Making change
Now here’s some change we can get behind. In the spirit of Women’s Month, the Reserve Bank has put two new R2 coins into circulation honouring some formidable people. One marks 125 years since Charlotte Maxeke became the first black South African woman to earn a university degree; the other, 70 years since 20,000 women marched on the Union Buildings to protest apartheid pass laws. Girl power, now legal tender.
Our new overlords
Beijing’s World Humanoid Robot Games recently took place and, unsurprisingly, the footage went viral. Robots sprinting, playing football and attempting martial arts, then malfunctioning, falling over, sparking and sometimes being unable to stop. So much for the robot uprising. But perhaps we’re laughing at the wrong machines. These clumsy humanoids may not be Skynet, but AI is getting smarter by the day. Let’s hope it doesn’t learn to run.
Mane down!
Even non-football fans fell for Erling Haaland during the World Cup: the giant Norwegian striker, modern-day Viking and owner of some seriously famous blond locks. But the mane is no more. Haaland has gone for a dramatic buzzcut and then, ominously, failed to score in Manchester City’s season opener. Is he 2026’s Samson? We doubt it. Spare a thought, though, for Kknekki, the hair-tie brand he partly owns. Awkward.
