Pushing ones buttons
blistering white heat of innovation continues to shine in Japan, where robots are integrating into daily lives, taking on unwanted chores such as ferrying goods, stacking shelves and, er, making small talk during your date.
Yes, awkward silences can, in theory, now last the entire event, as attendees discovered during a speed dating session hosted by the Contents Innovation Program Association that saw hopeful singletons accompanied by tiny, automated representatives.
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The robot chaperones chatted to each other, drawing from a 45-question survey filled out by participants, reports The Japan News, while the prospective couples were free to sip quietly on their drinks.
Feedback is cheered by the idea, but why stop at a first date? If robots can do all of the dating, from introduction to break-up, it will leave people with much more time to spend creating more robots. Progress!
“Ace Bailey writes: “As a former hotel owner in the Canadian ski resort of Banff I was always confident my rooms would be full given the man in charge of marketing: “ĝ
Chemical conundrum
BREXIT preparations by the UK government continue apace, with Barry Cash receiving the following advice via text. “If your business uses a chemical, you may need to register it once the UK leaves the EU,” it proclaims. “To prepare: 1. identify the chemical you use 2. understand how to register that chemical 3. prepare for the registration.”
Helpful stuff. But as Barry says: “I can’t think of a business that doesn’t use chemicals.”
Hot body
MORE chemical crises: a case study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association warns of the risks posed by cremation – to employees. It describes a crematorium in Arizona that was contaminated with radioactive particles following the cremation of a man who had received treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Radiopharmaceuticals injected into the man during his life were released on burning, and found their way into all of the equipment used by employees. Examination of one crematorium worker’s urine found evidence of a different radioactive substance, suggesting this wasn’t the first time he had been exposed.
The authors call for better monitoring of crematorium employees, especially with cremation rates in the US rising to 50 per cent.
Jungle puzzle
A HUMPBACK whale has been discovered in the midst of the Brazilian rainforest. Locals on the island of Marajo, at the mouth of the Amazon river, found the 8-metre-long juvenile whale some 15 metres from the shoreline, caught in mangrove forest.
Some have seen it as an omen, an indictment of the state of the world’s oceans; others suspect alien activity. More pragmatic-minded biologists, meanwhile, suggest the animal died and was then washed ashore by strong tides augmented by the full moon. They are examining the carcass to see if a cause of death can be determined.
News bug
writes in to show his appreciation for the juxtaposition of our story about a host of Fox & Friends explaining how germs aren’t real, since he can’t see them (23 February), with the neighbouring Last Word page, where a contributor explains how the poor hygiene standards of 18th-century Europe led to the transmission of virulent diseases.
Be sure to tune in to Fox News for the very latest coverage of infectious disease outbreaks.
Off the rails
want to go nowhere fast, you might consider taking Line 6 in Chongqing, China, to Caojiawan station. There you will find, well, nothing, as the expanding metro system has outpaced the expansion of the city. As a symbol of the rapid growth in China you could do worse.
Day trippers to the richly ornamented station – all gleaming tiles and polished metal – will find themselves exiting into a field overgrown with weeds. There are no connecting services, no paved highway and no local transport. Lucky visitors might be able to flag down a passing car to take them away. Fingers have been pointed at town planners, who administer road and rail infrastructure from two different departments.
But for Chongqing residents looking to get away from it all, what better route than Line 6?
Rhyme time
“MAY I suggest,” writes Melvyn Browett, “you hold a competition to find an up-to-date version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Indeed, Melvyn, enough with pretty descriptions and simile, it is about time we had a slew of scientifically accurate nursery rhymes. It is never too early to introduce children to the wonders of astrophysics.
Feedback risks having three points added to its poetic licence for the following:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Now I know just what you are
Hot corona, plasma core
Giant fusion reactor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
You’re very big but very far
We’re sure readers can offer improvements on this rhyme and others.
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