Ensuring it's a sunny Saturday with today's tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news.
First Nature Envoy
The UK government has appointed Ruth Davies as its first ever envoy for Nature. She is a former environment campaigner described as “the environmentalist’s environmentalist”, who will be charged with forging global agreement on halting the precipitous decline of species. Ruth Davis is currently in Colombia for two weeks of vital talks that will decide the global response to the biodiversity crisis. The UK has played a leading role in such efforts in the past and Davis helped draw up a global pledge on deforestation that was one of the main outcomes of the UN Cop26 climate summit hosted in Glasgow in 2021.
Chaos Packaging
A crop of startups are trying out-of-the-box packaging to stand out in a sea of products on store shelves. Let's face it, becoming a conversation starter is the goal of marketing. But when you don’t have the marketing budget, making the product itself the marketing may be a key to reaching consumers. That's why brands are embracing what marketing and venture capital consultant Michael Miraflor dubs “chaos packaging.” And that's why Engine Gin put its spirits inside packaging that looks like motor oil containers.
Remarkable Discovery
Amazing discoveries can come from the oddest places, and here’s a perfect example. The spit from Gila monsters, a reptile native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, carries a substance that can help scientists find difficult-to-locate pancreatic tumors known as insulinomas. And a recent study has added to the research confirming the substance’s efficacy. Traditional PET scans detected tumors about 65 percent of the time, while the new Gila monster-derived option did so in 95 percent of patients.
New Poozeum
Everyone poops - even dinosaurs. If you’re curious about the bowel movements of now-extinct creatures like Tyrannosaurus rex and prehistoric sharks, you’re in luck: You can now visit an entire museum dedicated to fossilized fecal specimens. It’s named, fittingly, the Poozeum, and it opened earlier this year in Williams, Arizona, a small town about an hour south of the Grand Canyon. The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of coprolites, or bits of fossilized dung. The museum’s owner, George Frandsen, has been fascinated by coprolites since he was a teenager. Over the last few decades, he’s amassed an impressive collection of fossilized poo that includes some 8,000 different pieces.
Next Year's Color Trends
It looks like 2025 will be the year of earthy hues - at least according to Sherwin-Williams. The paint brand changed up its annual color prediction, releasing its first-ever Color Capsule of the Year. Rather than just one color of the year, the collection includes nine shades, featuring warm browns, soft whites, and other calming hues. The idea is to give “a little something for everybody,” Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams’ director of color marketing, told Architectural Digest. She added: “We’re using this as an opportunity to celebrate nine colors, which we feel like are all gorgeous, on-trend hues.”
Sticks, Not Flowers
In the heart of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, a resting place for war heroes, famous artists, and even a few beloved pets, there lies a bronze statue of a dog named Rex. Among the angels, obelisks, and grand memorials, Rex’s statue sits humbly beside the grave of his owner, John E. Stow, a fruit merchant who passed away in 1884. Rex's statue has drawn a loyal following, with visitors paying tribute to the canine in a heartwarming way - by leaving sticks on his paws. It’s a fitting tribute, considering that most dogs love a good stick.
"What can be better than to get out a book on Saturday afternoon and thrust all mundane considerations away till next week." C. S. Lewis
On This Day
26 October 1958: America's first jet airliner, the Boeing 707, entered service for Pan American World Airways.
Today's Articles
Re-Turn: Ireland's bottles and cans recycling scheme off to a successful start at around 100 million per month.
Complete Surprise: Elderly woman had been using a lump of rock as doorstop - turned out to be worth $1 million.
Mood Boosting Video
Stayin' Alive: North Korean forces marching to the Bee Gees.