Some bite-sized chunks of positive news collected from all corners of the globe.
Valentine Flowers
Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers travelled (through Miami) to you. If any husbands or boyfriends messed up Valentine’s Day, it’s was not because of a shortage of flowers. In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Around 90 percent of the fresh cut flowers sold for Valentine’s Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10 percent pass through Los Angeles. Flowers make up one of Miami airport’s largest imports. AP reports that the airport received more than 3 million tons of cargo last year, with flowers accounting for nearly 400,000 tons, worth more than $1.6 billion. Data from Google Trends reveals that every year in the United States, searches for “same day flower delivery” spike in the week around February 14, as people remember the date and turn to their phones and laptops to remedy the romantic responsibility they’ve so far ignored.
Super Diamond
Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring material on Earth, but scientists have now created an ultra-hard, high-quality ‘super diamond’ in the lab that is many times stronger than naturally occurring diamonds, reports Interesting Engineering. The team responsible for the breakthrough believes their creation could have applications in key sectors, as diamonds are already widely utilized in industries like cutting and polishing tools. While most natural and synthetic diamonds have a cubic structure, ultra-hard diamonds, known as lonsdaleite, have a hexagonal crystal structure.
Out of The Darkness
An elusive Andean bear emerges from the shadowy undergrowth of Colombia’s highland rainforests. Eyes narrowed with intense focus and an inky black paw outstretched, the massive ursid appears ready to pounce on the photographer. Fortunately for Santiago Monroy García, the picture was taken with an elaborate system of camera traps that allowed him to observe and photograph the bear from a distance, and without significant disturbance to its natural habitat. Monroy García, whose image won the 'Animals' category of the Close Up Photographer of the Year competition, noted that the frigid temperatures, dense foliage, and humidity of the Ecopalacio Nature Reserve actually helped generate this shot: A few raindrops on the camera lens created subtle textures and blurs that rendered the bear in sharp focus, giving its surroundings a dreamlike, haunted appearance.
King Tut
In late 1922, British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb. At the time, he used a chisel to create a tiny crevice in the doorway to peer through. “Details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold,” the archaeologist later wrote. As he stared, “struck dumb with amazement,” his patron, Lord Carnarvon, asked if he could see anything. “Yes, wonderful things,” Carter responded. Over the next few months, he and colleagues explored the 3,200-year-old tomb, cataloguing those wonderful things. Then, this week, just over a century ago, the final chamber was opened. Inside lay the most meaningful find: the solid gold coffin holding the boy king’s mummified remains.
Subway Power Stations
Barcelona is leading the way in sustainable urban transportation with its innovative approach to powering its subway system. By using regenerative braking technology, the city’s metro network is now generating electricity to support station amenities below ground and electric vehicle (EV) chargers above ground, offering a model for cities globally. How does this work? Regenerative braking works by capturing the energy produced when a train slows down. This energy is converted into electricity and distributed throughout the subway system to power essential infrastructure like lighting, escalators, and EV charging stations.
Sun-Ways
A pioneering removable photovoltaic system designed to harness solar energy from railway tracks will undergo testing in Switzerland next spring, marking a significant advancement in renewable energy infrastructure. This development comes amidst growing interest in integrating solar-powered train technologies to maximize renewable energy adoption. Swiss start-up Sun-Ways has secured approval for a three-year pilot project, introducing a novel approach to expanding solar power generation across existing transportation networks.
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." Mignon McLaughlin
On This Day
18 February 1930: Using a 13-inch (33-cm) telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Clyde W. Tombaugh, a 24-year-old American with no formal training in astronomy, discovered the dwarf planet Pluto.
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