This charming, lively man will forever hold a nostalgic place in our heart — He was affectionately known as “Crazy” Charlie. But, unfortunately, we would never know his real name. He was the owner and proprietor of a produce stand on a street corner in Yokohama, Japan. We were posted in Yokohama as American ex-pats in the mid-aughts. It was a three-year posting, so…

The removed features include certain filters across Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Messenger Kids, and Portal, per the company — Instagram users can usually enhance or change their images with different face filters. However, as of Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Instagram users in Texas and Illinois can no longer use the augmented reality effects, including filters and avatars. Meta, the app’s parent company that also owns Facebook, disabled them “due…

Lucy Westlake hopes to inspire other young women and girls to pursue their own dreams and adventures — “Being at the top, I couldn’t imagine that I was at the top of the world. I looked down and there was nothing higher.“ — Lucy Westlake to Today detailing her trip to Everest. In an era when uplifting news appears to be becoming increasingly scarce, I have a feel-good…

We should give more credit where it is due — “God could not be everywhere, and therefore, he made mothers.” — Rudyard Kipling Mothers. We do so much for so many people. We are overworked and undervalued. We are constantly putting everyone else’s needs ahead of our own. Being a mother necessitates acts of selflessness. Being a mother entails unconditional…

Guinness World Records has named a new pup standing more than 3 feet tall as the world’s tallest living dog — “It’s kind of cool to be able now to say, ‘Yes, it’s definitely the tallest dog you’ve ever seen!’ He’s a Guinness World Record holder,” Brittany Davis, the dog’s owner told Guinness. Have you ever wondered how tall the world’s tallest dog is? …

The Lost Pet Network is a database that is being launched to assist in the recovery of lost pets — “The Sheriff’s Lost Pet Network will help Deputy Sheriffs and other municipal partners swiftly and safely locate residents’ missing pets by utilizing an ID-driven database. I look forward to embarking on this new program that will hopefully return more dogs and cats back to their loving families,” Sheriff Dr. Errol…

Owners shouldn’t use breed alone as a guide when choosing a dog — “There is a huge amount of behavioral variation in every breed, and at the end of the day, every dog really is an individual,” Elinor Karlsson, the study’s co-author and a University of Massachusetts geneticist, told the Associated Press. According to a large-scale genetic analysis, your dog’s behavior is most…

According to ecophysiological modeling, tropical oceans are predicted to lose the most species — “Exactly where the future falls between the best-case and worst-case scenarios will be determined by the choices that society makes not only about climate change, but also about habitat destruction, overfishing, and coastal pollution.” — scientists Malin Pinsky and Alexa Fredston in a comment on the new study, also published…

Would you clone your pet? — “I can either pay thousands of dollars to create a new pet that’s actually going to have a different history and personality, or maybe I could adopt an animal that would otherwise be killed in a shelter. Those are things that ethically need to be considered.” — Bioethics professor Dr…