Jemima Packington the Asparamancer predicts the future with asparagus. Photo / ITV
Jemima Packington divines the future by interpreting asparagus. She calls this the art of Asparamancer. She throws the asparagus in the air, and where they land tells her the future. Using this method, she claims
to have correctly foreseen Brexit, Prince Philip's death, Theresa May's resignation, and the Queen's death. The latest thing that the asparagus have told her: "King Charles will take a step back, due to his age, and make William Prince Regent."
The problem of dooring
Greg sent in this, from Auckland Transport, explaining the red paint on Tamaki Drive. "The paint was applied to the cycleway to encourage cyclists to leave a 'buffer zone' in the areas where the cycle and traffic lanes directly adjacent, with little separation. This buffer zone is to prevent dooring from occurring, where vehicles parked in these areas can open passenger side doors into oncoming cyclists through inattention. This was a key concern raised from the consultation during the design phase of this project." Yes the yellow lines mean no parking or possibility of dooring. Further around Tamaki Drive where you can park there is no red paint. Great bit of engineering.
The little things that run the world
If you have ever pondered the number of ants there are in the world, new research has the answer: "We conservatively estimate our planet harbours about 20 quadrillion ants. That's 20 thousand million millions, or in numerical form, 20,000,000,000,000,000 (20 with 15 zeroes). We further estimate the world's ants collectively constitute about 12 million tonnes of dry carbon. This exceeds the mass of all the world's wild birds and wild mammals combined. It's also equal to about one-fifth of the total weight of humans."