Good Morning 🌞

Did you know that Eurovision, officially known as the Eurovision Song Contest, is one of the longest-running and most-watched non-sporting television events in the world. If you haven’t heard of it, it is an international music competition held annually among primarily European countries.

If you have never watched the 1994 Eurovision performance that astonished and awed the world, then here it is.

p.s. If you have watched it before, don’t worry, you can watch it again. 😉 

World News

Lost City Found

A recent LiDAR survey in southern Mexico has dramatically reshaped our understanding of Guiengola. Once thought to be a mere fortified site in the hills above Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, it now appears to have been a thriving Zapotec city with at least 5,000 inhabitants. Researchers discovered ballcourts, roads, temples, and extensive residential areas—all of which point to a more complex urban center than previously assumed.

Built around 1350 and abandoned by 1521, Guiengola played a documented role in the Zapotecs’ resistance against the Mexica (Aztecs), though its broader social and urban dynamics remained largely unknown. According to survey leader Pedro Guillermo Ramón Celis, earlier studies concentrated on Guiengola’s defensive features while overlooking everyday life and the role of non-elites in constructing the city. With LiDAR technology, which captured the site from the air in just two hours, his team has begun mapping the spatial arrangement of elite and commoner structures to better understand the city’s social stratification.

The findings reveal that Guiengola is remarkably well-preserved, in part because of its relatively short occupation. “You can walk through the jungle and still see standing houses, doors, hallways, and fences,” Ramón Celis told McGill University press. He plans to return for additional research, emphasizing the site’s significance for both Zapotec history and for challenging assumptions that the Aztec push southward was undisputed.

Culture

The Return of the Bison

Last December, as snow covered the ground and breath turned to frost, a small plain in Manitoba echoed with the sound of hooves.

The Birdtail Sioux Dakota Band in southern Manitoba, Canada, welcomed 11 bison onto their land for the first time in over a century. The herd, a gift from the larger Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, included a rare white calf—considered a symbol of good fortune in difficult times. As the bison were released to the sound of a traditional song, members of the Birdtail Sioux cheered, their voices rising over the frozen plains. In a video shared on Facebook, Birdtail Knowledge Keeper Doug Hanska asked, “Can you feel that energy?”

The white calf holds deep significance. According to legend, when the prairie nations faced starvation, a woman in white appeared to the Lakota people, teaching them about the interconnectedness of all life. Before leaving, she transformed into a white buffalo calf and brought a vast herd of bison, promising to return in times of need.

Environment

Waste to Wonder

Scientists in Japan have invented a new type of grout—a material used to fill spaces in the ground to enhance soil stability—that is made from waste fluids left over from geothermal energy plants.

Not to be confused with tile grout, grouting, in simple terms, involves injecting a substance into the soil to make it stronger and less likely to shift or erode.

This environmentally friendly alternative to traditional grouting methods strengthens the ground by injecting special materials, Colloidal Silica Recovered from Geothermal Fluids (CSRGF), making it more resistant to instability. Grouting is widely used in construction to reinforce buildings, roads, bridges, and tunnels, especially in areas with weak soil. This innovation is particularly crucial in earthquake-prone regions, as it helps prevent liquefaction—a process where the ground loses its strength due to intense shaking.

This eco-friendly grout improves the soil’s ability to stay firm by about 50% more than regular grout. Instead of throwing away the hot fluids from geothermal plants, they’re being put to good use in construction, helping to keep buildings and roads safer. And using waste fluids as a key ingredient, the new grout helps lower pollution and reduce the carbon footprint of construction projects. Thanks to this breakthrough, engineers can better protect erosion and earthquakes, all while being kinder to the environment.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

I show you who you are, yet I am not alive.
I follow your every move, but I never arrive.
I hold no memory, yet I always know your face.
What am I?

Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

Corner stone— Debbie Ettinger got this first today! 🌞 

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 the 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.