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11/13/2024
10/22/2024
10/20/2024
A new Guinness World Record (audio)
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Taller than the Tower of Pisa????
The world's largest pair of jeans has been unveiled in China - and the supersized clothing item is taller than the Tower of Pisa
The gigantic denim claimed the record on 28 September when it was put on display in Fumian, Guangxi, China.
The jeans stretch an impressive 76.34 m in length and have a waist circumference of 58.164 m.
To help you picture the size, the height of the jeans falls between the Tower of Pisa in Italy (55 m) and the Statue of Liberty, including the pedestal (93).
Made from 5.5 km of fabric, the zipper is 7.8-m-long and the stainless steel button has a massive 1.2-m-diameter and a weight of 3.6 tons.
Before this, the largest pair of jeans measured 65.50 m tall and 42.70 wide, and was achieved by Paris Perú (Peru), in Lima, Peru, on 19 February 2019.
Crafted entirely by Yixing Textile Co., Ltd. in Yulin City, the entire process - from design and weaving to cutting and sewing - was completed independently.
It took 18 days and involved over 30 skilled garment workers to bring this piece of art to life.
Recognized as one of China’s largest denim casual pants production hubs, Fumian proudly holds titles such as “World Capital of Pants” and “Famous City of Casual Clothing in China.”
From The Guinness World Record
10/18/2024
10/14/2024
The London restaurant staffed by homeless people
@bbc ❤️ Inside the London restaurant staffed almost entirely by homeless people. #London #Restaurant #Homeless #Wholesome ♬ original sound - BBC
10/13/2024
The Argentine town of Hilario Ascasubi's parrots
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The Michelin star: a blessing or a curse?
The twelve new restaurants added to the New York Michelin Guide this month, serving up cuisine ranging from “haute French” to “eco-chic”, will be toasting their success. Being featured in the handbook of the tyre-maker-turned-restaurant-critic is the first step towards receiving a Michelin star, the most coveted award in fine dining. Yet according to research recently published in the Strategic Management Journal, an improbable source of culinary intelligence, restaurants might be better off remaining starless.
Daniel Sands of University College London’s school of management tracked the fortunes of restaurants that opened in New York in 2000-14 and received a starred review in the New York Times. He found that, of this promising group, establishments which went on to get a Michelin star were more likely to close down in the years that followed than those which did not. The relationship remained even when factors such as location, price and type of cuisine were taken into account. All told, 40% of restaurants awarded Michelin stars in 2005-14 had closed by the end of 2019.
A Michelin star boosts publicity: the study found that Google search intensity rose by over a third for newly starred restaurants. But that fame comes at a price. First, Mr Sands argues, the restaurants’ customers change. Being in the limelight raises diners’ expectations and brings in tourists from farther away. Meeting guests’ greater demands piles on new costs. Second, the award puts a star-shaped target on the restaurants’ back. Businesses they deal with, such as ingredient suppliers and landlords, use the opportunity to charge more. Chefs, too, want their salaries to reflect the accolade and are more likely to be poached by competitors.
Food is not the only industry where awards are a mixed blessing. Several studies have shown that companies run by award-winning bosses underachieve relative both to their previous performance and to non-garlanded rivals. Like Michelin-starred chefs, superstar CEOs demand fatter pay packets and are more easily distracted, spending more time writing books and joining boards. In publishing, too, awards bring peril. Prizewinning books are reviewed more harshly than before their success, and worse than runners-up.
For restaurateurs who are in it for the glory, Michelin’s top award will probably remain too enticing not to pursue. But for those who simply want to stay in business, it may be safer to not quite cut the mustard. ■
From The Economist
Italy celebrates return of stolen antiquities
Italy
celebrated the return of hundreds of its antiquities from the United States last
May. The property included ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and
documents valued at $65 million.
The
pieces were stolen years ago. They were later sold to American museum, galleries and
collectors. Their return came after a successful criminal investigation.
Officials
of Italy’s Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage
presented the returned objects at a press event in Rome.
A
team of American officials attended the presentation. They included U.S.
Ambassador Jack Markell and Matthew Bogdanos, chief of the antiquities
trafficking unit of the New York district attorney's office.
It
marked the latest presentation of property return in Italy’s long effort to
recover antiquities stolen from its territory. The thieves, called tombaroli in
Italy, sold to dealers who often lied on ownership records to
resell the antiquities.
Among
the most valuable pieces presented was a fourth-century Naxos silver coin.
The coin has an image of the Greek god of wine, Dionysius. It was taken from an
illegal dig site in Sicily and transported to Britain. It was found in New York
last year as part of an investigation into a noted British coin dealer. It was
being offered for sale for $500,000.
Other
objects were returned from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The
returned objects also included a life-sized bronze statue of a person, several vases from the ancient Etruscan
civilization and paintings from the 16th and 19th centuries that once belonged
to Italian museums, religious centers and private homes.
9/30/2024
Japan and electric suitcases
Record numbers of
tourists are traveling to Japan to take advantage of the weakness of the Japanese yen. Some tourists are running into trouble with
Japanese authorities because they ride suitcases
with electric motors in places where they must not be used.
Electric
motorized suitcases were designed to get
people quickly around airports and train stations. Japanese authorities are
facing a rise in incidents of foreign visitors using them
illegally on public roads.
Electric suitcases are very
popular in Asia. However, in Japan motorized vehicles must be used inside
buildings. Riders can only use them on roads with the required safety equipment
and a driver's license.
A Chinese woman became the
first person to be arrested in Japan in June for unlicensed driving of a
three-wheeled electric suitcase on a sidewalk in Osaka.
In early July, a boy from
Indonesia rode an electric suitcase through a crowd of pedestrians on a street
of Osaka's Dotonbori district, one of the busiest shopping areas in Japan. His
family was very surprised when police told them that riding electric suitcases
on roads is illegal in Japan. The family was shocked because in Indonesia people
can use them anywhere.
An electric suitcase has a
built-in battery and an electric motor and can travel at around 10 kilometers
per hour. Those sold in Japan are priced at around 100,000 yen ($640).
Under Japanese traffic law,
the suitcases are defined as "motorized bicycles," a category that
includes mini motorcycles with 50 cc or smaller engines. As such, they must be
registered and equipped with a rear view mirror and with turn signals. Drivers must
wear a helmet and carry liability insurance.
"Unexpected new forms
of transport will continue to emerge," said Takeru Shibayama, a senior
scientist at the Vienna University of Technology's Institute for Transportation.
“Japan must discuss a new classification of motorized bicycles to prevent
accidents involving suitcases”.
Article from Kyodonews and Daily Mail
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Mexico City driver's license
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The longest traffic jam in history
@unique.planet The Longest Traffic Jam In History 🚦🚗🚙 #fyp #traffic #trafficjam #record #fy ♬ Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose
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9/03/2024
Apple will debut the first generative AI iPhone
Apple has announced the date of its next
major event, where they will launch the iPhone 16
On Monday, September 9 the tech giant will
host a special event with the tag line “It’s Glowtime.” The event will take
place at 10 am PT at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park and will be streamed
online.
Though it’s not clear yet what “glowtime”
is referring to, embedded artificial intelligence will be a key feature of the
latest iPhone.
In June, Apple announced
generative AI features for the iPhone at its annual Worldwide Developers
Conference. The company unveiled tools powered by “Apple Intelligence,”
from personalized Genmoji — Apple’s AI-generated emoji — to a smarter Siri,
which can answer questions about your schedule, what’s in your email and what
time your flight is landing.
The upcoming iPhone 16 is expected to be
the first device designed fully with AI in mind.
Angelo Zino, a CFRA Research technology
analyst, said the new AI features will be rolled out over the next few years.
“This will be an evolutionary process,” Zino
said.
Combining Siri with OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT-4o model will allow the assistant to recall a picture taken years ago,
provide more specific information, and even possibly learn the user’s
preferences and personality over time.
One of the biggest questions about the
device launch is how much it will cost. Apple enthusiasts believe iPhone models
should be cheaper, but investors prefer maximum profit.
Apple’s competitors are already exploring the
generative AI space, such as Samsung’s “circle to search” feature, which allows users to quickly
search for information on a device’s screen with a finger gesture.
Article from CNN (edited)
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9/01/2024
10 European Cities Destroyed by Overtourism (video)
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Mallorca's beer ban in party district (video)
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8/13/2024
An online quiz: Although, Though, Despite, In spite of and However
To practice the use of
although
though
despite
in spite of
however
How did you do?
8/10/2024
The world's largest 3D-printed community (Captions)
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8/04/2024
Volkswagen Beetle in Mexico
Driving a 1996 Volkswagen Beetle up a steep hill in Cuautepec
German automaker Volkswagen
(VW) ended production of its Beetle model in 2019. But some communities around
the world are still demonstrating a lasting love for this famous vehicle.
One such area is Cuautepec, a
neighborhood outside of Mexico City. There are so many VW Beetles in the area
that some local people even nicknamed the neighborhood
“Vocholandia.” In Mexico, the VW Beetle is known as the “vocho.”
The vehicle has a long history
in the Mexican capital. At one time, VW Beetles were commonly used as taxis throughout
the city. But today, the northern neighborhood of Cuautepec is the place to go
to see the most Beetles.
Janette Navarro is the owner
of a 1996 Beetle. Navarro lives in the neighborhood. One reason the cars are so
popular is because the community is hilly, and the Beetle’s back-positioned
engine provides added power.
“No other car gets up here,”
Navarro said. “Just the vocho.” She drives her VW as a taxi. She started the
job eight years ago to support her three children. The job helped her put them
through school.
The first Beetle was introduced
in Germany in 1938. The first vehicle was developed by Austrian-born automotive
engineer Ferdinand Porsche. The Beetle grew to become very popular in the
United States and in other countries. It is known as “the people’s car.”
Beetles were manufactured in
Mexico, but production of older models ended in 2003. A newer model was
produced after that, but VW stopped all manufacturing of the vehicles in 2019.
The number of vochos is dropping off in Mexico City. Repairman David Enojosa said his family’s shop used to specialize mainly in Beetle parts. But now, they are no longer as easy to get because VW stopped production five years ago.
Enojosa predicted that if shortages continue, the area’s Beetles will disappear in two or three years. He added, “Before we had too many parts for vochos, now there aren’t enough.”
Volkswagen Beetle taxi drivers change a flat tire in Cuautepec
From VOA News (edited)
AP Photos/Aurea Del Rosario
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