Friday Feed #129 - Famous Worm Lovers, a 190-Year Old Tortoise and Internal Flights Banned in France

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Worms just quietly chug away under our feet, doing their good deeds without any fuss. They don’t ask for recognition, they just get on with breaking down organic matter and boosting the nutrient content of soil.

They’re unsung heroes.

Buuuuut… they haven’t slipped past completely unnoticed. Heidi Klum may have given them a recent boost in recognition, but certain VERY famous people in the past have championed the causes of worms!

There was a famous philosopher who called them ‘the intestines of the soil’, a dazzling queen who outlawed anyone removing them from her kingdom, and a renowned naturalist who studied them for 40 years.

Who were these iconic figures famously in love with worms? Find out below!

St Helena Tourism

Today we want to introduce you to a very special young man. Actually, he’s not a young man at all, he’s a really old tortoise. Really old!

Jonathan the tortoise just celebrated his 190th birthday. He’s actually the oldest living land animal in the world, not just the oldest tortoise. This venerable gentleman has witnessed the rise and fall of multiple empires, two world wars and man walking on the moon. He was around before cars and aeroplanes, before the telephone and long before television.

If only he could talk!

Well, his vet can! Joe Hollins talks about what makes Jonathan such a special creature in the article below.

This is interesting, and could affect your Europe travel plans if you were planning a bit of a jet set around France. You’re probably gonna have to get the train if you were, because the European Commission has given France the green light to ban short haul domestic flights.

If two cities are joined by a train journey of less than two hours, all flights between them will be abolished.

While this is a pioneering move by France, many feel more can be done, particularly when it comes to executive private jets. France has agreed to crack down on these, but it doesn't look like they’ll ban them completely. More likely there will be higher taxes and more restrictions on them.

Find out below which routes will be affected by the flight ban, and what else France is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

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