The world's first sand accumulator was launched in Finland.

It allows you to store solar and wind energy until winter, when the price and demand for heat rises. Green energy, based on the principle of operation of electric fireplaces, heats sand up to 500 °C in an accumulator. Then, with the help of a heat exchanger, it heats the air circulating inside the chamber. It is it that is used in winter to heat water in the central heating system. From there, heat is supplied to the buildings. Sand is stored in a giant bunker, its volume is 100 tons. The temperature in the storage can stay at +500 °C for several months.

Rhinos have reappeared in Mozambique after disappearing there 40 years ago.

Mozambique, after a civil war and rampant poaching, is restoring its wild fauna - the first white rhinos were brought into the country from South Africa. They disappeared in this East African state 40 years ago. The animals were taken to the Zinave National Park. More than 2.3 thousand re-imported animals already live there. In the next two years, 40 rhinos are planned to be resettled in Mozambique. In ten years, there will be a thriving population.

Global warming is driving methane emissions four times faster than previously thought.

An increase in temperature promotes the production of this gas, activating microbes in swamps. At the same time, natural reactions to neutralize gas in the atmosphere are slowed down due to more frequent forest fires.

China has quarantined almost two million people.

A new outbreak of coronavirus began in Anhui province, where almost 300 Chinese were infected in one day. The authorities decided that it was very dangerous and locked up 1.7 million residents for prevention.

Vinyl records are back.

In 2021, vinyl record turnover was $1 billion, up 61% from a year earlier. The jump is so big that the producers are physically unable to cope and declare that it is time to start building large vinyl plants.

The Eiffel Tower is rusty and in urgent need of repair.

Experts argue that the only way out is to almost completely disassemble it, repair it, repaint it and reassemble it. The renovation will be completed by the end of 2024. The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, and initially its service life was not to exceed 20 years. Every year this attraction is visited by about 6 million tourists, it ranks fourth in attendance after Disneyland, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.

In Britain, an antique vampire hunter set was sold for 13 thousand pounds.

It belonged to a high-ranking 19th-century official, Lord William Haley. The set includes standard tools for fighting evil spirits: a Bible, crucifixes, a bottle of holy water, a rosary, two pistols and a wooden stake. The buyer of the antique set wished to remain anonymous.

The British have found the largest water lily on the planet.

Its diameter is three meters. Scientists have discovered a third species of giant water lilies from the genus Victoria. Its seeds were misidentified and brought to Britain from Bolivia 177 years ago. For almost two centuries, the water lily Victoria boliviana grew in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and no one knew about its uniqueness. Before that, it was believed that only two species of giant water lilies of this genus grow on the planet - Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana.

Artificial intelligence will test the Chinese for loyalty to the party.

The Hefei Research Institute in China has developed an AI that is able to test members of the Chinese Communist Party for party allegiance. Due to the loud discontent of the citizens of China, the institute removed the research from the public domain. According to scientists, the AI ​​was supposed to read the reaction of politicians to the news and draw conclusions about their loyalty - "do they feel gratitude to the party, do they listen to the words of the party and follow the party." Thus, the researchers planned to apply new technologies to strengthen the Chinese Communist Party. 43 party members participated in the AI ​​test.

Fountain with beer.

The Austrian "Beer Party" has set up a fountain with beer on the central square of Vienna - anyone can pour themselves a glass of foam. The beer fountain was promised 2 years ago, when the party won a seat in the local parliament, then the election promise could not be fulfilled due to the coronavirus. But the pandemic ended and the promise was kept.

The Volkswagen auto concern is engaged, among other things, in the production of sausages.

The German carmaker has been making its own currywurst at its Wolfsburg plant since 1973. The company produces more than 18 thousand sausages per day and they even have their own number in the spare parts catalog, and each package is labeled VW Original Part, which translates as “Volkswagen Genuine Part”.

The history of the handshake.

Handshakes were originally meant to make sure the person you meet wasn't hiding a weapon. By squeezing the hand, they determined that there was nothing in it, and by shaking it a little, they were convinced that nothing was hidden inside the sleeve.

Did you know?

Astronauts on the ISS do not hover because of the lack of gravity, but vice versa. They are in constant free fall, falling below the Earth's horizon. Gravity pulls them towards the Earth.

Popular cocktail.

An unusual Caesar cocktail is popular in Canada. It is a mixture of vodka and clamato (clam broth + tomato juice).

Why did pirates wear earrings in their ears?

Among pirates, the earring was considered a magical amulet that saved from blindness, from the evil eye, from seasickness, from drowning and many other misfortunes.

The youngest country in the world.

Uganda is the youngest country in the world: 48% of the country's population is under 15 years old.

An island of wet wipes has changed the course of the Thames.

The course of the Thames has changed slightly due to an artificial island made up of used wet wipes. It is the size of two tennis courts and in places reaches a meter thick. The UK authorities have repeatedly urged residents to give up wet wipes and even wanted to ban them. People wash this hygiene product down the drain, but it does not dissolve there and eventually accumulates in the Thames. Ecologists say that wet wipes harm not only the river itself, but the entire aquatic ecosystem, because they contain a lot of plastic. Wet wipes make up 90% of the solid fat deposits found in sewers.

Kate Bush broke three Guinness World Records with "Running Up That Hill".

The composition was released in 1985, and in 2022 experienced a new wave of popularity after being featured in the fourth season of Stranger Things. The Guinness World Records Committee confirmed that Bush has won the following titles: "Oldest Female Artist to Top the Chart", "Longest Time a Track Topped the Official UK Singles Chart" and "Longest Gap Between Topping the Chart".

Scientists have taught artificial intelligence to detect the "distress cries" of chickens.

Researchers in Hong Kong have created an AI that detects the sounds chickens make when they have health problems. It was previously known that a sharp and short squeak signals this - only it is impossible to recognize it on a farm where thousands of birds live without special technologies. The deep learning model detects the sharp, short "peep" of a chicken from the general noise on the farm.

The largest alcohol molecule in space has been found at the center of the Milky Way.

In the Sagittarius B2 gas and dust cloud, astrophysicists have found the largest alcohol molecule in space - isopropanol, which is added to sanitizers on Earth. This substance was first discovered in interstellar space. The discovery of the molecule will help to understand how different substances are formed in interstellar space.