This Toddler Defied All the Odds to Achieve Incredible Recovery

Michael and Michelle Bower's daughter, Lacey, was born with spina bifida, a type of neural tube defect that can cause paralysis, changes to the brain, and severe trauma injuries to the nerves. Doctors told the couple that their daughter would likely never walk or talk. However, Lacey has defied the odds and is now 19 months old and speaking at the level of a 3-year-old. She has also learned how to roll over and pull herself up to standing. The Bowers attribute Lacey's determination as key to her success.

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Dog Perfectly Blends in With Home Depot Halloween Decorations

An adorable pooch was seen getting into the spooky spirit as he perfectly blended in with some canine Halloween decorations at Home Depot. Arthur the newfypoo, a cross between a Newfoundland and a poodle, was captured on video striking a pose with his scary pals. “It legitimately took me a minute to realize,” one person commented under the video on TikTok. PetSmart’s official account replied, writing, “The Halloween decorations are getting really realistic this year.” “The ‘Good Boy’ animatronic is always sold out!” another person joked.

Inca Building May Have Been Designed To Amplify Sound And Music

In the Peruvian highland town of Huaytará stands a centuries-old mystery—an Inca structure so unusually plain that it has puzzled researchers for decades. It doesn’t resemble the intricate stonework seen at Machu Picchu or the massive engineering feats of Sacsayhuamán. Instead, this structure—three stone walls with an opening at one end—might have been built for something we can’t see at all: sound. Now, a team of researchers led by UCLA art historian Stella Nair and Stanford acoustic expert Jonathan Berger believes the building’s minimalist design was no accident. They say the Inca may have created the space specifically to amplify sound, making it one of the earliest known examples of Indigenous acoustic engineering in the Americas. The structure is known as a carpa uasi, or “tent house,” likely a reference to its open-ended, trapezoidal shape. It’s the only surviving example of this kind of building—and it’s still standing today thanks to a twist of colonial history. When Spanish colonizers arrived in the 16th century, they built the Church of San Juan Bautista directly on top of the structure, intending to erase Inca cultural heritage. Ironically, that decision protected the building, preserving it for future generations. “We’re learning that sound was incredibly important from the earliest cities on, dating back several thousand years [B.C.E.],” Nair said in a statement. “Builders were incredibly sophisticated with their aural architecture, and the Incas are one part of this long, sophisticated tradition of sonic engineering.” The design is simple but deliberate. The walls are not set at right angles; instead, the open end is wider than the closed one, forming a trapezoid. This subtle widening allowed for better visibility between people inside and outside the structure—but it may have also enhanced its acoustics. The shape likely funneled sound toward one end, functioning like a natural speaker. Nair and Berger suggest that the building could have been used to project low-frequency sounds—like drums or other ceremonial instruments—during key public events, such as the end of a battle. The researchers spent three weeks in Huaytará measuring, photographing, and drawing the carpa uasi. They’re now building a 3D model to simulate how sound would have traveled through the space and what the original roof might have looked like. Nair, who is writing her third book on Andean architecture, says the Inca often designed spaces to be in dialogue with their surroundings—not just visually, but acoustically. “Many people look at Inca architecture and are impressed with the stonework, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “They were also concerned with the ephemeral, temporary and impermanent, and sound was one of those things.” At its height, the Inca Empire stretched across much of western South America, from present-day Colombia to Chile. They built suspension bridges, advanced agricultural terraces, and massive temples—all without wheels or iron tools. But for all their visible achievements, Nair argues that sound was just as integral to how they built and understood the world. “What the Incas did that was really smart is, rather than trying to make an architecture that alone is going to be impressive,” Nair told History.com, “they instead made an architecture that was in dialogue with the vast impressive landscape.” She says scholars have often focused too heavily on visual art when studying the Inca, overlooking sensory experiences like sound. “That’s not how we experience life—all of our senses are critical. So how we understand ourselves and our history changes if you put sound back into the conversation.” The carpa uasi may look simple at first glance, but it’s becoming clear it was anything but. And with modern technology helping researchers reconstruct how the building once functioned, we may soon be able to hear echoes from a 15th-century empire—not just in stone, but in sound.

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Rare White Rhino Birth Captured on Camera at Cotswold Wildlife Park

The only white rhino born in the UK this year has made his debut at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens—bringing a conservation success story full circle and giving keepers a rare double first: both his birth and conception were caught on camera. Named Markus, the male calf was born on 22 October to 14-year-old mother Nancy, with keepers and a lucky few visitors watching the entire birth unfold in real time. The moment is considered exceptionally rare, as rhinos typically give birth at night and in private. “It’s one of the most confident calves I’ve ever seen,” said Head Keeper Mark Godwin, who has worked at the park for 35 years. “Newborns weigh around 70 kilograms at birth and put on roughly 1.5 to 2 kilograms a day. If he grows into his features, he’ll be a big lad.” Markus is the twelfth white rhino calf born at the Burford-based park in as many years, and his arrival brings the park’s current “crash” (the term for a group of rhinos) to eight—the largest number on show at any one time in the zoo’s 55-year history. But what makes Markus even more unique is that keepers believe they may have also captured the moment of his conception. “It is also one of the largest family groups on show anywhere in the country,” Godwin said. “As well as filming the birth, we believe we may have also caught the conception on camera for the first time too. Monty’s amorous intentions lasted some considerable time and attracted quite the crowd!” The park named the calf in honour of Dr Markus Borner, one of Africa’s most influential conservation scientists, who passed away in 2020. Cotswold Wildlife Park chairman Reggie Heyworth credited Borner with launching his own career in conservation. “Markus gave me my break into conservation when he was head of Frankfurt Zoological Society in Tanzania,” Heyworth said. “There were only 50 black rhinos left in the entire country back then, from 20,000 in 1970. Markus was instrumental in turning that around.” He added, “He was not only a giant of conservation but also my incredibly supportive boss and one of my best friends.” Rhino reproduction is famously slow and difficult to manage in captivity. Females only reproduce every two to three years and carry their young for 16 to 18 months—one of the longest gestation periods of any land mammal, second only to elephants. A rhino calf typically stands within an hour of birth and stays close to its mother for at least two years. During that time, the bond between mother and calf is intense, and females are known to be fiercely protective. Markus, now just over a week old, is already showing signs of being a lively addition to the group. The park has played a strong role in rhino conservation beyond its borders. Over the last decade, it has raised more than £120,000 for Tusk, a charity supporting wildlife protection across Africa. “The white rhino is living proof that conservation can work,” a park spokesperson said. “They were once on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s, with fewer than 50 animals believed to be left in the wild. Thanks to decades of protection, they’re now the most common rhino species.” Still, the threat hasn’t gone away. Poaching, driven by demand for rhino horn in traditional medicine markets, has surged again in recent years. Three of the world’s five rhino species—black, Javan, and Sumatran—remain critically endangered. Markus’s arrival is a bright spot amid those challenges and a reminder of what’s possible with long-term conservation efforts. For now, he’s staying close to his mother, delighting visitors, and making history—both behind the scenes and on camera.

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Rare 'Ghost-White' Baby Monkey Born At Zoo

A zoo in Devon is celebrating a perfectly timed Halloween arrival: a rare, ghost-white monkey that’s as adorable as it is important for conservation. The baby king colobus, born on 22 October at Paignton Zoo, has snow-white fur, black eyes and ears, and a face that’s hard to resist. But beyond its cute appearance, the birth is offering hope for a species on the brink. “Every birth of an endangered species is something to celebrate,” said James Shora, Mammals Keeper at Paignton Zoo. “This adorable baby is already captivating our visitors and represents real hope for the future of king colobus monkeys.” King colobus monkeys are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with wild populations falling by more than 50 percent in the last 30 years. The species has been pushed to the edge by hunting, forest fragmentation, and the rapid loss of its West African rainforest habitat. Native to countries like Senegal, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire, king colobus monkeys live in the high canopies of tropical forests. Their habitat has shrunk dramatically in recent decades due to logging, farming, and human development. Conservation groups have called for urgent protection of the remaining forest, along with stricter enforcement against poaching. The newborn, believed to be female, is the first baby for 14-year-old mother Lola in several years. Keepers plan to name her Limba in honour of the infant’s father, Limbali, who died earlier this month. King colobus babies are born pure white—an adaptation that helps mothers and other group members keep track of them, especially as infants are frequently passed around and cared for communally. Over the next six months, Limba will gradually darken in colour, developing the adult colobus monkey’s striking black coat, white shoulder cape, and long white facial fringe. Paignton Zoo is one of only a handful of zoos in the UK caring for king colobus monkeys. The birth of Limba adds a critical boost to the European Endangered Species Programme, which oversees the breeding and care of these rare primates across accredited zoos. For now, she’s spending most of her time clinging to mum—and turning heads from visitors who might mistake her pale coat for a Halloween costume. But make no mistake: she’s real, she’s rare, and for a species facing extinction, she’s a symbol of hope.

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Stunning 360-Rainbow Photo Wins World Weather Photography Competition

A rare full-circle rainbow photographed above a lake in China has taken top honours in one of the world’s leading weather photography competitions. The striking image, titled The Gorgeous Ring, was captured by Chinese engineer and astronomy photographer Geshuang Chen, who flew a drone 500 metres above Lugu Lake in Yunnan Province during a light drizzle. From that vantage point, he captured what judges described as a moment of “perfect alignment”—a complete circular rainbow framing a small island at its centre. “It was drizzling on Lugu Lake,” said Chen. “I flew my drone to a height of 500 metres, passed through the rain curtain, with my lens facing away from the sun, and captured a complete circular rainbow, which was a ring given by the sun to the lake.” Chen and co-photographer Shuchang Dong were awarded the top prize and £5,000 as winners of the Royal Meteorological Society’s Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025—a competition now in its 10th year. The contest drew more than 4,000 entries from 84 countries. The panel of international judges praised the image for capturing not just a meteorological rarity, but also a sense of calm, scale, and natural symmetry that made it stand out among this year’s submissions. But it wasn’t the only photo to leave an impression. A powerful shot titled Eunice III, taken during Storm Eunice from the shoreline in Newhaven, UK, earned British photographer Jadwiga Piasecka the runner-up award in the main category. Winds gusted over 130 km/h as waves smashed into the sea wall and exploded into the sky. “From my vantage point, I watched enormous waves battling against the sea wall, sending dramatic sprays of water high into the air,” Piasecka said. “It highlighted just how immense the storm’s fury truly was.” Third place went to Czech photographer Lukáš Gallo for Sky Surfing, a perfectly timed capture of rare fluctus clouds—also known as Kelvin-Helmholtz waves—that look like ocean surf breaking in the sky. Formed by differing wind speeds or directions between air layers, the result is both beautiful and a visual warning of atmospheric turbulence. In the mobile category, Myanmar’s Kyaw Zay Yar Lin won for a dramatic image titled Fishing in the Raining Season, showing fishermen caught in a sudden downpour during the country’s monsoon season. The blurred motion of the rain and the figures gave the image a sense of immediacy, pulling viewers into the scene. Another standout entry came from photographer Jonah Lange, whose image of a tornado spiralling across the Texas plains earned top marks in the Climate category—created to highlight the growing link between extreme weather and climate change. “This tornado picked up tons of dust as it landed,” Lange said. “I peered on from the south side as it moved slowly off to the east. West Texas is known for dust … as shown here!” The tornado churns with visible intensity, its collar cloud wrapping around the vortex as it lifts red soil high into the air. A smaller satellite vortex spins nearby, while a dark hail core looms in the distance. On that same day, parts of Texas reported hailstones as large as 7.6 cm. Judge Mette Lampcov called it a “very real image” of climate extremes in action. Meteorologist and fellow judge Phillipa Drew agreed: “Everything is becoming more extreme. This is a good example of an extreme case. It highlights the vastness of weather. We don’t stand much of a chance against that.” Other images brought attention to the human experience of climate impacts. Photographer Maria del Pilar Trigo Bonnin captured the aftermath of Typhoon Rai in the Philippines in 2021. Her photo, taken from the back of a moving motorbike, shows two men picking their way home through debris-strewn roads on Siargao Island. “The stillness, the chaos, and the long shadows told the story of what we had just lived through,” she said. Typhoon Rai struck the island as a Category 5 storm with winds over 250 km/h. It rapidly intensified before landfall, a pattern that scientists say is becoming more common with rising sea surface temperatures. Another notable entry came from Slovakia, where photographer Tamás Kusza captured the stillness before a storm from a dirt track near Ožďany. A mountain bike lies on the path, and ahead, the sky broods with heavy cloud. Kusza, who was awarded runner-up in the mobile category, said storms have always drawn him in. “That day I knew a special moment was coming,” he said. “I rode the dirt road far enough until I had to stop: the sight was almost paralysing.” He added, “I stood there, facing the heart of the storm, where the power of nature and my own courage met. It was the moment before the silence. Would I stay and capture the storm, or turn back? But I knew: I was always heading toward the storm.” Fast-moving summer storms like this one, common across central Europe, often bring heavy rain, lightning, and fierce winds. Now in its 10th year, the Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition continues to showcase the beauty and power of nature through the lens of global photographers—while offering a striking visual record of how weather, and the climate behind it, is changing.

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Student Embarks On Year-Long Journey To Try A New Sport Every Week

When Lorna Husband watched the Paris Olympics on TV, she wasn’t just cheering from the couch. She was planning a complete career pivot. The 25-year-old from Dundee was so inspired by the athletes and the coverage around them that she applied to study Sports Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University. Within days, she was walking through the university’s Merchiston campus with the programme leader, David Tanner, and a plan in her head: to try a new sport every single week for a year—and film the whole thing. “I was watching the Paris Olympics where all these amazing athletes were being interviewed on TV and thought ‘that would be really cool,’” Lorna said. “It has been so good to be doing something I’m passionate about.” She’s now completed 43 out of 52 weekly challenges, ranging from curling and cricket to jiu-jitsu and fishing. The results have been posted online as part of her coursework—and have also become a popular series on social media. “I’ve learned a lot by doing the challenge alongside the course,” she said. “It taught me how to present, edit and make the most of different social media platforms.” The project has been more than a bit of fun. Along the way, it helped her land work at the Women’s Rugby World Cup and at Scotland rugby test matches, and she recently started a full-time role with Scottish Rugby’s social media team. “The connections our lecturers have are incredible,” she said. “We went to a Scotland rugby test match last year – which led me to work at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup – and I was able to do some of my coursework at the Lost Shore surf resort.” Each video is filmed weekly rather than in bulk, something she says has made the series feel more authentic. “I have been doing the videos every single week, rather than preparing a few of them in advance, and I think the spontaneity of it all has helped capture what I set out to do,” she said. And while some of the clips showcase technical progress, others are just plain entertaining. “One week I did a duathlon with no preparation, and it did really well – maybe people just like watching me suffer,” she laughed. Her goal isn’t just to complete the challenge—it’s to lower the barrier for others. “I hope it helps beginners feel like they can go along to things,” she said. “It can be daunting, but there is so much to choose from.” Lorna officially graduated this week at a ceremony at Usher Hall, but she’s not done yet. She plans to see the challenge through to week 52—and has a few more ideas lined up before she crosses the finish line.

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Boston Museum Returns Pottery by Enslaved Artist David Drake to Descendants

In a first-of-its-kind move, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is returning two rare 19th-century stoneware vessels made by David Drake—better known as “Dave the Potter”—to his descendants. Drake, an enslaved African American craftsman in South Carolina, created thousands of pots during his lifetime, many of them inscribed with his name and short poems. He never owned any of them. Now, more than 150 years later, his family finally will. “This is a historic moment,” said Pauline Baker, Drake’s great-great-great-granddaughter. “Our great-great-great-grandfather never got to own one single piece of his own pottery or to pass them on to his children and grandchildren. But today the Museum does all it can to right that wrong.” The move marks a breakthrough in the broader conversation around restitution in the art world. Until now, the global movement to return stolen or looted art has largely focused on works taken by the Nazis or plundered from former colonies. The MFA’s decision is one of the first major cases where a museum has applied the same ethical standard to works created by an enslaved artist. Under the agreement, legal title for two of Drake’s jars will transfer to a trust formed by his descendants. One jar will remain on loan to the museum, while the other will be repurchased by the MFA. A certificate of ethical ownership will distinguish it from other pieces whose provenance lacks family engagement. The goal is to set a precedent. “The return of Drake’s works is groundbreaking,” said George Fatheree, attorney for the family and one of the architects of the deal. “It affords descendants of enslaved African Americans the same rights and dignity bestowed on descendants of Jewish people persecuted under the Nazis.” The agreement also creates space for other potential descendants to come forward. The family has launched a website—DescendantsOfDave.org—to invite people to check for possible ancestral links to Drake. Distribution of any proceeds from the agreement has been paused for two years to give others time to be identified. David Drake was born into slavery around 1800 in South Carolina and spent most of his life working in the potteries of Edgefield District, a region known for its distinctive alkaline-glazed stoneware. Despite laws that forbade enslaved people from reading or writing, Drake boldly signed and inscribed many of his works with verses and his own name—an act that was illegal and deeply defiant. By the time he died in the 1870s, Drake had become a legend in local lore. An 1859 article in the Edgefield Advertiser noted how children loved watching vessels emerge from the wheel under his “magic touch.” In recent years, the art market has caught up with that legacy. Drake’s work now commands huge prices. A single inscribed jar sold for $1.56 million in 2021—a record for American pottery. Yet none of that wealth has reached his descendants. The MFA’s decision isn’t just about financial restitution, though. It's also about cultural and personal dignity. “Even while enslaved, and forced to work day in and day out, his mind and soul, his personality and character were always free,” Baker said. “That ability to hold onto his sense of self is what resonates down through the centuries and inspires us as a family.” The MFA has played a key role in elevating Drake’s work to international audiences. In 2023, the museum co-organized a major exhibition titled Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina. The show featured 60 works by African American potters, including some of Drake’s most monumental pieces. “These jars are not only extraordinary works of art—they are tangible evidence of a life of brilliance and resilience lived under oppression,” said Pierre Terjanian, the MFA’s Ann and Graham Gund Director. “By returning them to David Drake’s descendants, we acknowledge the artist as their first rightful owner and seek to restore the cultural—and familial—dignity that was lost when the works were taken from him.” Drake’s artistry lives on through his pots, but now, for the first time, his legacy will also live on through the hands of his family—who finally get to claim what was always his.

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Dan Brown is Bringing The Da Vinci Code to Life — With the Creator of Van Gogh Immersive

Bestselling author Dan Brown is stepping into the immersive art scene, teaming up with Van Gogh Immersive creator Massimiliano Siccardi to create a new, high-tech exhibition based on The Da Vinci Code. The show is set to open in 2026. The experience will blend Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions and artwork with the storylines and mysteries of Brown’s 2003 religious thriller, which has sold over 80 million copies and inspired a hit film starring Tom Hanks. Visitors can expect a multi-sensory journey through “the mind of Leonardo — his inventions, his obsessions, his brilliance,” according to Siccardi. While specific venues and creative collaborators haven’t been announced yet, the team has revealed some of what’s in store: flying over Tuscany in a virtual ornithopter, riding through Paris in an armored tank, and meeting Da Vinci’s mechanical lion — all while unraveling a murder mystery steeped in religious symbolism. “The visceral power of immersive experiences has always fascinated and moved me,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m beyond excited to be developing this project with the legendary artist Massimiliano Siccardi.” The exhibition is being produced by Brett Kerr and Andrea Bari, whose latest feature film Waltzing with Brando starred Billy Zane as the Hollywood icon trying to build an eco-retreat in Tahiti. “This is about expanding how audiences experience wonder — and rewriting the boundaries between art, technology, and emotion,” Kerr and Bari said. This isn’t the first time Da Vinci’s legacy has been brought into the immersive world. Last year, Melbourne’s Lume gallery launched “Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius,” which featured massive projections, a 360-degree replica of the Mona Lisa, and pages from the Codex Atlanticus, a 12-volume collection of Da Vinci’s writings and designs. But this new project goes a step further — combining Da Vinci’s real-life inventions with the fictional conspiracy that made The Da Vinci Code a global phenomenon. The story follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu as they unravel a trail of clues linking the bloodline of Jesus Christ to a secret society hidden within the works of Da Vinci. The upcoming experience builds on the success of other immersive art shows that have taken over cities worldwide — from Van Gogh to Monet, Klimt, and even David Hockney. Many credit the breakout moment to the viral popularity of Immersive Van Gogh, which reached new audiences after appearing in the Netflix series Emily in Paris. With immersive exhibitions now a booming global trend, Brown’s leap into the space marks a new kind of storytelling — one where audiences won’t just read the mystery, they’ll walk through it. As Siccardi put it, it’s about “the unveiling of Da Vinci works the world has never seen.”

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Dictionary.com Names '6-7' Word Of The Year — It's Still Leaving Many Confused

It’s a number. It’s a shrug. It’s an internet inside joke. And now, it’s the Word of the Year. Dictionary.com announced on Wednesday that “67” — also stylized as “6-7” or “six-seven” — is its official pick for 2025. The term, which has exploded across TikTok, classrooms, and chaotic group chats, is described as “classic brainrot slang” that means almost nothing — and maybe that’s the point. “Few slang terms have captured the cultural mood of 2025 quite like 67,” said Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for Dictionary Media Group, in a statement. “It’s part inside joke, part social signal and part performance.” Often shouted with a raised-palms gesture, “6-7” is used like an interjection — the way someone might say “meh,” “whatever,” or literally nothing at all. Think: a kind of exaggerated, absurdist shrug, popular in rowdy classrooms, sports arenas, and especially on social media. Teachers, for one, are not amused. Its origin story is murky. Some trace it back to the 2024 viral hit Doot Doot (6 7) by Skrilla. Others point to chaotic meme edits of NBA star LaMelo Ball, who just happens to be 6-foot-7. Wherever it started, it snowballed — hard. According to Dictionary.com, the use of “6-7” in digital media spiked sixfold in October 2025 compared to the 2024 average. TikTok videos tagged #67 have racked up more than two million posts, featuring everything from choreographed handshakes to restaurants erupting when order number 67 is called. The term even made it into a recent episode of South Park, confirming its place in the cultural ether. Still, not everyone’s convinced. “ITS NOT EVEN A WORD,” exclaimed one post on X (formerly Twitter) by user @Zigzaglawyer, racking up nearly 300,000 likes. “I can feel myself turn into an old man,” comedian Gianmarco Soresi posted, summing up the confusion felt by many adults trying to make sense of the phrase. Johnson acknowledged the backlash but defended the pick. “It’s one of the first words of the year that works as an interjection,” he said. “It reflects the absurdist, internet-driven, post-irony culture we’re all swimming in — and often trying to keep up with.” Social prescribing may be on the rise, but so is social posting — and 67 seems to capture the energy of people trying to say something, anything, in a culture where meaning is constantly up for grabs. Other contenders on Dictionary.com’s shortlist this year included “aura farming,” “Gen Z stare,” “tariff,” and “tradwife.” But none, apparently, had the chaotic staying power of two numbers and a meme. In a year full of contradictions, it makes a strange kind of sense. Or as one TikTok creator put it, while stacking chicken nuggets into the shape of a 6 and a 7: “It’s not that deep. 6-7.”

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Doctors in Montreal Are Now Prescribing Free Symphony Tickets — and it Might Just Help Your Health

In Montreal, a visit to the doctor could soon land you a night at the symphony — on prescription. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra has launched a new program with Médecins francophones du Canada that allows doctors to prescribe free concert tickets to patients as a form of treatment. It’s part of a growing movement in Canada known as social prescribing, where healthcare providers recommend non-medical activities — like nature walks, art classes, or time spent with animals — to support mental and physical health. Under the new program, doctors will be given actual prescription slips they can hand to patients, who then call the orchestra to claim two free tickets to a performance of their choice. “Physicians will get prescriptions that they will give to patients. The patients will call us. And we will give each patient that calls us two tickets for free,” said Mélanie La Couture, CEO of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, in an interview with CBC’s As It Happens. While it may sound novel, there’s solid science behind the idea. “There is an abundance of data, evidence-based data, that have shown that music influences the body and mind in remarkable ways,” said Nicole Parent, executive director of Médecins francophones du Canada. Listening to music, Parent explained, stimulates the release of endorphins and dopamine — natural chemicals that help regulate pain, boost mood, and improve memory. It also reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. Together, these effects can lower anxiety, relieve pain, and enhance cognitive function. But for many patients, especially in lower-income or marginalized communities, those benefits can feel out of reach. Concert tickets can be expensive. Cultural venues might feel unfamiliar or unwelcoming. That’s where a doctor’s prescription can make a difference. “We all know the influence of a physician towards his patient,” Parent said. “If he prescribes that intervention, there's a better chance that the patient will acknowledge and might go for a concert.” The idea is already catching on. Doctors have shown strong interest, and other orchestras in Toronto and Quebec City are exploring similar initiatives. It’s part of a national shift in how we think about health and healing. Kate Mulligan, a public health expert and founder of the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, says these kinds of programs help patients access the things that bring them joy — especially those who otherwise might not feel welcome in traditional cultural spaces. “So these kinds of programs can be really helpful in making people feel more welcome and learning what they want and need from these programs, and then helping them to engage in the arts more regularly,” she said. Social prescribing isn’t just about music. Doctors have prescribed everything from national park passes to community gardening memberships to, in one Toronto case, a puppy — with instructions for “walks twice daily and lots of love.” At its core, Mulligan said, it’s about asking patients what matters to them, and giving them tools to reconnect with life beyond the clinic. In some models, community health workers act as intermediaries to help patients follow through on the prescriptions in ways that fit their lives. The benefits aren’t just emotional. A recent report from Mulligan’s organization found that for every dollar invested in social prescribing, there was a return of $4.43, largely through reduced emergency room visits, ambulance calls, and hospital admissions. And then there’s the human factor: “We also get to focus on the idea that you matter,” Mulligan said. “And I don't know about you, but that's not a feeling I get very often encountering health-care systems these days.” For La Couture, the project is just getting started. But the response so far has been enthusiastic, and the goal is to expand. “It’s a first step,” she said. “I would love to expand that project really widespread.” In a city where many people feel isolated or overwhelmed, a concert hall might seem like an unlikely place to heal. But for those who need it, a seat at the symphony could be just what the doctor ordered.

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