Spring cleaning can be looked at in two ways: as an opportunity or a chore. Our team of eager beavers tends to view it more in the former sense, but that doesn’t make the process any easier, particularly when it comes to bulldozing through the mountains of rubble in our homes — er, decluttering. According to author and interior designer Olga Naiman, the problem may lie in the approach. “When you just declutter, you fail to examine why you hold on to things or arrange your home as you do,” she told Real Simple. Instead, Naiman suggests the “dissolving” method for making space, which gets to the root of why we let things pile up to begin with. — the Nice News team
Featured Story
Why Don’t People Play to Their Strengths? Level Up Your Life by Learning Yours
Westend61/ Getty Images
Are you playing to your strengths in your career? How about with friends, or in your hobbies? A growing body of positive psychology research suggests that leaning into your personal strengths can not only help you thrive at work, but also boost your mental health and increase your resilience and life satisfaction, among other benefits. Yet despite this evidence, many of us aren’t fully applying our positive attributes to all realms of life. Click the link below to understand why that might be and learn how to identify your own strengths.
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This Week’s Top Stories
Science
Calling All Cat Owners: Researchers Want to Hear About Your Quirky Feline
Viktoriya Skorikova/Getty Images
If there’s one thing we know about cats, it’s that they never cease to amuse us with their penchant for funny habits. Perhaps your unique feline gets a little dramatic, shows off some surprising skills, or warms your heart with the quirky way they play, cuddle, or offer “gifts.” Whatever the quirks, the scientists behind Darwin’s Cats are eager to hear them. More than just a pet project, the researchers leading the initiative are seeking to build theworld’s largest feline genetic database, The Guardian reports. The goal is to enroll 100,000 cats from all walks of life and investigate the genetic influences behind cat traits, behaviors, and health issues, so humans can get a better understanding of our beloved companions and help them lead healthier and more enriched lives. “This is an important project that has the potential to improve our understanding of companion animals, the diseases that cause their morbidities, and the very nature of feline domestication,” Jeffrey Schoenebeck, a biologist with the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, told the outlet. Interested cat parents can complete free surveys about their pet’s physical traits, behaviors, environment, and health. U.S. residents can also submit loose fur samples with a $150 donation to the nonprofit — sign up here.
Environment
Scientists Discovered a Thriving Arctic Ecosystem Never Before Seen by Humans
Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute
When you’re a scientist on an expedition and you notice a Chicago-sized iceberg breaking away nearby, you change plans to find out what’s underneath it. That’s exactly what a team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute did in Antarctica earlier this year, and they found a scene that’s in sharp contrast to what we may imagine when we think of the notoriously inhospitable continent: a storybook-like, thriving ecosystem. “We thought we might see some life there, but it was really surprising to see the degree to which life was thriving in such a hostile environment,” the expedition’s co-chief scientist, Sasha Montelli, told Scientific American of the site, which lies over 750 feet deep in Bellingshausen Sea. “And it wasn’t just existing there but had apparently been sustained for a very long time.” Using an underwater robot called SuBastian, the team found vibrant anemones, sea spiders, icefish, octopuses, and sponges, as well as plenty of new species that will take years to describe. “Because the Bellingshausen Sea is not much explored in terms of deep-sea biodiversity, we expect many new species from the expedition,” said another co-chief scientist, Patricia Esquete. “And in fact, we have already confirmed some, including snails, polychaete worms, crustaceans, and even fish.” Dive into the bright and bustling ecosystem.
Science
Is That a Hat? A Wound? No, It’s an Octopus Riding on a Shark
Wednesday Davis/University of Auckland
Children’s book authors, file this one under story ideas. Scientists recently released footage of an octopus hitching a ride on a shark’s back in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf — a sight so strange that researchers had to do a few double takes. “A large metallic grey dorsal fin signaled a big shark, a short-fin mako. But wait, what was that orange patch on its head? A buoy? An injury?” University of Auckland researcher and professor Rochelle Constantine said in a statement, recounting the 2023 expedition. “We launched the drone, put the GoPro in the water, and saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles.” Adorableness aside, the “sharktopus” sighting is also incredibly rare given that most octopuses tend to stay along the ocean floor. Constantine added that the ride could have been quite the whirlwind for the tentacled creature, as mako sharks can reach moving speeds of around 30 miles per hour. Although the researchers don’t know how the pair got together or where they ended up going, the professor said mysteries are part of the fun: “One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea.” Watch the footage.
His first book since winning the Nobel Prize in literature in 2021, Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Theft is a coming-of-age story set in mainland Tanzania and the author’s birthplace of Zanzibar. Against a backdrop of the archipelago’s post-revolution independence, the novel follows three teenagers into adulthood, interweaving their stories and switching between each one’s point of view to explore themes of exile, memory, longing, and loss. Per The Guardian, it’s a “poignant portrait of love, friendship, and betrayal.”
Naomi Watts stars as Iris in this adaptation of the bestselling Sigrid Nunez novel about the relationship between a grieving woman and the Great Dane her best friend (played in the film by Bill Murray) bequeathed to her. At first flummoxed by the 180-pound animal she must care for in her New York City apartment, Iris realizes that the dog is also mourning, and the two become sources of emotional support for each other. Funny and tenderhearted, the movie is playing in theaters now.
This Week in History
The Eiffel Tower Is Dedicated in Paris
March 31, 1889
Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Tomorrow marks 136 years since the dedication of the Paris skyline’s pièce de résistance. The iconic monument was built specifically for the centenary of the French Revolution, which would be celebrated around two months later at a grand international exposition. Then standing at 1,024 feet (it has since been heightened to 1,083 feet due to radio and TV antennas), the tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel, whose plans beat out those of around 100 other hopefuls in a competition hosted by the French government. An engineer who specialized in metal construction, Eiffel also designed the iron framework for the Statue of Liberty, which was erected a few years earlier in New York. The tower took just two years to construct, a technological feat emblematic of the European country’s foray into the 20th century. Today, the tower welcomes almost 7 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited paid monument in the world. Take a virtual tour.
Navigate Rising Vet Costs With Money’s Top Pet Insurance Picks
Have you noticed the rising cost of vet visits for your furry friend? Veterinarians nationwide have reported pressure from corporate management to prioritize profits — leading to higher patient turnover, more tests, and upselling services. Pet insurance could help ease this financial strain, with some plans providing up to 90% reimbursement. View Money’s top pet insurance picks and find plans starting at $10/month.
