August 2020: News You Might Have Missed

Aside from the unfaltering increase in COVID-19 cases, a lot has happened in the world in August. Let’s take a look at some of  such interesting affairs:

1. An auction company in the UK received Mahatma Gandhi’s iconic gold frame glasses in their letterbox with a note that they were given to the sender by his uncle who got it from Gandhiji. The glasses were put up for auction for 15 lakhs and were sold at 2.5 crores.

   

2.  Tokyo installed see-through washrooms in public parks for public use. Wherein, the transparent glass turns opaque when in use(locked from inside). This is to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them.

   

3. “Contact Coronavirus in 24 hrs of Purchase and get 50k Cashback” offer by an electronics store in Kerala tops the level of crazy marketing. The offer landed the store in trouble after some people filed complaints against it.

   

4. Around 10,000 paramilitary forces personnel will be immediately withdrawn from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Over the last months, measures are being gradually lifted with regular evaluation of the security situation. But even with the latest withdrawal of forces, a chunk of security forces remain in the Valley.

   

5. What could be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth – 130F (54.4C) – may have been reached in Death Valley National Park, California. The recording is being verified by the US National Weather Service.

   

6. German scientists run a concert test to see how coronavirus spreads Some 2,000 people attended a concert in the city of Leipzig organized by scientists seeking to study the risk of virus transmission during large events.

   

7. As bizarre as this year might already seem, Trippy ‘reverse waterfalls’ were seen flowing backward in Australia. Obviously, there is a simple meteorological explanation for this reverse-waterfall action: It’s just a trick of the wind. See it for yourself here:
8. In a progressive move by the courts, daughters have now been given equal property rights like sons and now trans people will also be inducted in the paramilitary forces of India. Incidentally, Mumbai made it’s traffic signals more inclusive by changing the conventional male stick figures in them to female ones.

   

9. A dip in current popularity has led to an invention of a “The Contactless Pani-puri vending machine“! A video of the same was shared on social media and gained popularity at a rate similar to the spread of the virus itself. In the video, a man is seen using an ATM-like vending machine. He selects the price and then inserts a 20 rupee note into the slot. After a brief wait, the machine opens a flap below the keyboard and the paani puris are displayed one by one and picked. The maker of this machine said it took 6 months to design. 
10.  After Botswana, Zimbabwe also witnessed elephants deaths due to unknown causes. Botswana had earlier recorded death of 350 elephants and the cause was suspected to be some unknown pathogens.

So these were some of  the most important things that you might have missed. Though the pandemic had abruptly stopped life all over the world and all headlines were related to it,  life has again started to go on now with social distancing and necessary precautions. To prevent missing of any news,  subscribe to TSA Newsletter below.