DazeBlog

Alex Bellos's Monday puzzleScienceCan you solve it? Bigger! Faster! Heavier! – quiz10 problems about big numbers Hi guzzlers We use numbers every day to describe the world – distances, weights, speeds, debts, populations, and so on. Yet most of us struggle to have an intuitive sense of what these numbers mean. How big is big? How fast is fast? Today I’ve set a different challenge to my usual mathematical puzzle. The 10 questions below are a test of estimation skills, common sense and general knowledge – but also of our feel for numbers. [Read More]

Pets This article is more than 3 years oldDo all dogs go to heaven? Pet owners increasingly think so, says studyThis article is more than 3 years oldAnalysis of pet cemeteries in Newcastle and London over 100 years shows increase in proportion of graves referencing immortality The definition of dog heaven is straightforward enough: bottomless biscuits, walks on demand, squirrels you can actually catch. Whether it exists is a thornier question. [Read More]

A snowy egret. The campaign to save the species from the ravages of the fashion trade led to the creation of today’s bird protection organisations. Photograph: Ben Queenborough/AlamyA snowy egret. The campaign to save the species from the ravages of the fashion trade led to the creation of today’s bird protection organisations. Photograph: Ben Queenborough/AlamyThe ObserverBirds A veteran naturalist and writer picks the species that have played a key role for humans, from ancient civilisations to today’s climate crisis [Read More]

Kathryn Flett on televisionCultureFeast of Stephen left me emptyFriends and Crocodiles BBC1 Desperate Housewives C4 Hotel Babylon BBC1 Many thanks to those readers with long memories who kindly (gleefully?) alerted me to the presence of the new BBC1 drama written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, in the hope, presumably, that, as of yore, I may be tempted to dip my cursor into the metaphorical inkwell of vitriol-tinted Quink. But although I'm happy to admit I don't get on with (OK, I loathe) most of Poliakoff's bloated oeuvre (but quite enjoyed The Lost Prince) this isn't just a weird OCD disguised as a hobby (unlike, say, the one involving the jelly babies and the gimp mask). [Read More]

SchoolsExplainerAfter repeated calls for action, the government has advised schools to close buildings built with the concrete As well as the immediate crisis caused by hundreds of schools facing partial or complete closure because of risks from a form of concrete construction, there is a wider political row brewing as people ask why this is happening days before the start of the school term. Here is what we know. How long has this been known as a problem? [Read More]

ProtestExplainerWe examine the myriad of current laws and others being proposed to curb different types of protests and activism There has been a flurry of government legislative initiatives relating to protest in recent years, in large part in response to the ballooning levels of activism over the climate emergency. Advocacy groups such as Liberty describe these measures as an attack that is of concern to anyone who wants their voice heard on issues ranging from the cost of living crisis and job security to racial and climate injustice. [Read More]

Women report AfghanistanGlobal developmentStudents, mothers, widows, workers and artists explain how their world has altered under ‘gender apartheid’ One year ago, the Taliban swept through Afghanistan, taking control of the country amid the chaos of the US and UK troop withdrawal. Now women’s lives across the country have been fundamentally changed, their rights curtailed and freedoms restricted. Campaigners have called the Taliban’s orders to deny women education, remove them from their jobs and force them back under the veil a “gender apartheid”. [Read More]

Do it yourself and saveFashionReview15 minutes Replacement cost £12 DIY cost £1.49 Difficulty:A common way for umbrellas to break is for the fabric to come loose at the end of a spoke. With some minor sewing skills you can quickly fix it. If you are lucky, then rather than the fabric itself ripping, the thread that holds it to the spoke will have broken. Thread your needle twice with nylon thread (or another water-resistant thread). [Read More]

Turkey This article is more than 8 months oldTurkish presidential candidate quits race after release of alleged sex tapeThis article is more than 8 months oldMuharrem İnce pulls out just days from close election race saying alleged sex tape is deepfake The Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem İnce withdrew from the race after the release of a purported sex tape, boosting chances of outright success for other candidates in a race that polls suggest will be close. [Read More]

Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold to win the UFC middleweight title on Saturday night. Photograph: Harry How/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesMichael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold to win the UFC middleweight title on Saturday night. Photograph: Harry How/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesUFC This article is more than 7 years oldBritain's Michael Bisping calls Luke Rockhold a 'faggot' after UFC title winThis article is more than 7 years oldUK fighter has history of using homophobic languageUFC has said it would welcome a gay fighter into promotionGreat Britain has its first UFC champion but Michael Bisping’s victory over Luke Rockhold was sullied after he called his American opponent a “faggot” in a postfight confrontation. [Read More]