Watching the World
Achievement Despite Infirmity
◆ Despite a crippling infirmity, thirty-four-year-old British physicist Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University recently advanced his new theory regarding “black holes,” a term usually applied to remnants of stars that have collapsed after all their nuclear fuel has burned up. According to Hawking, the universe is virtually filled with “little black holes” no bigger than atomic particles. He holds that these “black holes” were formed of the primeval material of the universe. “Almost as remarkable as his theory,” says Newsweek magazine, “is the fact that Hawking does all his mathematics in his head, without the aid of calculators.” The young physicist has been crippled badly by a neurological disorder known as a typical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Hawking’s condition continues to get worse. Although he speaks with difficulty, is unable to write and is confined to a wheelchair, his mind remains extremely keen. According to Newsweek, “some experts already rate Hawking as one of the dozen most creative theoretical physicists of this century.”
And Now Medipet
◆ A Sydney, Australia, insurance company recently introduced Medipet—health insurance for dogs. Under this plan, for $45 (U.S.), dog owners can cover their pets for veterinarian fees involving illness and accident. Also, there is coverage in the event that some person is bitten by the dog.
Tax Loads
◆ Recently, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, France, released a survey on tax burdens in various countries. Denmark, where taxes amounted to 46.7 percent of the gross national product (GNP), was the most heavily taxed nation. Here, by country, is a partial list showing in cents how much of every GNP dollar goes for taxes: Denmark (46.7); Norway (45.3); Netherlands (45.2); Sweden (44.2); Luxembourg (40.8); Austria (38.1); Belgium (38.1); Germany (37.6); France (37.5); Finland (36.3); Britain (35.6); Canada (34.8); New Zealand (32.7); Ireland (32.4); Italy (31.9); United States (28.9); Australia (27.2).
Fighting Highway Fatigue
◆ Dr. Lawrence Morehouse, director of the University of California’s Human Performance Laboratory, has offered some suggestions for battling fatigue while driving. His recommendations include such exercises as looking alternately at the road and then the dashboard, changing driving hands, moving your head from one side to the other, and even wiggling your toes.
Malaria Peril
◆ Malaria is a disease of serious proportions in some sixty nations and involves approximately 600 million people. It is reported that on the continent of Africa alone this mosquito-borne malady claims the life of a million children annually. One method of malaria control involves extensive use of insecticides. However, some carriers have developed a resistance to these. Of the drugs used for treatment, amodiaquin and chloroquine have proved to be most effective. Yet, in this case too a certain strain of parasite has proved to be resistant. “After some two decades of relative dormancy,” reports To the Point International, “malaria is threatening to assume epidemic proportions again in India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that by 1980 the mosquito carried disease will have touched 12 million people, of whom 400,000 will die; and the possibility is increasing the urgency of the organisation’s attempts to find an immunising agent.”
“Free Flow System”
◆ Back in 1913 conveyor-belt systems were introduced in U.S. automobile assembly plants. Recently, however, Japan’s Honda Motor Company installed new conveyor systems in its factories at Waki and Kumamoto. Called the “free flow system,” it allows each worker to halt and release the moving belt at will by using a foot pedal. Parade magazine reports: “If he wishes additional time for his task, he stops the belt, separates the engine from its receptacle and works on it.” Reportedly, the new system has raised the quality of production and has increased the morale of the employees.
Bikes versus Autos
◆ When people use the automobile for necessary transportation, that is one thing,” declared Mayor Michel Crépeau of La Rochelle, France, adding: “But when a man uses it as a sign of social status, that is something else. Then there are also those people who become swine when they get in their cars.” Some months ago the mayor put 250 yellow bicycles, bought by the municipality, at the public’s disposal. The town’s residents were encouraged to use them free of charge, as when doing their shopping. “They are a good idea,” said one young woman, “but try and find one. People have ruined them.” Nonetheless, the bicycle campaign was being pushed in the Atlantic port town to fight the noise and fumes of the automobile.
Blue Cheese Perilous?
◆ Roquefortine, a neurotoxin (nerve poison), has been discovered in blue cheeses made in seven lands. Two Canadian doctors found the substance in Roquefort from France. Stilton from England, and Gorgonzola from Denmark, Finland, Italy, Quebec and West Germany. The American Chemical Society reports that the neurotoxin causes “convulsive seizures” in mice. “But,” says Science Digest, “don’t throw out your blue cheese. According to the doctors, you’d have to eat two tons of the stuff before you’d experience any adverse effect.”
Earth’s Mechanical Satellites
◆ Now circling the earth are 800 satellites of man-made origin. Of these, about 455 are said to be communications satellites. Reportedly, weather and espionage data are furnished by the other orbiting devices.
Ground Beef Most Popular
◆ William C. Helming, president of Livestock Business Advisory Services, says that almost 40 percent of all beef used in America during 1977 will be eaten as ground beef. This makes it “America’s No. 1 type of meat,” says The Wall Street Journal.
Misplaced Building
◆ St. Albans, a Melbourne, Australia, suburb with a population of some 40,000, has a missing police station. The promised $300,000 structure was built 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of the city at St. Arnoud, a town of 3,000 having only 3 policemen. The reason? A notable mistake by a government clerk.
Surgery for Horses
◆ It has been customary to put to death a horse that has suffered a broken leg. Now, however, a group of veterinarians at a recently opened clinic in Battice, Belgium, is making progress toward regular operations on trotting and show horses. Prior to surgery, the horse is fitted with boots that prevent its hooves from cutting the mattress forming the floor of the anesthetic chamber next to the operating theater. The horse is given an injection and taken into the chamber, where foam padding on the walls and floor enable it to fall without injury. Thereafter the veterinarian opens the doors of that chamber and the mattress is rolled out into the operating theater. Wearing a respiratory mask, the horse is hydraulically raised on this mattress to a position that is comfortable for the surgeon. When the surgery has been completed, both horse and mattress are again rolled into the special chamber, the doors are closed and the animal remains there until it becomes conscious once again and can be taken to a convalescent stable on the grounds of the clinic.
Desire for Autos
◆ In satirical fashion, Urzica, a Romanian magazine, recently said that it had surveyed 17,875 citizens of that country to determine why there was increased desire for automobiles. Thirty-five percent are said to have desired an auto “in order to make trips during weekends and holidays.” The reason given by 26 percent was “in order to create complexes in those friends or fellow workers who do not yet have a car.” Reportedly, 12 percent indicated that they wanted an automobile “in order to gain a decisive advantage in relations with people of the opposite sex.”
“Threatened,” but Not Endangered
◆ For the second time since the Endangered Species Act was approved in 1973, the circumstances of a species have improved sufficiently for it to be removed from the endangered listing. It was announced in January that alligators were being taken off the list of animal species in imminent peril of extinction in the United States. According to Assistant Interior Secretary Nathaniel P. Reed, some 75 percent of the country’s alligators have now been placed on the “threatened” listing, described as “less restrictive.” Reed held that the struggle to save these animals had been led by the conservation community and officials in the South. He pointed out that two decades ago the alligators “were headed for extinction as hide hunters indiscriminately slaughtered them and their habitat was steadily being destroyed by development.” Three species of western trout were removed from the endangered list in 1976.
“The Gigantic Raid”
◆ In an article titled “The Gigantic Raid,” columnist Sebastian Leitner of the Vienna, Austria, Kurier decried the fact that in 1975 Austrian department-store accounts were 2.5 billion schilling ($145 million) short. Where did the goods representing this amount go? “Filched, pilfered, nearly 500 Schilling [$29.00]” per Austrian, Leitner complained. He declared that when “thievery takes over to that extent, then something of utmost importance in this country has become rotten to the core—morals.”
Biorhythm Blunders
◆ Do a person’s so-called “cycles” of physical, intellectual and emotional energy, or “biorhythms,” really affect his performance? Medical psychologist A. James Fix of the University of Nebraska medical school checked the records of 70 major-league baseball players to find out, comparing their “up” and “down” days. “The average batting average on up days was .206,” reports the New York Times. “On down days it was .250 [21 percent better], and on ‘triple zero days,’ when all three cycles are neutral, the average was .276 [34 percent better].”
Smaller Babies
◆ The Medical Department of Tohoku University in Japan reports that expectant mothers who smoke give birth to babies weighing an average of 200 grams (7 ounces) less than babies of nonsmokers. This corresponds with the findings of the World Health Organization, that babies of smoking mothers were from 150 to 240 grams (5 to 8 ounces) lighter. In addition to harmful nicotine, an expectant mother who smokes takes in carbon monoxide. This combines with the blood to reduce the amount of oxygen distributed to various parts of the body, including the embryo.
Endangered Elephants
◆ Alarm has been expressed in recent times regarding the dwindling elephant population in various parts of Africa. For example, in Uganda’s Kabalega National Park, official counts indicated 14,000 elephants living there in 1973, but only 2,600 now. In another area, there were 2,700 in 1973, but only 1,200 presently. One of the major reasons for the loss was the illegal ivory trade. But all areas of Africa are not affected the same. In Tanzania’s huge 21,000-square-mile (54,400-square-kilometer) Selous Game Reserve a recent survey indicated that there are more than 80,000 elephants, with little or no poaching reported.