Watching the World
Cyclone Devastation
On May 24 a cyclone (hurricane) devastated the lowlands of southeastern Bangladesh. The country’s president, Lieutenant General H. M. Ershad, said he believed that the storm killed at least 5,000 people. (Later estimates placed the death toll at 10,000.) The storm whipped up walls of water 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) high that washed over the tiny delta islands nestled in the Bay of Bengal. Driven by 100-mile-per-hour (160 km/hr) winds, the waves left a wake of destruction of man, animal, and land.
Soccer Violence
Brussels, the picturesque capital of Belgium, was the scene of ugly mayhem and death as English soccer fans assaulted Italian fans. As millions of horrified television viewers watched helplessly, 38 people were killed and more than 250 were injured in the May riot. “Such horror at a soccer match has never been seen in Europe in history,” said Ruprecht Eser, the anchorman of television channel Z.D.F. The riot erupted before the start of the final European Cup of Champions soccer match between teams from England and Italy.
In the aftermath, England’s Football Association banned its six soccer clubs that were qualified for European competition from competing in Europe for one year. The decision “pleased” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who said: “There are so many dead people and so many injured people as a result of the actions of our citizens that it requires very firm measures.” This was followed by the decision of the 34-nation European Union of Football Associations to ban English club teams from European play indefinitely.
Safety-Cap Success
Safety caps on drug bottles may be hard for adults to remove, but they are saving lives. According to estimates from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) in Atlanta, Georgia, the caps saved 86,000 children in the United States from being accidentally poisoned between 1974 and 1981. However, poisonings of children continue to be a real problem, as many adults do not store poisons properly or know what to do when an emergency arises. Over 110,000 children under five years of age received emergency-room treatment for poisoning in 1983.
Job Satisfaction
Which is more important in job satisfaction—money or autonomy? If you say autonomy, you are correct, according to Dr. Jeylan T. Mortimer, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. In her report at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she said that “work autonomy”—the extent to which employees can make their own decisions and influence what happens on the job—ranks ahead of income as the main source of job satisfaction.
New Concordat
Roman Catholicism is no longer the state religion of Italy. On June 3, the Italian government and the Vatican ratified a historic new concordat that ends some of the rights the Catholic Church held in Italy. It replaces the 1929 Lateran Treaty signed by Benito Mussolini and the cardinal secretary of state for the papacy, which recognized Vatican City as an independent state and Roman Catholicism as the only state religion. The new pact retains the independent status of the Vatican but ends Rome’s rank as “sacred city,” as well as ending compulsory Catholic education in public schools. “Today opens a new period in the institutional relations between the church and the state in Italy,” Pope John Paul II said.
Generic Prescriptions
Approximately seven out of ten prescriptions written in Texas are available in generic forms and could be available to consumers at cost savings of up to 40 percent. However, a lack of awareness on the part of physicians, pharmacists, and consumers has limited these savings, according to a study recently conducted at the University of Texas at Austin by Dr. Marvin D. Shepherd. “Consumers probably are not fully aware of what they can save from generic substitutions,” says Shepherd. “In our study we found that the average selling price for the brand name product prescription runs around $12. If a generic substitution is used, we generally found a selling price of about $7.50.”
Record Car Thefts
Britain tops Europe in car thefts, according to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, a Paris-based motoring organization. Last year, for every 10,000 cars registered in Britain, 22 were stolen. France ranks next with 13 cars stolen for every 10,000 registered, then Sweden with 12, Spain with 11, Italy with 6, Belgium with 4, and Federal Republic of Germany with 3.5. Last year the United States had 9 cars stolen for every 10,000 registered. Scotland Yard calls this criminal craze for stolen cars “very serious.”
Trimming the Pocketbook
“Americans of all ages are filling their bedrooms and basements with stationary bicycles, rowing machines, treadmills and other expensive equipment that promises to shed flab and hone muscles,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “The old-fashioned way: Running, swimming—even gardening—will burn just as many calories as a machine,” says the Journal, “and at far less cost.” Regular exercise may also be safer. Injuries resulting from equipment that is poorly made, misused, or inadequately supervised have dramatically increased in recent years.
Children and Vitamins
The average parent quite likely believes that “vitamins are a safe and easy way to give children ‘nutritional insurance.’” However, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that “overdoses of multiple vitamins can pose more of a risk to young children than the nutritional problems they’re supposed to prevent,” says the news service Canadian Press. The study indicated that parental misconceptions as to the value of vitamins was a leading cause of overdose. It is a common mistake to think that if something does you some good, a lot of it will make you a lot better.
Child Marriage
Though outlawed since 1929, the practice of child marriage continues in India. A recent survey shows that about 13 percent of girls in rural areas marry between ages 10 and 14. According to tradition, Hindus believe that Akha Teej Day is the most auspicious one for marriages. The Times of India reports that as many as 40,000 child brides and grooms are united in wedlock on that day in the state of Rajasthan. Those married include the yet unborn, whose sex is claimed to be determined by astrologers.
Sewage Power
Sewage from half a million people in the Greater Bristol area of England is being put to use profitably. Every day the local water authority’s Avonmouth plant yields 530,000 cubic feet (15,000 cu m) of gas from the sewage. In turn, the gas drives engines to produce electricity. The Times of London reports that a little more than a quarter of the daily gas output from the plant will help generate enough electricity to supply all the needs of a small village. Methane from the sewage plant also powers 12 water-authority vehicles that have been adapted to run on gas.
Seminar on Aging
The cause of aging was the topic of discussion at a recent international convention held in Rome, Italy. Molecular biologists, physiologists, biochemists, and physiopathologists from Italy and Israel met. La Repubblica, reporting on the seminar, said that “many researchers, all over the world, are convinced that the basis for the process that we call aging is to be found through study of the cell.” Realizing the renewal capacity of the human body cells, some researchers concluded that “on the cellular level, we were designed to live much longer than we imagine.”
Reverse Action
It is salt that causes corrosion of the reinforcing rods placed in the concrete of elevated bridges and roads, making the rods expand, cracking the concrete, or even causing chunks to fall off. According to New Scientist magazine, the salt sets up an electrolytic cell action that causes the corrosion. The solution, say researchers at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, is to reverse the electrolytic cell action by application of an electric current. Motorists are in no danger as only four volts are required. In North America about a hundred bridges have thus far been treated. New construction is being protected by coating the rods with epoxy paint.
Emotionally Caused Pain
Treating pain due to emotional causes as solely a physical illness, says Dutch doctor Wouter Oosterhuis, may result in incurable and chronic patients. Studying the cases of 500 patients for whom the physical cause of their pain could not be found, Dr. Oosterhuis found an overwhelming relationship between the emotional problem and the area of pain. As reported in London’s Sunday Times, nearly all those suffering from feelings of aggression experienced pains in the neck. Those who had fears complained of abdominal pains. And pain in the back—just above the seat—was the complaint of the majority of those in despair. Psychological support and help in solving their problems is necessary, the doctor said.
Crime Rates Up
Canadian Banker, in a report on “Armed robbery in North America,” says: “No matter how they figure it, statistics prove that crime rates have climbed sharply in recent years.” From 1962 to 1980, the rate for robbery per 100,000 inhabitants has quadrupled in Canada and in the United States.