Latest news with #1981
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
I found a Sainsbury's receipt from 1981 in a second-hand bag - people can't believe how much prices have changed
A receipt dating back to 1981 was found inside a vintage bag bought by a charity shopper. The anonymous shopper took to Reddit, where they shared their fascinating find with others. They posted an image of the now 44-year-old sales slip in the r/CasualUK forum, accompanying it with a short post. Their post simply read: 'Got a vintage bag from a charity shop, got more excited about the sainsbury receipt left inside from 1981.' The receipt was a fascinated throwback, and a good reminder of how much everyday items have changed over recent decades. One Reddit commenter pointed out how well the item was maintained - despite being around 44-years-old. They wrote: 'I'm impressed at how well the ink held up and they were still using the half penny.' Another noted that this is because the retro receipt was printed with traditional ink (as opposed to the thermal ink now used on receipts). They explained: 'It's proper ink, will last forever if properly stored. Not like the thermal receipts you get now which fade after a few years or less if exposed to sun or heat.' A further commenter was intrigued by the use of old currency. They wrote: 'Love the fact stuff appears to be be priced in some cases at a half penny.' In response, another Redditor said: 'Because there were 1/2 pennys then.' This observation prompted a conversation about new currency. February 15, 1971 is known as 'Decimal Day', as it marks the day British currency changed from the old system of pence, shillings and pounds, to the decimal system of pennies and pounds. However, as another Redditor pointed out: 'It's half a new pence, different from an old pre decimal ha'penny. They're what you bought sweets with in the 70s.' Half pennies were phased out after decimalisation - in 1984 - as inflation and the cost of production meant they were no longer considered economically viable. Meanwhile, another Reddit user was shocked that the sales bill only dated back to the 80s, as they initial thought it was much older. They wrote: 'It's like we are looking at a war time receipt. It's 1981 for God's sake lol. I was born a year after this was printed. I was reading the post thinking "do they mean 1940's receipt?". I thought currency was in its current form at this point with maybe the old pound coin and bigger 50 and ten pence coins. That's what I remember from my childhood, but I guess the change happened when I was very young.' Others noted that the total bill came to a considerable amount of money when converted to reflect how much it would be worth now. One said: '£41 in today's money is around £205.' Another was curious about the purchases made, which are not identified on the receipt. They wrote: 'Ahh right. Would be even better if we could see what they actually bought to confirm value but that's no small amount of cash. Thank you.' 'There are some pretty expensive things on there. I'm guessing that they are meat. I can't think of anything else that would be over £5 in a supermarket. It's not as if they sold clothes or household appliances then,' one mused. Other suggested the more expensive items could be alcohol. 'Bottles of spirits would have been 5 or 6 quid,' one commenter suggested.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Backlash as 'nepo baby' Kaia Gerber lands major role in Hollywood's most anticipated TV series
Kaia Gerber could be Hollywood's next big thing after landing a major role in the highly-anticipated TV adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' The Shards. The 23-year-old, who is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, is the first star named for the project, which is being developed by FX and is based on American Psycho author Ellis' novel, which came out in 2023. The sexually-charged thriller, which is set in 1981 and loosely based on elements of Ellis' life, follows a group of privileged prep school teens as they navigate sex, drugs, and a serial killer in Los Angeles during their senior year of high school. Ryan Murphy is producing the series while his frequent collaborator Max Winkler will direct. Murphy has been a major player in pushing Gerber's acting career, with the famed director casting her in two seasons of his popular American Horror Story franchise. From there, she went on to star in Apple TV's Palm Royale and can currently be seen in Amazon's hit teen dramedy, Overcompensating. Despite her rising profile in the acting world, some fans have taken issue with Gerber scoring a spot in The Shards, which is currently one of the most buzzed about projects in Hollywood. 'Has she had acting lessons? Because she was awful in American Horror Story,' wrote one. 'And who will do the acting?? This nepo baby Kaia Gerber can't act to save her life,' added another. A third wrote, 'Ryan Murphy with his obsession with non-talented nepo babies like Kaia Gerber and Kim Kardashian.' However, most of the backlash towards the project seemed to be aimed at Murphy himself. Before FX and Murphy took over The Shards, HBO and Oscar-nominated director Luca Guadagnino were attached to turn Ellis' hit novel into a series. After Guadagnino left the project, acclaimed Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli signed on to direct and executive produce, with Ellis set to write all the episodes. Borgli left the series for unknown reasons, and then Murphy rescued it from 'development hell,' according to World of Reel. Ellis expressed on his self-titled podcast that he'd been 'frustrated' by the process. A source told World of Reel that Ellis would be 'far less involved' in The Shards now that FX and Murphy had taken over the series. Fans on social media expressed disappointed over the changes in production, with one writing, 'The Shards originally being Luca Guadagnino's on HBO and now it's Ryan Murphy's on FX... beyond upset.' 'Wasn't going to drink tonight but Ryan Murphy is turning The Shards into a TV show and I want to die,' added another. An adaptation of The Shards has been garnering buzz in Hollywood since 2023, when Ellis' book was first released. Despite her rising profile in the acting world, some fans have taken issue with Gerber scoring a spot in The Shards, which is currently one of the most buzzed about projects in Hollywood Not only was the semi-autobiographical novel a commercial success, it was also one of the legendary writer's most acclaimed books in years. Many of Tinseltown's hottest young stars have been thrown around as potential cast members, although Gerber is currently the only name officially attached so far. Meanwhile, Murphy's currently planning to release his next series - a legal drama led by Kim Kardashian. The reality star, 44, takes on her first leading role as a ruthless divorce lawyer in the new Murphy drama All's Fair - and landed top billing over Oscar nominees Glenn Close and Naomi Watts, as well as established stars Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson and Teyana Taylor. All's Fair follows a team of high-powered female attorneys who leave their firm to start their own company - with American Horror Story: Delicate star Kardashian taking on the role of Allura Grant.
ABC News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Refugee who feared execution in communist Poland says 'suffering is optional'
It's midnight on a cold evening in communist Poland in 1981. Elizabeth Szczepanska, then 30, is at her home in Sosnowiec when government authorities burst in. She has been part of the anti-government movement, and police arrest her and take her to an oval. "It was one of the scariest moments in my life and I believed that I was going to die," Ms Szczepanska said. "It was freezing cold … we had Polish soldiers with German shepherds and machine guns targeted at us. "I was thinking, 'They are just digging up a mass grave. We all will be executed.' "I was thinking … if this is my last moment of my life but, if I survive this, I'm going to change my life." She lived to see the morning and followed through on her promise. Poland was under communist rule from the end of World War II until 1989. Throughout that period there was open social unrest and the regime introduced martial law. When Ms Szczepanska was 13, she was told to stand along a wall in the school gym. It was part of a test to see who would make the best athletes for a sports program. She passed, and it started a sporting passion that would last more than six decades. Shot-put, discus and javelin became Ms Szczepanska's speciality. As she trained, being part of the sports program brought in extra food, clothing and money. "I had an academic scholarship and sports scholarship, and I earned more money than my mum working 56 hours a week," she said. "I felt like a billionaire. I had money, I supported my family. It was very important." Ms Szczepanska continued competing as she went to university and became a clinical psychologist. But her discontent with the government was growing. "It was really challenging to live in a country that you don't have a freedom of movement, choice and thinking," she said. She joined the anti-government movement and became a "rebel". "We met each other in these gatherings and started plotting and scheming how to overturn this government," she said. Her actions did not go unnoticed. Ms Szczepanska was charged with organising anti-Soviet demonstrations and arrested more than a dozen times, including that terrifying night at the oval. Even when she was not detained, she was still followed. "For five years I had two secret police officers standing in front of my door and I had to report myself at the local police station at 7am, 1pm and 7pm," she said. "Even [when] I'd be standing in a long queue to buy toilet paper … they would be standing behind my back. "They make this visible. They didn't even pretend that they were not following." Eventually, the government came to her with a proposition. "The secret police said, 'We have enough on you to keep you in prison for another 10 years, or you can choose leaving [the] country,'" Ms Szczepanska said. "I'm thinking I'm leaving everything behind, my whole life, and I'm going to a country that I cannot speak the language, I don't have any experiences here. "I've been so hurt by what happened in my political and personal life that I want to run, I want to simply escape this. "It wasn't easy." When she was 36, Ms Szczepanska chose to come to Australia — a country she had never been to and had no connections with. When she and her three-year-old daughter arrived in Melbourne in December 1987, she hid her tears so her daughter couldn't see her crying. Four years later, she was handed a flyer for the Masters Games — an international sporting event for people aged 30 and over. That same day, Ms Szczepanska bought two discuses and started throwing again for the first time since she had left Poland. She has not stopped throwing since. "If I'm going on an athletics track or oval and doing my throwing, my brain is 18. "You have this feeling, 'I belong here, this is part of me.'" Ms Szczepanska, now 74, recently retired after working as a psychologist for 50 years. She won many medals throughout her sporting career — 191, to be exact. She still has most of them, but not all. "I've been giving my medals to my clients, the people I've been working with, as a sign of achievement when they change behaviour and habits." She has another two medals that she will not be giving away. In 2010, Ms Szczepanska was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, given to those who have contributed greatly to Poland, and the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity, which honours those who were punished by the communist government and fought against it. Ms Szczepanskahas only returned to Poland once, when her mother passed away, but she will not go there again. "I put Poland and my past behind me … and I'm done," she said. "I still cannot be fully accepted, and I cannot be honest with them, so this is the reason I am deciding not to go." However, she is thankful for that day in the school gym. "I think that someone looked after me and sent me there, gave me this opportunity to equip me with skills so I can cope better with challenges in life," she said. Ms Szczepanska now lives in Geraldton, a sunny town on the Midwest coast of Western Australia. Even with everything that has happened to her, she said she had no regrets. "I don't have any. Not at all," she said. "I think that I did everything that I could according to the resources that I had to create a good life for myself and for my daughter. "I am still the same open-minded, compassionate and kind human." Her experiences have also given her a truly unique perspective on life. "I'm not giving up. I can be defeated, but I won't surrender. I will do everything I could 100 per cent so I won't have regrets," she said.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Robot breaks Rubik's cube world record
If you've ever got to grips with a Rubik's Cube, you'll know that the handheld puzzle can be quite challenging to only get harder when you go from the standard three-by-three to the four-by-four what if we told you that there are robots out there that can even complete the trickier of the puzzles - and they are only getting fact, a student has just built a bot that that can solve the cube faster than any other robot! Matthew Pidden is studying computer science at built and trained the robot named Revenger over 15 weeks as part of his managed to solve the four-by-four cube in 45.305 seconds - way faster than the previous record of 1 minute 18 record, however, is for robots. The human record for solving the same cube is currently 15.71 seconds. Revenger uses cameras to scan the cube and then changes its faces using an algorithm is a list of rules to follow in order to complete a task or solve a problem and the steps in an algorithm need to be in the right original Rubik's Cube was invented by the Hungarian sculptor Ernő Rubik more than 50 years four-by-four version wasn't invented until you complete a Rubik's Cube? Let us know in the comments below.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
NGT issues notice to TDI City over non-functional STPs, water pollution
MOHALI : The National Green Tribunal ( NGT ) has issued a show-cause notice to TDI City for serious environmental violations, including the failure of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and uncontrolled sewage flow into a vacant plot owned by the developer. This action follows findings submitted by a joint committee formed by the NGT to investigate complaints about untreated wastewater and water stagnation in the area. The joint committee — comprising representatives from the district magistrate's office, Punjab State Pollution Control Board (PPCB), and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) — conducted a site inspection with the applicant, Vijay Kumar Pathania, and representatives of TDI Developers . CPCB was designated as the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. According to the committee's report, no functional drainage system exists in the vicinity. Nearby agricultural landowners were forced to construct an embankment to protect their fields from contamination, resulting in water stagnation on a vacant plot belonging to Emaar Group, located behind TDI City. Investigations also revealed that untreated wastewater from Green Enclave, a nearby colony in Daun Majra village, was being discharged directly onto this undeveloped plot. During the inspection, the committee found that the sewage treatment infrastructure installed by TDI Developers was inadequate and non-compliant. Specifically, a 100 KLD STP failed to meet biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) standards, while a larger 2.5 MLD STP exceeded acceptable levels of total suspended solids (TSS). Both plants also failed to meet the faecal coliform standards set under PPCB guidelines, which require levels below 1,000 MPN/100 ml. PPCB noted in its report that while the STPs complied with pH, BOD, and TSS norms per its 2019 notification, they failed on critical microbiological parameters. The stagnation and contamination were further exacerbated by the illegal diversion of sewerage from an unauthorised colony into the affected area. Based on the findings and recommendations of the joint committee, NGT directed the issuance of a show-cause notice to TDI Township located in sectors 74-A, 92, 116, 117, 118, and 119. The notice cites violations under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It provides the developer an opportunity to be heard. Water samples collected during the inspection are under analysis, and regulatory action on this is expected depending on the final test results.
