Mixed Shots

Masked Millions

Poor rich people! The pandemic and lockdown have not only taken away all their opportunities to flaunt their wealth, but they also have to gag their exhalations with a mask. Besides, what’s the point of being rich if you look like every other person on the street. This first-world problem inspired an Israeli jeweller to come up with an 18-carat white gold mask encrusted with diamonds that costs $1.5 million. Oh, it also has two N99 filters. The buyer is a Chinese businessman based in the US who put forth two conditions: that it be completed before the end of this year and that it be the priciest in the world. The last condition was the easiest to fulfill, says the jeweller.

Sneeze, Cough...Bite?

Can mosquitoes spread the coronavirus? That’s foremost on the mind of people as they swat their way through swarms of the blood-sucking pests. But you can rest assured, for mosquitoes do not spread the virus, says the World Health Organization. It’s not mere speculation though. Scientists injected three species of mosquitoes with the virus, but it did not infect them. For the virus to spread to humans, it would have to multiply inside of the mosquito.

Can’t stop lovin’ you!

After 18 months of a loving marriage, a woman in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh had had enough. So, she filed for divorce at a Sharia court. Her problem? Her husband had “too much” love for her and had never shouted at or disappointed her. What’s more, he even helped her out in the kitchen and with household chores. “Whenever I make a mistake, he forgives me. I wanted to argue with him,” she says. Who would put up with such torture! The court, however, termed her plea frivolous and rejected it. They now have to sort out their problems on their own.

What Caste Is Your Flower?

Plucking a flower. That’s all it took for the dominant-caste families in Kantio Kateni village of Dhenkanal district, Odisha, to boycott 40 Dalit families. After a Dalit girl plucked flowers from the farm of a dominant-caste man, the village panchayat enforced the boycott. The girl’s parents apologised and begged for the boycott to be suspended, but to no avail. Finally, government officials intervened and resolved the matter.

Time For Another Revolution

The lander of Chandrayaan-2 might not have made it to the moon’s surface, but there is still good news for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s moon mission. Its orbiter has completed 4,400 missions around the moon and all eight on-board instruments are performing well. It was meant to be operational for one year, but ISRO says that it has enough fuel to orbit for the next seven years. We guess ISRO’s scientists must be over the moon, both literally and metaphorically.

Brevis

Illustrations: Saahil, Text by Alka Gupta and Syed Saad Ahmed