$74.8k: The median US household income in 2022, down 0.8% YoY, per the Census Bureau’s annual survey. Fortunately, though the median household income fell a tad, no state saw an increase in its poverty rate. Also notable: a 3% uptick in American households making $100k+, now up to 37% of homes.
4:54.631: The new record for speed-running “Super Mario Bros,” set by gamer Niftski. Per Ars Technica, this impressive feat requires a “pixel-perfect execution” of a particular level’s challenges and is just 0.35 seconds away from a machine speed run. For comparison, the average time to beat the game’s main story is two hours.
51%: Proportion of planned scientific missions canceled or curtailed at the United States Antarctic Program this summer. A leading reason for the reduction is a familiar story on the other six continents: a housing shortage. The National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station is meant to host up to 1.2k scientists and support staff, but it’s a few hundred beds short. Covid and inflation have hampered a $500m renovation project, including a much-needed 285-bed dormitory.
1.6k miles: New record distance covered on a single charge by an EV prototype. Students from the Technical University of Munich who built the long-range EV drove it around an empty airplane hangar — for 99+ straight hours —until its battery died. Amateur Alps-adjacent scientists are on a roll this month: Students at the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich built another record-setting EV, this one recognized as the fastest accelerating electric car, going from zero to 62 mph in less than a full second.
