Hey folks!
Ever felt like your phone is a magnet for spam calls and messages?
Well, you’re not alone! That’s exactly why the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided that enough is enough. It’s cracking down hard on the spammy culprits, telling telecom operators to pull the plug on any telecom resources given to these pesky spammers and blacklist them for two years.
But here’s the kicker. India’s spam problem has blown up in recent years, turning our phones into battlegrounds of unwanted calls and messages. For context, nearly 70% of respondents surveyed by LocalCircles in 2022 said they got 3 or more spam calls every day, despite registering themselves for the do-not-disturb (DND) programme. And while some are just annoying marketing pitches, most are outright scams.
So ever since 2018, TRAI has been on a mission to clean up this chaos. It started by hitting telemarketers with heavy fines for violating consumer preferences and even rolled out a blockchain-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. This made it mandatory for telemarketers sending commercial messages via calls, SMS or even WhatsApp to register.
And it sort of worked. Calls from registered telemarketers dropped.
But spammers are crafty, so they found new tricks. They started using regular 10-digit numbers instead of the official telemarketer series starting with 140.
That’s why TRAI’s latest move is all about ending this madness once and for all. From banning messages with unverified links and setting up traceable chains for bulk messaging to testing out something called Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) — a tech that can help you spot spam calls by showing the caller’s name, TRAI is pulling out all the stops.
Will these efforts finally dial down the spam? We can’t tell. But one thing’s for sure. Our work days and weekends might just get a little more peaceful without those annoying interruptions. 🤞🏽
Here's a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵
Slither by Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale
Ready? Let’s get cracking!
A couple of things caught our eye this week 👀
Can mayonnaise give us a renewable energy breakthrough?
Mayonnaise might just help us achieve clean energy. Wait… What?
Yes, you read that right! That creamy mayo in your burger could be key to a major breakthrough in renewable energy.
Here’s how.
We all know that the world is racing to cut down on pollution from fossil fuels and find cleaner energy sources. Now, solar energy is a fantastic option, but it only works when the Sun shines. To use it all day, we need batteries and storage systems. But making them isn’t simple or cheap.
We have to mine minerals like nickel and lithium, which can be pretty resource-intensive. Plus, manufacturing these storage devices generates emissions and costs a lot. And don’t forget, we also need solar panels to spread the solar power across cities.
But what if we didn’t have to do that? What if we could just create energy like the Sun does, right here on Earth? That’s the dream behind nuclear fusion, which aims to reproduce the Sun’s power here on our planet. If we can nail it, we’d have an almost limitless, clean energy source.
But here’s the catch. Creating the extreme conditions needed for fusion, like super high temperatures and pressures, is incredibly tough.
And that’s where mayonnaise comes in. Scientists at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University have discovered that mayonnaise behaves a bit like plasma, the superhot, charged state of matter crucial for fusion. Normally, mayo is solid. But under pressure, it flows like a liquid. This behaviour is similar to how plasma acts in fusion reactors.
Since plasma is super tricky to work with because of its extreme temperatures and pressures, using mayo as a stand-in helps researchers study its behaviour without needing those extreme conditions. They can examine how mayo flows and get insights into plasma’s tricky aspects, making fusion reactions easier to control.
So, next time you dip your fries in mayo, remember you’re not just enjoying a tasty side, you’re also dipping into a bit of innovation. That delicious spread might just help power our clean energy future!
***
Why did NASA trust Boeing?
In June 2024, astronauts Barry Eugene (Butch) Wilmore and Sunita Williams embarked on an 8-day mission to test Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft. This was supposed to be a routine test flight, just to see how the spacecraft performed before it was put to regular service in space travel.
But here’s the plot twist. What was meant to be a short mission might stretch into 8 months! Thanks to some serious hiccups, the spacecraft is sort of stranded in space and the astronauts may not make it back until February 2025!
Now, you’re probably wondering why NASA trusted Boeing with such a high-stakes mission, given the company’s sketchy track record in aviation. Boeing has been criticised for cutting corners, prioritising profits over safety and causing a number of airline safety concerns worldwide. Loose parts, wobbly engines, you name it.
So, why did NASA even go with Boeing for such an important space mission, you ask?
Let’s explain.
The Starliner is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to get private companies involved in transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). For the uninitiated, the ISS is a massive spacecraft that orbits the Earth. It’s a collaboration project of 5 space agencies: US’ NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Europe’s ESA (European Space Agency), Japan’s JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Canada’s CSA (Canadian Space Agency). It’s like a lab where astronauts conduct experiments in microgravity to understand how space affects everything from physical processes to technology.
Before the ISS, NASA relied on the Space Shuttle, a reusable spacecraft that helped explore space. But high maintenance costs and safety issues led to its retirement in 2011. That’s when NASA started the Commercial Crew Program to bring in private companies to develop new spacecraft. And it deliberately shortlisted two companies ― Boeing and SpaceX, to hedge its bets. If one company encountered issues, the other could step in.
SpaceX, with its commanding presence in outer space, was an obvious choice. While Boeing, a long-time partner with NASA, seemed like a safe bet.
However, the Starliner’s journey has been anything but smooth. Delays, technical glitches and budget overruns plagued its development. Even before Wilmore and Williams blasted off into space, the spacecraft had a helium leak. More issues arose in space, including additional leaks and failing thrusters (tiny engines crucial for manoeuvring the spacecraft).
Now, NASA is stuck deciding whether to risk bringing the astronauts back with the troubled Starliner or wait for SpaceX’s more reliable Crew Dragon which will only be another 6 months from now.
So, what started as NASA’s leap of faith and Boeing’s ambitious bid to challenge SpaceX’s reign in commercial spacecraft has now become a full-blown nightmare.
But here’s hoping that Wilmore and Williams make it home safely and soon. Godspeed!
Infographic 📊️
This Day in Financial History 📜
4th of August, 1693 ― Dom Pérignon is believed to have invented champagne
Ever wondered why popping open a bottle of champagne is the ultimate way to kick off a celebration? Well, it turns out that this bubbly tradition actually has its roots in what was once considered a flaw in the winemaking process!
Let’s explain.
Back in the 1st century, the Romans cultivated grapes in France’s Champagne region. Fast forward a few centuries, and winemakers in the area were grappling with a peculiar problem ― bubbles in their wine.
These bubbles were caused by a sneaky process called refermentation, where the cold winters of the Champagne region would halt fermentation, only for it to restart when temperatures warmed up. This unexpected fizz was seen as an imperfection, and the resulting pressure buildup was so intense that bottles sometimes exploded, earning the nickname “the devil’s wine”.
Enter Dom Pérignon, a French monk with a passion for perfecting wine. As the cellar master at a monastery in northeast France, he spent years trying to banish these pesky bubbles from sparkling wine.
But in a twist of fate, the very thing he sought to eliminate became the hallmark of what we now know as champagne. Legend has it that on this day Pérignon tasted sparkling wine from a damaged bottle and exclaimed, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!”, a line so poetic that it’s been debated as possibly being an 1800s marketing ploy to boost the prestige of champagne.
While that quote might be up for debate, what isn’t is Dom Pérignon’s impact on champagne. He didn’t just try to remove bubbles but also helped craft the method that allowed for a successful white wine made from red grapes — a breakthrough that paved the way for modern champagne, which may have also earned him the title “Father of Champagne”. He also started using corks secured with hemp to prevent those notorious bottle explosions. Later, the British took it a step further by bottling champagne in thicker glass with strong corks, perfecting the method we rely on today.
So, the next time you watch champagne foam and fizz out of a bottle, remember, it’s all thanks to a centuries-old “imperfection” that has become a symbol of celebration. And this bubbly success story doesn’t stop at parties. It even inspired the “champagne index”, a quirky economic indicator that links champagne sales to rising income levels.
Who knew that a little flaw could lead to so much sparkle and success? Cheers to that!
Readers Recommend 🗒️
This week, our buddy Shivam Tyagi is back with a must-see ― Man with a Movie Camera, a 1929 silent documentary.
The film captures urban life in the Soviet Union with groundbreaking camera techniques like fast motion, slow motion and close ups. Though originally silent and accompanied by live music in theatres, it’s since been re-released with various soundtracks and is a fascinating watch that showcases early cinema innovation.
Thanks for the rec, Shivam!
Finshots Weekly Quiz 🧩
It’s time to announce the winner of our previous weekly quiz. And the winner is…🥁
Anuj Singh Chauhan! Congratulations. Keep an eye on your inbox and we’ll get in touch with you soon to send over your Finshots merch. And for the rest of you, we’ve moved the quiz to our weekly wrapup. So make sure you answer all the questions correctly by 12 noon on August 17, 2024 (Saturday) and tune in here next week to check if you got lucky.
Anyway, that’s it from us this week.
Until then, don’t forget to tell us what you thought of today’s newsletter. And send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations. We’ll feature them in the newsletter! Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).
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