Major milestone for 737
Final assembly on the 5,000th Boeing 737, the best-selling commercial jet in history, has begun at the
company's Renton, Wash., manufacturing plant. An announcement on Boeing's website indicates the
737-700 is destined for Southwest Airlines and will be delivered next month. A fact sheet on the site
shows just how ubiquitous the 737 is in the world's skies. According to Boeing, "about 1,250 737s are
in the air at all times" and more than 12 billion passengers have traveled on one since the jet entered
commercial service in 1968.
Eating fish makes you smarter (about fish)
I always heard growing up that fish was "brain food," but if you've ever beheld a catfish you understand
why a young Midwesterner might find that odd. But Japanese diners enjoying a tasty dish of aji (horse
mackerel) may soon be able to wise up about their entree's post-aquatic life thanks to RFID chips an
bar codes that'll follow their fish through the culinary process. According to the always-enlightening
RFID In Japan blog, in one test diners received the bar code for their fish at the same time the plate
reached the table, allowing them to "view the encoded information using their mobile phones before,
during, or after enjoying the dishes." Interesting, but wouldn't it have been even better to bring the bar
codes before people ordered? Sure beats asking the waiter what he thinks of the fish's quality that
evening. Besides, enquiring once you've eaten the thing... maybe the emergency-room doctor can
get some good out of that in very special circumstances, but on the whole I that that would qualify as
too much information too late.
Lexus LS 460:
Do motorists really need the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission? "Yes," says Jim Press,
president of Toyota's U.S. operation. "It allows you to get really good mileage without sacrificing
performance," he says. Plus, he promises that drivers will actually be able to use them all.
Gears galore isn't the only over-the-top feature of Lexus' new flagship sedan, available this spring for
a price yet to be disclosed. The new LS also offers a 380-horsepower, V-8 engine, a stereo system with
19 speakers and an ice chest under the rear seat. The car will also have a feature to automatically
parallel park itself. The climate control will measure both the temperature of the car and of your body.
"I've been afraid to ask where that sensor goes, but I'm sure it does a good job," Press said.
Paris public toilets will soon be free
The land of "liberte, egalite, fraternite" is hoping to boast another civil liberty starting next week: the right
to urinate for free. On Feb. 1, Paris plans to begin converting its more than 200 self-sanitizing public
toilets to work for free, mayoral aide Pierre Serne said Thursday. They currently cost 40 euro cents
(about 50 cents). Long sought by homeless advocates, the initiative is expected to relieve the chronic
problem of finding toilets in the French capital. The measure "is to help everyone," said Serne, adding
that the comfort of tourists was not the main concern. "Tourists don't have a problem paying ... For the
homeless, this is their only chance to use a toilet during the day." The measure enjoys widespread
support but still needs official approval at a city council meeting Monday, Serne said. In a plan worked
out with Decaux, the company that manages the self-sanitizing toilets, the city government will pay 17
euro cents (20 cents) in operating costs for every visitor above the 2.4 million tallied in 2005. Paris
expects to recuperate most of the money spent on the toilets, called "sanisettes," by saving on street
cleaning, Serne said. France topped worldwide tourist destinations in 2005, with 75 million visitors, the
tourism minister announced Wednesday.
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