Gardening for bones!

Hours spent in the garden pay off with more than baskets of blooms. A recent American study found that garden work can ward off osteoporosis. In a survey of 3310 women ages 50 and over, gardening -- pushing a mower, pulling weeds, lifting bags of fertilizer - was the most popular pastime and the activity most closely linked to healthy bones. "People ask me, 'What's the best exercise for bone health?'" says Lori Turner, the health-science professor who led the study. "I say, the one you'll do. People like gardening." » Continue reading

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Loo legacy

The Tokyo Police are flummoxed by the envelopes of 10,000 yen ($82) bills popping up in toilets in government offices.

The bills are individually wrapped in traditional Japanese "washi" paper with the word "remuneration" scribbled in ink. Each packet has a formal handwritten letter which says that the giver hopes that the money will be "used for your pursuit of knowledge". Since April, over $32,720 has been found in such envelopes. The police wonder -- is it an elderly man nearing death or just a prankster. » Continue reading

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In defence of clutter

Feel guilty about the Everest like mounds of paper on your desk? Don't. They're an essential part of the human thought process, according to one research team. In a series of studies across many occupations, social scientists Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper, co-authors of The Myth of the Paperless Office, observed that when people read at work, they use annotating, cross-referencing and paper-sorting to tackle complex problems. When only electronic files were used, or when papers were filed away, workers weren't as effective. Piles of paper, they say, serve as "temporary holding patters" for ideas in progress. "People with messy desks don't have messy heads," says Harper. "Quite the contrary -- they've taken the mess out of their heads and piled it on their desks." So the next time someone comments on your state of disarray, tell them you're a stacker, not a slacker. » Continue reading

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Donkey Diaper

Donkey owners in Limuru, Kenya are enraged after officials ordered their animals to wear nappies, The local council said that the idea was to keep the town's streets clean. Water trader Simon Kamau, who uses donkeys to transport water, says, "The problem is that donkeys kick. I was once kicked by one and it broke my leg. Perhaps the council could come and show us how to tie the nappies on the donkeys." Last heard, the mayor, who was not interested in giving a demonstration, is shelving the idea. » Continue reading

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Are humans the only animals that can recognize their own reflection?

No. A landmark study in 1970 at Tulane University in New Orleans, USA, showed conclusively that chimpanzees recognize their own reflections.

Under sedation, a blob of non-toxic paint was applied to the chimps' faces. When they woke they were given mirrors and, seeing the paint, the chimps touched it and cleaned it off, demonstrating that thhey realized the image in the mirror was their own.

Similar studies have suggested that orangutans can also recognize their own reflections. » Continue reading

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We talk of First and Third World countries. What or where is the Second World?

The term "Second World" was coined during the Cold War to describe Communist-bloc states. Their capitalist rivals in the West were known as the First World while the largely neutral states of Latin America, Africa and Asia became the Third World.

With the collapse of the Eastern bloc, the Second World all but ceased to exist. Today, the UN calls countries "developed" or "developing." » Continue reading

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Why are horseshoes considered lucky?

The belief comes from a sixteenth century idea that iron horse-shoes were a protection against witches and evil.

Antiquarian John Aubrey wrote in his 1696 book Miscellanies that the reasoning was that Mars (the Roman god of war and associated with the metal iron) was the enemy of Saturn (ruler of the witches).

A less pagan interpretation of the superstition is that a horseshoe held on its side makes a "C" for Christ. » Continue reading

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