The first fallen leaf of autumn can be so exciting. But when the hundredth falls and your lawn becomes more leaf pile than grass, it’s time to get creative. The Forest Service recently suggested “six artsy, nerdy, and goofy ways” to enjoy and use fall leaves, a list that includes stuffed scarecrows and starting an herbarium.
Mentally Resilient People Live Longer, Study Suggests
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When faced with a challenging circumstance, there are two ways to respond: smile serenely and say, “bring it on,” or throw your hands up and yell, “I can’t cope!” All right, so maybe a middle ground exists, but unless you’re a zen master, you’ve probably experienced that second reaction at some point in time. Thankfully, taking things in stride is a skill that can be developed and improved — and a new large-scale study is highlighting just how beneficial it is for overall health. Published in the journal BMJ Mental Health, the research found that being better able to cope with difficult life circumstances was linked to a lower risk of death from all causes in older adults. The findings were derived by analyzing data from the Health and Retirement Study, a long-term survey of Americans ages 50 and over. Resilience scores were determined through a self-assessment of qualities like perseverance, calmness, a sense of purpose, self-reliance, and the recognition that certain experiences must be faced alone. Those who scored higher on the scale had a lower risk of all-cause mortality by as much as 38% compared to those who scored the lowest. Try these tips to boost your coping skills.
Together With EnergyX
Ending Thursday: Last Call to Ride the Lithium Wave
An ocean of “white gold” is out there for the taking — and we’re not talking about surfing. One of the most critical and short-supplied commodities in our economy is lithium, the key component in batteries for phones and EVs. Thankfully, one company’s been honing their extraction technique for nearly a decade, and they’re accepting investors, but only through Thursday. Meet EnergyX. Their patented tech extracts lithium 300% more efficiently than conventional methods. Plus, where modern methods take over 12 months, they need just two days. That earned a $5 million DOE grant toward a recently announced U.S. lithium plant and the rights to more than 100,000 acres of lithium-rich Chilean land. Now they’re riding the lithium wave to the top of the $546 billion energy storage market. Invest in EnergyX by Thursday.
This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX's Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.energyx.com/.
Humanity
A Tree for Fergus: Sapling From Sycamore Gap Felling Honors Children Affected by Cancer
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“Your worst fear after your child dies is that he’ll be forgotten,” Ruth Yard, who lost her son Fergus to cancer in 2022 when he was 12, told the BBC. As she faced this profound grief, she was determined to keep his memory alive and channel her loss into something powerful. Now, Yard has found her answer in a sapling grown from the famed Sycamore Gap tree, which was illegally cut down a year ago Friday. “There’s something about the story of the new life being created from the Sycamore Gap. It made me think of all the children affected by childhood cancer. And how they deserve so much better. They deserve a second chance of life,” she said. The 5-foot-tall tree will be planted overlooking a special green space where Fergus used to play, and it’s one of 49 saplings that the U.K.’s National Trust is planting via the “Trees of Hope” program. The initiative is meant to ensure that the positive legacy of the iconic tree lives on, “with each [sapling] telling a story of hope, well-being, culture, celebration, recovery, or connection with nature,” project lead Nikki Crowley said in a statement.
Science
Like Humans, Bumblebees Can Be “Irrational” Shoppers
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Just like humans can be at Target, buzzy pollinators tend to be a bit “irrational” when they forage in meadows and come across many different flowers at once. In a recent study, scientists found that bumblebees didn’t necessarily pick the flowers with the most accessible and highest quality of nectar and pollen. Instead, they often visited certain blooms based on flowers they’d recently visited and what the other options were. For example, the team put less sugary flowers next to flowers with high and intermediate sugar concentrations and found that the presence of the“low-reward” flower made the medium one appear relatively better. “Humans are also very sensitive to the context of their choice. For example, people are more likely to pay a higher price for a television when a smaller, more expensive one is also available,” Claire Therese Hemingway, the lead study author, writes for The Conversation. Zooming out, she explained that thisinsight could be used strategically to help direct bees and boost pollination: “Just as stores stock shelves to present unattractive options alongside attractive ones, farmers could plant certain flower species in or near crop plants to increase visitation to the target crops.”
In Other News
In a unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate passed the WILD Reauthorization Act, which will fund wildlife conservation programs domestically and abroad.
Many high school football players in Minnesota, are wearing protective Guardian Caps to reduce the risk of head injuries.
Olivia Newton-John’s daughter released a new song inspired by her mother, on what would have been the late star’s 76th birthday. Take a listen.
Something We Love
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Inspiring Story
Meet the “Bike Dude”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Manuel Vera, from Silver Spring, Maryland, turned his shed into a repair shop, where he kindly fixed his neighbors’ bicycles for free. He then extended his good deed by taking donated old bikes, fixing them up, and dropping them off at parks, food banks, and churches with a “Free Bikes” sign. “People ask a few questions like, ‘Are they really free?’ ” Vera, 74, said. “The answer is: ‘Yes. If you like this bike, it’s yours.’ ”
Photo of the Day
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Batman has been around for more than 85 years — long enough to earn a historic star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As of late last week, Batman became the first superhero to make it on the iconic sidewalk display (he’s not the first fictional figure, though; that would be Mickey Mouse in 1978). Take a look at all of the actors who have played Batman over the years.
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