Page 8 - IAV Digital Magazine #620

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Chinese Bank Barred From Offering Customers Free Labubu Dolls
'World's Smallest Violin' Can't Be Seen Without A Microscope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQP8DAo2oCI
By Ben Hooper
June 6 (UPI) -- A team of physicists from a British uni- versity used nanotechnolo- gy to create what they dubbed "the world's small- est violin," an instrument that can't be seen without a microscope.
The Loughborough University team said the platinum violin measures 35 microns -- a measurement unit equal to one millionth of a meter -- long, and 13 microns wide.
The violin is smaller than the diameter of a human hair, which ranges from 17 to 180 microns. Tardigrades, eight-legged micro animals, measure between 50 to 1,200 microns long.
The researchers created the minute musical instru-
ment to demonstrate the abilities of their new nano- lithography system, technol- ogy that allows scientists to build and study nanoscale objects and structures.
The instrument was chosen as a play on the phrase, "Can you hear the world's smallest violin playing just for you?" The phrase is an expression of mock pity in response to exaggerated complaints or overly dra- matic reactions.
"Though creating the world's smallest violin may seem like fun and games, a lot of what we've learned in the process has actually laid the groundwork for the research we're now under- taking," Professor Kelly Morrison, head of Loughborough University's Physics Department, said in a news release.
By Ben Hooper
June 12 (UPI) -- A Chinese bank was ordered to stop its practice of enticing new customers by offering them free Labubu dolls.
Ping An Bank, based in Shenzhen, recently announced a
promotion that would award new customers who deposit at least $7,000 and keep it in their account for at least three months with a Labubu, a popular stuffed toy sold by Pop Mart.
The National Financial Regulatory Administration's Zhejiang branch is now bar-
ring the bank from offering the free toys and other non- banking-related perks.
Regulators said they are concerned that the promo- tion, and other similar pro- motions at other banks, could drive up banking costs.
Labubu dolls were created by artist Kasing Lung and are sold in blind boxes at Pop Mart locations. The dolls, cute monsters with sharp-toothed smiles, became valuable collector's items after being sported by celebrities including Blackpink singer Lisa and Rihanna.
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