Ensuring the week gets off to an upbeat start with a global collection of positive news nuggets.
Rocket Scientist
Crowned Miss England, Jessica Gagen is on a mission to become an astronaut, and has just graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. The 27-year-old became the first ever redhead winner of the prestigious beauty pageant last year in October and, after juggling competitions on the catwalk alongside her studies at the University of Liverpool, was delighted when she graduated alongside her classmates last week. She now wants to use her degree and beauty queen title to inspire the next generation of female engineers and get more women into STEM subjects.
Presidential Perk
When you're America's oldest ever president, it's important to take the occasional short cut or, in this case, shorter steps, to preserve your energy and minimise the risk of mishap. Particularly when the media love to poke fun at you for falling up or down them. So Joe Biden has cunningly been using a staircase that folds into Air Force One and is closer to the tarmac. Biden used the shorter steps option (14 steps, as opposed to 26) to board the plane on everyone of the stops on his recent European tour.
Carbon-Negative Cement
The Washington Post reports that a new carbon-negative cement just received third-party certification that it’s structurally and chemically the same as regular cement. Cement accounts for about a twelfth of global carbon dioxide emissions, so this is very good news.
Bendy Car?
Locals in the city of Bath, south west England, are “baffled” by new parking lines, including a small curved space around a corner, reports The Telegraph. Residents say they cannot fit a car inside the lines and, to add to the confusion, parking spots cover the entrances to driveways with people fearing they will block neighbours into their homes; and, in some bays, bizarre white 'H bars' tell people not to park. Whatever next?
Not So Fast
France is tackling 'fast fashion' with a bonus scheme that will reward consumers who repair clothes and shoes with a €6 to €25 discount per item. The scheme, which begins in October, aims to create new jobs in the repair sector and reduce the 700,000 tonnes of clothing that end up in French landfill every year.
No Kill Chicken
Making history in the U.S., humanitarian and Chef José Andrés is now officially the first chef in the country to put cell-cultivated, 'no-kill' chicken on his restaurant’s menu at his Peruvian restaurant China Chilcano in Washington, D.C. The cell-cultivated meat created by Eat Just Inc. is the world’s first-to-market meat grown from animal cells instead of slaughtered livestock. It was just approved by the USDA in America.
"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things - to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals." Sir Edmund Hillary
On this Day
24 July 1911: American explorer Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, in Peru.
Scientists have created a powder that could revolutionize people’s access to clean drinking water throughout the world. Eau yes!
Using forced perspective, this photographer cleverly injects household objects into real-life settings, creating playful images that fool the eye. Snap happy...
Some Surprising Superfoods: There's more to life than kale and broccoli. Here are five other superfoods to boost your inner strength. Tuck in...
Mood Booster
Flash Mob: Somebody to Love. A surprise is in store at this university cafeteria.