杏吧原创

Sunset boulevard

Almost three years after it opened, the world鈥檚 first solar roadway has been labelled a disaster. Engineers announced that the 1-kilometre-long Wattway in Tourouvre-au-Perche, north-west France, was crumbling due to traffic and the effects of weathering. To make matters worse, the 3000 square metres of photovoltaic cells spent so much time covered in leaves that they only produced half the expected energy.

It is difficult to find a positive spin on a road that can鈥檛 be travelled, made of solar panels that don鈥檛 work. Yet this is unlikely to dent the allure of solar farms that double as highways. The premise is that two things that are good in their own right would be even better if combined. This logic holds true for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but less so for climate change, say, or root canals.

The 鈧�5 million Wattway 鈥� or, to give it its full name, the Wattawaste of money 鈥� never struck Feedback as a particularly sound investment. At its inauguration, the former French energy minister proposed that 1000 kilometres of solar roadways would be built in the next five years. But even that impressive figure would only amount to 600 hectares of solar panels. By comparison, a single conventional farm, Cestas Solar Park in Bordeaux, covers 250 hectares.

That鈥檚 a shame, really, because the concept is such an elegant way of making use of an otherwise wasted resource. As an alternative, substituting the ever-beating rays of the sun for the liberal circulation of hot air, might we suggest a wind farm in London鈥檚 Parliament Square?

Oh the humanity!

Approximately 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, too much #content for mere human eyes to monitor. That is where AI comes in: machines capable of distinguishing violent and graphic content from your cousin鈥檚 make-up tutorial or baffling list ofegg-based lifehacks. Last week, hobbyists and engineers discovered that the AI in charge of YouTube鈥檚 moderation was consistently removing videos of robot battles, labelling them as 鈥渁nimal cruelty鈥�. A spokesperson promised that the error would soon be resolved and the videos reinstated. Feedback thinks that when the robot revolution arrives, we can鈥檛 say we weren鈥檛 warned.

Easy rider

We all know that cycling to work is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. So Feedback was intrigued to hear that British architect Neil Campbell had broken the cycling speed record when he 鈥渞eached more than 174mph鈥� on a specially constructed bicycle, according to BBC News.

That鈥檚 certainly one way to reduce your time spent commuting, though the speeding fines may not be worth it. Yet we were struck by a small detail: among the bicycle鈥檚 special adaptations was a coupling that hooked it to a Porsche Cayenne sports utility vehicle. After being towed up to speed, Campbell was released to fly through the timing gate 鈥渦nder his own power鈥�.

As cycling records go, those four words may be doing more work than the person in the saddle, but it does raise an interesting question. Might we say Neil Armstrong walked to the moon, having been accelerated by a Saturn V rocket before stepping onto the regolith under his own power? The next time someone chides you about the environmental impact of flying to Barbados for your holiday, Feedback suggests you reassure them: I walked all the way. The aeroplane simply stopped me falling down.

Know thy shelf

Browsing the catalogue of building merchants Wickes, Peter Oakley has discovered a truly phenomenal piece of home improvement paraphernalia.

The Duraline White Lacquered Floating Shelf is reportedly 鈥�100% invisible when attached to the wall鈥�. To be honest, this seems like quite an inconvenient quality for something hard that sticks out of a wall 鈥� although holiday tchotchkes will probably look impressive as they float in space, defying the forces of gravity and good taste.

Speaking of space, Peter notes the shelf鈥檚 impressive depth: 鈥�235Mm鈥�, or 235,000 kilometres, 鈥渨hich would simplify getting to the moon and back, and for 拢11鈥�. Quite a bargain, we agree. But once you had installed those thousands of kilometres of shelving, how would you ever get any of your beloved knick-knacks down?

King鈥檚 ransom

Previously, Feedback mused on the mortality rates for different chess pieces in battle (17 August). David Shaw takes issue with our claim that all non-drawn games end with one king鈥檚 demise. 鈥淭he king is never captured,鈥� he says. The game is won when one player鈥檚 king is in check and they have no way to remove the threat.

He isn鈥檛 wrong 鈥� clearly a rook-y error on our part. Though it does make us wonder, what happens after checkmate? And why are we, as omniscient observers, not party to it? For such profoundly spiritual questions, we suggest you consult your closest bishop.

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