Floating tea leaves locate Space Station air leak

The crew of the International Space Station plugged a longstanding air leak after locating the source with the help of a tea bag.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said the station had been experiencing a mysterious air leak since September 2019, but the leak rate increased in August.

The source of the leak was finally found when cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin broke open a tea bag, allowing leaves to float free in the transfer chamber of the Zvezda Service Module area of the station.

The crew monitored the leaves on video cameras, noting that the tiny tea fragments were floating toward a scratch in the wall that was then confirmed to be the source of the leak, which was patched using Kapton tape.

Tuatara hypercar breaks speed records

SSC North America has announ­ced that the Tuatara hypercar was tested outside Las Vegas in a pair of high speed runs on Nevada State Highway 160, in opposite directions.

The car averaged a top speed of 316.11 mph, capturing the title of the world’s fastest production car. The vehicle reached a top speed of 331.15 during one of the runs, capturing a record for the highest speed ever achieved on a public road.

The Tuatara is the second car made by the company to hold the title of world’s fastest production car. The record was previously broken in 2007 by SSC’s Ultimate Aero car.

The company plans a production run of 100 Tuatara cars to be sold commercially.

Julius Caesar assassination coin auctioned

A gold coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar, minted in 46 B.C., just two years after the death of the Roman leader, fetched a record-breaking high bid of $3.5 million at an auction in Britain.

It bears the image of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the leaders of Caesar’s assassination, as well as the image of two daggers and the words “Eid Mar,” which means the Ides of March, a reference to the March 15 date of the killing.

Nearly 100 similar coins minted in silver are known to exist, but the one that sold for $3.5 million is one of only three known to survive that were minted in gold.

The coin was purchased by an anonymous collector, setting a new world record for the most expensive coin ever sold.

The previous record-holder was an ancient Greek gold stater that sold for $3.25 million in 2012.

Exotic lizard rescued from power line

Animal rescuers in Pennsylvania said a chameleon was rescued after being stranded on a power line for three days.

The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA said personnel responded to a caller reporting an exotic lizard clinging to a power line in Daly City. Officials spoke with an electrical line worker to develop a plan to rescue the chameleon. A rescuer used a wooden-handled tool to capture the chameleon in a net. The chameleon is now in the care of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, which said the animal is believed to be an escaped pet or an escapee from a pet store.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 14th, 2020