1 . If businesses are to get workers back into the office, finding ways to keep social distancing will be key. An Israeli company thinks it can help, using smart sensors installed on workplace ceilings.

PointGrab developed its technology before the Covid-19 to help workspace managers optimize how employees use office space. About the size of a smoke alarm, the sensors can record the exact number and location of people in buildings including offices, hotels and restaurants.

One of the company's first clients was Deloitte, which installed the system at its London office last year. PointGrab's sensors were connected to screens in the building to show the availability of desks and shared areas in real time. PointGrab CEO Doron Shachar says it was one of a series of innovations that helped Deloitte fit 30% more people into 3% less space.

Now PointGrab has adapted the technology so the sensors can also monitor social distancing by keeping track of how far apart people are, and whether they're traveling in one direction around a building. Workspace managers can set up alerts for when two people are closer than two meters for more than 30 seconds, for example.

The sensors have been included in the “six feet office” concept created by a company Cushman & amp; Wakefield to encourage employees to practice social distancing. They are currently being used in this way at a university in the Netherlands, and at an innovation centre in Belgium. While the social distancing innovation is new, PointGrab has installed more than 10, 000 sensors for workspace optimization, including in the offices of Coca-Cola, Facebook and Dell.

Workers might not like the idea of being monitored, but PointGrab says no images or identifying features are recorded. Instead, each employee is represented as an dot on a dashboard. “The sensor does not violate people’s privacy,” Shachar says. “This is extremely important in the workspace.”

2 . The biggest challenge faced by travelers, especially those who like to have a backpacking trip is how to ensure a steady supply of clean clothes. Now, thanks to a great invention called Scrubba Wash Pack, that worry may be a thing of the past.

The portable washing machine was invented by Ash Newland in 2010, while he was planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Struck by the limited packing space, he got inspiration from traditional washboards to create a bag that could be used to clean clothes. Then he quitted his career as a lawyer and focused on perfecting the bag’s design. By 2012, the bag was ready for the public. It weighed only 180 grams and required very little storage space, making it perfect for anyone wishing to travel light.

Not surprisingly, the bag which was worth 55 dollars was an instant hit with travelers, university students and even passengers. However, Newland was not satisfied. He still saw a disadvantage with his invention — dirty clothes had to be carried around in a separate bag! The recently introduced Scrubba Wash Pack solves that problem.

In order to make the pack active, dirty clothes are placed inside the bag along with two or three liters of water. The bag is then shut tightly to ensure all air is squeezed out and the colors are massaged for a few minutes. After a quick wash, they are clean and ready to be dried. According to Newland, the pack can clean anything from jeans to smelly socks! What’s even more amazing is that with a capacity to hold 13 liters of water, it can be used to wash more clothes at a time.

The best part is that the 99-dollar pack that will be available for sale later this year, only weighs 300 grams and is completely foldable, making it easy to store when it’s not in use. With the Scrubba Wash Pack, wandering through foreign cities searching for a washing shop, or paying for washing machines may soon be a thing of the past.

3 . Getting paid to stay in bed all day sounds pretty good, but what if someone pays you $ 23, 000 to stay in bed for two months? That’s the deal that a medical research team in France is offering to 24 volunteers.

The researchers are looking for volunteers to help them study the effects of weightlessness (失重状态) on the human body and find ways to stop problems. Lying in bed isn’t exactly the same as being weightless, but the effects are alike.

When astronauts spend a long time in an environment with no gravity, their bodies change in many ways. After several months, their hearts don’t beat as hard. Their muscles become smaller and weaker. Their bones may be broken more easily. There may also be changes in the astronauts’ immune systems (免疫系统) and sleep habits.

The study will take 88 days. During the first two weeks, the volunteers will be tested to make sure of their levels of fitness. Then they will spend 60 days lying in bed with their heads lower than their bodies. They will have to do everything while lying down, including eating, brushing their teeth, and going to the bathroom. The rule is that they must have at least one shoulder touching the bed at all times. The last two weeks of the study will be spent trying to build up the volunteers’ fitness again.

Volunteers must be men between the ages of 20 and 45 who are in perfect health. The researchers completed one study in April. A second study will take place from September to December.

4 . Pippi Longstocking, the 9-year-old red-haired hero of children's books, turned 75 yesterday. The first Pippi Longstocking book, written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, was published in 1945.

Pippi Longstocking first came to life in 1941, when Ms. Lindgren's daughter, Karin, who was sick in bed for a long time suddenly said to her, “Tell me about Pippi Longstocking.”

The stories Ms. Lindgren made up were about a wild, but good-hearted young girl who lived by herself in a house called Villa Villekulla. The girl lived with her horse and her monkey. She was constantly surprising her neighbor friends with her crazy adventures.

But it wasn't until three years later that Ms. Lindgren began to write down the stories she had told her daughter. When she finished her book, she sent it to a well-known publisher, but the book was turned down. Ms. Lindgren kept working on the book. In 1945, Ms. Lindgren entered her book in a contest being held by a different publisher. Pippi Longstocking won the first prize, and the book came out in November.

Pippi Longstocking was quickly a hit with young readers. Who wouldn't love a girl strong enough to lift a horse, and willing to risk her life to save children trapped in a burning building?

But the book was less popular with some adults, who felt like Pippi set a bad example. Pippi didn't go to school, she lived by herself, and only followed the rules she wanted to follow. But with time. Pippi's good heart won over readers of all ages.

7 . Some colors people see late at night could cause signs of clinical depression. That was the finding of a study that builds on earlier study findings. They show that individuals who live or work in low levels of light overnight can develop clinical depression. Doctors use the word “clinical depression” to describe severe form of depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.

In the new study, American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters（仓鼠）to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. The animals were separated into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during their night-time period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light, a third group slept in front of a white light, while a fourth was put in front of a red light. After four weeks, the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.

Randy Nelson heads the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. “What we saw is that these animals didn’t show any sleep uneasiness at all but they did mess up biological clock genes and they did show depressive sign while if they were in the dim（微弱）red light, they did not.”

Randy Nelson notes that photosensitive（感光）cells in the eyes have little to do with eyesight. He says these cells send signals to the area of the brain that controls what has been called the natural sleep-wake cycle.

He says there’s a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness.

9 . I was unbelievably proud of my nine–year–old daughter, Emily. Determined to buy a mountain bike, she’d been saving her pocket money all the year, as well as doing small jobs to earn extra money.

By Thanksgiving Day, she had collected only＄49. I said, “You can have your pick from my bicycle collection.” “Thanks, Daddy. But your bikes are so old.” She was right. All my girls’ bikes were 1980s models, not the kind kids today would likely choose.

As Christmas drew near, Emily and I went bike shopping. As we left one store, she noticed a Salvation(救助) Army volunteer standing next to a big pot. “Can we give something, Daddy?” she asked. “Sorry, Emily. I’m out of change.”

Throughout December, Emily continued to work hard. Then one day, she made a surprising decision. “You know all the money I’ve been saving?” she said hesitantly. “I’m going to give it to the poor people.” So one cold morning before Christmas, Emily gave her total savings of＄58 to a volunteer who was really very thankful.

Affected by Emily’s deed, I decided to contribute one of my old bicycles to a car dealer who was collecting used bikes for poor children. As I selected a shiny model from my collection, however, it seemed as if a second bike took on a glow（发光). Should I contribute two? No, one would be enough. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should give a second bike. When I later delivered the bikes, the car dealer said, “You’re making two kids very happy, sir. Here are your tickets. For each bicycle contributed, we’re giving away one chance to win a girls’ mountain bike.”

Why wasn’t I surprised when that second ticket turned out to be the winner? I like to think it was God’s way of rewarding a little girl for a sacrifice（牺牲）beyond her age—while giving her dad a lesson in the process.