1 . More museums are showing multisensory art, which asks people to use more than one of the senses. Sometimes, the art has a smell. Others have sounds. The artists are finding new ways for people to understand their work.

The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts is in Watertown. Recently, the center created “Please Touch the Art”. The special show lets visitors touch the work. Aneleise Ruggles works at the Mosesian Center. She is in charge of the museum’s shows. She says that “Please Touch the Art” rethinks meaning in art. The artist must go beyond sight. Forty artists created 52 pieces for the show. Ruggles explained that “Please Touch the Art” is not a show for blind people. Everyone can enjoy the show. Guests use all five senses. The work, though also includes people who are blind or have low vision. “Touchable art creates something people can share.” He also said, “Touch is key to understanding the works.”

A group of guests with low vision visited “Please Touch the Art”. At first, they were nervous about touching the work. One man touched a raised blue painting. The work is Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss’s “Whirl”. Soft music followed his movements. By the end, the visitors were no longer shy. They wrapped each other in hanging cloth.

Shows like “Please Touch the Art” can change what we think of as fine art. Ruggles says the change will take time. The art world must find a new understanding of art. They also need a new way to talk about touchable art.

2 . Most solar panels acquire sunlight from only one side, meaning they can acquire more or less of it depending on where the sun is in the sky. In recent years, they’ve become far more effective typically turning around 22 percent of the light they acquire into energy. In a new study published in the journal Joule on Tuesday, scientists put forth a way to increase that percentage even higher: double-sided solar panels that can move to follow the sun.

Basically, these panels can acquire sun from not only their sun-facing side but also from the light reflected off the ground onto their dark undersides. At the same time, a GPS allows them to move on an axis from east to west in order to always be pointed at a best angle to acquire the sun’s rays. Though double-sided solar panels and sun-following solar panels are both in use currently, models that combine the two technologies aren’t widely available for commercial use, Solar experts predict explosive growth in the market soon, though.

The study authors determined that these two-sided sun-tracking panels produce an average of 35 percent more energy than immobile single-panel systems, and are 16 percent more cost-efficient. That holds true even when accounting for changes in weather conditions.

“This means that investing in double-sided and tracking systems should be a safe bet for the foreseeable future, Carlos Rodriguez-Gallegos,” the study’s lead author said.

The same warnings for solar panels and their effect on the local environment apply to the double-sided, moving systems as well, if not more so. Lead used in solar panels can be one source of local pollution, and Dustin Mulvaney, an associate professor of environmental studies, told Earther in an email double-sided panels could mean “twice as much lead” as traditional solar systems.

Since these new panels are more energy efficient, they could save not only money but also land. That would require restructuring how solar contracts currently work.

3 . Have you ever loved a destination but couldn’t figure out why — or even a way ——to express your feelings? That’s my dilemma with Morocco.

In August, I traveled in a country that had long been, on my wish list. I rode a camel, got lost in Medinas, and ate more couscous (粗麦粉) than was humanly possible.

I loved the trip. Our friendly guide introduced us to the helpful locals. I made friends with my tour mates and my roommate (which, on a tour, is a huge blessing). I loved being lost in the smell of different spices, and the chaos of millions of people and the dark red of the Sahara were all I wanted them to be.

There were many moments when I felt like a fish out of water and things didn’t go my way. But I take pleasure in those moments because it’s when you are pushed out of your comfort zone that you grow. Morocco lived up to all my expectations, but for some reason, my experience has been hard to express. Why?

One constant in my travels is that of a touchstone, one defining point where the trip all comes together and acts as a prism (三棱镜) for everything the journey represented . In Costa Rica，it was getting lost in a jungle. In Thailand, it was meeting those five people who changed my life.

I’m so inconsistent about Morocco because I lack that touchstone. There’s no “whoa” moment. But I have thousands of little ones - staring at a million stars in the blackness of the desert, discovering new foods with some amazing Australians on my tour, and befriending the fish sellers.

4 . Why did the little boy throw butter out of the window? He wanted to see the butterfly! That’s an old joke you’ve probably heard many times. Butterflies always carry away children.

Most insects do not migrate(迁徙), because their life is not long enough. Except for one particular butterfly species-the monarch butterfly. Each November, monarch butterflies land on an unbelievable cross-country migration from the United States and Canada until they reach Mexico, where they overwinter until it’s time to begin their migration back home in March. The butterflies spend their time in concentrated areas of forest where they stick to the branches of trees, forming beautiful vast crowds. Monarchs are a truly important species-and they’re in danger.

Just like living things, plants, insects or animals on the planet, monarchs play a vital role in the survival of our ecosystems. Butterflies-just like bees, also in great danger-help pollinate(授粉) plants, making them a significant contributor to crop growth and food production. They also serve as a food source to birds and other animals. The population of monarch butterflies has dropped a lot over the past few decades—a destructive 96. 5 percent. This has placed monarchs in danger of moving toward dying out. Several causes have contributed to the monarch’s decline. Climate change, loss of reproductive homes, and deforestation in Mexico’s forests where monarchs overwinter have all affected the butterfly’s migration pattern and home. But the most significant danger is the decline in milkweed, the plant where monarchs lay their eggs, and that serves as the only food source for caterpillars(幼虫). Much of the milkweed decline is due to agricultural practices that either remove this vital plant or destroy it through pesticides(农药).

5 . Anyone who has messy children, lazy partners or naughty flat mates will be impressed by the resourcefulness (足智多谋) of Katrina Neathey, the co-owner of a cleaning company in West Sussex. She has made her three teenagers sign an agreement to help keep the house tidy. Any infraction of the agreement, for example, littering up their bedroom with magazines and drinks, or failing to put their dirty plates in the dishwasher, will come with a 5 pounds’ fine on removal of their phones.

It is one way of setting up a cleaning rota (轮班表) that people might stick to. “Cleaning is teamwork.” says Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean. She suggests getting everyone in the household together to find out what people like doing. “In our family, my husband is better at mowing the lawn. I love cleaning rooms. Someone else might like folding the towels. You let everybody do what they’re good at, or enjoy, so there’s more chance they’ll actually do it.”

Crombie is not a fan of fines. For her children, she takes away their phones or turns off the Wi-Fi. For other adults who aren’t joining in, she suggests keeping asking them to take action.

If you aren’t sure what is required to keep the dirt at bay, there are many checklists online that you can print out to share the daily, weekly and monthly tasks. You can stick it on the fridge, and then everyone knows where they stand. If it’s not working, have another chat, such as “What do you dislike?” “How can we improve it?” Ironing out problems is all about communication.

6 . You have distinct opinions on where the best coffee is in your local area. But if the entire city had a high chance of providing a tasty cup, it could be the personal heaven for coffee lovers.

Italy is known for its love of quality food, and the same applies to the coffee. Rome is packed with cafes that keep the city running. Coffee brewers take their business very seriously, so that you rarely meet a watered-down cup.

Melbourne loves coffee so much that they hold an annual coffee festival and have their own coffee-related publication, the Melbourne Coffee Review. What makes Melbourne coffee shops unique is the way the city is divided: the city is divided into several villages, each with its own specific culture. The most recommended drinks to get in Melbourne are typically lattes or other coffee drinks with milk.

When it comes to coffee, Vienna goes hard: the city had its coffee shops listed as “intangible heritage(非物质文化遗产)” by UNESCO in20l1. Vienna cafes pride themselves on their atmosphere, taking the furnishings and decoration of shops quite seriously. These spaces are great social or people-watching atmospheres. Viennese particularly enjoy cappuccinos and the local Wiener Melange.

Considered the “birthplace of coffee”, and one of the world’s top coffee bean producers today, it’s no surprise that coffee is an important part of Ethiopian culture. If you have friends or relatives there, expect to be invited to coffee ceremony. You’ll enjoy roasting and grinding(研磨) the beans, then brewing them in a clay pot before finally enjoying the final product with your hosts.