As countries including Italy begin opening cafes, and antibodies tests are approved here in the UK, we bring you another colourful array of positive news gathered from all corners of the globe.
Whale Hello!
Humpback whale populations have reached 93% of their original amount, after commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This is great news for animal-lovers, as well as for our planet – these gentle giants store 33 tonnes of CO2 each, and when they die of natural causes, this is exported into the depths of the ocean. Meanwhile, Iceland has cancelled its annual whale hunt this year, and this may be indicative of future whaling – whale watching trips are increasingly popular, while the meat is much less in demand than it’s ever been.
And in another carbon-reducing effort here in the UK, seagrass seeds are being planted off the coast of Pembrokeshire to create sea meadows, which absorb carbon and create habitats for marine creatures.
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Don’t Stop Brie-lieving
It might sound like the beginning of a joke, but the French are being asked to eat more cheese. There is a surplus of fromage from dairy farmers who would usually be supplying restaurants and schools, which means jobs could be lost within the industry. What is usually an indulgence, is now a show of support.
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Leg-end
In early April, a man lost his prosthetic leg while surfing along Panama City Beach in Florida, and after a couple of days of searching, he was resigned to the fact that the $3,000 custom-made prosthetic was lost to the ocean for good. This week however, a 13-year-old boy found the leg while on a scuba-diving treasure hunt with his father! Not only has the owner now been reunited with his prosthetic, but it seems an unlikely new friendship has formed too, with the pair planning to go diving together.
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Woolly Wonders
A teacher in Haarlem, in the north-west of the Netherlands, has been occupying her newfound free time by knitting – but not just your usual scarves and jumpers. Miss Ingeborg knitted dolls of all 23 of her primary school class, complete with recognisable features such as freckles and cardigans.
Happy Ending
In fair Verona, a man and a woman – forced to social distance – have fallen in love from their respective balconies, united through the sound of violin pieces played by the heroine’s sister. After looking each other up on social media, they began talking for hours on end each day. The star-crossed pair finally met this week in person in a local park and it seems that they’re really a match. You couldn’t make it up…
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Rose-tinted glasses
While flamingos migrate to Mumbai every year to feed and breed, the amount of jolly, pink wading birds has reportedly increased by around 25% this year. Combined with the decrease in air pollution in India, this flamboyance makes for particularly pretty scenes in the wetlands.
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And finally…
A cafe in Germany has come up with an ingenious idea to enforce social distancing in public places… we just hope its patrons didn’t bother carefully selecting their first post-lockdown outfits…
German Cafe Enforces Social Distancing With Hats Made Out of Pool Noodles https://t.co/bqg8abwfXl pic.twitter.com/ODtZhTtJ58
— Travel + Leisure (@TravelLeisure) May 19, 2020
