Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news from around the globe.
Corinthian Helmet
A rare ancient Greek helmet is heading to the auction block, where experts expect it to sell for over $100,000. Made between 500 and 450 B.C.E., it’s “one of the best preserved specimens” to hit the market in recent years. The bronze artifact is known as a Corinthian helmet, a style that’s characterized by “almond-shaped eye holes, large cheek-pieces and a wide nose-guard,” says Apollo Art Auctions. This particular helmet also sports rows of tiny holes, which would have been used to attach helmet liners via small metal fasteners. The Corinthian style is named for Corinth, an ancient Greek city-state about 50 miles west of Athens.
Blind Philanthropy
From France comes a story of blind philanthropy. A wealthy Parisian has left his €10 million fortune to a tiny Normandy town he had never visited before. Heir to his parents’ fortune made in the vinting business, Roger Thiberville, a meteorologist, shared but one thing with the town of 1,800 residents: its name. Thiberville is a typical Norman town, writes Euro News, including a 19th-century chateau, but little else that would find it among either headlines or tourist trails. But, happily, that won't make the mayor or the town's residents any less happy with their remarkable windfall.
In a remarkable gesture of corporate responsibility in 2022, Yvon Chouinard, set a New Gold Standard in Climate Philanthropy
Added Benefits
Ibuprofen and antibiotics may reduce the risk of dementia, a study has found. Cambridge and Exeter Universities looked at data from more than 130 million people and were surprised to find those who took certain drugs appeared somewhat protected from neurodegeneration.
Antibiotics, antivirals, vaccinations and anti-inflammatory medication - such as ibuprofen - were all linked to a reduced risk in dementia. Although the researchers say the study does not prove the drugs are working to stave off dementia, they have said it hints that drugs already available, and proven safe for other conditions, may also have added benefits.
Photomosaic
NASA’s Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope has just released the most comprehensive astronomical survey of Andromeda, the closest galaxy to the Milky Way. The resulting colossal image was stitched together from 600 different fields of view, is made of at least 2.5 billion pixels and took more than a decade to create. Presented at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and published in The Astrophysical Journal, the new “photomosaic” also sheds light on our neighboring galaxy’s evolutionary history.
Sparkling Weight Loss
Sparkling water could boost metabolism and help dieters shed pounds, a BMJ journal study suggests. The Japanese study published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health examined the impact of carbonated water on the body. The findings suggest it may boost metabolism and uptake of blood glucose, aiding weight loss as a result. Many dieters have said fizzy water helps them stick to their diets, partly because it is seen as more “filling” than still water, helping to curb hunger pangs. The findings suggest that fizzy water may indirectly promote weight loss by enhancing the uptake and use of blood glucose. But the researchers said the impact was very small, and not enough to make much difference to weight loss.
Basic Electricity
In one of the more remarkable marches of human progress, Bangladesh has reached the point of near-universal electricity access for its citizens. In 1991, only 14 percent of the nation had access to electricity. Now everyone does. Coupled with this rapid electrification, the country has also seen one of the greatest single declines in the poverty rate of a nation ever seen, falling from 44.2 percent in 1991 to 18.7 percent in 2022, reports World Bank.
"Art is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an aesthetic end." James Joyce
On This Day
24 January 1984: Steve Jobs introduced Apple's revolutionary computer Macintosh, two days after the groundbreaking commercial “1984” aired before a national TV audience and heralded the product's impending release.
Today's Articles
Boldly Going: Sir Richard Branson to be a pilot on the world’s first commercial stratospheric balloon flight.
Health Benefits: Replacing planet warming fossil fuels is not just about our climate, it also yields billions in health benefits.
Mood Boosting Video
Creative Hilarity: How to make a spoof Netflix documentary.