WEC Class Notes

  In recent history, a few individuals have made decisions that could, in theory, have unleashed killer aliens or set Earth's atmosphere on fire. What can they tell us about attitudes to the existential risks we face today? In the late 1960s, Nasa faced a decision that could have shaped the fate of our species. Following the Apollo 11 Moon landings, the three astronauts were waiting to be picked up inside their capsule floating in the Pacific Ocean – and they were hot and uncomfortable. Nasa officials decided to make things more pleasant for their three national heroes. The downside? There was a small possibility of unleashing deadly alien microbes on Earth. A couple of decades beforehand, a group of scientists and military officials stood at a similar turning point. As they waited to watch the first atomic weapon test, they were aware of a potentially catastrophic outcome. There was a chance that their experiments might accidentally ignite the atmosphere and destroy all life on th...

  Amazon has quickly changed its main shopping-app logo, after commentators said the recent redesign made it look like Adolf Hitler. Launched in January, the icon depicts a strip of blue tape over an Amazon "smile" logo. But some observers said it resembled a toothbrush moustache, associated with the Nazi dictator. The technology giant has now changed the design to a folded blue tape, following customer feedback. Amazon told BBC News the first icon had been trialled in a few countries before the change had been made. Branding agency Coley Porter Bell chief executive Vicky Bullen said: “Unfortunately for Amazon, the visualisation of their parcel tape on the original logo will immediately be associated as a Hitleresque moustache, as that shape is forever embedded in our [subconscious] brains as such - not the best association for a brand that wants to create delight on the doorstep.” The app logo - which appears on smartphones and tablets - previously showed a graphic of a shop...

 A California driver who said he had used a mannequin as his passenger for at least a year and a half in order to access carpool lanes has been cited and faces a fine of at least $400. The mannequin — adorned with gray hair, wrinkles, glasses, a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and a face mask — sat in the passenger seat of the driver’s Toyota Tacoma when he was pulled over on Feb. 19.Officer S. Sullinger was patrolling the eastbound 210 freeway in Glendora in search of carpool violators. The officer noticed the front passenger in the Toyota was suspicious and that the vehicle had tinted windows on its front passenger side, which is illegal. Sullinger realized the passenger was fake when the driver rolled down his window. “The driver didn’t say much,” California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said to the Los Angeles Daily News on Friday. “Other than that he’s been driving with the mannequin and he’d been getting away with it for a year and a half.” The driver was cited for th...

Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare, 15th century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $50u0,000 that is about to go up for auction at Sotheby’s. The white bowl adorned with cobalt blue paintings of flowers and other designs is about 6 inches (16 centimeters) in diameter. An antiques enthusiast came across the piece and thought it could be something special when browsing a yard sale in the New Haven area last year, according to Sotheby’s. The piece, one of only seven such bowls known to exist in the world, will be up for auction in New York on March 17 as part of Sotheby’s Auction of Important Chinese Art. The buyer, whom is not being named, paid the $35 asking price and later emailed information and photos to Sotheby’s asking for an evaluation. The auction house’s experts on Chinese ceramics and art, Angela McAteer and Hang Yin, get many such emails every week, but this was one of the kind the...

 1. Millions of Americans have found themselves without power in recent days after dangerous winter storms swept across the country. Many people suffering power outages are in southern states, where snow and ice storms are the exception and not the norm. Newsweek spoke with some experts in cold weather and survival to get some tips for anyone who may find themselves in such a predicament. 2. Insulation is key, both on the body, and in shelter/home, Scott Oeth shared via email. Oeth is a lifelong outdoorsman and considered a master naturalist who owns the wilderness guide company Bull Moose Patrol. Much of his training for camping in extreme cold translates to dealing with freezing temperatures indoors. 3. Keeping your neck and head warm is particularly important, he said, and suggested improvising a scarf or headwear with a sweater, towel, or even a pair of extra pants. Some other tips Oeth offered include: "Crumple up newspapers, magazines, paper towels and stuff inside a large s...