Month: June 2025

People have started rowing to touch their ass to the statue of the bear in Madrid. Makes as little sense as it seems

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Recently Dublin’s City Council did something unusual: He put an escort To the statue of a woman to prevent tourists from groking her breasts. Before the Irish session had even thought about Raise the monumentdedicated to Molly Maloneto leave his generous bronze bust (discolored after years and years of touch) out of reach of the caresses of the visitors. Molly Malone’s is not a unique case. If you approach the door of the Sun, in the heart of Madrid, you can also check how the celebration Bear and madroño statue That decorates the square for almost 60 years has the innkeepers and a leg of gold color for the constant of tourists and neighbors. A two -colored bear. Few more emblematic places in Madrid than Puerta del Sol. And few more iconic points in the square (and the city in general) than the famous Bear and madroño statuea work by sculptor Antonio Navarro that decorates the area since January 1967, although since then it has already changed several times of location. If today you approach to see it, it is likely, however, two details that are relatively recent. To start it is likely to meet tourists queuing to take photos next to the Úrsido. If you look, you will also see that the animal is two colors. Most have a dark tone, but one of the legs and tail are somewhat clearer, almost golden. Actually both details are related. If the animal has “faded” it is largely because of the touch of visitors. @koda_009 If you are in Madrid or visit the city, you cannot go without touching the sculpture of the bear and the madroño at the Puerta del Sol. The monument is one of the most important symbols of the capital and, according to the belief, in addition to bringing luck, touching it also guarantees to return to the city. #Elosoyelmadroño #Madrid #Spain #Puertadelsol #Europe #Sabiasque? #Sabiasque #comunidaddeMadrid #SPain #for you #Solmadrid ♬ Original sound – Koda Is it a matter of good luck? The legend says to touch Malone’s breasts Bring good luckbut … why do people grocery the tail and the leg of the bear of the door of the Sun? Basically for the same. A quick search in networks reveals that there are people who believe What to reach the tail will bring you good luck and will help him return to Madrid. Other versions ensure that what you have to touch the bear is actually the heel or that the objective changes According to the origin Who is sovere to: If you are from Madrid you must go to the tail, if you are a visitor you have to touch the leg. A matter of superstition, as is the case with the statue of Malone or other sobbed sculptures, such as The porcellino from Florence, which also has the polished snout based on the handle of tourists, or The testicles of the famous Toro of Wall Street. There are even more rocambolescas legends, such as the one that argues that those women who deliver a flower, kiss and touch the penis of The Victor Noir statuein a cemetery in Paris, they will enjoy love and sex. THE KEY: IMITATION. Superstitions apart, the explanation of why people caresses sculptures is much simpler (and mundane). At least in the case of the Madrid bear. The key was given in 2023 Madrid_Secreto in Tiktok: people feel the impulse to play statues and over time that ends up leaving a mark on the surface of the monuments that attracts the attention of more and more people. Result: the habit grows and feeds up until it becomes tradition. The equation is completed with the best Selfiethe desire to return on vacation with iconic photos and the amplifier effect of the networks. @vanessaencinals Well I don’t reach but it’s my fourth time in Madrid 😂❤️ #fyp #Madrid #vacations #SPain #Osomadrileño #Granvia #Puertadelsol ♬ You can count on me. Amaia Montero. LODVG – Video Covers “I’ve seen it in Tiktok”. The million dollar question in the case of the Statue of Puerta del Sol is … who was the first to touch the sculpture? When did that derive in a tradition? And how has it expanded so fast? Recently eldiario.es He approached To the square to talk to tourists and even a guide and discovered several things. To begin with, the handle of the Úrsido seems to have started a few years ago, at least before the pandemic. The historian José Manuel Moreno, in fact, points out that “it is not a new fashion” and points out that there are other sculptures that are also a victim of the touch, such as The curious neighborlocated on the main street with Almudena. People touch their ass in search of the same: fortune. Another of the conclusions that are taken when talking to people who approach the statue to touch it is that, although the habit of the handle perhaps comes from years ago, it has expanded basically thanks to social networks. “I’ve seen it on Tiktok,” Recognize A young woman from Jaén. And the truth is that a quick search arrives for find A handful of videos in which people are seen playing sculpture and talking about their supposed effects to return to Madrid or have luck. Touch statues? That is the million dollar question. Is it okay to touch statues installed in public spaces, even to the point that your patina is affected? Should institutions avoid it? In the case of the Malone statue, the Dublinous authorities are clear, although it is true that in their case influenced that tourists focus (with jokes included) on the bust of the figure. “I don’t like it and put limits … wherever it can truly be a problem. But of course, it’s hard to define,” Moreno admits. In the specific case of Navarro’s sculpture, one of the factors that could have influenced the touching is The last reform of the environment, which banks … Read more

Toyota is behind in the development of cars software. So he has resorted to the referent in the field: China

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Toyota is the largest car manufacturer in the world. The accounts say that last year he put on the market Almost 11 million vehicles. But their 2024 sales have two readings. The optimistic is that, despite advocating the arrival of the electric car, Toyota continues to bet on hybrids And that allows him to be the manufacturer with the highest sales in the world. The presence of Toyota in that technology is minimal but the goal is to arrive at the exact moment or, to be late, to arrive better than the rivals. The pessimistic is that Toyota is losing bellows. The fall in global sales was 3.7% and although in the United States it advances with a firm step thanks to hybrids, In China an important 6.9%was left. Not only that, the market is so competitive that it threatens to expel some brands and lose ease in the world’s largest national market It can be a difficult Ramora to overcome in the future. 2024 was the third consecutive year in which Toyota left sales in China. The country is the place of the world where more electric cars are bought. There, the presence of Toyota has been almost testimonial until this year. Until this 2025, barely sold the Toyota Bz3 in China. Now he has confirmed that he will put the TOYOTA BZ3X (more assembled SUV market) and the Toyota Bz7both in collaboration with the GAC local. However, three electrical models is clearly insufficient compared to giants like Byd either All Geely’s potential With its innumerable brands. And to this it is added that the Chinese market is not only rewarding those who put a good car on the market in relation to their autonomy. China has taken an important step in the qualities of its habitats and, above all, customers are rewarding the software used inside, with multiple offers ranging from classic information to converting the interior of the car into a karaoke. The latter has put western manufacturers against the ropes that do not finish finding the key of what is carried there. Toyota’s solution: ally with those who know the most. Toyota, by the hand of Xiaomi and Huawei Given this last situation, Toyota has opted for the fast track but, perhaps, extremely intelligent. An alliance with Xiaomi and Huawei allows you to position the product as another part of the digital ecosystem of those who have an arsenal of products from that same family. Since the Xiaomi Su7 was presented, the company has placed special emphasis on the conversation between the mobile and car, turning it into one more extension of a family of products that is already omnipresent at home. His trick is Hyperos. My partner told Ricardo Aguilar in Xataka That the integration between the system and the mobile phone is much deeper than Apple Carplay or Android Auto. The operating system replicates in up to five screens the relevant information for each of them, has its own applications and allows you to display the information of the phone in mirror mode. Even the system allows Apple Carplay to combine with the base operating system and well show the latter on the central screen and the rear (while Hyperos works below in the instrument box or the head-up display) or send content to it by means of AirPlay. The same goes for Android Auto. The same goes for Harmonyosthe vehicle software used Huawei in cars that launches the market in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers such as Aito, Chery either Jac. In this case, he even has more crumb because They use their own chips with the aim of becoming independent of American companies. In 2021, Huawei already taught the leg with the Presentation of Harmonyos. That multiplatform software had the clear vocation to integrate all products into the same family. That is, who had a phone Huawei will be launched directly to a car that allows him to live the full user experience. Like Xioami, Huawei repeats formula presenting itself as an attractive option to attract customers in high -end or luxury vehicles, such as the one that We can see in this video. The approximation of both Chinese companies is radically different from that of Toyota whose investment in the software is being minimal so far. And although a few months ago they confirmed that They were investing greater resources In their own operating system, they are aware that quina competitiveness can pass them over. The solution is to ally with both Chinese technology. Thus, the Toyota BZ7 can be used with Both operating systems. Each will work with their own artificial intelligence developments and, for example, Toyota promises that with Huawei they are working on a personal identification of individuals so that, with a simple voice command, we can activate the desired profile at the moment. In addition to Xiaomi and Huawei, Toyota has also associated with Momenta. The Chinese company will allow you to delve into autonomous driving systems, a highly desired market in China. In fact, the own Government has had to give a touch of attention to manufacturers so that they do not overestimate their capabilities for the user. Photo | Toyota In Xataka | Family and friends keep asking me if “it is worth buying a Chinese car.” This is my answer

While Europe desperately seeks alternative to Russian gas, a Spanish province has already found it: Burgos

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A few days after summer begins, Europe has an eye on winter. Not because he wants to omit a hot summer, but for a real concern: gas reserves are almost empty. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced That community leaders will discuss new measures, including the possible definitive closure of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. So, while in the high spheres geopolitical strategies are designed, a solution is consolidated in a small town of Burgos: biomass. And they found the key. In Doña Santos, a Burgos town of just over a hundred inhabitants, is the headquarters of children of Tomás Martín, a family business that has been linked to the use of wood. However, it was not until 2011, which under the Burpellet brand, They started producing pellet to take advantage of the waste of the sawmill. Ten years later, they expanded their activity with a second floor in Huerta del Rey, which today has a capacity of 150,000 tons per year – the equivalent of five million bags – consolidating itself as the largest national producer and one of the main European referents in biomass. Heat in unstable times. While electricity prices and fossil fuels are in a roller coaster, the pellet has found its balance. According to Avebiom (Spanish Biomass Energy Valuation Association), the Pellet It is maintained As one of the most competitive energy options, with an average cost of 7 cents per kWh, below natural gas, heating diesel and well below electricity. In other words, a 15KG bag would come to € 5.04, a 2.6% decrease compared to the previous quarter. The global energy storm. Only this year, Europe must spend 10,000 million euros more than in 2024 to replenish its gas reserves, pressured by a colder winter and strong global competition, According to the Financial Times. And although prices remain above 2024, they have remained surprisingly stable in recent weeks. According to Bloomberg, China who was one Of the great global buyers of LNGhas reduced its imports for the fourth consecutive month, weighed by a weaker economy, tariff tensions with the United States and a rebound from internal sources. However, nothing is guaranteed because in the months of July and August extreme temperatures are expected on the horizon, which could change the board. In addition, countries like Egypt could enter the market strong They have explained In Bloomberg. Geopolitical pressure, an unstable global market and the delay in the transition to technologies such as hydrogen convert energy supply into a topic of higher priority for Brussels. A good path. Despite the thrust of the LNG and the promises of green hydrogen, immediate solutions do not always come from new technologies. Sometimes they are already working, far from the spotlights. In places like Mrs. Santos. While Brussels projects the energy future of the continent, in the forests of Burgos there is already an answer working: stoves, boilers and heated buildings with compacted wood chips. It does not sound as modern as hydrogen, but it is clean, efficient and local. Image | Rawpixel Xataka | After two years of vertiginous increases, the price of pellets has done something unpublished: start going down

There are people growing rare plants at home and reluctant their ‘children’ for hundreds of euros

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In salons with filtered light and shelves that previously kept books a business as green as surprising: that of collection plants. It is not exotic plants without more, we talk about leaves with unique patterns and impossible hybrids; a niche where Some plants are worth more than vision proand where fans with a good eye -and best hand – They are turning their hobby into a business. If you want a rare plant, do not go to the nursery because you will not find it, you better go to Wallapop. However, although the market is full of enthusiasts willing to pay surprising figures for some species, there is still the big question: Can you live from selling plants? We have talked to two of them to tell us more details about this hobby turned into business. Fever to have more plants at home During the pandemic, many launched Bake bread either sport at home. Others, on the other hand, found their passion between pots and cuttings. Interest in exotic plants or the Urban gardens I already came from before, and it makes all the meaning, especially in the cities. Filling the plant house goes beyond decoration, responds to the need to connect with nature. If we add it to the context of confinement, the trend exploded. At the same time there was a boom of ‘plantfluencers’ on Instagram and the snowball has not stopped growing since then. It was precisely Through the book of @Plantitiscrónicaa well -known influencer, with whom I lived (on Instagram @Viviyverde), began in this of plants. Although with a much smaller account, today it has made the leap and cultivate rare specimens (especially Alocasia) that sells through Wallapop. In Sergio’s case (on Instagram @Sergiodendron), his reference was Sidney Plant Guy. Setting in his videos, he learned until his Philodendron and Epipremnum They would give him almost monstrous sizes sheets. To collect to cultivate Collecting plants in floors has a problem: space. Precisely this is what led Sergio to sell some of his plants. In nature, many of these tropical species climb the trees in search of the precious light. The moss tutor seeks to replicate these conditions. “They are plants that become giant immediately, my house was filled,” he tells us between laughs. When a plant becomes very high, it has to Cut it and extend the tutor. And what did he do with the part of the plant he cut? He didn’t fit him at home, so he started selling them. Collecting plants in floors has a problem: space. This was what led Sergio to sell some of them. Sergio’s hall is a real jungle. Once he reached the maximum of tutors he could have, he started with the Anthuriumone of the most fashionable species in this plant collecting. He acknowledges that it is relatively new in the cultivation of this species, but has captivated him: “It is a very diverse genre. The special thing they have is that they are easy to hybridize between different species.” Sergio usually buy his plants in other countries in Europe and creates his own hybrids on his floor in Madrid, many of them sell them In Wallapop. When asking how many plants he has at home he answers with another question: “What do you consider? In total estimated that you have more than 300 plants, 70 larger and the rest are small outbreaks. For Vivi, going from collecting to sell was somewhat more intentional. After a time collecting and creating content on plants, he saw that there was a market and launched a growth store. He currently has two stores in one of the rooms in his house where he cultivates especially Alocasia. It has more than 200 plants on its floor. On the left: one of Vivi’s cultivation stores. On the right, the orders of the week ready to leave. I lived too Sell ​​in Wallapopbut on his Instagram we see that his store is more professional. It has its logo, the packaging is very much curled and it even has merchandising. One of the things you like best is to pack them. It is a very important part if you want to sell plants: you have to get perfect to your destination. “Shipments must be made Monday or Tuesday. If they are sent later, the plant can spend the weekend in a warehouse and arrive in poor condition.” Another aspect to consider is legality. Selling plants within the European Union is legal And it does not require any permission, but if imported from other countries you have to have a phytosanitary certificate. “It’s a mess,” says Sergio. Since last year Wallapop informs the Treasury, So you have to declare income, in addition to being discharged in freelancers. The most sought -after plants What are the most expensive plants? Tropical plants are the ones that most attract these collectors, species such as Philodendron, Anthurium, Alocasia and Monstera They are the most common. But anyone is worth it, It must be a rare species and, if it has a unique, better variegation. In Botany, the variegation is the “state of the plant that shows tissues of different colors or of diverse constitution.” For example, one Albo Variegata Monster It is like the Monstera Normal (the classic ‘Costilla de Adam’), but with white spots. The whiter and pretty the pattern is, the more it will be paid for it. Wallapop is full of rare tropical plants and some are nothing cheap. But not all plants of the same type are worth the same. A Monstera Thai Constellation that can cost us from 60 euros (or more, depending on the size), than a Monstera Thai Constellation Miracle Tricolor that It can exceed 600 euros. The difference? That the second has the pattern in green, white and yellow, a rarity (or miracle, as its name says) that the price increases a lot. Fever by Alocasia and Anthurium It is also booming. Exist 113 species of Alocasia And more than 1,000 … Read more

This is heavy machinery remote control technology

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Each morning Monica Kyrö starts her work as millions of people, in an office. In his position, yes, there is something strange. His own company shows it In an image of the employee. And it is not unusual only for the two huge curved monitors, but for the Two joysticks That Monica begins to handle quickly by getting to the homework. But it is that this employee of the Swedish company Lkab It has a very peculiar job. Monica is mining. But a different mining company. He works as a remote operator of heavy mining machines, but does not conduct them or operates in the conventional sense of the word. Instead, control these machines remotely since its advanced job. It is an example of an interesting transformation in several industries. Miners who do not need to go down to the mine These types of systems have gradually conquer some industrial scenarios, and Mining It is certainly very appropriate. This dangerous profession He has adapted to the new times, and “going down to the mine” is no longer rigorously true. With these machines remotely controlled by human operators, the work of these miners is not only more comfortable: it is infinitely safer. There are various companies specialized in this area. Immersive Technologiesone of them shows how his simulation solutions Avoid risks to workers in real scenarios – such as mining exploitations – in which the risks are high. But that does not prevent other problems from arising. By removing the operator from that seat on the heavy machine itself, there may be problems by not having the range of vision that one would have in that cabin and also not completely perceive its environment – for example that another employee that does not initially appear on video suddenly appears in that area – and the possible impact of using those machines at a point and in a certain way in each moment. The impact on the work is for now an inconite, but a priori it does not seem that the role of the traditional operator of these machines is in danger. In fact, what was precisely demand for new professionalswhich can now be more interested thanks to that change in the paradigm and much greater security and comfort in these jobs. Remote control trucks and robots Heavy machinery is gradually becoming autonomous and robotic heavy machinery, they explained On robotics. In Spain companies like Epiroc either Sandfire Matsa They have this type of solutions in the field of mining, but there are other areas in which heavy machinery remote control is a perfect option. It is for example the case of the control of machines in commercial ports such as Guangzhou, in China. Months ago a video appeared on social networks in which remote operators of this port worked from the offices controlling trucks and cranes to move those containers and moving them from one place to another. Everything without human personnel near those containers and large machines, something that once again avoids important risks and that allows these operators to do everything from a much more comfortable and safe environment. Certainly it seems that they were playing a simulation video game, but no. The video is hypnotic. These solutions have been in operation for years, although they do so in very specific environments due to the complexity of these works. Husqvarna, Swedish manufacturer of construction machines, was one of the firms that participated after the catastrophe of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Over there your remote control robots They helped in the controlled demolition tasks of the central. Companies like the Norway Steer They are specialized in this type of solutions for dangerous scenarios such as underground operations, work with explosives, or scenarios in which there is a risk of radioactivity or others such as avalanches and detachments. To the remote control options that require a human operator, the new autonomous vehicles for industrial applications are added. Here is a clear example in the field of agriculture. Autonomous tractors are already a realityof course, but these types of vehicles are also being used more and more in other fields. Mining is another reference: Caterpillar – of the protagonist in these markets – has autonomous trucks that already operate in that industry and that make use of “see” their environment, as well as in some robotaxis Like the Waymo. These autonomous vehicles are notwithstanding challenges to overcome: as in the case of self -employed cars, technology remains difficult to perfectespecially before the diversity of scenarios in which these solutions try to apply. That joysticks is of the last generation, but it is not to play This heavy machinery remote control segment has also caused the creation of (at least) a small segment totally associated with these systems: there are companies such as Comtium either JR Merritt specialized in calls industrial joysticks. These models are applicable to all types of heavy machinery and offer different designs and buttons according to the field in which they are used. There are even models with controlled precision systems with the thumb and even Control chairs For operators with everything necessary for this type of applications. This type of specialized peripherals can resemble traditional video game joysticks, but in reality they are quite different. To begin with, they must meet some requirements for very high durabilityand resist vibrations, extreme temperatures, dust, moisture and especially intensive use. That causes stainless steel axes and other equally resistant elements to be used. In the case of precision components that are usually translated for example in Minijísticks for the thumbswhich can have different configurations and shapes to adjust to specific heavy machines. Some of them have the Hall Effect technology that lately it has become popular in keyboards and that is especially useful in these areas. This type of joysticks use magnetic sensors to determine the position of the lever without physical contact between mobile parts and sensors. This makes the possible effects of a wear of the … Read more

Learn to communicate with aliens

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A dog with its barking and A cat with its meowdos They try to tell us something. Also They do it with their eyes, With the body and with its gestures. Communication between species has been essential for the development of bothallowing The link and survival. And there are those who think that whales also want to communicate with us. As? Drawing huge circles in the water to see what we do. And we are using that communication with whales to Enter relationship with … aliens. Extraterrestrial communication. We have been trying for decades Find out extraterrestrial communication. The contact possibilities are there, but those of communication are already more complex. However, hope is the last thing that is lost. In 2021, researchers from the SETI Institute, the University of California Davis and Alaska Whale Foundation created the project WHOLE-SETI. The objective was to unravel the complexity of the vocalizations of humpback whales to discern patterns and develop potential ways of Interest communication. Talking with whales. Breenda McCowan is one of the main researchers of the project and, in 2023, published a article in which detailed One of the tests to contact. McCowan recorded 20 minutes of underwater sounds and prosecuted them to try to find a pattern that could attract whales. This is how a 38 -year -old female named Twain approached a hundred meters from the ship … and responded with her own “line” of voice. For 20 minutes, Twain maintained a vocal exchange With the recordings, adjusting their answers in synchrony with the reproduction intervals. This allowed the researchers to adjust the fragments of the recording to which Twain responded best, but also demonstrated something important: a conversational behavior between humans and a whale. Rings. The team has continued ‘speaking’ with whales in recent years, getting much more than noise in its ‘tongue’. Fred Sharpe is co -author of that first article and commented that these whales are “extremely intelligent, with complex social systems, songs and social calls”, but in addition to vocalization, Sharpe explained that “manufacture tools.” Not in the form of objects, but as huge rings that are bubble networks. These rings are, in fact, a sophisticated Hunting strategy which implies the creation of bubble rings to corner and capture both fish and krill. The hunchbacks swim in ascending spirals while they release air by their respiratory holes to create vortices that, on the surface, we see as if they were rings. Thus, instead of spending energy swimming behind the dams, they “catch” a large number of them in those vortices, throwing themselves with their mouths open and swallowing large amounts of dams of a single bite without spending as much energy as in a hunt “to the race.” Rings of the 12 episodes. Images | (a) D. Knaub, (b) F. Nicklen, (c) D. Perrine, (d) W. Davis, (e) G. Flipse, (f) A. Henry, (g) M. Gaughan, (h) H. Romonchik, (i) D. Patton, (J) D. Perrine, (k) S. isstrup, (l) S. Hilbourne Contact. We could assume that this hunting technique is carried out when they are in an aggressive way, but the interesting thing is the new finding of the McCowan team. In a study recent, researchers exhibit and They analyze 12 different episodes in which 11 individual whales created a total of 39 rings with a different goal from hunting: draw our attention. Friendly whales. Sharpe is clear that whales are creating rings in an apparent attempt to interact curiously, playful or simply to observe our response. Jodi Frediani, participant in the study, Comment that “most have voluntarily approached ships and swimmers, producing bubble rings during these episodes.” We might think that perhaps they wanted to eat that body, but the whale behavior did not indicate that: in these cases, during the release of the ring, the whales were motionless, as waiting, with the body in a horizontal position and without signs of food behavior. Nor were dams within the rings or aggressive behavior, so if they did not want to eat, there were no other whales nearby and there was only one individual specimen and the humans, the conclusion of the researchers is that they were waiting for our response. Back to the aliens. “We believe that this is the first communicative exchange of this type between humans and humpback whales in the ‘language’ of the humps,” said Sharpe. And although this behavior of the whales and their communication with rings, another of McCowan’s researchers and partner, Dr. Laurence Doyle, recalled the objective of the mission: contact the aliens. “Due to current technological limitations, a key assumption in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that they would be interested in establishing contact. Therefore, they would direct their signs towards human receptors,” he said. That is, we would be the whales in the eyes of the extraterrestrials that are trying to contact. “This important assumption is clearly supported by the behavior of humpback whales,” Doyle said. It may be that contact with aliens arrives sooner or later, something complex due to the size of the universe, but it is evident that, in that search for contact, we have managed to communicate with much closer neighbors. Images | Online Library, University of Hawai’i In Xataka | 10 million dollars to talk to your dog: the prize for those who manage to communicate “bidirectionally” with animals

In 2007 Spain forced men to take longer casualties to take care of their children. Act then fertility fell

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Throughout the last two decades Spain has taken several steps to extend the casualties by paternity among men. Gave one key in 2007another followed that extended its reach In 2017 and Four years ago He advanced again in that same direction to match the permits enjoyed by the women and men who have just had a baby. But … how do these casualties influence birth? Are they harmless? Do they accelerate it? Do they slow down? And if so, what is the reason? Now we have Some keys. Question of Paternity and Birth Low. A few years ago the researchers Farré Lídia and Libertad González They asked themselves an interesting question, especially for governments (more and more) that they are fighting against birth crises and seek greater equality in homes: how do the casualties affect paternity to fertility? Do they influence the probability that a couple has more children in the short term? And if so, in what sense? To respond to these issues, they analyzed the birth data published by the INE between 2005 and 2013 and were set at a specific date: March 2007, which was when it was approved The legislative change which allowed men to take paternity permits of 13 days, expandable to 15 in cases of multiple births. Until then only parents were allowed to absent A couple of days. Since then the regulatory framework It has varied quite considerably, first with a change that expanded the casualties In 2017 And then, four years ago, with another for match the permits of mothers and fathers. Even so, what happened 2007 continues to offer a valuable opportunity to assess the impact of the casualties. And what did they discover? Farré and González captured their conclusions in An academic article Posted in 2019 in Journal of Public Economicsa piece that suggests that the two -week paternity decline released in 2007 had several effects on the Spanish society of the following years. Some expected. Others, not so much. Among the latter the most curious is that these permits delayed the subsequent fertility of couples. That is, the parents who took the decline took longer to have other offspring than those who had no permits. A key horizon: six years. “We show that the introduction of two weeks of paid permission paid in Spain in 2007 led to an increase in the spacing of births, which may have led to a lower number of subsequent births between older couples”, summary Farré and González in Your article. “We discovered that the parents who were entitled to the new paternity permission when they had a child in 2007 took longer to have another compared to those who did not have that right. We also show that the couples with permission were less likely to have another child the six years of age following the application of the reform.” And what are the causes? The million dollar question. In Your articlethe researchers slide some keys. One is the effect that the new paternity casualties have in the distribution of domestic tasks (including parenting) and how that is reflected at work level. As Farré and González explain, despite the fact that women’s opportunities have been improving in recent decades, they “continue to spend more time to unpaid and care work than men.” When that cast is balanced thanks to permits, women can devote more time to paid jobs and boost their careers. And how does that influence fertility? For women it is a greater resignation to have more children. “The greatest participation of parents in children’s care could have improved the labor insertion of mothers, as reflected in their highest employment rates after childbirth, which could have increased the opportunity cost of having an additional child,” Clarifies the study. To this is added that the more parents are involved in lower upbringing are the differences between men and women in the eyes of an entrepreneur. THE OTHER GREAT KEY: PATERNITY. During their study the researchers appreciated another factor: after the 2007 reform the men simply seemed less interested in expanding the family with more children, at least in the short term. “The men reported a lower fertility after the reform, which could be due to the fact that the period of decline aware of the total cost of having children,” collect the study. “Spending more time with your children could have modified their preferences in favor of quality (instead of quantity).” Does it affect insertion? “The men who have benefited from the new paternity decline are less will summarize The UB, to which Farré is linked. The report leaves another interesting idea: although the rate of use of paternity decline was high, it does not seem to have affected men at work level. In what the casualties have influenced is in the involvement of men in child care, increasing the time they dedicate to parenting, and the labor perspectives of women. “Mothers presented higher employment rates six months after childbirth and were prone to request a family leave.” Does inequality influence? Although it is based on data several years ago and focuses on the specific case of Spain, the study is interesting because, their authors remember, the effects they observe on fertility could “generalize” other countries in the south and east of Europe in which women carry much of the responsibilities of the home. In the case of Spain, The report recalls that until 2007 men barely resorted to parental permission and imbalance in the distribution of domestic tasks and the raising of children was very accentuated: at least between 2002 and 2003, they dedicated 4.2 hours a day to home work and child care, more than triple than they, who barely invested 1.3 h. “These characteristics could have contributed to the introduction of the paternity license to be more effective, increasing the child care time of the parents and the linking of women to the workforce, perhaps with the side effect of reducing the desired fertility of men in relation to … Read more

Those who know how to ask 100 questions to Chatgpt and those that are formed with an answer

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When Nityesh Agarwal, an engineer from Everyspent two weekends learning about special relativity with ChatgptHe did not just ask him a question. Not ten. Were More than one hundred The questions he asked until Einstein ceased to be a name in his books to become ideas that could explain to anyone in five minutes. A software engineer, without physics training, achieved what it used to require much more regulated training time: Understand why time slows near the speed of light. The difference was not even caused by the chosen model. In fact, He used more GPT-4o than the brand new O3 because he felt that he better understood his doubts. The difference was in your method: Ask until exhaustion. Ask for metaphors. Draw diagrams when it was stuck. Share each epiphany to confirm that you had understood. He used the AI, in short, such as what can really be: A tutor with infinite patience that never tires of reformulating the idea from different angles until the student understands. And there is a little commented problem: Most people use chatgpt and company like a vitaminate googlelittle else. One question, an answer, next topic. An advanced calculator, a refined translator. How to have Internet access and just use it to watch viral videos. Ahem. Nityesh discovered that the bottleneck of personalized learning is not so much the intelligence of the machine and the patience and insistence of the student. AI can teach anything to anyone. But it requires that we be as obsessive as Nityesh during those two weekends. And so he is born A new self -taught class: People who understand that after the Internet, AI is its second great revolution. If the Internet democratized access to knowledge, LLMS They democratize access to personalized teaching. Some people make them more vague. Others make them unstoppable. The advantage is no longer to have access to information, but in the ability to ask the right questions and have the patience to continue asking until everything fit. Nityesh has demonstrated it In comic strips. Outstanding image | Collab Media in Unspash In Xataka | The new illiteracy has nothing to do with knowing how to read or write: it is to use AI as an oracle instead of as a tool

When the British wanted to terrorize the Nazis during World War II, they chose a peculiar weapon: pump rats

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Think about the Second World War is to think of large -scale battles, tremendous operations and epic skirmishes. And, although it is true that there were imposing deeds, we are also tremendously influenced by cinema and video games. Because doing one spy movie or a ‘Save Soldier Ryan‘is’ easy’, but … and one above the inflatable tanks or of pigeons piloting missiles? That is more complicated. Because, In a moment of despaireverything goes. And if the Americans gave them to devise a bomb -loaded bomb To set the Japanese houses, the British be occurred Something that looks like a joke, but that made a lot of sense: filling rats with plastic explosive and waiting to be triggered in Nazis facilities. The Germans They were caught at firstbut far from being a fudge, it turns out that discovering the pump rats was what made the operation a success. Exploding Kittens Rats 1941 was a key year in the Second World War. The Nazis gave the green light to the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war officially and began the Mass deportation of Jews to the extermination fields. There were too many open fronts and the war had just become a global phenomenon, but the British wore years fighting the Nazis. The first quarter was crazy, with bombings of the British to German possessions and intense German bombings in English territory, attacking cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and, above allLondon, who for almost two months He suffered night bombings. Apart from in the air, the war was fought on land, and one of the plans of British intelligence revolved around the industrial sabotage. Damaging the factories, Germany would lose war power, it is evident. Thus, the British Special Operations Office, or SOE for its acronym in English, devised a strategy which would consist in wasteing pump rats near German infrastructure. They would not put a “backpack” pump to the rat and leave it free out there, no: the plan It consisted In getting dead rats, open them on the channel, empty them, fill them with plastic explosive, place a detonator that would come out for what would be the anus and strategically locate each animal near the boilers of the factories and key buildings of the Nazis. The goal? That when a worker found a rat, he directly threw it into that boiler, turning on the wick and causing the structure to fly through the air, interrupting the Nazi war machine. That said, the truth is that it was a brilliant plan because it was easy to think that workers would not bury the animal or throw it out there, since it could spread diseases, that cremation in the boiler being as fast. And they got with a hundred of them. There was a problem: the Nazis intercepted the first sending of explosive rats before they were deployed. Far from thinking that the plan failed, it turns out that The caught was much more effective that what they could have achieved if the rats had managed to be thrown into the boilers. And the reason is obvious: the Nazis, when discovering the Artimañathey wondered how many explosive rats before that interception they could have placed the British. That sowed a more explosive doubt than the rat itself because the Nazis launched campaigns to search for similar devices and, if they found a dead rat, began to tremble. Would it be a rat or a pump? Although any exploded, the operation was never considered a psychological success for the general paranoia that caused in the German ranks. The possibility of such unconventional sabotage forced the Nazis to divert resources to counteract similar threats. In the official SOE archives, they detail that the device “caused considerable problems to the enemy, but not quite in the way it was intended.” In the end, it was an effective form of psychological war because there were Germans trying to counteract a non -existent threat. As concluded Soe himself, “the problem that rats caused to the Nazis was a much greater success for us than if the rats had really been used.” Today is an anecdote or an object of collecting, like the main image rat, sold In 2017 for more than $ 1,800. Also as a much less crazy idea than those of those pilot pigeons … or that of the incendiary bats. Images | Charles Merrell, The National Archives, Bonhams In Xataka | 80 years ago the US threw a bomb in Japan that nobody agreed again. He has just exploded at an airport

In Spain a book is published every six minutes. It is the symptom of a bubble that does not stop inflating

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When talking about the health of the editorial industry in Spain, publication figures are usually used to justify the good condition that the book business lives. However, rapid accounts lead to thinking perhaps just the opposite: excess launches may be hypertrophy the bookstores, which are suffocated by a series of very uninjury side effects. How much is published? The Latest public data from the Ministry of Culture They speak of 92,000 books a year with ISBN, that is, more than 250 books a day. Every minute, six books. And that telling only the launches with legal deposit, that is, we do not count the self -edge (last year, it was around the three newspapers … By author) For platforms as widespread as Amazon. That do not count as part of the editorial cake but add thousands of potential titles per month to the mountain of slopes of the troubled readers. Success is what is sought. Why so much novelty? There are a number of reasons that make up a very complex ecosystem to explain this production overdose. On the one hand, it is an editorial strategy for compensate for the fall in sales by book: except Bestsellers And specific successes, the books sell less, the runs are lower and the publishers multiply their offer to cushion it. From there comes a constant publication and search of that new success that supplies the previous one. The fact that Increase global income Although the runs fall, it is proof that The strategy works. Oihan Iturbide, former Editor, counted in the jump that “the editorial industry looks more like a fast food chain than a restaurant with a good homemade menu: the key is in volume, not in quality.” Many are. On the other hand, there is the proliferation of new publishers: In 2024Spain had approximately 3,160 active publishers. It does not imply a very notable change with respect to previous years (comparable to 2016, and notoriously less than 3,564 of 2009, year with Spain in a very different economic context). Of these, only about 2,000 publishers launch more than 10 titles per year, and only 13 exceed 700 annual titles. Is it a note of diversity and vitality of the sector? Yes. But also of the enormous contrast between the large Spanish editorial groups (Planet and Penguin Random House, more Santillana in the educational field) and the rest: According to the Federation of the Editors Guildthree out of four books come from these groups. The distribution fish. This overproduction atmosphere (Rubén Hernández, by Errata Naturae, Talk about those 92,000 books per year “One third is returned to the darkness of the stores and is probably guillotine”) is contaminated with the complex distribution system in Spain. This is also Hernández: “The publisher publishes with a price (…) of 10 euros and it is sent to the distributor. The bookseller buys it with a discount close to 35%, from which he obtains his benefit, and pays 6.5 euros to the distributor, which stays 2 euros and pays the remaining 4.5 euros, that he does not pay him, but offers him a loan. “ The snowball continues to grow: “In turn, the distributor claims to the editor of his 4.5 euros, which he does not pay him, so he contracts a debt. And to reimburse it, the editor has no choice but to invest the 4.5 euros he has won (but he must) in another book that, after arriving at the bookseller, activates his credit, while the distributor enters another 2 euros. Book, the editor and the bookseller receive debts or credits. A vitiated system very similar to a bubble that continues to grow without brake. Are all bad news? No: the evidence that it is published too much allows publishers to realize that The situation can become unsustainable. Possible solutions to Very vicious system of returns in bookstores. The excess of supply is not bad in itself, unless it leads to overproduction and atibor the system until it is bursting. It is obvious that six books per minute are too many, but … who is the first to start with the cuts? Header | Photo of Pierre Bamin in Unspash In Xataka | Adult books are therapeutic. But behind there is a framework of demands, plagiarism and complaints

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