krebs’ cycle

Researchers at the University of Chicago are perfecting a solar-capture process that mimics closely the process of photosynthesis rather than traditional photovoltaic that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Instead, the membrane of an “artificial leaf” uses solar energy to convert atmospheric carbon-dioxide into a fuel that can be burnt. The engineers are achieving efficiencies not quite at botanical levels but at least as something comparable to the (sunk) costs of refining gasoline.

foot traffic

Quite used to our Ampelmännchen, I haven’t encountered a wordy pedestrian crossing signal for years but I did rather enjoy pondering the poor punctuation of the lack of an apostrophe in don’t—which I’d never noticed.
Granted, apostrophes can be confusing and prone to abuse and especially glaring and galling and when superfluous but I suppose in its omission—not so much, but it is wholly unrelated to the recent assault that British civil engineers launched on diction on the roadways in hopes of staving off confusion for navigation devices. It turns out—and there’s some interesting diversions and detours along the way—no one really knows why that tradition was carried on, but one’s best guess is that it was for symmetry and easier to make the NT a ligature with the earliest sign illuminated by neon tubes and skip the apostrophe.

gravy train

A retired farmer hailing from Fort Worth, Texas named Eugene Bostick began taking in unwanted dogs that people would abandon on his property and by the time he had acquired nine new canine friends, he realised that taking them all on a walk would be a much too daunting task. Thus, we learn via Twisted Sifter, Bostick got inventive by hitching plastic barrels to his tractor and puttering through the countryside on weekly outings to the sheer delight of all.

still life with wine and cheese

An interesting meta-analysis from Cornell University of over half a millennium of food and drink in art—without even the need to repair to the food-selfie iteration of the still life—reveals that we’ve always had a penchant for the exotic and indulgent and much more likely to capture that in portraiture—or as a social snapshot, rather than every day fare. With license, certain subtle messages were encoded with the spread that appears on the table and this in depth study is an appetising reflection of how tastes evolved over time and even, through the lens of the Last Supper, how portions have grown. Take a look at the gallery of artfully arranged meals for yourself to better understand what the statistics and trends disclose.

fjord fairlane

Although I was delighted every time we had to take a ferry whilst navigating Norway, I could imagine that the routine could get a little grating for a daily commute, and so as TYWKIWDBI informs—the country may soon be offering drivers an alternative in the form of tubular floating bridges that are buoyant at a point several metres below the surface of the water. The unconventional engineering is required, which should be rather seamless for drivers in a land already replete with underwater tunnels, as the fjords’ terrain is too difficult to raise a traditional bridge and delve too deeply to drill a regular tunnel—plus spoiling the scenery too, I suppose.