Sunday, July 12, 2009
And in Kathmandu: Nepal’s Graft Solution - No More Pockets…
Corruption is so endemic in Nepal that bribery is almost to be expected in Kathmandu ’s international airport. But now, in an effort to boost tourism, the country’s anti-graft authority has come up with a clever way to deter staff from soliciting “tea money” from hapless travellers: pocket-less...
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Thursday, July 9, 2009
And in Thailand: Orphaned Elephants…
Walking the streets of Thailand, you just might find a lone elephant pushing through traffic. Tourists don’t mind, but authorities have had enough. Their solution: offer the animals up for adoption. Some have already paid up to 500,000 baht (US$14,644) to buy an elephant. “[Elephants] are icons of...
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Tuesday, July 7, 2009
And Almost Everywhere – Chess More Damaging Than Video Games…
A pernicious excitement to learn and play chess has spread all over the country, and numerous clubs for practicing this game have been formed in cities and villages. Why should we regret this? It may be asked. We answer, chess is a mere amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind of...
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Friday, July 3, 2009
And to Our Americans...
A H a p p y a n d S a f e 4 t h o f J u l y
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And in Vietnam: Lip Service for All That Ails You…
Thousands of people flood a small Vietnamese village every day so Tran Van Muong can spit on them. Muong claims that the water he fills his mouth with and then sprays between his magic lips has the power to cure all diseases and ailments. He’s been called a charlatan, but high health care costs make...
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
And in Australia: Crocodile Sighting Downs Helicopter…
Flying over a remote beach in northern Australia, a helicopter pilot spotted a crocodile – and crashed after swooping in for a better look. Dragging his injured passenger from the wreckage, the pilot buried him in sand up to his neck to stave off hypothermia (they were a safe distance from the...
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Friday, June 26, 2009
And in Japan: The Grass-Eating Boys…
Herbivore: A Japanese man, who saves money, shuns sex, has a penchant for nice clothing, and prefers a quieter, less competitive lifestyle. This class of young men is taking hold in Japan. They are soushoku dansi – translated to “grass-eating boys” or, more commonly, “herbivores.” The term was...
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Monday, June 22, 2009
And in Canada: Grounds for Refusal of Service…
A Nova Scotia man wants to take Tim Hortons to the province’s human rights commission for not letting him drive his mobility scooter up to the drive-through of a local franchise. Tim Hortons, which bans scooters at drive-throughs for safety reasons, should find a way to get this man his coffee –...
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
And in Boston: Longer-Living Worms May Mean Immortality…
Harvard researchers have tripled the lifespan of a worm, C. elegans, with mutations that could greatly increase how long humans live. The scientists genetically engineered the worm’s somatic cells, which are involved in growth and behaviour but have a finite lifespan to act more like reproductive...
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
And in Germany: Gay Penguins Adopt a Chick…
After being given an egg rejected by its biological parents, two “gay” male penguins at a German zoo hatched a chick and are raising it as their own. The penguins, named Z and Vielpunkt, are two of six “gay” penguins at the Bremerhaven zoo, who’ve been seen trying to mate and even incubate stones....
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