Los Angeles skate park covered in sand

The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation confirmed the Venice Beach Skate Park, California, was filled with sand by bulldozers after officials received multiple reports of the location hosting gatherings that violated the city’s Safer at Home Order.

Rose Watson, a parks department spokeswoman said, “We want them to follow the orders because the skate parks are closed until further notice. It’s for the health and wellness of all L.A. residents.”

Watson said Venice Beach is the only skate park to be covered with sand so far, but the city will consider similar moves if gatherings are reported at other locations.

Monkey flies kite on rooftop

Monkeys are intelligent animals and this was further proved with the recently filmed viral video from India, as it captured a monkey engaging in an activity not known to be common for its species — flying a kite.

A video tweeted by Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda, shows the small primate holding onto the string and reeling in the flying kite. The monkey catches the kite as it finally reaches the rooftop where the animal is perched.

“Evolution happening fast due to lockdown,” Nanda joked in the post.

The exact location where the video was filmed was unclear.

Melting ice reveals ancient Viking route

Melted ice patches from the slopes of a remote mountain pass in Norway have revealed artefacts that provide new insight into the livelihood of hunters, traders and travellers along a route thousands of years old, archaeologists said.

The relics include tunics and mittens woven with wool, leather shoes, arrows are still adorned with feathers, and snowshoes made for horses. Giant stone cairns mark old pathways once used by traders to find their way through fog and heavy snow.

The discoveries, outlined in the scientific journal Antiquity, were made on the central mountain range in Norway’s Innlandet County by the Glacier Archaeology Programme, that studied what glaciers and ice patches are laying bare as they shift and melt because of climate change.

The findings show the pass was used from about AD300 to 1500, with a peak of activity during the Viking Age in the year 1000, that reflected its importance during a period of long-range trade and commerce in Scandinavia.

Glowing blue waves on California beach

A California man captured rare video of bioluminescent waves glowing bright blue as they crashed on the shore of a beach.

Patrick Coyne said a friend alerted him this week that conditions indicated bioluminescent waves were possible at Newport Beach, and he ended up capturing footage that night of the flowing blue waves crashing to shore.

Coyne said the waves were the brightest he has ever seen.

The glowing waves are caused by bioluminescent algae in the water.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 9th, 2020