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History

Excommunicating… Bugs??

In the 1500s, parts of Europe actually put crop-destroying insects on trial.
Church courts formally summoned pests like weevils and locusts and even issued verdicts against them—because anything causing harm was treated as a legal “offender,” bugs included.

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Science

A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus

Venus takes 243 Earth days to complete one full rotation on its axis (a "day" on Venus). But it only takes 225 Earth days to complete one orbit around the Sun (a "year" on Venus).

So, technically, if you were standing on Venus (and somehow survived the extreme heat and crushing atmosphere), the Sun would rise only twice in an entire Venusian year!

Even weirder—Venus rotates backward compared to most planets, meaning the Sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east. 🌅➡️🌄

* This topic has been previously featured. Spaced repetition improves your learning by helping you retain information for longer.

Tech & Engineering

Wearable Nurse

Wearable health monitors are compact sensor-fusion systems: multi-wavelength PPG (photoplethysmography) uses LEDs and a light sensor to read tiny changes in skin-reflected light caused by blood-volume pulses, which is then used to estimate heart rate and HRV (heart rate variability). Built-in IMUs (inertial measurement units), typically an accelerometer and gyroscope, track motion to classify activity and infer sleep patterns.

The value is the software—signal processing that rejects motion noise and models that turn continuous data into trend-based insights like recovery, load, and anomaly flags.

Did You Know: Many devices dynamically adjust their LED wavelength and sampling rate—ramping up during exercise for cleaner PPG signals, then downshifting overnight to save battery.

Sport

Everyone Loves an Underdog.

On 22 July 2001 (Round 16) at the MCG, Essendon produced the AFL’s most famous escape act, falling to a game-high 69-point deficit against the Kangaroos before launching a stunning counterpunch. They slammed on nine unanswered goals to flip the momentum and eventually surged past North Melbourne in a late, winning 171 to 159. Watch it here 

Nature & Geography

The Fire Tree

The “fire tree” (often referring in Australia to the Illawarra flame tree, Brachychiton acerifolius) earns its name by doing something visually dramatic: it can drop its leaves and then flower on bare branches, so the canopy looks like it’s been lit from within. In late spring to early summer, it produces dense clusters of bright coral-red, bell-shaped flowers that are highly attractive to nectar-feeding birds.

Business & Politics

George Westinghouse (b. 1846 d. 1914)

George Westinghouse was a pioneer of electrical and mechanical innovation. He revolutionised railroads with the air brake system and championed alternating current (AC) electricity, making power transmission safer and more efficient.

He founded Westinghouse Electric Company in 1886, a company that still remains a leader in the energy sector, from producing advanced nuclear reactors to offering a wide range of consumer household products, the Westinghouse name lives on.

* This topic has been previously featured. Spaced repetition improves your learning by helping you retain information for longer.

Arts & Literature

From Rags to Riches

In 2005, a damaged, heavily overpainted panel titled “After Leonardo da Vinci” was picked up at a New Orleans estate auction for just US$1,175—the kind of catalogue description that usually means “workshop copy, move along.” After restoration and a heated debate over authorship, the painting—now presented as Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi—went on to sell at Christie’s in New York on 15 November 2017 for US$450.3 million, rewriting the auction record books overnight.

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Entertainment

Why are the Tonys called the Tonys?

They’re called the Tonys because the awards’ full name is the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre—named in honour of Antoinette “Tony” Perry, a major theatre figure and a co-founder/leader of the American Theatre Wing. The “Tony” nickname stuck from the very first ceremony in 1947, when the award was referred to using her nickname.

Test your knowledge

If you have been following us for longer then a week, then it is time to find out how much you remember 😄 Answer these multi choice questions below! (Answers below)

For more questions made from our newsletters be sure to follow us on Instagram 

1. What part of your Brain controls breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure?

   A - Brainstem

   B - Frontal Lobe

   C - Cerebellum

2. William Shakespeare was born in?

   A - Stratford-upon-Avon

   B - Warwick

   C - Oxford

3. Which instrument has the widest pitch?

   A - Piano

   B - Pipe Organ

   C - Harp

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