Numlock News: November 15, 2019 • Volcanos, Stars, Insulin

Nov 15, 2019

By Walt Hickey

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Super Bowl

Though it may be merely November, Fox has sold 60 of 77 available ad spots for the 2020 Super Bowl. The slots are selling for $5.6 million each or for the comparative bargain of $5.5 million each in the event an advertiser takes two 30-second advertising time slots. The remaining 17 commercial ad slots have 25 prospective buyers. While the second and third quarters are fairly booked up, the fourth quarter is quite available if you want your business to appear during a commercial break that allows the Patriots to wreck a perfectly likable team.

Scott Soshnick, Bloomberg

Insulin

The number of people in the world who suffer from diabetes is now about 400 million, four times the rate of 35 years ago. About 20 million people have Type 1 diabetes. Given that everyone with Type 1 and a fifth of those with Type 2 need regular injections of insulin, the fact that a vial of insulin in the U.S goes for $275 compared to $35 two decades ago is a serious concern for a massive number of humans. The WHO announced Wednesday that it will begin testing and approving generic versions of insulin in an attempt to drive down the price of a drug marketed predominantly by Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi.

Donald G. McNeil Jr., The New York Times

Volcano

On November 1, the island of Lateiki in the archipelago Kingdom of Tonga was destroyed by a volcano. These things happen, but on the plus side welcome to the new island of Lateiki, formed by the volcano about 400 feet west of its predecessor. The new island is 1,310 feet long and 330 feet wide, a considerable expansion of the previous island.

Robin George Andrews, The New York Times

Judges

Three Indiana judges have been suspended following a drunken brawl in the parking lot of a White Castle that escalated after one of the judges flipped the bird at a passing car. Two of those judges were subsequently shot by an assailant. Two were suspended 30 days and one 60 days. The trio was suspended on the grounds that they "gravely undermined public trust in the dignity and decency of Indiana's judiciary” when they got rowdy in that White Castle parking lot.

Laurel Wamsley, NPR

Goddess of Victory

Nike’s Vaporfly running shoes are good, but the question is are they too good. Granted any cross-historical analysis of running times is worthy of being judged by its equipment — the best part of Chariots of Fire is when they smoke like five cigarettes before making a go of it— but the Vaporfly may just be too good. Nike says they’ll make someone expend 4 percent less effort, and finally race administrators are starting to take that seriously. Right now, all five of the top men’s marathon times and two of the women’s were set with Vaporflys.

Eben Novy-Williams, Bloomberg

Star

Astronomers have observed a star exiting the Milky Way at 3.7 million miles per hour, and I say we hear the star out. In 100 million years, the star — which was launched towards the exits after accelerating past the black hole at the center of the galaxy — will formally exit the galaxy. The observation was made by the Anglo-Australian Telescope, and it’s the third-fastest star ever measured. The other two stars were accelerated by supernovae.

Hannah Devlin, The Guardian

Pigeons

A new study found that pigeons may be suffering from the effects of human hair laying about, particularly when it comes to their extremely gross feet. The study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, analyzed pigeons at 46 different sites around Paris and found that those which dwelled in the vicinity of a large density of hairdressers were more likely to suffer from toe mutilation. The phenomenon — stringfeet — can lead to issues for the birds.

Jack Guy and Barbara Wojazer, CNN

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Previous 2019 Sunday special editions: Open Borders · WrestleMania · Game of Thrones · Concussion Snake Oil · Skyglow · Juul · Chris Ingraham · Invasive Species · The Rat Spill · The Sterling Affairs · Snakebites · Bees · Deep Fakes · Artificial Intelligence · Marijuana · Mussels ·