Around The World | What We’re Reading
It’s become the signpost that climate change is not only on the horizon, but is changing our horizon. A calamity that has occupied headlines for the last week, as one reporter said, “it’s bizarre to talk about the weather in terms of feet not inches.” America soaks up the most extreme rain event in its history, Hurricane Harvey. In between the headlines, other high points include a breakfast cereal company trying to copyright its own colour, a direct 20-hour flight from London to Sydney in the works and apps being used on the frontline of healthcare to detect diseases such as pancreatic cancer. Put it all altogether and you have another bizarre week on planet earth.
“The rain from Harvey is in a class of its own. The storm has unloaded over 50 inches of rain east of Houston.” What happens when records are consistently being broken? And when do governments start listening and changing their attitude?
“From Amsterdam and Edinburgh to Singapore and Johannesburg, multimedia artist Leah Gordon has been photographing airport prayer spaces around the world for the past six years.” It’s a room we all walk past – the prayer room at airports. Take a look at this haunting visual essay.
“Cadbury secured a trademark for royal purple, Moët Hennessy has exclusive rights to the yellow-orange color.” Enter the bizarre world of colours being owned by corporations.
77% of acts performing at music festivals in the last 12 months have been male. Go figure?
“But what if you took heroin and felt nothing? What if there was a treatment that canceled its effects on the brain? Who then would bother to take it?” Researchers in California recently announced a vaccine that can block the narcotic effects of heroin in mice and monkeys. Human trials might be next.
“A direct flight would cut total journey time by up to four hours on Sydney-London and almost three hours on Melbourne-New York.” For all those antipodeans living in London, jet lag has never sounded so appealing…
“The stunt lit up social media over the weekend, as the marijuana in limited-edition packaging went on sale in a pop-up shop in West Hollywood.” Netflix celebrated several of its shows by releasing its own cannabis flavoured packing. A cheeky nod to its own success and one of the fastest growing industries in the US.
By analyzing “increased bilirubin levels in a person’s sclera, or the white part of the eye”, this mobile app can tell you if you have pancreatic cancer.
