Pack redesign and mascot makeover for beloved snack Pringles

Jan 5 2022

In his latest transformation from 2009, Pringle’s Mr. P will now be sporting a modernised look with bold eyebrows and fancy new red bow tie with the brand name. The makeover is a celebration of the 30-year anniversary of the snack’s launch in the UK. The cans have also been given a spin, which feature new bright and bold packaging which highlights Pringle’s range of flavours.

The original Mr. P was designed by Arch Drummond in New York 1967 and it became a global icon synonymous with fun times and even guest-starred on The Simpsons. Since his launch, Mr. P has had six new looks to keep up with the times. Pringle’s popularity is still going strong, with an approximate average of five cans of Pringles being bought off shelves each second in the UK.

The mascot has lost his hair in the new 2021 look, with previous iterations even making him blush. The simpler look hits at the minimal obsession of today and yet makes him standout even more. As of 2011, Pringles were sold in over 140 countries, becoming the fourth most popular snack brand after Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos in 2012.

Boasting several flavours, their iconic shape was manufactured precisely to address consumer complaints about broken, greasy and stale chips in bags filled with too much air. Chemist Fredric J. Baur spent 2 years developing the chips and their can but their taste was later improved by Alexander Liepa in the 1960s.

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China’s longest underwater highway tunnel opens for use

Jan 5 2022

Following four years of construction, China’s longest underwater highway tunnel is officially open for vehicle traffic.

At a length of 6.65 miles (10.79 kilometres), the Taihu tunnel stretches under Lake Taihu in eastern China, about 50 kilometres east of Shanghai. According to government officials in the Jiangsu Province where the tunnel was built, the tunnel cost 9.9 billion yuan (around $1.56 billion).

Construction began on January 9th 2018, and needed over 2 million cubic meters of concrete to build the two way tunnel. It has six lanes and is 17.45 meters wide, with the ceiling fitted with colourful LED lights designed to prevent driver fatigue.

It was also built as an alternate expressway for travellers and to alleviate traffic pressure. Meanwhile, a similar project for an underwater tunnel between Malta and Gozo has been argued for and against for over a year.

The government has not excluded the possibility of such an immersed tunnel even though this option was not listed in the request for proposals for the €300 million project.

The concept is still very much debated, with some pushing for it in order to make access between the islands easier whilst others worrying about environmental damage as well as an increase of traffic on the island.

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Paulina Dembska’s parents virtually join Sliema vigil as hundreds pay tribute

Jan 5 2022

Paulina Dembska’s parents remotely joined a vigil yesterday as hundreds turned up to pay tribute to the murdered 29-year-old.

Joining via a WhatsApp call as women’s rights activists read out a message from her Paulina’s mother expressing her daughter’s love for the island, they asked the Maltese to pray for their daughter, sister and friend. She was described as someone who loved not only Malta but also cats and other animals, with even animal rights activists creating a fundraiser to create a memorial in her name.

Prime Minister Robert Abela also attended the vigil accompanied by his wife Lydia and other MPs from both parties in honour of Paulina. The crowd extended from the Sliema front towards the Sliema gardens where she was murdered and later found at around 6:30 am on Sunday.

She was found with head and chest injuries, with an autopsy report confirmed she was raped and strangled. The prime suspect, 20-year-old Abner Aquilina, is currently held at Mt. Carmel Hospital and has not yet been charged.

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Photo Source: Miguela Xuereb

Macron wants to ‘piss off’ France’s unvaccinated as his strategy

Jan 5 2022

Emmanuel Macron revealed on Tuesday that he aims to ‘piss off’ France’s five million unvaccinated as part of his government’s strategy. The president’s comments found in a newspaper interview came on the day the country reported another daily record with over 271,000 COVID-19 infections. With the Omicron variant continuing to lead a fifth wave of the virus, the French government is set to get plans for a new vaccine pass through parliament.

Macron told Le Parisien that he had decided to act against the unvaccinated by limiting as much possible their access to social life activity. ‘The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so we will continue to do so, to the bitter end. That’s the strategy’ he said. He said that he will however not forcibly vaccinate them or jail them.

The consequence of not getting vaccinated is instead being unable to go to a restaurant or to a bar for a drink, being unable to go to the theatre or the cinema, etc. The comments brought in immediate condemnation from political rivals and the public. Some said that this language was counter-productive and angering people like this would not result in more vaccination.

As the fifth wave of the pandemic continued to impact France, and the world, figures from the French national health agency showed that over 20,000 patients were in hospital with COVID, an increase of 2,881 since Monday. Unvaccinated patients form a large majority of COVID patients in France’s ITUs. Just under 77% of France’s population is fully vaccinated, with the number of people in ITU standing at 3,665.

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