12 hours ago

Happy News Wednesday

Mid-week selection of positive news stories from around the world.

Smile!

The bare minimum will do, Mona Lisa style. The brain finds it hard to distinguish between a fake or a real smile, so just looking happier will make you feel happier. Smiling when you don’t feel like it is a powerful way to change your psychological outlook on the world, says new scientific research.

Wicked

The stage show posted the highest-grossing week in Broadway history over the Christmas holiday week, netting $5 million in sales, says The Hollywood Reporter. That total, which was accumulated across nine shows, rather than the typical eight, is also a record for the show, which has been running on Broadway since 2003. The musical brought in $2 million more than the prior week. Wicked is typically one of the top box office contenders, but it has seen a particular resurgence in recent weeks amid the popularity of the new film of the same name.

Scabbard Stud

A tiny gold and garnet mount for an Anglo-Saxon warrior's sword belt has been found during a metal detecting event. Treasure expert Helen Geake described the find as "only the fifth" on the British Museum's Portable Antiquities database. The late 6th to early 7th Century mount, or boss, was unearthed during an event organised by Digging History UK in Norfolk. It probably attached a sword scabbard to a warrior's belt "with some form of very thin fabric or leather". The scabbard stud, or boss - about 13mm (0.5in) in diameter is inlaid with red stones separated by strips of sheet gold.

Extraordinary Longevity

Great whales can live a lot longer than we thought - if we leave them alone. While it has been known since the 1990s that Arctic bowhead whales can reach 200 years old, a new scientific study suggests that this lifespan may also apply to right and fin whales. This corroborates beliefs around the lifespan of great whales that have been held by oceanic peoples including the Inuit, Maōri and Haida. “The moratorium on hunting great whales, introduced in 1982, has helped populations of humpback and fin whales to increase. The report suggests that, without human predation, whales could regain their natural longevity.”

Whaling Commission’s Success Story is Complete: The sign of a successful conservation organization may be that it’s no longer necessary.

Original 'Roxanne' single cover, by The Police — Original 'Roxanne' single cover.

The Roxanne Workout

This is a perfect little challenge with a variety of exercises, but the classic version is to do it with press-ups: get into the “top” position of the move, then put on the classic Police tune and do your first press-up when Sting sings Roxanne. Go back to the plank, and do a press-up every time he sings “Roxanne” for as long as you can. If you get all the way to the end of the song, you’ll have held a plank for about three minutes, and done - let’s not spoil it - quite a lot of press-ups. If you’d like to make this easier, try it with wall press-ups or even squats.

UK Wind Record

Wind turbines have overtaken gas as Britain’s biggest source of electricity as the Government pushes ahead with plans to make the nation more reliant on renewable energy. Wind accounted for 29 percent of the UK’s electricity last year, while gas tumbled to around a quarter. In the previous year, 2023, gas represented 32 percent of the UK’s generation mix. According to the National Energy System Operator, this marked the lowest level for gas since 2013, when more energy came from coal.

"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected." Steve Jobs

On This Day

8 January 1997: On this day in 1997, the principality of Monaco began a yearlong celebration in honour of the 700th anniversary of the rule of the Grimaldi family, who seized power in 1297 and gained firm possession of Monaco in 1419.