Are QR code menus falling out of favor? The tides appear to be turning on QR code food menus, which were once an essential feature of dining during the contactless era of covid-19, according to the New York Times. In the US, QR codes are being scanned less, with a menu management and printing platform saying that “the total number of scans dropped by about 27%” in the past two years, and the number of restaurants generating new QR codes has also dropped. QR codes that already exist are largely “dormant,” with 75% of these codes getting scanned fewer than 90 times in the past year.

Why people prefer physical menus over digital:Digital menus can negatively impact the ambience of the dining experience, restaurateurs tell the NYT, saying that phones’ blue light can dampen the mood of a romantic dinner, for example, and rein in the communication and intimacy of a meal. But it’s not only customers who say the QR codes are unideal — waiters say they struggle to pick up on the usual visual cues to understand when people are ready to order. Restaurant owners also say that QR code menus can actually result in patrons ordering fewer things per meal, since they can be too lazy to scan the menu again to order a dessert or look at more drink options. Meanwhile, scanned menus can be more expensive for restaurants to create and maintain than printing traditional paper menus.

There are still some pros to going digital, though: The upside to digital menus is their consolidation of the full ordering experience — some restaurants allow customers to select and order their food, and pay all in the same place. Language barriers can also be reduced with digital menus that can be translated online, helping to avoid confusion or misunderstandings, the Gray Lady says.

Restoring sonic biodiversity to heal nature: Scientists have been using the sounds of nature to help restore biodiversity in ecosystems by luring species back to their natural habitats, according to the BBC. Across several ecosystems, dwindling sonic biodiversity — that is, the diversity of sounds created by nature and different animal species — has been a byproduct of species’ extinction. The sounds of nature, scientists say, are important behavioral cues for species — whether for mating, sounding the alarm for dangerous situations, or other situations — and can help conservationists “monitor populations and assess the health of ecosystems.”

Several studies show that reintroducing natural sounds can have a positive impact on biodiversity, the BBC says. One study on oysters, published in 2022, showed that “playing the sounds of the sea is an effective technique for restoration,” with the researchers successfully restoring oyster populations in an area where they had effectively disappeared.

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