Coins On a Gravestone: Here’s What That Means

Have you ever seen a gravestone covered in coins? It’s not unusual while visiting a cemetery to see the stones covered in various amounts of money. So, why do people leave coins? There’s actually a distinct meaning. According to legend, the coin goes on the grave markers of America’s military veterans. Leaving a coin on the headstone lets loved ones of the deceased soldier’s family know that someone has come to visit the grave. Each type of coin holds a different meaning. Leaving a penny means you visited and want to thank the veteran of the armed forces for their service. A nickel left at a grave means you trained at boot camp with the deceased serviceman, while a dime suggests you served with him or her. Finally, a quarter signifies if previous visitors were with the soldier when they passed away. It really is a practical way to show up and honor fallen comrades’ gravesites.

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The Spitfire – Bringing Beer Kegs To the Men In Normandy

During World War II, British breweries donated free beer to soldiers, but just after D-Day there was no room made to ship it over the English Channel. Official missions were stopped when the UK Tax Office warned brewers that they were prohibited from exporting beer abroad without paying taxes, but pilots found a way to get beer where it was needed. Mechanics discovered that bomb pylons under the Spitfire’s wings could be modified to carry beer kegs. If the Spitfire flew high enough, the cold air at altitude would even chill the beer, making it ready for consumption upon arrival. 

 

 

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Asparagus: A New Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries?

A delicate spear of asparagus might look like a delicious side dish, but Ottawa biophysicist Andrew Pelling saw something more. "I was cooking with it one day and noticed how it looked like a spinal cord," said Pelling. "It's full of all these little capillaries along which water gets transported.” The idea was born to use a section of an asparagus stalk, to insert into damaged regions of the spinal cord, to guide neurons back together and reconnect. The first step was to take asparagus and strip the stalks of DNA and plant proteins using detergents, and what was left was the fibrous tissue of the plant. The next step was to test the asparagus implants on rats with a severe spinal cord injury to see if new neural pathways would form. The rats went from paralyzed from the waist down to being able to get their legs moving again within 12 weeks. They weren’t walking perfectly by any means, but there was a clear enhancement of motor control with the implant. Just last week, researchers were able to announce that this particular technology has been designated a "breakthrough device" by the FDA. It's not clear who might get to try out the technology — or when — but the FDA nod means a very accelerated timeline to get to clinical trials. Ultimately, the hope is that some day asparagus will help people who have suffered some sort of paralysis from the waist down within a very short timeframe.

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Dubai Is Launching a Fleet of Driverless Robotaxis

A fleet of driverless robot taxis could be ferrying passengers around Dubai as early as 2023. Vehicle manufacturer Cruise, backed by General Motors and Honda, will use its fully autonomous Origin vehicles during the testing phase. If the tests are successful, Cruise plans to launch a commercial ride-hailing service in Dubai soon after. The Cruise Origin has no pedals, no engine, and no steering wheel, a fully electric vehicle that can take four passengers at a time. The boxy vehicle about the size of a large SUV with sliding doors on each side looks like a cross between a mini-van and SUV. Rather than being a product people can buy, it will be an experience people share – a publicly accessible form of transportation in cities to reduce emissions.

 

 

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