Wrapping up the week with a smorgasbord of tasty good news nuggets.
Kevin Bacon Caught
A runaway pig in Pennsylvania called Kevin Bacon has finally been caught after 18 days on the run. "It was a game of hide and seek as his family followed his whereabouts with a drone and tried to lure him back from the woods with treats," said NPR. The pig's namesake actor even helped by posting on social media to "bring Kevin Bacon home!" The elusive pig was eventually caught - but thankfully "Kevin Bacon won't become breakfast for anybody", added NPR. "The plan is to keep him as company for young piglets."
Haven Revived
The ‘triumphant’ restoration of Wullar Lake in northern Kashmir, one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes, has resulted in the return of over 50,000 migratory birds. Among the sightings were black-headed gulls and long-tailed ducks, not spotted in the region since 1939, reports Kashmir Convenor.
Fab Four
The Beatles’ latest and (probably) last single, Now And Then, topped Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart after being released half a day left in the week’s ranking. Incredible stuff. It's also No.1 in the UK.
Extra-terrestrial Rock
In late September, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission delivered bits of rock and dust collected from Bennu, a distant asteroid. It's the first sample of its kind brought back to Earth and the general public can catch a glimpse of one of the asteroid’s rocky fragments as it's now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. “The OSIRIS-REx mission is an incredible scientific achievement that promises to shed light on what makes our planet unique,” says Kirk Johnson, the museum’s director. In 2022, with 3.9 million visitors, it was the most-visited museum in the United States.
Largest-ever Aircraft
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… the world’s largest-ever aircraft! This week, a massive electric airship - measuring the length of three Boeing 737s - took to the air. It’s the largest aircraft to grace the sky since the Hindenburg, and it can carry (literally) tons of cargo over many hundreds of miles. The startup behind it (backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin) hopes it’ll kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel. LTA’s airship uses stable helium rather than flammable hydrogen as a lifting gas and LTA CEO Alan Weston says: “I can’t see airships replacing aircraft. But I do see a niche for airships to be part of the transportation architecture that reduces the carbon footprint of air travel.”
Christmas Job
Head gardener for Rockefeller Center in NYC, Erik Pauze, has an important job at Christmas. He is responsible for finding and installing a new Norway spruce to take the place of honor above the ice skating rink. “What I look for is a tree you would want in your living room, but on a grander scale. It’s got that nice, perfect shape all around,” he said in an interview shared on RockefellerCenter.com. “And most of all, it’s gotta look good for those kids who turn the corner at 30 Rock; it needs to instantly put a huge smile on their faces. It needs to evoke that feeling of happiness.” Erik's selected tree is slated to arrive in the Big Apple tomorrow when crews will decorate - or should we say spruce up - the tree ahead of the annual tree lighting ceremony on 28 November.
Ordinary Life
Here's an interesting perspective espoused by William Martin in his book - The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents - on the wonders of ordinary life:
"Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself."
"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing." Pelé
On This Day
10 November 1871: On this day, according to his journal, explorer Henry Stanley greeted David Livingstone, the fellow explorer in search of the source of the Nile River, with the famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
Rangers rescued an orphaned elephant, reared her, then released her into the wild. 20 years later she returns to show off her baby. Icholta...
Mood Booster
Weirdly Mesmerising: Slinky on a Treadmill.
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