Author: Shaunacy Ferro

In the famously bike-friendly city of Portland, Oregon, UPS is jumping on the cycling bandwagon. The delivery service debuted a pilot program to ferry packages to recipients via electric bikes, according to The Oregonian. A similar UPS program has already been tested in Germany, but this is UPS’s first version in the U.S.

UPS already sends its couriers out on regular bikes during the crush of holiday deliveries. Using bicycles saves money on fuel and vehicle upkeep—at the inception of the holiday bike program in 2008, UPS spokesperson Jeff Grant told Bike Portland that every three bicycle messengers would save the company an estimated $38,000 in truck upkeep costs.

The electric bikes will allow couriers to carry more packages over a larger area than they could on regular bikes, and saves time that truck drivers would otherwise spend trying to find parking. The company plans to use them year-round.

[h/t The Oregonian]

All images courtesy UPS

Recently, Sally Butters got to experience something few dog owners whose pets go missing ever do. Her dog, gone for nine years, finally found her way back home, as The Sacramento Bee reports.

Gigi, a toy poodle, disappeared from Butters’ Florin, California home during a 2007 robbery. After so many years of fruitless searching, the 78-year-old dog owner assumed Gigi was dead, but she still kept a missing pet sign on her front door.

In late November, a stranger found the 13-year-old, 4-pound dog wandering around in a nearby Sacramento neighborhood, and took the clearly neglected dog to the vet, who shaved her matted hair and took care of her ear infections. When vet hospital workers scanned Gigi’s microchip, they found Butters’ contact information.

The owner and her missing dog were finally reunited early this month.

[h/t The Sacramento Bee]

Pioneering astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn has died, according to a statement from Ohio State University. The 95-year-old had suffered various health problems recently, and was being treated at the university’s James Cancer Hospital. Glenn, who in 1962 became the first American to orbit the Earth, also became the oldest astronaut to go to space, taking a space shuttle trip at the age of 77, while still a member of the Senate. (He retired from Congress a year later, in 1999.)

Here are a few tidbits of wisdom from the man whom NASA calls “a true American hero.”

1. ON SERVICE

“If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s that the happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own self interest,” he said in the 1997 announcement regarding his donation of his personal papers and artifacts to Ohio State University, which eventually named its public affairs college after him. He went on to give the school’s commencement speech in 2009, telling students that “we are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves.”

2. ON CYNICISM

“If this cynicism and apathy are allowed to continue to fester, it will not only be dangerous, but in our democracy it will be suicidal,” he said upon the creation of the John Glenn Institute of Public Service at Ohio State. He went on to become an adjunct professor there, teaching late into his life.

3. ON TAKING RISKS

Glenn tells the story of climbing a giant sycamore in his childhood in his memoir. “Every time I climbed that tree, I forced myself to climb to the last possible safe limb and look down,” staring down the 55 feet to the ground. “Every time I did it, I told myself I’d never do it again. But I kept going back because it scared me and I had to know I could overcome that.”

4. ON HIS TIME IN CONGRESS

In his 2000 memoir, Glenn recalled the 24 years he served in Congress and the 9400 votes he cast. “Each had contributed in small or large measure to the painstaking march of our democracy,” he reflected. “I could not have asked for anything more rewarding.”

5. ON SEEING THE EARTH FROM ORBIT

As he made history as the first American to see Earth from orbit, his response was simple: “Oh, that view is tremendous,” he said over the radio.

6. ON NEXT-GENERATION SCIENTISTS

“The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math, and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel,” he said as the spokesperson for National Space Day in 2000.

7. ON HIS FAME

Glenn often demurred when asked about the fame he achieved in his life. “I figure I’m the same person who grew up in New Concord, Ohio, and went off through the years to participate in a lot of events of importance,” he once said in an interview. “What got a lot of attention, I think, was the tenuous times we thought we were living in back in the Cold War. I don’t think it was about me. All this would have happened to anyone who happened to be selected for that flight.”

8. ON FEAR

“You fear the least what you know the most about,” he said in the two months of continuous postponements that preceded his historic 1962 flight. As his orbiter, Friendship 7, reentered the atmosphere, he worried his heat shield had come loose, and he could see fiery chunks flying past his window. But his words to his capsule director were calm and cheeky. “My condition is good, but that was a real fireball, boy,” he said upon landing in the ocean.

9. ON TAKING RISKS ON THE JOB

“There are times when you devote yourself to a higher cause than personal safety,” he told the surviving family members of the space shuttle Challenger astronauts after the deadly 1986 explosion, comforting them immediately after the disaster. He went on to say that “the seven brave heroes were carrying our dreams and hopes with them.”

Jane Austen, chronicler of 18th century social norms, was more receptive to criticism from her loved ones than most. The novelist actually encouraged her friends and family to write her with opinions on her work, and her own notes on those letters are about to go on display at the British Library, The Guardian reports.

“Jane Austen Among Family and Friends” celebrates the writer on the 200-year anniversary of her death. It features reviews by Austen’s friends and family on her third novel, Mansfield Park, which was published in 1814, just a few years before her 1817 death. And many of those reviews were not favorable. Austen’s own mother told her the novel wasn’t as good as Pride and Prejudice and called its main character, Fanny Price, “insipid.” Others tended to agree, like her niece, Anna Lefroy, who liked the book but hated the character of Fanny. Another letter writer said it “wanted incident,” and one, according to Austen, thought her first two books were “nonsense,” but hoped the new novel would be better.

Not all the reviews were so bleak. Austen’s sister Cassandra (who drew the sketch of the author above) “thought it quite as clever, tho’ not as brilliant as P. & P.” She was fond of Fanny and found the stupidity of the character Mr. Rushworth delightful.

Regardless of the opinions of those close to her, the novel would sell out within six months of its publication.

The exhibition also includes notebooks of writings by a teenage Austen as well as her writing desk and some of her memorabilia. They will be on display at the British Library from January 10 to February 19, 2017.

[h/t The Guardian]

The global fashion industry has a major pollution problem, thanks to the rise of fast-fashion apparel. Cheap, low quality items can be bought, disposed of, and bought again, but at an environmental cost—large quantities of water that become contaminated with bleaches, dyes, and more during the manufacturing process, for one thing. But one company is trying to make fashion a little more environmentally friendly, as Co.Exist reports. A Pittsburgh-based company called Thread International recycles trash collected from streets and canals in Haiti to create thread and fabric that puts plastic bottles to good use and provides jobs.

The company estimates that its trash-centric manufacturing process reduces water use by 50 percent compared to the manufacture of a cotton shirt. Thread International also prides itself on creating fair wages and safe working conditions for its employees in some of the poorest parts of Haiti and Honduras, motivated by founder Ian Rosenberger’s desire to help Haitians after the country’s 2010 earthquake.

Threat International makes yarn and thread and sells its own fabric. Fashion companies like Timberland and Kenneth Cole are using the company’s materials to make shoes, bags, and clothes. HP is using the recycled plastic to make printer cartridges.

The brands who use Thread’s materials end up paying a little more than they otherwise would, but the process uses 80 percent less energy than making virgin polyester, according to Co.Exist. To some companies, the trade off between ethical manufacturing and cheap goods is worth it, attracting customers who are willing to pay a little more for the peace of mind of buying products that are better for the environment.

[h/t Co.Exist]

The recently departed Zaha Hadid, one of the most famous contemporary architects in the world, was an artist long before her first building was ever built. Inspired by Suprematists like Kazimir Malevich, her drawings reflect the abstract art of the Russian avant-garde. Now, some of her early art will be on display in London, as Dezeen reports.

The exhibit will be at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, whose building she renovated in 2013, and where she served as a trustee starting in 1996. It will showcase her art from before her first building was complete in 1993, covering paintings and drawings from the 1970s until the 1990s, including some rarely seen sketches from her private notebooks.

“Conceived as Hadid’s manifesto of a utopian world, the show reveals her all-encompassing vision for arranging space and interpreting realities,” the gallery press release explains. Check out some of that utopian-minded artwork:

The show runs from December 8 until February 12.

[h/t Dezeen]

An upcoming edition of The New York Times Magazine will have some extra space devoted to puzzles. The paper’s Sunday, December 18 magazine issue will include a “Puzzle Spectacular,” a one-off, full-page section edited entirely by NYT crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz—America’s leading crossword expert—and his team.

Puzzle obsessives will get a crack at more than 30 different games, including Sudoku, brain teasers, and of course, crosswords. As a nod to fans of the paper’s crosswords—who, according to magazine editor-in-chief, Jake Silverstein, are some of the magazine’s most devoted subscribers—the centerpiece will be the Times’ largest crossword ever.

It’s only available in print, so you’ll have to go outside and buy a real newspaper for once. If you hate holding a paper in your hands, the NYT also just released its first crossword app for Android.

Saying no to requests you don’t want to follow through on or don’t have time to accomplish is a difficult skill to master. Especially at the office, many people feel compelled to be a “yes man.” But as a video from SUCCESS magazine’s Mel Robbins recently highlighted, there’s a pretty easy way to keep yourself from saying yes when what you really need to say is no.

The key lies in saying “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.” In one of several tests included in a study [PDF] by Boston College and Houston University first released several years ago, researchers found that volunteers who said “I don’t skip exercise” instead of “I can’t skip exercise” worked out more often.

Regardless of whether you’re talking to yourself or another person, “can’t” suggests that you might want to do something, but aren’t able to; Robbins gives the example of saying “I can’t eat cake for lunch.” The implication is that in another set of circumstances, you could. But when you say “I don’t” (“I don’t eat cake for lunch”), there’s no room for debate. It’s a hard-and-fast rule that you set for yourself.

The researchers write that “using the word ‘don’t’ serves as a self-affirmation of one’s personal willpower and control in the relevant self-regulatory goal pursuit, leading to a favorable influence on feelings of empowerment, as well as on actual behavior. On the other hand, saying ‘I can’t do X’ connotes an external focus on impediments.”

See more in the video below:

[h/t SUCCESS]

Japanese architect Yusuke Oono is known for his 360° books that bring images to life in 3D. Colossal recently highlighted his take on our solar system—a laser-cut portrait of our world called Earth and the Moon.

As you rotate the book to get a full look at the scope of the image, you’ll see clouds, stars, and even UFOs beaming up cows from the Earth. It fans out to stand on its own, or it can be flipped through like a traditional book.

It’s available from several different sellers for $29 and up.

[h/t Colossal]

All images courtesy the Colossal Shop

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” But in practice, not everyone agrees on what abiding by that clause means in real-life situations. For instance, can a courthouse or a public park feature a nativity scene?

According to the Supreme Court, maybe not—or at least not unless it includes a menorah and a plastic reindeer, too. In the 1984 case of Lynch v. Donnelly, the court established a precedent that became known as the “reindeer rule,” a legal standard that has governed public displays of holiday cheer ever since.

The case hinged on a Rhode Island display that was owned by the city of Pawtucket but was located in a park owned by a nonprofit organization. The annual display, which dated back 40 years, included a nativity scene (also known as a creche or crèche) in addition to other Christmastime symbols like reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh, a Christmas tree, and a “seasons greetings” banner. The justices ruled in favor of the nativity scene, arguing that there was a secular argument to be made about including the religious reference:

The display is sponsored by the city to celebrate the Holiday recognized by Congress and national tradition and to depict the origins of that Holiday; these are legitimate secular purposes. Whatever benefit to one faith or religion or to all religions inclusion of the creche in the display effects, is indirect, remote, and incidental, and is no more an advancement or endorsement of religion than the congressional and executive recognition of the origins of Christmas, or the exhibition of religious paintings in governmentally supported museums.

In the case, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor put forth a legal rule of thumb called the “endorsement test,” writing that governments can run afoul of the Establishment Clause by appearing to endorse a specific religion or a belief, rather than being inclusive of a variety of beliefs. “Endorsement sends a message to nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community,” she explained. According to the National Constitution Center, “Court observers at the time saw the presence of the reindeer as broadening the purpose of the display.” And so the reindeer rule was born.

Then, a 1989 Supreme Court ruling in reference to two holiday displays inside and outside the Allegheny County courthouse in Pittsburgh made this standard even more clear. A nativity scene inside the courthouse that prominently displayed a banner that read, in Latin, “Glory to God for the birth of Jesus Christ,” with no secular objects on display, was ruled unconstitutional. Meanwhile, a display outside the courthouse with a menorah, a Christmas tree, and a sign that declared the city’s “salute to liberty,” as the case ruling puts it, was allowed to stay. With the overtly Christian indoor display, nothing counteracted the government endorsement of “a patently Christian message.” As Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in his opinion, “Although the government may acknowledge Christmas as a cultural phenomenon, it may not observe it as a Christian holy day by suggesting that people praise God for the birth of Jesus,” while the menorah display combined “with a Christmas tree and a sign saluting liberty does not impermissibly endorse both the Christian and Jewish faiths, but simply recognizes that both Christmas and Chanukah are part of the same winter-holiday season, which has attained a secular status in our society. The widely accepted view of the Christmas tree as the preeminent secular symbol of the Christmas season emphasizes this point.” This ruling only applies to government property and government sponsored displays, though, which is why it’s completely fine for private entities like churches to erect public displays of nativity scenes on their property.

Though the reindeer rule seems pretty clear, it hasn’t stopped towns from testing the boundaries of the court’s ruling over the decades since it was established. In 2014, Cherokee County, Texas, for instance, got into a spat with the American Humanist Association over the constitutionality of a nativity scene in front of the county courthouse. The state attorney general publicly supported the county, and there was no forced removal of the display. That same year, similar controversies took place in towns in Virginia and Arkansas. Some cities have groups like the Thomas More Society and the American Nativity Scene Committee, which work to get Christian displays erected in public places across the country, to thank for their nativity scenes. The former calls nativity scenes “classic free speech.”

But some towns have proven to be a little more inclusive of other holiday decor—or at least wary of litigation. The Florida Capitol building in Tallahassee, for instance, has approved holiday displays that include not just nativity scenes, but privately funded decorative contributions from the Satanic Temple, Seinfeld fans (a Festivus pole), and Pastafarian followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

But the U.S. remains a very Christian country, despite its longstanding religious freedom laws, and according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 44 percent of American adults think Christian symbols are OK to display on government property, even in the absence of symbols from other faiths. It should be noted that a Pew survey that year on religion found that 71 percent of Americans identified as Christians, though the percentages of residents practicing other faiths or identifying as atheists has been rising. Still, that doesn’t mean that nativity scenes get total respect in America. Plenty of baby Jesuses get swiped out of their mangers every year.