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As the weekend comes to an end, we hope you’re set to begin the new week on a cheerful note. That’s why we’ve compiled this list filled with some of the most heartwarming and entertaining stories from the past few days. For those seeking unusual and eccentric tales, check out our offbeat roundup right here.
Space enthusiasts can discover the asteroid that held water and the comet currently lighting up the night sky. Animal lovers will enjoy the story of a courageous dog who won’t back down from his mission and the return of the Italian beaver. There’s also talk of a robot café, a century-old letter to Santa, and an epic pillow fight with elves.
10. The Dutiful Dog
A dog endured the devastating wildfires sweeping across California and waited for a whole month at the site of his destroyed home until his owner came back.
Madison, the Anatolian shepherd mix, is a loyal guard dog who takes his duties very seriously. When the wildfires tore through Paradise on November 8, his owner, Andrea Gaylord, had to evacuate. Afterward, she reached out to animal rescuer Shayla Sullivan to check on Madison’s well-being.
Sullivan discovered Madison standing watch beside the remains of his former home. Initially, he was wary of the stranger, but he gradually warmed up to Sullivan as she made daily visits, bringing him food and water.
Madison was finally reunited with his owner last week. Gaylord showed her gratitude by treating him to his favorite snack, Wheat Thin crackers. As a special treat, Madison was also joyfully reunited with his brother, Miguel, who had been taken to an animal shelter 135 kilometers (85 mi) away.
9. The Robotic Café
A new café has opened in Tokyo that hires individuals with physical disabilities, allowing them to manage robot waiters.
The Dawn Ver Café employs ten people, each with different physical limitations. Despite their challenges, they are able to earn the typical Japanese wage for waitstaff by controlling OriHime-D robots, which are responsible for serving drinks and clearing tables.
The OriHime-D robots were created by the Japanese startup Ory. These robots can move, carry items, interact with customers, and even converse, all while being controlled by simple eye movements.
This innovative initiative serves multiple purposes. Scientifically, it explores the potential for connection between robots and people with disabilities. Additionally, it provides these individuals with an opportunity to earn an income and engage in social interactions.
Currently, the Dawn Ver Café is operating as a two-week trial. The team behind it is raising funds in hopes of making it a permanent fixture in 2020.
8. The Holiday Comet
Stargazers are in for an early Christmas gift as the brightest comet of 2018 is coming in for a close encounter with Earth.
First discovered in 1948 by American astronomer Carl Wirtanen, comet 46P/Wirtanen passes Earth about every 5.4 years as it orbits the Sun. This time, it will make its closest approach to us ever, coming within 11.6 million kilometers (7.2 million miles). According to another astronomer's calculations, it won't pass this near again for another 500 years.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen will make its closest approach on December 17, though it can already be spotted with binoculars or a telescope. The tail of the comet points away from Earth, meaning we won’t be able to see the typical comet plume. However, it will shine with a brilliant green hue due to the cyanogen and diatomic carbon in its coma, which glow green when ionized by sunlight.
7. The Beaver Returns to Italy
Scientists have captured footage of the first beaver spotted in Italy in 500 years.
The beaver was captured on camera traps set up in the Tarvisiano forest. Over the course of the past week, the same beaver has been photographed several times. It's a lone male, named 'Ponta' by researchers. The name comes from the Italian word for 'bridge' (ponte) and also honors Renato Pontarini, the photographer who first captured an image of this furry creature.
In the Middle Ages, beavers were once abundant in the country. Their meat was highly valued, categorized as white meat, and thus made available to Catholics on Fridays. Extensive hunting led to the disappearance of beavers from much of Europe.
During the 1980s, efforts to reintroduce beavers to Central Europe began with animals brought from northern Russia. Ponta, the beaver spotted in Italy, is believed to be a descendant of those who migrated from Austria.
The Eurasian beaver is often mistaken for the coypu, its smaller relative. Despite their similar appearance, the coypu was brought over from South America as a fur alternative and has since become a nuisance in parts of Italy.
6. The Pillow-Fighting Elf
A firefighter in Boston got an early start to the holiday festivities this year by dressing as an elf and playfully challenging passersby to pillow fights.
Brendan Sullivan, also known as Brendan Edwards, hailing from Natick, Massachusetts, decided to spread holiday cheer through pillow fights. He dressed as Buddy the elf (the character portrayed by Will Ferrell in the movie Elf) and challenged unsuspecting strangers on the street.
After the first video gained popularity, Edwards returned for a sequel with two important changes. This time, he was joined by a woman dressed as Jovie the elf, another character from the movie. Additionally, the video featured a donation button for viewers to contribute to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
5. The Reward For Honesty
A woman from New Jersey was returned the $3 she had found and turned in to the police 14 years ago when she was a Girl Scout.
In 2004, 12-year-old Paige Woodie was strolling along Monmouth Beach when she stumbled upon $3. True to her honest and responsible nature as a Girl Scout, she took the money straight to the local police station.
As expected, no one ever came forward to claim the $3, and it remained in the evidence locker of the Monmouth Beach Police Department for years. This year, however, the officers decided it was time to return the money to the kind-hearted person who had found it.
At first, Paige felt a little nervous when an officer knocked on her door and asked if she remembered what she did back in 2004. But when she realized the purpose of the visit, she called it a “Christmas miracle.”
Unfortunately for Paige, she won’t be retiring on her unexpected windfall just yet. True to her honest self, she has decided to split the $3 with her friend, Jackie Bradley, who was there with her when they discovered the loot.
4. The Daring Rescue
A university professor took the extreme step of sending a mercenary team to extract her student from an Islamic State war zone.
This dramatic situation occurred in 2014, but it was recently featured in Lund University Magazine. Firas Jumaah, originally from Iraq, was studying chemistry at a Swedish university when he received a frantic call from his wife, informing him that ISIS militants had overrun a nearby village.
Jumaah immediately returned home, where he was forced to conceal his family in a deserted bleach factory. From there, he managed to send a desperate message to his doctoral advisor, Professor Charlotta Turner, explaining that if he didn’t make it back within a week, he likely wouldn’t return to complete his thesis.
Turner, outraged that ISIS was threatening her student’s life and disrupting his research, turned to the university’s security chief, Per Gustafson. He helped her establish contact with a private transport and security firm.
A few days after the ordeal, four mercenaries, heavily armed and traveling in two Toyota Land Cruisers, arrived in the area where Jumaah and his family were hiding. They safely transported Jumaah, his wife, and his two daughters to Erbil Airport. Since then, Jumaah has completed his PhD in Sweden and now works at a pharmaceutical company.
3. The Subterranean Galapagos
A decade of extensive research has uncovered a vast underground biosphere beneath the Earth’s surface. The total biomass of organisms residing there is estimated to be between 15 and 23 billion metric tons of carbon, which is 300 to 400 times the biomass of all humans on Earth. This subterranean world is home to millions of species that have yet to be discovered.
This breakthrough was made possible by the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), a global network of over 1,000 scientists from 52 countries. Their mission is to investigate the “deep biosphere,” which encompasses all ecosystems existing between the Earth’s surface and its core.
This comprehensive report, which took a decade to complete, involved scientists drilling at hundreds of sites across the globe. They took samples from boreholes and mines that reached over 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) deep into the Earth. The research revealed life forms from all three domains of life: archaea, bacteria, and eukarya. The DCO now estimates that 70 percent of the Earth’s bacteria reside underground.
The discovery was likened to uncovering a hidden Amazon or a subterranean Galapagos. It also sparked new inquiries about the origins of life on Earth. Did life first arise in the Earth’s depths and migrate upward, or did it begin in the sunlit surface?
Fumio Inagaki, a Japanese geomicrobiologist and member of the DCO, believes that ongoing research will help us understand how and why life emerged on Earth. This research could also provide valuable insights into the potential for life on other planets, particularly regarding the possibility of life in the Martian subsurface.
2. The Letter To Santa
A vintage book donated to a charity shop held a surprising discovery tucked inside its pages: a letter to Santa, written by a five-year-old named Marjorie 120 years ago.
The book eventually found its way to a toy shop in Canterbury, England. Shop assistant Lily Birchall shared that her father stumbled upon the letter, dated December 2, 1898. What did a young Victorian schoolgirl wish for Christmas? Marjorie asked for toy ducks and chickens, a canvas stocking, and a ribbon, and she even requested a ball for her cat, Kittykins.
Birchall’s new mission is to track down Marjorie’s descendants and return the letter. Sadly, Marjorie did not include her last name, though she did provide an address on Enys Road in Eastbourne. Unfortunately, the house listed no longer appears to exist.
1. The Ancient Water Of Bennu
The recently arrived spacecraft on Bennu has already provided evidence suggesting that the asteroid once contained water.
Discovered in 1999, asteroid 101955 Bennu was named after an ancient Egyptian god. Its potential to impact Earth in the future quickly made it a target of scientific interest.
NASA launched the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in September 2016 to collect samples from Bennu. The probe arrived on December 3, and just a week later, it uncovered hydrated minerals on the asteroid's surface, indicating the presence of ancient water.
Although Bennu is too small to have ever hosted water, scientists believe it may have originated from a larger asteroid or a dwarf planet. As OSIRIS-REx continues its analysis, more groundbreaking findings are expected in the years to come.
