Stripe

Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock artIn 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and the newspaper added an updated statement: “It was later established that the red streaks … turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art.” Continue reading...

Guess the Party challenges players to pin candidates’ politics to their appearances, with guess rates varying wildlyIs a bristly grey moustache a telltale sign of a Reform candidate? Is pink hair a giveaway for the Greens? Perhaps a sharp suit is the best telltale for the Tories – or spectacles and a rucksack for Labour?Players of a viral politics game have been finding out that it’s never that simple to judge the colour of a candidate’s rosette just by how they look. The game, invented by Sam Hamill-Stewart, challenges players to look at pictures of local election candidates and guess their party affiliation. Continue reading...

• Stripe completed the acquisition of Wise Exchange, a fintech startup specializing in cross-border payment optimization, for $1.2 billion in stock on April 18, expanding its international payment capabilities. • The acquisition adds Wise Exchange's proprietary currency conversion algorithms and partnerships with 40+ financial institutions across Europe, Asia, and Americas to Stripe's existing platform. • Industry analysts view this acquisition as Stripe's strategic response to intensifying competition from Block, PayPal, and traditional payment networks in the global payments sector.