Greetings, dear readers!
2018 marked the 10th anniversary of World Culture Pictorial online journal, and we rang in 2019 with a site relaunch with more mobile-friendly and other features for your viewing enjoyment.
The archives from 2008 to 2018 can be found at the original site http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/archive whereas all new entries will be posted
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More than 30 stranded whales rescued in New Zealand
A pod of more than 30 pilot whales were rescued after being stranded on Ruakākā Beach near Whangārei in northern New Zealand on Sunday, officials say. The rescue effort was spearheaded by the local Māori group, Patuharakeke, who were joined by authorities and other members of the public.
The whales were refloated by lifting them on sheets. Patuharakeke
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Awesome Bridge Swings Back and Forth to Allow Boats to Pass Over Long-Divided Scottish River
It’s one of the world’s first large “double-leaf swing bridges,” to use the proper term, which opens to allow boat traffic to pass by swinging each half of the bridge like the paddles in a pinball machine.
The local port
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Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the online service America Online’s iconic “You’ve got mail” greeting, died at age 74, one day before his 75th birthday, according to Cleveland’s WKYC Studios, where he worked for many years. The greeting became a cultural touchstone in the 1990s and early 2000s in the early Internet era; it was heard
“I intend to put up with nothing that I can put down.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” – C.S. Lewis
“It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
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Children aren’t reading for pleasure according to new research
The National Literacy Trust’s annual literacy survey 2025 reveals that one in three children and young people do not enjoy reading, with only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds stating that they enjoy reading in their spare time. This is the lowest figure recorded since 2005 when the National Literacy Trust started to gather this data. This
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No Brains, No Problem: The Surprising Intelligence of Fungi
“You’d be surprised at just how much fungi are capable of,” remarks Yu Fukasawa of Tohoku University, “They have memories, they learn, and they can make decisions. Quite frankly, the differences in how they solve problems compared to humans is mind-blowing.”
Fungi grow by releasing spores, which can germinate
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This goat hopped into a Newfoundland marathon — and won a medal
Joshua the goat has become a star, says Mayor Darrin Bent
As marathon runners made their way through winding forest pathways and residential roads on Newfoundland’s east coast on Sunday, they were joined by a four-legged competitor who has since become a sensation, says one mayor. he Town of Conception
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New Mozart Just Dropped: Lost Manuscript Reveals Centuries-Old Music
The young Mozart composed the piece around 1760 and was played for the first time at the Leipzig Opera over the weekend.
A hitherto-unknown piece of music by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was recently discovered by researchers the Leipzig Municipal Libraries. The sheet music
Image courtesy Elizabeth Yicheng Shen and Audubon
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Maggie Smith: ‘A National Treasure’
Viola Davis commended Smith for “defying the expectations of age” in a touching tribute. “The end of an era of the sheer definition of what it means to be an actor. You created characters that clung to us, moved us, entertained us……made us look within,” she wrote in part. “You were
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In the last two years, tennis has taken over our closets (court-appropriate garb can be found everywhere from Skims to Miu Miu), our screens (who could forget Zendaya’s turn as the tennis protogé-turned-elite-coach Tashi Duncan in “Challengers”) and now — our living rooms.
At least that is the hope of Belgian eco-designer Mathilde Wittock, who fashions bespoke furniture
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Ultra-Rare Copy of the U.S. Constitution, Found in a Filing Cabinet, Heads to Auction
If you’ve ever wanted to own a rare signed copy of the U.S. Constitution, now’s your chance. On September 28, 2024, Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, will be accepting bids for an original copy (or “archetype”) of the United States Constitution signed by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson.
According
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Procreate announced that it will not incorporate generative AI into its popular iPad illustration app. The decision comes in response to an ongoing backlash from some parts of the art community, which has raised concerns about the ethical implications and potential consequences of AI use in creative industries.
“Generative
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New method turns banana waste into green textiles, energy
Scientists estimate that the banana agricultural waste in Pakistan could yield 57,488 million cubic meters of syngas.
Scientists from Northumbria University collaborated with academics from the UK and Pakistan to tackle agricultural waste rising from producing bananas and other foods. They developed a new technology to