In times of overwhelm, it can be the simplest things that bring us peace. This Friday morning, that simple thing is a short clip of a "Parade of Nations" hosted at a Michigan elementary school. The parade features students at the school proudly representing their countries of origin — 42 nations total — and it's exactly what we all need right now.Best of all: Brad Williams, the dad who posted the now-viral video of the parade, is looking to connect with organizers to create more events like it around the country.
Must Reads
A writer's case for viewing aging as a gift, not something to hide or try to prevent
The image above may not look like much, but it's actually a 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll that was scorched by Mount Vesuvius. Although hundreds of these scrolls have been located among the remains, it's been a challenge to open them without causing damage, let alone read them. That's changing thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge — and the project just hit a breakthrough. A team of researchers competing in the challenge recently announced that they managed to digitally "unroll" and even start reading the charred contents of one scroll, known as PHerc. 172. "This scroll contains more recoverable text than we have ever seen in a scanned Herculaneum scroll," Brent Seales, one of the co-founders of the challenge, said in a statement. To get to this point, the team used a machine at the U.K.'s Diamond Light Source research facility to create an X-ray beam that can delve into the artifact's delicate layers without causing harm. "It can see things on the scale of a few thousandths of a millimeter," Adrian Mancuso, the facility's director of physical sciences, told the BBC. Now, the researchers are confident that they will bethe first people to read the ink in two millennia — an exciting prospect for anyone interested in tech, history, or humanity. "I just love that connection with whoever collected them, whoever wrote them, whoever rolled those scrolls up and put them on the shelves," said Nicole Gilroy, the head of book conservation at Oxford's Bodleian Libraries, where the scroll is held. "There's a real human aspect to it that I just think is really precious."
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Like Dogs, Our Ear Muscles Activate When We Listen Intently
Anita Kot/Getty Images
When a furry friend's ears perk up, it's a telltale (and adorable) sign that they're alert and attentive. In a recent study, scientists found that human ears do something similar — but in a much more subtle way. "Lifting the ears up straight is, in almost every species, a clue that the animal is putting some work into it. They're paying close attention, they're concentrating," study co-author Steven Hackley told NPR. Although humans lost the ability to do this visibly about 25 million years ago, previous research found our little ear muscles still activate in response to sounds coming from different directions. To further explore this, Hackley and his fellow researchers studied two different ear muscles of 20 volunteers as they listened to an audiobook and podcasts simultaneously, at different volume levels. In the easiest form of the test, one podcast was played quietly alongside the audiobook, and in the hardest, two podcasts were played more loudly at the same time as the book. As the sounds changed, the ear muscles — the same ones that pull animals' ears back — activated based on how much the participants were trying to pay attention. "It's pretty amazing to see this nearly forgotten muscle working so hard during effortful listening," another study co-author, Daniel Strauss, told New Scientist, adding the findings could be used to help develop better hearing aids.
Humanity
Small Maryland Community Gets Long Overdue Recognition for Its Place in Black History
Anne Arundel County
When it comes to historical sites honoring Black American history, Wilsontown in Odenton, Maryland, has largely gone overlooked. But thanks to a group of community leaders, the town's story is finally being shared as a powerful symbol of unity that goes all the way back to the 1790s. "We had this community of freed Black slaves and the Quakers working together in this unique small setting," Janis Randall told CBS News. Randall is an Odenton community member who started researching Wilsontown to learn more about her late husband's past. "While unproven, I believe it probably was also a stop on the Underground Railroad," she added. The legacy speaks for itself: The Quakers in the area freed their slaves in 1792 and shared their meeting house, now the church pictured above, with the formerly enslaved. It was officially established as Wilstontown in the 1880s when Quaker Rachel Tyson gave 77 acres of land to three African American brothers, John, Dennis, and Isaiah Wilson. Fast forward to today, Randall compiled her research into an exhibit honoring the town's history at the Odenton Heritage Society Museum. "I am 74 years old, and I'm finally seeing Odenton being respected for its history," said Lillian Rollins, who was born and raised in the community and is the granddaughter of the aforementioned Isaiah. "I thank God for this heritage museum because they have incorporated Wilsontown in the history of Odenton." Check out more photos of Wilsontown.
Global Good
🇨🇾 Researchers in Cyprus found a hidden portrait beneath a 1570 painting by the Italian master Titian (read more)
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka celebrated its 77th independence day as the new president pledged to improve the country's finances (read more)
🇬🇧 A U.K. cafe chainintroduced menus featuring braille for visually impaired patrons (read more)
🇦🇺 Turtle nesting season was a record-breaking success at Mon Repos Beach in Australia (read more)
🇮🇪 The Last of Us, IRL: A recently discovered fungal species "makes zombies of cave spiders" in Ireland (read more)
Something We Love
The Expert's Bootcamp From Corey Poirier If you've been dreaming of sharing your message on a TEDx stage, landing major media features, getting paid to speak, or launching a bestselling book, this is your moment: Corey Poirier's Expert's Bootcamp is taking place Feb. 21-23. The virtual event is packed with insights to elevate your career and opportunities to learn from the legends. There'll be live sessions from Joe Vitale, Lisa Nichols, Sonia Ricotti, Brian Austin Green, and Randy Spelling, plus exclusive video appearances by Deepak Chopra and John Gray. Guests can come and go as needed — and will receive a private coaching session.*
*Indicates a Nice News brand partnership or affiliate
Inspiring Story
Superhero surgeon
On a mission to make the operating room a little less stressful, Leandro B. Guimarães, a pediatric ear, nose, and throat surgeon, gives his patients a secret weapon before heading into surgery: a superhero cape. "I explain to them that we will go in 'flying' or running and that we are going to clear their nose and ears!" he said. See the sweet "mini superheroes" in action.
Photo of the Day
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
People in New Zealand yesterday celebrated Waitangi Day — the annual commemoration of the day in 1840 when the British Crown and Māori leaders signed an agreement, the Treaty of Waitangi, that established New Zealand as a nation state. Today, the occasion is a celebration of the country and its Indigenous people, as well as an opportunity for those people to continue advocating for their rights. Aimee Maaka, who traveled to the Waitangi treaty grounds for a gathering on Thursday, told The Guardian: "There is so much aroha [love], unity, and sovereignty — it's about togetherness, and just being Māori."
5 Perfect Pours of Rare Argentine Wine, Courtesy of Bonner Private Wines
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