WHILE roller coaster enthusiasts travel the world trying the latest white
knuckle rides, French doctors are wondering if the high G-forces are a health risk
(see This Week, 9 May, p 12).
So Feedback recently grabbed the chance to
ask two people who should really know: aircrew at the Tornado training station
at RAF Cottesmore.
Tornado fighter jets fly faster than sound, and duck and dive so sharply that
the pilots must withstand accelerations up to 8 g. They train like
athletes and wear inflated trousers to stop blood pooling in their legs. The
real danger comes when there is a sudden change in G-force. 鈥淪napping
six鈥� can drain blood from the brain and make pilots black out鈥攐r flood the
head with blood, causing a 鈥渞ed out鈥�.
So what about the pilots who fly little stunt planes, at aerial
shows鈥攈ow do they cope?
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鈥淵ou always know a stunt pilot,鈥� said one Tornado crewman. 鈥淗e鈥檚 red-eyed,
because negative gs burst blood vessels. He鈥檚 short, too, because the
shorter the pumping distance from the heart to the brain, the better. That鈥檚 why
you never see a giraffe piloting a plane.鈥�
IT IS becoming more and more fashionable to point a digital camera at
something and feed live images of it onto the Internet. All too often, however,
the appeal is extremely limited. At http://exosci.com/cams, for example,
you can watch pictures from the construction of the International Space
Station.
On the last visit, Feedback found this about as exciting as watching paint
dry. Members of Congress, however, may find it useful for identifying culprits
behind the project鈥檚 delay.
THE BRITISH government has followed the advice of its Monopolies and Mergers
Commission and created the Restriction on Agreements and Conduct Order 1998,
which makes it illegal for anyone making audio, video or TV equipment to
recommend a price. This makes it difficult for consumer magazines to compare
hi-fi systems.
The Department of Trade and Industry, which created the new rule, says a copy
of the regulation is available from the Stationery Office, but was curiously
reluctant to say how much it cost. Feedback phoned the Stationery Office and got
the price, which is firmly fixed at 拢1.55. Perhaps the commission will now
investigate the Stationery Office.
A COLLEAGUE in Japan reports that one Western invention that has somehow
failed to catch on there is the kerb. White lines on the highway, he says, just
don鈥檛 do the job of keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart.
It鈥檚 an odd state of affairs for a country addicted to covering every
surface, from beaches to hillsides, with concrete. Why have its kings of
concrete鈥攚ho persuaded the state railway company to build the entire
bullet-train network on concrete stilts as high as the average
house鈥攆ailed to mount a national campaign to install this most useful of
devices?
MORE news from Japan. The latest energy guzzlers found in every
street鈥攊ndeed outside almost every shop鈥攁re vending machines selling
chilled food and drink. Green investigators say a typical machine uses as much
electricity as a house. And with 7 million machines, roughly one for every 20
citizens, they are consuming enough power to run a small country.
ON THE occasion of his mother鈥檚 birthday, Bob Oliver bought her a large badge
which read 鈥淗appy 50th Birthday鈥�.
In case the purchaser was easily confused, stated on the reverse was the fact
that it was 鈥渦nsuitable for children under 5鈥�.
ADDING a digit to regional phone numbers is always bound to create some
confusion. Fortunately for residents of Queensland, Australia, help is at hand
to assist them through the difficult transition.
Using the new eight-digit system is 鈥渆asy鈥�, explained The Sunday
Mail recently. 鈥淎ll you do is take the last digit of the old area code and
then add 4 to the front of it. Then add these numbers to the front of the
existing number. For example, if the area code is (070), you simply add 40. And
the new area code is (07). So now wherever you dial an area code to Brisbane or
regional Queensland, you need to dial (07).鈥�
Couldn鈥檛 be simpler.
MUSING over what to order from his local Italian take-away, Matthew Waite was
puzzled by the small print at the bottom of the menu. The disclaimer warned
that: 鈥淗am used in our pizza is not pork-based.鈥�
LOOKING forward to a relaxing bath after a long and stressful day, Ian
Sinclair became confused by the label on his Radox Herbal Bath liquid, which
seemed to be in two minds over the exact nature of its contents. He wonders how
鈥淭he secret of relaxation鈥� can also guarantee an 鈥渋nvigorating鈥� experience.
ON THE other hand, Martin Storey has discovered a brand of lentil pilaf which
certainly seems to fulfil some of its promises. The mix is manufactured by
Casbah, whose motto is 鈥淭imeless cuisine鈥�, and the instructions on the box read:
鈥淐asbah Lentil Pilaf is ready in a few minutes . . . Stir in mix and seasonings
packets, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed (approximately 40-45
尘颈苍耻迟别蝉).鈥�
AND finally, C. J. Collins was intrigued by the claim on a bottle of Chilean
Cabernet Sauvignon: 鈥淒rinking perfectly now, but will continue to improve for up
to one year.鈥� Just how perfect can you get?