Good Morning! 🌞 

Wood just got a serious glow-up. In today’s sneak peek, we’re looking at Superwood — a breakthrough material that’s light enough to rival carbon fiber, tough enough to stop bullets, and strong enough to challenge steel and concrete.

Born from heat, pressure, and a little chemistry magic, this isn't your average 2x4. Stick around as we dig into how scrap wood became one of the most promising materials of the future.

Innovation

Bulletproof, Fireproof ‘Superwood’?

New advances in wood processing have created a material that's fire-resistant, bullet-stopping, and light enough to compete with carbon fiber. Known as “Superwood,” the engineered material is being promoted as a potential replacement for high-strength staples like steel and concrete—usable in everything from construction beams to tennis rackets. The breakthrough dates back to 2018, when researchers discovered how to treat scrap wood with heat and chemicals to alter its molecular structure. The treated wood is then compressed so forcefully that its natural channels collapse, creating a board just one-quarter its original thickness but significantly stronger than untreated wood.

Now sold by a company called InventWood, Superwood is attracting attention across industries. Backed by $50 million in funding—including U.S. Department of Energy grants and private investment—the company sees Superwood as a versatile replacement for steel, concrete, and even plastic in some consumer goods. “It could replace steel I-beams in houses or even the exterior of a laptop computer,” said InventWood CEO Alex Lau. Unlike steel, Superwood doesn’t warp or sag under high heat, and it resists burning—its surface chars into an insulating carbon shell. Wall Street Journal columnist Christopher Mims described handling the material as like touching an “otherworldly object,” thanks to its strength, lightness, and stiffness.

While GNN has previously covered engineered wood products like cross-laminated timber (CLT)—used in skyscrapers and Portland’s $2 billion airport terminal—Superwood pushes the concept further with added fire-resistance, flexibility, and reduced weight. InventWood is launching its first commercial Superwood product as home siding, a use case with fewer regulatory hurdles. Production is ramping up at a new 90,000-square-foot facility, with expanded applications expected in everything from buildings to consumer electronics.

Earth Science

An ‘Infinitesimally Small’ Coincidence

For staff at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, analyzing a 67-million-year-old dinosaur vertebra was nothing unusual—until they discovered its origin: directly beneath their own building. Months earlier, the museum had launched exploratory drilling to explore a switch from fossil fuel-based utilities to geothermal energy. During that process, a core sample taken from 800 feet underground unexpectedly brought up a fossil. “A drill core sample,” explained Dr. James Hagadorn, the museum’s curator of geology, “is basically like a doctor using a syringe to draw blood from a patient.” In this case, the “blood” was a narrow cylinder of rock and sediment—one that somehow captured a vertebra intact. The odds of hitting a fossil so precisely? “Infinitesimally small,” Hagadorn said.

The specimen is now officially Denver’s oldest and deepest fossil, dating back to the late Cretaceous Period. It likely belonged to a Thesculosaurus or Edmontosaurus, both plant-eating dinosaurs that once roamed the region that’s now the Great Plains. “We knew those dinosaurs were (nearby in other parts of) Colorado or Wyoming, but we didn’t know that they were in Denver, too … but we suspected it right at this time period,” Hagadorn told AP. “Now, we have another plant eater that’s been cruising around Denver munching on, who knows, gingers and palm leaves and other ferns and plants 67 million years ago.”

As for retrieving more of the fossil, Hagadorn admits he’d love to dig down another 787 feet to see if the full skeleton lies below—but there’s a catch. “We need parking!” he said, noting that the fossil sits directly beneath the museum’s lot. Still, the discovery offers thrilling new insight into Denver’s prehistoric past—all from a simple step toward cleaner energy.

Entertainment

A $14.75 Million Sled

“Rosebud,” the iconic wooden sled from Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane, has been sold at auction for $14.75 million. The sale took place through Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which called the price “remarkable” for such an “iconic prop.” Before the sale, the sled underwent scientific testing to verify authenticity, revealing signs of production use, original paint, and removed rails—likely scrapped during wartime metal drives. “With its red paint, stenciled lettering and unmistakable aura, this sled embodies the very symbol of Kane’s lost innocence and one of cinema’s most enduring mysteries,” the auction house said. In the film, the sled is tied to Charles Foster Kane’s dying word—“Rosebud”—and serves as a symbol of his lost childhood.

Only three original sleds from the film are known to have survived. One was purchased by Steven Spielberg for $60,500 in 1982; another was sold for $233,000 in 1996. This newly auctioned sled had been in the possession of filmmaker Joe Dante since 1984. Best known for Gremlins and Innerspace, Dante stumbled upon the sled while filming on the old RKO lot and quietly kept it safe for decades—occasionally sneaking it into his own films. “I’ve had the honor of protecting this piece of cinematic history for decades,” said Dante. “To see Rosebud find a new home — and make history in the process — is both surreal and deeply gratifying. It’s a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.”

The sale was part of Heritage’s latest entertainment memorabilia auction, which included other legendary Hollywood artifacts such as the granite tablets from The Ten Commandments and Indiana Jones’ whip from The Last Crusade. Heritage executive vice president Joe Maddalena called it the auction house’s “most important” yet. “These aren’t just props. They’re mythic objects,” he said. “They tell the story of Hollywood’s greatest moments, one piece at a time, each tied to a memory, a performance, a legend. We’re honored to bring them to the fans, collectors and institutions who will preserve them for the generations to come.”

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Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

I rise when things get hot,
But break if shaken on the spot.
Red or silver in a tube I lie—
Guess too high, and I say goodbye.

Yesterday’s Answers to the Mind Stretchers:

I have an eye but cannot see,
A slender spine that pierces me.
I draw no blood but make things tight,
And in skilled hands, I stitch just right.
What am I? — a needle! Cheri M. got this correct first! 🌞 

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.