The median US household income in 2022 was $74.8k, which marked a decrease of 0.8% compared to the previous year, according to the Census Bureau’s annual survey. Despite this slight decline, there was no increase in the poverty rate across the United States. Furthermore, the survey revealed a 3% increase in the number of American households earning $100k or more, accounting for 37% of all homes.
In the gaming world, speed-runner Niftski set a new record for “Super Mario Bros” by completing the game in a time of 4:54.631. Achieving this impressive feat requires flawless execution of the game’s challenges and is only 0.35 seconds away from the time achieved by a machine speed run. To put this in perspective, the average time to complete the game’s main story is around two hours.
Meanwhile, the United States Antarctic Program faced the cancellation or curtailment of 51% of planned scientific missions due to a housing shortage. This shortage has been caused by a $500m renovation project at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station, which has been delayed due to Covid and inflation. With the station currently hundreds of beds short, it is struggling to accommodate the 1.2k scientists and support staff it is designed for.
On a more positive note, students from the Technical University of Munich achieved a new milestone in electric vehicle (EV) technology. They built an EV prototype that set a record by covering 1.6k miles on a single charge. This feat was accomplished by continuously driving the EV for over 99 hours in an empty airplane hangar until its battery finally died. Additionally, another group of students at the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich developed the fastest accelerating electric car, which can go from zero to 62 mph in less than a second.
Sources:
– Census Bureau’s annual survey
– Ars Technica
– National Science Foundation
– Technical University of Munich
– Academic Motorsports Club Zurich