Watching the World
Be Lighthearted—and Stay Healthier!
“Through humor, people become more tolerant, handle frustrations well, and maintain physical and mental health,” states São Paulo University Professor Sueli Damergian. According to a report in the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, good humor can be learned—just like reading and writing. Clearly, this requires a change in thinking for a grumpy person. Explains professor of psychology Raquel Rodrigues Kerbauy: “If one thinks that he will only be able to smile when the world is just, he will be ill-tempered forever. After all, there are injustices everywhere.” Even with a full schedule, good-natured people enjoy their social contacts, notes the report. They value such little things as “a chat, a candy, or five minutes of good music.” Damergian cautions, however: “One should not confuse good humor with frivolity and bad taste.”
Birds at Risk From Bird Lovers?
Bird lovers may be doing more harm than good by leaving food in their gardens for birds to eat, reports London’s Sunday Times. Food poisoning caused by salmonella bacteria, parasites, and an additional unidentified microorganism have recently killed tens of thousands of Britain’s favorite garden birds. James Kirkwood, chief veterinarian of the London Zoo, is concerned that certain species may be wiped out in some areas. The resilient bacteria and parasites survive for many days on fecal matter on bird tables or on the ground. Moldy nuts are especially dangerous, warns Professor Chris Perrins, of Oxford University. “The government bans infected nuts from being sold to humans but allows them in bird food,” he notes, adding: “They are killing a lot of birds.”
Cozy Home for Fleas
Harsh winter weather used to mean the demise of the flea population. But things are changing, reports Britain’s New Scientist magazine. “Over the past decade there has been an increasing incidence of cat fleas,” says John Maunder, of the Cambridge Medical Entomology Centre. Modern homes now serve as a cozy hideout for these fleas, which also live on dogs. In the past, cold weather brought with it a drop in relative humidity—a fatal blow to flea larvae. “Now,” Maunder notes, “the ventilation in many homes is so poor that the relative humidity remains high, and even prolonged cold weather won’t see the fleas off.”
How to Cope With School Bullies
With the recent publicity about bullying in schools, Japan’s Education Ministry conducted a survey of 9,420 children and their parents and teachers. The findings revealed that up to 70 percent of the parents of bullied students from elementary and junior high schools are either unaware of the problem or have not taken their children’s complaints seriously. Fearing retaliation, many victims do not tell a teacher that they are being bullied. The survey showed, however, that when a teacher tackles the problem seriously, only 2 percent of the victims suffer retaliation and the bullying stops for about 40 percent of the victimized students. Professor Yoji Morita, of Osaka City University, observed: “I’m more convinced than ever that bullying can be overcome if victims complain to their teachers and the teachers deal with it properly.”
Children’s Loves and Hates
What do children enjoy doing the least? In a study of 6- to 11-year-olds by Professor Gustavo Pietropolli Charmet, of the University of Milan, Italy, the majority of children said: “Staying at home watching TV,” or “Staying in with Mom to do homework.” The most unpleasant thing they do, says the newspaper La Repubblica, is “have appointments,” that is, run between lessons in dancing, English, piano, and so forth. Also generally hated is “being alone.” On the other hand, 49 percent of boys want parents to “let children play outdoors,” while girls wish parents would “have fun playing with their children.” They say, in effect: ‘When Mom plays with me, she really has to play. You can tell if she’s not having fun, and then I don’t have fun either.’
Cardinal Recommended Witnesses’ Activity
Cardinal Suenens, of Belgium, a promoter of the Catholic ecumenical and charismatic movements, died recently at the age of 91. The Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg commented that although Suenens accomplished many things, he did not realize his dream in life. His successor, Cardinal Danneels, stated that Suenens “had always desired that Christians become more active. He . . . asked himself if we should go from door to door, just as Jehovah’s Witnesses do. And in the end, he found that this wasn’t a bad method. A statement often heard from him was: ‘You are a true Christian only if you have made someone else a Christian as well.’”
Cleaning Up the Ocean
Even on a dry day, tens of millions of gallons of polluted runoff water and debris from city streets flow into coastal waters around Los Angeles, California. On a rainy day, runoff can reach billions of gallons! The city government sponsored a program to inform residents that everything dumped, washed, or swept into streets goes directly to the ocean via storm drains—untreated! This includes oil and other fluids from cars, yard clippings, trash, and pet droppings. To avoid damaging the ecology of the adjacent Santa Monica Bay, residents are encouraged: Never dump waste in the street; sweep sidewalks instead of hosing them off; clean up after pets; repair car leaks; and recycle motor oil. The Wall Street Journal reports that people swimming close to a storm drain were 50 percent more likely to develop fevers, vomiting, respiratory infections, or earaches than those staying at least 400 yards [360 m] away.
Furry Submarines
The Swedish Navy maintains a network of underwater microphones to detect the sound of bubbles caused by the rotating propellers of submarines, according to New Scientist magazine. Examining 6,000 reports of “alien underwater activity,” based on the microphone system and sightings by the public, a government commission found firm evidence of submarine activity on only six occasions. Many of the rest of the alarms may have been triggered by “the furious paddling of little legs,” says the report. It seems that swimming mink and otters generate sound very similar to that of submarine propellers, thus confusing the navy listeners.
Children Abusing Children
Thousands of youngsters in South Africa suffer sexual abuse from other minors, reports the Johannesburg newspaper Saturday Star. Evanthe Schurink, of the Human Sciences Research Council, attributes this abuse in part to the young perpetrators’ being brutalized themselves. Marilyn Donaldson, a child counselor at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation’s Trauma Clinic, concurs, saying: “In so many . . . homes, these children are exposed to horrific domestic violence and often their own victims are part of their extended family.” She also blames boredom and parental neglect for much of the abuse. “There is nobody at home for the children when the parent is working,” she observes, “so they are at the mercy of the abusers.” Pointing out a further danger, Donaldson said that she sees more and more “little 6 to 10-year-old children coming into the centre with Aids, which had been sexually transmitted.”
Alcohol During Pregnancy
“New research has confirmed an association between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and an increased risk of infant leukemia,” reports The Medical Post, of Canada. The study involved 302 leukemia victims who were 18 months of age or younger when the disease was diagnosed, along with a control group of 558 other babies. For children whose mothers drank alcohol during the second or third trimester of pregnancy, the risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia was nearly ten times higher than for those whose mothers did not drink. The new research was said to be consistent with other studies regarding expectant mothers who drink alcohol and their baby’s increased risk of leukemia.