Meet Julia

World, meet Julia, a Sesame Street muppet that is taking the web by storm. Next month, the popular children’s show will add Julia, a four-year-old girl with autism, to its cast. Julia loves to sing and can memorize lyrics better than most of her friends, as evident in videos released by Sesame Street to Youtube. Loud noises, like sirens, can cause her to become visibly upset. Julia is part of Sesame Street’s latest attempt to shed more light on autism. They first released the character through a digital story in 2012, and on April 10, Julia will make her television debut. Their hope is that she will allow them to show some of the characteristics of autism in a positive light. Through her storylines, they will educate the general public about autism and break down misconceptions about the disorder, such as the belief that autism is “only for guys.” Stacey Gordon, the puppet artist for Julia, is the mother of a child with autism. Gordon says that it is important to her, and many others, that there is a representation of children with autism on popular shows like Sesame Street. “I wished that it come out years before,” she said.

Here Comes The Boom

“The Jetsons” may have been predicting the future after all. A Denver-based aircraft company called Boom Airlines wants to make supersonic flight efficient enough for everyday travel. Review: supersonic air travel makes it possible to travel faster than the speed of sound. To do so, the aircraft has to fly about 1,451 mph. About two decades ago, British Airways retired its group of supersonic aircraft. Now, Boom wants supersonic flight to make a comeback. Boom just announced that they have raised $41 million in funding, which will help them finish the development of their supersonic passenger airliner. The funding will make it possible for Boom to demonstrate the technologies necessary in supersonic air travel, such as advanced materials and aerodynamics. If successful, the Boom aircraft could be the fastest civil airplane ever made and the first independently-developed supersonic travel. Their goal is to have the first flight ready in a year. Supersonic flight would make it possible to travel from Los Angeles, California to Sydney, Australia in less than seven hours. (Currently, flying across the U.S. takes more than seven hours.) Round of applause, please.

Lenses For Love

Photographer Stephanie Smith is using her lens for love. When she heard about a photographer who refused to photograph a child with Down syndrome, she was heartbroken. She turned to Facebook to offer free photo shoots, which usually cost around $200, for children with special needs. Requests poured in, so Smith created the organization “Lenses for Love.” The organization matches over 250 families across the country with 100 photographers who are willing to photograph them for free. The families that they help often either cannot afford a photo shoot due to medical bills or are made uncomfortable due to discriminatory photographers. “We believe that all children and families are beautiful, and we want to share that joy and belief with families around the nation,” their website says. Check out the adorable photos here.

Blondes Have More Fun

Puerto Rico has run out of blonde hair dye. If you’re like us, or any other people, reading that sentence probably caused you to think, “Ummmmm…what?” The Puerto Rican national baseball team has recently been competing in the World Baseball Classic, and the players have chosen to dye their hair blonde. Many people across the country have followed suit, to the point where the country has now run out of blonde hair dye in stores. Some people have even bought blonde wigs to try to replicate the players. The players themselves are proud of this trend and love the way it is bringing the country together. It has also been very good for the local salons, as they say that almost every other call is a request to have the now-famous dye job.

Taking The Plunge

Beijing has recently decided to take the plunge and wipe out a truly serious problem: toilet paper theft. Beijing public toilets are trying to eliminate theft of their toilet paper supplies. “How do they plan on doing this?” you might ask. By installing face scanners! Beijing public restrooms have started installing automated facial recognition scanners that must be used in order to get access to the bathrooms. Now, if you need toilet paper, you must stand in front of a camera for 30 seconds, and then you will receive a 60-cm piece (about 23 inches). You might think that you could just stand there endlessly and keep getting more paper, but you would be wrong. People who come too often will be denied access by the system, and everyone must wait nine minutes before using the restroom again. Many citizens are complaining that these cameras are a major invasion of privacy.

Seeing Green

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was recently attacked on the streets of Barnaul. The unique thing about this is that he was sprayed with a green liquid that has now turned his skin green. Many believe that this attack was because Navalny is a harsh critic of Putin. Though the dye is expected to fade within the few days, Navalny is taking this exposure as a chance to further his message. Instead of hiding, he is posting images in defiance. Navalny hopes that other people will follow him in taking a stand against the Russian government.

The Ravioli Moon

On March 7, NASA’s Cassini probe has graced us with stunning photos of Pan, one of Saturn’s moons. These photos were taken from up to 23,200 miles away and are eight times clearer than any of its previous images. These high definition pictures depict Pan’s abnormal shape. Many scientists are now comparing Pan’s shape to that of the delicious pasta delicacy, ravioli, because of the thin, crust-like disk that’s surrounding it and its bulging center. Scientists have explained that the reason Pan has the crust surrounding it is due to gravity. Excess material from Saturn was slowly pulled towards Pan due to its gravitational force. If you are still yearning for more information on the infamous ravioli moon, Pan, read more about it here.

No Laptop Zone

If you are headed back to the United States or the United Kingdom from the Middle East and North Africa, you will be faced with a daunting obstacle: a laptop and tablet ban on planes. Passenger will be required to check their laptop to help fight terrorism. Terrorists are supposedly using consumer devices to smuggle bombs onto planes. For example, there was an incident in Russia in 2015 where a man hid a bomb that was placed in an electronic device in a hole in the plane’s cabinet. Unfortunately, the U.S. won’t give any more insight into why they are enforcing this ban at this particular time, but luckily, the ban is not expected to affect American airlines such as Delta, United and American Airlines.

“Death Note” Controversy

Netflix needs to tread lightly around Asian adaptations, it seems. Netflix has committed a serious faux-pas, as it has casted a Nat Wolff, a white male, as the protagonist of the Japanese manga series, “Death Note.” When the trailer was released Wednesday, there was almost immediate social media backlash concerning the project. Netflix also casted “Atlanta” actor Lakeith Stanfield for another main role. While it seems that Netflix is trying to change things up and make it their own, it stands to question why they didn’t cast any Asians in the lead roles. This outrage has sparked the conversation on the ongoing issue of the lack of Asian representation in Hollywood. According to a study done by USC last year, Asian actors only make up 5.1 percent of film and television series. While they can’t change their past decisions, hopefully Netflix is seeing the complaints and are looking to rectify their mistakes in the future.

Pop Culture Announcement

Supersonic air travel isn’t the only one trying to make a comeback. The other? Lindsay Lohan, who is returning to Hollywood with a reality prank series called “The Anti-Social Network.” In the series, Lohan will gain control over the contestants’ social media for 24 hours so that she can challenge them to do embarrassing things for prizes. Stay tuned to see if the show will be a hit or just another “Punk’d” copycat.