The Know Daily - Monday 5 February 2024

_{Read in 5m 41s ∙ Listening to Taylor Swift ∙ Share us to your socials ☝️}

An “edible meadow” designed to improve gut health is set to feature at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. The gardeners behind the “microbiome” garden (illustrated 👇) said it would be filled with flowers that can enhance gut health - and that they hoped it would inspire visitors to do something similar with their own gardens.

🌧️ Every cloud…

A Saharan dust cloud is expected to affect parts of the UK this week, bringing “blood rain” with it. But is the natural phenomenon really as dramatic as it sounds?

First things first - “blood rain”?!
Blood rain - which, as the Met Office has pointed out, is not actually a meteorological or scientific term - occurs when high concentrations of red-coloured dust combine with rain. 

The dust in question comes from the Sahara, and it typically drifts towards the UK several times each year. Following recent dust storms in North Africa, the phenomenon is expected to hit parts of the UK again this week.

So will it be raining red?
Almost certainly not. Proper blood rain - where water droplets actually appear red -  is “relatively rare”, said the Met Office, as it requires high concentrations of red dust particles in the rain. “We rarely if ever see ‘proper’ blood rain here in the UK, despite what the media headlines may suggest,” the Met Office added.

So what can we expect?
Given that the dust in the UK tends to be mixed in very low concentrations, the rain will probably look just the same as usual. 

Nevertheless, if you’re planning on drying your laundry outside or washing your car this week, “you might want to wait a bit longer”, cautioned Yahoo News, as the rain tends to leave a film of dust once evaporated. 

On the plus side, the red dust in the atmosphere “could mean some colourful sunsets”, said BBC Newsround - as this picture 👇 from 2017 shows.

🎙️ Stars of the show 

“Women ruled the Grammys this year,” said The Guardian, with Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, SZA and Miley Cyrus taking home the major trophies at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Go on…
Taylor Swift has “dominated not only the music industry but pop culture” over the past year, said The Times - and she’s now made history by becoming the first artist to win album of the year for the fourth time.

The award was presented by Céline Dion, who received a standing ovation. Dion recently stopped performing due to having stiff person syndrome, and last week announced an upcoming documentary that aims to raise awareness of the rare neurological condition. 

And before we forget: there was more big news for Swifties at the ceremony, with the artist using her acceptance speech to announce the upcoming release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. 

Who else won big?
Cyrus won record of the year and best pop solo performance for Flowers, while Eilish’s What Was I Made For?, from the Barbie movie, was named best song of the year and best song written for visual media. SZA picked up three awards, including best R&B song.

Pitchfork has the full list of winners here.

What else happened?
The ceremony’s live performances were “also dominated by women”, said The Independent. Joni Mitchell made her Grammy debut at the age of 80, performing Both Sides Now, with Tracy Chapman and Olivia Rodrigo among the other artists who delivered “stunning” performances.

The top male winner was Killer Mike, who took home three rap trophies. But his success was “overshadowed by an apparent altercation backstage”, said the BBC, which led to him being “booked for a misdemeanor battery”. 

In conclusion? “If you thought the drama was contained to the movie awards season, you were very much mistaken,” said Euronews. 

🚘 SUV pushback: Parisians voted in favour of tripling parking costs for high-polluting SUVs, in a referendum on Sunday that was “closely watched by other capital cities, including London”, said The Guardian.

🗞️ Middle East latest: The US has carried out more strikes against Houthi missiles in Yemen, a day after the US and UK launched joint strikes on Iran-linked Houthi targets following a spate of attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

🎰 National Lottery ditched: Around 900 post offices around the UK - a fifth of all post offices - are planning to stop selling lottery tickets and scratchcards due to a new licence.

💉 Cancer vaccine trial: British patients are trialling a new Moderna cancer vaccine which uses mRNA technology - and experts say it could lead to a new generation of “off-the-shelf” cancer therapies.

🔎 Pine marten poo: The number of pine martens in Scotland’s timber forests is increasing - and a less-than-glamorous reason has led conservationists to that conclusion…

Help your friends feel better about the news - and support The Know at the same time. Get them to sign up using your personalised code 👉 https://theknowmedia.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER 👈 and we’ll reward you with goodies from HURR, Grubby and CRU Kafe!

The Know is an independent media company on a mission to help everyone start their day feeling informed and hopeful. We only recommend things we genuinely love but sometimes we make money out of the links we share. This directly supports keeping our journalism free for all.

Here are four ways you can support our work:

⭐ Get clicking - this tells our partners that readers are interested in our content. Let’s get started with this one (or maybe this one!).

⭐ Become a friend of The Know - back independent, female-founded journalism for just £1.25 a week. You’ll also get exclusive editions, supporter-only giveaways and more.

⭐ Refer a friend - spread the word about The Know and we’ll reward you with some amazing prizes.

⭐ Add us to your contacts or safe sender list - this makes sure we reach your inbox (and everyone else’s) each morning.

Trivia answer: A) A new partnership between Uber and the online pharmacy Healthera will see NHS prescriptions delivered directly to people’s doors via drivers arranged by the app. 

How did you find today’s email?
😍 Loved it 😕 Could be better

Daily emails too much for you? Switch to our weekly Friday edition. Support The Know here.