WHILE most of us prefer to avoid radioactivity as much as we possibly can, one Greek tourist promoter is happily singing the praises of the radioactive hot springs on Ikaria island. 鈥淚karia鈥檚 abundant therapeutic radioenergised spring sources have been identified as amongst the best in the world in terms of healing qualities, radioenergy and water supply,鈥� we discover at . And there鈥檚 lots more about how the spring鈥檚 radioactivity is jolly good for you.
We鈥檙e reminded of those innocent days in the 1920s when radium cures were all the rage and you could even buy a Revigator, 鈥渁 crock lined with radioactive ore鈥� to produce your refreshing daily drink of radioactive water in your own home. See the museum of quack radium cures at for more about Revigators, 鈥渦ranium comforters鈥�, radium baths and a range of radiation therapies that it is distinctly difficult to imagine being put on the market today.
RED faces among researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, after it was discovered that their widely reported study on ecstasy had been botched. The drug they had been experimenting with wasn鈥檛 ecstasy at all, it was amphetamine.
Advertisement
But perhaps they needn鈥檛 be so embarrassed. After all, their experience would be all too familiar to ravers in dance clubs who are routinely sold what purports to be ecstasy but turns out to be nothing of the kind. The Johns Hopkins study could be even more relevant than the researchers had originally thought.
AS PART of its drive to persuade us all to squander less energy, the UK鈥檚 Energy Savings Trust is exhorting everyone to 鈥渢urn down your thermostat by one degree centigrade and save the UK 拢14 million during Energy Efficiency Week鈥�. A noble sentiment, no doubt. But there is just one tiny snag. The trust issued its appeal on 15 September, when most of the UK was basking in a late-summer heatwave and nobody鈥檚 central heating thermostat would have kicked in anyway. And although temperatures will drop a bit during Energy Efficiency Week, which runs until 29 September, 鈥渋t is still going to be warmer than normal for this time of year,鈥� says a spokeswoman for the Met Office.
So here鈥檚 a simpler and far more effective way of saving energy: ignore Energy Efficiency Week and wait till it gets really cold before switching on your central heating.
EDWARD TELLER, 鈥渇ather of the hydrogen bomb鈥�, died on 9 September. Among the obituaries, few mentioned that this great champion of the Star Wars weapons system was awarded the very first Ig Nobel peace prize in 1991 鈥渇or his lifelong efforts to change the meaning of peace as we know it鈥�.
Linus Pauling, the only person who has been awarded two unshared Nobel prizes 鈥� one for chemistry and one for peace 鈥� commented wryly at the time: 鈥淚鈥檇 be pleased to have Teller get a second Ig Nobel prize so he could become listed in the Guinness Book of Records.鈥�
Meanwhile, Joseph Rotblat 鈥� another Nobel peace prizewinner 鈥� told Feedback last week: 鈥淚n my review of Teller鈥檚 autobiography I contrasted him with the other 鈥榝ather of the H-bomb鈥� and concluded: 鈥楢ndrei Sakharov will always be revered as an intrepid champion of human values, while Edward Teller will go down in history as the real Dr Strangelove鈥�.鈥�
WHY do certain invitations inevitably show up late? One of Feedback鈥檚 colleagues recently got an email announcing that a press teleconference would be held at noon Friday. It had been sent just 6 minutes and 11 seconds before the conference was due to start. But he managed to miss the whole thing because he didn鈥檛 happen to be checking his email at the time. In fact, the email neglected to include the call-in number, so he wouldn鈥檛 have managed to join in anyway.
But the most unsettling thing was that the press release came from the North American Electric Reliability Council, the organisation that is supposed to ensure the American power grid keeps humming without interruptions. The conference was about the little problem the grid had back in August. Perhaps a similar little problem had bedevilled their emails?
DON鈥橳 all rush at once. The following advertisement for a not-to-be-missed job opportunity was circulated recently by the zoology department at the University of Oxford: 鈥淲anted, Eagle research biologist to study breeding of New Guinea Harpy Eagle in cloud forest of Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Torrential rain, bitter cold, tropical diseases and risk of attack by bandits very high. Prospects of success very low. Self-reliance and a high degree of competence in tree-roped access essential鈥︹��
FINALLY, from the department of indeterminate numbers: the musiclassical.com website boasts that it holds 鈥渙ver almost half a million titles鈥� of classical sheet music.
Meanwhile, Lands鈥� End, the online clothing retailer, is having a clearance sale with savings of 鈥渦p to 50 per cent or more鈥�.
A notice at the Homebase store in East Grinstead, UK, advises: 鈥淐ustomers should use the red button to open the automatic doors鈥�