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4/26/2026
The Eiffel Tower staircase
The Eiffel tower opened in
1889, during the Universal Exposition, a fair celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the French Revolution. In 1983, they renovated the Tower: they
removed some parts of the staircase and elevators replaced them.
Eiffel Tower officials sold 20 of these
parts in 1983. Most are still with their first owners. Other parts
can be seen in museums in Paris, in eastern France, in Japan,
and near the Statue of Liberty.
Artcurial’s Art Deco department in
Paris will sell a 14-step section of the historic staircase next
month.
It connected the second and third
floors. It is 2.75 meters high and 1.75 meters wide. Buyers
will need a lot of money — and a big house — to keep it. Experts say it
will cost between $140,000 and $175,000.
Artcurial associate director said the
staircase section is “more than just a piece of history. It’s an immersive
experience, a trip through time and space. Imagine yourself in 1889 on this
staircase, between 113 and 276 meters high, with no safety barriers, but with a
360-degree view of Paris.”
Artcurial sold other sections before. The
record sale was section 13, which was in very good conditions – like the one
they are offering now. A Chinese unidentified collector bought it for about
$612,000 in 2016.
From ScrippNews (edited)
Man wins Picasso painting
A man has won a
painting by Pablo Picasso, worth about $1.2
million.
The winner is Ari
Hodara. He is an engineer and he likes art. He found out he won when he
answered a video call from Christie's in Paris.
At first, he did
not believe it. He asked, “How do I know this is not a joke?”
People bought
more than 120,000 tickets for the raffle. Each ticket cost about $120. In total, they raised about $13 million for Alzheimer’s research.
This fund raising
raffle is called “1 Picasso for 100 euros.” It started in 2013.
The prize this
year was a painting called Tête de Femme (“Head of a Woman”). It shows Dora
Maar, who was Picasso’s partner and also an artist.
Hodara, the
winner, said, “I was surprised. When you buy a ticket, you don’t expect to win.
But I am very happy because I love painting.”
His ticket number was 94,715. He bought it over the weekend after learning about the competition by chance.
French journalist Peri Cochin organized the raffle with help from Picasso’s family and foundation.
Although the
tickets were sold in dozens of countries worldwide, she said it was great that
the winner lives in Paris because it will be easy to give him the painting.
Paris is also the
city where Picasso lived and worked for many years.
From the money
raised, about $1.2 million will
go to the Opera Gallery that owned the painting. The rest will go to France's Alzheimer's
Research Foundation.
The first edition
of the raffle was in 2013. A 25-year old American man from the U.S. won, and the money helped
protect the Lebanese city of Tyre - a
Unesco World Heritage Site.
A 58-year-old Italian accountant won the second edition, in 2020, after
her son bought her a ticket for Christmas. Proceeds were donated to sanitation
projects in schools and villages in Cameroon, Madagascar and Morocco.
From BBC (edited)
4/17/2026
4/15/2026
Arguments for and against phone-free venues
Do you agree or disagree with these arguments? 👎 Arguments for phone-free venues
|
1. Encourages
real social interaction.
People are more likely to talk, connect, and engage without digital
distractions. 2. Improves
atmosphere. A room
without glowing screens often feels more intimate and lively. 3. Enhances
dining experience. Guests
focus more on the food, drinks, and company. 4. Reduces
noise and eliminates
disruptive sounds from phones. 5. Promotes
mindfulness. Being present
can improve mood and overall satisfaction. 6. Creates a
unique brand identity.
Protects privacy. Less risk of
being photographed or recorded without consent. 7. Encourages
longer, deeper conversations.
Without interruptions, discussions tend to be more meaningful. 8. Reduces
screen addiction behaviors.
Provides a break from constant scrolling and notifications. 9. Better
service interactions.
Customers may be more attentive to staff, improving communication and service
quality. 10. Attracts a niche clientele tired of digital
overload, differentiating the business. 👎 Arguments against phone-free venues 1.
Some customers
may feel uncomfortable or unsafe without access to their phones. 2.
Many people
need to stay reachable for job responsibilities. 3.
Limits accessibility for those using phones for translation, menus, or
dietary apps. 4.
Can feel restrictive or controlling. Customers may dislike being told what they can or cannot do. 5.
Alienates younger patrons who rely on phones for photos, reviews, and
social sharing. 6.
Emergency concerns - Immediate
access to a phone can be important in urgent situations. 7.
Awkward for solo customers. Phones
often provide comfort or entertainment when alone. 8.
Potential enforcement issues. Staff
may struggle to enforce the rule consistently. 9.
Customer dissatisfaction risk. Some
patrons may choose not to visit due to the policy. 10. Risks lost revenue from influencers and foodies who promote via social
media. Harms business visibility, as no user-generated content means less
free marketing online. |
A phone-free bar in Washington, DC (video)
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A phone-free bar in Charlotte, North Carolina (audio)
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3/29/2026
Chip wreck!
Visitors
to a UK beach saw something unusual earlier this week. The shoreline was
covered in French fries or "chips" in British English.
Thousands
of bags of chips washed up on a beach in the county of Sussex. The bags were in
shipping containers that fell off cargo ships in the English Channel
Due to bad weather three of the containers fell
into the sea.
Currents
carried one of the containers and the chips to the shore. Joel Bonnici, a local
man, was the first to find the chips. He said: "From a distance, it looked
like the golden sand of a Caribbean beach, but on closer inspection, I saw not
just the chips, I also found chip bags. In some areas, the chips were 75 cm
deep."
Many
people came to the beach to help to clean-up. Removing the plastic bags is a
priority.
A
local official warned people to be careful if they go to the beach. She said:
"Please keep dogs on leads as some of the food items on the beach may be
harmful to them."
The
chip spill is the second such event in Sussex recently. Last month, thousands
of bananas washed ashore.
Adapted from BBC
Germany's labor shortage
Germany is
Europe's largest economy. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW
make some of the most famous cars in the world. Germany is also a leader in
renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
Germany is
facing a massive labor shortage because many older workers are retiring and the
birth rate is falling. There are not enough young people to fill hundreds of
thousands of job vacancies. According
to a report by the Bertelsmann Foundation think tank, Germany’s labor shortage
is of about 288,000 workers per year and the workforce will shrink by 10% by 2040.
On the other hand, India is a country with 600 million
people below the age of 25. Only 12 million come into the workforce every year.
So there's a huge labor surplus.
Germany is
trying to fix their shortage problem by asking workers from India to fill many
vacancies. Germany‘s goal is to attract people
to work in engineering, healthcare, and manufacturing as well as nurses,
caregivers and IT professionals.
The German government is making it easier for Indian people to get visas. For example, last year Germany increased the number of visas available to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000.
Visa approval time for Indian applicants is now just two weeks. Before 2024 it was nine months. The visa application process became fully digital, eliminating the need for in-person consulate visits.
Official Germany figures show that there were 136,670 Indian workers in the country, up from 23,320 back in 2015.
Instagram link HERE
Article adapted from DW and NDTV
2/23/2026
How did potatoes change the world? (video)
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German potatoes - The Kartoffel-Flut
They are calling it the Kartoffel-Flut: the potato flood. Germany, the largest producer of potatoes in the European Union, together with
Belgium, France and the Netherlands are enjoying the biggest harvest in a
generation, owing to optimal growing conditions. Last year’s yield was 17%
higher than the long-term average..
In fact, there are so many potatoes—one farm near
Leipzig had a surplus of 4,000 tons—that farmers are giving them away. There
are 200 distribution points in Berlin. Schools, homeless shelters and even the zoo are stocking up.
The potato is filling and calorie-dense relative to
other vegetables. It is used in an extraordinary variety of meals. The organizers
of the giveaway launched a recipe challenge to inspire Kartoffel cooks, sharing tips for soups, salads and plenty
more.
After the potato discovery by Spanish conquerors in the Andes, the potato became a staple food worldwide. Potatoes
now feed over 1 billion people in more than 150 countries. Crop failure can have
disastrous consequences. After the harvest in Ireland was infected and lost in
1845, 1 million people died and almost 3 million emigrated.
To avoid famine, in 1756 Frederick the Great of
Prussia issued a “potato decree” that obliged farmers to plant potatoes on at
least a tenth of their land. Local traditions say that his royal guards
protected potato fields for farmers to think it a precious crop. Today visitors
leave potatoes on Frederick’s tomb at Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. ■
You can also watch the video by clicking HERE
Article from The Economist (edited)
1/27/2026
US climber scales Taiwan's tallest building without ropes (video)
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Climbing the Taipei 101 skyscraper
Climber Alex Honnold, the famous 40-year-old American, successfully scaled the 1,667 feet Taipei 101 skyscraper - formerly the world's tallest building - on Sunday January 25 without any ropes.
His nerve-shredding stunt was broadcast live by Netflix, although the feed was on a 10-second delay in case tragedy struck.
Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as Honnold reached the top of the spire of the tower about 90 minutes after he started. Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, he waved his arms back and forth over his head and took selfies.
Honnold received a 'mid six-figure sum' for agreeing to take part. He also acknowledged that the amount was "less than what my agent wanted." According to sources close to the organization, the payment fell in the mid-six-figure range in dollars, that is, between USD 400,000 and USD 600,000.
Although for much of the public this is a high figure, within the context of professional sports and entertainment it is low, especially considering the extreme risk the climber assumed during the broadcast.
The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors of the middle section - the 'bamboo boxes' that give the building its signature look.
Divided into eight, each segment has eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by balconies, where he took short rests as he made his way upward.
'It was like what a view, it´s incredible, what a beautiful day,' he said afterward. 'It was very windy, so I was like, don´t fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely. But it was, what an incredible position, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.'
Having a cheering crowd was unusual for Honnold, whose climbs are usually in remote areas.
'When I was leaving the ground, it was intense, there were so many people watching, But then honestly, they were all wishing me well. I mean basically it just made the whole experience feel almost more festive, all these nice people were out supporting me and having a good time,' he said.
The much-anticipated event caused excitement across the globe but many people questioned the 40-year-old's motive, because he is a married father of two girls.
Critics of Honnold asked why he risked his life with two young daughters: June and Alice
Honnold is not be the first climber to ascend the skyscraper but is the first to do so without a rope.
French rock climber Alain Robert scaled the building on Christmas Day in 2004, as part of the grand opening of what was then the world's tallest building. He took nearly four hours to finish, almost twice as long as what he anticipated,. He injured an elbow and faced wind and rain.
Honnold, who trained for months, previously did not think the climb would be hard.. He practiced the moves on the building.
Before the climbing, speaking on a podcast, he said: 'I don't think it'll be that extreme. We'll see. I think it's the perfect sweet spot where it's hard enough to be engaging for me and at the same time, I feel I can do it without ropes. It will be an interesting climb.'
From Daily Mail (edited)
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