WorldThe bright side
A war-damaged school reopens in Malyn
Lyceum No. 2 returns to use for up to 600 pupils after work on its roof, classrooms and building systems.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
From the archive: the edition of , with the original dates and sources for every story. Read the latest edition.
Music for today ·Edition of 19 October 2026
N° 042 8 stories to take with youPerspectives.
CultureThe bright side
San Miniato Basso prepares to reopen its Collodi library
The municipal schedule lists October 19 for public access to renovated reading and study rooms, including spaces for children.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
ScienceThe bright side
Hubble sees a spiral from the side
A NASA image shows NGC 1827, 37 million light-years away, with dust lanes, blue regions and a foreground star.
WorldThe bright side
Tajikistan brings child-protection services around one table
The government and UNICEF convened partners in Dushanbe to discuss coordinated funding and support for families across several services.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
Moving forward.
CultureThe bright side
Abruzzo opens a window onto restoration work
Four earthquake-related restoration projects feature in free guided visits, with booking required and the next scheduled date on October 24.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
EnvironmentThe bright side
Volunteers help count glossy black-cockatoos in New South Wales
The 2026 calendar continues at Goobang on October 24, with advance registration required; results from the October 2026 counts are not yet provided.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
SocietyThe bright side
England and Wales allocate £16 million to free legal support
Announced on September 30, the programme supports 48 organisations, with activity scheduled from October 2026 through March 2029.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
SocietyThe bright side
A week to ask better questions about media
UNESCO’s calendar, updated on October 16, lists independently organised events, including activities in Canada and a regional meeting in Phnom Penh.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
A little more to discover.
Design · Philosophy · Plants · Curiosities · Words · Food · Cultures & peoples. Ideas worth a closer look.
01Design
Lina Bo Bardi: a chair that leaves room to choose
A bowl-shaped seat above a ring: the Bowl chair turns simple geometry into a question about bodies and design.
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Clifford: sincerity is not enough to make a belief justified
An imaginary ship helps William Kingdon Clifford distinguish a comforting conviction from the work needed to justify it with evidence.
Read the full story03Plants
Tradescantia zebrina: the important point is between the leaves
Silver stripes catch the eye, but following the stems of Tradescantia zebrina reveals nodes that can produce new roots.
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Why do shoelaces come untied while we walk?
A seemingly stable bow can unravel within a few strides: impacts and moving free ends work together in an experimental study.
Read the full story05Words
The Italian word tessera: one small piece, several meanings
From a mosaic piece to a card in a wallet, the Italian word tessera connects small objects with very different functions.
Read the full story06Food
Capers: the jar holds a flower that has not opened
Small and green, they look like fruits: capers are buds picked before flowering, distinct from the fruits of the plant.
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Sejnane: a pot grows one clay coil at a time
In the pottery of Sejnane’s women in Tunisia, form emerges through building gestures and knowledge passed on within the community.
Read the full storyOriginal illustrations made with AI assistance. Facts and sources stay in plain sight.
A chart a day
Edition of
Enlarge the chart Where is freshwater stored?
- Data period
- 1993
- Datobello chart dated
The bars compare three stores of global freshwater: ice, groundwater and lakes. They represent neither all water on Earth nor available drinking water. This historical estimate was published in 1993 and presented by the USGS in 2018. [1]
A project by gaiaz · Instagram
View the sources
- Where is Earth’s Water? U.S. Geological Survey — Water Science School · Published · Accessed
- Copyrights and Credits U.S. Geological Survey · No publication date provided · Accessed
That is quite a lot of good for one day.
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