Are you ever daydreaming and wondering what your favourite celebrity is doing right at that moment? No? Just me? Cool.

Well, in case you find yourself wondering what singer Billie Eilish is doing today, I have your answer.

It’s 18 October. This obviously means that Eilish is sitting down for an interview with Vanity Fair about how her career and personal life has progressed over the past year. She’s done this every year since 2017. It’s always a fascinating insight into the impact of fame on a young woman. The interview is always recorded on 18 October, but usually published sometime in November.

Now, for today’s riddle…

You have a delicious, round birthday cake. What is the maximum number of equal-sized pieces that you can cut the cake into by making only three straight slices with a knife and without moving any pieces?

The quote
"I think I was unobservant and not as clever as I should have been." – Richard Curtis, the writer and director of 'Love, Actually' and 'About Time', has said he regrets some elements of his films, including the way he wrote about women.

The stat
655,000
The number of Australian properties that have enough space to build a granny flat, according to property research firm CoreLogic.

Today in history
1851: ‘Moby Dick’ was published for the first time by a 32-year-old novelist named Herman Melville. It is generally regarded as one of the greatest American novels.

Some headlines from this morning:

The Federal Government has announced a crackdown on cryptocurrency and other digital currencies or 'tokens'.

The measures are aimed at better protecting businesses and Australians investing in digital currencies.

Cryptocurrency has grown in popularity in the last two years, with one in four Australians now estimated to own crypto.

Crypto assets:
Like most of the world, crypto and digital assets have seen a boom in mainstream popularity in Australia in the last several years.

Currencies like Bitcoin and Ether have gained particular popularity, along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — a unique digital asset often used to display art pieces or gaming items.

Cryptocurrencies are typically purchased through digital platforms, such as CoinSpot and Crypto.com.

The crackdown:
The value of digital tokens has dropped significantly in the past 12 months. A trend in investors selling their currencies led to many crypto companies going bankrupt.

This left some Australians unable to withdraw their money.

The Government wants regulations to stop this from happening again, including introducing the same rules for crypto platforms as other financial services, such as banks and superannuation companies.

Further details:
Under the proposed reforms, crypto providers would be required to gain an Australian Financial Services Licence — an official document awarded to businesses that can prove responsible financial conduct.

Applications are assessed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the national corporate regulator.

What’s next?
The Government is accepting public feedback on the proposed reforms until 1 December. This will inform further consultation, with legislation not expected to be debated until next year.

Crypto regulations have already been added in the UK, EU and Canada. These have been proposed to protect investors and promote competition in the financial services industry.

Exclusive: The rise in popularity of vaping has led to increased hospitalisations in Queensland since 2020, according to documents obtained by TDA under a right to information request.

Vaping hospitalisations were highest among teenagers, while some patients underwent serious medical procedures for extensive damage caused by vaping.

QLD Health Minister Shannon Fentiman told TDA the data is "extremely alarming".

The hospital data:
Data shows vaping hospitalisations in QLD increased between 2020 and 2022.

Hospitals in the state treated 42 vaping-related illnesses between July 2021 to June 2022 – a 425% increase on the previous year.

Vaping patients stayed an average length of six days in hospital in the year to June 2022, up from an average of two days for the previous 12 months.

There were 25 patients admitted to hospital for vaping-related issues in the 2022/23 financial year – a decrease from the previous period.

However, there was an increase in the number of patients admitted for some serious vape-related illnesses in this same period.

What are they being hospitalised for?
The most common diagnosis for vaping hospital admissions was asthma, but there were hospitalisations that required surgery.

Over the 12 months to June 2023, five vaping patients were diagnosed with pneumothorax – a condition where air leaks into space between the lungs and chest wall, causing the lung to collapse.

Two pneumothorax cases were reported from January 2020 to June 2022.

Five patients suffered haemorrhaged respiratory passages due to vape exposure in the last two years.

This is a potentially life-threatening condition.

Who’s being admitted?
The most patients hospitalised for vaping-related illnesses were 15-19-year-olds, who made up almost 25% of admissions.

Since 2020, two children aged under five have been admitted to hospital with vape-related issues.

Information on the specific cause of hospitalisation for the children was not made available.

Parliament’s response:
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman told TDA she was concerned about an increase in young people being hospitalised due to vaping.

Fentiman said the Government wouldn’t "stand by and let the next generation become addicted to nicotine and vaping".

A QLD Parliamentary inquiry into the health risks of vaping published its final report in August. The Government’s response is due in late October.

Vaping laws:
In Australia, a medical prescription is required to legally buy nicotine vapes and e-cigarettes. However, vapes are still being purchased across Australia.

The Federal and state governments say they're working to tackle vape use among its biggest users – young people.

The QLD vaping inquiry recommended more education programs to help schoolchildren understand the risks of vaping.

Get all the news you need to know today in your ears on The Daily Aus podcast!

Australian quantum scientist Michelle Simmons has won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.

Simmons is based at the University of NSW and was named Australian of the Year in 2018. She won the prize for “breakthrough advancements” in quantum computing, which has the potential to improve drug design and create better fertilisers for agriculture.

She has won a $250,000 cash prize.

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Dorothy was off to see the wizard, but Michigan man Terry Martin is off to see the judge, as he faces jail for allegedly stealing one of the pairs of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

Martin is set to plead guilty to the theft.

There are actually four known pairs of the ruby slippers out there: the stolen set, a prototype design owned by a private buyer, a pair at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in DC, and one at the Oscars Museum in LA.

This pair was being held at the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota before Martin allegedly stole them in 2005. They were found by FBI agents in 2018, but no one was arrested until this year.

The FBI has yet to return the slippers to the museum. Don’t they know there’s no place like home?

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Answer: Eight. “But how!?” I hear you ask. Well, you first cut the cake straight down the middle, then cut it straight down the middle the other way to make four equal pieces. Then, thinking of a 3D cake, you cut the stack of four pieces in half to turn the four pieces into eight pieces.

Still confused? This video explains it.

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