William Wrigley, Jr., the
Wrigley's Gum founder, ran away from home at the
age of eleven to escape working in the family's
soap manufacturing business. He went to New
York, where he sold newspapers, but soon was
back home. In 1891 he left for good, going to
Chicago to make his fortune.
In the beginning Wrigley
continued to sell soap, offering a free can of
baking powder as an incentive to his buyers.
Soap sales weren't that strong, but people loved
the baking powder, so he started selling it
exclusively while now offering two pieces of gum
as an incentive. He soon discovered that the gum
was even more popular than the baking powder, so
Wrigley went into the gum business.
—The Book of Leadership
Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Business
Leaders. Edited by Peter Krass, p. 326
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
In his book, "Experiential
Storytelling: (Re)Discovery Narrative to
Communicate God's Message", Mark Miller writes,
"The Church and the arts, creativity, and
imagination have been at war for far too long.
It is time to call a truce. Not a surrender. A
surrender by the Church waiving the white flag
that accepts that creativity and imagination are
gifts from God not somehow profane. These
valuable gifts need nourishment not further
neglect. And they must be exercised both inside
and outside the walls of the Church."
—"Experiential Storytelling",
p. 45. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
When we are creative, we are
following the example God, our creator, has left
for us.
Hebrews
1:10 (NLT) "And, 'Lord, in the beginning
you laid the foundation of the earth, and the
heavens are the work of your hands.'"
CREATIVITY
The outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus was no
laughing matter, especially in Mexico where the
first cases appeared. Though millions of Mexican
citizens wore surgical masks and stayed away
from public places to prevent infection, they
used the opportunity to display their sense of
humor. The imposing masks became a canvas for
creativity, across the nation. Newspapers in
major cities published cutouts of smiles to
paste on masks, while people put pictures of
monkey mouths, oversized lips, and moustaches on
theirs. Some drivers even put large surgical
masks on their cars
In addition to the surgical masks, people
produced new jokes, popular songs, and even
special t-shirts to help citizens endure
the flu scare with a touch of creativity and
humor. Jane Martinez, mother of a two year old
had to get creative to protect her daughter.
Martinez embroidered hearts on her youngster’s
mask, to get her to wear it.
Martinez told reporters, “I made it for her
because she didn’t want to wear it, so I made
her a special one.”
--Mexicans turn to humor, creativity to endure
flu,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_swine_flu_humor;
May
1, 2009; Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and
Jim Sandell.
How many circumstances could be changed by
applying a little humor and creativity?
Proverbs 17:22 (GW) A joyful heart is good
medicine, but depression drains one's
strength.
CREATIVITY
The marketing techniques used to entice people to
eat more junk food may also be helpful in getting
children to eat healthier. A study published in
the Journal of Preventive Medicine allowed
students in seven New York elementary schools to
select a serving of lunch vegetables with
innovative names such as “Silly Dill Green Beans”
or “Tasty Tiny Tree Tops.” They found students in
the study ate twice as many vegetables if they had
exciting labels over a simple name like “Food of
the day.” In school lunch situations, where no new
names were used, the number of students who
selected a serving of vegetables went down 16
percent. Lead author of the study, Brian Wansink,
said parents who want to get their children to eat
healthier might be better off taking five extra
minutes to think of a creative name for a
vegetable as opposed to making a perfect sauce.
Wansink added, ”Giving anything a name goes
a long way for making somebody believe it will
taste better.” Lead with an exciting name, and
“your taste buds will follow.”
Renamed Veggies may taste better.--
--Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
'Power Punch Broccoli'? New Names Spice Up
Veggies, By Dr. Julielynn Wong,
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/power-punch-broccoli-names-spice-vegetables/story?id=17257968#.UFhwr7JlSZk;
Accessed
September 18, 2012.
Psalm 111:5 (CEV) He gives food to his
worshipers and always keeps his agreement with
them.
CREATIVITY
The technology world paused
to honor Ray Tomlinson after he passed away in
March 2016. In 1971, Ray Tomlinson worked for a
Boston technology firm when he decided to devise
a way for people to send messages to each other
through a computer network. He thought the
protocols available were too limited and very
complex. He wanted to make it possible to send
messages from computer to computer no matter
where they were located. He used the “@” sign
because it was the only preposition on the
keyboard and had little use otherwise. In an
interview several years before his death,
Tomlinson said, “Everyone latched onto the idea
that you could leave messages on the computer.
As the network grew and the growth of all that
accelerated, it became a really useful tool:
there were millions of people you could
potentially reach.” —Jim L. Wilson & Jim
Sandell
Romans 12:6–8 (HCSB)
“According to the grace given to us, we have
different gifts: If prophecy, use it according
to the standard of one’s faith; 7 if
service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8
if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with
generosity; leading, with diligence; showing
mercy, with cheerfulness.”
CREATIVITY
African
villagers
were alarmed to see something strange flying
through the air, but their fears were relieved
that what they had seen was a test of an
unmanned aerial vehicle or drone that could
one day make their lives better. As drones are
growing in popularity, United Nations
officials hope the devices will bring progress
to African nations. A company that is part of
the experiments said that currently deliveries
of blood supplies and medicines to remote
hospitals can take weeks over land. Drones
could reduce that time to a matter of hours.
There are still challenges to overcome and it
could take a few more years before drones
could be entrusted with critical deliveries,
but the technology already exists. Arthur
Holland Michel, co-director of the Center for
the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New
York, said, “The holy grail is to have a
network of autonomous drones that do their
work independently, with a human supervising
numerous deliveries at once.”–By Jim L. Wilson
& Jim Sandell
Drones Carrying
Medicines, Blood Face Top Challenge In Africa,
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (HCSB)“Whatever your hands find to do, do with
all your strength, because there is no work,
planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where
you are going.”
CREATIVITY
The
National Football League is employing new
technology that will provide more information
about the speed, location, and rotation of the
football during games. The league will use
Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID) to
collect the information which will likely mean
even more statistics for fans to consider. The
tags are similar to technology that is
currently used to make credit cards more
secure. The League’s senior vice president of
digital media, Vishal Shaw, says players wore
similar chips during the 2015 season to
wirelessly communicate location data and
speed.Shaw
says the league is excited to learn more new
information from tracking footballs during
live games.—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell.
NFL
Using Technology in Footballs for Even More
Stats,
Aerospace
Corporation
based in El Segundo, California has received
additional funding to pursue a project that
could make space travel safer in the future.
The company designed the Brane Craft, a small
flexible spacecraft that can retrieve space
debris and drop it into the atmosphere to burn
up. The craft is only a yard across, flexible,
and is less than half the thickness of a human
hair. The company created it to be very
resilient. If one solar cell is hit by a
micometeorite, the other cells will continue
to function and the fuel tank is divided into
segments to prevent the loss of all the
craft’s fuel in the event of an accident. The
companies envisions stacking the craft in a
launch vehicle and deploying them on different
tracks to envelop space debris and bring it
back to the atmosphere to burn up on reentry.
The company estimates the craft could capture
all the space debris under two pounds within a
few years.—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell.
Billionaire
innovator Elon Musk raised the possibility of
traveling anywhere on the planet within an
hour when he unveiled plans for a new rocket.
Musk said the vessel would take off and land
vertically, like a space rocket, and could fly
routes such as New York to Tokyo in about 30
minutes. He said his design could potentially
travel anywhere on the globe in less than an
hour. Musk’s company SpaceX has already made
smaller rockets land vertically. The
commercial feasibility of the BFR rocket is
yet to be determined, but Musk said it could
also put satellites into orbit and take humans
to Mars.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Officials at a Missouri Museum
said they have found something unusual in a
classic Van Gogh painting. Mary Schafer from
the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City
said she was examining the painting and found
the remains of a grasshopper embedded in the
paint. Schafer said the insect is missing its
thorax and abdomen and part of the painting
entitled, Olive
Trees.
Schafer said Van Gogh often
worked outside in the elements and dust,
grass, and flies have been found in other
outdoor painting. The discovery could add to
the richness of the painting, Schafer hopes
the discovery will answer some questions about
the painting. She said, “But in this case, we
were curious if the grasshopper could be used
to identify the particular season in which the
work was painted.”— By Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Residents of the Kenyan island of Lamu are known
for their shipbuilding abilities. Recently, wood
has become scarce, but residents have discovered a
new way to use the resources available to them.
Each day the tide brings in a new assortment of
plastic trash, and residents collected 33 tons of
trash over the course of a summer. This lead Ben
Morrison to design a traditional sailing boat made
from recycled plastic. Morrison’s idea provided a
new market for recycling and helped conserve the
forests on the island. He said,”It is getting
harder and harder for boat builders to find wood.
I hope that this project will allow the ancient
skills of boat building to live on, by shifting
from ever-scarce wood to plastic.”—Jim L. Wilson
and Jim Sandell
Psalm 90:17 (CSB)
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!
CREATIVITY
When SpaceX’s
Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off into space, it
carried a red electric sports car into an
endless road trip past Mars. SpaceX founder
Elon Musk said they decided to use a sports
car as ballast because sending a chunk of
concrete into space was boring. Shortly after
the craft entered orbit, a protective covering
dropped away exposing the car which was
piloted by a mannequin in a space suit.
Other than the
Apollo moon buggies, the roadster is the first
automobile to be sent into space. It will
enter a solar orbit that will reach all the
way Mars. It could theoretically orbit in the
solar system for billions of years. Musk said
if it were to be found far in the future, it
could raise many questions. He said, “Maybe
discovered by some future alien race, thinking
what were you guys doing? Did they worship
this car? Why did they have a little car? That
will really confuse them.”—Jim L. Wilson and
Jim Sandell
The NASA
spacecraft that provide close-up pictures of
the dwarf planet Pluto has not set a new
record for the farthest photos ever taken. The
New Horizons spacecraft snapped a picture of a
star cluster at 3.79 billion miles from Earth.
The previous record was the “Pale Blue Dot”
images of Earth taken by Voyager 1 in 1990.
Voyager was 3.75 billion miles away when those
photos were taken. New Horizons is headed
toward another photo opportunity when it
reaches an object known as 2014MU69. It will
pass within 2,200 miles of the object in
January, 2019. Any pictures New Horizons takes
then will set another distance record.—Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandell
A German
company is working on a mission to the moon
which would be the first privately –funded
landing on the lunar surface. The company
already has a contract with SpaceX to carry
its payload to the moon sometime in 2019. The
payload will set up the 4G network on the moon
and then connect two rovers to a base station
weighing less than one kilogram to support the
lunar network. Researchers hope to use the
network to send the first High Definition
video from the moon. No one is certain how
long the rovers and the network will last in
the harsh environment on the moon, but the
company said this mission will support the
development of new technologies for future
networking, processing, and storage and
advance infrastructure for future lunar
research.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Sarcasm
is
often viewed as something bad, but a new study
suggest that it may actually boost
productivity and thought processes in both the
user and the receiver. To examine their
theory, researchers assigned volunteers to
dialogues that were sarcastic, sincere, or
neutral, and then assigned the participant
tasks. The people who were involved in the
sarcastic exchanges did better on their tasks.
Researcher Francesca Gino says part of the
reason may be that the brain has to work
harder to make the jump between literal and
intended meaning when using or listening to
sarcasm.Gino warns that people who hope to
boost creativity should be careful when using
sarcasm because it can also be hurtful. She
adds, “The research suggests sarcasm, used
with care and in moderation, can be
effectively used and trigger some creative
spark.” —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Sarcasm
can
'trigger' creativity, study finds, By Michael
Harthorne ,
Now
the
mind-set of the flesh is death, but the
mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace.
CREATIVITY
Christopher Palma from
Pennsylvania State University is an astronomer
who loves to help people learn to spot
satellites without the aid of a telescope or
binoculars. Palmer says there is a list of
more than 1,700 man-made satellites in
earth-orbit now and some are large enough,
reflective enough, and low enough to be seen
with the naked eye. Some can be appear
brighter than the planet Venus for a short
time when the shiniest parts of their surface
reflect the sun at the right angle. Palmer
says 5 to 10 satellites can usually be seen in
a few hours of watching the skies on a typical
evening.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
NASA
announced
that the Voyager 2 spacecraft became the
second human-made object to leave the
heliosphere, which is considered to be the
boundary of our solar system. Scientists said
four instruments on the craft showed a
dramatic change in the amount of solar
particles and rays striking the vessel in
November, 2018, indicating the spacecraft had
entered interstellar space.Voyager
2 and its sister craft Voyager 1 were launched
in 1977. Voyager 1 left the solar system in
2013 is not 13 billion miles from Earth.
Voyager 2 is on a different trajectory and has
traveled more than 18.5 billion miles. Voyager
project director Suzanna Dodd said the probes
should last another five to ten years before
the extreme cold of space depletes their power
supplies. She said the two craft will keep
traveling and approach the nearest star in
about 40,000 years.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Job 22:12 (CSB)“Isn’t
God
as high as the heavens? And look at the highest
stars—how lofty they are!”
CREATIVITY
In April 2017,
eight telescopes from around the globe were
all pointed in the same direction in space.
The goal was using the network to image the
shadow of the event horizon of a supermassive
black hole 54 million light years away. Since
black holes generate a gravity field so strong
that not even light can escape, the image is
actually only a shadow of the object. The
Event Horizon Telescope consortium achieved
the feat using a phenomenon called
interferometry. Using telescopes that are
spaced far apart, the images can combine in a
unique way. Eight telescopes from around the
world enabled the project to gather enough
data to image a black hole for the first time.
Paul T.P. Ho, an EHT board member said the
image was a crucial test for Einstein’s theory
of general relativity, quantum mechanics, and
astrophysical theories. HO said, “Once we were
sure we had imaged the shadow, we would
compare our observations to extensive compute
models that include the physics of warped
space, superheated matter, and strong magnetic
fields. Many of the features of the observed
image match our theoretical understanding
surprisingly well.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Psalm 33:15 (CSB)“He forms
the hearts of them all; he considers all their
works.”
CREATIVITY
Communities across the United
Kingdom are being invited to adopt the famous
red telephones boxes. British Telecommunications
has initiated a program to convince local
communities to adopt and use local red telephone
boxes that are no longer needed. The growth in
mobile phone usage has rendered the boxes
unnecessary for making calls but so far 5800
have been adopted by communities and used for
tiny art museums, information centers,
mini-libraries, and even a cake shop. Many
communities have put the boxes into use as
centers for public defibrillators in an effort
to save lives.BT’s senior payphones commercial and
operations manager Katherine Bradley said, “This
is a fantastic opportunity for communities to
own a piece of history. The opportunities are
endless and we’ve already seen some amazing
transformations.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
Ephesians 5:15–16 (CSB)“Pay
careful attention, then, to how you live—not as
unwise people but as wise— making the most of
the time, because the days are evil.”
CREATIVITY
An Internet service
provider based in Utah is offering $1,000 to
anyone willing to exchange their smartphone
for a flip phone for one week. The company
said the ideal candidate would be a smartphone
addict, social media expert, or tech geek.
They offered “bonus points” to individuals
with an active social presence or those
willing to vlog the experience.The
company said they are willing to pay the money
to the person who successful completes the
challenge. To make the experience more
nostalgic, the company will throw in a road
map, a pocket phone book, a notepad with a
pen, and a pair of 1990s-era CDs.—Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandell
Isaiah 46:9 (CSB) Remember
what happened long ago, for I am God, and there
is no other; I am God, and no one is like me.
CREATIVITY
The
state of Colorado has decided to make a landmark
out of a huge boulder that smashed into a
highway this spring.The
8.5-million-pound rock that rolled off a cliff
and destroyed a section of Highway 145 is
roughly the size of a house and Gov. Jared Polis
said it would have cost $200,000 to blow up the
boulder and haul it away. Instead the
Transportation Department will rebuild the
highway to wind around the rock, with a wider
shoulder and new guardrails.The
boulder blocked access to the nearby town of
Rico and a restaurant there was forced to cancel
their Memorial Day motorcycle ride.The
highway department hopes to finish repairs
quickly, and the people of Rico hope the
tourists come back. Gov. Polis said, “We expect
that for generations to come, people will have
the opportunity to observe this geological
masterpiece that we’re calling Memorial
Rock.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Joshua 4:7 (CSB) you should
tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off
in front of the ark of the Lord’s
covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the
Jordan’s water was cut off.’ Therefore these
stones will always be a memorial for the
Israelites.”
CREATIVITY
In June, 2019 Scientists were
able to detect an incoming asteroid hours before
it entered the earth’s atmosphere. Observers in
Hawaii spotted the object, named 2019MO while it
was still traveling toward the earth at more
than 33,000 mph when it impacted the atmosphere
about 250 miles south of Puerto Rico. They said
this is only the fourth time they have been able
to detect an incoming object before it struck
the atmosphere. In 2018, scientists tracked an
inbound asteroid and followed it until it landed
in southern Africa. The latest space rock was
about 13 feet long and did not make it to the
ground. It exploded in the atmosphere with the
force of about 6,000 tons of TNT. Scientists
said they hope continued work with new equipment
will "provide
sufficient warning to move people away from
the impact site of an incoming asteroid."—Jim
L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
Psalm 127:1 (CSB) “Unless the
Lord
builds a house, its builders labor over it in
vain; unless the Lord
watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in
vain.”
CREATIVITY
As the world commemorated the 50th
anniversary of the manned landing on the moon,
Physics professor Bill Nettles said the
milestone points to the unique nature of
mankind. Nettles said the achievement is a
reminder that exploration is something God put
in the heart of man. Nettlessaid
landing on the moon is an opportunity to worship
God because God has allowed mankind to discover
the things God has created. He said it is also a
call to humility because it reminds us that we
didn’t create the world, nor can we control it.
Nettles said, “…as Christians, we need to
realize that the more we learn, the greater the
number of things that we don’t know. That’s
because the mysteries of God are unfathomable,
but we can have deep joy in that thought.”—Jim
L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Romans 11:3 (CSB) “Lord,
they have killed your prophets and torn down
your altars. I am the only one left, and they
are trying to take my life!”
CREATIVITY
When
Tim Cameron lost his wallet he was concerned
because there wasn’t much inside in the way of
identifying information to help someone find
him.Cameron’s
wallet was returned, because the person who
found it got inventive and used the bank
account information in the wallet to return
it. The person tweeted screenshots showing how
he made transfers of $.01 and adding brief
messages in the memo line. Since the memo
space was limited, it took several transfers
for the person to explain he had found the
wallet and then provide his phone number.
Cameron said the plan was successful and he
was reunited with his wallet with all the
contents intact.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Don’t
abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;
love
her, and she will guard you.
CREATIVITY
Researchers
from the Ford Automotive Company said they
giving McDonald’s coffee bean chaff new life
as car parts. Chaff is the waste left over
after the roasting process, and Ford
researchers say it can be used to make
headlight housings and other automotive
components. The auto manufacturer heats the
chaff and mixes it with plastics and other
materials to form pellets that can be shaped
into auto components. The process results in a
product that uses less energy and weighs less
than other technologies. Some of the coffee
skins have already been used on Lincoln
Continental models. A news release did not
give an exact amount of chaff to be used, but
said a “significant portion” of coffee bean
chaff from McDonald’s would be reserved for
the project. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
37-year-old
James Napier said wanted to do something
unique so he bought an old DeLorean and spend
1200 hours and a small fortune turning the
run-down car into a copy of the iconic
time-traveling DeLorean from the motion
picture, Back to
the Future. Napier said he picks his
children up from school with the car, and the
family likes to drive it because it makes
people look twice. Napier said they want to
make the most of the opportunity and they
drive the car everywhere and have even been to
several local fundraising events. He added,
“People love to see it and constantly want a
picture with it.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Whatever your hands find to
do, do with all your strength, because there is
no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol
where you are going.
CREATIVITY
It might not
be good practice to eat your experiments, but
astronauts aboard the International Space
Station my get to do just that, and have a
taste of home at the same time. For over a
year, Ian and Jordana Fichenbaum worked to
develop a Zero Gravity oven that could
revolutionize space food. Their invention
recently arrived and soon astronauts will try
it out by baking the first cookies in space.
Designing an oven for use in space was
difficult because to cook properly, food needs
to be secure and stationary, and the oven must
run on a limited amount of energy. Abby
Dickes, Director of Marketing for one of the
partner companies in the venture said, the top
priority will be the safety of the crew. She
said they will reserve some of the cookies for
analysis, but there might be some room for
taste testing at the baker’s discretion. They
plan to send along a prebaked tin of cookies
just in case the sample does not work out.
When asked why they chose cookies, Dickes said
“It’s a symbol of hospitality and we’re trying
to make space travel more hospitable for the
future. A cookie represents the perfect symbol
of everything we’re trying to do in this
mission.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
During the
coronavirus lockdown, many Russians were not
able to go to local museums, so a group of
people created a Facebook group to post
homemade versions of famous artwork. The rules
required that the creators could only use
items they had on hand and that they could not
manipulate the pictures digitally. The group
quickly became a huge hit with recreations
that ranged from studious and reverent to more
flippant and goofier.Some
of the pieces recreated included Vermeer’s
“Girl with a Pearl Earring,” and Picasso’s
“The Frugal Meal.”One
boy from Italy described the way the project
helped him and said, “I was sitting there and
I couldn’t hold back my tears because of this
can bring happiness to someone, somewhere on
the opposite side of the world, than all of
this isn’t for nothing.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Let our people
learn to devote themselves to good works for
pressing needs, so that they will not be
unfruitful.
CREATIVITY
John
Kellett, who is known as Baltimore’s Mr.
Trash, was awarded a world record from
Guinness World Record for clearing 63.3 tons
of garbage in one month. Kellett designed and
built a solar and hydro powered trash
interceptor that removes debris from the
city’s Jones Falls River.In
April 2017, Kellett used his invention to
clear an unusually large amount of garbage, so
the city decided to recognize him by
submitting his work to Guinness. After looking
at the numbers, the organization decided that
Kellett had indeed created a new record and
included him in their list of World records.
No one knows how long Kellet’s record will
stand or if he might one day break his own
record. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
And whatever you do, in word or in
deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
him.
CREATIVITY
Scientists released the
first images from the Solar Orbiter and
discovered something previously unknown about
our sun. The pictures were taken from 48
million miles away and showed vibrant swirls
of yellow and dark smoky gray. The pictures
were so detailed, scientist created a new
vocabulary to name the tiny flare ups on the
solar surface. Project scientist Daniel Muller
described the small flares as “campfires”
shooting into the sun’s outer atmosphere.
Muller said scientists think these small
cousins of solar flares may be heating the
sun’s corona which has been known to much
hotter than the surface. Scientists hope the
project will provide even more information
about the sun when it looks at the solar poles
and gets even close to the star over the next
two years, Muller said, “This is just the
beginning pf the long epic journey of Solar
Orbiter.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
and as long as the
moon, throughout all generations.
CREATIVITY
Tests conducted by the Automobile Association of
America over a two-year period show that partially
automated driving systems so do not always work
right. As a result, the organization recommends
limiting their use. Researchers tested systems
from five manufacturers over 4,000 miles and
encountered problems every eight miles. They said
most of the issues involved systems designed to
keep vehicles in their lane, but also discovered
that many systems had difficulty spotting
simulated broken-down vehicles in their path.
About two-thirds of the time, test vehicles hit
the disabled car, at an average speed of 25 mph.
AAA reported the systems which combine control of
acceleration, breaking, and steering, often stop
working with little notice to drivers. Director of
automotive engineering with AAA, Greg Brannon
said, “AAA has repeatedly found that active
driving assistance systems do not perform
consistently, especially in real-world
scenarios.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
CREATIVITY The Guinness World Records
organization recognized a 15-year-old Tennessee
boy for achieving nuclear fusion at his home.
Jackson Oswalt built his own nuclear fusion
reactor and successfully used it before he
reached the age of 13. A research researcher who
keeps a list of amateur scientists who have
created their own homemade reactors verified
that Oswalt had achieved nuclear fusion. Oswalt
said his device is simple. He used electricity
to accelerate two deuterium atoms so that the
fused together to create an atom of helium 3,
which releases a spare neutron. The energy
released can be used to heat water and turn a
steam engine which can be used to create
electricity. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
Qantas
Airlines announced that a seven-hour scenic
flight which will take off and land at the
same airport sold out in ten minutes.The
unusual flight departed Sydney, made no stops,
and promised views over Uluru and the Great
Barrier Reef before returning to Sydney.Buyers
quickly grabbed the 134 available seats paying
between $575 and $2,765 depending on the
seating class. Qantas had laid off 20 percent
of its overall workforce during the previous
summer and said the coronavirus pandemic had
created the worst economic condition in 100
years.The
airline
decided they needed to fly somewhere, so they
came up with the idea of the scenic flights to
nowhere. A spokesperson said, “It’s probably
the fastest selling flight in Qantas history.
People clearly miss travel and the experience
of flying. If the demand is there, we’ll
definitely look at doing more of these scenic
flights while we all wait for borders to
open.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
God
has prepared these things for those who love
him.
CREATIVITY
An Indonesian man who had
a meteorite crash through his roof turned that
misfortune into a fortune when he sold the space
rock for over $1 million. Josua Hutagalung said
he was working outside when the meteorite
crashed through the roof of his house. He said
the stone was still hot when he picked it up and
took it inside. News of the incident reached
U.S. expert Jared Collins, who contacted
Hutagalung and purchased the 4.5-pound chuck of
carbonaceous chrondrite because that type of
meteorite is rare. Hutagalung did not disclose
exactly how much he was paid, but indicated he
received more than $1 million. He said he will
use the money to expand his family and also
plans to donate funds to help build a local
church. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
After
mysterious monoliths appeared in Utah,
California, and Romania at the end of 2020,
many people naturally assumed a structure that
appeared near Fort Worth, Texas was another of
the strange signs. Many people feared the
monolith might be the work of aliens, but a
little research revealed the Texas monolith
was the work of local high school students.
John Black, who owns a shop in Millsap, Texas
said the students he works with decided Fort
Worth needed a monolith, so they built one out
of scrap metal and then set up their 250-pound
creation in the Fort Worth area. Black said
“We just wanted them to have something to get
their mind off everything going on in the
world. So we did this.” Black said he did know
how the city of Fort Worth would respond to
the monolith but added, “I can almost
guarantee there will be another one somewhere
in the future.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/weird/mystery-monolith-found-in-fort-worth/2526032/?_osource=newsletter_news_KXAS
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (CSB)
Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your
strength, because there is no work, planning,
knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are
going.
CREATIVITY
A 1,400 square-foot home in New
York state is billed as the first 3D printed home
in the United States. The three-bedroom, 2 bath
home with detached garage is listed at just under
$300,000.It
was built by a company called SQ4D and used a
massive 3D printer on site to create each piece of
the home using shaped concrete. The company hopes
using an automated construction system will
eventually allow them to produce more homes and
bring down the cost of homeownership. A company
statement claimed, “Built with concrete, this home
will deliver strength and durability that
conventional wood-frame construction cannot
match.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
In his book,
Bezonomics: How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives
and What the World's Best Companies Are
Learning from It, Brian Dumaine writes, “AIVA
Technologies, a Luxembourg start-up, has
created AI software that composes jazz, pop,
and classical music that is being used in
soundtracks for films, video games, and
advertisements. By reading through, say, a
large database of classical pieces written by
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and other greats, the
software captures concepts of music theory and
then composes on sheet music. Does it work?
The company says that when it asked a number
of professional musicians to listen to AIVA’s
pieces, none guessed the music was composed by
a computer.”
--Bezonomics, 143.
Exodus 36:8 (CSB)
“All the skilled
artisans among those doing the work made the
tabernacle with ten curtains. Bezalel made
them of finely spun linen, as well as blue,
purple, and scarlet yarn, with a design of
cherubim worked into them.”
CREATIVITY
Michigan transportation
officials are making 64-year-old pieces of the
historic Mackinac Bridge available to the
public. Officials said the pieces of steel
grating from the bridge were replaced after
safety inspections and they discovered many
people were interested in owning a piece of
the country’s third largest suspension bridge
connecting Michigan’s upper and lower
peninsulas.Kim Nowack, executive secretary of the
Mackinac Bridge authority said they decided
the best way to make the was to auction the
pieces online. She added “Many people just
want a small chuck of the bridge.”—Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandell
Workers renovating a
café In England made a discovery that may
change the way the café does business. While
pulling apart a section of ceiling, workers
found a menu from the restaurant that occupied
the building in 1913.The
menu from the Yamen Café and Tea Rooms was
dated January 1913. Workers also found a
waiter’s cap embroidered with the word ‘Yaman’
and instructions for a popular card game of
that era.Natalie Haywood who owns the current
café known as Leaf, said the menu was in
unbelievable condition. She described it as
being “like a time capsule hidden in the
walls.” Leaf said she plans to try and
recreate some of the dishes listed on menu.
She added, “To see what they were doing then
how forward-thinking and creative as a
restaurant, is so inspiring.” –Jim L. Wilson
and Jim Sandell
I
know your works. Look, I have placed before
you an open door that no one can close because
you have but little power; yet you have kept
my word and have not denied my name.
CREATIVITY
The McCormick Spice
company announced that it will soon pay a taco
lover $100,000 over four months to innovate
new seasoning mixes and recipes to make tacos
better. The company will employ the person for
four months at a salary of $25,000 per month.
They asked for an availability to work
remotely up to 20 hours a week. The job
description said the Taco relations director
will follow social media trends, taste test
and consult on recipes, and travel to search
for the latest taco trends nationwide. To fill
the position, McCormick asked interested
persons to submit a video displaying their
personality and passion for tacos, along with
a description of why they are the best fit for
the job. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
According to the grace
given to us, we have different gifts: If
prophecy, use it according to the proportion
of one’s faith;
CREATIVITY
A ceramic specialist
from a British auction house found a rare work
of art hidden in a drawer in a country house
near the Scottish border. The auction house
said the pottery dish is a tin-glazed
earthenware dish know as a mailoca and is
extremely rare. The dish also had a scene of
the biblical story of Samson and Delilah
created by potter Nicoal da Urbino during the
early part of the 16th century.The
auction house expected the piece to sell for
more than $100 thousand dollars but were
surprised when the dish sold for more than 1.7
million dollars at an online auction. —Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandell
Precious treasure and
oil are in the dwelling of a wise person,
but a fool consumes
them.
CREATIVITY
Professional
illusionist Jackson Rayne took the stage at a
Wildlife Park in Georgia and set
a new world record by escaping from
straightjackets 300 times in eight
hours.Rayne
was trying to beat the
earlier record of 193 escapes which was set by
a British man in 2003. Rayne
said the feat was done by a lot of hard work.
He reports he began studying the
art of illusion at age 11 and received his
first straitjacket as a Christmas
gift when he was 17. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
