Good news: Dark underwear allowed when playing tennis in Wimbledon +++ 60 species of sharks are finally protected +++ Men and women achieve equality in the division of paid and unpaid work +++ The hamster is back in Hesse +++ Eva is the first female crash test dummy
The best news in the BRIGITTE Good News Ticker for November 2022
The news often shows the horrors of this world – currently, for example, the corona pandemic and the Ukraine war. But there are not only the dark sides, our world has so much beauty in store for us. We want to celebrate the little everyday things and give you something positive to take with you. It’s time for good news – if not now, then when?
November 22, 2022
Yay! Dark underwear allowed when playing tennis at Wimbledon!
Next year something crucial will change in the tennis world. Normally white clothing is mandatory at a tennis tournament and is the be-all and end-all on the court. But it is exactly this strict dress code (down to the underwear) that many players do not like. Especially during their period, many prefer dark colored panties. Understandable! But so far this was strictly forbidden and white laundry was in Wimbledon required. Until now …
British tennis player Alicia Barnett spoke out critically against this regulation during the Wimbledon tournament this year. She spoke openly about the stress of having her period during competition and having to wear white underwear at the same time.
Fortunately, this provision will no longer apply from the next season (3rd to 16th July 2023). This was officially announced by the Wimbledon organizers. After consultation with everyone involved, it was decided to also allow dark underwear and to relax the regulations a little.
November 21, 2022
For the first time, 60 shark species are under protection
We have good news for the marine world! At the CITES world conference in Panama (CITES stands for “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species”), 60 shark species were placed under international protection for the first time. According to environmental organizations, it is a groundbreaking moment. The 184 contracting states of the CITES species protection convention have been meeting in Panama since last week.
So far, only a few shark species have been considered protected, because sharks are hunted worldwide for their fins and meat. The good news: 54 requiem sharks and six hammerhead sharks may only be traded sustainably in the future. In addition, three sea cucumber species, 37 species of guitarfish and the South American freshwater stingray have been placed under international protection. WWF expert Heike Zidowitz said: “It’s a good day for marine animals!”
November 15, 2022
The first country proclaims equal working hours for men and women
“The new generation of fathers spend significantly more time looking after their children than fathers did 20 to 40 years ago,” said the Finnish Statistics Office. According to statistics, less than a year ago, men and women would have spent about the same amount of time at work if you add up paid and unpaid work.
In plain language this means: In Finland, for the first time, men and women have achieved equality in the division of paid and unpaid work. In the case of working people, however, there is still a gender difference. According to this, men in paid jobs statistically work half an hour longer. Nevertheless: Finland is a pioneer in terms of gender equality. After all, the men there spend an average of eleven minutes more per day on household chores than they used to, and both parents are entitled to parental leave. A small but significant advance.
November 14, 2022
Hesse is hamster country again
Big googly eyes, plush fur and more nocturnal – just three years ago the field hamster in Hesse was more of a cause for concern. Now the federal state can proudly call itself Hamsterland again. More than 1,000 field hamster burrows were detected this year, said the chairman of the Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation, Tobias Erik Reiners. According to Reiners, there were only 311 burrows in 2018.
Environment and Agriculture Minister Priska Hinz (Greens) was pleased to announce a turnaround. It was crucial to combine nature conservation and agriculture. In 2021, the state government and agricultural and nature conservation associations signed a cooperation agreement. Thanks to this agreement, numerous field hamsters can now whiz through their natural habitat again.
November 9, 2022
Gender gap: Eva is the first female crash test dummy
Women have a significantly higher risk of injury in car accidents than men. One of the reasons for this is that the dummies used in the crash tests do not correspond to the average female body and therefore do not depict the dangers for women. That should change now. with Eva, 162 centimeters tall, 62 kilograms heavy. Eva is the first female crash test dummy designed to provide more protection for women in car accidents. It was invented by Astrid Linder, director of road safety at the National Road and Transport Research Institute in Sweden.
The accident statistics show how important and long overdue Eva is. According to the US Transportation Safety Administration NHTSA, women have a more than 40 percent higher risk of neck injuries than men and the risk of arm injuries is 60 percent higher. In the case of leg injuries, it is almost 80 percent, and chest injuries are around 20 percent. This is mainly due to the fact that women are smaller and lighter than men and have a different muscle structure. Likewise, the female body has a different center of gravity than the male. In addition, hips and pelvis are different, Linder explains to the BBC. So far, however, road safety has only been tested on male dummies or with pseudo-female models, namely male dummies that were only lighter and smaller.
A new NHTSA study but also shows that road safety is becoming more equal between men and women when it comes to car accidents and the gender gap is narrowing. This applies above all to newer cars from the year 2000. The newer the car, the narrower the gender gap, according to the study.
So far, vehicle manufacturers have not had to use female dummies for crash tests. In the USA and the EU, only a male dummy test is required. Linder hopes that female dummies will soon be prescribed across the board for tests. The United Nations is currently reviewing whether to amend its crash test regulations to ensure that all drivers are safe behind the wheel.
Sources: Deutschlandfunk Nova, bbc.de
November 1, 2022
Dating App Gives Away Algorithm Against Dick Pics
You open the messenger and suddenly a penis is emblazoned on the screen. Women in particular are repeatedly the involuntary recipients of nude photos on various platforms and in online dating apps. There are now extra websites through which you can report such incidents directly to the police. The dating app Bumble goes one step further and wants to protect its users from receiving inappropriate nudes with the help of artificial intelligence.
With artificial intelligence against nudes
The AI developed by Bumble recognizes a potential nude picture that is sent via the chat and initially displays it as a blur. Users can then decide for themselves whether they want to see the picture or not. The sender can also be reported and blocked at the same time. The artificial intelligence is constantly fed with new material so that it can better distinguish between genitals and other naked body parts.
According to Bumble, the AI should have an accuracy of 98 percent. So that the problem can also be contained on other platforms in the future, Bumble is making the “Private Detector” technology freely available as an open source version on Github.
Would you like more good news?
For even more good mood, just take a look at our good news ticker from October.
Source used: business-punk.de, t3n.de, hessenschau.de, spiegel.de, zeit.de, cites.org, dpa.de