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* The amber light was introduced in the 1920s.

With only a red and green signal, drivers didn’t have an interval to slow down. On busy and noisy intersections, that caused plenty of accidents. In 1920, the amber/yellow signal was added to warn drivers of the impending stop. Of course, today some drivers consider the amber light a signal to go even faster to try to beat the red.

 

* You can see the red light faster than you can see the green light.

The traffic light was modeled after signals used on railroad tracks and crossings. There’s little evidence as to why the colors red and green were initially chosen to represent “stop” and “go” – but we now have a scientific rationale for that decision. Because red light has a longer wavelength than green, it can be seen from farther away. The sooner you see the light, the sooner you hit the brakes.

 

* The traffic light continues to evolve.

Most cities these days use cutting-edge technology and energy-saving LEDs that are controlled by massive central traffic management centers. Future traffic lights will sync with our phones… even talk to us, display news headlines, and communicate with our cars’ navigation systems, telling the car how fast to go to avoid red lights.

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“Navin Rawanchaikul: A Family Reunion With Grandma” – a good family project for anyone that has a grandparent alive….

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How Badly Is the US Botching Its Response?

The US has been hit harder by COVID-19 than any other advanced economy.

Have you heard that?

It feels true. It’s what I’ve been reading and hearing in the media for the past several months.

I just looked it up. Here are the data as of August 8:

The 10 advanced economies with the most COVID-19 deaths per 100,000

  1. Belgium: 86.3
  2. UK: 70.8
  3. Spain: 0
  4. Italy: 58.2
  5. Sweden: 56.5
  6. United States: 3
  7. France: 45.2
  8. Ireland: 36.5
  9. Netherlands: 35.8
  10. Canada: 24.3

The US is currently 6th.

What does that mean?

It means that COVID-19 has resulted in the deaths of about 161,350 people. That’s a bit less than one-half of 1% of the US population.

It also means that – in terms of death as a percentage of population and contrary to the impression I had – we are not even in the top five.

But it also means that there are hundreds of countries, large and small, rich and poor, that have so far experienced fewer deaths than we have. Are they doing something we aren’t doing? Can we learn something from them?

I thought it would be interesting to look at the bottom 10. Here they are:

The 10 countries with the least COVID-19 deaths per 100,000

  1. Anguilla: 0.0 (3 cases)
  2. British Virgin Islands: 0.0 (9 cases)
  3. Holy See: 0.0 (12 cases)
  4. St .Kitts/Nevis: 0.0 (17 cases)
  5. Dominica: 0.0 (18 cases)
  6. Laos: 0.0 (20 cases)
  7. Grenada: 0.0 (24 cases)
  8. Saint Lucia: (25 cases)
  9. Timor-Leste: 0.0 (25 cases)
  10. Fuji: 1.0 (27 cases)

Does this mean that these countries did the best job in keeping their citizens safe?

Is it likely that Fuji, Laos, and Anguilla are on the honor roll because they have done more and better testing, provided better medical treatment, and had more success with getting their citizens to follow the WHO protocols?

I don’t think so.

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