A rogue fly at the US vice presidential debate on Wednesday was at the centre of attention, stealing the spotlight from the candidates and igniting social media in commentary and memes.
As Vice President Mike Pence stared into the camera and spoke directly to police officers, attempting to make an impassioned address to law enforcement, a fly appeared on his head, diverting attention. The small black insect was starkly visible against Mr Pence’s grey hair.
The fly moved about Mr Pence’s head, seemingly unnoticed, for an elongated two minutes and three seconds.
There were several Twitter accounts mimicking the fly that appeared within minutes of its national television debut. One account racked up more than 6,000 followers in less than an hour.
In a vice presidential debate notably tamer and more civil than last week's presidential debate, the fly quickly captured the attention of online users as a standout moment.
Watchers pointed out that the insect's ability to dominate the conversation showed how little the substance of the conversation will likely swing voters.
A number of viral tweets quickly circulated on social media on Wednesday night, poking fun at the incident.
Joe Biden seized the online opportunity by tweeting a photo of himself holding a fly swatter.
Later, his campaign began selling a fly swatter as part of their fundraising merchandise. The item, which had "Truth Over Flies" written on it, sold out. Mr Biden also promoted the website flywillvote.com, which redirects to a Democratic-linked website that helps register voters.
Comparisons were quickly drawn to a similar incident from 2009, in which a fly buzzed about during an interview President Barack Obama gave to MSNBC. Mr Obama paused the interview to kill the fly, drawing the admiration of many at the time.
“That’s some pretty impressive hand-eye co-ordination right there,” talk show host Jimmy Fallon said at the time. “Makes Obama look like a bad ass.”
In an election characterised by crises, from the global pandemic to the faltering economy, online users were quick to embrace the moment of levity.
Despite a night of policy discussions, Google searches for "fly at presidential debate" and "presidential debate fly" were trending. So too was the simple question: "What is on Pence’s head?"
On Twitter, "flies", "the fly", and #Fly2020 were all trending, with nearly half a million tweets posted at the time of publication.
But there were also other questions being raised by viewers.
The top Google search term for the Republican nominee by the end of the debate was "What is wrong with Pence’s eye?"
There has been no comment from the vice president or his team but eagle-eyed viewers pointed out his right eye appeared bloodshot. There is no evidence that it is a symptom of Covid-19 as some users claimed and both candidates tested negative before the meeting.
Searches related to his rival, however, were more policy-focused or personal.
"Is Kamala Harris against fracking," led the field (she has called for a ban but says it's not Mr Biden's policy), followed by questions about her net worth (by some estimates as much as $6m), her religion (Christian) and where her mother is from (Shyamala Gopalan Harris was born in Chennai in modern-day India).
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
FORSPOKEN
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Baldur's%20Gate%203
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Starfield
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
