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?

 

Following Earthquake Damage, Famous Pompeii Museum Finally Reopens After 40 Years

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Andy Corbley
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The museum of Pompeii, called the Antiquarium—home to artifacts from the most famous casualty of a volcanic eruption in history—is now open again to the public for the first time in 40 years.

Pompeii Antiquarium

Closed since 1980, it reopens now as a symbol of resilience of the city itself, having survived not only Mount Vesuvius, but a World War II bombing campaign, an earthquake, and now, the economic hardships of the coronavirus pandemic.

Located in the center of the ruins, which is the most visited archaeological site in the world, the Antiquarium houses the relics of the Samnite/Roman city that perished under ash and fire in 79 AD.

First opened in 1873, it contains casts made of the bodies of animals and humans that died, allowing the visitor an incredibly intimate connection to a period 2000 years ago.

Alongside the casts of their owners there are everyday items like cookware, glazed earthenware, bronze statues, and the walls of villas—frescoed and graffitied alike.

Pompeii Antiquarium

In a land of tourism, Pompeii is one of Italy’s top tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but as it’s remained closed during the pandemic, archaeologists have still been working there, which even after all these decades is still not completely excavated.

Recently, according to AP, the structure of a kind of fast-food eatery has been fully excavated, and is helping archaeologists learn of the eating habits of ancient people in a zone which still today is famous for its food, right up to the day of Pompeii’s destruction.

MORE: Greece Opens World’s First Underwater Museum Around a 2,400-Year-old Shipwreck

The reopening of the museum is “a sign of great hope during a very difficult moment,” Pompeii’s long time director, Massimo Osanna, told AP. 

Pompeii Antiquarium

Jim Fulcher, writing for Travel Awaits, adds that not only will visitors be able to see the museum, but on display will be many of the most valuable artifacts in the collection, which often circulate abroad for special exhibitions, or remain locked away in storage.

RELATED: Duchess of Cambridge Unveils 100 Emotionally Moving Images That Portray Life During Lockdown

Due to COVID-19 restrictions in the country, only residents of Pompeii’s region of Campagna will be able to visit for now, since travel between regions is prohibited.

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Coal Miner Plucks Woman Out of Her Car Moments Before it Went Up in Flames

By
Judy Cole
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John Burke / Mercedes Boggs - Facebook 

Mercedes Boggs knows she’s lucky to be alive. Boggs was on her way to work last month when her car hit a patch of ice, flipped on its side, and slid down an embankment coming to rest in a frigid creek.

John Burke / Mercedes Boggs – Facebook

After regaining consciousness, with cold water rushing in from the smashed windshield, Boggs realized she was trapped. That’s when a stranger appeared making his way toward her and Boggs somehow knew everything was going to be all right.

“When I saw him, it was just like everything was fine,” she told WVLT News-8. “I wasn’t even scared anymore. I just knew that that was like my saving grace.”

Neither one of them realized how very true that first impression would turn out to be.

The good Samaritan freed Boggs from her mangled vehicle. As he was helping her up the embankment, her car burst into flames. Had he come along half a minute later, Boggs would likely have perished in the ensuing inferno.

Kentucky coal miner John Burke was on his way home from working the night shift when he saw someone in serious trouble and stopped to help. After an ambulance crew arrived and took charge, Burke went on his way, but rather than sleeping when he got home, he spent the day wondering if the young woman he’d pulled from the wreckage was going to be okay.

Boggs was rushed to the hospital not even knowing the name of the person who’d saved her life. With no other way to contact him, she put out a Facebook plea in hopes of finding and thanking the man she now considered her guardian angel:

MORE: A Homeless Man in Atlanta Rescued All the Animals at a Shelter After it Caught on Fire

“… Please please share this in hope to help me find the man that saved my life, I owe him deeply. I would just like to speak to him. Without him, this situation would’ve been much different.”

Within a few hours, Boggs’ post was shared close to 900 times. Burke saw it and messaged her.

Boggs said when she spoke with him, Burke downplayed his role in her rescue. He didn’t think of himself as a hero, just someone who stopped to help, but Boggs and her family don’t agree.

POPULAR: Trucker Hero Pulls Over When He Sees ‘Frantic’ Man Running Up Highway After Wreck Flings His Toddler into the Dark

“Kids look up to like batman and superman and like those superheroes. That’s how I look at John now. He will forever be my hero,” told WVLT. “He was the person that saved my life.”

CHECK OUT: Watch Arizona Woman Frantically Pounding on Door to Save Family From Fire Just Before Roof Collapses

One more piece of good news? It looks like Boggs is doing well and on the mend.

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Australia has Experienced One of the Most Astonishing Drops in Crime Ever Recorded by Any Country

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Andy Corbley
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The old newsroom adage, “if it bleeds, it leads,” did not apply to Australia recently, as editors covered the front pages with positive headlines about one of the world’s most dramatic drops in crime rates ever reported in a developed nation.

Since 2001, break-ins have fallen by 68%, motor vehicle theft by 70%, robbery by 71%, attempted murder by 70%, and murder rates by 50%, while overall homicide including manslaughter plummeted by 59%.

A comprehensive report in the Sydney Morning Herald provides the details of the precipitous fall, while also attempting to explain this bettering of society.

Possible reasons for the declines include less alcohol consumption among young people, improvements in the economy with lower unemployment, and improved access to better safety technology in cars and homes.

Furthermore, black markets for stolen goods have dried up, creating a greater risk for thieves.

In 2000, this wasn’t the case—and a book published by a team of Australian social scientists called The Vanishing Criminal bears witness. Rising crime rates were the norm, like other English-speaking nations, in the 70s and 80s.

MORE: After Botched Obviously Amateur Burglary Attempt, Restaurant Owner Offers Free Meals to Anyone Who is Desperate

The authors cited an international crime statistics survey of 25 countries at that time which showed Australia had the second-highest rate of car theft, the highest rate of burglary, the highest rate of crime victimization, among other dubious distinctions. Against these depressing trends, the recent fall looks miraculous.

RELATED: Crime Drops 46% in Philippines When Experts Expected it to Go Up During COVID Economic Crisis

Rising demand from the public on police to produce results seemed to coincide with an increased understanding of what works best in policing, along with a drop in heroin abuse.

CHECK OUT: Homicide Rates Around the World Continue to Fall to Record-Low Levels Year After Year

It really bears out what Steven Pinker and Matt Ridley write in their books Enlightenment Now and The Rational Optimist: Meaningful ways in which the world is getting better are happening at rates never before seen by our species, and virtually no societal problem is insurmountable by progress.

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One Simple Change Cut Accidental Albatross and Seabird Deaths by 98%: ‘Absolutely amazing’

By
Andy Corbley
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JJ Harrison, CC license

An international task force of conservationists have proved that a remarkably simple method of deterring seabirds can save tens of thousands from accidental death.

A recent study published about the Namibian fishery industry determined there was a 98% reduction in albatross and other seabird deaths after laws were passed requiring that fishermen attach colored streamers to the back of their boats, which deterred the birds from pilfering longline fishing nets.

Emily Eng illustration showing how rainbow streamers work for BirdLife International

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife International’s Albatross Task Force (ATF) came together to help prevent endangered species like albatross from going extinct due to bycatch, a fishing term that describes animals caught but not targeted.

BirdLife South Africa

Albatrosses are amazing birds, capable of traveling thousands of miles across oceans without stopping—all while living into their sixties. Some species mate for life, returning to the same, often uninhabited islands dozens of times to raise young. While many people imagine eagles and condors as the largest birds on Earth, both the title of largest bird, and largest wingspan, belong to albatrosses—to the great albatross and the wandering albatross respectively.

In Namibia, the hake trawl and long-line fisheries were found to kill a staggering 22,000 to 30,000 birds a year, including the endangered Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, due to the birds’ tendencies to get snagged on the long-line hooks, or colliding with the steel cables that tug the trawl nets along.

JJ Harrison, CC license

“It’s hard to envisage so many birds being killed in individual fisheries on an annual basis, not least for the fishers themselves who see lots of birds gathering behind their boats and perhaps might only bring up 1 or 2 in a haul,” Rory Crawford, Bycatch Program Manager at the RSPB, told Ecomagazine.

“But the cumulative effect for albatrosses in particular has been devastating – 15 of 22 species are threatened with extinction. Mercifully, this is a problem for which there are simple and elegant solutions.”

These solutions are known as “bird-scaring lines.” A colorful pole mounted on the stern of a fishing trawler strings along colorful ropes, which either through movement or the color scheme—scientists aren’t yet certain—act like the marine equivalent of a scarecrow.

RELATED: Air Pollution Laws May Have Saved Over 1.5 Billion Birds in American Skies, Finds New Cornell Study

As the birds, which can include not only albatrosses but also petrels, approach the fishing vessel with the idea of snatching an easy meal of either fish or bait hanging off the long fishing lines, the bird-scaring lines cause them to take a second guess.

MORE: After Facing Extinction, This Midwestern Bird is Now Soaring Off Endangered Species List

“It’s part of the brightness and then the motion of it, it’s been very very effective around the world, other nations have reported success other than Namibia,” Titus Shaanika, a Namibian conservationist and co-author of the study, told the BBC.

The bird scaring lines were imposed by law, but according to Shaanika, it wasn’t a major challenge to approach hake fishermen and convince them of the value of the birds, and why the simple solution was worth the small investment of time and energy.

CHECK OUT: Bird Sets New Record for Longest Bird Migration – 7,500 Miles Without Making a Single Stop

These other successes include in South America, and South Africa, a good thing since seabirds are one of the most vulnerable groups of animals.

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Tiny Chameleon Species Just Discovered in Madagascar is a ‘Spectacular Case of Extreme Miniaturization’

By
Andy Corbley
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Endangerex

A chameleon has been declared by science as currently the world’s smallest reptile.

Endangerex

The male brookesia nana or “nano-chameleon” measures less than an inch long, while the females stretch just past an inch.

Chameleons are famous for their extending, sniper-rifle tongues, their ability to change color, and their funny little karate-chop oven-mitt-like hands that allow them to cling to tree branches. Brookesia nana in contrast is more at home on the forest floor, and can’t even change color.

“Extremely miniaturized animals are generally thought to face physiological challenges that limit further size reductions, yet, miniaturization has independently evolved many times,” explain the research scientists Frank Glaw et al. in their paper describing the details of the tiny lizard.

“The repeated evolution of such an extreme phenotype suggests that [natural] selection can often favor its emergence but currently our understanding of miniaturization and the underlying evolutionary pressures is far from complete.”

Small body, big problems

Endangerex

Examples of extreme miniaturization are fascinating for scientists to study, since the overwhelming majority of vertebrates grow in size as they grow older.

Compared to its body size, the male brookesia nana has the third largest reproductive organ of any of the dwarf chameleons, and the fifth largest of 52 examined chameleons of other species. This is thought to be an absolute necessity, the scientists explained, since if it were any smaller it perhaps wouldn’t be able to reproduce at all.

At one mm long, the “hemipenis,” an internally stored sex organ, is as big as the chameleon’s head, which was actually the piece of the puzzle which confirmed beyond any doubt that it was indeed an adult male the scientists were looking at, and not a juvenile.

In the genus brookesia, there already was a “brookesia micra,” forcing the team to come up with the even smaller designation for the new member, as it measured 2mm shorter in body length.

Glaw and the team note there is an interesting paradigm known as the “island rule,” that the nano-chameleon seems to reinforce, which states that on islands—small mammal species tend to grow larger while large mammal species tend to grow smaller when compared to their closest relatives on the mainland.

MORE DISCOVERIES: World’s Rarest Wading Bird is Making a Comeback as Its Population Rises By 30%

However with reptiles, this trend is seen in the opposite direction, as small reptiles grow smaller, and large reptiles get larger, when confined to the beaches of an island; for which the examples of greatest ease are this chameleon, and the Komodo dragon—both residing on islands, and currently considered the smallest and largest reptiles in the world.

Immediately recommended for the endangered species list of the IUCN, the Malagasy government enshrined the forest in which the chameleon is found as a protected area known as COMATSA Nord, hopefully buying enough time to allow scientists to study it further and form a conservation action plan.

CHECK OUT: Tiny Elephant Shrew Rediscovered in Africa After 50 Years–And All it Took Was Coconut and Peanut Butter as Bait

Brookesia nana is yet another example of just how many extraordinary animals exist on our world, and they’re just waiting to be found.

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“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” – Gail Sheehy

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Quote of the Day: “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” – Gail Sheehy

Photo by: qinghill

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?

 

Peter and Newly Adopted Son Have Just Taken in A Foster Teen And Now They’re Sharing Affirmations For All Races

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One loving father is a stellar example of what it’s like to be happily blind to skin color—and he hopes his story can inspire everyone to understand that transracial adoption is just as natural when the parent is black and child is white. (A combination that has produced too many negative inferences for this dad to count.)

Peter Mutbazi adopting Tony

A 2017 study found the number of white children in U.S. foster care is increasing, but many black parents are still hesitant to adopt them. That’s not the case for Peter Mutabazi, whom GNN readers met back in July after he became a “forever dad” to Anthony, a white teen abandoned in a North Carolina hospital a few years earlier.

Peter says “The differences in my family’s skin may be the first thing people notice today, but I hope that over time what will be most noteworthy about us, and about all transracial families, is the love, joy and connection we share.”

He knows how it feels to be a child who is facing abandonment and fear. He fled an abusive home at age 11 in Africa, and became a street kid in Uganda’s capital city. But later he was taken in as a teen by a complete stranger who became a mentor and changed his life.

“I couldn’t ignore my history—the opportunities that had been given to me by strangers…and I know just how many kids out there have no one. I know what it feels like to have no dreams, no hope.”

Peter knew that teens had lower adoption rates than younger children, and they often wait longer to be adopted (if ever), putting them at much greater risk for a troubled future—so he became a licensed foster dad and hosted 12 different placements over the years. Then he met Anthony.

Immediately the boy announced: “I was told that when I was eleven I would get to choose who my dad was, and I choose you.” That gave Peter the confidence to believe he could be a great dad, even though he had never had one of his own.

In 2019, Peter officially adopted the whip-smart young man.

LOOK: ‘Mom, It’s Me!’ Woman Meets Son She Placed For Adoption 45 Years Ago And Confirms She Made Right Decision

A new addition in 2021

As Peter and his son were enjoying some relaxation over the holiday, Tony brought up a challenging idea.

“I think that maybe we should reach out to a teenager and give him a home.”

“I already have a teenager,” Peter replied. But, as he reflected back on 2020 he also remembered how he got the opportunity to advocate for teen-fostering and adoption with AdoptUSKids.

After the conversation, serendipity knocked when a social worker called and told Peter there was a young teenager who needed a foster home—and he knew he couldn’t ignore the timing of it all.

RELATED: Single Foster Dad Adopts 5 Siblings So They Won’t Have to Be Apart Like He Was in His Childhood

“He’s almost 17—only one year left in foster care so I can help him with whatever life skills he needs, whether it’s to get a driver’s license, to support him with his schooling, or to help guide him into a career.”

Peter and Anthony recently welcomed Kai into their home.

While many people focus on what can go wrong, Peter focuses on the benefits and rewards of giving a teen a chance, just like the chance he was given.

“Most of all, I can give him the love and attention he deserves. To let him know he belongs.”

The family now makes videos, having founded Now I Am Known to let even more kids and teens feel seen and heard. Follow their hijinks at YouTube—and check out the plushie ‘support dogs’ modeled after the family pup Simba, which comes with a bandana printed with phrases of affirmation for realizing your full potential. For every adorable plushie sold, they donate one to a child who also needs the love—over 500, so far.

MEET Peter and ‘Tony’ in this charming video…

SHARE This to Spread the Joy of Foster Care and ‘Support Plushies’…

This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Our friend Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week beginning February 5, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Aquarian author Alice Walker writes, “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll adopt that way of thinking and apply it to every aspect of your perfectly imperfect body and mind and soul. I hope you’ll give the same generous blessing to the rest of the world, as well. This attitude is always wise to cultivate, of course, but it will be especially transformative for you in the coming weeks. It’s time to celebrate your gorgeous idiosyncrasies and eccentricities.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely.” I offer that Zen saying just in time for you to adopt it as your metaphor of power. No matter how thick and complicated and impassable the terrain might appear to be in he coming weeks, I swear you’ll have a flair for finding a graceful path through it. All you have to do is imitate the consistency and flow of water.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha is a story about a spiritual seeker who goes in search of illumination. Near the end of the quest, when Siddhartha is purified and enlightened, he tells his friend, “I greatly needed sin, lust, vanity, the striving for goods, and the most shameful despair, to learn how to love the world, to stop comparing the world with any world that I wish for, with any perfection that I think up; I learned to let the world be as it is, and to love it and to belong to it gladly.” While I trust you won’t overdo the sinful stuff in the coming months, Aries, I hope you will reach a conclusion like Siddhartha’s. The astrological omens suggest that 2021 is the best year ever for you to learn how to love your life and the world just as they are.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Taurus physicist Richard Feynman said, “If we want to solve a problem we have never solved before, we must leave the door to the unknown ajar.” That’s always good advice, but it’s especially apropos for you in the coming weeks. You are being given the interesting and fun opportunity to solve a problem you have never solved before! Be sure to leave the door to the unknown ajar. Clues and answers may come from unexpected sources.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
When we want to get a distinct look at a faint star, we must avert our eyes away from it just a little. If we look at it directly, it fades into invisibility. (There’s a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, which I won’t go into.) I propose that we make this your metaphor of power for the coming weeks. Proceed on the hypothesis that if you want to get glimpses of what’s in the distance or in the future, don’t gaze at it directly. Use the psychological version of your peripheral vision. And yes, now is a favorable time to seek those glimpses.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
If the apocalypse happens and you’re the last human left on earth, don’t worry about getting enough to eat. Just find an intact grocery store and make your new home there. It’s stocked with enough non-perishable food to feed you for 55 years—or 63 years if you’re willing to dine on pet food. I’M JOKING! JUST KIDDING! In fact, the apocalypse won’t happen for another 503 million years. My purpose in imagining such a loopy scenario is to nudge you to dissolve your scarcity thinking. Here’s the ironic fact of the matter for us Cancerians: If we indulge in fearful fantasies about running out of stuff—money, resources, love, or time—we undermine our efforts to have enough of what we need. The time is now right for you to stop worrying and instead take robust action to ensure you’re well-supplied for a long time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle,” writes Coleman Barks in his rendering of a poem by Rumi. In accordance with astrological omens, I am invoking that thought as a useful metaphor for your life right now. How lovely and noble are the goals you’re pursuing? How exalted and bighearted are the dreams you’re focused on? If you find there are any less-than-beautiful aspects to your motivating symbols and ideals, now is a good time to make adjustments.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
I invite you to try the following experiment. Select two situations in your world that really need to be reinvented, and let every other glitch and annoyance just slide for now. Then meditate with tender ferocity on how best to get the transformations done. Summoning intense focus will generate what amounts to magic! PS: Maybe the desired reinventions would require other people to alter their behavior. But it’s also possible that your own behavior may need altering.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Author Marguerite Duras wrote these words: “That she had so completely recovered her sanity was a source of sadness to her. One should never be cured of one’s passion.” I am spiritually allergic to that idea. It implies that our deepest passions are unavailable unless we’re insane, or at least disturbed. But in the world I aspire to live in, the opposite is true: Our passions thrive if we’re mentally healthy. We are best able to harness our most inspiring motivations if we’re feeing poised and stable. So I’m here to urge you to reject Duras’s perspective and embrace mine. The time has arrived for you to explore the mysteries of relaxing passion.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Author Karen Barad writes, “The past is never finished. It cannot be wrapped up like a package, or a scrapbook; we never leave it and it never leaves us behind.” I agree. That’s why I can’t understand New Age teachers who advise us to “live in the now.” That’s impossible! We are always embedded in our histories. Everything we do is conditioned by our life story. I acknowledge that there’s value in trying to see the world afresh in each new moment. I’m a hearty advocate of adopting a “beginner’s mind.” But to pretend we can completely shut off or escape the past is delusional and foolish. Thank you for listening to my rant, Scorpio. Now please spend quality time upgrading your love and appreciation for your own past. It’s time to celebrate where you have come from—and meditate on how your history affects who you are now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Luisah Teish is a writer and priestess in the Yoruban Lucumi tradition. She wrote a book called Jump Up: Seasonal Celebrations from the World’s Deep Traditions. “Jump up” is a Caribbean phrase that refers to festive rituals and parties that feature “joyous music, laughter, food, and dancing.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you’re due for a phase infused with the “jump up” spirit. As Teish would say, it’s a time for “jumping, jamming, swinging, hopping, and kicking it.” I realize that in order to do this, you will have to work around the very necessary limitations imposed on us all by the pandemic. Do the best you can. Maybe make it a virtual or fantasy jump up. Maybe dance alone in the dark.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“Perhaps we should know better,” wrote poet Tony Hoagland, “but we keep on looking, thinking, and listening, hunting that singular book, theory, perception, or tonality that will unlock and liberate us.” It’s my duty to report, Capricorn, that there will most likely be no such singular magnificence for you in 2021. However, I’m happy to tell you that an accumulation of smaller treasures could ultimately lead to a substantial unlocking and liberation. For that to happen, you must be alert for and appreciate the small treasures, and patiently gather them in. (PS: Author Rebecca Solnit says, “We devour heaven in bites too small to be measured.” I say: The small bites of heaven you devour in the coming months will ultimately add up to being dramatically measurable.)

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com –CC license)

SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…

Sanctuary Containing ‘Healthiest Coral Reefs in the World’ Just Tripled in Size Thanks to U.S. Government Protection

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Ocean sponges and algae on Gulf of Mexico coral -NOAA

The Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary just got 200 percent bigger, now that the U.S. government formally approved the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

Ocean sponges and algae on Gulf of Mexico coral -NOAA

NOAA tripled the sanctuary’s size, located off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, to protect some of the healthiest and most beautiful coral reefs in the world.

“They are special because they remain healthy,” said Dr. Tom Bright of Texas A&M University, known as ‘the father of the Flower Garden Banks.’

“The coral cover here is greater now than when we first began studying them in the 1970s and 80s.”

Increasing the sanctuary’s size from 56 square miles to 160 square miles builds upon the rich 30-year history of scientific studies and public review of the preservation of this special place.

“The more we found out about these areas, the more we realized that they are as diverse and as productive as any marine communities in the world,” said G.P. Schmahl, Superintendent of the sanctuary.

RELATED: Seaweed-Eating Giant Crabs Could Save Florida Coral Reefs – And They’re Lovingly Named ‘The Reef Goats’

Sea urchin with sponges and blushing star coral – NOAA

The expansion, announced in January, adds 14 additional reefs and banks that provide important habitat for recreationally and commercially important fish, such as red snapper, mackerel, grouper and wahoo, as well as threatened or endangered species of sea turtles, corals and giant manta rays.

Protections in these new areas will limit impact of activities such as fishing with bottom-tending gear, ship anchoring, oil and gas exploration and production, and salvage activities on sensitive biological resources, according to the NOAA announcement.

“Adding these ecologically significant reefs and banks will protect habitats that contribute to America’s blue economy and drive ecological resilience for much of the Gulf of Mexico region’s thriving recreation, tourism, and commercial fishing,” said retired Navy rear admiral Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., deputy NOAA administrator.

POPULAR: World’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project is a Virginia Success, Planting 600 Acres That Grow to Become 9,000

Anemone at Flower Garden Banks – NOAA

Located 115 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, NOAA first designated the National Marine Sanctuary in 1992. Four years later, Stetson Bank, located 80 miles off the Texas coast, was added to the sanctuary through Congressional action.

Expansion of the sanctuary emerged as one of the top priority issues following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, which resulted in the largest offshore marine oil spill in U.S. history, with government scientists and non-governmental organizations urging additional protections for marine life and essential Gulf habitat.

LOOK: Scientists ‘Elated’ After Finding Massive Coral Reef—The First Reef to Be Discovered in 120 Years

The expansion is expected to go into effect this spring, once Congress has been in session for 45 days.

WATCH the amazing video of dozens of wondrous species…

SHARE the Great News With Divers and Nature Lovers on Social Media…

How One Writer Learned to be Productive During the Pandemic

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You might quite naturally jump to the conclusion that COVID-19 has provided the opportunity through lockdowns and enforced isolation to create the perfect storm in which writers can work on their book.

For some this may be true, however, for others—and I include myself among them—it has created a barrage of situations that have shrunk my writing time, instead of expanding it. On the face of it, my fingers should be running across the keyboard like a woman possessed. So, why aren’t they?

I can sum it up in one word – family – and I use that all-encompassing word with a smile. Despite, the fact my writing time is now at least halved from before, I don’t begrudge it, because I actually feel the need to nurture, comfort, support, and teach those I love during this unique opportunity for my family to develop a deeper understanding of one another.

Family, are like the pieces of a puzzle where the picture is continually changing and everyone is trying to fit themselves together as best they can. Under normal circumstances; pre-Covid; any family difficulties, sibling disagreements, home boundary issues, household chores and finances; could be easily avoided or postponed; by simply exiting the family unit on the pretext you’d be late for school, work, or friends. In my case, any unpleasantness could be shelved until after the first glass of red.

Enter stage right; Covid 19. My daily routine was erased and I found myself sitting opposite a bewildered family at breakfast, who hadn’t said good morning to me in years, as I was out the door by 7am. If asked, pre-Covid, I would have said, ‘we’re a highly adaptable family, we’ve lived in a few countries, we have some experience of the world – bring it on! The reality landed a punch that made my knees wobble. I believe we pulled off the description, ‘plucky’, but that was about it.

Before the week was out, our house had become the center of all operations, with each of us acting autonomously to what was in our individual best interests. My husband was determined to stockpile every can of beans within a thirty-mile radius. My eldest daughter (who has a young son and apartment in the next town) needed to know immediately what my babysitting schedule was looking like for the next year and that I was in her, ‘support bubble’(?), and my youngest daughter believed she was destined to become a spinster. I began planning how to sneak into the garage to write and leave them all to it.

CHECK OUT: Walking Through the Doorway of Change – How to Thrive Through Uncertainty

The pandemic forced me to step-up and be emotionally present for my family. The first weeks were the hardest, with no routine and no idea of what I was expected to do, other than cruise the supermarkets for toilet paper. I was hit with what felt like collective shrapnel: upcoming exams, work interviews, medical exams and a speeding ticket – all of which had to be taken online using a webcam. I reminded myself, ‘you’ve relocated across continents with a 3-and-6-month-old – I can do this!’

I don’t remember writing a single line in those first few weeks, while I attempted to calm the rising panic in the house.

I became the IT fixer, cook, teacher, college advisor, nanny, bank negotiator, therapist, nurse, dental hygienist, hairdresser, and veterinary nurse, everything but, a writer. In an even shorter time, tempers frayed, and long-held annoyances and fears were voiced at decibels which left our neighbors blushing.

My, ‘light-bulb’, moment came after revisiting the biscuit tin for the umpteenth time one morning. If Covid didn’t kill me then the stress might. I swallowed my pride, like 90% proof bourbon, gathered the family and announced I couldn’t do it all. You should have seen their faces! Complete disbelief.

RELATED: 5 Growth Hacks To Help You Adapt And Thrive During Challenging Times

Now for the delegation of duties part. I set about the room asking each one of them what their preferred chore was and what hidden skill sets they possessed, pointing out, we didn’t need any twerking done in the house. I was pleasantly surprised and not a little relieved as they took it upon themselves to take responsibility for household chores, communication with the outside world, and scheduling.

In late 2020, we were months into the lockdown and bracing ourselves for the second wave. Our perspective as a family had shifted—it’s no longer ‘poor me’, it’s now ‘what can I do to be useful?’.

MORE: Writer Starts a Pandemic Pen Pal Project – Now 7,000 People Are Mailing Joy to Strangers With Letters

Finally, I was writing more furiously and with more conviction and creativity than ever before. I looked at my family, one of the millions on the planet and thought, “wow, these people support me and I support them—and in turn, we support our community”. It was a ripple effect. I’m not alone. We are not alone.

Writing under the pen name Pandora, Claire Pandora Gearty lives in Devon, England with her husband and two daughters. Her debut novel, The Balance-Pilgrim, selling in nine countries since 2015, was adapted for a screenplay, and her follow up novel, Pilgrim and the Geometry of Fear, was published in 2016. She’s working on the third in the trilogy, Pilgrim and the Fall of Kings.

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder (born 154 years ago today)

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Quote of the Day: “I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder (born 154 years ago today)

Photo by: Thom Holmes

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?

 

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