4T+: Estimated number of cigarette butts thrown on the ground every year. That’s gross, especially considering the toxic chemicals they leech, but a helpful robot dog is apparently picking them up: VERO (Vacuum-cleaner Equipped RObot), developed by Claudio Semini’s lab at the Italian Institute of Technology, sucked up 90% of cigarette butts with its vacuum feet across six test environments. According to the study’s authors, this marks the first time a legged robot has been able to use its legs to simultaneously walk and perform a task, a feat that could have other applications in the future.
353%: Viewership increase for the first season of “Veep” on Max following the news that Vice President Kamala Harris will likely replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. The satire stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as fictional politician Selina Meyer, who begins the series as a former senator and the current VP of the US.
77k: Estimated number of police, soldiers, and private security guards protecting the Paris Olympics — the city’s largest peacetime security operation, per The Wall Street Journal. The Games have brought a flood of visitors to the City of Lights, including 10m+ tourists, ~10.5k athletes, and ~100 world leaders.
57k: People injured on an e-scooter in 2022, versus ~8.6k injuries in 2017. Researchers found that as e-scooters and e-bikes have grown in popularity, so have the number of injuries, perhaps because people engage in riskier behavior (e.g., riding drunk, ditching helmets) compared to when riding traditional bikes. The study’s authors are advocating for better urban infrastructure and education campaigns on safe riding.
