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This Toy Rental Company is Helping Families Reduce Waste and Clutter
Sonia Nijjar's son was born, and she immediately began researching ways to reduce her environmental impact as a parent. She found The Toy Exchange Club, which sends families a box of toys for three months, along with a guide on how to play with them and what developmental milestones the child should be reaching through that play. At the end of the three months, the families return the box in exchange for a new box of toys that are more challenging. This business is becoming more popular as people attempt to find ways to shop in a more sustainable way.
Score (96)
New Orleans Krewes Embrace Biodegradable Beads for Eco-Friendly Mardi Gras
It is Carnival season in New Orleans, which means streets filled with green, gold and purple beads. Once made of glass and treasured as keepsakes, the throws have become cheap plastic necklaces tossed from floats by the handful. Many end up in the trash or, worse, in storm drains. After major flooding a few years ago, the city pulled more than 46 tons of beads from clogged drains. A Mardi Gras without beads feels almost impossible to imagine, but frustration with throwaway plastic has been growing. Last year, the Krewe of Freret made a bold move and banned plastic beads from its parade. “Our riders loved it because the spectators don’t value this anymore,” co-founder Greg Rhoades said. “It’s become so prolific that they dodge out of the way when they see cheap plastic beads coming at them.” This year, beads are returning to Freret’s parade, but with a twist. They are one of three krewes testing biodegradable “PlantMe Beads,” developed at Louisiana State University. Graduate student Alexis Strain says the beads are 3D printed from polylactic acid, a plant-based material. Each bead is a hollow sphere containing okra seeds. When planted, the seeds attract bacteria that help the beads decompose. The environmental motivation is clear. Kristi Trail, executive director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy, says discarded beads cause two major problems. They clog storm drains, which can trigger flooding, and those that wash into Lake Pontchartrain contribute to microplastic pollution that harms wildlife. Her group is preparing to study microplastics in the lake. “Beads are obviously a problem, but we generate about 2.5 million pounds of trash from Mardi Gras,” Trail said. Sustainable alternatives have been slowly gaining traction, from edible throws to soaps and sunglasses. The new PLA beads are part of a broader effort that began years ago in the lab of professor Naohiro Kato at LSU. He first explored algae based bioplastic beads in 2018, but production costs were too high. Strain’s later experiments with 3D printing made the PlantMe Bead practical for parades. For the 2026 season, LSU students produced 3,000 necklaces for three krewes in exchange for feedback. One surprising reaction, Kato said, is how many people want to keep the beads. “So wait a minute, if you want to keep it, the petroleum plastic Mardi Gras bead is the best, because this won’t last,” he joked. Strain is now testing another 3D printing material that would biodegrade quickly, even without planting. Kato is also in talks with schools about turning bead making into a hands-on lesson in bioplastics. And he is still looking for a commercially viable algae-based option. Rhoades says the point is not simply replacing one bead with another. Freret aims to shift Mardi Gras culture toward less waste and more meaningful throws. “In 2025, we were the first krewe — major parading organization — to say, ‘No more. No more cheap beads. Let’s throw things that people value, that people appreciate, that can be used year-round,’” he said. One of Freret’s most popular throws is a baseball cap with the krewe’s logo. Rhoades says he now sees them all over the city and believes other groups are paying attention. “They want people to like their stuff. They want people to take their stuff home, and use it, and talk about it, and post it on social media, and say, ‘Look what I just caught!’”
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'A Real Hoot': Rescued Owl Snuggles Into Officer's Gloves
Animal officers were called in to assist a “feathered friend” that was spotted injured in a Syracuse neighborhood on Wednesday, February 11. Syracuse Police said its animal cruelty officers were dispatched to Upland Road after residents alerted them to an injured owl. “Our officers carefully secured the feathered friend and made sure it received proper care from local wildlife professionals,” police said on Facebook. “This was a real hoot of a rescue! We’re always ready to swoop in when the community calls.” Syracuse Police thanked the residents of Upland Road for calling them and helping “to ensure this owl gets the care it deserves.” 📸 Syracuse Police via Storyful
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Score (95)
Expert Says Students Can Ease Exam Pressure by Studying in Shorter Bursts and Starting Earlier
A Toronto based learning strategist says students can reduce stress and retain more information by rethinking how they study for exams. Deena Kara Shaffer told CTV’s Your Morning that preparing weeks in advance, rather than cramming, can make a major difference. Shaffer recommends what she calls the “three two one method.” Students begin studying for a major exam three weeks before the test date, start review two weeks ahead for a standard test and one week ahead for a quiz. She says competing deadlines often push studying aside until the final days, which increases pressure. “With all of the deadlines, the labs, the readings, the essays that students have... studying for a test that’s a few weeks away, it just keeps getting pushed off until we’re now cramming a day or two before,” she said. Her advice is to focus on shorter, dedicated study windows. Sessions of about 45 minutes, followed by breaks, help students maintain attention and build confidence as the exam approaches. She also urges students to adopt what she calls “non toxic productivity,” a mindset that prioritizes health instead of nonstop work. Shaffer says stress, long hours and lack of rest can undermine performance. That is why sleep, movement and pacing matter. “Rest, sleep and movement help with memory, attention, and we can all use a little more focus,” she said. “These are essential learning strategies.” She recommends that students pay attention to their natural energy rhythms. Someone who feels most alert in the morning should schedule study time then, rather than forcing themselves to work at night. “I want students to really think about when are you likelier to have energy and focus,” she said. “When are those things going to be on your side? If you are a morning person, if that’s when you have your fullest energy, please don’t try to study at night. It is going to not go very well.” Shaffer also sees AI tools as helpful for practice. She says students can generate mock exams or practice questions to reinforce material. “Any time you feel a little bit confused, like it’s not going very well... ask for more questions,” she said. “There is no better way to prep for your next test.”
Score (98)
Sheep Farmer Completes 142-Mile Walk to Raise Mental Health Awareness
A sheep farmer who walked 142 miles, or 229 kilometres, to shine a light on mental health in farming says the experience left him humbled and inspired. Sam Stables, co founder of We Are Farming Minds, spent five days walking from Herefordshire to London, meeting supporters along the route who joined him for parts of the journey. “It was an incredible journey,” he said after reaching the finish on Friday. “The whole reason for this walk was, it was a message of hope. Hope that there are incredible support lines within the farming community to speak to.” His trek has raised nearly £50,000 for the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, helped in part by a £5,000 donation from Prince William, who is also a patron of We Are Farming Minds. The charity focuses on mental health awareness in rural areas, where long hours, isolation and financial pressure can fuel anxiety and depression. Before setting off from Ross on Wye Market on Monday, Stables said, “There are some incredible charities and some amazing people to talk to if you are in that dark place.” He planned to walk about 30 miles, or 48 kilometres, each day. The event also partnered with the Farm Safety Foundation, known as Yellow Wellies, and its Mind Your Head campaign. Along the way, Stables met farmers, families, and people with no farming connection at all. He says their support kept him going through moments when he felt ill or struggled with a swollen ankle. “It’s been an incredibly humbling experience, it’s really restored my faith in humanity. People and community is what this journey was all about,” he said. “There’s some amazing people out there who want to support, who want to look after, sharing stories and knowing that it is OK to talk.” Whenever someone approached him to ask, “Can I walk with you?” he said the boost was immediate. “The kindness of people has got me to the finish line along with the most amazing support team around me. Honestly, I love them all to bits.” He said learning of the Prince of Wales’ donation partway through the trek was “another incredible part of the journey”. Stables hopes the money raised will support the young farmers’ clubs and encourage the next generation to talk openly about mental health.
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Majestic Stag Approaches Man's Camera for Close Encounter Before Wandering Off
A new video from the Scottish Highlands is giving viewers one of the most intimate wildlife encounters they will likely ever see. A wild red deer stag walked straight up to a hiker in Glencoe, getting close enough that his breath briefly fogged the camera lens. The moment was captured by Craig, who travels Scotland in a motorhome and documents his trips as the Roaming Thistle. He says he was simply out for a quiet walk a week ago Saturday when he spotted the stag and slowly raised his camera. “I expected nothing more than a quiet moment observing wildlife,” he said. Instead, the animal began moving calmly toward him. “The stag approached, completely unbothered, and gently brushed up against the camera lens. As he breathed on it, the lens briefly steamed up, which somehow made the moment feel even more magical before he quietly moved on again.” Craig said the encounter left him in disbelief. “Encounters like that are incredibly rare, and it felt genuinely special to witness such calm, natural behavior from a wild animal.” Male red deer, known as Highland stags, are the largest land mammals in Britain. Their antlers can reach more than a meter in width, making them one of the most striking species in the Highlands. Craig says what made the moment unforgettable was its simplicity. “It was one of those moments that stays with you, not because it was dramatic, but because it was quiet, intimate, and entirely on the stag’s terms.” He added that the experience showed him “the most majestic residents of the Highlands are also the most curious.”
Score (97)
Two Original Jungle Book Illustrations Lost For More Than a Century Resurface in a London home
Two watercolor illustrations created for Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book have resurfaced after more than 100 years, surprising a London family who only recently learned the artwork hanging in their home carried major historical weight. The rediscovered pieces were part of a set of 16 illustrations made in 1903 for a deluxe portfolio titled Sixteen Illustrations of Subjects from Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’, commissioned by book publisher Macmillan & Co the year before. Only six originals are known to survive today. Until now, the other four were split between private collections, the Natural History Museum, and the National Trust. One watercolor, by Edward Detmold, shows Mowgli with Bagheera. The second, by his twin brother Charles Maurice Detmold, depicts Cold Lairs, home of the Bandar log. Both works had been quietly displayed in the owners’ home for decades. They had no idea what they possessed. “These drawings were never treated as ‘important’ works in our family, they were simply part of our home,” the owners said. “Finding out that they restore a missing piece of the visual history of Kipling’s The Jungle Book has been completely unexpected.” London auction house Roseberys plans to offer both paintings on March 10 and expects them to sell for about $20,000 each. Lara L’vov Basirov of Roseberys says the opportunity to acquire originals of this kind is almost unheard of. “To be able to bid for two of the six known surviving original watercolors is a vanishingly rare opportunity,” she said. The Detmold twins were only 20 when the portfolio was published. The limited run of 500 copies was released separately from the book itself, which first appeared in 1894. A standard printed edition that included the Detmold illustrations did not arrive until 1908. Many of the 1903 portfolios were dismantled over time, as owners removed the plates to frame them. Only one complete set is held by the Library of Congress. L’vov Basirov says contemporary reviewers immediately grasped the importance of the images. Their publication drew headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. A reviewer for The Guardian singled out the two rediscovered watercolors for praise when the portfolio first appeared. The sale will also mark the first time the watercolors have ever appeared on the market. The moment is bittersweet. The portfolio was the twins’ last joint project. Charles Maurice died by suicide at age 25, cutting short what had already become a remarkable artistic partnership. Their rediscovered work now joins a growing list of art surprises that have surfaced in recent years, from estate sale finds to long missing masterpieces that quietly reappear.
Score (97)
Lost Prosthetic Leg Reunited With Owner After Months At Sea
A woman in East Yorkshire has been reunited with her prosthetic leg nearly a year after it was swept away during what was meant to be her first open water swim. Brenda Ogden, 69, lost the limb in April while entering the sea at Bridlington. A rogue wave knocked her off her feet and carried the leg away before she could react. Brenda, whose leg was amputated after a car crash, had added sea swimming to a list of goals she wanted to try before turning 70 and had joined the Flamborough Flippers group for the occasion. “I just thought, where has my leg gone?” she said. Members of the group searched the area, but it vanished almost instantly. Sarah Miles, one of the swimmers, recalled, “We got in the water and a rogue wave came. Brenda fell and as I went to grab the leg a wave came and took it.” Brenda believed the £2,000 custom made titanium blade, which she had named Freda, was gone for good. Comfortable and reliable, she said the prosthetic felt “like putting slippers on.” She spent the next 10 months assuming the sea had carried it far from the Yorkshire coast. Instead, it drifted 19 kilometres downshore and washed up near Skipsea. Fossil hunter Lizi Forbes, 38, came across it on the Holderness coast and posted a photo in a fossil hunting Facebook group. The post spread quickly and Brenda was identified as the owner. Lizi then travelled to return the leg in person on Saturday. The meeting was “emotional,” Brenda said. Lizi added, “I felt wholly responsible for collecting it and bringing it home for her, so it’s a great feeling. It’s boosted my spirits. I think I’ve got a friend for life there.” The leg suffered some damage during its months at sea, but Brenda plans to return to swimming once it is repaired. She said she is grateful to everyone who spent months looking for it, including volunteers who used drones. “I’ve definitely learned my lesson and I can go back in the sea again, when it’s a bit warmer maybe!”
Score (98)
Scientists Use Sound Cues to Influence Dreams and Boost Problem Solving
Most people have heard the advice to “sleep on it” when stuck on a problem. A new study from Northwestern University suggests there may be science behind that idea. Researchers found they could influence what people dream about and that puzzles appearing in dreams were more likely to be solved after waking. Dreams are hard to study in a lab because they cannot usually be controlled. The team used a technique called targeted memory reactivation, or TMR. Participants first tried to solve a series of difficult brain teaser puzzles, each paired with its own sound. During REM sleep, researchers played the sounds linked to half of the unsolved puzzles, but only after confirming the sleeper had entered the proper stage of sleep. The result was striking. About 75 percent of participants reported dreams that included images or ideas connected to the puzzles they had been cued with. Those cued puzzles were solved 42 percent of the time after waking compared with 17 percent for puzzles that did not appear in dreams. The findings do not prove that dreams themselves cause creative insight, but they show that influencing dream content is possible and may be tied to better problem solving. Ken Paller, senior author of the study and the James Padilla Professor of Psychology at Northwestern, said, “Many problems in the world today require creative solutions. By learning more about how our brains are able to think creatively, think anew and generate creative new ideas, we could be closer to solving the problems we want to solve, and sleep engineering could help.” The study involved 20 people who already had experience with lucid dreaming. Each person got three minutes per puzzle during the evening session. Most puzzles went unsolved. Overnight, participants slept in the lab while researchers monitored brain activity with polysomnography. During REM sleep, scientists replayed the soundtracks associated with selected puzzles. Some dreamers used prearranged sniffing patterns to signal they heard the cues and were trying to work on the problems inside their dreams. In 12 of the 20 participants, dream reports mentioned the cued puzzles more often than the uncued ones. Those same participants doubled their success rate, going from solving 20 percent of the puzzles to 40 percent after the REM sleep session. Karen Konkoly, the study’s lead author, said one of the biggest surprises was how well the cueing worked even when people were not aware they were dreaming. She said some dreamers interacted with dream characters about the puzzles. Others woke up with vivid imagery tied to the themes that had been cued. “These were fascinating examples to witness because they showed how dreamers can follow instructions, and dreams can be influenced by sounds during sleep, even without lucidity,” she said. Researchers say the next step is to test whether targeted reactivation and interactive dreaming could help with emotional processing or other forms of learning. Konkoly said the hope is that findings like these will help clarify the purpose of dreaming. “If scientists can definitively say that dreams are important for problem solving, creativity and emotion regulation, hopefully people will start to take dreams seriously as a priority for mental health and well-being.” The study, titled “Creative problem solving after experimentally provoking dreams of unsolved puzzles during REM sleep,” was published February 5 in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness. Co authors include Daniel Morris, Kaitlyn Hurka, Alysiana Martinez and Kristin Sanders.
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He Saved His Twin Brother's Life With a Timely Blood Test Amid a Cancer Battle
A man from Portsmouth living with stage four prostate cancer says he saved his twin brother’s life by persuading him to take a simple blood test. Andy Gissing, a sailing instructor and longtime volunteer with RNLI, was diagnosed in 2020. By then the cancer had already spread to his bones, lungs and soft tissue. Five years later he convinced his brother to take a PSA test. His brother agreed reluctantly, Andy said, and was diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early stage when it was still operable. “To people who don't want to get checked, I say ‘Look through the lens of having to tell your children’,” he said. “My brother would only go to the doctor if his arm was falling off. I did save his life.” Andy said the day he told his wife Polly and their two children about his diagnosis was “the hardest day of my life”. He still tracks his PSA scores closely as part of ongoing treatment. “Every time I see the consultant, they want to know what my score is. They are living it with me.” He believes the cancer took hold long before he noticed his first symptom, which was needing to go to the toilet more often at night. He is now publicising his diagnosis to raise awareness and to help fund treatment he hopes will extend his life. Andy is fundraising for private lutetium 177 therapy, a targeted radiation treatment that delivers radiation directly to tumours. The therapy showed positive results in clinical trials reported by Prostate Cancer UK in 2021. Andy said the treatment could give him as much as 18 more months. Colleagues from sailing and the RNLI have raised more than £53,000 toward his £80,000 goal. Andy, now on his third and final round of chemotherapy, said he is “humbled” by the support. He was initially told he might have only nine months. “Chemo seems to be keeping the cancer at bay. But as my consultant has said, after that the cupboard is bare,” he said. “Extra time would mean so much. And, if it is to be the last phase of my life, I would also like to play my part in testing a pioneering treatment.” Prostate cancer affects the gland located under the bladder. It most often occurs in men over 50, according to NHS. Andy said he hopes his story encourages more men to get checked early, especially those who tend to avoid the doctor.
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Larry The Cat Marks 15 Years as Britain’s Chief Mouser, a Symbol of Stability in Chaotic Political Times
In a country that has cycled through six prime ministers in 15 years, one figure at 10 Downing Street has remained steady, whiskered and entirely unfazed. Larry the cat, Britain’s Chief Mouser, is marking his 15th anniversary on Sunday as the government’s official rodent catcher and unofficial morale booster. “Larry the cat’s approval ratings will be very high,” said Philip Howell, a Cambridge University professor who studies human-animal relations. “And prime ministers tend not to hit those numbers. He represents stability, and that’s at a premium.” Larry’s path to power started far from the corridors of government. The grey and white tabby was adopted from London’s Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by then prime minister David Cameron. He arrived at No. 10 on February 15, 2011, with an official job description that included “greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defenses and testing antique furniture for napping quality.” Since then, Larry has perfected the art of upstaging world leaders. Justin Ng, a freelance photographer who has tracked Larry for years, said, “He’s great at photo-bombing. If there’s a foreign leader that’s about to visit then we know he’ll just come out at the exact moment that meet-and-greet is about to happen.” Larry has forced visiting dignitaries to step over him more than once. Although he is famously indifferent to most men, he warmed to former U.S. president Barack Obama and even drew a smile from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During Donald Trump’s 2019 visit, Larry stole the moment by strolling into the frame and then napping under the Beast, the president’s armored vehicle. His hunting record is mixed. While he has been photographed catching the occasional mouse and once a pigeon that ultimately escaped, Larry is better known for lounging than for lethal efficiency. “He’s more of a lover than a fighter,” Ng said. Larry’s time at Downing Street has included tense cohabitation with a revolving cast of ministerial pets. Boris Johnson’s Jack Russell cross, Dilyn, and Rishi Sunak’s Labrador, Nova, shared space with varying degrees of success. He is kept apart from current prime minister Keir Starmer’s family cats, JoJo and Prince, who stay in the private quarters. His fiercest rivalry was with Palmerston, the Foreign Office’s top cat. The two fought often until Palmerston’s retirement in 2020. Palmerston later moved to Bermuda, where he served as “feline relations consultant” before his death this month. At around 18 or 19 years old, Larry has slowed down but remains a fixture at No. 10. He continues his daily patrols and favours a warm spot above the radiator near the front door. He has also become a form of soft power, representing British character in a way no political slogan quite can. Howell said any leader who tried to remove him would face public backlash. “A cat-hating PM, that seems to me to be political suicide,” he said. Part of Larry’s appeal is that he refuses to be scripted. “The fact that cats are less tractable is part of the charm, too,” Howell said. “He’s sort of whimsically not partisan in a political sense, but he tends to take to some people and not to others and he won’t necessarily sit where you want him to sit and pose where you want him to pose. There is a certain kind of unruliness about Larry which I think would endear him, certainly, to Brits.” As Britain’s political world continues to churn, Larry remains unbothered. He claimed Downing Street long ago, and by all appearances, he plans to stay.