News You Might Have Missed: Leaf Knocks Out Girl, Storm Discoveries and a Call for Photos
The Olympics are dominating the news now, but here are a few items that hit the news before the Games kicked off, including sensational headlines about a concussion-causing leaf, some (lighthearted) updates from recent storms, as well as a possible pollution-reporting ban and the chance to win big bucks.
A girl was sent to the hospital after getting hit with a falling leaf. That's how this story was related to us by a Chinese colleague. As you might expect, confusion ensued. After grilling our colleague, we found out the word “leaf” in Chinese can apply to anything from the tiniest little sprout on a twig up to a 1.5-meter palm frond that weighs about ten pounds. Which is the type that dropped on the girl's head. Which makes the fact of her concussion not quite as shocking.
We’ve covered Beijing's massive storm here and here, but the deadly weather also taught us a few new things. Apparently, many car owners are out hunting for their license plates after they went missing after the heavy rains. Are young hooligans out under the cloak of darkness and rain stealing license plates, or has the rain learned how to unscrew the bits of metal? Either way, photos are being posted online in an attempt to reconcile owner with plate.
The inclement weather also clued us in to the fact that the Beijing Planetarium holds Telescope Fridays, as we’re calling them. Bad weather resulted in the weekly event’s cancellation on July 27, but they plan to continue allowing the public to use their big 'scopes to peer into space when the weather permits. Now we're wondering how many of these Telescope Fridays are regularly cancelled on account of plain ol' pollution.
Last Wednesday, Tianjin was hit with the follow-up drencher that was meant for us. Although their streets and boulevards also flooded, they managed to have a fun time with the extra water. Residents took to the streets in jet skis, boats, plastic running balls. Some even went fishing.
And the squabbles over the US Embassy’s @beijingair feed continue. Netizens have dug up a draft regulation from 2009 that prohibits any non-Chinese-government entities from reporting pollution data. If this ban were enacted, it would affect not just the American Twitter reports but local NGOs as well. There's no need to start worrying yet, as leaders say the current directive has been heavily revised and there's no set date for its implementation.
It’s time to make it snappy. Expat shutterbugs can get in on the "Beijing Spirit in the Eyes of Foreign Friends" photo contest, eligible only to non-Chinese nationals. Basically, your well-composed shots of "(1) Citizens’ Great affection for China and the city they live in; (2) Innovation and vigour of dynamic Beijing; (3) Harmony and coexistence in multi-cultural Beijing; (4) Social morality of residents in the ancient and civilized capital" could win you some nice spending cash: RMB 10,000 each for two grand-prize winners, RMB 5,000 for five runners-up, and RMB 3,000 for ten third-place winners. You have until October 30 to enter, but why wait?
Photo: news.163.com, weibo.com
