Good Morning! 🌞

Happy Friday! Before you head into the weekend, check out today’s newsletter featuring some interesting articles.

World News

Real Life Indiana Jones

New discoveries continue to emerge even near famous landmarks like Petra’s Treasury in Jordan, known as a filming location for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Recently a team of American and Jordanian archaeologists uncovered a hidden tomb containing 12 human skeletons and various grave goods. Though Petra is well-known, the rock-carved city, built by the Nabataeans, remains poorly understood. Years of travel and flooding have damaged many human remains, making research difficult.

The newly discovered skeletons, while fragile, are mostly intact. The excavation team plans to extract DNA to learn more about the individuals’ identities, ages, and diets. “This is a rare find,” said Josh Gates, host of Expedition Unknown, which collaborated on the dig. Coincidentally, among the grave goods was a ceramic goblet resembling the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a film that famously featured Petra as a location.

The excavation was led by Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman of the American Center of Research, who initiated the project after detecting underground chambers near the Treasury using ground-penetrating radar. The tomb’s artifacts, including well-preserved bronze, iron, and ceramics, may provide valuable insights into Nabataean burial practices. While it is believed that commoners and elites were buried together, evidence has been scarce. This discovery could help clarify burial traditions and deepen understanding of Petra’s ancient inhabitants.

Innovation

‘Robot’ Recycler

Rob Lawson-Shanks, a former tech hardware entrepreneur, is tackling the growing problem of electronic waste with his startup, Molg. The company builds and programs precision robots that disassemble electronic devices, recovering usable components for reuse instead of traditional recycling.

Recently funded by major venture capitalists, Lawson-Shanks is helping recycling facilities salvage electronics that would otherwise be scrapped. Molg’s robots, equipped with multiple arms and cameras, delicately remove panels, unscrew fasteners, and extract chips for testing and reuse. “We use high-precision, non-destructive tools to handle and repurpose components, keeping them at their highest possible value,” he explains.
The compact robots, standing 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide, fit inside existing e-waste facilities and can take apart devices in about five minutes. They’re currently focused on breaking down servers to recover components for reuse in new data center units. Each component is tracked in a database and reused until it reaches the end of its lifecycle, at which point it’s recycled.

In collaboration with companies like Dell, Molg has introduced new modular designs—snaps, latches, and press-fits—that make laptops and other devices easier for their robots to disassemble. Ideally, Lawson-Shanks says, a single component can be reused four to five times before it’s recycled.

Culture

94-Year-old Woman’s Adventure

At 94, Donna Maddox fulfilled a lifelong dream, speeding around Michigan International Speedway in a Ferrari, hitting 150 miles per hour. She’s always been drawn to speed, once pushing her Lincoln to 115 MPH.

“My mother used to say I came into this world running,” she joked.
Her motto is simple: "If you're alive, then live." And she’s done just that, climbing the Smoky Mountains and exploring caves in her youth.
This latest adventure came through a program at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks retirement home, which helps residents pursue their passions. "Donna is a joy to talk to and inspires others to chase their dreams," said a spokesperson.

Catch her full interview on CBS News Detroit.

Mind Stretchers

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Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
The instructions for yesterday’s Sudoku puzzle was: Fill in the grid so that each row, each column, and each 2x2 box contains the numbers 1,2,3, 4 without repetition.
There are a lot of variations as long as the combinations fit the criteria, But for yesterday, Jared Garretson sent his answer first! 🌞 
1234
3412
2341
4123

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.