The Know Daily - Tuesday 8 August 2023

_{Tuesday 8 August ∙ Read in 5m 20s ∙ Listening to Jorja Smith}

Moon Palace, a mobile observatory bus, is going on tour around Leeds until late November - and, if you’re a local, we definitely recommend hitching a ride! The project, which has been described as a “collision of creativity, art and science”, will give people the opportunity to stargaze on a clear night and make stellar connections with others (sorry…).

🛍️ What a washout

Last month’s wet weather caused customers to spend less on summer clothes, new figures suggest, with the higher cost of living and rising interest rates also impacting on spending.

What’s the story?
According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountancy firm KPMG, sales of all types of clothing and shoes declined in July, with the wet weather putting a dent in sales.

The BRC said that the value of retail sales was 1.5% higher in July compared to a year ago. “[But] that is a reflection of higher consumer prices,” explained the BBC, “and the volume of goods sold was lower than a year ago”.

What’s the bigger picture?
The cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates - which are driving up mortgage rates - is also thought to be squeezing household budgets when it comes to spending this summer.

Inflation (the rate at which prices rise) fell to 7.9% in June, but this is still high by historical standards. And last Thursday, the Bank of England put interest rates up for the 14th time in a row. “If it becomes more expensive to borrow, then theoretically consumers will spend less and that will bear down on prices,” said The Times.

And as for the weather…?
The question of whether we’ll finally get some much-needed sunny days is still very much up in the air - although the Met Office has said that “some warmer spells are possible” towards the end of August. 🤞

🥫 Spilling the beans

A leading discount supermarket in Germany has trialled charging customers the true climate cost of their food.

What’s the story?
In the week-long experiment, German supermarket Penny raised the prices of nine key items to reflect the hidden costs of production on soil, climate, water use and health.

“We need to put out the uncomfortable message that the prices of our foodstuffs [...] in no way reflect the environmental on-costs,” said the supermarket’s chief operating officer.

How much did prices go up by?
The rises were calculated by experts at two universities. While vegan schnitzels were given a rather moderate 5% increase, the price of wiener sausages almost doubled from €3.19 to €6.01.

The cost of maasdamer cheese also rose by a whopping 94% to €4.84, with the increase including “85 cents for climate-harming emissions” and “​​63 cents for the effect of pesticides used, including their impact on the health of farmers”, according to The Guardian.

What else?
Reuters has pointed out that German shoppers enjoy some of Europe’s cheapest groceries, with just 11.1% of their household budget going on food in 2022 compared to the EU average of 15.9%. “But their cheap food, often produced on an industrial scale, has a high environmental price,” said the news agency.

The supermarket said that it would donate any excess proceeds made from the price increases, but that it expected an overall decline in sales for the duration of the trial as consumers struggle with inflation.

Would you be prepared to pay the “true” climate cost of your food - particularly in the current cost-of-living crisis? We’d love to hear from you - hit reply to let us know!

💻 Whooshing back to work: Zoom - the company which “powered the remote work revolution” - has ordered employees to return to the office for two days a week. In a statement, the video-conferencing service said a “hybrid approach” was “most effective” for the company.

🚒 Britain’s “wonkiest” pub: Police are investigating after a landmark pub in the Black Country was destroyed by a fire just two weeks after it was sold to a private buyer. The 18th-century pub, famous for its wonky appearance, had been put up for sale in January this year.

🇵🇹 Portugal wildfires: Firefighters are battling to contain wildfires in Portugal, with temperatures of more than 40C expected to hit the Iberian peninsula this week. Weather alerts remain in place across much of Spain, too.

🩸 Going with the flow: Diaphragm-shaped menstrual discs may be better for heavy periods than traditional pads or tampons, according to new research. The study was the first to compare the absorbance of period products using human blood, as manufacturers traditionally use saline or water.

☄️ What goes up…: A “meteor” spotted over Australia on Monday night was likely a Russian space rocket reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, the Australian Space Agency confirmed. The blaze sparked a whirlwind of social media speculation after it was caught on video.

Trivia answer: A) Tinder is testing an AI tool that will select the best-looking photos from a user’s photo album. Would you swipe right on this new piece of tech? 🤔

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