Watching the World
1971 Assemblies Under Way
◆ The first three of the 1971 “Divine Name” District Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses began June 30. On opening day the keynote speaker declared that the “clergy of Christendom have made God’s name stink to the high heavens” by trying to associate “this God of the Bible with all their spilling of blood in violent wars.” But the speaker showed that this is not true of the increasing number of persons today who do not engage in Christendom’s God-dishonoring activities. Instead, by what they say and do they glorify Jehovah, willingly taking up the obligation of being his Witnesses. That God would completely clear his name of reproach was discussed on the fifth or final day in the public address, “When All Nations Collide, Head On, with God.” In attendance were 52,243 in New York city, 36,335 in Cincinnati and 16,102 in Jersey City. At these three assemblies a total of 1,782 were baptized to symbolize their dedication to God. The assemblies were the first of a series to be held this summer, in many parts of the world.
New Field of Virus Research
◆ A new field of medical research has opened up with respect to diseases involving the nervous system. Such afflictions as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease may be caused by “slow viruses,” researchers think. These are different from the familiar viruses that are fast striking, causing diseases to appear in a matter of days. The “slow viruses” may inhabit a cell for years before causing a disease to manifest itself. Dr. John L. Sever, an American researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, observed: “It’s a new state of viral activity never seen among fast-acting viruses.” It has been found that the fast-acting measles virus can get into the nervous system and become a “slow virus” there, causing a disease that destroys brain cells. The chicken-pox virus can also become a “slow virus,” appearing after many years of latency to cause shingles in an adult. According to one researcher, “slow viruses” have “opened up a whole new frontier of medical research.”
Want to Buy a Seminary?
◆ A Catholic seminary in the Canadian province of Quebec has been trying to find a buyer for three years. The initial price of $3.25 million has been scaled down to $2 million, but still no buyers. Sagging enrollment compelled the Redemptorists, the religious order that owns it, to close it down. The seminary, with its 35 acres of land, appears to be unattractive to potential buyers because of the high cost of converting it to another use.
Recycling Cans
◆ More than 60 billion cans are used in the United States every year for foods and other products. Now the steel companies are starting a drive to retrieve these cans and recycle them through their furnaces into new steel products. Can-collecting stations are being established in thirty-nine cities in thirteen states. Since cans make up 7 percent of the nation’s garbage, this recycling program is a step in the right direction.
Crystals for Picture Storage
◆ It is now possible to store pictures permanently in pieces of crystal the size of sugar cubes. A laser beam is used to imprint the pictures in the crystal. This can be done not only with photographs but also with maps, drawings, statistics and other information. A crystal somewhat smaller than a sugar cube could probably hold one trillion bits of information. In turn, a laser is used to retrieve the pictures. A minute turn of the crystal makes it possible to switch from one picture to another.
Energy from Fusion
◆ Scientists around the world are working to produce energy from the fusion of hydrogen atoms, the power behind the hydrogen bomb. They believe that controlled fusion of such atoms will solve man’s energy needs. It has been estimated that one gallon of seawater can, by means of fusion, produce energy equivalent to 300 gallons of gasoline. A fusion reactor produces energy by bringing the nuclei of hydrogen atoms so close together that they fuse and in the process give off a burst of energy. A few research machines have already produced fusion, but at present the energy consumed in the process greatly exceeds the energy produced.
Chickens for Plane Safety
◆ During 1970 airplanes in the United States had 537 collisions with birds, resulting in smashed windshields, wrecked tail assemblies and dented wings. To test the structural soundness of planes against such collisions, a forty-foot gun has been set up in Ottawa, Canada, that fires four-pound chickens at aircraft parts. The dead chickens leave the barrel at 700 miles per hour or at lesser speeds when desired. The gun is operated by compressed air. According to the man who operates this unique gun, there is hardly a square inch of a plane that can withstand the impact of a four-pound chicken that strikes it at 500 miles per hour. The results of such tests are considered when efforts are made to improve the structural safety of airplanes.
Evolutionary Uncertainty
◆ With few facts and much imagination, evolutionists take several pieces of bone and construct a line of creatures that were supposed to have been ancestors of man. The Australopithecus holds an important niche in their lineup. Now that Richard Leakey has found in Africa three specimens of Homo on the same levels that yielded specimens of Australopithecus, the theory is presented that Australopithecus was not an ancestor to Homo and to man after all. So the fruitless search for the imaginary creatures that are supposed to link man with the animals goes on.
Starlight vs. City Light
◆ Astronomers find that they have a growing problem with light from nearby cities. The light from such cities can engulf an observatory, interfering with telescopic viewing of faint stars. Telescopes are so sensitive to the faint light of distant stars they can be overwhelmed by the sporadic flashes of a neon road sign twenty miles away. The six observatories near Tucson, Arizona, are being affected by the lights of this city whose population has grown to 300,000 in the past twenty years. Astronomers are asking for laws to prohibit spotlights and advertising signs within a twenty-five-mile radius of an observatory. They also want new street lamps with down-reflecting shields, as well as black asphalt paving on the streets.
Pick with Care
◆ There are many varieties of edible mushrooms, but there are also 70 varieties that are poisonous. Since hundreds of people every year suffer from mushroom poisoning, the warning to pick with care cannot be repeated too often. Recently two men in New Jersey picked mushrooms in a pine grove, and their wives cooked the mushrooms in a stew. After eating the stew one of the men died from mushroom poisoning, as well as a daughter of the other man. The latter man became very ill and was hospitalized. In a few days his liver began to deteriorate. After a frantic search, an antidote, thioctic acid, was obtained from Milan, Italy. Gradually he began to improve. The mushroom that poisoned him was the deadly Amanita verna, a graceful, creamy-white variety that can be easily mistaken for an edible mushroom.
Female Criminals
◆ Crimes among females are increasing in the United States. In 1960, women made up 10 percent of those persons arrested for major crimes. In 1969, the figure was 16 percent. According to a Boston judge, there used to be one girl for every ten boys that came before him in his courtroom. Now the ratio is one to three.
School-Age Parents
◆ Britain is having a truancy problem because so many school-age children are parents of illegitimate children. Many of the girls claim that they must remain home to care for their illegitimate babies. A former labor MP cited the case of a 15-year-old boy whose mother was questioned about his recurring truancy. The boy’s mother said: “I can’t insist on his going to school—he’s a father.” The number of girls giving birth to illegitimate babies in Britain during 1969 was triple the figure of 1959.
Underground Pollution
◆ In an effort to dispose of unwanted wastes many American industrial plants are pumping them into disposal wells. These are holes that are five to six inches in diameter and 3,000 to 12,000 feet deep. The industries hope that the wastes will be absorbed into underground formations of porous limestone and sandstone. But there appear to have been cases where the wastes have escaped through cracks in the rock formation and returned to the surface. Some persons are worried that these wastes will pollute underground water supplies. One government official observed: “This underground pollution is a game of environmental roulette.”
White-Collar Unemployed
◆ The business slump in the United States has hit white-collar workers a hard blow. In times past it was the blue-collar workers who were let go, but this time workers ranging from president to file clerk have also lost their jobs. Professionals with college degrees have been let go the same as those without degrees. College graduates are having more difficulty finding jobs now than they have had in a decade.
Too Many Drugs
◆ With people taking a mixture of drugs for various problems, there is a rising incidence of dangerous complications. One doctor observed: “Some drugs, although innocuous in solo, can be lethal in concert.” In other words, when taken along with other drugs, serious interactions can occur. Some persons are taking several different drugs at the same time that have been prescribed by several physicians without telling any of the physicians what drugs they are taking. Such mixtures can cause dangerous complications.
[Picture on page 29]
52,243 persons filled New York’s Yankee Stadium on July 4 to hear public talk by N. H. Knorr