Today's Good News | OGN Daily

Celebrating the long weekend with Saturday's global round up of positive news stories.

Bosko in the bath in a scene from Sinkin’ in the Bathtub by Warner Bros. — Credit: Warner Bros.

First 'Looney Tunes'

There were no falling anvils or wise-cracking rabbits, but the very first Looney Tunes cartoon - released today in 1930 - did have at least one trademark that will be familiar to today’s viewers: It concluded with the phrase “That’s all, folks!” Its title a play on the 1929 song Singing in the Bathtub, the short film Sinkin’ in the Bathtub was Warner Bros.’ answer to the success of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse cartoons and featured its first animated star, Bosko. (Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny would all hit the scene by 1940.) If you've never seen it or would like to refresh your memory, click here.

Nom de Bear

A mother from north Wales who raised £4,000 for Children In Need by changing her name to "Pudsey Bear" has begged the Home Office to accept her new moniker. Eileen De Bont, 53, legally became Mrs Bear in 2009: since then, her new name has been filed at Companies House for her tarot-reading business, and her kids now call her "Mama Bear". But she says the Home Office is refusing her a new passport, calling her name "frivolous". "They just won't let me be who I am," she lamented.

Some of the names of men of science engraved in gold letters on the Eiffel Tower's second floor — Credit: @fermatslibrary | X

Female Scientists

Since its construction in 1889, the Eiffel Tower has proudly displayed the names of 72 men of science engraved in gold letters on its second floor. However, none of them are women. To remedy this absence, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, in collaboration with SETE and the Femmes & Sciences association, has announced the formation of a scientific committee to study ways of adding the names of women scientists, while respecting the monument's heritage integrity.

National Park Week

National parks across the USA will be free to enter tomorrow, marking the start of National Park Week.

Juvenile colossal squid — Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute

Baby Colossal Squid

One hundred years after the colossal squid was identified, scientists have filmed a live specimen in the wild for the first time, marking a milestone in deep sea exploration, reports EuroNews. During a research expedition in March, a team aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Falkor (too) vessel encountered the elusive creature near the South Sandwich Islands, in the frigid depths of the southern Atlantic Ocean. Measuring just 30 centimetres - a fraction of the size it can grow - the juvenile squid was filmed 600 metres below the surface by a remotely operated vehicle. Its haunting, translucent form offered an extraordinary glimpse into one of the ocean’s most mysterious species. Experts believe they can grow up to seven metres in length and weigh as much as 500 kilogrammes, making them the heaviest invertebrate and largest squid on the planet. As they mature, juveniles lose their see-through appearance and take on a reddish hue.

Prices Keep Falling

Solar panel prices dropped 37-46 percent and batteries fell by 20 percent last year, reports Renew Economy. Solar manufacturing capacity is now three times current global demand, while 30 percent of all new battery storage is getting paired with solar - an irresistible combination.

“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” Albert Schweitzer

On This Day

19 April 1927: American actress Mae West was sentenced to 10 days in jail, convicted of obscenity and “corrupting the morals of youth” with her portrayal of a prostitute in the Broadway play Sex, which she also wrote; the publicity made her nationally known and launched her Hollywood career.