Watching the World
Church Letdown
“At a time when our Bishops and Church leaders should be giving us guidance on sexual morality, they have let us down badly,” laments Peter Thomson, vicar of Cobham, England. How so? According to a report in the North Kent Weekly News, Thomson explained: “I am appalled that there is one London specialist who is dealing with about 20 clergymen suffering from AIDS and that Childwatch is investigating five alleged cases of clergy sexually abusing children.” He also expressed sadness over the divergence between what the Bible says and what is being taught today. In reply, “a spokesman for the Rochester Diocese said that the Church of England had a broad spectrum of priests with differing views,” the paper reported.
Better Paper
Each year 12 million tons of paper obtained from wood pulp are used for newspaper production in the United States. As wood supplies are getting scarce, attention has been turned to kenaf, a shrub known from antiquity that reaches a height of over 16 feet [5 m] in just three months. According to the French daily Le Figaro, the paper obtained from kenaf fiber is “stronger, smoother, and whiter” than paper obtained from wood pulp, and it “lasts longer.” Moreover, “it does not yellow.” As another advantage, kenaf can yield as much as nine times more pulp per acre [0.4 ha] than a pine forest. In spite of these advantages, it is estimated that in 1988 kenaf fiber will represent only “1 percent of the newspaper market.”
Bogus Parts Problem
Why do planes and helicopters crash? Of growing concern is the suspicion that a number of the accidents may be due to use of counterfeit and substandard parts in aircraft maintenance. Small, regional airlines that face fierce competition and that use older aircraft whose supply of parts from the original manufacturer has dwindled are usually the most vulnerable. Since a grounded plane may cost an airline some $50,000 a day in lost revenues, independent dealers who offer cheap prices and fast delivery are sometimes sought. “As a result, carriers can sometimes end up with bogus parts bought unwittingly from unscrupulous dealers,” says Fortune magazine. The parts, artfully copied so that they are difficult to detect, may be made of inferior materials or contain defects and do not stand up under test. A jet engine alone may have 3,600 parts.
A Costly Gesture!
Curious bystanders—keep out! A British engineer who went to an auction merely out of curiosity is probably still meditating on that recommendation. The French daily Le Monde reported that “during the auction, the engineer accidentally moved his arm, a gesture that the auctioneer interpreted as a bid for the highest price.” The engineer suddenly found himself the proud possessor of ten English Regency houses for which he was obliged to pay the sum of $3,000,000! The newspaper stated that his efforts to cancel the purchase were to no avail.
How Accurate Can You Get?
A clock said to gain or lose only one second over a period of 30 million years has been developed by a research team of physicists at the University of Western Australia. According to the newspaper The West Australian, the clock centers around an “ultra-pure sapphire crystal” and took three years to produce. It is designed for precise readings over short periods of time. However, it is but a step toward the team’s goal of building the most accurate clock in the world—one that will be only one second off in ten billion years!
Risky Phone Use
While a car phone is seen as the ultimate in quick communication, a division of the Automobile Association of America warns of possible dangers. It cautions that “whenever you use a cellular phone while driving, realize that you may be endangering yourself, your passengers and other motorists,” according to a report in The Toronto Star. Complicated controls, awkward mounting locations, and driving with one hand are listed as the main hazards for users. Over 100,000 cellular car phones are in use in Canada, with an estimated 200,000 users predicted by the end of 1991. While high-ranking police officials are said to endorse the use of the car phone, they are calling on users to make calls only “when safe to do so.”
Brazil’s Nuclear Accident
What seemed to be a real find for the two men collecting old metal and paper in Goiânia, Brazil, turned into a serious nuclear accident, reports Veja magazine. In an abandoned building, the two discovered an old radiotherapy machine, which they sold to scrap-metal dealer Devair Alves Ferreira. Inside was found a small capsule that shone with an unusual sheen. Later, the capsule itself was opened, exposing a powdery stone. What they did not know was that it was radioactive cesium 137. “It gave off a blue radiance in the dark. It was pretty,” said Devair. Fascinated, the men showed it to their families and friends, eventually contaminating about 244 persons, at least 20 seriously. Devair’s wife and his six-year-old niece were the first two victims to die as a result. Because of the number of persons affected, the accident is considered the world’s second most serious nuclear accident, after Chernobyl.
Relieving Migraines
An acrylic splint properly fitted to the teeth of the lower jaw can head off a severe migraine headache, reports The Medical Post of Canada. The splint is said to correct misalignment in the contacts between the teeth, which “are thought to provoke migraines by creating spasm and pain of the temporalis muscles,” notes the Post. Dr. Phillip Lamey of the Glasgow Dental Hospital has treated 19 patients with notable success. Though not all migraine sufferers can be treated this way, Dr. Lamey explained that those with “a dental precipitating factor” may take heart. Persons with such classic migraine symptoms as severe headaches accompanied by nausea and vomiting are likely to benefit from the treatment. Such symptoms usually occur upon the person’s awaking or shortly thereafter.
Desert Irrigation
Space-borne radar has identified ancient Egyptian riverbeds under sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. Some of these watercourses are as wide as the river Nile itself, states a report in The Times of London. Seven wells drilled experimentally in the Selima Sand Sheet, part of an almost entirely uninhabited desert near the Sudanese border, are said to have produced rich supplies of water. As a result, once fertile soil covering an area of 300,000 acres [121,500 ha], where an experimental farm is already doing well, could soon be cultivated and inhabited again.
Current Capers
Criminal schemes to obtain electricity are defrauding Britain’s electricity boards of an estimated £50 million a year, reports The Sunday Times of London. Illegal connections are so extensive that they are said to consume 5 percent of the power companies’ profits. But thieves who splice into power lines to steal electricity are taking a big risk. One power company warns in a TV commercial that “stealing electricity could carry the death penalty.” Power stealing, however, is not limited to individuals. In one case, the power supply at a local railroad station was allegedly tapped to supply current to run a whole fairground. Who picks up the bill? “Britain’s 18 m[illion] electricity consumers,” says the Times.