Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 35 seconds. Contains 1118 words

The Book of Unusual Knowledge

The Book of Unusual Knowledge is a mammoth 704-page hardcover book crammed with a cornucopia of information some useful, others not so much but all of it completely captivating.

• Perfect for anyone with a curious mind and a passion for learning.

• Includes a vast array of articles, anecdotes, lists, and games, this book will provide hours of fascinating reading.

• Expand your knowledge on a range of topics, including the animal kingdom, art, sports, technology, history, politics, the universe, and much, much more!

• Sample topics include: - Are plastic bags killing sacred cows in India? - Does NASCAR have roots in bootlegging moonshine? - Did Ronald Reagan see not one but two UFOs during his lifetime?

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this newsletter.

Adobe's Firefly Now Globally Available in 100 Languages: Surpasses 1 Billion Assets Created in Record Time

Adobe has made its Firefly web service accessible worldwide, and it can now support text prompts in 100 languages, including unique ones like Klingon. The interface of the service is also available in 20 major languages like German, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Adobe's Firefly has created over 1 billion assets online and in Photoshop since its launch. This makes it one of Adobe's most successful launches in history.

Ely Greenfield, the CTO of Digital Media at Adobe, expressed how amazed they are at the creative use of Firefly by creators to generate over a billion stunning images and text effects. He also mentioned that the latest announcement aims to make Firefly available to more people in their preferred languages.

Firefly was initially launched for the web in March, and since then, it has been integrated into Photoshop, Illustrator, and Express. A unique feature of Adobe's Firefly is that it ensures the images created are safe for commercial use, thanks to the training it received from Adobe's stock imagery service. Adobe even protects its business users by offering legal protection.

Purdue University's Super-Reflective Paint Could Help Cool Earth and Combat Climate Change

Dr. Xiulin Ruan and his team at Purdue University have created a unique type of white paint that can reflect up to 98% of the sun's rays, significantly cooling down buildings and reducing the need for air conditioning. This paint, recognized as the whitest ever by Guinness World Records, has the potential to decrease temperatures inside buildings by up to 40% and doesn't require any energy to work.

The team developed the paint with the intention of helping to combat climate change. Besides its use on rooftops, the paint has sparked interest from manufacturers of clothing, vehicles, and even spacecraft. A more lightweight version has been developed for use on vehicles.

Despite its remarkable whiteness, the paint isn't blinding as it scatters light and looks similar to regular white paint. However, it's still about a year away from being commercially available, as the team works to improve its durability and resistance to dirt.

Dr. Jeremy Munday, a clean technology researcher, suggested that if materials like this ultra-white paint covered 1-2% of the Earth's surface, it could balance the amount of heat absorbed and emitted by the planet, helping to halt the rise in global temperatures.

However, the use of this paint doesn't provide a long-term solution to climate change. Its main ingredient, barium sulfate, needs to be mined, increasing its carbon footprint. Furthermore, it's critical to note that humanity must stop burning fossil fuels to truly address the root cause of climate change. Despite these considerations, the Purdue team's paint could offer a short-term tool to alleviate some of the worsening impacts of global warming.

Kiyosaki Warns of Dollar Decline as BRICS Plan Gold-Backed Crypto, But Economists Dismiss Immediate De-Dollarization Fears

Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad," has warned that the US dollar could lose its value as the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) plan to introduce a gold-backed cryptocurrency for trading. He believes that this could lead to high inflation and suggests investing in gold, silver, and Bitcoin.

This comes after an announcement that the BRICS group aims to move away from using the US dollar in trade, amid fears that Washington could use the currency for economic sanctions. China has been advocating for its own currency in global trade, and even Russia and Iran are exploring a gold-backed cryptocurrency. Despite these attempts, the US dollar still accounts for almost 60% of global currency reserves.

While Kiyosaki is pessimistic about the future of the dollar, Nobel economist Paul Krugman believes that the fears of an immediate shift away from the dollar are exaggerated. He admits the dollar's dominance won't last forever, but emphasizes that there currently aren't any solid alternatives.

Even though some nations are trying to decrease their reliance on the US dollar due to political tensions, Krugman argues that these challenges aren't significant. Many of the top-used currencies are controlled by US allies, and the US dollar is still prevalent in global trade.

Despite a slight decrease in the dollar's share in foreign reserves since 2000, it is used in most foreign exchange transactions. Comparatively, China's yuan only accounts for 2% of foreign reserves and 7% of foreign exchange transactions.

Overall, many economists agree that the fears about a quick shift away from the dollar are overstated. They acknowledge the possibility of the dollar's dominance being replaced by another currency in the future, but don't see this as a major threat to the US economy or stocks.

The Book of Unusual Knowledge

The Book of Unusual Knowledge is a mammoth 704-page hardcover book crammed with a cornucopia of information some useful, others not so much but all of it completely captivating.

• Perfect for anyone with a curious mind and a passion for learning.

• Includes a vast array of articles, anecdotes, lists, and games, this book will provide hours of fascinating reading.

• Expand your knowledge on a range of topics, including the animal kingdom, art, sports, technology, history, politics, the universe, and much, much more!

• Sample topics include: - Are plastic bags killing sacred cows in India? - Does NASCAR have roots in bootlegging moonshine? - Did Ronald Reagan see not one but two UFOs during his lifetime?

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this newsletter.