Good Morning! 🌞 

Happy Chinese New Year! 🎉 January 29 marks the start of the Year of the Snake, bringing new beginnings, good fortune, and a fresh opportunity to reset. If your New Year’s resolutions have already taken a backseat—don’t worry! Technically, it’s still the New Year, so there’s no better time to start again.

Embrace the energy of renewal, set new goals, and make this year your best one yet. Wishing you luck, prosperity, and a successful week ahead! 🐍✨

Innovation

Electricity for Everyone

Bangladesh has achieved near-universal electricity access, a remarkable feat in its ongoing development journey. In 1991, only 14% of the population had electricity; by 2021, that figure skyrocketed to 99%. This rapid electrification has been a key factor in the country’s significant reduction in poverty, which dropped from 44.2% in 1991 to 18.7% in 2022.

The country’s electricity access is divided into two categories: half of the households have basic access, enough for lighting and phone charging for at least four hours a day, while the other half enjoy higher-tier access that supports the use of high-load appliances such as refrigerators. This progress has greatly improved the quality of life for millions of Bangladeshis.

Bangladesh, the world’s most densely populated large country with 3,020 people per square mile, has made these strides despite its high population density. To highlight the significance, Bangladesh would need to expand across Africa and Eurasia to match the population density of Mongolia. This makes the country’s success in reducing poverty and improving living conditions even more impressive.

World News

World’s Oldest Map

Archaeologists in France have uncovered compelling evidence that Stone Age humans carved a 3D map of their territory into the floor of a cave now known as Segnole 3. Located in the Essonne Department of the Île-de-France region, this cave floor is etched with indentations, basins, and grooves representing rivers and gullies. If dating estimates of around 13,000 years ago are correct, these carvings would predate the previously known oldest 3D map—a Bronze Age rock slab from roughly 3,000 years ago—by a full 10,000 years.

Alongside the carved topography, the cave also features engravings of horses and an equine sexual organ. Researchers from Mines Paris–PSL and the University of Adelaide note that rainwater flowing through the sculpted grooves mirrors the region’s actual watercourses, underscoring how Stone Age communities grasped their surroundings in a practical, functional way. “This isn’t a map in the modern sense, with distances and directions,” explains Dr. Anthony Milnes of the University of Adelaide. “It’s a miniature model showing how water flows from highlands into rivers and lakes,” highlighting that knowledge of water flow and terrain was crucial for survival.

On closer inspection, the carved features include a depressed area symbolizing a basin along the École River, pronounced grooves suggesting valley slopes, and faint lines tracing the river’s main course and overflow channels. According to Dr. Milnes, these details reveal remarkable engineering skill and cognition among early humans. Meanwhile, Dr. Médard Thiry of Mines Paris–PSL suggests the proximity of the “hydraulic” carvings to the sexual engravings indicates these markings also held deeper symbolic meanings related to water and life—further emphasizing the sophisticated cultural framework of our Stone Age ancestors.

Lifestyle

Growing Up in the Coldest City

In the video "What is it Like Growing Up in the World's Coldest City?" viewers are transported to Yakutsk, a place where temperatures can plummet to an unimaginable −71°C (−95°F). It's fascinating to see how residents not only survive but thrive in such harsh conditions, adapting their daily routines and even their wardrobes to battle the cold.

Watching this really makes me appreciate how resilient people can be—especially when I start complaining about a chilly morning! The strength and ingenuity of Yakutsk's residents are nothing short of inspiring.

Support Daily Upsider!

Help our mission to share positive, meaningful news! Your support keeps us going without the need to bombard you with annoying ads!

Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

I am a three-digit number.
My digits are consecutive numbers.
The sum of my digits is 15.
My hundreds digit is the smallest of the three.

Yesterday’s Answers to the Mind Stretchers:

I’m round but not a ball,
I crack under pressure, yet stand tall.
From breakfast to baking, I play my part,
What am I, that’s used from the start? —eggs, Debbie Ettinger got this early and correct!

 

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 news@dailyupsider.com or reply to email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to news@dailyupsider.com for the chance to be featured.