Cheers & Jeers
Courtesy of Ansys
Cheers: If you have a craving for a Guiseppi sandwich this weekend, head to downtown Uniontown, where the Italian delicacy awaits to satisfy the appetites of Italians and non-Italians alike. The Fayette County Italian Heritage Festival returns Saturday and Sunday, and will feature plenty of Italian food, entertainment and fellowship. The popular two-day event made its grand return in 2023 after a four-year hiatus forced by the pandemic. “You don’t have to be Italian to have a good time,” says event chairman Jim Santilli. “Anyone can come down to learn about the traditions, learn about the food and be part of the celebration.
Jeers: Pennsylvania has long been one of the most critical states in American presidential elections, but despite its status it has generated few presidents or even vice presidents. Only James Buchanan is officially “from” Pennsylvania, though Joe Biden was born in Scranton before making Delaware his home. And only one vice president has come from Pennsylvania – the now largely forgotten George Dallas, who was second-in-command to President James Polk in the 1840s. For a while earlier this week, it looked like Pennsylvania’s long drought of candidates on a national ticket was about to come to an end, given the feverish speculation surrounding the possibility that Gov. Josh Shapiro would be chosen by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to be her running mate. Those hopes were dashed on Tuesday, though, when it was announced that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was getting the nod. It’s ultimately a matter of timing and luck whether a candidate makes it onto a national ticket, never mind whether they are actually elected, so it remains to be seen when – or if – Pennsylvania will have a favorite son or daughter in the White House anytime soon.
Cheers: Being a high-level athlete takes lots and lots of training, plenty of perseverance and a smidgen of luck. But science is now being regularly used to help athletes and their trainers gain a competitive edge. A good example is the simulation software developed by Southpointe-based Ansys that has been used by British researchers to determine whether the hairstyles and clothing worn by female athletes hinder their performance. The researchers found that, yes, long, curly hair on a female athlete can increase drag by 8.7% and loose-fitting clothing can increase drag by 23%. Thierry Marchal of Ansys explained, “Sporting victories are determined by increasingly small margins, and using simulation to improve factors, including aerodynamics, can provide the competitive advantage to deliver a winning performance.” Little could the athletes who participated in the first Olympics in 776 B.C. have ever imagined technology like this.