Hi there. It's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's episode: Record Typhoon landfalls in Taiwan this year, and a
banana taped to a wall sells for millions!

And for today's Tasty Tidbit: A dust storm so large that it covers an entire
planet.

Stay tuned for those stories.
________________________________

2024年有三個颱風登陸台灣 是2008年以來最多的
2024 Sees The Most Typhoon Landfalls in Taiwan Since 2008

A typhoon (颱風) is a big storm with very strong winds and heavy rain.

It forms (形成) over warm ocean water and can cause a lot of damage (損害) to
homes, trees, and power lines (電線).

In 2024, Taiwan had three typhoons make landfall.
今年有三個颱風登陸台灣。

This is the most in one year since 2008.

Not only that, forecasters (氣象預報員) said that 2024 was the first year
that two typhoons made landfall (登陸) in Taiwan in the month of October.

The Central Weather Administration (中央氣象署) shared this information.

This year, 25 named storms (有名字的颱風) formed in the Western Pacific Ocean
(西太平洋).

Most of these storms happened after August, which is later than usual.

The typhoons that hit Taiwan in 2024 were Typhoon Gaemi, Typhoon Krathon, and
Typhoon Kong-rey.

Do you still remember those?

Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in Yilan on July 25th.

While Typhoon Krathon hit Kaohsiung on October 3rd, and Typhoon Kong-rey
struck (襲擊) Taitung on October 23rd.

Taiwan normally has two or fewer typhoons that make landfall each year.

Between 2020 and 2022, no typhoons hit Taiwan at all.

Experts say this year's typhoon activity was unusual (很不尋常).

Warmer seawater (更暖和的海水) in the Western Pacific may have caused this.

It could also be a sign that La Nina (反聖嬰現象) is developing.

La Nina is a weather pattern.
它是一種天氣模式。

It cools (冷卻) the seawater in the Pacific Ocean.

This can cause changes in weather around the world.
這會影響全球的天氣變化。

Another change is that typhoons are forming farther east in the ocean.

This gives them more time to grow stronger before they reach Taiwan, which
can make them more dangerous.
________________________________

貼在牆上的香蕉 以六百二十萬美元成交
Banana Taped To a Wall Sells For $6.2 Million USD

If you had 6,200,000 USD, what would you buy?

A nice car?

An over-priced Jay Chou concert ticket?
周杰倫演唱會的黃牛票？

How about a trip overseas?

Well, recently someone spent all that money on a banana taped to a wall.

You're kidding, right?

Nope.

So onto the story then… an artwork called Comedian by Italian artist
Maurizio Cattelan featured a banana taped to a wall.

It sold for a staggering (驚人的) $6.2 million USD at Sotheby's auction
(拍賣) in New York.

This price was four times higher than experts expected.

The buyer, Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur (加密貨幣企業家) Justin Sun,
beat six others in the auction to own the unique piece.
他在拍賣會上擊敗六人。

Interestingly, the banana in the artwork originally cost just 35 cents.

But won't the banana rot and fall off?
香蕉不會腐爛掉嗎？

I mean what's the point?
我是說這有甚麼意義呢？

Sun actually ate the banana as part of the art experience.

This guy has way too much bitcoin.
這個人擁有太多比特幣了吧。

The art piece Comedian was first shown to the public in 2019, creating a huge
buzz online.

Many people debated whether it should even be considered art.
許多人爭論牆上的香蕉是否應該被當作藝術。

The artwork also includes instructions to replace the banana whenever it rots.
這件藝術品還包括了當香蕉腐爛時要替換的指示。

Over the years, the banana has been eaten twice.

In 2023, a South Korean art student grabbed a bite of the banana at a museum
in Seoul.

The museum quickly replaced it.

Similarly, in 2019 another artist removed and ate the banana at Art Basel in
Miami after it sold for $120,000.

That banana was also replaced without any issues.

Whether you find it funny (好笑的) or bizarre (怪異的), Comedian continues to
spark (引發) conversations around the world.
________________________________

So in today's News Bites:

Typhoons are powerful storms with strong winds and heavy rain that form over
warm ocean water.

Taiwan experienced an unusually active typhoon season in 2024, with three
typhoons making landfall.

This is the highest number of typhoons in a single year since 2008, and the
first time two typhoons hit in October.

Warmer ocean temperatures and potential La Nina conditions may have
contributed to this unusual typhoon activity.
________________________________

And...

A banana taped to a wall, a piece of art titled "Comedian", was sold for $6.2
million USD at a Sotheby's auction.

The buyer, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur, ate the banana part of the
art experience.

It's not the first time the 'Comedian' banana was eaten.
_______________________________
趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

And in today's Tasty Tidbit:

Did you know that Planet Mars (火星) experiences massive dust storms (沙塵暴)
that can cover the entire planet?

These storms can last for months and make it difficult for spacecraft to see
the surface.

The last one was in 2018.

It started as a smaller regional dust storm in the planet's northern
hemisphere (北半球) in late May 2018, being first detected on May 31.

By mid-June, it had escalated, covering most of the planet's surface.
________________________________

That's it for today's episode of News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share
with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode.


We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!