January-born People Receive Fewer Gifts, Study Finds

People born in January receive an average of $1400 less in gifts throughout their lives compared to others. This is due to their friends and family trying to limit expenses after the holiday season. These findings were revealed by the British financial platform Money.

Chocolate constructor

A local confectionery in Japan has released a chocolate construction kit. The kit includes a 2-square meter castle made entirely of chocolate, which will be delivered in 16 boxes. It is recommended to assemble the set together with friends or family and to resist the temptation of eating the chocolate pieces while building. The price is $188.

Experiment on implementing a four-day workweek

An experiment on implementing a four-day workweek will be conducted in the Dominican Republic. It will begin on February 1 and last for six months. It is reported that the experiment aims to explore potential benefits for both employees and participating companies. The employees will work fewer hours for only three months, while the rest of the time will be spent on data analysis.

Pre-order for a Life-sized Silicone Bust of Neytiri from Avatar Opens in Japan

Pre-orders have opened in Japan for a life-sized silicone bust of Neytiri from the movie Avatar, priced at $8946. The figure is made of silicone, and the dots on her face are made to glow under ultraviolet light. The bust stands at a height of 117.3 cm and also comes with a crown and a stand with plants. Neytiri will be available for purchase in December 2024, shortly before the release of the new Avatar installment.

Hello Street Cat: Feeding and Watching Street Cats in China

China has launched the Hello Street Cat service, through which you can donate food for street cats and then watch them live. A portion of food is added immediately after someone's donation, and anyone can install such a booth near their house by simply submitting an application. Although the authors primarily aimed to feed stray cats, their neighbors, such as ducks, raccoons, and even hedgehogs, often come to enjoy a treat as well.

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.