Good week, Bad week

Good week for:

Cheating, with news that a ladder might be installed near the peak of Mount Everest. Authorities in Nepal say the ladder would provide a shortcut over a steep cliff, and thus ease congestion near the 29,035-foot-high summit of the world’s tallest mountain.

Skiing in shorts, after parts of the Northeast received up to 18 inches of snow over Memorial Day weekend. Snow blanketed parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and upstate New York.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Synchronicity, after twin sisters Erica and Tashina Ackley, 22, who found out they were pregnant on the same day, gave birth just hours apart in the same Maine hospital. “We thought it would be cool if we had our babies on the same day,” said Tashina, “but we didn’t expect that it would happen.”

Bad week for:

North Dakota, which U.S. Census Bureau data revealed to be the state with the most bars per capita, with one bar for every 1,600 residents of the sparsely populated state. “It’s not surprising at all,” said bar owner Jason Stein. “There’s not much else to do here.”

Getting to the point, after a Norwegian crime writer set a new record for the world’s longest interview. Hans Olav Lahlum spoke for over 30 hours straight to journalist Mads Andersen on topics including U.S. politics, chess tactics, and kebab recipes.

Ageism, after Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, 80, became the oldest man ever to reach the top of Mount Everest. Miura recommended that other seniors eat good food “and just get out of the house.” He reached the summit without a ladder.