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
(quote)
A California fire chief had to improvise while trying to save whatever homes were left standing as the Eaton fire threatened a neighborhood in Altadena.
At a neighbor’s home, Fennessy took milk and beers to cool off a gas meter that was about to ignite – “This house was just burning and I had to do that a few times till it was done.”
Orange County
(quote)
Lego is reinventing its iconic brick sets and keeping the toy industry afloat
The toy industry is headed for its second consecutive annual sales decline, but it’s got one thing propping it up — Lego. At a time when toy companies are struggling to match the massive gains of pandemic-era sales, Lego is growing rapidly. The Danish company saw revenue jump 13% in the first six months of the year
(quote)
White Christmas is a 1954 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Filmed in Technicolor, it features the songs of Irving Berlin, including a new version of the title song, “White Christmas”, introduced by Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
For
(quote)
The UK’s ‘most festive pub’ with 55,000 lights and a snowman made from empty wine bottles
A charming Somerset pub, known to be one of the most festive in the world, has lit up for Christmas for a good cause. The Queen Victoria Inn in Priddy, managed by Mark Walton and his wife Debs, has been adorned with over 55,000 lights for this week’s
(quote)
The Norwegian Town Where the Sun Doesn’t Rise
I spent a year in Tromsø, Norway, where the “Polar Night” lasts all winter—and where rates of seasonal depression are remarkably low. Here’s what I learned about happiness and the wintertime blues.
Located more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø, Norway, is home to extreme light
(quote)
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
(quote)
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
(quote)
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
(quote)
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
(quote)
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
(quote)
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
(quote)
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