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New York City was visited by nine different whales in one day and the photos are amazing

New York’s harbors are the cleanest they’ve been in over 100 years.

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This is postcard-worthy.

People often pay to go on whale watching tours in hopes of mayyyyybe catching a single glimpse of a tail splashing the water—if they’re lucky.

On August 13, however, folks in New York City got the whale watching cruise of a lifetime as they were able to witness not one, not two, but NINE whales swimming in the harbor.

While onboard a tour with American Princess Cruises, Celia Ackerman, who works as a naturalist for the company, captured multiple breathtaking photos of the creatures with a view of New York’s skyline as the backdrop.

Here’s just one of the beauties:

gotham whales twitter, 9 whales new yorkGorgeous!All images taken by Celia Ackerman, used with permission from Gotham Whale

Ackerman is also a research associate for Gotham Whale, a marine mammal research, education and advocacy organization. Gotham Whale tweeted the images not only to let others join in on nature’s spectacle, but also to raise awareness and avoid potential collisions.

“Amazing day to say the least,” Gotham Whale’s caption read.

This once-in-a-lifetime sighting might be less of a miracle and more a result of concerted efforts to clean New York’s waters. Back in 2019, the New York Post cited a study that showed New York’s harbors were the purest they’ve been in nearly 110 years, not since “Albert Einstein had just published his theory of relativity,” according to the Post article. This was largely due to the Clean Water Act of 1972, in addition to volunteer environmental groups, according to the article.

Cleaner water means more fish, and more fish means a whale buffet. Not to mention some amazing photos:

whales new york, new york harbor, gotham whales

Breach incoming!

Celia Ackerman

“Something else to make your heart happy!” someone commented alongside a blue whale emoji.

whale sightings, whale cruise new york

What's not to love about this photo?

Celia Ackerman

This is the stuff fairy tales are made of y'all.

whales new york

Over-whale-mingly cool.

Celia Ackerman

Hands down, most successful whale watching cruise ever. No question.

new york harbor whales, cecilia ackerman twitter

One fish, two fish…

Celia Ackerman

These whales gave a water show and everything (see below):

gotham whales twitter

We're in the splash zone.

Celia Ackerman

There’s even a video of three breaching whales from the same day, shared by science and health reporter Aaron Tremper.

“I would’ve been screaming. This is so magical!” wrote one person.

Of course, the new-and-improved coastline is not only attracting whales. On August 8, 2022, two sharks were spotted off a beach in Queens, New York. And there were 15 shark sightings in one day the previous week, according to ABC7 New York. However, shark attacks are still quite rare.

I know what you’re thinking—where are the dolphins?! Don’t worry, Ackerman found some of those, too.

Like this Clymene dolphin below, whose most well-known party trick is spinning while jumping out of the water.

whale spotting new york, new york whales

He's auditioning for the "Flipper" reboot.

Celia Ackerman

These images come as a respite after the news that Freya, a walrus in Norway who captured hearts by sunbathing in various boats, was euthanized by authorities after being declared a “threat to human safety.” Her death was considered by many to be an avoidable act of cruelty, brought on by human negligence. However, the walrus named after a Norse goddess of love aptly still commands reverence by her followers, who have started a fundraiser to erect a statue in her honor.

We don’t always do right by our animal friends. But when we do, it shows. New York’s impromptu whale party is literal living proof of that. Finally, some good news about growing traffic!

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Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

Science

Researchers dumped tons of coffee waste into a forest. This is what it looks like now.

30 dump truck loads and two years later, the forest looks totally different.

assets.rebelmouse.io

One of the biggest problems with coffee production is that it generates an incredible amount of waste. Once coffee beans are separated from cherries, about 45% of the entire biomass is discarded.

So for every pound of roasted coffee we enjoy, an equivalent amount of coffee pulp is discarded into massive landfills across the globe. That means that approximately 10 million tons of coffee pulp is discarded into the environment every year.

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The fascinating reasons why anger and irritability may be disguising your depression

Sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion.

Therapy in a Nutshell|YouTube

How anger and irritability can disguise depression

Anger is such a weird emotion and it's totally not anger's fault. It's just existing for valid reasons but shows up when we feel like it shouldn't. The thing with anger is that in many cases it acts as a coat for an underlying emotion hiding that for some reason or another isn't ready to be revealed.

But sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion. Emma McAdam, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and host of the YouTube channel, Therapy in a Nutshell, posted a video explaining how anger and irritability can actually be a symptom of depression.

The video really breaks down how the media portrays depression versus some of the lesser known symptoms of depression. When people think of depression, they often imagine someone that's extremely sad all the time and struggling to do basic skills. But depression can show up hidden behind other symptoms like irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, and lack of focus.

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Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

The safe was stolen 22 years ago.

via Wikimedia Commons

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


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How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

Here are the four most important things people facing hunger want you to know.

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Americans share the top 13 things foreigners should avoid when visiting the U.S.

Sorry, but you can't drive from New York to LA.

via RDNE Stock project/Pexels, Neal Wellons/Flickr and Karolina Wv/Pexels

An ambulance, a Waffle House and an angry bison.

While the United States is undeniably one of the most culturally dominant countries in the world, its depth and complexity go far beyond what most people understand before seeing it for themselves.

The U.S. is a melting pot of diverse cultures, histories and landscapes, creating a rich and complex national tapestry that takes time and travel to truly comprehend. Heck, even Americans ourselves have a hard time understanding each other from time to time.

It's a place where every state can feel like its own little world, each with its own traditions, accents and cuisines. So, it’s understandable that when many people from around the world visit for the first time, there are some things they probably wished they had known ahead of time.

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Service dog flunks out of training school in spectacular fashion

The other dogs can't believe what they are seeing.

Double H Canine Academy in Louisville, Kentucky is a place where dog owners can take their rambunctious pets and have them turned into respectable members of the family.

However, as you can tell in this hilarious video, not all dogs are meant to follow orders.

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