Four gifts for the festive season
Splainer almost never goes on sale except during this time of the year. So we hope you will take full advantage of our big discounts—available until November 7. Here are four wonderful deals for you:
- Gift friends, colleagues and relatives an annual subscription at a whopping discount. It now costs only Rs 1000. Click ‘Gift a friend’ on our ‘subscribe’ page.
- Add 12 months to your own subscription by heading over to the ‘subscribe’ page—and hitting renew.
- Use your magical referral link—available in every daily email and your account page—to offer a free month to anyone you want.
- That same link also offers that sweet Rs 500 discount on our annual subscription.
Want a bulk Diwali discount? If you plan to gift splainer to a bunch of people in your organisation or family, be sure to email us at talktous@splainer.in.
Facebook goes all ‘meta’
Yes, that’s the new name of the parent company formerly known as Facebook: Meta. It reflects Mark Zuckerberg’s new focus: “From now on, we’re going to be metaverse first, not Facebook first." What’s this metaverse? Here’s the Zuckerberg version:
“Zuckerberg is trying to reclaim the metaverse as a utopian idea that will unlock an entirely new economy of virtual goods and services. In the next decade, he thinks most people will be spending time in a fully immersive, 3D version of the internet that spans not just Meta’s hardware such as the Quest, but devices made by others. He’s pushing his teams to build technology that could one day let you show up in a virtual space as a full-bodied avatar, or appear as a hologram of yourself in the real-world living room of your friend who lives across the planet.”
Yay? Or maybe not. In any case, you can read more about his plans in this exclusive interview with The Verge. See the new logo below.
Aryan Khan arrest: The latest update
For more context for the latest developments, check out our explainer here.
One: The Bombay High Court finally granted bail to Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Damecha—after 25 days in custody. No, the judge hasn’t shared his ruling as yet. SRK’s fans—who have been remarkably quiet so far—felt brave enough to celebrate outside his home. (Indian Express)
Two: Private investigator and key independent witness Kiran Gosavi has been arrested and sent to police custody for eight days. FYI: this has nothing to do with the cruise ship case, but is related to a 2018 fraud allegation. (The Print)
Three: Meanwhile, the High Court rejected a petition demanding protection from arrest by his alleged friend Sameer Wankhede—the officer in charge of the drug bust. But the police will have to give him a notice of three days before arresting him. (Indian Express)
Speaking of the war on drugs: The Hyderabad police has gone into overdrive—and is conducting raids across the city. They are also randomly accosting people on the streets, and forcing them to turn over their phones—to search for words like ‘ganja’ in their messages. (The News Minute)
An anti-depressant for Covid?
Trial data out of Brazil shows that an antidepressant used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder—known as fluvoxamine or Luvox—can prevent severe Covid symptoms. Why this matters: A ten-day course costs only $4—and anything that keeps patients out of the hospital is a good thing. (CNN)
Google gets child-friendly
The company plans to launch a tool that allows minors or their parents to delete their photos from search. They have to file a request to do so (form here). Why this matters: Until now, the only way to remove your photo is if you could prove it was either “non-consensual explicit” or a “financial, medical and national ID.” (CNN)
More bad news about your burger
Phthalates are chemicals that disrupt your hormones and are linked to fertility, asthma and other health problems. And they are typically used to give plastic and other substances flexibility. A new US study has detected certain dangerous phthalates in 81% of fries, burritos, and cheeseburgers sold in fast food restaurants. How do they get there: plastic packaging and also gloves used by employees. Gizmodo has more details.
Speaking of contamination: After months of detective work, the Centre for Disease Control in the US has found a dangerous bacteria—which causes a rare tropical disease called melioidosis—in an aromatherapy spray produced in India. The sprays were manufactured by a global company called Gala Group—and produced at a facility operated by Ramesh Flowers in Tuticorin. At least two people have died due to the disease caused by the spray. (USA Today)
Three China stories of interest
One: For decades, researchers have been puzzled by perfectly preserved mummies found in China. They knew what these 2000-year old people looked like, but had no clue who they were or why they were in the middle of the Taklamakan Desert—known as “one of the most hostile places on Earth.” See one below:
For the longest time, experts were convinced that they were migrants from the west. But genome analysis has now established that they are locals. Why this matters: These people were genetically isolated, but despite this learnt to raise livestock and grow grains in the same way as other groups of humans. So we have evidence of cultural exchange but without genetic mixing—which challenges how we think human civilisation evolved. (Nature)
Two: This story is far more modern and very amusing. Chinese influencers stuck in the country due to Covid restrictions have found an amusing way to satisfy their wanderlust: Posing outside a Costco in Shanghai—”the pictures taken there really have the vibe of being in LA!” The totally-serious photos are even funnier. (Quartz)
Three: Here’s a bit of irony. After all that drama of banning TikTok, PubG and other evil Chinese apps, guess which is one of the top three music-streaming apps in India: The ‘made in China’ Resso. It’s beaten Gaana and Saavn in the number of active users—and has grown a whopping 599% since August, 2020. (Mint)
ABBA says hello, goodbye
First, they staged a big comeback, and released their first album in 40 years. Now, they’ve promptly announced their retirement. Benny Andersson said: “I never said myself that ABBA was never going to happen again. But I can tell you now: this is it.” (Daily Mail)
Four things to see
One: This time, it’s designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s turn to face the wrath of the Hindutva brigade. The crime: Ads for the Royal Bengal Mangalsutra collection feature both same-sex and heterosexual couples wearing a mangalsutra. To add insult to anti-sanskriti injury, some of the ‘straight’ models were photographed in a bra. No, he has not withdrawn the campaign or apologised… as yet. Example #1:
Two: A Tokyo startup has unveiled a $680,000 hoverbike that can fly for around 40 minutes at 100 kph. What makes that price tag more astonishing: hoverbikes are not allowed on the road—but can only be used at special sites in Japan. Reuters has more.
Three: Malaysian singer Namewee has been banned by China for a new music video that subtly mocks its hyper-nationalism: “The latest music video is saturated with pink objects, decorations and costumes. It involves a dancing panda and stuffed toys in the shape of bats, tweaking Chinese sensitivities over the origin of the COVID-19 coronavirus.” The colour is a reference to ‘little pinks’—a nickname for young jingoistic Chinese nationalists. And of course, the main character is a panda. (Variety)
Four: Wildlife rescuers in Siberia freed a four-month old Amur tiger cub from an illegal trap—and restored her to the wild. What makes this truly impressive: They managed to do this knowing that the frantic mama tigress was nearby. Now, that’s real courage! (Newsweek)
