Things I learned lately - 26 August

• Two self-driving minibuses began service in Helsinki this week, in real traffic. The small, electric buses can transport up to 9 passengers. They can travel at speeds up to 25 mph, but are restricted to 7 mph during the trial. This is part of Helsinki's plan to make car ownership in the city obsolete within a decade. The city has a very efficient public transport system, but it is also developing an on-demand mobility program, which would allow people to use mobile apps to book and pay for any trip by bus, train, taxi, bicycle and car sharing.
• UCLA researchers successfully used focused ultrasound on the thalamus, to jump-start a patient's brain, to help wake up from a coma.
• There is now a city in the US where the median price for a house has surpassed $1,000,000. That city is San Jose.
• On 7 August 2016, Scotland generated more electricity through wind power than the country needed. That is a first for Scotland.
• In the year 4 BC., if you were talking about the 'son of God', you were talking about Roman Emperor Augustus.
• Julius Caesar's first name was Gaius.
• China is named after the Qin dynasty, which is pronounced 'chin' (by English speakers anyway).
• Xia; Shang; Zhou; Qin; Han; Jin; Sui; Tang; Song; Yuan; Ming; Qing were all Chinese dynasties.