What better way to start the day than with a worldwide collection of upbeat news nuggets?
Living on a Ship
A cruise line is aiming to attract “digital nomads” with a 135-country, round-the-world trip that takes three years to complete. For $90,000 (£73,000), passengers will get full-board accommodation on a ship that has been remodelled with remote workers in mind. As well as the usual cruise features, it will have offices, meeting rooms and full Wi-Fi. Life at Sea Cruises says demand has been unprecedented, with the newly retired also proving particularly keen. Tempted?
Terayacht Floating City: What could be more outré than a superyacht? Why, a terayacht of course - a name given to vessels even bigger than super, mega and gigayachts. It could be a floating home for 60,000 people. Pangeos...
Family Pets
Another good reason to have a pet: Babies living with pet cats or dogs may be less likely to develop food allergies as they grow older compared to those in pet-free homes, research suggests. Being exposed to dogs is linked to a reduced risk of egg, milk and nut allergies, while cat exposure is tied to a lower risk of egg, wheat and soybean allergies, an analysis of more than 65,000 infants from Japan found. The findings, published in the journal Plos One, could help design future studies on children and allergies, the scientists in Japan said.
Ides of March
In 2020, a rare gold coin sold for a record-breaking $4.2 million at auction. Now, over two years later, officials have returned it to Greece. Called the “Eid Mar coin” - it’s inscribed with the phrase “EID MAR,” or the “Ides of March". The rare artifact was minted by Brutus to commemorate the fall of Julius Caesar and it’s one of the most valuable coins in existence. The coin, however, was actually looted and then fraudulently sold at auction, according to a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Last month, it was included in a larger repatriation ceremony at the Greek Consulate in New York City. Officials handed over 29 artifacts, some dating as far back as 5000 B.C.E.
E-BIKE Act
There's a renewed effort afoot in Congress to subsidize the cost of e-bikes nationwide, on the heels of successful rebate programs in Denver and elsewhere. E-bikes, which use an electric battery and motor to help riders go faster and further while exerting far less physical effort, are a promising alternative to cars and other internal combustion vehicles for cleaner trips around town. But they tend to be rather expensive. The bill, called the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act, proposes a 30 percent subsidy towards the cost of buying an e-bike.
Congress Loves Snappy Acronyms: Congressional 'backronyms' have been on the rise for years - and currently account for around 10 percent of new bills. Examples...
Progress in Laos
Child mortality rates in Laos fell to a level on par with some OECD countries in 2022, thanks to significant strides in hygiene and health promotion, reports the Loatian Times. The country has also recorded a 79 percent reduction in maternal mortality over the last two decades, one of the fastest-falling rates in the world.
Deepest Ever Recorded
An as-of-yet undescribed species of snailfish was recently recorded swimming a mind-boggling 5 miles under the surface of the ocean, where the pressure is 800 times greater than at sea level. Rather than scales, it has a gelatinous outer mass, which is theorized to be less susceptible to pressure. An unmanned submersible recorded several Pseudoliparis individuals swimming at a depth of 8,336 meters in the Izu-Ogasawara trench, southeast of Japan.
"On the Sixth Day, God created man, the sort of result you often get when you go in to work on a Saturday." Robert Brault
On this Day
8 April: On this day most practitioners of Buddhism in Japan celebrate the birth of the Buddha, who lived in India sometime between the 6th and the 4th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
50 years ago, Marty Cooper stood on a corner of Sixth Avenue in New York and made the first ever mobile call. Hello...
Brilliant new way to reunite the owners of lost pets - now available as an app, for free. Biometric ID...
Mood Booster
Good Things Come to Those That Wait... The Guinness Surfer ad that's considered by many to be one of the greatest TV commercials of all time. Released in 1999.