01 A tortoise majority. On Aldabra, an atoll in the Seychelles, researchers from the University of Exeter and the Seychelles Islands Foundation counted about 180,000 giant tortoises: the highest number ever recorded. In the 19th century fewer than 1,000 were left. The whole of the Seychelles has about 122,000 people. The count took five years, which seems about the right pace for the subject.
02 Porridge from Zutphen. Gina Saarberg (28) from Zutphen won the Golden Spurtle, the world porridge-making championship in Carrbridge, Scotland, beating 30 cooks from 14 countries. The rules allow oats, water and salt, nothing else. Her secret: pinhead oats from Noord-Brabant and the soft tap water of her home town. Scotland’s national breakfast, perfected by a Dutch cook. It caused a stir.
03 Family flight. When Zoë de Bruijn (22) flew out of Amsterdam as a KLM pilot this summer, she shared the flight deck with her father Michel, also a pilot. Her mother, Marjan van Nooijen, was in the cabin crew. “It felt amazing,” Zoë said. Whether anyone was told to tidy their room before landing was not reported.