【推荐1】Two inventors, Simon Jorritsma and Anne Koudstaal, had an unusual idea — what if you recycled plastic and turned it into a road? Now the world’s first plastic bike path has been created to test their idea.

The Netherlands is famous for being bike-friendly, and the city of Zwolle has just gone a little bit further. On September 11, 2018, the city opened a 100-foot bike path made of recycled plastic. The path is not 100% recycled plastic, but the group that created it, PlasticRoad, hopes future paths and roads will be.

Most roads in the world today are made with asphalt — a black mixture that creates a lot of pollution. Asphalt is heavy to move and must be heated when people are making a road. Using asphalt to make roads takes a lot of energy.

The group says their way of making roads is better in many ways than asphalt roads. It creates their road in pieces in a factory, which are light and easy to move around. To make the road, a special truck simply drives along and lays down the pieces. This makes it much faster to make than an asphalt road. Their road will last three times as long as an asphalt road. And if part of it breaks, it is easy to take out the broken part and replace it. The broken part can then be recycled once more and turned into a new piece again. The plastic road is hollow (空心的) below the surface, allowing rainwater to flow away. The hollow area also makes it easy to run pipes under the road.

Many people think this is a creative way to recycle plastic, but some are worried. One of the biggest concerns is what will happen to the bits of plastic that break off as the path is being used. After all, the world is facing a major issue with microplastics. Some people think plastic roads will create more.

【推荐3】With their pipes and lids to avoid spills, coffee cups have long been the substitute for adults. Now Starbucks is going all in on the concept by swearing to get rid of straws by 2020—and it’s all for a very good reason. This move is an answer to our own partners about what we can do to reduce the need for straws. Not using a straw is the best thing we can do for the environment.

In place of plastic straws, Starbucks plans to offer recyclable lids for all iced drinks and paper straws for coffee. The transition is already taking place in Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, where a ban on plastic straws went into place on July 1. By rolling his in 28,00 of her ors by 2020, e comp says they are annually removing more than one billion straws from going into circulation—and potentially the ocean.

Starbucks’decision to gradually stop using single-use plastic straws is a shining example of the important role that companies can play in stopping the tide of ocean plastic. With eight million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, we cannot afford to let industry sit on the sidelines. Marine life has a 50% death rate when it swallows plastic yet researchers believe there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050 if this rate of litter continues. That means there can be an immediate positive impact if we swap plastic straws for environmentally friendly alternatives.

The smart design on the cup for cold drinks comes from Starbucks’ in-house team of designers and has been in development for two years. However, the announcement comes as outcry （倒彩） increases over the dangers that plastic straws can cause to marine life. Other companies making the eco-friendly swap also announced plans last month to test alternatives to plastic straws.

【推荐1】In Shark Bay, Australia, unrelated bottlenose dolphins( 瓶鼻海豚) have exhibited an extraordinary behavior— they have been observed teaching each other a novel way to use a tool. This is a behavior that, until recently, scientists had only witnessed in humans and other great apes. Furthermore, this marks the first known instance of dolphins passing down such knowledge within the same generation, rather than across generations.

The dolphins engage in a practice known as shelling(脱壳，海豚的捕食方法之一). They chase fish into abandoned giant snail shells lying on the seabed. After that, they bring these shells to the surface and shake them with their noses, removing the water and capturing the fish that escape.

“The fact that shelling is socially transmitted among dolphin peers rather than between mother and child sets an important milestone,” senior study author Michael Krutzen said.

In 2007, Krutzen launched a study of Shark Bay’s dolphins, identifying more than a thousand individual dolphins over 11 years. During this time, scientists observed shelling 42 times among 19 dolphins. Half of these events occurred after a marine heatwave in 2011, which may have caused a die-off among giant sea snails, leading to more shells on the seafloor.

Because of the length of their study, scientists had very detailed knowledge of the individual dolphins’ family histories, ages, sexes and behavior, making it easier for them to study the 19 dolphins that practiced shelling. For instance, they observed that the dolphins that practised shelling hung out with other shellers, so it’s likely that they copied from those they spent time with, says study lead author Sonja Wild.

The team knew that environmental factors specifically, whether shelling dolphins did so simply because

they lived in a shell-rich area-could explain this peer-to-peer transmission. A genetic characteristic among a family group was another possible reason.

So the researchers combined their data on the dolphin sightings, as well as genetic and environmental data, into a computer model that proposed various ways shelling could be transmitted between dolphins. The model that supported horizontal (横向的) transmission was the strongest outcome, according to the study.

【推荐2】Age plays a major part in people who are infected with cold, i. e, in people who suffer from cold infection. A study done by University of Michigan has shown information that seems to be true for the general population. Babies are the most cold infected group, generally more than six colds in their first year. Boys have more colds than girls up to the age of three. After three, girls are easier to get infected with cold than boys, and teenage girls get three colds a year to boys' two. The general cold infections continue to get less into adults. Elderly people who are in good health have as few as one or two colds every year. One interesting thing is found among people in their twenties, especially women, who show a rise in cold infection , because people in this age group are most likely to have young children.

The study has also found that economy plays an important role as well. With more and more income, the frequency at which colds are reported in the family is getting lower and lower. Families with the lowest income usually live in rooms more crowded than rooms owned by richer people, and the crowding usually leads to more chances for the cold virus to travel from person to person. Low income may also have an effect on our diet. Many scientists believe that a poorer diet usually leads into more possibilities of cold infection.

【推荐1】When I was worried my son was coming down with a little something, I remarked that his eating was slowing down a bit.

“I’ve noticed how fast you eat,” my wife’s Auntie Carmel said. I looked down at my plate — the plate from which my food had just been emptied — and looked up at her scientific stare. “I’m not being critical,” she assured me, “and I find it fascinating.” She said “fascinating” the way a polite member of the FBI might describe your recent Internet searches.

“You do eat pretty fast,” whispered my wife by the time I’d placed my knives and forks down. Her mother shared the same view shortly after that, and soon the entire table were unanimous in this opinion.

We were at my wife’s parents’ home in Dublin because Auntie Carmel was visiting from New York, and it was a good chance for her to meet our son, who immediately adored her. We all adore Auntie Carmel for her ability to speak her mind in a way that never seems rude.

In fairness to Carmel, I do eat quickly. I’m fond of saying it’s because I come from a large family. I now realize this makes no sense. There is also the fact that my wife’s mum and Auntie Carmel themselves both come from a family of 12. The same is true for her dad. Yet somehow, none of them eat as if their legs were on fire.

It’s a habit I picked up along the way, and I might have been permanently blind to it without this intervention. Left unexamined, it might have coloured my parenting, demanding my speed as a default (默认) for my son, for I remarked that his eating was slowing down a bit. For now, at least, he can clear his plate as slowly as he likes.

【推荐2】Peter Damon produces about 30 paintings a year and sells them for between $250 and $1,500. That’s not enough to make ends meet, but it has made him whole again. He lost both arms in an accident.

“Having this skill that even normal people find difficult was something that really helped me and made me feel like I fit in more in the world,” Damon said. He was a worker in a car factory. One day when he was working, there was a gas explosion (爆炸), killing one worker and injuring him.

“I lost my right arm above the elbow, about three inches above the elbow, and my left about six inches below,” he explained.

“How am I going to make a living and take care of my family? I had always worked with my hands,” he said.

Then with a simple little drawing, a new future opened up for him.

“I thought it was wonderful in a way,” Damon said. “Something was telling me to focus on this and everything will be alright.” Damon doesn’t have a perfect prosthetic arm (假肢)—juts a hook (钩子), which he finds works best.

He and his wife Jen run True Grit Art Gallery in Middleboro, Massachusetts, where he shows the works of local artists. With his disability check from the government, he can afford to be an artist. He is a man doing what he wants with his life, and doesn’t look at his situation as a hard time.

“I don’t see it that way,” Damon said. “Suffering an injury like this has a way of making you focus on what’s important in life.”

He believes his best work is still ahead of him. But with his pictures of simple American scenes, Damon has already produced his best work.

【推荐3】Cool inventions

Powerful snowmobile

With this turbocharged (涡轮增压的) snowmobile, getting over snow and ice will be snow problem. The Snow Crawler snowmobile is designed with two skis under its front end. Below its back end is a pair of tracks, or rubber belts around a set of wheels. Inside it's heated, so jump inside, start up the engine, and listen as the wheels start to turn the tracks. Each track is designed to grip (抓住) slippery surfaces easily, allowing the snowmobile to move over them without difficulty. Let it snow!

Floating furniture

It's easy to fall asleep in the special bed. This comfortable sleeping place is a plastic, water﹣filled mattress (气垫) that's designed to adapt to the shape of the person lying on it. Simply kick off your shoes and climb onto the bed. As you lie there, the mattress will hug your body. Meanwhile, the water in the mattress will gently rock you from side to side. It's a similar feeling to floating on your back in a pool. The mattress even heats up to make you extra comfortable. Now that's a dream bed.

Smart insoles (鞋垫)

This might take shoes in a new direction. The Lechal company has created shoe insoles that "tell" wearers how to get from one place to another. How do they work? Put the insoles into your shoes. The insoles are built to vibrate(震动). They are also connected wirelessly to your smartphone. Pull up the Lechal app on your phone and type in your destination. The app uses GPS to map out the quickest path for you to walk. Every time you need to take a left or right, the app signals the correct insole to vibrate so you know which direction to turn. That's amazing.

【推荐1】The electricity bill for an average family with 2 children is worth about 1 full salary per year, but the revolutionary EcoVolt could put 50% of that money back into your pocket.

In 2017, a revolutionary new product called EcoVolt hit the market. Initially it was separated from the general public, all because it offered the opportunity for average families to save up to 50% of their monthly energy costs. EcoVolt is a small, simple, affordable, and easy to use plug in unit that stops unnecessary power from entering the electrical cables and overloading the network, EcoVolt is the utility (公用事业) provider' s best-kept secret. They 've been trying to hide it from the everyday power consumer and even have banned the sale of it in retail shops —just to maximize their profit. However, thanks to the internet, the secret is now out, and everyday customers are now attaining the rewards of less power consumption overall, as well as less power used by household appliances. Your household appliances (家用电器) may last longer than previously. Basically, EcoVolt provides the opportunity for you to save between 30 and 50 percent on your energy bill. That's a phenomenal saving and leaves few questions as to why this has been hidden from consumers.

The benefits of EcoVolt are huge, and researchers are convinced this device could spell the end of unaffordable power bills that can cripple the average wage earner at the end of the month. Scientists initially spent many months trying to expose its efficiency, but those studies now prove that EcoVolt should be common in every household.

It's easy to connect, simply by plugging it into your wall, and it's suitable for both standard homes and apartments connected to a power grid (电网). It also has a counter which shows how you're making more efficient use of your energy, all the while allowing you to gain the rewards of a more everlasting household appliance lifecycle. In just 1-2 months, you've made your money back on your initial purchase.

【推荐2】You know marketers follow you all around the Internet, but you might be surprised to learn who or what else is keeping track of your every move. You are being stalked (跟踪) everywhere you go. In your car. On your morning walk. Even in your own home—by your own TV.

In our hyperconnected world, where your phone is always with you, information is being collected—and shared—every nanosecond.

“So what?” you say. “I have nothing to hide.” Don't be so sure. As privacy expert Bennet Cyphers told a reporter for the New York Times's Privacy Project, “The only people I've heard say ‘Who cares?’ are people who don't understand the scope of the problem.”

The problem is that while corporations and data brokers are hoovering up all the information they can lay their hands on, there are no laws governing what they can do with that information—or whom they can sell it to. That includes things you thought were private, such as health and financial data, as well as your beliefs and daily habits.

Someone knowing that you ordered three extra-large pizzas with the works for dinner last Friday night may seem harmless enough, but there's a deeper principle at play. As cyber expert Bruce Schneier puts it, privacy is not just about freedom from embarrassment. “Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect,” he says.

Yet we do little to block the spies. We click “I Agree” without reading the user agreements. We say we'll do one of those privacy checkups one day, but we never quite get around to it. And that means your personal information could be used against you in the future in ways you can't imagine today.

In the face of Covid-19,we had to make the challenging decision of whether to go ahead with Open House 2020.How could we effectively reconnect with a locked-down city at a time when discussions around openness are more important than ever?

Against these difficulties, we chose not to postpone Open House 2020.Instead, we invested in completely reinventing how we approach our programme.Through a mix of original films, new books, activity packs, walking and cycling tours, podcasts, talks, and a host of online and outdoor events, the year that threatened(威胁）the existence of Open House became one of our most varied and accessible ever.

None of this would have been possible without our Open House Friends,who have reached out to give a monthly donation to support the charity after Covid-19 stopped almost all of our income.

But we still need your support.

If you value our work and want to see Open House continue beyond the pandemic(疫情），please consider becoming an Open House Friend from just £l.25 per week.We've made some fantastic gifts to say thank you to everyone who signs up.

Thank you -together we can ensure that London is truly an Open City.

The Open House Team