Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual this week due to external obligations.

New Zealand Border Tips

For travellers to New Zealand: "What to do if a border agent demands access to your digital device"

21st Century Crime

"Bitcoin miner sent to prison for stealing electricity from train network in China"

Reunited Identical Twins

"Twins, Separated at Birth, Reunite as Adults"

They were separated as part of an unethical scientific experiment, and found one another after a documentary about that experiment helped reunite a different set of triplets.

Fitness Tracker Glitch

"Why is Xiaomi's fitness tracker detecting a heartbeat from a roll of toilet paper?"

Can Moons Have Moons?

"Guess what scientists call the moons of moons"

Fitness Trackers And The Law

"Fitbit's heart-rate tracking helped nail down a murder suspect"

Tigers Like Humans

NYT: "Once a tiger encounters a person and kills, it may develop a taste for human flesh, which, Mr. Khan says, is sweeter than other animal meat because of all the ginger, salt and spices people consume."

Flexible Electronics Update

"Study opens route to flexible electronics made from exotic materials"

Quantum Verification

"Graduate Student Solves Quantum Verification Problem"

High Teen Dolphins

"Teenage Dolphins Get High on Puffer Fish Toxin"

The Elevator-Phobes of a Vertical City

"The elevator-phobic people of New York City"

Testing Apple Watch Fall Detection

"Apple Watch Series 4's Hyped Fall Detection Put To The Test By A Stunt Woman"

Latest Banksy

"One of Banksy's paintings self-destructed just after it was auctioned"

Michigan Meteorite Used As Doorstop For 30 Years

22 pound rock used as doorstop for 30 years turns out to be meteorite worth $100,000.

Vacuum Decay

"One way the universe might end".

Related article: "Vacuum decay: the ultimate catastrophe".

Women In Art Quota

"San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously passed an ordinance requiring that women be depicted in at least 30 percent of the city-sponsored artwork contains non-fictional people." (Via Tyler Cowen.)

Unreliable Polygraphs

"The Lie Generator: Inside the Black Mirror World of Polygraph Job Screenings"

Auto-Automation

"The Coders Programming Themselves Out of a Job"

Oddly Satisfying Videos

"Oddly Satisfying Videos"

Space Radiation And GI Tracts

"Travelling to Mars and deep into space could kill astronauts by destroying their guts"

NZ Border Search Of Phones

"New Zealand: Hand over phone password at border or face $3,200 fine"

Under the Customs and Excise Act 2018, which came into force this week, officials will be able to demand travelers unlock any electronic device so it can be searched. Anyone who refuses can face prosecution and a fine of up to $3,200 (5,000 NZD). 

 

Officials can also retain devices and potentially confiscate them from travelers who refuse to allow a search at the border. 

 

The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) described the new law as a "grave invasion of personal privacy of both the person who owns the device and the people they have communicated with."

Smart Pizza Deliveryman

"A Pizza Deliveryman Saved a Woman Who Mouthed 'Help Me'". (Via S.W.)

Stop Signs

"Why Do Stop Signs Have Eight Sides?"

Chocolate Cottage

"You Can Rent This Cottage Made Entirely of Chocolate — and Yes, You Can Eat Some of It"

Möbius Strips

"The Mathematical Madness of Möbius Strips and Other One-Sided Objects"

$100 Bills

"There are now more $100 bills than $1 bills in the world"