Los Angeles has hired robots to police one of its parks but it’s not working out. When a woman tried to report a crime, the robot told her to go away and then “trundled away while singing a song . . . pausing periodically to say ‘Please keep the park clean.’
Eliud Kipchoge, a 34-year old Kenyan, broke the two-hour barrier for the marathon. But it wasn’t exactly a marathon. To hit 1:59:40 in 26.2 miles you would need to run approximately 4:30 minutes/mile 26-times in a row!
Scholars in Japan found a missing chapter from The Tale of Genji in a storage closet. Game of Thrones fans complained about the one-year hiatus until the final season. The Tale’s final chapter had been missing since the 11th century. Junko Yamamoto, a professor who specializes in literature of the Heian Period could hardly contain her excitement.
A 73-year-old activist Berliner was arrested and fined for painting over racist and xenophobic graffiti with hearts.
Maybe just make the graffiti invisible? A Canadian company has invented something they call Quantum Stealth, “material is as thin as paper, inexpensive, and requires no power source” that can make things effectively invisible.
A GOP congressman (and former Army staff sergeant) wished the US Navy happy birthday on twitter with a photo of a battleship that others helpfully pointed out was a Kirov-class battlecruiser in the Russian navy.
The Air Force upgraded its nuclear missile command and control centers so they no longer require 1970s era 8-inch floppy disks.
The mayor of a village in rural Italy is blaming Google Maps for sending tourists down impassable roads where they get stuck and have to be rescued. In the past year, they’ve had to send out the local mountain rescue team 144 times.
Of course you could just send your robot. In a curious case of technology looking for a use, Japanese airline ANA unveiled a robot that they say will allow people to “experience faraway places without having to travel there.”
Isn’t the journey half the fun? Unless you’re on Amtrak.