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Heroes

If you wanted to fly around the world, how much fuel would you need? The answer: zero.

Heavier-than-air flight is mind-boggling when you think about it. I mean, a 737 can weigh over 75 tons.

Just going to ignore the fact that 12 elephants' worth of weight is probably directly over my head right now... Image from Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images.


It takes a lot of fuel to keep them up in the sky, too. A 737 burns through one gallon of jet fuel roughly every five seconds.

Planes are thirsty, thirsty things. Image from Outanxio/Wikimedia Commons.

That's about 750 gallons per hour!

So if you wanted to fly around the world, how much fuel would you need? As of this year, the answer is ... zero.

Image from Jean Revillard via Getty Images.

Yup, zero. As in nada. Zilch. One less than one. The big nothing. Zero.

This is the Solar Impluse 2. It's a plane powered completely by solar energy.

Image from Jean Revillard via Getty Images.

The plane is the child of the Solar Impulse project.

It doesn't use a drop of jet fuel. Instead, it generates electricity from solar panels on its 236-foot wings.

Image from Jean Revillard/AFP/Getty Images.

And if you're worried about it dropping out of the sky at night, don't. Batteries behind the pilot's cabin store plenty of power.

It doesn't go very fast — only about 30-40 mph.

Image from Jean Revillard/AFP/Getty Images.

That's pretty slow compared to a 737's 600 mph, but since the sun isn't going to do anything weird anytime soon* the plane can effectively fly forever, stopping only for repairs and to let the pilots out.

*At least not for, like, 5 billion years, anyway.

The Solar Impulse 2 is just big enough for its two pilots: Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.

Images via Jean Revillard via Getty Images.

Piccard is a psychiatrist and explorer, and Borschberg is an engineer and entrepreneur.

Since Solar Impulse 2's departure from Abu Dhabi in 2015, the plane has already traveled 12,400 miles around the world.

Image from Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images.

Starting in the United Arab Emirates, the plane has visited Oman, India, Myanmar, China, Japan, and, most recently, the United States.

Along the way, it's set new world records, including longest distance travelled by a solar plane and longest solo flight time of any aircraft.

The latest leg of its trip was a 62-hour journey from Kalaeloa airport in Hawaii to Moffett airfield in Mountain View, California.

Solar Impuse 2 landing in Mountain View. Image from Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images.

Next, the plane will travel over the U.S., then onward across the Atlantic Ocean to either North Africa or Southern Europe before continuing back toward its starting point in Abu Dhabi.

While the Solar Impulse 2 isn't going to put Boeing out of business anytime soon, that's not the point. The point is to show that clean energy is not only possible, but already here.

Image from Jean Revillard/AFP/Getty Images.

There's no secret magic technology making Solar Impulse 2's flight possible. All of this technology, like solar cells and efficient, energy-dense batteries, is readily available.

In fact, #FutureIsClean, an initiative started by Solar Impulse, claims that these same technologies could be used right now to reduce our energy consumption by 50% if we only had the spirit and will to implement them.

Humans have everything we need to convert to clean energy. We just need leaders and explorers to make it happen.

Watch Solar Impulse 2 fly over the Golden Gate Bridge below:

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Bruce Willis recently celebrated his 68th birthday.

Back in March 2022, legendary action actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and took an official step away from the spotlight. Then, in February 2023, the beloved "Die Hard" star progressed into frontotemporal dementia, an incurable brain disorder often mistaken for Alzheimer’s that mainly affects personality, behavior and language, according to the Mayo Clinic.


Despite the tragic news, Willis is supported by loved ones, as seen in a video posted by ex-wife Demi Moore. The clip, posted to Twitter on March 19, captures Willis' family surrounding him in celebration of his 68th birthday.
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An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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Kelly Clarkson correctly pronouncing a guest's name on her show seems simple but it speaks volumes

Viewers appreciated how respectfully Clarkson handled her interview with K-pop group TWICE when she asked performer Tzuyu how to properly pronounce her name.

The Kelly Clarkson Show/Youtube

It really is as simply as that.

What’s in a name?

A lot, actually. We know that names reflect certain aspects of one’s identity. We know that repeated mispronunciation of a person’s name potentially undermines that identity. We know that sometimes this is unintentional, and other times, more insidious intentions of “othering” are at play. Especially when it comes to those with non-English names.

We also know that, on the flip side, making the effort to properly pronounce a person’s name is one of the simplest forms of kindness and respect that someone can offer. And it really pays dividends.

Just take a page from Kelly Clarkson’s book.
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Pop Culture

Woman shares 5 questions to ask potential employers and people are taking notes

"Being in both senior leadership and directly involved in candidate recruitment, these questions are fire. 10/10 recommend."

TikTok creator gives people 5 questions to ask potential employers.

You know the end of the interview where they ask, "Do you have any questions for us?" It's a dreaded question for a lot of people. Even though you know it's coming, the question still catches you off guard and you wind up asking something possibly irrelevant or nothing at all. Then the whole ride home, approximately fifteen questions pop into your head.

But don't you fret, because TikTok creator Kyyah Abdul has a list of five questions to keep tucked in your brain's pocket to close out an interview. And folks in the comments are applauding the creator's ability to figure out if the company is a fit for you and clarify any concerns the interviewer may have. Her advice was so genius that even a person who is involved in candidate recruitment chimed in saying, "Being in both senior leadership and directly involved in candidate recruitment, these questions are fire. 10/10 recommend."

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