Buzz
If you're feeling a bit down, don't worry, we've got just the remedy. This collection brings you only uplifting, motivational, and amusing tales from the past few days to ensure you end the week on a high note. Click here to explore some of the weirdest happenings around the world as well.
This week, we share two mind-blowing space stories and two fascinating archaeological finds that have left scientists thrilled. Plus, there are a few charming animal antics featuring a tipsy pigeon, a goofy bear, and a cat dressed in pajamas.
10. Pajama Party at the Embassy for the Cat
The US embassy in Canberra mistakenly sent an e-mail invitation featuring a picture of a cat dressed in Cookie Monster pajamas.
The image showed a tabby in fuzzy, blue pajamas holding a plate of cookies, with the caption “cat pyjama-jam.” The e-mail, sent by the US Department of State, was simply titled “meeting.” In addition to the humorous invitation, it included some Latin text and an RSVP link for recipients.
Gavin Sundwall, the US Mission to Australia’s public affairs counselor, offered an apology for the mix-up. He explained that it was due to a “training error” with new staff testing the e-mail newsletter platform. He also expressed regret to those who were disappointed they wouldn’t be able to join the “cat pyjama-jam.” The number of people who received the e-mail wasn't disclosed.
9. Generous Donation from Hong Kong Actor
Actor Chow Yun-fat revealed plans to donate his entire significant fortune to charity, as he desires to live as a “happy and ordinary person.”
Chow has been a staple in the film industry for over forty years, starring in more than 120 films. He first gained fame in a series of action-packed films directed by John Woo and later achieved international recognition for his roles in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Over the course of his career, Chow accumulated a fortune of $5.6 billion HKD, roughly $714 million USD.
As reported by Chinese entertainment site Jayne Stars, Chow lives an incredibly modest lifestyle, spending only $800 HKD ($102 USD) each month. His frugality includes shopping at bargain clothing stores, relying on public transportation, and using the same Nokia phone for 17 years. In his spare time, Chow enjoys simple, healthy (and affordable) activities like jogging and hiking.
8. Buckethead Rescued and Reunited with Family
Buckethead the bear had a happy reunion with its mother after three days of wandering around with its head stuck in a plastic jar.
Recently, a black bear cub weighing approximately 45 kilograms (100 lb) was spotted wandering alone in the forests of Maryland. The cub had a large plastic jar trapped on its head, clearly distressed and unable to remove it.
Rangers from Maryland’s Wildlife & Heritage Service followed the cub, nicknamed “Buckethead,” for three days. They finally caught up with it near a festival in McHenry. The bear was tranquilized, and the jar was safely removed in front of an excited crowd. The cub then made its way into the woods, where it was joyfully reunited with its mother and sibling.
7. Team BAM! In Action
A young boy with leukemia, Ben Manzi, has founded a group called Team BAM!, which has delivered thousands of toys to other children in hospitals battling various medical conditions.
At just nine years old, Ben has been battling leukemia since he was six. Having spent a lot of time in the hospital, he understands how challenging it can be. To help lift other kids' spirits, he decided to give them toys as rewards for facing their hardships.
To make this happen, Ben and his mother, Kati Otero, established Team BAM!, an organization dedicated to raising funds for childhood cancer research and supporting kids fighting leukemia. Kati also believes in the importance of giving back to others, just as they were helped by their local community.
This marked Team BAM!’s third toy drive, and it was the largest one yet. The group donated over 1,000 toys, games, and books to Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts.
6. Viking Discovery Stuns Archaeologists
Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) utilized ground-penetrating radar to uncover one of the largest Viking ships ever found.
The vessel measures nearly 20 meters (65 ft) in length, and the scans reveal it to be in remarkably good condition. Due to its size, experts believe it once belonged to a significant chieftain. If it hasn't been plundered, it could contain a wealth of valuable artifacts. While excavation plans are not yet in place, investigations and mapping will continue without disturbing the site.
Archaeologists have already discovered five Viking longhouses buried alongside the ship. NIKU project leader Lars Gustavsen suggests the ship may have been part of a cemetery “intended to display power and influence.”
The ship's exact age remains uncertain, although the nearby Jelle Mound has been dated to around 1,500 years ago. It is possible that another mound once covered the ship, which was later removed by plowing. Otherwise, experts are puzzled by how such a large ship could have remained hidden under farmland that was continuously plowed for centuries, with the vessel buried only half a meter (1.6 ft) beneath the surface.
5. Bird of the Year
New Zealand has chosen its 2018 bird of the year, and the honor goes to the kereru, a wood pigeon infamous for being the country's most tipsy bird.
The kereru, also known as the New Zealand pigeon, is found in large numbers on both the North and South Islands, in both urban and rural areas. It is particularly known for its love of fermented fruit, a habit that often leaves the bird so drunk that it struggles to fly or even perch properly. During the summer months, when fruit is abundant, wildlife rescue centers in New Zealand frequently receive kereru that have fallen from trees or crashed into windows.
Forest & Bird, the conservation group behind the competition, described the kereru as “clumsy, drunk, gluttonous, and glamorous.” These qualities seem to have won the hearts of New Zealanders, as the kereru triumphed in the voting, securing over 5,800 votes. In contrast, the runner-up, the kakapo, garnered just under 3,800 votes.
4. A New Mystery Surrounding Hot Jupiters
In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers from the University of Cambridge were both baffled and fascinated to find four enormous, Jupiter-like planets orbiting an exceptionally young star.
The star, CI Tau, is located about 500 light-years from Earth. At just two million years old, it's a mere infant in cosmic terms. The star still possesses a protoplanetary disc, a cloud of ice and dust that provides the building blocks for rocky planets. Surprisingly, however, four gas giants are already in orbit, presenting a mystery that defies current planetary formation theories.
Additionally, the planets orbiting CI Tau exhibit the most extreme range of orbits ever recorded. The closest planet is positioned as near to its star as Mercury is to our Sun, while the farthest planet's orbit extends over three times farther than Neptune's.
Determining whether CI Tau represents an unusual exception in the case of hot Jupiter systems or if it's the first sign of a new standard model remains challenging. While hot Jupiters are relatively easy to detect, locating their companion planets is far trickier. In this instance, the other planets were identified due to the gaps they left in the protoplanetary disc. However, older stars no longer possess such discs, making this detection method ineffective for them.
3. A New Giant In The Universe
Scientists have unveiled the discovery of the universe's largest and oldest known proto-supercluster, named Hyperion. This massive structure formed roughly two billion years after the big bang and boasts a mass exceeding one million billion times that of the Sun.
A supercluster is a vast collection of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Our own Milky Way belongs to a group called the Local Group, which is itself part of the Laniakea Supercluster.
Hyperion was identified in the Sextans constellation using the Visible Multi Object Spectrograph (ViMOS) mounted on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The supercluster was detected by its redshift, a measure of how much an object's light stretches toward the red end of the spectrum as it moves away from us.
Olga Cucciati, the lead author from the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Bologna, explained that astronomers were not only taken aback by Hyperion’s immense size but also by its unexpected location. Typically, such enormous structures are found at lower redshifts, since their formation takes a very long time. However, scientists are not complaining, as studying Hyperion offers them an extraordinary opportunity to delve into the history of superclusters.
2. How To Make A Clean Getaway
The RCMP were called to Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, after a neighbor reported seeing two women acting suspiciously by trespassing into a house. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the women had entered the home, cleaned it thoroughly, and left.
As it turned out, it was simply a case of mistaken identity. The two women were cleaners hired for a job in the area. They had the wrong address, expecting an empty home with an unlocked door. The homeowner, who was out of town, had indeed left the door open for a neighbor to walk the dog. The women entered the home, mops and vacuums in hand, and began cleaning, completely unaware that they were in the wrong house.
A neighbor witnessed the scene and contacted the homeowner, who in turn notified the police. It remains unclear whether any charges will be filed. The RCMP took the opportunity to remind the public that, even though this house was cleaned for free, doors should always be locked to avoid such mix-ups.
1. The Sound Of Ancient Music
In 2006, Italian archaeologist Giovanni Carboni made an astonishing discovery during an excavation in a Roman suburb. Holding a strange ceramic bowl, he exclaimed, “What the heck is this thing?” Twelve years later, Carboni believes he has unraveled the mystery—the object is Rome’s oldest known musical instrument.
The ceramic artifact resembles the half of a large walnut shell with a rim punctured with evenly spaced holes. Dating back to 3000 BC, it was found in a tomb, positioned beside the remains of an adult male. The object originates from the Gaudo Culture, a Neolithic society that predominantly inhabited the Campania region in Southern Italy.
The distinctiveness of this find made it both intriguing and challenging to identify. However, subsequent excavations near Naples uncovered two similar items, which have been recognized as sound boxes for early musical instruments.
Martina Cerri, an archaeology student, examined the enigmatic object as part of her thesis and crafted two potential replicas using the technology, materials, and cultural knowledge from 5,000 years ago. One replica resembled a lyre, while the other took the form of a bowed lute. To bring her research to life, Cerri enlisted musically talented students, who performed an ancient concert at the Museum of Origins at Sapienza University.
