Must Reads

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Humanity

How Matthew Perry Inspired Students in France to Create Artwork About Addiction

Matthew Perry struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for decades, and had long dreamed of starting an organization to destigmatize substance abuse disorder and help those seeking treatment. After he died in 2023, Perry's former publicist and manager both took up the torch, launching the Matthew Perry Foundation the same year.
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Now, the actor's legacy has reached all the way to Montargis, France, where it helped a group of 12th graders express their new understanding of addiction through art. Earlier this year, English teacher Rose-Elisa Morin used Perry's story, along with resources from the foundation, to teach a unit on the opioid crisis in the U.S.
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Perry became addicted to prescription painkillers following a 1997 jet skiing accident, and the difficulties that ensued, including 15 trips to rehab and a gastrointestinal perforation, ultimately fostered his desire to make a positive impact on others like him.
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In Morin's classroom, he did. She instructed her students to create a piece of work — such as a letter, poem, or drawing — either paying tribute to Perry or illustrating how they could help combat addiction. And the high schoolers delivered. One student drew a sketch of Batman, a character Perry famously felt connected to, with a speech bubble referencing Friends. Another teen detailed her thoughts in an illustrated page with the motto "one day at a time" in the margin. See the artwork.​

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Science

Young Clownfish Change Their Appearance to Fit In With the Older Crowd, Study Says

It turns out human teens aren't the only ones concerned with looking more grown-up than they actually are — young clownfish may also adjust their appearance to fit in with an older crowd. In a new study, researchers found that baby tomato anemonefish lost their white vertical stripes earlier when adult fish were around.
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"What's interesting is that around a third of anemonefish species have evolved to have more white bars in early development, only to lose some in a relatively short time span as they transition into adulthood," lead author Laurie J. Mitchell said in a statement. "We wanted to understand how and why this change occurs."
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To find out, she and her team recorded young specimens in various lab environments set up with host anemones for the fish to join. They discovered that the ones in a tank with adults lost all their stripes except the head bar 24 days sooner than those who weren't cohabitating with their elders.
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Mitchell and her colleagues theorize that while the juveniles initially rely on multiple stripes to signal a lower social rank and ingratiate themselves to adults, they then lose the stripes to demonstrate their integration into the social structure. With further research, the team hopes to learn more about how sea creatures have evolved to adapt to their environments. "Such studies can bring us closer to unlocking the mysteries of our diverse reef ecosystems," Mitchell said.

Sports

The Shortest Player in the NBA Shows How Self-Belief Matters More Than Biology

This article was written by Greg Edwards, an adjunct lecturer of English and technical communications at Missouri University of Science and Technology, for The Conversation.
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​Standing at 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 136 pounds, Muggsy Bogues did not fit the typical profile of a National Basketball Association athlete when he played professionally from 1987 to 2001. The average NBA player during Bogues' rookie season was 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 208 pounds.
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Despite that, Bogues had a successful NBA career, finishing among the league's all-time leaders in career assists. He even made an appearance alongside Michael Jordan in Space Jam.
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Bogues' story raises a broader question that extends far beyond the world of sports: How do people recognize what they are interested in, and what motivates them to keep pursuing an activity?

In Other News

1. Mortgage rates fell below 6% in the U.S. for the first time in nearly four years (read more)
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2. Electric air taxis from Uber may be ready in time to service passengers during the 2028 LA Olympics (read more)
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3. "We didn't expect this": a New York hospital delivered a 13-pound baby, its largest ever newborn (read more)
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4. Instagram's new safety tool alerts parents if teens repeatedly search for self-harm or suicide content (read more)
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5. A tiny, birdlike dinosaur skeleton was unearthed in Patagonia: See what it may have looked like in life (read more)

Inspiring Story

A little help catching 'em all

Friday marked three decades since Pokémon (originally a game called Pocket Monsters) debuted in Japan — and just in time for the anniversary, people banded together to donate a massive collection of Pokémon cards to a boy who'd lost his. After 7-year-old Reid accidentally left his binder at the Denver International Airport, United Airlines spearheaded an effort that resulted in over 15,000 cards being donated to him. Watch an ecstatic Reid receiving his new collection.​

Photo of the Day

A shot of Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu biting into one of her recently won gold medals blew up on social media, and now it's being given the analog treatment as a massive mural on the side of a Los Angeles building. Artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. began painting it last Tuesday, saying he was inspired by Liu's "personality and her being true to herself." He added: "It'd be amazing if she sees this, but this is for us. This is for the community, to inspire the youth."

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Odds & Ends

🎨 The "perfect" color scientists struggle to re-create
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🏂 No need for a slope with this adorable snowboarding buddy​
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🥞 How to celebrate tomorrow's National Pancake Day for free
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🎻 What does a 416-year-old viola sound like?

Quote of the Day

"The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on."

– JULIA ALVAREZ