Seine River Welcomes Swimmers After 100 Years

Good morning. It’s been a remarkable week of resilience, renewal, and discovery. Paris celebrates a historic moment as the Seine River welcomes swimmers for the first time in over a century, thanks to a sweeping cleanup effort. In Australia, a backpacker’s survival story serves as a poignant reminder of the power of hope and the importance of staying calm in the face of adversity.

And don’t forget to stay cool this weekend.

—Stephanie S

Paris has reopened the Seine River to the public for swimming after a ban that lasted over 100 years. This milestone marks the culmination of a massive $2.3 billion cleanup effort aimed at transforming the river into a safe and inviting space for residents and visitors.

The project featured advanced water treatment systems and stringent pollution controls, significantly improving water quality. Officials hope that the Seine will become a symbol of urban renewal and environmental progress.

The reopening comes just after the 2024 Olympics, where some events took place on the river. Parisians are excited to reclaim this iconic waterway for recreation and community gatherings.

A portable coral spawning lab called ReefSeed has helped Maldivian scientists grow 10,000 young corals in just weeks. The system, developed by Australian and Maldivian institutes, fits in a shipping container and works without external power or divers.

ReefSeed enabled local teams to spawn 3 million larvae and seed nine reefs, all without outside experts. The project’s success could lead to broader use, supporting communities facing climate-driven reef loss.

Scientists have detected the most significant black hole merger ever observed, in which two rapidly spinning black holes combine to form one that is 225 times the mass of our Sun. This event, designated as GW231123, was detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories.

The black holes were spinning near the limits allowed by physics, challenging current theories and detection technology. Researchers believe these giants may have formed from earlier black hole mergers, opening new questions for astronomy.

A German backpacker survived 12 days lost in the Australian outback after her van became stuck and she wandered away, disoriented and barefoot. Carolina Wilga endured harsh conditions, drinking from puddles and seeking shelter in caves.

Her rescue was a relief to family and searchers, and she credits hope and the kindness of strangers for her survival. Experts say her major mistake was leaving her vehicle, a standard error in survival situations.

Fifty‑seven years ago today, two engineers founded Intel Corporation in Mountain View, California. What began as a small startup would ignite the rise of Silicon Valley, becoming a pioneer in random access memory, microprocessors, and the personal computing revolution itself.

By 1971, Intel created the 4004 microprocessor, the first commercially available chip that shrank a computer’s central processing unit into something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. That leap made personal computers possible and laid the foundation for the phones, tablets, and laptops we use today.

Other notable July 18 events:

1334: Construction began on Giotto’s Campanile, the bell tower that still graces Florence Cathedral.

1830: Uruguay adopted its first constitution.

1918: Nelson Mandela was born, later leading South Africa out of apartheid and inspiring the world with his resilience and words.

1969: Ringo Starr recorded his vocals for Octopus’s Garden while on a break from The Beatles.

🐴 USA: A rare wild Przewalski’s horse foal at the Minnesota Zoo was adopted by a domestic pony named Alice, who had just lost her foal.

🦎 Germany: Two halves of a Jurassic reptile fossil stored in separate museums were reunited, revealing a new tree-dwelling species, Sphenodraco scandentis.

🌊 Scotland: Underwater turbines at the MayGen site have set a new industry record by generating nonstop tidal energy for over six years, powering 7,000 homes.

🦔 UK: Pine martens have been born in southwest England for the first time in over 100 years, thanks to a successful reintroduction project aimed at restoring native wildlife.

⚾ USA: The Philadelphia Phillies created a hype video that helped their bat boy, a cancer survivor, win a trip to the MLB All-Star Game.

— Thomas Mann

If you pause to look around, you’ll see miracles and milestones everywhere. Here are five reasons why there’s never been a better era to live in:

🛰️ Global Navigation: GPS technology lets anyone explore the world confidently, from city streets to remote trails.

🏡 Home Comforts: Smart home tech lets you control lights, temperature, and security with a simple voice command or tap.

🌊 Environmental Awareness: Grassroots movements and global initiatives are driving real action to protect oceans, forests, and wildlife.

🏀 Inclusive Sports: Adaptive sports programs and technology are opening doors for people of all abilities to compete and thrive.

🧵 Fashion for Good: Sustainable and ethical fashion brands are giving us style choices that help the planet.

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