(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 read more

(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 read more

(quote)

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 read more

(quote)

Edinburgh brothers look to make history with Pacific Ocean row
A trio of brothers from Edinburgh are set to take on their biggest challenge yet by attempting to become the first team to row the entire Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported.

The MacLean brothers are hoping to raise £1million as well as breaking two world records when they set off early read more

(quote)

A practical guide on how to stop buying clothes.
Six years ago, Lauren Fay decided to stop buying new clothes for a full year. At the time, this seemed like a radical thing to do; but she was an early member of a growing movement devoted to drastically reducing our clothing consumption.

Back then, Fay was partly motivated to save money. She’s read more

(quote)

Developers Offered a Texas Family Millions for Their Land. They Chose to Make It a Park Instead.
Daniel Kozmetsky wades through a sea of lemon-yellow wildflowers growing along a ridge and looks over a wide valley that stretches in front of him, part of the sprawling RGK Ranch his grandparents founded half a century ago. “This is the spot,” he says, sweeping read more

(quote)

Step into the heart of eastern Oregon, where the night sky unveils a spectacle so mesmerizing that it’s officially been crowned the world’s largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary.
Imagine a canvas stretching over 2.5 million acres in Lake County, twinkling with stars, a wilderness so vast it’s just the beginning of a dream to shield 11.4 million acres from the ever-encroaching glow read more

(quote)

The Dating Game: How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America
Here’s a superbly-kept secret: All those dates on food products—sell by, use by, best before—almost none of those dates indicate the safety of food, and generally speaking, they’re not regulated in the way many people believe. The current system of expiration dates misleads read more

Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession, Los Angeles, USA
London, England
Lion dance, Edinburgh, Scotland
Dragon dance, Manila, Philippines
Traditional stilt walkers, Beijing, China
Sydney, Australia
Barcelona, Spain
Auspicious Dragon Lego set 2024

Image courtesy Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images, Leon Neal/Getty Images, Ezra Acayan/Getty Images, Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, Axel Miranda/SOPA Images/Sipa/Reuters, Disney and Lego

(quote)

Gen Xers and older millennials really just want to go back in time to before the internet existed
According to a new survey, Americans are yearning for an era before constant connectivity. Can we blame them?

According to a new Harris Poll shared exclusively with Fast Company, most Americans would prefer to live in a simpler read more

(quote)

Jobs, Not Jail: A Judge Was Sick of Sending Kids to Prison, So He Found a Better Way
By the year 2000, Judge John Phillips had long since lost count of the number of minors he had sent through the California penitentiary system for crimes committed during a violent, unguided, and hopeless adolescence. “You send these young people to prison, and read more

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius (quote)

What were Marcus Aurelius’ rules for life? His self-help classic has the answers
Despite being written for his eyes only, the philosopher emperor’s private journal, Meditations, has now read more