Chinese Inventor Creates Earthquake Bunker Bed

A skilled inventor from China has built an earthquake bunker bed. As soon as the sensors detect seismic activity, the person inside falls into the bunker where they have emergency supplies, including food, water, an oxygen tank, and a projector that can be powered by a hand generator. To simplify the search for rescuers, a loud sound signal is activated by pressing a button.

Stolen Picasso and Chagall Paintings Found in Belgium

Belgian police have arrested a man who was keeping stolen paintings by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall in the basement of his house. The paintings are estimated to be worth $900,000.

Hertz to Remove 20,000 Electric Cars from Rental Fleet due to Costly Repairs

One of the largest car rental services, Hertz, will get rid of 20,000 electric cars - a third of its fleet - and replace them with gasoline models. The main reason is the high cost of post-accident repairs. The repositioning is estimated at $245 million, but the ongoing maintenance of these vehicles (mostly Tesla) would be even more expensive. In the future, Hertz will continue to reduce the proportion of electric cars, although it recently planned to buy 350,000 cars from Tesla, GM, and Polestar.

Japanese Government Launches App for Genuine Relationships

The Japanese government is set to launch an application for genuine relationships. The service team will check annual income, request documents to verify identity, and, attention, examine marital status and the presence of children. The coolest feature is the strict selection of photos. It will not be possible to add photoshopped selfies to the page; instead, only passport photos can be used.

The Potential Emergence of the First Trillionaire

In the next decade, the world may witness the rise of its first trillionaire, according to Oxfam International, an organization combating poverty. It is projected that this individual's fortune will surpass $1,000,000,000,000. However, this growth in extreme wealth will also lead to an increase in inequality between the super-rich and the majority of the population. In recent years, the top five billionaires have doubled their wealth, while nearly five billion people have become poorer.

Four-year-old girl sets record in Everest ascent

Four-year-old Zara Shifra has become the youngest person to reach the base camp of Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,300 meters above sea level. Zara, a citizen of the Czech Republic and Canada, lives in Malaysia with her parents and seven-year-old brother. She has been trained since infancy and last year she walked through the jungles for over 2,200 kilometers. She never swims in warm water and sometimes adds ice to it. According to her parents, thanks to careful acclimatization, her blood oxygen saturation never dropped below 90%.

Soil samples from the asteroid Bennu have arrived on Earth

Scientists from NASA spent 4 months trying to open the container with soil - the capsule was too tightly sealed. Under the lid of the container, ~70 grams of asteroidal matter were collected - this is a record amount of material delivered from space. And this is not even the contents of the container. When all the necessary conditions are met, scientists will extract the contents of the container and send it to laboratories around the world.

Nio ET9: Smooth Ride Experience With Active Hydro Suspension

One of the features of the Nio ET9 electric sedan is its active hydro suspension, which allows the wheels to rapidly lower and raise within a 10 cm range. As the Chinese say, a ride in this car can be compared to flying - you won't feel a single pothole on the road.

Drug detection tests

Drug tests for detecting narcotics in alcohol will be introduced in bars in the United States. The law, which requires bar owners to distribute such tests to customers, was passed in California to prevent cases of sexual assault. According to statistics, the main victims of rapists who spike drugs in alcohol are mostly girls.

How Learning a Second Language Changes Brain Connections

Neuropsychologists have discovered how studying a second language alters brain connections. Scientists conducted intensive language courses for Arabic-speaking individuals who moved to Germany, monitoring their progress using MRI. Analysis revealed enhanced interneuronal connections in the brain's language network in the white matter and the involvement of additional areas in the right hemisphere. However, simultaneously, connections between the right and left halves of the brain, connected by the corpus callosum, decreased. This may have freed up additional resources for acquiring the new language. Overall, the adult brain adapted to new cognitive demands by modulating structural connections within and between hemispheres. These findings have helped improve understanding of how people acquire languages.

Record amount

A total of 33 tons of coins, thrown by tourists into Rome's Trevi Fountain, have been collected and amounted to 1.6 million euros. This record-breaking sum was gathered within a year, surpassing the income of most city museums. In 2022, tourists threw coins worth 1.4 million euros into the fountain. Employees of the energy company Acea collect them at least three times a week, and sometimes even daily. Not only euros but also dollars, pounds, and currencies of other countries are retrieved from the fountain. Foreign currencies are separated and exchanged according to the current exchange rate. All funds are directed towards charity.

Musician Plays Guitar During Brain Surgery to Preserve Hand Function

Professional guitarist Christian Nolan underwent planned neurosurgical brain tumor removal surgery in December 2023 at a clinic in Miami. His treating doctors asked him to bring his guitar along to play during the procedure. This would allow the surgeons to ensure they did not disturb the areas responsible for hand movement. The musician performed songs by the Deftones while the doctors removed the tumor. The surgery was successful, and the patient is undergoing a course of conservative therapy, with his guitar-playing skills preserved.

Giant cargo ship

Chinese company BYD has constructed a gigantic cargo ship for transporting its electric cars to Europe. The length of the BYD Explorer No. 1's body is nearly 200 meters, which is equivalent to two football fields. It will be able to deliver 7,000 cars in one trip. Even when fully loaded, it will be able to travel up to 29,200 km without stops. For reference, last year China became the world's largest car exporter, and BYD alone sold over 3 million cars in 2023.

China has started to produce solar roofing tiles

Prices for such a roof are currently at their peak - around $207 per square meter. However, according to eco-optimists' calculations, prices will decrease in the future. Based on the current price, Hanergy estimates the potential domestic market to be 1.4 trillion yuan per year and the global market to be at least twice as large. During a presentation in Beijing, a construction team was able to build a 50 square meter roof using 168 pieces of the new solar roofing tiles in approximately 40 minutes. This installation has a capacity of 5 kW.

Woman with Down Syndrome Becomes Member of Parliament in Spain

In Spain, for the first time, a woman with Down syndrome, 46-year-old politician Mar Gálseran, has become a member of parliament. She entered the parliament of the autonomous community of Valencia. Gálseran intends to prove that she is capable of holding such a responsible position and to encourage society to see not disability, but a person.

Successful SpaceX tests

SpaceX has successfully tested the direct connection of its satellite internet, Starlink, to smartphones. It is specified that messages were sent between two smartphones using the Direct to Cell technology. The technology does not require a base station or a special module in the smartphone. The company intends to launch its mobile service for direct communication with Starlink on the market next year.

First nuclear battery

Chinese company Betavolt claims to have created the first nuclear battery for mobile devices, stating that your smartphone will not need to be charged for 50 years with it. The Betavolt development, which is smaller than a coin, uses Nickel-63 and diamond semiconductors. In theory, electronics will work almost indefinitely with it. The company claims that the battery is completely safe - temperature does not affect the processes inside the battery, and nuclear components will simply decay after the end of their lifespan. Testing is not yet complete, but production of the 1-watt power model is planned for 2025.

Italian doctors successfully restore paralyzed hand for the first time in history

Italian doctors have achieved a groundbreaking medical milestone by restoring function to a paralyzed hand for the first time in history. The patient, a 55-year-old healthcare worker who was involved in a car accident five months ago, underwent a 12-hour surgery where surgeons performed a nerve tissue transplantation from the patient's leg to the paralyzed part of the body.

Dublin Tops the List for Traffic Congestion Worldwide

Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has claimed the top spot in the world for the amount of time its residents spend in traffic jams. These findings were revealed by the traffic analysis company TomTom, who analyzed the road situation in 387 cities across 55 countries worldwide. According to their data, Dubliners lost 158 hours in traffic congestion, with their travel time increasing by 66%. Lima, the capital of Peru, came in second place with 157 hours, followed by Mexico City with 152 hours.

First Execution by Nitrogen Gas in the USA

The first execution by nitrogen gas is planned to be carried out in the United States. Kenneth Eugene Smith is the inmate scheduled to be executed. He was convicted for the murder of a woman in 1988, ordered by her priest-husband who wanted to obtain insurance money to pay off his debts. Smith is one of the two surviving individuals in the United States who survived a failed attempt at a death sentence. In November 2022, his planned execution through lethal injection in Alabama was botched when attempts to insert a catheter into his vein were unsuccessful. Apart from Alabama, such executions are only allowed in Oklahoma and Mississippi.