trick

What science says about the “trick” of two crossed fans to cool the house: it works, but with limits

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With heat waves hitting the thermometers, the desperation to cool the house without increasing the electricity bill leads us to look for any shortcut. And although the new air conditioners have shown that they have a low daily costthe reality is that many people prefer to opt for the classic fan and there are ways to optimize its operation. An idea. Something that has become popular in recent days is the possibility of using two fanshaving each in opposite windows. Under this premise, the idea is that one of them brings in air from the street and the other manages to get it out to ensure that the house in the end is as cold as possible within their possibilities. It has support. What is proposed here is to take to the extreme a concept that has been used for a long time in the architectural world to ensure that homes, passively, can acclimatize. And, according to the design standards and manuals of entities such as the IDAE, uwell-designed cross ventilation can reduce the interior temperature by up to 5°C. The two-fan technique falls into the category of hybrid or assisted ventilation. As detailed by platforms specialized in architecture such as ArchDaily or the technical area of ​​Tinsa, it is not enough to open windows at random. For there to be flow, a pressure difference must exist. The idea. By placing one fan pointing inward on the coldest façade, which is normally the north one or the one facing a shady patio, and another pointing outward on the opposite façade, we are mechanically forcing that pressure differential. The goal here is for the cool air to push the stagnant hot air mass out the opposite window. Although yes, for this flow to accelerate and be more efficient, the opening through which the air leaves should be more open than the one through which it enters. It’s proven. A thesis from the Piloto University of Colombia wanted analyze the effectiveness of this ventilation methodand it was seen that this system showed a significant reduction in thermal load in a hot-humid climate. Although here it is important to highlight that the thermal insulation of the home or building is very important, logically, to maintain an adequate temperature. It has small print. Logically, these two fans cannot work miracles, and if the outside temperature exceeds 30 degrees and especially if the relative humidity is high, cross ventilation loses all its effectiveness. Far from cooling, here there would be thermal energy in the home and forcing the entry of air at 35 °C with a fan is the equivalent of turning on a giant hair dryer. The best hour. Here the official recommendations point out that cross, forced or natural ventilation is a strategy that should be left for the first thing in the morning or at night. when the temperature is considerably lower. For the “two fans trick” to work and achieve that promised 5°C drop in the structure of the house, you must apply it only when the outside temperature drops below the inside temperature. This is called “selective ventilation” since during those hours, the mechanical technique of the two fans will sweep away the heat accumulated on the walls and ceilings during the day. Images | Delaney Van In Xataka | We have been trying to optimize cooling for centuries. My grandfather from Toledo solved the heat with the simplest invention: a door split in two

the most effective trick has nothing to do with that

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You come back from vacation, open the door, and suddenly you’re greeted with a strong sewer smell that certainly wasn’t there when you left. The Internet has been filled with advice to avoid this problem: from carrying a cup of orange peels to throwing away half a kilo of coffee grounds. The only problem is that, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, each one is more surreal than the last. What can we do so that our house does not smell like lightning? The first thing is to understand that this fashion that runs rampant on the Internet is not a meaningless article industry. Nameless experts, tricks that “come straight from Central Europe” and slightly eccentric ideas: what we usually find are creative and ineffective solutions, to be honest. The example of orange peels is perfect to understand it. “Throw orange peels down the toilet once a week“, say some advice. And the truth is that the peels are scented: they release essential oils (limonene), but their concentration is very low and, of course, not enough to degrease or unclog the pipes. In fact, if we go to the fine print, we see that the ‘trick’ does not even recommend ‘flushing’ them down the toilet; Just put them in the water in the cup for twenty or thirty minutes. That is to say (and in short) it is nothing that really helps… …but at least it’s not the coffee trick. That’s true. Coffee grounds are much worse.: above all, because they cake and settle in elbows and siphons. With repeated use, in fact, they end up reducing the flow rate of the pipes as if it were cholesterol. It is not something that happens suddenly (pouring a spoonful of coffee into the water is not going to flood your house), but it does not seem like the most reasonable practice (cost-benefit). And they are not the only tricks. In fact, the problem of using the toilet as a trash can is enormous in our country. Only Isabel II Canalin the Community of Madrid, removed around 33,000 tons of solid waste from its treatment plants in 2024. About four kilos per person. In the end, according to the urban water association (DAQUAS)these wastes make water purification more expensive by around 10 and 15%. And, perhaps that is why, all the management companies repeat the same thing: only pee, excrement and paper go down the toilet. And then how do we solve the problem? For them, you have to understand a little how modern bathrooms work. For practical purposes, under every sink, sink and shower (also inside the toilet) there is a trap. It’s that ‘u’ shaped curve that holds a plug of water and blocks odor. What usually happens in summer is that these siphons dry out and stop working. In this way, odors rise to the rooms. So what is usually recommended is to let the water run well so that the siphons are full and, if necessary, add a little food oil (which makes a film on the water and makes it difficult to evaporate). If this doesn’t work, there may be a blockage or a ventilation problem, but it certainly won’t be solved by filling the toilet bowl with lemons. Image | Amit Lahav In Xataka | Every time you go to the bathroom you are expelling one of the most used pesticides on the planet. And that’s a problem

Spain has standardized a small trick to avoid rear-end accidents. The DGT is not very satisfied

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Emergency braking and emergency lights are words that, by pure common sense, we could understand that one always goes together with the other. So much so that not only in Spain have we assimilated that the way to act in a traffic jam is to activate them almost immediately, manufacturers have also been incorporating it into the latest models. However, the DGT through the General Traffic Regulations It continues to ask us to act in a slightly different way and that, directly, has become somewhat obsolete. better than the warning…with your hand? Rear-end accidents are one of the most common types of crashes on Spanish roads, especially now that summer is coming and trips are multiplying. Although there is no official data that segments this type of accident, claims and insurance experts estimate in 5% of total crashes those that occur by reach. These are usually accidents with low mortality rates but those who suffer them can be seriously injured. whiplash that usually causes problems over time if they do not heal well. Rear-end accidents are not usually a big problem in terms of mortality rates, but they can cause serious damage to our cars. And although without sufficient safety distance it is difficult to avoid them, drivers have assimilated a way of acting to reduce them. The most common thing in this type of situation in which we find a traffic jam in front of us is that we brake with a certain force and immediately the hand goes to the emergency button (a problem in cars where the emergency button warning is on the ceiling). That is, we activate the signal while braking. However, in the General Traffic Regulations, article 109 c) reads the following: “The intention to immobilize the vehicle or to brake its progress significantly, even when such events are imposed by traffic circumstances, must be warned, whenever possible, by repeatedly using the brake lights or by moving the arm alternately up and down with short and rapid movements.” And then it is pointed out that: When the immobilization takes place on a highway or highway, or in places or circumstances that significantly reduce visibility, the presence of the vehicle must be signaled by using the emergency light, if available, and, where appropriate, with the position lights. That is, according to the DGT we must issue warnings using the brake lights or by putting our hand out the window (less advisable if we have to make an unexpected dodging movement). And we will only turn on the emergency lights if we are immobilized. Colleagues explain Motorpassion that technically the DGT cannot fine us for using the emergency lights to signal a traffic jam before stopping and, in truth, it is difficult for us to think that a traffic officer would fine us for it in those circumstances. The wording made in the General Traffic Regulations is marked by the type of vehicle that was driven many years ago and it has no meaning since ABS (invented in 1978 by Mercedes and mandatory in every European car since 2004, although most already had it) is the norm. If a driver drives a car without ABS, the car will lock the wheels under heavy braking and it is easy to lose control. ABS prevents this from happening by relieving the brake pressure slightly even if we press it fully to allow the wheels to turn slightly and not lock. The only way to act emergency braking in a car without ABS is to do this same thing. You press the brake hard and then lift it very slightly and press it again. The action is repeated as many times as necessary, hence the wording of article 109 of the General Traffic Regulations. Since cars have this system, this way of acting is unnecessary and even dangerous because it will be the car that acts for us. But in addition, many of today’s cars already automatically activate the warning if we apply enough force on the brake pedal. This function is also deactivated if our intervention when the foot is lifted from the brake. Photo | Mark Stuckey and Samuel Girven In Xataka | There is no new rule that prevents driving in the left lane: the DGT already punishes it with a 200 euro fine

The trick against all logic of Ukrainian drones to hunt the fearsome Russian shahed

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The first documented aerial shootdown in history, in 1914, was not won by the fastest plane, but by the one that knew how to position himself better and hold the exact moment to shoot. More than a century later, the drone war in Ukraine is rediscovering the same lesson: in the air, sometimes patience outweighs speed. The new hunt for the Shahed. we have been counting: the air war over Ukraine has entered into a new phase where defense no longer depends only on expensive anti-aircraft missiles, but on drones designed to hunt other drones. One of the most advanced examples It’s Stingdeveloped by the Ukrainian company Wild Hornetsan interceptor created specifically for take down the Russian Shahed that bomb cities and infrastructure every night. With more than 200 km per hour of speed, Sting represents a radical evolution with respect to conventional FPV drones: it is no longer about attacking trenches or armored vehicles, but rather intercepting aerial threats en route to their objective. The initial error. The engineers’ first intuition seemed obvious: to catch a fast drone they had to build something even faster. The first Sting prototypes They exceeded 250 km per houra figure much higher than that of the Russian Geran-2 and comparable to some jet variants. But the reality of combat dismantled that logic. The higher the speed, the less autonomy. The higher the speed, the less patrol time. And in a war where detecting and waiting is as important as striking, that became a tactical problem. The key: the other way around. Here appears the crux that changed everything. After combat testing and conversations with the Ukrainian military, Wild Hornets reformulated the concept: “Speed ​​is not the key. Time in the air is important,” They told Insider. The phrase summarizes a counterintuitive but fundamental lesson. To intercept a Shahed it is not enough to reach it, you must first find it, follow it, maneuver and have room to react. An interceptor that is too fast consumes energy, reduces its operational window and limits its flexibility. The result was a almost heretical decision in military engineering: make the slowest drone to do better. Slower, more useful. Reduce speed allowed gain more than 20 minutes of flight, increase mechanical reliability and simplify preparation for each mission. That transformed the Sting from a simple flying projectile into a real aerial hunting tool. It can operate at altitudes of up to 7,000 meters, although it performs better somewhat lower, and its cost (less $2,000 per unit) makes it an extremely cost-effective solution against Shaheds that cost tens of thousands and, above all, against much more expensive interceptor missiles. The war of mutual adaptation. But the battlefield does not stop. Russia too is modifying his Shahedincorporating cameras, improving maneuverability and making them more difficult to shoot down. Every Russian improvement forces a Ukrainian response, and every new version of Sting is born from that constant exchange. Wild Hornets now has developed variants with specific cameras for different light conditions and night operations, showing the extent to which this war is an accelerated evolutionary race. The pilot away from the front. The last great revolution It’s Hornet Visiona remote control technology that allows Sting to be piloted hundreds of kilometers from the launch point. This completely changes the defensive logic: the best operators can be far from the front, safe from Russian attacks, managing multiple interceptors at the same time. Instead of exposing pilots near impact zones, Ukraine begins to centralize talent and multiply efficiency. Air defense, in that sense, looks less and less like a system of batteries and radars and more like a distributed network of invisible hunters. The economy of the new war. Sting represents something deeper than just a drone. It is the demonstration that modern war rewards efficiency above sophistication. While a surface-to-air missile can cost millions to shoot down a cheap target, Ukraine is proving it can be fought saturation with saturationbut intelligently. The great discovery, therefore, has not been to build the fastest interceptor, but to understand that, sometimes, to win a chase, the most important thing is not to run further: it is hold on longer in the air. Image | Wild Hornets In Xataka | Ukraine can’t take back Crimea, but it’s making sure Russia drowns inside its own peninsula In Xataka | We have to start thinking about the Ukrainian war in terms greater than those of the First World War.

The latest trick for AI companies to appear less artificial is to use classic fonts. It’s the arrival of ‘Tasteslop’

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It has rained a lot since the Will Smith who had a hard time eating spaghetti and the AI videos we have nowwith the potential for us to swallow them if we don’t pay attention. More curious is that, not so long ago, AIs were useless when it came to representing letters in an image, but they have improved so much that they have even converted a specific font into something that denotes that a text has been made with AI: the serif font. And it is a huge problem. Suspicious typography. AI is in everything. In recent days, non-E3 has been held, the week in which different video game companies present their new products for the coming months, and many players were on the lookout. Many video game companies have found in AI a quick way out to speed up development (and fire employees along the way) and it seems that they are in a competition to see if they can sneak it in. Titles like the new ‘Stellar Blade 2’ or ‘1666 Amsterdam’ (with AI assets when they declare themselves as a “team of craftsmen”) are two examples. Others classify it as a “carcinogenic” technology. AI is in everything and, as they point out in this article from Wired, also in typography. The improvement of this technology when it comes to representing texts is so notable that AI companies are training them to use a specific typeface: certain varieties of sarif or sarifa (depending on the program you use to edit texts). In fact, writer and designer Keya Vadgama has noticed so many companies using the typeface that he has coined the term “the serif renaissance” to describe the phenomenon. Why sarif? This font is very interesting because it has “thanks” or “punchlines”. The serif fonts are some like Times, Georgia or Courier, while then there are the sans-serif fonts, which are the ones that would not have those endings. The endings are the decorations that copyists used to use in books and it is a warmer and more human source and, precisely, that is the key. Vagama explains that “it’s not that hard to guess why native AI companies are attracted to serif fonts.” According to his thesis, it is because AI is a cold technology, soulless and incapable of creating, but a font with those endings in the letters brings that soulless creation of AI closer to the warmth of human calligraphy. “It connotes a very human and fluid way of making letter shapes,” notes Vadgama. ‘Tasteslop‘. And since everything on the Internet must have a name, this trend has been framed within a term that already existed and in which it fits perfectly: ‘tasteslop‘. What that means is that it’s something with that aesthetic that wants to look sophisticated and curated, but is actually a collage of superficial design decisions that are simply guided by templates and generative models, not by deeper criteria. Visually it is curated, it is powerful, it is elegant, but the problem is that it is still a machine posing as a human. It is replicable with a prompt. And we are talking about simple text, yes, but also about an intention that shows that, in the world of marketing, there is no stitch without a thread and the objective is to leave the cold sans-serif typography aside to opt for a more human and warm one that, subconsciously, causes us less rejection. The answer. Claude, Manus, Runway or Perplexity, among others, use serif typography and, after asking, Wired received a response from a Perplexity representative who pointed out that why wouldn’t they have a human design… if Perplexity is for people. The curious case of Anthropic. The logo is sans-serif, it has sans-serif fonts, but also serif Implications for the designer. If AI is already taking this space (too) to simulate that it is not a machine, but something created by a human, now is the time for designers (again) to have to move to find a new space. We are already seeing that, if someone creates an image and it is very perfect, there are comments on networks like “that’s AI.” Or the more ‘Bro’ version of “hey Grok, is that AI?” And it is a problem because artists and designers are seeing how a technology that has plundered their work is imitating them perfectly in many aspects. As models absorb that serif font boom and AI learns from AI and its aesthetics, humans will be the ones who have to adapt to find a new visual code that indicates that there is craftsmanship there. It is to carry the battlefield art/prompt to fonts, something that would seem absurd until not long ago, but we are already seeing that it is giving something to talk about. Especially when the AI ​​is already asked to make images with text that appear human in aesthetics and less tech. I wish they used Comic Sans. The identification problem. In the background there is something much more serious: how we separate the wheat from the chaff, the slop from the artisanal. Trying to achieve enough perfection to confuse us is something we are constantly seeing in AIs. In the generation of images, fingers and letters were the clues we had left to know if something was human or not, but they are overcoming the limitations by leaps and bounds. The United States Department of State, for example, went from a sans-serif font to a Times New Roman with those serifs in the letters, and there are already those who have raised an eyebrow. Are communications made in images with AI? Well, it is not known, but this adds another complication: separating what is made with AI and what is not. In this image, if we draw a line from a point in the figure to the same point reflected in the mirror, we see that the lines do not converge at a single point either. We will have to study a degree … Read more

the trick to find the best pack and what to do if it doesn’t appear

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We are going to tell you a trick to be able to see the entire 2026 World Cup in the cheapest way possible. And we are going to explain it to you clearly and without deceiving you, because although it is about paying a pack of 7.99 euros, then you have to activate an additional pack. In short, we are going to guide you so that ALL the matches of the ENTIRE World Cup they cost you 56 euros. It is expensive, but it is the cheapest offer you will find. Of course, it is a trick that you have to pay attention to, because If you make a mistake you can end up paying an additional 28 euros for not canceling it on time. Where can you watch the world cup? As we have explained to you when we told you where you can watch the 2026 World Cupyou could see that you basically only have four alternatives to watch the championship. On RTVE you will only be able to see part of the matches, although all of the Spanish National Team matches are included. But if you want to see them all, you will have to go to Movistar Plus+ with its football or Orange packages. These two payment alternatives are very expensive, and require either extra packages or phone rates with them… or even both. The fourth alternative is DAZN, a service that you can contract without belonging to any operator. But this service has several plans, and here comes the mess where you have to clarify. The cheapest option you can opt for The cheapest alternative to watch the World Cup It costs 28 euros per month. To do so, you will have to resort to a specific plan and include the World Cup package. DAZN has a series of 5 subscriptions with different content, and you can include the World Cup in any of them for 20 euros per month, except for its premium plan with practically everything for 26 euros per month, which is really 45 euros if you want to pay month by month and only use it for the World Cup. The trick is in hire the Made in USA pack and add the World Cup package. By contracting the plan individually month by month you only have to pay 7.99 euros. To this you will have to add the 19.99 euros for the World Cup. This pack has very little content, you will only be able to watch the NBA, NFL, NASCAR races and other American competitions. But if you are only interested in the World Cup, you can manually add this pack with the 104 matches. The World Cup lasts 39 days, from June 11 to July 19, 2026, so the total price will be 56 euros to be able to see ALL the games. To access the Made in USA pack you can enter in this link. But here comes the important thing, because you have to remember to cancel the pack in time so that you are not charged for an extra month. DAZN requires a 30-day notice to unsubscribemeaning that you will have to cancel as soon as you pay the second month so that they do not charge you for the next one. ‘Made in USA’ plan without permanence The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Be very careful, because there are pages that tell you about watching the World Cup for 7.99 euros per month, when the truth is that watching the World Cup matches requires adding the extra pack. What to do if you can’t find the Made in USA pack The fact that many of us are talking about this pack can mean that sometimes you click on the link and it does not appear, and you do not see it on the DAZN website either. If this happens to you, try entering with the browser’s incognito modeand subscribe from it.

an old trick to know what time of night wild boars appear

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In the Middle Ages, tracking a wild boar was such a valuable skill that some nobles they spent whole days to interpret footprints, disturbed mud and almost invisible signs to find out where the animal had spent the night. In fact, the great wild boar hunts depended much more than reading the terrain than force or weapons, a tradition that survived for centuries even after the emergence of more advanced technologies. The trick that hunters of yesteryear used. Long before camera traps or drones existed, hunters resorted to simple and ingenious solutions to find out what time wild boars appeared. One of the most curious methods consisted of connect an alarm clock to a fishing line placed next to a bait station. When the animal moved a stone or touched the line while eating, the battery jumped and the clock stopped, recording the exact time of visit. The system had limitations and could fail due to rain, other animals or simple mechanical errors, but it reflects the extent to which knowing the habits of the wild boar has always been valuable information for those who lived with this species. A very adaptable animal. The obsession with understanding the wild boar has a simple explanation: it is one of the mammals most adaptable in Europe. Its varied diet, intelligence and high reproductive capacity allow it to thrive in forests, crops, marshes and even environments close to cities. This ease of taking advantage of any available resource has driven the growth of their populations during the last decades and has turned the species into a constant challenge for wildlife managers, farmers, conservationists and hunters. When population control disappears. The increase in specimens is especially visible in some protected areas where hunting activity was eliminated or significantly reduced. The ban on hunting in national parks was presented as a victory for conservation, but the passage of time has revealed that the absence of regulatory mechanisms also can cause problems. The debate, therefore, no longer revolves solely around the protection of animals, but about how to prevent a particularly successful species from altering the balance of the ecosystem. The alarm in Doñana. He most striking case is occurring in the Doñana National Park in Spain. Organizations such as Ecologistas en Acción and SEO/BirdLife have alerted that nest predation by wild boars is affecting the reproductive success of protected species such as the common blackbird and purple heron. The situation is especially striking because some of the groups that defended the elimination of hunting in these spaces are now those who warn of the effects of an increasingly abundant wild boar population. No nests and threatened species. The damage does not only affect those birds. In various areas of the marsh, wild boars have entered colonies of breeding and have destroyed eggs and chicks of species such as the slender-billed gull, the black-winged stilt, the white-faced vent or the pratincole. The ability of the wild boar to locate food and taking advantage of any opportunity makes these nesting areas especially vulnerable targets. Images of severely damaged colonies have reopened a debate that seemed closed about how to manage certain wildlife populations. Nature does not understand ideologies. Beyond the crossed accusations between conservationists and representatives of the hunting world, the Doñana episode has put an uncomfortable question on the table: managing wildlife requires practical decisions in addition to conservation principles. Hence the old alarm clock connected to a fishing line symbolized the effort to understand an animal that is difficult to observe. Today the tools are much more sophisticatedbut the challenge remains the same. The better we know the wild boar, the more evident it becomes that its extraordinary ability to thrive can become a problem when the mechanisms capable of maintaining balance with the rest of the ecosystem disappear. Image | PXHereRichard Bartz In Xataka | Neither drones nor snipers: wild boar hunters in Barcelona have a simpler natural and home remedy In Xataka | The technological war that we see in Ukraine has an unexpected replica in Barcelona: this time the enemy is thousands of wild boars

Stanley Kubrick’s brutal trick to film one of the most terrifying scenes in ‘A Clockwork Orange’: making it real

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In the 70s, the world of cinema experienced a period in which some directors pursued realism in ways that are unthinkable today: scenes were filmed without doubles, with extreme practical effects and with days that dozens could be repeated (or even more than a hundred) times until the desired result is achieved. That obsession with authenticity left unrepeatable moments… and also stories that are difficult to believe today. Real pain. At that time in history, the sector was going through a period of radical experimentation where some directors were willing to take its actors to the limit in order to capture something authentic on the screen. In that context, one of the most disturbing scenes of modern cinema, a sequence that not only sought to make the viewer uncomfortable, but ended up transferring that suffering directly to the body of the leading actor. Thus, what should be a representation of control and violence ended up becoming a extreme physical experience that would forever mark the person who played it. Along the way, he would extend the legend of a director: Stanley Kubrick. When perfectionism is risk. Stanley Kubrick was already known for his obsession with detail, but in this case he crossed an extremely dangerous line. As? Instead of simulating the most famous scene of Clockwork Orangedecided to make it as real as possible: the devices that kept Alex’s character’s eyes open They were not propsand the medical procedure wasn’t a cinematic illusion either. In other words, the search for absolute authenticity led to a situation in which actor Malcolm McDowell’s security was compromised. in the background compared to the final image, reflecting a way of directing where the result justified practically any means. The impossible scene: hours of open eyes. Yes, McDowell was literally tied to a chair with his eyelids forced to remain open while he watched violent images during long days of filming, exactly as happened to the character he played. a real doctorin charge of keeping his eyes hydrated, had to constantly apply drops to avoid irreversible damage. However, the situation became complicated when that same doctor received instructions to act on the scenedividing his attention between his medical function and his improvised role. The result was a disastrous environment where control was diluted just when it was needed most. An avoidable injury. The failure was as simple as it was disturbing: while the instruments kept the actor’s eyes open, the eyelids began to slide out of their position. directly scrape the cornea. Plus: under anesthesia, the actor could not feel the damage at that moment, which made the situation even more dangerous. When the effect wore off, the pain was immediate and extremeto the point of requiring urgent treatment with morphine. The most shocking thing was not the injury itself, that too, but its character completely avoidable: it was enough that the doctor had been focused on his role or that the scene had been filmed with simulated effects. The price of perfection. Far from stopping, filming continued. The director, dissatisfied with some plans, demanded to repeat the sceneforcing the actor to once again face an experience that he already knew was painful. That decision turned an accident into a conscious process of sufferingone where the anticipation of pain was as harsh as the physical damage itself. In short, if the scene that the viewer perceives was uncomfortable, it was because, to a large extent, he was not alone in front of a sublime performance (which also, of course), he was in front of a real reaction in an extreme situation. Kubrick and his actors. The truth is that the episode was not an exception, but part of a pattern. Kubrick’s method was based on countless occasions in repeating takes until the actor’s emotional defenses are broken and more authentic reactions are obtained, as also happened in another case famous with actress Shelley Duvall in The Shining. His way of working has been celebrated for the results, but also questioned for the human cost which it implied. In this case, the line between demanding management and unnecessary risk became especially blurred. The final paradox. For years, McDowell himself came to resent the film for what it had cost him, physically and emotionally. Over time, however, ended up accepting that had been part of an unrepeatable work. The great irony here is that one of the most iconic scenes in modern cinema owes part of its force to a suffering that should never have happened. If you will, it is also an uncomfortable reminder that, sometimes, behind cinematic perfection there is not only talent, but also errorsrisks and decisions that today would be difficult to justify. Image | Warner In Xataka | The wildest race on the Olympic tracks in Cortina was in 1981. A man launched himself dodging bullets and assassins on a motorcycle In Xataka | One of the best comedies in history turned this simple scene into the most expensive. 9/11 and a highway were to blame

The United States had not manufactured its most critical uranium for 20 years. He has just resurrected his production with an old metallurgy trick

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In the hills of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, lies a place that carries the weight of contemporary history in its foundation: the Y-12 National Security Complex. According to the files of the US Department of Energy (DOE)these facilities were born in 1943 as a vital cog in the Manhattan Project. However, for more than two decades, the halls of its most advanced nuclear processing sector had remained in a prolonged dormancy. Today, that industrial silence has been broken. The United States has just ended a long gap in its domestic processing capabilities. The milestone that marks this rebirth is as visual as it is forceful: the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has successfully manufactured its first “button” of purified enriched uranium, an achievement that opens a new era in the American nuclear deterrent. In short. From the NNSA have confirmed the restart of uranium purification at the Y-12 complex. It is not a sudden step; This achievement comes months after, in September 2025, the start of the project will be authorized electrorefining. This is the first authorization of its kind since the opening of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility 15 years ago. More in depth. The new process allows installation slam the door definitively on the old Y-12 plants. For years, uranium processing depended on complex chemical treatments that were inefficient and, above all, posed greater risks for workers. The new era abandons these legacy systems in favor of much cleaner and safer technology. A strategic milestone. According to the statement from the NNSAthis purified uranium is a critical material that will support unavoidable national security missions, from the production of nuclear weapons to providing the fuel needed for the reactors of the United States Navy’s aircraft carriers and submarines. This effort is not a coincidence, but respond directly to the security and defense guidelines promoted under the mandate of President Donald Trump. Added to this military strategy is a pressing need for independence of resources. In November of last year, the US Geological Survey (USGS) added uranium to its final list of 60 critical minerals. This government directive has a clear objective: to shield the country against the risks of interruption in global supply chains. The “magic” of electrorefining. The secret behind this renaissance is called electrorefining. Although it may sound like science fiction, it is based on well-established commercial processes commonly used to purify everyday metals such as aluminum, titanium or copper. The method was originally developed by the prestigious Argonne National Laboratory and later perfected by the Y-12 development team itself. A simple process (at first glance). To understand how it works, the magazine Science Direct explains it in a simple way: The process uses an electrolytic cell where two electrodes are immersed in a chemical solution. One of them acts as an anode (where the impure recycled material is placed) and the other as a cathode. Through a controlled electrical reaction, metal ions travel to the cathode, where the pure metal is deposited, while the impurities fall to the bottom as an “anode sludge.” The result: An astonishing 99.9% purity. The format: An NNSA spokesperson He explained that the process It first generates “purified uranium crystals,” which are then melted in a furnace to create the compact, secure, high-purity uranium “buttons.” Additionally, Nikolai Sokov, senior researcher at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, explained that this innovative technology allows recovering and recycling uranium from various byproducts. Along the same lines, this method drastically reduces the waste generated compared to old chemical treatments. The weight of history: environmental debt. No story about the Y-12 complex would be complete without looking at its darker side. The background documents of the US Department of Energy rreveal the heavy inheritance of the Cold War. During the 1950s and 1960s, facilities used massive amounts of mercury for lithium separation. The ecological toll was devastating: an estimated 700,000 pounds (more than 317,000 kilos) of mercury were lost in the buildings and the surrounding environment. Today, to contrast technological advancement with the mistakes of the past, the top priority of the Environmental Management (EM) program at Y-12 is the cleanup of this mercury. He DOE informs that it is being built the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility. Scheduled for 2027, this plant will be capable of treating up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute. This vital infrastructure will allow older, more contaminated facilities (such as Alpha-2 by 2029 and Beta-1 by 2030) to be safely demolished without mercury ending up in the nearby Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. A process of metamorphosis. Audrey Beldio, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator for Production Modernization, summed it up forcefully in the statements. project startup: “Electrorefining revolutionizes the processing of enriched uranium.” With uranium flowing again into Y-12, the United States is not just abandoning aging infrastructure. It is sending a clear message to the world: after twenty years of lethargy, the US nuclear sector has taken a leap towards a future where technological efficiency, the safety of its workers and the reliability of its arsenal are once again the spearhead of its defense policy. Image | HeUraniumC Xataka | While the West does not decide on nuclear, China already has a reactor 100 times more efficient than traditional ones

One trick is unblocking the passage of ships in Hormuz without the need for drones or escorts. And the US is not going to be amused

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In 2023, some of the world’s largest oil tankers have already begun sailing with transponders off in risk areas to avoid being tracked, a known practice like “dark shipping” which makes it difficult to know what cargo they are transporting and where they are going. In scenarios of maximum tension, these opaque movements tend to multiply and anticipate deeper changes in how it circulates really the energy for the world. The new rules. Although it may seem like it, in reality, the Strait of Hormuz is not formally closed, but in practice it has stopped be a neutral space to become a conditional passage through Iran, where transit depends on implicit authorizations and specific routes under its control. In the midst of attacks, mines and a constant threat that has paralyzed hundreds of ships, some oil tankers have managed to cross a simple tactic: follow trajectories close to the Iranian coast, avoiding the usual corridors and suggesting the existence of a selective passage system that redefines who can circulate and under what conditions. Tehran’s invisible filter. The ships that manage to cross the strait do not do so by chance, but within a pattern increasingly clear: negotiated transit, “acceptable” flags and destinations aligned with countries that do not directly participate in the conflict or without directly “friends.” There it appears mainly India and China along with neutral actors who have begun to secure shipments through diplomatic contacts, while ships linked to the West remain outside or directly exposed. This model allows Iran to maintain a minimum flow of energy that avoids a total collapse of the market, but at the same time turns the passage into a tool of geopolitical pressure, where each transit is a concession and not a right. Minimum flow with global impact. Although the number of ships that manage to cross is still a fraction of the usual, that small trickle is enough to influence prices energy and avoid further escalation, especially towards Asia. That said, the bottleneck is enormous, with hundreds of ships waiting and logistics extremely limited in a passage that already functions as a two-lane highway. The constant threat of drones, mines or specific attacks maintains the risk at maximum levels and deters the majority of operators, consolidating a system where the exception, and not the normality, sets the pace of commerce. China in the lead. In this context, China emerges as one of the main beneficiaries of this selective system, absorbing much of the crude oil that manages to get out of the Gulf and using its ambiguous position to keep open supply lines that others cannot guarantee. In other words, the appearance of ships with Chinese ties among the few that cross the strait reinforces the idea that access to Hormuz no longer depends only on geography, but rather on political alignment, consolidating a transit network where Beijing gains margin while other actors lose access. The Eurasian plan B. In parallel, China and Russia are accelerating construction of structural alternatives to vulnerable routes such as Hormuz, promoting its own logistics corridors that include lto Arctic Route and terrestrial networks across Eurasia. With investments in ports, icebreaking vessels and independent logistics systems, both countries seek to reduce their exposure to bottlenecks controlled by third parties and create a commercial architecture more resilient and politically aligned. This strategy not only responds to the current crisis, but also aims at a lasting reorganization of global trade. An uncomfortable scenario for the United States. There is no doubt, the combination of a partially narrow controlled by Iranan energy flow that is redirected towards Asia and development of alternative routes Outside of Western influence, it sets up an increasingly unfavorable scenario for the United States. As Washington tries to respond with naval escorts and pressure international (although at the last minute started again back saying that it does not need help from the allies), its capacity to guarantee free transit is limited compared to a system where a mine or a drone is enough to paralyze everything. The result is a silent but profound change: the control of energy flows begins to depend less on direct military force and more of political and logistical networks that escape US control. Image | x In Xataka | The war with Iran is leading the US to a plan B that no one imagined: avoiding the nuclear objective at all costs In Xataka | The US nuclear supercarrier has a problem: its marines are sleeping on the ground in the middle of the war with Iran

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