Featured Story

From Maryland to the Netherlands, These Newer Towns Were Designed to Look Old

Imagine living in a walkable town with buildings that boast all the charm and character of a village from centuries past, but lack many of the problems — like decay, outdated systems, and toxic materials — that come with it. This may sound like something out of an architect’s utopian fantasy, but a handful of neighborhoods and towns across the world have actually brought that vision to life.
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These communities tend to fall under the umbrella of New Urbanism, a design movement that began in the U.S. in the 1980s. The movement was born in response to the post-World War II increase in suburbs, with architects modeling plans in the U.S. after historic European cities. The result? Quite a few older-looking, but recently built, places that are worth a stroll.
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​See photos and videos of some of our favorites at the link below.

Together With Quince

The Only Bag You Need This Summer

A thriving summer social calendar means you need a lot of well-curated outfits. The secret to effortless style? Versatile accessories you can pair with anything — like Quince’s hand crochet shoulder bag.
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Whether you’re heading to the beach or running weekend errands, this staple elevates every look. The crochet style adds texture to any outfit, while the roomy interior easily holds all your essentials. Plus, it’s lightweight and lays flat, making it the perfect travel companion. Available in classic shades like natural and denim blue, it’s the only bag you’ll need to carry you through the season.

Tech

Why Some Pigeons Are Sporting Miniature Backpacks

In a scene straight out of a children’s book, scientists outfitted pigeons with custom tiny backpacks and even tinier head-mounted cameras for a recent study. Beyond being a sight for sore eyes, the quirky research aimed to get a peek at how pigeons see and navigate the world in midair.
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Despite an initial assumption that birds with eyes on the sides of their heads (like pigeons) don’t move their eyes while in flight, the researchers soon found that wasn’t the case. “Instead, we found really subtle, slow drifting eye movements as pigeons fly forward,” co-lead author Anthony Lapsansky said in a University of British Columbia Q and A. “Rather than locking their eyes in place, they compensate for that visual motion with eye movements — potentially to resolve finer details or see features of their surroundings that can aid navigation.”
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Big picture, these visual compensations may help inspire more advanced tech. “We could potentially use these strategies to make autonomous flying robots or drones more animal-like: more skilled at navigating complex environments and closer to truly autonomous flight,” Lapsansky explained. Watch the backpack-wearing pigeons fly.​

Sports

Marathon-Running Nun Has Raised Over $2.6M to Feed Chicago Families

Before becoming a Catholic nun, Sister Stephanie Baliga was an elite runner — the sixth-fastest college freshman in the U.S., chasing a dream of going pro. When an injury her sophomore year forced her to press pause, though, she realized her true calling wasn’t running but instead devoting everything to God.
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For the past 15 years, Baliga has used her athleticism to help raise over $2.6 million for the Mission of Our Lady of Angels, or MOLA, by running the Chicago Marathon. MOLA’s food pantry serves hundreds of local families each week, regardless of faith or creed. “It totally changed the way I live my life,” Baliga recently told WGN. “Our neighborhood has been very, very volatile in every possible way, so the fact that something is stable is a huge gift to people in this neighborhood.”
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This fall, Baliga, who also helps staff the pantry, will join nearly 200 members of the church’s charity running team to compete in their 16th consecutive Chicago Marathon, where they’re sure to be cheered on with hilarious signs throughout the 26.2-mile route.
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“God’s will is whatever is in front of you right now,” she said, “and one of the best ways you can do that is just by doing what we’re doing every day and just keep doing it.” See Baliga run.

Environment

Go Whale Watching From Home: The Annual Beluga Cams Are Live

It’s one of Nice News’ favorite times of year: We can go whale watching with the Beluga Cams, two livestreams from Polar Bears International. They launch each July 15 to celebrate Arctic Sea Ice Day, which the nonprofit hosts to raise awareness about preserving arctic habitats.
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The cams are attached to a boat in Canada’s Hudson Bay. “The underwater cam (hydrophone included!) catches belugas swimming right up to the boat, new babies in tow. The above-water cam gives you sea birds, passing boats, and even the occasional polar bear,” Director of Science Alysa McCall shared with Nice News in an email.
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In addition to enjoying the show, you can play a role as citizen scientist through the Beluga Bits project. It involves examining photos and footage of the playful cetaceans to help track characteristics like age, sex, group size, and identifying marks. Over 40,000 users have collected more than 10 million classifications so far, per McCall, and the project even helped identify a jellyfish species previously unknown to live in the Hudson Bay.
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The cams are embedded on Nice News’ website — watch here.

Deep Dives

1. The impressive tale of a second grade teacher who resurrected an iconic ’90s video game
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2. In landlocked South Dakota, shimmering ammonite shells recall a 70 million-year-old sea
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3. She doesn’t just clean houses — she transforms them and the lives of their often desperate occupants

What to Read

​It Will Come Back to You​

Author Sigrid Nunez — whose seventh novel, The Friend, won a 2018 National Book Award (and was turned into a film starring Naomi Watts and a Great Dane named Bing) — has released her first collection of short stories. The 13 tales were written over the course of her decades-long career, many published early on in small literary journals. They span the profound to the quotidian and are marked by both gravitas and humor, whether it’s a piece about neighbors, jury duty, or a parent’s battle with dementia.

Press Play

​The Hawk​

In his first scripted series regular role, Will Ferrell is Lonnie Hawkins, a former pro golfer aiming for a comeback. The Hawk co-stars Fortune Feimster as Hawkins’ caddie, Jimmy Tatro as his son — “golf’s new golden boy”— and Molly Shannon as his ex-wife (fans of late ’90s Saturday Night Live will love seeing the two playing opposite each other again). With the PGA Tour as a producer, the comedy chronicles the washed-up golfer’s final attempt to complete a career Grand Slam. You can stream all 10 episodes on Netflix now.

This Week in History

The Seneca Falls Convention Commences

July 19, 1848

On this date over a century and a half ago, some 300 people gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, “to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition of woman,” per a newspaper advertisement placed by the convention’s organizers. Those organizers were Elizabeth Cady Stanton (pictured), Lucretia Coffin Mott, Martha Coffin Wright, Mary Ann McClintock, and Jane Hunt — who, after talking about their daily challenges over tea, resolved to do something about them.
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On the docket was the Declaration of Sentiments, drafted by Stanton with help from McClintock. Modeled after the Declaration of Independence, it listed 16 grievances, demanding that women “have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.” By the end of the two-day conference — the first women’s rights convention in the country — 68 women and 32 men, including Frederick Douglass, had signed the document. Read the Declaration of Sentiments.​

Avoid the Afternoon Slump With Organixx

It’s 2 p.m., and once again, you can barely keep your eyes open. You’re slamming coffee, splashing water on your face, eating candy — doing whatever you can to stay awake. The problem may not be late nights or a busy schedule, but a simple mineral deficiency. Organixx Magnesium 7 is the complete solution, with seven highly absorbable forms of magnesium that target every pathway your body uses for relaxation and recovery.

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Crossword Club + Nice News

Today’s Puzzle
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​Across

17. “Don't sweat it!”

22. Talk and talk and talk

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​Down

2. One of four for a giraffe

12. Hang in there

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Quote of the Day

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”

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– ELIZABETH CADY STANTON