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Did you know that The Great Pyramid was originally white?

The Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was originally covered in casing stones made of highly polished Tura limestone. These stones reflected the sun’s light so brilliantly that the Egyptians called the pyramid “Ikhet,” meaning the “Glorious Light.” Most of the casing stones were removed over millennia, exposing the rougher structure we see today.

Innovation

From Landfill Gas to Jetfuel

University of Sydney researchers have pioneered a groundbreaking chemical method utilizing plasma to transform methane gas from landfills into sustainable jet fuel. This innovation holds promise for establishing a low-carbon aviation sector.

The process not only addresses environmental concerns but also offers a dual solution by potentially repurposing all global landfills into energy reservoirs if it proves cost-effective and widely applicable.

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, poses a significant environmental threat with its concentration in the atmosphere surpassing pre-industrial levels by two-and-a-half times. The steady increase in methane emissions, primarily from waste and fossil fuel combustion, underscores the urgency for mitigation efforts.

Australia's recent participation in an international methane mitigation agreement signals growing global recognition of the issue.

Lead author Professor PJ Cullen from the University of Sydney's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering emphasized the significance of their innovation. He highlighted that while modern landfill facilities already harness their gas emissions for electricity generation, their process yields a more environmentally beneficial and economically valuable outcome.

Global landfill emissions, estimated at 10–20 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, rival those of the entire energy sector. Considering aviation's contribution to emissions—around 3% globally—the prospect of utilizing landfill methane for jet fuel production presents a promising solution.

The proposed process involves extracting methane from landfill sites through methane wells, which provide an ideal composition for the conversion process.

Professor Cullen explained that non-thermal plasma technology, driven by electricity, enables the conversion of methane into value-added products at low temperature and atmospheric pressure. This approach minimizes energy consumption, aligning well with renewable energy sources.

World News

The World’s Largest Picnic

Are you planning to be in Paris in late May? Consider sticking around for Le Grand Pique Nique, or as it's known in German, Spanish, or Italian, "The Grand Picnic."

From the Arc de Triomphe to the intersection of Avenue George V, nine temporary kitchens will line the famous Champs-Élysées for a gastronomic picnic on what's claimed to be the world's largest picnic blanket.

On Sunday, May 26th, LG Electronics is sponsoring this massive event, where 4,000 lucky tourists and locals will gather around a giant, traditional red and white checkered picnic rug to taste Parisian cuisine.

Though attendance is determined by a ballot system, the Champs-Élysées sees heavy foot traffic, especially now as Paris remains a top tourist destination.

Each chosen attendee receives a picnic basket to sample from the nine kitchens, with each square on the rug accommodating up to 6 people.

There will also be musical performances, games, and other outdoor entertainment.

In addition to offering food enthusiasts an unforgettable experience, the city aims to set the Guinness World Record for the largest picnic blanket.

Attendees may also catch a glimpse of the planned renovations by architect Philippe Chiambaretta for the €300 million post-Olympics makeover of the Champs-Élysées, addressing its perceived "worn out" appearance from 2021. The plan includes reducing parking spots, creating pedestrian areas, and transforming the space into "an extraordinary garden."

Environment

Chickadees’ Impressive Memory

These small birds, weighing just half an ounce and with brains only slightly larger than a pea, store tens of thousands of food items like seeds in tree bark, under dead leaves, and inside pinecones across the mountains. They can remember where they put them with great precision, even when winter hits and the landscape is covered in snow.

A recent study, published on April 17 in Current Biology by researchers from CU Boulder and the University of Nevada, Reno, identifies nearly a hundred genes linked to the birds’ ability to recall object locations. These findings suggest a potential trade-off between having a solid long-term memory and being able to quickly form new memories, indicated by genetic associations with disorders observed in other animals.

Scott Taylor, from CU Boulder's Mountain Research Station, notes the impressive spatial memory of these chickadees, crucial for surviving cold winters. To assess this memory capacity, researchers led by biologist Vladimir Pravosudov devised a test involving feeder arrays in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Each feeder had a gate with a reader programmed to open only to specific birds, requiring chickadees to remember feeder locations accessible to them.

However, the study also suggests a potential downside to exceptional spatial memory. Chickadees that excelled in the initial test struggled when presented with new feeder locations, indicating difficulty in abandoning old memories to form new ones, particularly in a changing environment.

The research team aims to further explore whether mountain chickadees from different regions exhibit similar spatial memory skills and if differences exist between them and coexisting black-capped chickadees. Continued experiments will provide additional insights into these cognitive abilities.

Mind Stretchers

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I am a silent watcher, with a thousand eyes but no sight. I am worshipped by some, feared by others. What am I?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
Smoke

Gerry Moore got the correct answer first!

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.