The Daily Dozen: 12 things to know about Czechia today

Gun control | Gun-ownership laws in the Czech Republic, which come with a number of requirements, including psychological tests, could serve as a model for the U.S. Last year, for a country of 10.7 million, Czechia had only seven gun homicides. However, regulating gun ownership in the Central European country is easier than in the U.S., given that the Czech Republic does not have a gun culture in its society.

Cost of living | Real wages in the Czech Republic are experiencing the sharpest drop out of any OECD country, according to Czech Radio, which cites an analysis done by the Cyrrus company. The real wage drop is expected to have a negative effect that will manifest between 2022 and 2024 as an increase in the number of thefts, divorces, and suicides, according to the same analysis.

Meal vouchers | Meal vouchers with flat rates are less popular among Czech employees than meal vouchers in digital form with a daily limit, or staff canteens, iDnes reports, citing findings from the Center for Economic and Market Analysis. Additionally, many employees often do not use the meal vouchers for lunch at all.

Charity donations | Higher living costs are having an effect on donations in the Czech Republic. According to a survey conducted by the IPSOS polling agency, cited by Czech Radio, fewer people are contributing to charity overall. Still, almost half of Czechs give to charity despite higher living expenditures. If you would like to make a donation for Giving Tuesday, check out our (non-exhaustive) list of charities worth supporting.

Unique discovery | An archaeological survey on the construction site of the D6 highway near Hořovičky in Rakovnicko revealed dozens of iron furnaces, including a ceramic one unlike any other in Central Europe, ČTK reports. Martin Buček from the Directorate of Roads and Highways said that the iron production in the area likely dates back to Roman times.

Metro shutdown | A technical accident this morning brought the metro line B to a standstill this morning during the rush hour, iDnes reports. The accident happened at the Smíchovské nádraží metro station, where a ceiling panel fell under a train. As a result, the Prague transport company halted metro service and introduced a bus replacement line between the Nové Butovice Florenc stations. Metro service was back to normal at around 9:30 a.m.

Old-fashioned gaslighting | Catch a glimpse of times bygone in the form of a gas lamp lighter who will be doing his job every day until Dec. 23 at dusk in the historic center of Prague, Czech Radio reports. While the city's gas lights usually turn on automatically, during the Advent period the gas lighter – who wears the traditional garb of the profession – lights up the lamps located on the “Royal Way” from the Powder Tower to Castle Square as it gets dark around 4 p.m.

Heading for the moon | A Brno-based company is sending into space the largest satellite in Czech history, Seznam Zprávy reports. The so-called Troll satellite, which was created by TRL Space, will map other satellites and monitor the Earth's orbit. There are more than 5,500 satellites in the Earth's orbit, a number that is expected to increase to more than 100,000 by 2030.

World Rally Championship (WRC)| In addition to Germany and Austria, the 12th part of the WRC series will take place in the Czech Republic, and start in Prague, Garáž.cz reports. Jan Šťovíček, president of the Czech Auto Club and member of the World Motorsport Council of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), said in a press release that rallying was one of the most popular and followed sports in Czechia.