Things I learned lately 9 Jun

• As of late Wednesday, there were over 400 wildfires burning in Canada.
• 1,000 Lego-nauts were sent to the edge of space (34 kilometres) on high altitude balloons so they could be declared as having been ‘in space’. They’re going to be given away as prizes by Lego.
• Alberta has two area codes spanning the entire province. 587 and 825. I came across my first 825 number recently.
• Being a homeless person in Japan is very stigmatized. There is no culture of compassion for the homeless there. They are looked upon as only having themselves to blame, because they’re mostly men, and men are expected to be self-reliant, and deserve no help. Being homeless is considered an embarrassment. Nevertheless, there are many working poor in Japan who find a way to get by, spending the night in 24 hour internet cafes while working low paying jobs.
• You may have noticed that some car models have what look like they could or should be turn signal lights on the back, but they don’t work. The signals and sometimes even the brake lights have been moved to a different light position. Sometimes the model even has to have extra lights installed to act as turn and brake lights. Why? Because North American law says you can’t have a brake light or turn signal light on a movable panel, such as a hatch or trunk.
• French microbiologist Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization in the 1860s to deactivate unwanted microorganisms in wine.
• Nevada has been the top gold-producing state in the US since 1986.
• There’s an annual seagull imitation contest held in Belgium.