Current Events


Photo of toy - colourful bricks

Why Lego Isn’t (Just) a Toy Company

Source: The Wall Street Journal Economics (YouTube)

Twenty-five years ago, Lego was losing $300-million annually and nearly went bankrupt. Plagued by a history of rigid, inflexible control, Lego refused to do partnerships, tried to stop fan creators, had a toy line consumers felt was stale and out-of-date, and was facing unprecedented competition for the attention of their users due to more modern toys—like home video game systems.
It wouldn’t stay that way.
Watch this video to learn how Lego finally learned to listen to its fans, signed its first partnerships, won over adults, innovated its products, and expanded its empire into TV, movies, video games, comic books, theme parks, and more—allowing it to rapidly become the biggest-selling, most profitable toy company on the entire planet.


Colorful rainbow smoke on black background

This Impossible New Color Is So Rare That Only Five People Have Seen It

Source: Scientific American (YouTube)

Have you ever seen the color “olo?” Unless you are one of only five people on the planet who have, the answer is ‘no.’
Recently, researchers achieved the unusual feat of stimulating the eye in such a way as to allow it to see a color outside the range of normal human vision. This work is brand new, but scientists hope that it will lead to new vision treatments and help us to better understand how animals see the world.



Loch Ness Monster in silhouette

Loch Ness “Monster” Sighted for the First Time in May of 1933, Igniting a Modern Legend

Source: History.com

On May 2, 1933, the newspaper Inverness Courier ran the first story of a couple who claimed to have seen “an enormous animal” splashing around in the local lake. Over the subsequent 92 years, the legend has only grown. What about you? Do you think there is something in Loch Ness? What convinced you?



3D illustrated wiref-frame human head in a virtual, binary cyberspace tube

5 Takeaways From An AI In Shopper Experience Study

Source: Forbes

In 2024, a study of nearly 10,000 random consumers in 8 countries—including the United States, Canada, France, and the UK among others—asked about the impacts of artificial intelligence on their shopping habits. Read about five key findings from the survey in this article and compare them to how you would answer the same questions.


Fruit Fly

From Fruit Fly to This Guy: a Map of One Tiny Brain May Show How Larger Ones Work

Source: National Public Radio (NPR)

A fruit fly’s brain is only the size of a single poppy seed, but it contains a whopping 50 million connections between its neurons. With the assistance of AI, scientists have recently mapped these connections for the first time—the first time for any insect’s brain. It teaches us a lot about how a fruit fly’s brain works, but more importantly, this achievement has already begun to reveal lessons about how all brains work, including yours and mine.



Dollar Printing

What is Inflation?

Source: CNN 10

From groceries to travel and from video games to shoes, it seems that just about everything is getting more expensive these days. That increase in prices is called inflation. Watch this short video to learn more about what inflation is, and more importantly, why it occurs.


Diabetes equipment, used by patient

New treatment for Type 1 Diabetics Gives Hope to University of Chicago Patients

Source: CBS News

Before insulin was first used in the 1920s (barely 100 years ago), a patient with Type 1 Diabetes was expected to live less than 2 years after being diagnosed. After insulin, diabetics began living longer and longer. Type 1 diabetics today can expect to live into their late 60s or early 70s—but doing so requires a lot of medicine, devices, and thoughtful care. However, a new treatment option is currently being tested that may make care easier and help patients live even longer.