Watching the World
Using Ingenuity to Kill
U.S. scientists have developed a five-foot-long [1.5 m] wedge-shaped nuclear missile that can penetrate the earth before delivering a blast producing underground shock waves that have ten times greater effect than if the same bomb exploded in the air. Reporting on this scientific breakthrough, The Observer of London, England, says: “World leaders planning to sit out a nuclear war in deep underground bunkers are in for a shock.” Thus man’s use of his ingenuity to kill his fellowman continues until God brings this system to its end and ‘makes wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.’—Psalm 46:9.
Plastic Batteries
Traditional plastics usually act as electrical insulators. But a new plastic, made from organic chemicals known as the polypyrolles, has inherent electro-chemical properties. With electrical and thermal characteristics similar to that of copper, it has the added advantage of being easily molded and can be stretched to twice its length. The West German firm BASF, in whose laboratories the material was discovered, is already planning to market a battery the size of a postcard and just three times as thick. Projected uses include camera cases that become built-in batteries and food containers with either a self-heating system or one that can be plugged in. The report in The Times of London speculates that computers and electronic equipment will eventually be able to operate under circumstances impossible today, thanks to the plastic’s ability to function at a wide range of temperatures.
Spider Phobia
“I am not disputing that I caused the accident,” admitted a young salesman in Berkshire, England. “But if it had not been for the spider it would not have happened.” According to the Daily Mail, he said that a large furry spider lowered itself from the roof lining of the salesman’s car, heading toward the steering wheel. In a desperate attempt to knock it out of the way, the driver, who claimed to have inherited a phobia, a fear of spiders, lost control and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The magistrates, sympathetic to a degree, nevertheless imposed a fine of £60 ($100, U.S.) for careless driving.
Heating and Tradition
For many Westerners there is nothing unusual about turning on a radiator in the winter. However, such is not the case in Japan. Very few Japanese have central heating in their homes. In fact, “over 60 percent of new homes are not equipped with heating systems,” reports the French magazine L’Express. The reason? “Cultural traditions have put endurance on a pedestal.” Thus, in Western lands rooms are heated, whereas in Japan, only certain parts of the body are warmed (although public facilities and offices have warm-air heating). Those who really feel the cold resort to wearing slippers with electrically heated soles, or they curl up on electric carpets.
Confidence Trick
A 61-year-old man in Cannes, France, was arrested recently and charged with swindling many of his countrymen. He made £2,000,000 through mail-order sales of palm-sized golden pyramids, claiming that “the energy radiating from them will make contact with the great cosmic force which rules the world.” Those who bought his other product, the so-called Aladdin’s Lamp, were told to “stand in a darkened room, facing south, and shout out nonsense words” to gain “unsurpassed riches,” reports London’s Sunday Times. According to police, the golden pyramid was actually scrap metal.
Hooked on Bach
Friendly dolphins have shown themselves to be even friendlier with the help of classical music, claims researcher Dan Wagner. Using a hydrophone lowered into the Atlantic Ocean north of the Bahamas, Wagner found that wild dolphins reacted to the music by ‘swimming up to him and letting him tickle their bellies,’ reports the New York Post. It was also observed that while they responded to other types of music, “they seem to have a preference for Bach, and [Jean Pierre] Rampal on flute.” Notes Wagner, “They’ll jump out of the water for that.”
“Pictures” for the Blind
“To some people, the idea of illustrating books for the blind may seem a little bit like composing music for the deaf,” says a report in the Sentinel of Orlando, Florida. But a California publishing house is doing just that. “Sighted children expect illustrations because all children’s books have them,” says founder Jean Norris. “But if a blind child is reading a story in Braille about a bird, how is it possible to visualize something the child has never seen?” To overcome that problem, Norris’ firm is producing books that contain “drawings—more like plastic bas-relief topographical maps—that are designed with young, curious fingers in mind.” By this means, blind children are helped to note the distinguishing features of animals and objects. Once they learn to interpret them, they are said to get as much enjoyment from the illustrations as do sighted people.
Video Pets
Own a pet without having to feed it, take it for a walk, or change the litter? That is what videotape manufacturers now have to offer. According to Time magazine, one company sells them for about $20 each. These tapes provide the “full rich experience of owning your own pet without the mess and inconvenience of the real thing.” The owner does not just passively view his pet on the screen, but he can give it orders. The videotape is interactive, and the animal “‘responds’ to a few commands (if given in a predetermined order).” What next? “Already, there is a Video Baby,” announced Time.
‘Only in New York’
“It could only happen in New York,” said the New York Post. “A visitor from Boston was accosted by a ‘woman’” who “stuck her hand in his pocket and grabbed his money.” A scuffle ensued. “To his surprise, his attacker’s wig fell off and, despite the makeup and earrings, he realized ‘she’ was a ‘he.’” Two policemen in a radio car pulled up, handcuffed the suspect, and put him in the back of their car. Spitting, cursing, and screaming, he locked himself in. When the police got the door open, he proclaimed he had AIDS and threatened to bite them. So the policemen called for a tow truck and had the police car, with the suspect still inside, towed to the police station.
Vengeful Teen
Apprehension has gripped many inhabitants of the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, an 18-year-old French woman infected with AIDS confessed to sleeping with dozens of men in an apparent vengeful rampage because she had contracted the virus. The girl is said to have engaged in sexual intercourse with “unsuspecting schoolboys, local fishermen and married men” without revealing that she was an AIDS carrier. The killer disease is said to have already developed in four of the island’s 51,000 inhabitants.
Water Is Best
What should you drink to quench your summer thirst? Water is best, say the experts. Sugar-sweetened drinks and fruit juices, because of their sugar content (natural or added), increase the body’s need for water. Milk and other dairy-product drinks are really foods—usually too high in sugar, protein, and fat to be thirst quenching. And beverages that contain alcohol or caffeine act as diuretics and cause the body actually to lose water. How can you tell when your body needs water? You can check your urine. Unless colored by certain foods eaten or some vitamins or drugs, it should be pale yellow. Darker colors indicate concentration and the need to replenish water and relieve the kidneys of stress.