The way we live now

15 March 2024

Hero
Lily Allen, for being unusually honest about the effect her children had on her career. “I love them and they complete me,” said the 38-year-old mother of two. “But in terms of pop stardom? Totally ruined it.”

Villains
Two pilots for the Indonesian airline Batik Air, who have been suspended after they both fell asleep for almost 30 minutes during a recent internal flight. Air traffic control tried contacting the cockpit several times during their impromptu snooze, and the aircraft briefly veered off course, but the lead pilot eventually woke up and landed the plane safely.  

Hero
Peter Kaestner, the world’s most prolific birder, who has documented his 10,000th bird species. The retired American diplomat, 71, passed the milestone when he saw an orange-tufted spiderhunter in the Philippines, says The New York Times. Scientists think there are only around 11,000 bird species in the world. “Fewer than 60 people have ever seen 8,000; fewer than 20 have surpassed 9,000.”  

Heroes
American football fans, for going the extra mile to support their team. When the Kansas City Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins in Missouri in January, temperatures dropped as low as -20C, with windchill of -33C. Local doctors have revealed that a handful of fans needed amputations after suffering severe frostbite, and that more operations will likely be needed over the next few weeks as “injuries evolve”.  

Hero
The billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer, for refusing to give up on his dream of building “Titanic II”. The 69-year-old Australian first unveiled plans to develop a 56,000-tonne replica of the doomed vessel almost 10 years ago, but the project was paused because of payment disputes and Covid. This week, Palmer announced the scheme was back on, saying it would be a lot more fun than it is to “sit at home and count my money”.

In 1978, the BBC’s science presenter James Burke created what became known as “the greatest shot in television history”. Explaining how a rocket works, he tells viewers that if you mix hydrogen and oxygen in a confined space, “then set light to them, you get… that” – and points behind him, where a rocket takes off at that exact moment.