Tom Yum Recognized as UNESCO Intangible Heritage

Tom Yum has been added to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list. This was announced by Thailand’s Minister of Culture, Sudawan Wangsuphakitkoson. According to her, the soup reflects the lifestyle of the Thai people, particularly their love for nature and good physical and psychological health. It also acts as a "soft power" in spreading the culture of the country.

Oldest Bird in the World Finds New Partner

The oldest bird in the world has found a new partner and laid an egg. The female dark-backed albatross named Wisdom, considered the oldest wild bird in the world, managed to find a new partner after her previous one disappeared in 2021 and laid her first egg in four years. Ornithologists assess the chances of the egg hatching as high. Throughout her life, Wisdom has laid 50-60 eggs and successfully raised about 30 chicks.

Robot Vacuum Escapes Home During Earthquake in California

In California, a robot vacuum 'escaped' from home during an earthquake. It disconnected from its base, went out onto the street, and couldn't find its way back. Someone filmed the vacuum as it drove down the road.

Mercedes Unveils the '2024 Popemobile'

Mercedes unveiled the '2024 Popemobile' - featuring a swivel seat in the trunk and a pristine white interior. The company has been custom-making cars for the Vatican for 94 years, but this is the first electric one, with a powertrain configured for maximum comfort at ultra-low speeds.

India and Europe Launch Satellites for Artificial Solar Eclipse

India and Europe have jointly launched satellites to create an artificial solar eclipse. One of the devices will block the Sun, while the other will conduct previously inaccessible observations, allowing scientists to better study the solar corona and more. They will spend five years in orbit, after which they will burn up in the atmosphere. The cost of the mission is €200 million.

Spotify Releases Year-End Music Report

Spotify has released its year-end music report. The most popular artist was Taylor Swift, followed by The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake, and Billie Eilish. The most streamed song was 'Espresso' by Sabrina Carpenter, the most popular album was 'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology' by Taylor Swift, and the 'viral' song of the year was 'Die With a Smile' by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Additionally, users now have access to personalized year-end Wrapped 2024 reports, which this year can be listened to in a podcast format with AI-driven hosts.

Japan Launches Space Energy Collection System

Japan is launching a space energy collection system. They plan to deploy solar panels in orbit and send the harvested energy to Earth. Orbital panels will operate ten times more efficiently than those on the ground. The company Japan Space Systems has already begun experiments to test the system.

China Stops the 'Sea of Death'

China has stopped the 'Sea of Death', as the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is known. China successfully completed a project to create a green protective belt around the desert. This project, which lasted almost 40 years, aimed to combat desertification and prevent sandstorms that pose a serious threat to the ecology and infrastructure of the region. The Chinese created a green belt 3045 km long made of tamarisk, saxaul, cistanche, and other plants.

Light Beams Instead of Hands

In London, a wall clock with light beams instead of hands has been invented. The Hubble Traveller design is inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope and its battery lasts for a week. The gadget can simply be stuck on the wall - resulting in a huge frameless dial.

Elton John Reveals Loss of Vision

Elton John has revealed that he lost his vision due to a severe eye infection he contracted this summer. The artist made the announcement about his ailment on stage after the premiere of the musical 'The Devil Wears Prada'. Elton John stated that he couldn't see anything but enjoyed what he heard. Prior to this, he had postponed the release of his new album due to the illness.

World's longest driverless metro launched in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, the world's longest driverless metro has been launched - it consists of 85 stations and six lines, covering 176 km of the country's capital Riyadh. The system will operate 183 fully driverless trains with carriages from Germany's Siemens, Canada's Bombardier, and France's Alstom, and the project cost amounted to $35 billion.

Yamaha Unveils Motorcycle from the Year 2124

In Japan, a motorcycle from the year 2124 has been invented. The Y/AI prototype by Yamaha is equipped with glowing, transparent wheels that allow it to jump in place. The Y/AI's handlebars feature projectors that display information as holograms in front of the rider's face. According to the developers, the bike supports a 'mental connection' with the rider using AI.

American Wins Lottery After 10 Years

An American used the same set of numbers for ten years in the lottery and finally won. Now he will receive $25,000 annually for 20 years. The lucky ticket was filled out with numbers 7, 10, 17, 24, and 26, associated with his favorite Major League Baseball players, just as he always did. He could have won the grand prize of $10 million, but he chose the 'lucky ball' number 12, while the needed one was number 13.

Window Cleaning Championships

It turns out there are actual championships for window cleaning. According to the rules, you must clean three windows as quickly as possible without leaving streaks. For 15 years, the absolute record has been held by Brit Terry 'Turbo' Burrows - his best result of 9.14 seconds is recorded in the Guinness Book.

"Brainrot" is the Word of the Year

"Brainrot" is the Word of the Year according to the Oxford Dictionary. This term describes the consumption of low-quality and mindless internet content that is popular among Generation Alpha. Notable examples of this include "Skibidi", "Sigma", and "Rizz".

Squid Game series competition held in Paris

A competition from the Squid Game series was held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. For the "Red Light, Green Light" challenge, 456 participants were divided into three teams led by French influencers. The team of blogger Inoxtag won - 69 participants reached the finish line.

Panasonic Revives Its Founder with a Digital Clone

Japanese company Panasonic has decided to bring back its founder Konosuke Matsushita by creating a digital clone of him. The AI was trained based on the works, speeches, and interviews of the brilliant businessman who passed away in 1989. The model, trained on 3000 voice recordings, will share wisdom and provide advice to the corporation.

Orcas Learn to Kill the Largest Fish on Earth

Orcas have learned to kill the largest fish on Earth - whale sharks. Scientists have discovered that the predators work together to flip the 18-meter-long fish, bringing them into a state of tonic immobility. When orcas hunt, they act as a unified team, striking the whale shark to turn it upside down. In this position, the sharks fall into a state of tonic immobility, losing the ability to move or dive deep. This allows the predators to access the less protected areas of the prey's body. After this, the killer whales feast.

Notre-Dame Reopens After Restoration

One of the world's most famous cathedrals and a symbol of France, Notre-Dame, has been restored five years after a devastating fire. The restoration cost the country almost a billion euros, and a significant portion of the investment was spent on a modern firefighting system. The official opening will take place on December 7.

New Chinese technologies

The Chinese have unveiled a technology for high-density optical data storage on a diamond disk. It is the size of a regular DVD and can hold 10,000 times more data than a standard DVD disk. Chinese researchers estimate that the diamond medium created using their technology will be able to retain information for millions of years. Ultra-fast lasers with pulses lasting about 200 fs are used to write and read data, encoding information into the atomic structure of the diamond. These laser pulses knock carbon atoms out of the crystal lattice, creating vacancies - voids in the material's structure that determine the brightness of the response and contain the recorded information that can be retrieved.