Crazy ideas from the world of wine (I)

Who said that the world of wine was austere and without any innovation? Make no mistake, this universe is overflowing with creativity and many companies are proposing ideas as crazy as each other, with the aim of improving the tasting experience. 

We showed it to you in our article dedicated to gifts to give to winelovers, these wine lovers. Whether in space, in the era of artificial intelligence or even 60 meters deep under the sea, companies make bottles of wine, their source of creativity.

A round bottle for drinking wine in space!

How to drink wine in space? This is what the designer Octave De Gaulle, grandson of Charles De Gaulle, asked himself; he even made it his end-of-studies project. Weightless in space, liquids no longer flow and form spheres to minimize their contact with air. Cosmonauts therefore have to drink through straws: practical for water, but the antithesis of wine tasting criteria. 

The toric, ring-shaped bottle invented by Octave De Gaulle ensures that the wine always goes towards the cork. In addition, it is easily transportable around the arm and can be filled by placing it flat on the ground. Practical in itself, to facilitate tasting wherever you want, even light years from Earth!

(to be continued)

A crazy idea: reinventing school!

 Education has been abandoned to ideologues who, in addition to allowing the level to collapse, have allowed identity lobbies to prosper. The explosion of violence and the outbreak of terrorism complete the disaster.

“A Crazy Idea” is a French documentary about teaching. A film to watch with children or between parents to find out more about school.

Filmed in nine schools - public and private, from kindergarten to middle school, across the four corners of France - Une Idée Folle raises the question of the role of school in the 21st century, through the testimony of teachers and children , parents as well as education expert

What challenges will tomorrow's citizens have to face and how can we prepare them? By cultivating empathy, creativity, cooperation, taking initiative or even self-confidence and critical thinking in students, alongside fundamental knowledge, the teachers of these schools have a crazy dream: that of train a future generation of fulfilled and responsible citizens who will be keen to positively transform the society around them.

Okay, there is a bit of voluntarism in our optimism. Because this is the real last chance to save the School. Assuming it's not already screwed. In other words, if it’s not already a quarter past midnight, it’s five minutes to now, Doctor Attal. Alain Finkielkraut, who has long been the overwhelmed chronicler of the disaster, does not know if the Minister of National Education will succeed, but he does not doubt the sincerity of his commitment (see our six-page interview). We neither.

Japan introduces robots that go to school instead of students / "We hope to reduce the anxiety of children"

The board of education in Kumamoto, a city in southwestern Japan, will launch an effort to combat school absenteeism through robotic classroom avatars that allow students to remotely engage with classes and school life, the publication writes. Japanese The Mainichi.

The robots are equipped with microphones, speakers and cameras to enable two-way communication. According to the Kumamoto Municipal Board of Education, this type of initiative is rare nationwide. The goal is to reduce the anxiety of absent children and students who are planning to return to class.

An education board official said: “Apart from allowing them to view classes, the robots allow students to move freely in space and communicate with others at will. Hopefully this can help lower the mental hurdles for chiulangi students.”

Bullet From Gun That Killed John Lennon To Be Sold At Auction

A bullet from the gun that killed John Lennon is to be sold at auction in the United Kingdom by Anderson
& Garland auction house. 

The bullet was given by New York police to British police officer Brian Taylor after they allowed him to fire the killer's gun during a visit. Taylor had kept the ball his entire life as a souvenir, and after his recent passing, the ball will be sold at auction. 

"It's difficult to know what it's worth and whether there's a market for it. It's a very interesting Beatles piece that probably can't be duplicated," the auction house Anderson & Garland director said. The object estimated value is about 2500USD

The gun belonged to Mark David Chapman, the man famous for assassinating John Lennon on New York's Upper West Side in 1980. 

In 2022, Chapman claimed he killed the music legend because he "wanted to be somebody", but he recently expressed shame for his crimes.

Crazy idea: from 2025, we will be able to have lunch above the Earth!

Enjoy a gourmet meal at 25,000 meters above sea level. It’s a crazy dream that the French start-up Zephalto is selling. The principle: a giant balloon capable of flying in the stratosphere will carry an ultra-design capsule from the end of 2024, with six tourists on board who will be able to enjoy a unique view of our planet for six hours. And the height of luxury, the meal served to passengers during the trip will be prepared by a starred chef.

But all this exuberance comes at a cost: 120,000 euros. It's a lot, but the world has no shortage of very rich gourmets who want to get laid: according to the company, the tickets for 2024 are all gone. It is still possible to book for 2025, by paying a deposit of 10,000 euros.

Pre-reservation ticket. This allows interested parties to reserve their place when tickets go on sale, explains CNNs are already available and are sold at around $10,900 (10,000 euros)

For the moment, we are still waiting to see if this hot air balloon of the future will keep its promises. Indeed, three test flights have been carried out, and none of them has yet reached the expected altitude, the one which will truly allow us to glimpse the magnificent curvature of the Earth. Above all, Zephalto must obtain certification from EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), one of the strictest in the world, to be able to welcome passengers. Once this sesame is won, 60 flights could be launched each year.

To succeed in this ambitious project, the start-up benefited from public aid, in addition to private funds. It has joined forces with the French space agency (CNES), which shares its expertise.

Till this opportunity will be at your fingertips, you can visit the Restaurant Espace 117 located in Guadelupa, at the Souffleur Beach in Port-Louis, non-stop open for local people as well as  available tourists.

1000 people impatient to fly, without knowing the destination

The Scandinavian Airlines, based in Sweeden, recently announced a mystery flight aimed to members of the "EuroBonus" loyalty program.

The experience proposed by the Scandinavian company consists in purchasing a flight whose destination is unknown. In other words, you get on the plane, and the destination will be announced at some point during the flight. Despite the total mystery, nothing can be changed. no one can give up

The only clues currently known are:

• place of departure: Copenhagen, Denmark
• place of return: Copenhagen, Denmark
• departure date: April 5, 2024
• return date: April 8, 2024
• flight duration: several hours

Also, 1-2 days before the event, the supposed passengers will receive some instructions regarding the clothes and other items that they will have to take in their luggage

In order to pay, those who want to have to redeem the price of 30,000 miles probably made within the loyalty program. This does not mean that your plane flies approximately 45,000km round trip, which would limit the destination to 20,000km and offer some hints if a circle is drawn with its radius and center in Copenhagen. The price of the purchased miles, however, includes accommodation, meals and, certainly, a serie of other offers.

The announcement of the airline was made on February, the 12 and in 24 hours 1000 applicants signed up for "the surprise flight". Those selected then had 24 hours to confirm the reservation and make the payment, and the rest are waiting with bated breath for someone to give up and be the happy new one added to the list of pagers.

What is Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain implant?

The first Neuralink brain implant, named after the American billionaire's start-up, was placed on a human being on January 28. Concretely, it is a brain chip the size of a coin made up of thousands of electrodes fixed on a hundred “ultra-flexible” wires. Once in place, it collects the patient's brain movement data before sending it to the start-up's computers.

This company experienced notable success after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last May. His device, already tested on a macaque, allowed him to play the video game “Pong” without using a controller or keyboard. However, this success must be put into perspective with the death of 1,500 animals (monkeys, pigs, rodents, etc.) since the start of the experiments in 2018, mainly due to multiple series of tests instead of individual tests. The deaths led to a federal investigation into violations of animal welfare laws.

Nevertheless, Elon Musk is aiming for ambitious goals such as enabling the paralyzed to walk, restoring sight to the blind, and treating psychological disorders like depression. Between August and November, Elon Musk raised around $323 million to develop "Telepathy", a brain implant that would allow robotic objects to be controlled remotely through thought. His goal is to make this technology accessible to everyone, to improve communication with computers and, according to him, reduce the risks that artificial intelligence represents for our civilization.

Elon Musk announces that a first brain implant has been placed by his start-up on a human

However, this is far from being a world first. In France, a Grenoble company in 2019 allowed a quadriplegic person to animate an exoskeleton and move their arms or move around. The Dutch company Onward announced in September the tests of a double brain-spinal cord implant to allow quadriplegic patients to walk again.

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