Kohler Made a Camera for Your Toilet

Dekoda device scans waste to assess hydration, gut health, and more

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/21/poop-cam-dekoda-throne

Evidence

1. What specific data, design details or testing information does the article provide about how the device detects waste-type, hydration, or blood traces and how reliable or transparent is that evidence?

2. Does the article disclose any independent studies, peer review or regulatory approval supporting the device’s claims-- and if not, what impact does that have on the strength of the evidence?

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Perspective

1. Which voices are included (the manufacturer, tech reviewers, health experts) and which perspectives are missing?

2. How might the interpretation of this product differ if described from the perspective of someone concerned with data privacy or digital surveillance rather than health optimization?

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Connections

1. How does this device connect to broader themes of health-technology, smart home devices, personal data analytics, or “quantified self” culture?

2. What real-world examples or prior innovations (such as wearable health trackers, smart toilets, or home-health sensors) could you mention to deepen the analysis of how this product fits into a larger ecosystem?

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Significance

1. Why is this product significant for individual health monitoring, consumer privacy, the home environment and what implications might it have for the future of “connected health”?

2. Which groups are most affected (consumers, manufacturers, regulatory bodies, vulnerable users) and how does the article present the scale and magnitude of potential impacts?

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Alternatives / Supposition

1. What alternative explanations might there be for why someone would buy this gadget (e.g., novelty, status, anxiety about health) that the article does not explore?

2. Suppose the device fails to detect a serious health issue how might that change our trust in such home-health technologies, and what does that tell us about the roles of human professionals versus automated monitoring?

Extension Activities:  

Ethics & Design Workshop: Students design their own health-monitoring bathroom device (or app) and then conduct a mini-peer review focused on privacy, consent, data ownership and cost implications.

Research & Debate Assignment: Students investigate real-world examples of “smart home health tech” (including this device) and present pros & cons in a structured class debate, highlighting the social, economic and technological connections.

Cops Detain Teen at Gunpoint After AI Doritos Mix-Up

 

Cops Detain Teen at Gunpoint After AI Doritos Mix-Up

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Artificial intelligence system at Baltimore 16-year-old's school thought bag of chips was a gun

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjdlx92lylo 

1.  What kinds of data or eyewitness information does the article provide to support the claim that the AI flagged the packet as a gun, and how credible do you find that evidence?

2.  How might the interpretation of this incident differ if it were reported from the perspective of the teenager, the school safety team, or the AI developers, and how does the article’s phrasing shape the reader’s understanding?

3.  How does this incident connect with broader issues of surveillance, AI in schools, and policing of minors, and what links does the article draw (or fail to draw) to those themes?

What prior knowledge or real-world examples (e.g., other false positives by AI, controversies in school safety systems) could you bring in to deepen the analysis of this case, and how might the article's connections help or hinder that?

4.  What alternative explanations might there be for how the mis-identification occurred that the article does or does not explore?  Suppose the AI system had worked correctly--how might the student’s experience, school response, or public reaction have been different, and what does that tell us about the role of technology versus human oversight in such situations?

5.  Why is this event significant for AI ethics, school policy, civil rights, etc.) and what implications does the article suggest for future use of AI in public-safety contexts? Which stakeholders are most impacted by the outcome of this incident and how does the article convey the magnitude of those impacts?

Extension Activities:  

1)  Debate Activity: Students research and debate the motion, “AI surveillance in schools does more harm than good,” using this case as a starting point to explore ethical, social, and technological implications.

2)  Design Thinking Task: Students develop a proposal for an ethical school safety system that balances privacy, accuracy, and security—illustrating how human oversight could complement or replace AI decision-making.

 

Six Flags Qiddiya unveils plans for world’s longest, fastest and tallest roller coaster

(Image:  Six Flags Qiddiya)

https://www.newsweek.com/fastest-roller-coaster-world-speeds-155-mph-will-open-this-six-flags-1566747 

1.  In what ways are numbers used in this article?  How might one's knowledge of engineering limit or create apprehension for wanting to ride this roller coaster?  

2.  To what degree does the location matter for this story?  Why might a teenager in Saudi Arabia fell differently about this than a person in Mexico?

3.  In what ways is this connected to environmental sciences?  How might we connect this to the last book you read?

4.  What would you do if you won tickets to be the first person to ride this roller coaster?  What factors change in order for records like this to be broken? 

5.  What might be the long-term effects of building this roller coaster? Is there something more important I should be considering in this story? 

Extension Activities:  

1)  Students can compare previous record-breaking roller coasters and present their findings in a visually appealing way?

2)  Students can design their own dream roller coaster and present their findings to the class.  

Stolen Copy of World's Most Expensive Painting Is Found

(Museum of San Domenico Maggiore)

https://www.newser.com/story/301485/stolen-copy-of-worlds-most-expensive-painting-is-found.html 

1)  What numbers are used in the article as evidence of authenticity?  How is evidence used in art to determine authenticity? 

2)  Whose perspective is represented in this story?  Whose perspective is left out?  Why might an Italian feel differently about this than a Brit?

3)   In what way is this connected to science?  In what way is this connected to the last movie you saw?

4)  How might this have been different if it happened one year from now?  In what ways might this situation have been resolved quicker?

5)  How is this significant for students?  In what ways might this be significant for Italy?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research famous art heists and rank them on a scale of significance.

2)  Students can research the most valuable pieces of art and plot the figures on a chart where they get to choose the x and y axis labels.  

Family of Teen Sues School to Play on JV Team

He was cut from the Ladue High soccer team. First his family cried foul. Then they sued.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/he-was-cut-from-the-ladue-high-soccer-team-first/article_a8eb5429-4355-5357-9aa2-a3c6eababeaf.html

1)  What evidence is being used to prove discrimination or non-discrimination?  What evidence do you find most convincing? How are numbers used in this story to persuade the reader?

2)  To what degree is one perspective promoted over another in this story?  In what ways might the teen's perspective differ from his parents'?  How could you view this story from both the school's and the family's perspectives?

3)  To what degree is this connected to your school?  How might this be connected to Harry Potter?  To the Academy Awards? 

4)  How could the coach's rationale change if this was a different sport?  How could this be different if the student was 2 years younger?  Older?  In Colombia? 

5)  In what ways is this significant to you?  What are the long-term consequences for the school?  For the student?  What is a piece of information that could make this significant for a student at this school in the future?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research and report about famous athletes/artists who got cut/rejected from teams early in their career trajectories.

2)  Students can devise an equitable plan/policy/advice for students who find themselves in a similar situation.

Authorities Investigating Tourist Riding Crocodile

https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/northern-territory/incredible-moment-tourist-jumps-on-the-back-of-massive-saltwater-crocodile/news-story/697f1ce15e6672b963f96f34e80461ff
Picture: Niels Jensen/Caters NewsSource:Caters News Agency

1)  What makes this story credible?  What more information do I need to understand this problem better?  What numbers are used in this story to give a value judgement of the tourists actions?   

2)  Were the perspectives in this piece generally positive or negative about the man's actions?  How is my own perspective limited in making a judgement about this story?  How might this story be perceived differently in different parts of Australia?  In different parts of Denmark?

3)    Have you seen something like this before?  In what ways is a connection to "Crocodile Dundee" or "The Crocodile Hunter" appropriate?  To which classic fairly tale or story is this most connected?   

4)  How might this story be different if the tourist's nationality were changed?  To what degree would this be newsworthy if there were fewer media outlets in Australia? 

5)  What might be some ways this story is significant for Australian tourism?  Environmental efforts?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can study tricks of zoologists to keep animals docile when humans are around and look for patterns between groups of animals (reptiles and mammals)

2)  Students can list animals common to their area and rate on a continuum "most dangerous" to "most friendly".  

Driver Pays More than Half Million for Parking Space

Hong Kong just set another property-price record.


Photo via @busrep

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/prized-hong-kong-parking-space-sold-record-664-104700211.html


1)  In what ways are proper nouns used as evidence in this story?  What might convince someone that this was purchased for investment and not personal use?  

2)  In what ways might an American's view on this story be different than a Chinese person?  Why might an American 16 year old think about this differently than a 12 year old?

3)  In what ways is this connected to the last book you read?  To what degree is this connected to your last experience at a store?

4)  How might this story have been different if it were written 20 years ago?  In what ways would this change if the buyer was not a native of Hong Kong?

5)  What are the most significant numbers in the article?  What are some basic assumptions about parking?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research the most expensive cities in the world based on a variety of characteristics (etc. GDP per capita, housing, food) and identify primary reasons for the economic conditions.

2)  Students can research and propose alternative parking plans for their school at changing populations.