Wrapping up the week with some positive news stories from around the globe.
Voting From Space
As you will know, there is a rather important election coming up shortly and, thanks to a combination of tech and thoughtful coordination, NASA astronauts are able to perform their civic duty by casting absentee ballots from low orbit. Much like other data transmitted between the International Space Station and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the astronauts’ electronic ballots - rather than being sealed in an envelope - are encrypted (accessible only to the astronaut and clerk) and get transferred to the Mission Control Center, where the county clerk processes them. This effort to ensure astronauts have “the opportunity to participate in democracy” has been underway since 1997.
Austen's First Editions
A collection of first editions of all six of Jane Austen’s novels, some of which would almost certainly have been handled by the writer herself, are going on display together for the first time at the house where she wrote them. The collection being exhibited at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, includes her brother Frank’s copy of Emma and her brother Edward’s copies of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. There is also a copy of Sense and Sensibility in the original publisher’s binding. They will form part of a new permanent exhibition, Jane Austen and the Art of Writing, which opened this week in readiness for the museum’s celebrations for Austen’s 250th birthday on 16 December 2025.
Cool Find
An artwork purchased for $50 has been identified as an original painting by Canadian artist Emily Carr. Next month, the piece will go to the auction block, where it’s expected to fetch around $150,000. The Canadian Post-Impressionist artist was famous for her evocative landscapes and paintings incorporating motifs from First Nations groups. The painting was discovered by the New York art dealer Allen Treibitz, who bought it at a summer barn sale in the Hamptons earlier this year. “You could just tell that painting had something special about it. It definitely had a look, and it was definitely very interesting.”
CBD Kills Mosquitos
Mosquitos are increasingly developing resistance to insecticides, but a team of experts at Ohio State University "may have a solution," said New Scientist. Researchers found that the disease-carrying insects died after being exposed to cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical produced by cannabis plants, even if they were genetically resistant to commercial chemicals. CBD is "highly abundant" in extracts from the leaves of hemp. Now researchers must figure out how to produce the compounds on a large, cost-effective scale.
Tittering Neapolitans
The mayor of Naples has been urged to get rid of a 40ft-tall sculpture that was meant to evoke an iconic cultural figure but instead has been mocked as resembling a giant penis. The sculpture, which was put up this week, is supposed to evoke Pulcinella, a crooked-nosed character from Neapolitan commedia dell’arte theatre of the 17th century. The artwork is based on a design created by Gaetano Pesce, an Italian sculptor and designer. But to the tittering amusement of many Neapolitans, it appeared to more closely resemble a towering phallus.
EV 'Gas Stations'
One major key to EV adoption is creating a comprehensive charging network. Not only does it have to be convenient, it has to be appealing. One company is making a valiant attempt with its new gas station-like EV chargers. EV charging company Rove is opening its first location in Santa Ana, California on 15 October. Rove is a company that wants to shake up EV charging by doing something that should have been done in the first place: make them like gas stations.
"The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out of his nose." Garrison Keillor
On This Day
11 October 2000: In a ceremony in London, the International Women of the Year Association awarded the title Greatest Woman Achiever of the Century to Russian cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova, the first woman in space.
Today's Articles
Greenest US Cities: California dominates the list of America’s greenest cities according to a new study.
Have You Got It? 'The ick' is among the new words and phrases added to the Cambridge Dictionary so far this year.
Mood Boosting Video
GoPro Awards: Swimming with a majestic whale shark.