OPEC+ opens the pipelines
The global oil cartel has “agreed to unleash millions of barrels of bottled-up crude over the next two years.” The group—which also includes Russia-led oil-producing states—has committed to restoring all the cuts they made at the start of the pandemic—and will raise production by 400,000 barrels a day each month through the end of 2022. With economies perking up across the world, OPEC expects oil demand in industrialized nations to rise by 6.3%—and over 50% of that growth is projected to come from the US. The falling oil prices should also offer some relief at the pump for Indians. (Wall Street Journal)
The Tokyo Olympics: A quick roundup
One: The Sea Forest Waterbay—the official venue for canoeing and rowing events—is beset by a plague of oysters:
“Massive numbers of them had attached themselves to floats intended to stop waves bouncing back across the water and on to the athletes. The oysters were discovered when puzzled officials began investigating why the floats had started sinking.”
And removing them has been a gargantuan task. In total, they have removed 14 tonnes of oysters. Irony alert: When not terrorising swimming floats, these Magaki oysters are a highly prized and very expensive delicacy. But sadly, no one will be eating these due to safety considerations. (BBC News)
Two: Toyota—which is one of the biggest event sponsors—has pulled all its Olympic-related ads. President of the company, Akio Toyoda, will also be skipping the opening ceremony. The reason: the lack of public enthusiasm for the games in the midst of a pandemic. And it’s not just Toyota:
“The fear that participation in the unpopular Games could hurt, rather than boost, their public image is beginning to be shared by other corporate sponsors. Food company Ajinomoto said last month that it will not be running Olympic-related commercials in the month of July.”
Nikkei Asia has more details on skittish sponsors. A good related read: New York magazine on the growing woes of the Tokyo Olympics.
Three: Organisers have issued an important correction. They want everyone to know that their beds are indeed sex-friendly. The manufacturer also reassured everyone: “We’ve conducted experiments, like dropping weights on top of the beds. As long as they stick to just two people in the bed, they should be strong enough to support the load.” In case you have any doubts, you can watch Irish athlete Rhys Mcclenaghan’s excellent demo:
Raj Kundra has been arrested
The businessman best known for being married to Shilpa Shetty was arrested by the Mumbai police. He is charged with being a “key conspirator” in a case involving the production and distribution of pornographic films. The FIR was first filed in February, and nine people had already been arrested—when the trail led to Kundra:
“Some of the accused arrested were owners of streaming platforms where these porn films were available for viewing with a subscription fee. An officer said that Kundra’s name came up in connection with his links to one of the companies involved in showcasing such movies on digital platforms.”
Lewis Hamilton is targeted by racists
The F1 champion crashed into his rival Max Verstappen—who then had to pull out of the British Grand Prix. Hamilton went on to win the race, but became the target of racist rage. The Mercedes team’s Instagram post celebrating Hamilton's success received racist messages including 'monkey emojis' and other racial slurs. Formula 1, the FIA and Mercedes released a joint statement condemning the abuse. Point to note: Lewis Hamilton is a rare person of colour in the predominantly white sport of F1 racing. He is also a vocal supporter of the BLM Movement, and has launched The Hamilton Commission to improve racial diversity in the sport. Sky Sports has more details. Watch the crash below:
Xiaomi beats Apple
It’s official! The Chinese smartphone has toppled the mighty US company to take the #2 spot with a global market share of 17%—while Apple is lagging at 14%. The #1 smartphone sold in the world remains Samsung. How quickly is Xiaomi growing: it shipped 83% more phones than in Q2 2020, whereas Samsung grew shipments 15% and Apple by just 1%. The reason for Xiaomi’s success: Its average selling price is around 40% and 75% cheaper than Samsung and Apple, respectively. (The Verge)
Two key bits of Covid-related news
One: A coronavirus variant known as Lambda is spreading across South America—and now accounts for more than 90% of the new infections in Peru—a steep rise from less than 0.5 percent in December. The variant remained undetected for many months because it was frequently mistaken for Gamma (Brazil). Given some evidence that Lambda may be able to dodge the immune system, the World Health Organization has designated it as a Variant of Interest (VOI). Point to note: It is still not a Variant of Concern unlike Delta etc. (National Geographic)
Two: Through the pandemic, scientists have been struggling to understand a a severe COVID-related condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C (explained here). New research suggests that it may be very similar to a condition often experienced by women using tampons called Toxic Shock Syndrome: “This level of similarity, both in sequence and structure with the bacterial toxin, tells us for sure that this segment of [coronavirus] spike has the same behavior.” The Atlantic has more on this fascinating link.
Two studies on love, sex etc.
One: Researchers looked at data from Canada and the US and found that romances do not start when people fall instantly in love—contrary to what we have been taught by every rom-com ever. Most couples start out instead as friends: “Two thirds reported that their current or most recent relationship began as a friendship. That rate jumped up to 85% among 20-somethings and LGBTQ+ participants.” Doesn’t sound surprising, but here’s what’s interesting: most scientific studies on the subject hardly ever look at these kinds of relationships—but focus instead on romantic chemistry: “We have a good understanding of how strangers become attracted to each other and start dating, but that’s simply not how most relationships begin.” (Fast Company)
Two: An eyebrow-raising Princeton study of the New York City area shows that adult entertainment services—strip clubs, escort services, adult bookstores, and adult movie theaters—may help reduce sex-related crime. The data shows that the opening of an adult entertainment establishment correlated with a reduction in sex crimes by 13% the following week—in each police precinct. But it had zero impact on any other kind of crime. The hypothesis: the reduction “is mostly driven by potential sex offenders frequenting these establishments rather than committing crimes.” (Fast Company)
The emoji survey says…
Researchers surveyed folks in seven countries—including the US, UK, Japan, France etc.—and here’s what they found. The top five emojis are: ‘laugh out loud’ 😂 ; ‘thumbs up’ 👍 ; ‘red heart’ ❤️ ; ‘wink and kiss’😘 and ‘sad face with a tear’ 😢 . The most “misunderstood” emoji is the baingan: 🍆 —followed by ‘peach’ 🍑 and ‘clown’ 🤡 . Given that at least two of those are widely used for sexting, the scope for “misunderstandings” are vast lol! (CNN)
Wipe that smile off your painted face!
A 16th-century Flemish painting known as ‘The Vegetable Seller’ was recently restored with great care. In the process, the experts made a surprising discovery. Someone had painted a smile over her face: “More and more of her face was revealed—we realized she wasn't meant to be smiling at all. She actually had quite a serious expression.” So the restorers wiped it right off to reveal the original expression—which is either a wee bit grumpy or “strong.” Feel free to decide for yourself. You can check out the before-and-after below, but we highly recommend visiting this gorgeous interactive version of the painting.
Two viral videos to see
One: It isn’t easy being the richest man in the world. Jeff Bezos was yelled at by passersby—who included a woman who yelled: “Hey Jeff, nice lazy eye. I wish money could fix that!” The internet is divided over who we should be mad at: greedy gazillionaires or able-ist hecklers. Watch the clip below:
Two: 14-year-old Zhang Ziyu is already a basketball sensation in China—standing 7 ft, 5 inches tall. And everyone is now comparing her to Yao Ming once this clip went viral:
