Meet the real life ‘Robocop’

Meet the real life ‘Robocop’ — a robot police officer that can identify criminals, find fires and even give you directions to the restroom. What’s more, this little guy never gets tired or needs a break and can be on non-stop patrol whenever it’s needed. Known as Anbots, these devices are currently patrolling the streets of China.

According to Science Times, the robots can act as ‘sheriffs’ with their built in facial recognition software which can help track suspects wanted by police.

‘Robocop’ can also give you directions if you are lost or looking for a specific location and can spot fire emergencies. It is also able to monitor air temperature and quality.

The robot stands at around 1.6 metres tall and moves by itself using a series of voice commands and cameras. Anbots have been stationed at the Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Henan to test their effectiveness when it comes to assisting the public.

Further developments of the robot include its ability to detect threatening situations and an ‘anti-riot tool’ which can be used to help control hostile crowds.

Get paid to eat crisps!

If you missed out on the chocolate tester job, no worries, for there’s a new role up for grabs, albeit a more savoury offering.

PepsiCo UK, the American company which owns Walkers, is advertising for part-time tasters at its Beaumont Leys site in Leicestershire. The pay is £8.51 an hour.

Super taster Krystina Mason has held the job for six years. She loves it and said “Keeping your taste buds on point is an important aspect of the role. On a day-to-day basis, we have to make sure our palates are clean.”

Matt Cullingworth, Walkers’ sensory expert, is looking for someone with a heightened sense of taste to fill the vacancy.

He said, “The skills are quite niche. Only about one in four people have them. What we are looking for is someone who can identify the basic tastes — that is sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami (a savoury taste). We would also test how sensitive they are to these tastes. In addition, they have to do odour recognition — so they are given different odours to identify. We like people who can describe the eating journey.”

As well as testing flavour, the appearance of crisps is also important. Anyone who’s given the position would need their taste buds checked every three months.

Skeleton of eight foot ‘serpent’ washes up on beach

A ‘serpent’ carcass has stunned walkers who found it washed up on Charlestown beach, close to St Austell, Cornwell. The eight foot skeleton had mostly rotted away, but the shape of its body, which bulges out towards the back, was still visible.

People think it could be the legendary Cornish monster known as Morgawr, said to live off the coast of Falmouth. Drawings of the serpent, whose name means sea giant, indicate it could have a similar shape with its body tapering down to a narrow neck, rather than the more stocky bodies of dolphins and whales.

The legend of Morgawr came to wide attention in 1975, when fishermen claimed to have seen it and someone else sent photos to a local paper.

There have been sporadic sightings in the decades afterwards, with some referring to the stretch of coast between Rosemullion Head and Toll Point as ‘Morgawr’s Mile’, imagining it is its hunting ground.

The person found the skeleton has since contacted the National Sea Watch Foundation about the discovery — who have yet to reply about what it could be.

Published in Dawn, Young World March 11th, 2017