Watching the World

Sweaters for Penguins

More than 1,000 sweaters made by volunteers from around the world have been sent to Tasmania, Australia. Who will wear them? Fairy penguins—small birds that weigh about two pounds [one kg] and live in an area often plagued by oil spills. “When they preen themselves,” explains Canada’s National Post, “they swallow the toxic oil, which sticks to their feathers. Volunteers are putting the sweaters on oil-soaked birds to keep them from ingesting the oil [before] they can be cleaned.” In addition, reports the Post, the sweaters help to keep the penguins warm. Jo Castle, spokeswoman for the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, says that sweaters have also been used for seabirds in the Northern Hemisphere but that the pattern “was redesigned for the little penguins in the southern hemisphere.”

 Slurping Controversy

To slurp or not to slurp, that is the question—at least for customers at Japan’s popular noodle soup restaurants. Many middle-aged and older Japanese feel that the long noodles actually taste better if slurped along with the broth and while still hot. They consider loud slurping to be normal and a way to show that one really enjoys the meal. But a newer generation of Japanese has a different point of view regarding noodle etiquette. The Japan Times reports: “Younger Japanese are more concerned not to dribble the soup onto their silk ties and [designer] dresses. Reared on Western manners and a more Western diet, they are likely to be offended when those around them slurp.” This slurping issue has become part of Japan’s generation gap, causing some older ones to be self-conscious about breaking the silence when eating noodles in public. Taking sides with the older generation, a major Japanese newspaper lamented: “It’ll be a truly lonely feeling when nobody makes any slurping noises any more.”

Alcohol Dangers

“Alcohol-related injury, disability, and deaths in younger age-groups in Europe have increased alarmingly in recent years,” reports Britain’s medical journal The Lancet. In Europe, where alcohol consumption is the world’s highest, alcohol kills 55,000 young people every year. When asked about their drinking habits, one third of the students polled in Britain, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, and Ireland admitted having been drunk at least three times during the previous month. According to a study of 100,000 students aged 15 to 16 in 30 European countries, the greatest increases in alcohol consumption by youths occurred in Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic. As reported in London’s Independent newspaper, Britain’s Royal College of Physicians warns that “advanced cirrhosis of the liver, traditionally found in hard-drinking men in their 40s and 50s, is now being diagnosed” in women in their early 20’s. The college “identified alcohol as one of Britain’s most expensive public health problems.”

Crossing the Pacific in a Rowboat

Unaided by sails or a motor, a lone man has rowed across the Pacific Ocean in a small, partially covered boat. Briton Jim Shekhdar left the coast of Peru in June 2000, reports Lima’s El Comercio newspaper. The adventurous navigator took along a portable water desalinator, a radio, four satellite communication systems, and a solar panel to power them all. In March 2001, nine months and 8,000 nautical miles [15,000 km] later, the man whom some had called “the mad sailor” stepped ashore in Australia. During his journey he survived ten shark attacks and a near-miss with an oil tanker. But his last challenge came on the final day when waves tipped over his rowboat and he had to swim the last 100 yards [100 m] into the arms of his waiting family.

Good Bedside Manner Improves Recovery

“A friendly, reassuring doctor with a good bedside manner really does get better results,” states The Times of London. After analyzing 25 studies addressing this issue, researchers from the universities of York, Exeter, and Leeds, in England, concluded: “Practitioners who attempted to form a warm and friendly relationship with their patients, and reassured them that they would soon be better, were found to be more effective than practitioners who kept their consultations impersonal, formal and uncertain.” In Sweden one study showed that patients “recovered more quickly and were more satisfied when treated by a doctor who assured them that they would get better, encouraged questions and spent an extra few minutes with them.”

The Value of Regular Exercise

Many people try to ward off obesity, coronary disease, and other health problems resulting from a sedentary office routine by exercising vigorously once in a while. A recent study, however, indicates that frequent modest exercise is better at boosting the body’s metabolism than intense but infrequent workouts, reports Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung. Dutch researcher Dr. Klaas Westerterp studied the minute-by-minute energy expenditure of 30 volunteers. The results indicated that rather than a person’s trying to “balance out phases of inactivity with bouts of extreme activity,” it is more effective to incorporate increased physical activity into everyday life. The report suggests: “Alternate sitting and standing with moderate activity like walking or cycling as often as possible.”

Fast French Trains

In 1867 the train trip from Paris south to Marseilles lasted more than 16 hours. In the 1960’s, it still took seven and a half hours. But in June 2001, French National Railways launched a new high-speed rail link between the two cities. Now passengers can cruise at over 190 miles [300 km] per hour and can cover the 460-mile [740-km] distance in just three hours. Along one 150-mile [250-km] stretch of track south of Lyons, trains cross more than 500 bridges, pass over 11 miles [17 km] of graceful viaducts, and speed through a nearly 5-mile [8-km]-long tunnel. If needed, up to “20 trains per hour can run in both directions under optimal security conditions,” comments the French daily Le Monde. That is one train every three minutes.

Kids Under Stress

“Childhood is no longer the classic period of playing outdoors, of leisure and tranquillity, it was years ago,” states Mexico City’s El Universal newspaper. Researchers have concluded that today a 10-year-old child must deal with a level of stress similar to that borne by a 25-year-old in 1950. Much of this stress results from classes and other activities that parents hope will help their child to have a better future. But the extra load “affects his health, his rest, and his very development,” notes the paper. The report suggests that parents reevaluate their children’s commitments so that the children can spend more time at home. But rather than doing nothing or being glued to the TV or computer after school, “the idea is that they go out and play with other children, run, ride their bikes, work puzzles, or draw.”

Warming Sea Affects Wildlife

On a recent visit to remote Heard Island, located 2,500 nautical miles [4,600 km] southwest of Australia, scientists discovered dramatic changes in local plant and animal populations. “King penguin, fur seal and cormorant populations have multiplied and areas once covered with glaciers are lush with plants,” reports the West Australian newspaper. Biologist Eric Woehler said that in 1957 only three breeding pairs of king penguins were known of on the island. “Now,” he notes, “we’ve got more than 25,000.” Woehler said that the surface temperature of the sea has increased about 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit [three quarters of a degree Celsius] over the last 50 years. He added: “While that doesn’t sound [like] a lot, it’s more than enough to be implicated in the sort of changes we are seeing.” Woehler speculated that the island’s climate could eventually become too warm for some plants and animals to exist there.