A list of intriguing things
One: Forget Fitbits on your wrist. How about one for your face? Engineers at Northwestern University have developed a sensor that turns any N95 mask, cloth or surgical face mask into a ‘FaceBit’. Your mask can then sense your real-time respiration rate, heart rate and mask wear time. (The Hill)
Two: Here’s something to look up the next time you visit Boston: a three-story stained-glass globe in The Mary Baker Eddy Library called The Mapparium. It dates back to 1935—when it was lit with 300 60-watt lamps—but now has a fancy LED system that lights up different parts of the globe in sequence. You can get a brief taste of what it’s like to be inside the Mapparium here.
Three: Everyone knows about the giant, smelly Corpse Flower. But did you know about its Indian cousin, Sapria Himalayana? It too is a very smelly parasitic plant that produces the biggest flowers in India—about 20 cm (8 inches) across, and bright red in color covered with sulfur-yellow spots. Here’s an easy-to-read scientific paper that has a lot more on this wondrous plant.
Four: Ever wonder what it’s like to race down the German autobahn at 260 miles (418 km) an hour? Wonder no more. Start at the 2-minute mark if you want to cut straight to the crazy speeding.
