What Else Is News?
Four stories that deserve more attention.
The Critical Reader has been vacationing, but the news hasn’t stopped. Now that we’re back, let’s delve into four stories that caught our attention over the last 10 days.
Zero-COVID policy, zero freedoms. A video of hundreds or thousands of residents screaming from their windows in Shanghai, China, sums up the frustrations of many citizens in a country that is hell-bent on having a zero-COVID policy. When COVID-19 cases began to rise in Shanghai, population 26 million, the Chinese government ordered everyone to stay in their homes. That was three weeks ago, and most of Shanghai is reportedly still in lockdown.
In general, residents appear to be running out of food and patience. "I have no idea whether I will ever be allowed to go out again in my lifetime, I'm falling into depression," a Shanghai resident complained on Chinese social media.
Meanwhile, along the border with Vietnam, the Chinese government has enlisted the services of 500 geese, ready to attack should anyone try to enter the country illegally and possibly bring the virus with them. There is no word yet on how many people have run back toward Vietnam with angry geese nipping at their heels.
One glimmer of hope has emerged from China, though. The city of Langfang scrapped its plan to euthanize the pets of COVID-infected residents before they returned from quarantine. Initially, local authorities claimed the procedure was necessary, even though the chances of pets spreading the virus to people are very low. Authorities later apologized and said the measure “was not really appropriate.”
2. Bundle up on Neptune. Climate change happens on other planets, too. Scientists have discovered that Neptune is cooling, and it is taking them by surprise.
Even though Neptune is currently experiencing summer, the temperatures are going down, not up. Between 2003 and 2018, the average temperature on the planet dropped by 8C (46.4F). Even stranger, while this was going on the temperature on Neptune’s southern pole rose. (You can learn more about how scientists measured Jupiter’s temperatures here.)
Scientists are so far stumped as to why this is happening, but they’ll have some more time to try to figure it out. A season on Neptune lasts 40 years, so summer is still in full swing.
3. A bit much. Most people hate going to the dentist. Tom Jozsi probably hates it more than most. The Illinois man inhaled a dentist’s drill bit while he was getting a tooth filled.
The bit made its way to one of Jozsi’s lungs, and it was embedded so deeply that doctors feared they might have to remove part of his lung. (If you crave gory details, go here.) Instead, doctors at Aurora Medical Center-Kenosha in Kenosha, Wisconsin, used robotic bronchoscopy, a procedure typically used to detect tiny lung cancer nodules, to remove the drill bit. Jozsi got to keep his lungs intact, and he’s keeping the drill bit as a souvenir.
4. Unlucky Charms? They might be “magically delicious,” but they’re making some people sick. At least 231 people across the country claim they had GI distress after eating Lucky Charms cereal. The FDA is currently investigating. (Gory details about this story can be found here.)
It’s unclear if Lucky Charms’ maker, General Mills, grasps the potential severity of the situation. When a woman in Arkansas wrote to complain that she became ill after eating Lucky Charms, General Mills replied with a note apologizing that “our product didn’t meet your expectations” and a coupon to buy more of its cereals.
What recent news item have you found intriguing, enlightening or infuriating? Share it in the comments. And, if you enjoy the Critical Reader, please share this newsletter with others.